John William MELTON, the son of Henry Sampson MELTON and Nancy
(--?--),
was born on May 6, 1833, in Macon County, Georgia. He married (1)
Melvina Ellie KEMP,
June 26, 1853, in Marion County, Georgia. The
couple had one daughter, Emma Melvina Monroe "Bunk" MELTON, before Melvina's
apparent death in the late 1850s.
John married (2) Elizabeth
FLURRY on his 24th birthday (May 6,
1857). They had six children: Lara Lee, Henry Monroe, Nancy A.,
Martha Ellen, Wiley McKiney and my grandfather, William
H. Melton.
The MELTONs moved to Alabama before August 1862, when John enlisted as
a private in the 42nd Alabama Infantry,
Co. D, CSA. He was wounded and discharged just 4 months
later. The members of the 42nd regiment were recruited primarily
from the counties of Monroe, Pickens, Wilcox, Mobile, Conecuh, Fayette,
Talladega and Marion, so the family must have settled somewhere in
western Alabama. By the 1870 U.S. census, however, they had
removed to Terrell County, Georgia, where John was engaged in farming
(p. 409).
Upon their return to Alabama, the family settled near Winfield in
southern Marion County. John and Elysabeth (sic) MELTON were
recorded there on the 1880 U.S. census (p. 101). Between 1900 and
1907, the couple drifted south into Fayette County. John died
in 1909 and was buried at Siloam Missionary
Baptist Church Cemetery near Winfield. In the 1910 census of
Fayette County, Webster Beat, Elizabeth was listed as Lou B. MELTON. She died 5
years later and was laid to rest near her husband.
Melton Family
The couple
above is thought to be John and Elizabeth (FLURRY) MELTON,
but I don't know who the little boy is. They had three sons:
Henry Monroe MELTON, Wiley McKiney MELTON and William H. MELTON.
John
W. Melton & Elizabeth Flurry
William Henry
Harris MELTON (a.k.a. William Henry Harrison Melton) was
born February 6, 1867, in Alabama. He married (1) Bettie
TERRELL, my grandmother. They
had five children: Mollie (listed as Mary on the 1900 census of Marion
County), Henry Wiley, Emma, Carl Delmar (my Dad) and John D. Henry
Harry
Terrell MELTON. Bettie died supposedly shortly after the birth of
John D. in December 1897. Her burial location is
unknown. Then in September 1898, William
H. MELTON married (2) Sallie
CONNER. They had four more boys: Kirk,
Edgar,
William Jr. and Wendell MELTON, who was always called "Fat".
(For more information on William's
family, see
Melton Family
Bibles)
William
H. Melton & Bettie Terrell
William
H. Melton & Bettie Terrell