In spite of the impression given by Benjamin Dorseys appearance in such a multitude of records in Lincoln County, it would appear that his life was not without scandal.  In April 1806, a Benjamin Dorsey and Elizabeth Edwards were charged with adultery and fined by the court for such. In January 1807, Benjamin Dorsey was charged with possessing counterfeit money.  Though he was not prosecuted, he was required to testify about where he got the money.   From a distance of nearly 200 years, it would appear that Benjamin had stepped on some toes somewhere!  Much of the questioning in the counterfeit money case seemed to focus on his marital status.  In that testimony, he acknowledged that he had left his first wife (Joan or Jean Short) and was living with Elizabeth Edwards whom he considered his wife.  It is not surprising to find Benjamin sold a large amount of land in North Carolina January 20, 1807 and apparently left for a new start in Georgia.

Whatever the cause, Benjamin Dorsey purchased land in Franklin County, GA in 1808.  A few records show that he lived there at least until 1815 when he and his "wife" Elizabeth sold property along the Broad River and in Carnesville, where they lived.  I have no records for them after that time.  There is a Benjamin Dorsey in an index for the 1820 Mississippi census but the image is not available online or in any library I have visited.  so we have no way of knowing if this is "our" Benjamin".  (Nor would we be able to tell from the census either.)  At this time, in spite of a large group researching the descendents of Andrew Dorsey, we are not aware of any descendents of Benjamin Dorsey. 

Interestingly also, in spite of Benjamin Dorsey's apparent association with Bassell Dorsey in North Carolina and Georgia, he was not named guardian for any of Bassell's minor children though there is record of him living in Franklin County, GA well after Bassell's will was proven in Franklin County September 1807.  In this will Bassell appointed his "friends" John Dorsey and Elias Baker as executors of his will and makes no mention of Benjamin Dorsey.  (A copy of this will, dated June 16, 1806 along with an inventory and appraisal of Bassel Dorsey's estate reported by John Tabor, Zack Tabor, and Joseph Penn dated October 16, 1807 can be found in the Lineage application of Lela Rebecca McGaha Jeffries, national no. 609203, National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, August 19, 1980. copy obtained June 1999, DAR Library, Washington, DC.)

Research Notes and Source Citations for this information can be found below.  Please consult the actual  sources cited or, better yet, the original records, if you wish to use any of this information for your own work.