2nd Great Grand Uncle Isaac~

Second Great Grand Uncle Isaac Whitman Blanton.

Born October 18, 1850

Died April 23. 1937

Brother to George Washington Blanton, my 2nd Great Grandfather.

Isaac married Rebecca E. Wellmon.

Both were born in Cleveland County, North Carolina and are buried in Gaston County, North Carolina.

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Angel Watching Over Us~

While searching for family, resting in a sunlit, Garden of Stone, I found an angel. 

In these stone gardens are rows of memories.  Names etched in stone, but each one represents a life, loves and memories made.

Outdoor museums of memories made.

Wednesday Wanderings ~ Bessie and Nannie Parrott

This is Nannie Barber Parrott (on right) with daughter, Bessie Maude Parrott.

Robert Samuel Parrott was Nannie's husband.

I recently came across this photo that I have never seen before.

Nannie is my great grandmother.

They are seated on the front steps of Nannie's home that was once located on New Hope Road in Gastonia, N.C.  The land was sold and now a church stands in it's approximate location.

I remember there was a field to the left of the house that was full of flowers, irises, I think.

The flowers on Nannie's lap were most likely gathered from the field.

I imagine that Uncle Ed was the source of all the flowers, he loved to garden and could grow the most beautiful flowers.

New Hope road once came directly by Nannie's home. It came though the trees, near the drive of my grandparent's house,  and up the hill to her house, and at the entrance to what was her drive, was a massive milling stone.  I do not know the origin of the mill stone but I imagine it has history in my family.

To the right of the main house was what was called the "garage apartment".  Edward Parrott lived there in his later years. Ethel and Wilburn lived there early on in their marriage. The apartment was struck by lightning and burned after the death of Edward.

Bessie lived with her mother until her death. She never married.

Thoughtful Thursday~ Blanton - Ellis Reunion 1930

This is a photo from the 1930 Shelby, N.C.  reunion of the George Washington Blanton family. The man on the back row, right hand side in the bowtie is my Grandfather, Wilburn L. Parrott, beside him, my Grandmother, Ethel Blanton Parrott. Right in front of Wilburn, is Fannie Crouch Blanton, wife of my Great grandfather, Craton Rone's brother, Hero 'Quit'  Blanton.
Hero Quitman was a brother to Craton Rone Blanton (my Greatgrand), who died in a motorcyle accident early in life. Opposite end in the dark coat with fur collar is my Great grandmother, Lizzie Ellis Blanton Hager. 

Seated in the middle of the clan, is George Washington Blanton, my 2nd great grandfather.

Interestingly, there is an unknown face in the window to the right of my grandpa..peering out.

Sentimental Saturday ~ Hero Quitman "Quit" Blanton

Quit was a brother to Craton Rone. He was five years younger than Craton.

Craton, my 2ggreat grandfather was killed while a passenger on Quit's motorcycle.

I often wonder how Quit lived with the remorse of that accident. He was injured and hospitalized, but lived through it. My heart goes out to him.

He owned and operated an electric company in Shelby, NC.

He married Fannie Victoria Crouch.

He passed away at age 92, from congestive heart failure and a fractured hip.

1880 ~ 1973

Hero Quitman Blanton

Here is  a page from the Shelby City Directory, 1937-38. Near the bottom of the page listed H.Q. Blanton and wife, Fannie.

Parrot Bible Birth Page ~

This was folded and kept among my grandmother's things.

Listed are the children born to Robert Samuel Parrott and first wife, Amanda Curry.

Also listed are the children born to Robert Samuel Parrott and second wife, Nannie Barber Parrott.

R.S. Parrott and Nannie Parrott's birth dates are listed at the bottom of list.

Charles Heberton Ellis ~ 3rd Great Grand Uncle

Charles Heberton Ellis and his wife, Nancy Turner Ellis are buried not very far from the area in which they lived their lives.


They are buried at Buffalo Baptist Cemetery in Cherokee County, South Carolina.



Charles’ marker has succumbed to the ravages of time and lies in silent testament to the man that it once identified.

Sadly, this happens and markers are lost. I see that other such markers in this cemetery have been dutifully replaced when they became no longer legible. For this, I am glad. Preservation and documentation is so very important, or we will eventually lose the knowledge of where our ancestor’s lie.



That is my personal quest, to document all that I can , for future seekers. Hopefully they will still search long after I am but a name, in a cemetery somewhere. Ashes to ashes and a name etched on stone.



Nancy’s marker still stands and gives us comfort that Charles rests beside her. Nancy's parents were Elijah Turner, Sr. and Edith "Edy" Jane Sarratt, buried at Ellis/Turner Cemetery, Spartanburg County, S.C.
Nancy was a sister to Sarah A. "Sally" Turner, who married David Ross Ellis. David and Sarah Turner Ellis were my 3rd Great grandparents. So two brothers, married two sisters.

There are old markers here and old graves really speak to me. It is like touching the past and being a small part of it all.  I love being in the midst of all that time passage.



I was proud to walk among them and whisper my hello.



What tales they could tell us and what stories we would hear?



With rustling sounds in the wind, I fancied that I really did hear a few whispers, standing in the bright sunshine, among my family.

