Great Uncle Jessie Blanton ~

Brother of Ethel Blanton Parrott

Son of Craton Rone Blanton and Elizabeth "Lizzie" Ellis Blanton Hager ~

Rest in Peace, Jessie.

Ethel in Savannah, Georgia ~

Ethel Leigh Blanton posing in the 1920's.

Daughter of Craton Rone Blanton and Elizabeth "Lizzie" Ellis Blanton.

Grand daughter of Charles Heberton Ellis and Nancy M. "Nannie" Wesson.

Grand daughter of George Washington Blanton and Mary Elizabeth Greene Blanton.

Ethel married Wilbur Larry Parrott in 1927.

***

In Memoriam ~ Ethel Blanton Parrott ~

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.

***************

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.

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.

Memories of Grandma ~

She was a fine lady, a lady with principles and kind words toward others.

She giggled over the simplest of things and was a joy to be around.

She looked for the good in others and wasn't often disappointed.

She cared for others and put herself and her own needs behind others endlessly.

A wonderful Grandmother.

I miss her.

She was one special lady.

Craton Rone Blanton & Lemon Crisp Cookies ~

My Great Grandfather ~ Craton Rone Blanton
















My grandmother always had a shadow to pass briefly, over her face,
when she mentioned her father.

You could see it in her eyes.
She still felt that loss.

Craton Rone Blanton
Born ~ July 17, 1875
Died ~ September 25, 1915

He died tragically, and before his time. An accident claimed him while his family was still quite young.

Ethel was almost eleven at the time.
The impact that his passing had, was monumental on her, and her family. Her mother was suddenly alone with two children to raise. Times were hard. Grandma told me of the struggles that Lizzie faced as a young widow. She remarried after at time, to a man that had also been widowed with small children, John Hager. It was more of a marriage of convenience than a love affair.



Mabel Hager, daughter of John Hager. She became close like a sister to my grandmother.

It was not a pleasant life for poor Lizzie.
The family managed to survive through it all. Not the best of choices, but she did what she had to do to get by.

Craton Rone Blanton was riding on the back of a motorcyle driven by his brother, Hero Quitman "Quit" Blanton, five years younger than Craton.

They crashed head-on, onto a car. Craton was thrown over the handlebars of the motorcycle and killed instantly.

Newspaper article about the accident:



Quit Blanton suffered a broken leg. I am sure there was an huge invisible wound as well, one that was much harder to heal from, his heart. He surely felt responsible even if there was no blame to place.






















Hero Quitman Blanton~















Quit married Fannie Victoria Crouch. 'Aunt Fannie' to me.










I would go on Sunday afternoons with my grandparents to visit her. This was long after the passing of Quit. She lived beside a bread bakery in Shelby, N.C. The area always smelled with the wonderful aroma of hot bread baking.

She was a beautiful lady with the smoothest skin. She must have been a real beauty in her day. She made the thinnest, crispy, lemon sugar cookies you have ever seen. They were excellent!

She would come smiling out the back of the house and down the steps with two of those cookies wrapped in a napkin, holding them aloft, like a prize. She was very sweet to me.

Those summer afternoons are very special memories for me.
















I remember her front parlor in the house, full of beautiful pink glass items. Lots of potential for small hands to accidently knock something pretty and nice, over, breaking something. So outside was the best place to play for a kid.

After the visit she would stand at the door and wave goodbye.



I recently "found" Aunt Fannie once again.















Sunset Cemetery, Shelby, North Carolina

She is buried in Shelby. I saw her monument and half ran to it, full of memories of the sweet lady. I touched her stone and thanked her for those warm childhood memories and the sweet taste of those lemony cookies.

No one has etched the stone with her death date. I wondered about that.
Something that needs to be checked in to. She needs her stone to be complete.

Rest in peace, Dear Fannie.
Rest in peace, Great Grandfather.

You are remembered.

