BENJAMIN B. YELL, farmer, was born in Bedford County, Tenn., July 25, 1829, son of James and Jerusha (Barton) Yell, and of English descent. The father was born in 1791, and he and his brother Archibald Yell were volunteer soldiers in the war of 1812, and participated in the battle of New Orleans. Archibald Yell was at one time governor of the State of Arkansas, and, on a monument, erected to his memory at Fayetteville, may be seen the following: “Born in North Carolina, August, 1797; A volunteer in the battle of New Orleans; District Judge of Arkansas Territory in 1832; First member of Congress from the State: Governor, 1840; Again elected to Congress in 1844; Resigned and accepted a Colonelcy of Arkansas for the Mexican war, in 1846; Killed at Buena Vista, February 22, 1847; A gallant, soldier, an upright Judge, a fearless champion of popular rights, a sincere friend, and an honest man.” The father of our subject died at his residence in Coffee County, Tenn., November 20, 1839. The mother was born in Georgia, in 1797, and was a member of the Methodist Church South.
Our subject was reared on the farm and educated in common schools, January 12, 1848, to Miss Ann B. Waite, and the result of this union was four children: George C., Abner W., Bettie A., and Edith N. Mr. Yell is a Democrat, a Mason, and he and wife are members of the Separate Baptist Church. He has a farm of 280 acres of fine land, which he devotes to the cultivation of cereals and the raising of stock.
Transcribed by Kathryn Hopkins
Goodspeed Publishing Co. History of Tennessee from the Earliest Time to the Present: Together with an Historical and a Biographical Sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford & Marshall Counties, Besides a Valuable Fund of Notes, Reminescences [Sic], Observations, Etc., Etc. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1988.