Benton, as he was known by, was born in Alabama. By 1862 his parents had moved to Mississippi; they moved back and forth a lot between Mississippi and Alabama. In 1879 he married Narcissa Jane Irvin in Mississippi. In 1880 they are found at Quincy, Monroe County, Mississippi. It lists Horace as a farmer and Jane as a housekeeper.

Their first three children were born in Mississippi, then they headed out west and settled on a farm in the Hartford, Arkansas area. They were living in Sebastian County as late as 1920, according to the census records.

Benton is remembered as being musical, he played the guitar and the violin. He was apparently a shrewd farmer and was prosperous. He was probably a religious man. He is shown in the photo as he looked about 1916.

Here is a story about brothers Jessie, John, Hamilton O’Neal and Benton Sandlin:

“While visiting Benton, Hamilton’s brother in Arkansas, Benton discovered one of his cows missing. The four brothers went looking for the cow. Benton’s farm was adjacent to Sugar Loaf Mountain, which is near Hartford, Arkansas. While searching for the cow, a violent thunderstorm developed; however it did not stop their search. Later they found the cow and to their surprise, she had a calf. The brothers took the cow with her newborn calf home.”

from The Sandlin’s Trail-by Thomas A. Sandlin

In 1928 Benton and Janie were at Stigler. It is not known at this time why they were there but it may be that the reason was that Henry and Sarah and the family were living near Stigler. Maybe Benton was ill; whatever the reasons, he died here. He was buried at the Stigler Cemetery and the grave was marked with cement blocks with the words H.B. SANDLIN painted on them. As the years went by the paint wore off and no one in the family kept up the grave. There is now another grave there; however if anyone wants to see the area where the grave was it is row 33 #83.