Richard Bennehan was born in Richmond County, Virginia on April 15, 1743. A merchant, in 1768 he moved to Snow Hill in Orange County, North Carolina, where he managed a store in partnership with plantation owner William Johnston. Johnston and Bennehan's store and mercantile business were extremely profitable and both men soon amassed plantations containing thousands of acres of land. At Beenehan's plantation, called Stagville, he became one of the most prominent slaveowners in the state. A portion of his property is now a state historic site. Bennehan died in Orange County, North Carolina on December 31, 1825.