The Turks of South Carolina are a group of people related to the Free Moors of South Carolina and the Brass Ankles, who lived near Stateburg, South Carolina. It is believed these people come from a Middle Eastern background.[1]
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One of the first mentions of the group is by General Thomas Sumter, when they served under him.[2] General Sumter gave land to Scott and Joseph Benenhaly (the original surname is believed to have been Ben Ali) near his plantation after the American Revolution.[2] The Turks of South Carolina today include surnames other than Benenhaly, including Oxendine, Scott, Hood, and Ray.[3] It is documented in genealogy records that quite a few of their ancestors married American Indians. There has also been intermarriage between them and other mixed groups of South Carolina, like the Brass Ankles.