Thoughtful Thursday ~ Scene near Ellis Ferry Road

Fourth Great Grand Uncle ~ Rueben Blanton

My search for my ancestors took me to the Broad River along the North and South Carolina border. Again, the river calls me back. This time to the land where my grandmother’s father’s family lived. Very near the Ellis Ferry area of the Broad River.



The Ellis’ family and the Blanton’s paths surely crossed generations before my Craton Rone Blanton married his sweetheart, Lizzie Ellis.



We went back to the country side where the rolling hills are well manicured. We traveled over the Broad River and went to Cleveland County, North Carolina. Near the center of the country church cemetery lies Rueben Blanton. Camps Creek Cemetery.

Reuben Blanton ~ 1793-1875

Rueben was my Fourth Great Uncle, brother to Charles Blanton, father of Isaac Willis Blanton. Isaac Willis was my third great grandfather.



Rueben was born in 1793, nine years older than brother, Charles. He died in 1875.



Rueben’s wife, Rachel Gaston Blanton is buried alongside of him.

She was born sometime around 1805, her date of death is February 15, 1893. She lived to be 88 years old.

The setting is peaceful and quiet. There are horses pastured nearby. A wonderful final resting place.

Sentimental Sunday ~ Grandma's Precious Memories

My Grandmother was a happy soul.  She looked for the silver lining in every cloud.  And for that I am appreciative. She taught me how to enjoy life's every moment.  She taught me how to laugh at myself and to not take things so seriously.  She showed me that life need not be spent with a frown on your face.

She was the "Keeper" in the family.

She kept her sweet memories and tokens of happy times close to her.

She showed me the importance of remembering.

She was gentle, grand lady.

This is a tiny snapshot of her and a friend. The picture is not even an inch square.  I did not realize that they had these types of booth pictures way back in the 1920's.   She kept that tiny token of a happy time,  for all those years.

The beau in the picture is simply labeled  "Cliff Dedmon".  If you recognize this handsome fellow, please let me know.



Grandma. Ethel Leigh Blanton Parrott

She kept this Valentine card that was given to her by my parents.

The card must be circa 1956.

Stored in it's envelope, neatly.
Tucked into the top dresser drawer with other treasures she kept.

Lizzie Ellis' Gravesite~ Day of Funeral 1949

This was a photo of her mother's gravesite taken by Ethel Blanton Parrott.

The cemetery is Mountain Rest in Kings Mountain , North Carolina.  This was a very painful day for my grandmother, Ethel. She loved her mother very much. 

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Parrott Brothers ~ Ed and Wilburn

Lizzie & John S. Hager ~ Mabel Hager Reynolds

John Sidney Hager was born in Iredell County, North Carolina in the year 1876. He married a girl named Sarah "Sallie" B. Harvell. She bore at least four children during this union. She passed away at age 34, sadly, on October 21, 1918.

Ethel Leigh Blanton

Age 15

Elizabeth Leigh "Lizzie" Ellis Blanton was widowed on September 25, 1915, when Craton Rone Blanton, my great grandfather was killed in a motorcycle accident .

Elizabeth, widowed for three years, and struggling to make it alone, somehow found John Sidney and together they decided to raise the children from both marriages.  They had six children, total.  Jesse William Blanton and my grandmother, Ethel Leigh Blanton, were Lizzie's.  Mabel , Sloan, Clay, and Ray Hager were from John's marriage.

Gastonia City Directory 1921-1922

John Hager and Lizzie are listed on top of page.

Mabel and Ethel were both 13 years old on October 12, 1919, when Lizzie and John Hager wed in Gastonia, North Carolina.

From my grandmother's many stories, those times spent in a blended household were not the best of times.

Apparently John grew to dislike Lizzie's children and Ethel and Jesse were subject to different rules than his own children.  I am not wanting to be disrespectful of the man, I only know what my grandmother told me, and apparently she was very miserable living in the Hager house.

Her only refuge from the hurt, was her deep and quickly forming bond with her step-sister, Mabel.  They grew to be inseparable and remained close friends until Mabel's death in 1974.

I remember making the trip to see Mabel and her husband Frank Reynolds, many times during my summer's spent with my Grandparents.

Mabel Hager Reynolds

1906 ~ 1974

One story remains vivid,  among my many memories of grandma's sweet story telling. 

Mabel and my grandmother, Ethel, went for a ride on a train, not sure if was just for the thrill of a train ride or if they had a real destination. At every turn,  the smoke and debris from the engine would practically engulf  the train cars, all open cars. All of the train riders were soon speckled and dotted with the flecks of soot that were blowing back from the engine. By the time they arrived at their destination, Ethel and Mabel were laughing hysterically at each other's sooted up and  dotted, comical faces. The new hats that they had bought just for the train ride were completely ruined. They had been so proud of the hats, only to emerge from the train looking totally ridiculous.  My grandmother giggled all through the telling of that story, her mind taken back in time, to a time of cherished girlhood.

My grandmother never had a  real sister to bond with, but Mabel came along and became that true sister.

Mabel's Funeral Memorial ~

God Bless you for that, Mabel.

Grandpa and the 58 Metropolitan ~

Wilburn Larry Parrott,  son of Nannie Jane Barber Parrott and Robert Samuel Parrott.

This 1958 Metropolitan was bought from Cline Motors of Shelby, NC in Sept. of 1962.

Price paid was $650.00.

12 Easy Monthly payments of $47.11.

Quite snazzy!

Christmas Memories ~