Margaret SHELTON Hair (1877) is the wife of James HAIR (1871). Altho NOT totally correct (see Patrick HENRY below), Margaret nevertheless realized the value of preserving what she could. What follows is a transcription of our history, according to Margaret. (And thank you SO MUCH!!) FHL #673290, Item 13
| I, Margaret Shelton Hair who was born on July 3, 1877 Daughter of Stephen Shelton & Margaret Bonner Shelton write this history of my fathers family as far as I can get it from writing letters, from grandfathers first family & from grandmother Abigail Harris Shelton’s (Son) by John McK Faucett whom she married after the death of Grandfather Shelton. |
| Stephen Shelton (Grandfather) was the son of Stephen Shelton (great Grandfather) who had a large family 5 sons, don’t know how many girls. he was a Dr. & had two familys. Grandfather’s mother knew nothing of the other family until he, Grandfather, was almost to marry his half sister & great grandfather had to tell him. |
| Then he married Nancy Brown. They had 5 children, 4 boys and one girl. boys names were Marion Jackson, Samuel, Jewel, & William. don’t know much about these boys because they ran away while the family was crossing the Mississippi river. Hear of one living years after ward. The girls name was Mary Ann. their mother died when Mary Ann was 2 yrs old. Then he married Abigail Harris Goforth a widow by separation from her husband she had one child. (Nancy Surelda) They had seven children. John, Elizabeth, (died Infant) Martha Jane, Joseph, (died age 21 is all we can get of his data) Hyrum, Stephen (my father) & Abigail, the youngest of Grandfathers children. |
| Grandfather was a body guard of Joseph Smith (the Prophet), held the office of a Seventy & a farmer by trade. settled in Provo area. came across the plains with the Melvin Ross Ox Team Company. Some say in the year 1848 & some say in 1850. He had one sister whose name was Mary Jane she married Patric Henry. |
| Jewel died when a little boy, William & Samuel ran away together about the time the Saints were driven out of Ohio. Jackson ran away, went to work for his Uncle Charley, (his father’s brother) His Uncle Charley educated him for a minister. (This was about the time they were crossing the Missoura river). He preached for several years then gave it up said he found out he was teaching the wrong Doctring. He came to Utah along in the 1880 as near as Uncle Charley Faucett can remember. He came to see the folks but did not tell them who he was for some time. He worked for about two months with Uncle Charley Faucett (grandmothers boy) & when he was ready to leave he told them he was Jackson Shelton & about going to live with his Uncle Charley & that was why he called himself Charley Shelton. Said he came from California & from some things he said Uncle C. E. Faucett thinks he had a family there. |
| Grandfather died at Provo & was buried in the first Semetery there up on the bench where they are farming now. This is all I have been able to gather so far of Grandfather Sheltons history. |
| Now Grandmother Abigail Harris, first husband’s name was Goforth. She had one child by him, a girl named Nancy Surilda. They parted. She married Stephen Shelton, a widower with 5 children. Then they had the 7 children & grandfather died & left her with the 8 children as his daughter was married years before he died. She was very poor and had to work hard. So she soon married again John Faucett & they had a son they named him Charley E. Faucett. I have heard my father say he went barefoot Summer & Winter until he was old enough to earn his own shoes. Grandmother was a widow from I could remember. |
| Some say Grandmother was sealed to Grandfather Shelton after he died in the Endownment House. She & her oldest son John Shelton went down & did the work when Uncle John was married, or went through & had his wife sealed. I would think in the year 1871 as he was ordained an Elder at that time in June. It was after that they went anyway. Grandmothers Brothers & Sisters were Betsy, Thomas (he never came to Utah), Hannah & Annie, This is all I can get in regard to her Brothers & Sisters. Will died when a boy. Betsy, Hannah & Annie all married Hendersons. Grandmother’s Father was a General under Jackson. She came to Utah in the Ross Company, settled in Provo, Utah. Moved to Midway, Wasatch Co. about 1863 or 64. |
| Married John Mck Faucett after Grandfather died. They parted. She moved to Ashley Valley in or about 1883. Died in that place on 22 Feb about 1888 or 89. Buried in Midway. She was born about the time of the horseshoe. Battle of the horseshoe bend. Her father was in that Battle. Grandmother Great Great grandmother came from Ireland. She was transported to America and married a poor man some where in the 16 hundreds. |
| One of Grandmothers cousins and another girl was caught by Indians, & burned to the stakes, along about the time of the Revolutions? War. |
| In the early days the oldest of the familys kept the records & as Aunt Betsey was the oldest they had the records. The last Uncle Charley knew of them a Thomas Henderson at Rexburg, Idaho had them. Grandmothers nephew one of Betsey’s daughters named Lottie married a Rhubin Allred. Hannah Henderson, daughter of Annie married a Tidwell. |
| I can just remember Grandmother Shelton. She lived in a house log room on our lot for some years, while in Midway. & I can remember when some of my Bro. or Sisters were sick running in Grandmothers after her to come. I remember so well if Grandma was there we felt they would get better. & remember when she moved to Vernal or Ashley Valley how we felt. Then when we heard she was dead & when Spring came they were going to bring her home to bury her. They did in April. & she was the first person I ever saw with the Temple clothes on. I will never forget how they looked to me & I could not get them out of my mind. When I ask questions Father & Mother both told me to live a good clean life and to go to the temple & they would tell me what the clothes were for. |
| So I know Grandma was to the Temple or Indownment house but when I don’t know only what I have been told. This is all the word I have been able to gather up to this time, June 6, 1926 & this is from different ones of the family mostly Uncle Charles E. Faucett. |
| I forgot to say Grandmother married, John McK Faucett, the (husband of Mary Ann Shelton’s) Grandfather’s daughter & her youngest Son is by this man. |
Sheila Gibson ~ SpiritHawk
E-Mail: webmaster@sheilagibson.org
Web Address: http://www.sheilagibson.org/
Copyright © 2003 Ethereal World ~ 09 Sep 2003 10:00:00 GMT