Benson Boone
Birth Name: Benson James Boone
Place of Birth: Monroe, Washington, U.S.
Date of Birth: June 25, 2002
Ethnicity: English, Irish, Scottish, Manx, German, Danish, Norwegian, distant Dutch, French, and Swiss
Benson Boone is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He became known through TikTok. His songs include “Ghost Town,” “In the Stars,” and “Beautiful Things.”
He was raised LDS (Mormon).
Benson’s paternal grandfather was Lewis Leland Boone, Jr. (the son of Lewis Leland Madison and Geneva Katherine Smith). Benson’s grandfather Lewis was born in Smiths Grove, Kentucky, and took the surname of his stepfather Lawrence Herbert Boone. Benson’s great-grandfather Leland was the son of Fount Green Madison and Jewell Meredith. Geneva was the daughter of Charles Webster “Charlie” Smith and Minnie Ann McGuire.
Benson’s paternal grandmother is the daughter of Lloyd Leslie Karren and Hazel Lorraine Stewart. Lloyd’s father was Leslie James Karren, whose paternal grandparents were born on Douglas, Isle of Man, and Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland, respectively, and whose mother was born in Copenhagen, Kobenhavns Kommune, Hovedstaden, Denmark. Lloyd’s mother was Algie Ellen Perry, whose adoptive parents were English, her father from Staffordshire and her mother from City of Norwich, Norfolk. Benson’s great-grandmother Hazel is the daughter of Joshua Beynon Stewart, Jr. and Hazel Lareen MacKay.
Benson’s maternal grandfather is the son of Scott Haskell Smith and Lova LaRae Kinghorn. Scott was the son of Silas Thales Smith and Elvena Sessions. Lova was the daughter of Eldon Wilford Kinghorn, whose paternal grandparents were Scottish; and of Mary Lova Dansie.
Benson’s maternal grandmother is the daughter of William Carroll Whalen and Ruth Ilene Jensen. William was the son of John Whalen and Wilhelmina Carroll, who were of Irish descent. Ruth was the daughter of Oluf Christen Henrick Jensen, who was of half Norwegian and half Danish ancestry; and of Martha Estella Gordon, who was of half Scottish and half English descent. Oluf took his stepfather’s surname.
He is a first cousin, six times removed, of LDS founder Joseph Smith. Benson’s maternal great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents, Asael Smith and Mary Elizabeth Duty, were also Joseph’s paternal grandparents.
Sources: https://www.npr.org
https://www.songfacts.com
Genealogy and obituary of Benson’s paternal grandfather, Lewis Leland Boone, Jr. – https://www.findagrave.com
Genealogies of Benson’s paternal great-grandparents, Lloyd Leslie Karren and Hazel Lorraine (Stewart) Karren – https://www.findagrave.com
Genealogies of Benson’s maternal great-grandparents, Scott Haskell Smith and Lova LaRae (Kinghorn) Smith – https://www.findagrave.com
Benson’s maternal grandfather is the son of Scott Haskell Smith and Lova LaRae Kinghorn. Scott was the son of Silas Thales Smith and Elvena Sessions. Lova was the daughter of Eldon Wilford Kinghorn and Mary Lova Dansie.
Benson’s maternal grandmother is the daughter of William Carroll Whalen and Ruth Ilene Jensen. William was the son of John Whalen and Wilhelmina Carroll. They were both of full Irish descent. Ruth was the daughter of Oluf Christen Henrick Jensen and Martha Estella Gordon. Oluf was of half Norwegian and half Danish descent, and took his step-father’s surname. Martha was of half Scottish half English descent.
Sources:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64533379/scott_haskell_smith
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29853971/lova_larae_smith
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/39559567/joel_brent_smith#view-photo=120857870
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/232407947/william-carroll-whalen
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/LH8M-P1Y
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18184319/wilhelmina_douris
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/232407870/ruth-ilene-whalen_deardeuff
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/L2VW-5N3
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50836215/oluf-christian_henrick-jensen
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50601755/martha_estella_jensen
Through his Smith line, he is 1st cousins, 6x removed, with Mormon founder, Joseph Smith.
Update:
I have confirmed via Bensons maternal uncle passing away that I got the maternal grandparents wrong, after all. It was an educated guess on the grandparents. All I know for now is the names of his maternal grandparents. I will update you all later.
Source: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/jeffrey-smith-obituary?id=56329399
Sources:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/240502500/lewis-leland-boone paternal grandpa and paternal line
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/95633730/lloyd_leslie_karren paternal great grandpa
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/187209548/lorraine_karren paternal great grandma
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122415520/harlen-a-smith possible maternal great grandpa
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122415573/mary_jane_smith possible maternal great grandma
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1362925/wilbur-zuern possible maternal great grandpa
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/129957011/louise_laura_howse possibie maternal great grandma and maternal line
These ethnicities make him Irish, English, Isle of Man, distant Danish (through Karren line, he descends from Mary Kronow, his 3rd great grandma who is Danish), possibie German and polish on his maternal side, and Spanish in his possible maternal line.
Benson’s paternal grandfather is Lewis Leland Boone Jr (the son of Lewis Leland Madison Sr and Geneva Katherine Smith) Lewis Sr is the son of Fount Green Madison and Jewell Meredith. Geneva is the daughter of Charles Webster Smith and Minnie Ann McGuire. Lewis Jr took after his stepdads surname, Lawrence Herbert Boone. Bensons paternal line traces back to John Madison Sr, and is related to president James Madison from that line.
Bensons paternal grandmother is the daughter of Lloyd Leslie Karren and Hazel Lorraine Stewart. Lloyd is the son of Leslie James Karren and Algie Ellen Perry. Hazel is the daughter of Joshua Beynon Stewart Jr and Hazel Mackay. Hazel is most likely the great-grandma he wrote about in “In The Stars”. Their ages match up and they lived in the same timeline for about 20 years, meaning he had that amount of time to meet her.
Bensons maternal grandfather may be the son of Harlen Arno Smith and Mary Jane Elgert. Harlen is the son of William Smith and Lula Boaz. Mary is the daughter of Adolph Elgert, a polish immigrant, and Josephine Venneman, a German immigrant.
Bensons maternal grandmother may be the daughter of Wilbur Zuern and Louise Suarez. Wilbur is the son of Walter John Zuern and Clara Marguarette Vincent. Louise is the daughter of Louis Suarez and Felicia Díaz. She is the child of people of Spanish descent.
I havent confirmed his maternal grandparents, so correct me if I’m wrong.