Kentucky Biographies
SHELTON 964 Merritt Cavett, Mason Co.
Posted by Sandi Gorin on Wed, 17 Jun 1998
History of Posey County Indiana, The Goodspeed Publishing Co., Chicago,
1886. Reprinted by
Unigraphic, Inc., Evansville, IN 1967 [Mason Co]
JOHN F. SHELTON is a native of Mason County, Ky., born November 20,
1823. His father, John
Shelton, was of Dutch-French descent, born in Virginia, May 5, 1797, and
when fourteen years old
went to Mason County, Ky., where he lived at the time of his marriage.
In 1824 he moved to Fort
Branch, Ind., where he remained one year, and then moved to Vanderburgh
County, where he
purchased 240 acres of land, and lived until his death November 8, 1857.
He was among the first
settlers of southern Indiana, and was of a very benevolent disposition.
The mother was of English
lineage, born August 11, 1798, in Kentucky, and died March 11, 1847. Our
subject received his
education in the log schoolhouse of primitive days and was compelled to
submit to many hardships.
He attended school only about three months during the year, and owing to
the scarcity of the
"almighty dollar," went barefooted until the snow fell. At the age of
eighteen years he assumed control
of the farm, but received no remuneration for his services. July 25,
1850, he married Sophronia B.
Merritt, born July 29, 1832, in Indiana. The have three children: LeRoy
C. (deceased), Sophronia E.
(deceased) and Wilmina. Mr. Shelton started
in life with 80 acres of land, but soon after traded it for 72 acres in
Robb Township, which he
afterward increased to 190 acres. His wife died September 3, 1858, and
September 15, 1859, he
married Mary Cavett, born November 3, 1830. The have three children:
James A., Penelope A. and
Ella Gertrude. Mr. Shelton is a Republican and a member of the
I.O.O.F., and has been a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church
for forty years.
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