Sarah Ann and Benjamin Manson

Sarah Ann and Benjamin Manson were an enslaved couple from Wilson County, Tennessee who had sixteen children.

Benjamin Berry Manson recorded a summary of his life for a deposition in July 1909 for the Civil War Pension File of John White.

Thousands of couples sought to solemnize their relationships at the end of the Civil War, by the Freedmen's Bureau, northern missionaries, Union Army clergy, and provost marshals.

Manson and Sarah Ann Benton White lived as man and wife since October 28, 1843,[3] when they had a wedding ceremony on the porch of their slaveholder.

[4][6] The certificate listed the names and ages of nine of their children: John (about 21), Jane (20), Martin Clark (18), Rob Pryoer (17), Ellen Clopton (16), Sallie (14), Paul (12), William (10), and Patsy Agnes (6).

Their sons John and Martin fought during the American Civil War in the 14th Regiment of the United States Colored Troops.

[3] In October 1866, he was a member of the Tennessee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church from the Nashville Mission District.

[9] In 1874, he was appointed to a leadership position for the Nashville District of the Tennessee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.