You might look to see if there's a connection between James and a Willis (William) Benson that migrated from Caroline county, Virginia to the Greenville county, South Carolina area. Willis also had records in Newberry and Spartanburg counties, SC. He had major land holdings in the thousands of acres and was a multi-plantation operator, homebased in Greenville. Willis if I remember right, would probably be the age of a brother or one generation older. Let me know if you find a connection and I might have further info for you.