Under the Lone Tree ~ Luke Wesson

On the outskirts of Shelby, North Carolina lies the land that once belonged to a man of Irish blood, named Luke Wesson.

Along the side of the highway heading outside of Shelby, there is a lone tree.

At the base of that lone tree lies the remains of my 3rd Great Grandfather.

If you did not know he was there, you would simply pass right past without a second glance.

No hint of a cemetery can be seen from the road.

Only recent attempts at construction on his former property brought the cemetery back from certain devastation. Engineers, working on the property found the cemetery and realized what was about to happen to it.

Their kind hearts have certainly saved our Luke. For that I am grateful.

The lone tree that was described to me, seemed out of place in that cleared field. That was the only thing that was visible from the road. We parked across the road and went over winter grasses that grew in huge clumps. I went over the slight rising of earth, alongside the highway and down into the field, and there he was.



It is not known if Nancy McCurry Wesson is buried beside him in that cemetery or not.
The earth seems to want to reclaim everything, especially stone markers. Once they fall onto the ground, the earth seems intent on swallowing them up. If a marker is there, it has yet to be discovered.

His marker is currently lying on the ground, broken, but not for long.


Rest in peace, Great Grandfather. You will not be forgotten.

******************************************************************

Luke Wesson married his second wife, Nancy McCurry in 1841. Nancy was the daughter of William McCurry and Elizabeth Ledford McCurry. He remarried for a third time, after the death of Nancy McCurry, to the wife mentioned in the will.

Luke and Nancy had a daughter, Nancy M. "Nannie" Wesson in 1844.

Nancy Wesson married Charles Heberton Ellis and together they had eight children. One of these was Elizabeth "Lizzie" Leigh Ellis, my great grandmother.

Lizzie Ellis married Craton Rone Blanton and they had a son named Jesse and a daughter named Ethel. They also had a baby son named Craton, he died in infancy.



Craton Rone Blanton, Lizzie Ellis Blanton, Jesse Blanton.


Ethel married Wilburn Larry Parrott. My Grandparents.




**********************************************************


LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF LUKE WESSON
May the 29th 1882

(Transcribed from the original)

I Luke Wesson of the County of Cleaveland & State of North Carolina being of
sound mind and memory but considering the uncertainty of my earthly existence
do make and declare this my last Will and Testament in manner and form
following: that is to say I here by give to my beloved Daughter Caroline Allen
the lot of land on which I now live being one acre with all improvements and
appurtanances thus unto belonging. I reserve to for my wife Arleavie Wesson
the above described property as a home for Her During Her life or widowhood to be in full force and effect if she continues to reside there otherwise this reserve to be of no effect and void. I further provide that my executors hereinafter named Shall provide one years sustenance for my wife Arleavie Wesson out of my estate. I hereby Name Elbert Allen and his wife Caroline Allen as the executors of this my last will and Testament. I hereby convey to them for collection my notes Mortgages and accounts and after paying my burial and funeral expenses they are to pay to my son James Wesson one hundred dollars (J. 100) The remainder of my entire effects to be equally divided between my three children Caroline Allen, Nancy Ellis, and James Wesson. All of the above is written at my request and signed by me this the 29th day
of May A.D. 1882.
his
Luke X Wesson {Seal}
mark

Signed & sealed and declared by Luke Wesson to be His last Will and Testament
in the presence of us who at His request in His presence and in the presence
of each other do subscribe our names as witnesses hereto.
J.B. Byers

A Giggle and Dip ~

When I think of my grandma, I can hear her giggle. She was a happy soul and a lot of fun to be around. I would spend the night with her and we would stay up way too late watching those old "whodunit?" movies. She loved a good thriller movie. She would talk all through it..musing on just who the guilty party was. She would poke fun at herself and giggle. She was a source of joy to me for sure.

