John Shelton

P4 on the family tree is John SHELTON. He was born 4 Dec 1839 in Nauvoo, Illinois. He died 6 Mar 1900. He is the husband of Mary MORTON. They have five children.

Mormon Pioneer

John was born to Stephen SHELTON (1809) & Abigail HARRIS (1818). Although John was the first child born to Stephen & Abigail, he had two older half-sisters and four older half-brothers from prior marriages of his parents. Closest to his age, was Nancy Sarilda (1837) who was almost three. Her father, Mr. GOFORTH, used to be married to John's mother, Abigail; but they divorced.

John also had a half-sister from his father's marriage to Nancy BROWN. Her name is Mary Ann (Polly). She was almost 8 when John was born. Only three of his half-brothers (from Stephen & Nancy BROWN) were still living. Andrew was youngest at about 10. Samuel was about 9. The next oldest half-brother, Jewel, was born about 1827 but died before 1830. William was the oldest; he was about 13 when John was born.

The family grew larger still. Elizabeth was born in 1842, also at Nauvoo. She contracted the measles and died in 1843. Elizabeth is buried at Nauvoo. Martha Jane (1844) was born at a time of great significance in Mormon history. On 22 Jun 1844 Joseph SMITH read a letter he had received from Thomas FORD, Governor of Illinois. FORD had demanded Joseph come to Carthage. His time was short. That night Joseph & his brother, Hyrum, left Nauvoo and began heading west. Also that night little Martha Jane SHELTON was born. The next day a posse arrived to search for Joseph and Hyrum. Joseph & Hyrum would give themselves up, go to Carthage where they would soon be killed by a mob.

John was a young boy of five years old when Joseph & Hyrum SMITH were killed. Our family writes of attending a mock funeral. Hatred was so strong against the Smiths that they hid their bodies. (Stephen & Abigail SHELTON named their next two sons Joseph & Hyrum.)

John was a young boy of seven when the family, along with other Mormons, were driven from their home in Nauvoo. John was baptized in 1847, probably at Mt. Pisgah, Iowa. For most, Mt. Pisgah was a temporary way-station. But it seems the SHELTONS might have been part of the staff assigned to stay at Mt. Pisgah for a time. Their next two children, Joseph (1846) & Hyrum (1848) were both born at Mt. Pisgah. The family is in the book, "They Came In '48." The family settled in Provo, Utah, where John's next brother, Stephen, was born in 1851. The last child, Abigail, followed in 1854. They lived in Provo until Stephen (1809) died there in 1855. He was not buried in a cemetery but was laid to rest on the Provo bench. After the death of his father in 1855, John moved with his mother and family of 6 children to Midway, Utah. Since John was the oldest boy, he felt it was his responsibility to support the family and he worked hard to do so. He married Mary MORTON, a Scotish lass, and they lived for 12 years together in Midway.

John was a small man but very industrious. He used to win contests to cradle the most grain in the shortest time (by hand). Both he and his wife, Mary, were musical. John loved to dance and would often tap dance at pioneer events. Mary was known for her beautiful singing voice. In the spring of 1879 John, Isaak JACOBS and Moroni GERBER took a contract to furnish timber to the Reynolds Saw Mill which was located near Wanship, Utah. John took his family there and the men hauled big loads of timber to the mill by ox team. His wife, Mary, became very ill and died at Wanship, Utah, on 10 Feb 1880.

John took Mary's death pretty hard and blamed himself for having moved the family into the isolated woods where it was difficult to get medical help for Mary. One family tradition says Mary bled to death after a miscarriage. Having died in the mountains in February, John took Mary's body and buried it (froze it) in the snow until he could bring her to Midway for burial in the spring. On the way home Mary's body fell out of the wagon while crossing a river. John had to forge the icy waters to get her and put her back in the wagon.

With the help of Abigail HARRIS & Margaret (Cunningham) MORTON, the children were cared for during the next 2 years. In 1882 John sold his property in Midway and went to work in timber full time. He took many large contracts of timber for the Ontario Mine and also provided them with cord wood and charcoal for fuel. He employed many men during this time. They again used ox teams. This whole time in John's life was apparently very difficult. Other family members and friends pitched in and help raise the children. Their son, Stephen, spent much of his growing up years with Thomas MANTLE's family. He is also known to have said he was "raised by seven uncles". In the fall of 1888 John moved to Vernal where he lived out the rest of his life. His grandson, Leonard Aaron SHELTON, related a story about his grandpa John in his later years. John invested a substantial part of his money into a large herd of sheep. They all died in an extremely harsh winter kill near Vernal. This was another big setback for John. He died on 6 Mar 1900 & is buried next to his half-brother, Charley FAUCETT, in Vernal, Utah.

John Shelton (1839)

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Mormon Pioneer