| Benny Pierce | |
| Fictional Character | |
| 1632 series POD: May, 1631 | |
| Appearance(s): | Grantville Gazette I, Grantville Gazette VII, 1635: The Dreeson Incident |
| Type of Appearance: | Direct |
| Nationality: | United States of Europe (born in the United States of America) |
| Date of Birth: | 1921 |
| Occupation: | Itinerant musician |
| Spouse: | Mary Ann Pierce (d. 1992) |
| Children: | Minnie Hugelmair (adopted daughter) |
| Relatives: | Betty (sister), Louise (niece), Doreen (daughter-in-law), |
Benny Pierce (b. 1921) was a childless widower, former mine worker, fiddler, and was 79 years old when the "Ring of Fire" occurred. Benny kept wandering around south central Thuringia with the single-minded focus of preventing the legacy of Maybelle Carter from being lost.
He was an eight-grade graduate and a veteran of the Italian campaign of World War II. His wife, Mary Ann, was raised Catholic in a Lebanese family, but converted to Methodist when they were wed. Mary Ann passed away sometime in 1992.
While in Magdeburg, he happened upon Joachim von Thierbach, who offered to translate Benny's folk songs into German, and provide him with sheet music to sell as he wandered. The translations weren't always 100% accurate.