We would talk about the family and she would tell me all the old stories she remembered from her mother. She took me along with her and Grandpa, on most trips to place flowers on her parent's graves. She always pointed out relatives that were buried nearby, telling me about them and giving me an idea of what they were like and who they were. She brought the past alive to me, time after time.

She was the designated 'Keeper' in the family. There seems to be one in every generation.

She kept the old pictures and the family lore. She is really the reason I became interested in searching, in the first place.

She sparked that tiny flame of interest in me. I have her to thank for this terrible malady that afflicts me, still today....thanks a bunch, Grandma...grin.

I guess she passed that 'Keeper' torch down to me...

Oh, yes.

The woman 'dipped'.

Now, the only reason that I even mention that here, (sorry Grandma), is because it was so darn comical.

You were just not "lady-like" if you dipped..Snuff is what we are talking about here, folks.

That vile smelling, dark, oozy liquid in an old tin can, that looks like chocolate syrup, but my-o-my and BOY-HOWDY, it AIN'T!

She was slightly embarrassed about this habit. She did not want just anyone to know or, HEAVEN FORBID!, see her do it.




The 'spitting-into-can' was kept handy..right below where she sat, most often. You had to watch your step carefully. Nothing could be worse than tipping over that darn thing. Ick. Really big Ick.

She had the terrible misfortune to get tickled over something and start giggling, once, when she had a mouth full of snuff. She choked on some of it. Not pretty. She would giggle and smile and choke some more.

She was a hoot that little grandma of mine. I sure miss her.

She was a friend of a great many people and well liked through out the community. She worked in her later years in the Boys Department of the Belks Store. She loved the talking to her customers and being 'out and about'. She was great at her job and people loved her for the way she was with them.

Grandma never drove a car and Grandpa would take her to work and come pick her up in the old Ford Galaxy that he had.

You would sit in the seat while being still..never squirming, and what ever you did. you would never, and I mean never, touch the dash of the car. You left smudges from your fingertips when you did that and that was simply not allowed.

Grandma loved flowers and plants. I do, too. She had a night blooming flower that made a spectacular blossom during one night's time..a breath-taking, sweet smelling flower as big as a dinner plate. It would bloom in all it's glory, only to fade and go limp in the morning's light. It was anticipated with much ado and then some. She would give updates over the phone as to when she thought it would bloom out. Then we would all get in the car and make the trip in our pajamas with a flashlight in our hands.
Nothing would stop the viewing of the flower..It was big. *Now, I have the same plant..and getting up to see the bloom is the norm*



Grandma loved to crochet. She would sit for hours and hours with her tiny needle flying back and forth in a small blur. She created beautiful, intricate bedspreads, over hours and hours that spread into years. She took to the task of teaching me her craft, like a true soldier preparing for battle. I would get cramps from the awkwardness of holding the strange feeling needle in my hands and spent hours with a grimace of concentration on my face. She kept telling me to hang in there, I almost had it. She stayed with me until I was able to release that grimace and finally let it melt into a slow smile.

I will never forget the smile she gave me and the assuring pat when I finally created something that resembled a double crochet. She told me that learning to do anything worthwhile, would stay with me for life, and that I would always have that craft to enjoy.

She was right about that.

I love it. To take a simple cotton string and make a beautiful, useful item out of it, is very satisfying. Thanks Grandma, for sticking with me, and not giving up on my stubby kids' fingers.



I learned to make those useful, well alright...not so much 'useful' as 'pretty-to-look-at' old grandma's doilies that were once upon a time, 'all the rage'..

Romantic. Victorian. From an era gone by. Old fashioned.

But still pretty. I see them in estate auctions and antique shops and just have to run my fingers over the stitches. Pineapples woven intricately in the circle with a row of lace around it. One glance at these takes me back to another time and place.

I hear a soft giggle and feel a reassuring pat on my hand. "That's getting better..You almost have it now."

Grandma. How I miss you.


Ethel Leigh Blanton Parrott
November 10, 1906 ~ October 31, 1990