A Family Torn Apart
Hello! I first published this on 23 Mar 2003 & was encouraged by the response.I am getting new contacts, new leads & most especially new hope for finding our “missing” family members. I apologize for having directed you to www.spiritfamily.org.I did not consider that MyFamily.com requires invitation access. Several of you have contacted me about getting in.I am working to take care of this ASAP.I ask for your patience if you have not yet heard back from me. Someone suggested that I add more specific info like additional names, dates, places, events known in our family. (My time has been going towards getting this piece ready, sorry!) I have revised the story and have also inserted some genealogy which I have placed at the end.Here then is my (revised) story:
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Sheltons were already in the frontiers of America long before the Revolution.Our branch ofSHELTONs takes on a twist a bit different from most other branches I know about; but perhaps not in the beginning.Family stories say one of our ggg?grandfathers was brother of Sarah who married Patrick Henry, the patriot.I suspect our line was part of the Sheltons found in colonial records of Virginia & the Carolinas.I have studied some of these lines and have followed them into the Indian territories of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Arkansas & Missouri still in very early times.We know that by the 1820s some of our Shelton ancestors lived in Missouri.By the 1830s some became Mormons (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).Others in our family actively fought against them.When the Mormons were preparing to leave Illinois and move west in the 1840s, some of the Shelton children did not want to go; and so they ran away.It is supposed that nonMormon relatives hid them.Most sadly, since angry mobs were then forcing the Mormons to leave, our Shelton family became permanently split apart.The two groups totally lost contact with each other.In Utah, the pioneers may have found refuge from religious intolerance; but FAMILY IS FAMILY.And these pioneer Sheltons ever longed to be reunited with the rest of their kin.This yearning continues into our day.As descendants and extended families of the Mormon pioneer Sheltons, we still seek to find our unknown family.Not only do we seek descendants of those who stayed behind, but we also seek to find their fathers’ and grandfathers’ families as far back as we can.Our Utah Shelton branch married into the families of ALLEN, BONNER, BROWN, CUMMINGS, CUNNINGHAM, FAUSETT, GOFORTH, GRAGG, GREGG, HAIR, HAMILTON, HARRIS, HARRISON, HENDERSON, HULLINGER, IVIE, JOHNSON, KINSEY, MANTLE, MARSHALL, MCGIMNSEY, MERTON, MORTON, ROBINSON, RUSHTON, SMITH, SULTZER, THOMPSON, WARDLE, WATKINS, WRIGHT & many others.We are learning that with tools like our www.SpiritFamily.org website that we can finally share information efficiently!Here's hoping the time has arrived when we can now push forward and finally find the roots from whence we came.If after checking this you feel you might belong to our scattered group or have information that could help find our missing kin, please write me (Sheila Gibson) at [email protected] may also contact me thru the link at the bottom of the login screen of www.spiritfamily.org.Please join us in our project.Extended family is also very welcome.Thanks so much!
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WARNING:The following genealogy contains unproven familylore & is presented for guidance only.“Familylore” is all we’ve ever had on some things! In my research I found many conflicts within the various published biographies, original documents & family records. Apparently, as each ancestor remembered, recorded and passed information down, they didn’t get together to get their stories straight!LOL!We know it is true that each of us remembers and perceives things differently.I can prove errors in some of our records, other info might never be straightened out.Just remember that for now the following is only LORE:
Stephen SHELTON (b. 9 Mar 1809 in NC, son of Stephen Shelton & Elizabeth ?Unk) FIRST married Nancy BROWN (b. abt 1809, possibly in MO, d. 1832 in MO, dau of John Brown & Nancy ?Unk).Although not proven, familylore says the children of Stephen & Nancy were:Joel or Jewell (b. abt 1825, M, died when a young child); William (b. abt 1826, M, lost contact; Samuel (b. 1827 in MO, M, lost contact); Andrew Jackson (b. 1829 in Mo, M, called “Jack” or “Jo”, ?lost contact); & Mary Ann (b. 24 Dec 1831 in Harmony Township, Washington, MO, F, called “Polly”, went to UT, md John McKee FAUSETT).Stephen’s first wife, Nancy Brown Shelton d. abt 1833.####Stephen Shelton SECOND married Abigail HARRIS (b. 6 May 1818 in Knoxville, TN, dau of John Harris Jr. & Abigail GRAGG).(Abigail had been married previously to ?Unk GOFORTH (div)& had Nancy Serilda Goforth (b. 5 Feb 1837 in , Washington, MO, F, adopted by Stephen, went to UT, md Thomas MANTLE.)The children of Stephen &Abigail were: John (b. 4 Dec 1839 in Nauvoo, IL, went to UT, md Mary Morton); Elizabeth (b. Jun 1842 in Nauvoo, IL, d. 28 Aug 1843 in Nauvoo); Martha Jane (b. 22 Jun 1844 in Nauvoo, IL, F, went to UT, md James Baker HAMILTON); Joseph (b. 1846 at Mount Pisgah, IA, M, went to UT, d. 1867 not md); Hyrum (b. 10 Mar 1848 at Mount Pisgah, IA, M, went to UT, md Emmeline SULTZER); Stephen (b. 5 Aug 1851 in Provo, UT, M, md Margaret BONNER); & Abigail (b. 5 Jan 1854 in Provo, UT, F, md Adelbert HULLINGER).*SpiritFamily is lovingly dedicated to Leonard Aaron Shelton (1914-2003), descendant of the Shelton Utah pioneers.~~Sheila Shelton Gibson, SpiritFamily Domain Administrator.