The Life of Elbert Melton

 My last post was concerning the trial of Harris Melton of Stanly County, and Gold Hill, Rowan County, and his wife, Ann Bird. Harris was a man of mixed race, his mother, Charlotte Melton, was from a Stany County family who had migrated from the eastern part of the state in the earliest years of the 19th century. Her father, Joseph Melton was of a well-documented family from Granville and Franklin Counties and of Scottish and English heritage. Her mother was of possible English and a small portion of Nansemond Indigenous heritage, name Abigail Bass. They were closely connected to the Solomon family and Goodwin Solomon was the bondsman at their wedding. He, too, immigrated to what is now Stanly County along the Yadkin/Pee Dee River. Harris's father was a free man of color, eventually concluded by a consensus of individuals who had known him, to be an Indian, "of some degree", and not of African descent. It is my belief that he was probably a member of the Saponi Valentine family, with whom the Melton family, especially the children of Charlotte Melton, had very close ties to. 

Harris had married a white woman from Stanly County, Ann Bird, which ruffled the feathers of a few of the high and mighty men of the little town. They had escaped to the mining town of Gold Hill, in nearby Rowan County, which had a greater mixture of humanity within, where Harris had found work. They had been joined by Charlotte's oldest brother, John Melton, Jr., and a few of the Valentines, and a minister they had a relationship with, Jame Morphis, among others. 

Elbert Melton was the youngest son of Charlotte Melton was different from his brother in a major way. He stayed in his lane. He married his own kind, free women of color, which no one had any objection to. This is Elbert's story

A Page from the Estate File of Elbert Melton, Rowan County, NC

"Minutes of August Sessions 1841

Ordered by the Court that the Sheriff of this County bring to the next term of this court Eliza Whitson and Wincy - colored infant children of Tilda Shankle Also Robert infant child of Poll Melton and Elbert infant child of Charlotte Melton, also John E. Solomon colored boy now living with Edmund W. Lilly".

Elbert was mentioned in the first term of court in the newborn County of Stanly, 1841. He was born out of wedlock to Charlotte Melton, a single woman, and the tradition was to have these children bound out to an intact family to learn a trade, or work for their keep, sort of a fledgling foster system. And as with the foster system of today, some kids lucked out, others were not so lucky and were mistreated. Mary "Polly" Melton, also mentioned in the same paragraph, was also a single woman and Charlotte's first cousin. Robert Melton was white, but Elbert Melton was a mixed-race child, part white and part Native American. John E. Solomon, also mentioned, was not "colored", he was white, and the court clerk may have mixed up the two, John Solomon and Elbert Melton. 

1850

By 1850, Elbert is a grown man of 25, meaning he would have been around 16 when ordered to court to be bound out. Interestingly enough, it was never mentioned to whom he was bound. However, in the early Court record, one page prior to Elbert's mention was the following order, "Allen Melton, a boy of color, aged 18, to be bound out to William Boysworth." Allen was probably a brother of Elbert, due to the facts that he was only two years older, he was "of color", a Melton and Charlotte was the mother of the "of color" Meltons. Charlotte's brother, John Melton, Jr., had married into the Boysworth family, so it all fit. 

Elbert was living with a Blacksmith name William Valentine, who was 31 years old and also a free person of color. William Valentine would move first to Gold Hill and then to Salisbury, where he would purchase a house on Bank Street, that is still standing and become a well-respected Barber in the town. 

This was probably William Boysworth, Sr., as William Jr. was only an 18-year-old working for a neighbor in 1850. The above 1850 census record shows how close the Melton and Boysworth families were, as John was married to Nancy Boysworth, and William Jr. was working for a neighbor. 

William Boysworth, Sr. had died of consumption the year prior. 

Record details

Name	Wm Bosworth
Gender	Male
Slave	Free
Estimated Birth Year	abt 1802
Birth Place	North Carolina, USA
Age	47
Death Date	Sep 1849
Cause of Death	Consumption
Census year	1850
Census Place	Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Line	17

Willliam Jr. went west to Panola County, Mississippi afterwards. 

In a list of taxables for the town of Gold Hill, dated 1855, the year Harris Milton died, Elbert's brother, Elbert is shown as being one of the taxable 'Free Colored', along with William and John Valentine. The others were Jack Revels, known to have been a member of the Lumbee tribe, John Bennett and Sam Mitchell, origins unknown. 

1860

Elbert is living in Gold Hill, Rowan County, NC, where his brothers had already moved to in 1850. Instead of mining, he was working as a house carpenter and was now married. His wife Ann is shown in the records of their children to have been Ann or Annie Valentine before marriage. William Valentine, who Elbert was living with in Albemarle in also moved to Gold Hill. A John Valentine was also living nearby. His older brother, Calvin, who may have also been Allen, was living next to an elderly lady named Polly Valentine. The Melton's were very close to the Valentine family. I believe Elbert and his siblings may have been the children of a Valentine.

Elbert and his wife, Ann, were the parents of three children by then, Matthew, 10, Christian (or Christopher), 7 and Tamar J. Melton, age 2.

By 1870. Elbert has moved his family to Salisbury. I believe, from other records, that he was living closer to Spencer than Salisbury. He is a Carpenter and is now 50 years old. His son, Columbus, whose age at 17 corresponds with that of Christian or Christoper in 1860, works in a brickyard. His name was probably Christopher Columbus Melton. Oldest daughter, Tamar was now 12, and had been joined by Mary, 8, Curtis, 6 and Laura, age 7. Carrying over to the next page, a son, Elbert Melton, Jr., is one year old. 

The above record from 1868, "Albert" Melton, a Carpenter is listed under a report of employed persons, but the Freedman's Bureau, despite been born a free person. This had to be Elbert, although the name was spelled Albert. 

By 1880, Elbert is showing as age 55 and Anna as 48. Mary is the oldest child still at home at 17. Curtis is now 16, Laura 12, Elbert Jr. is 10, and their last child, Robert L. Melton, is 6 years old 

There were several random records of Elbert Melton throughout Rowan County. Above, he had made a purchase at a store in Gold Hill, where he had a running account. 

In a lawsuit of John H. Burris against J. A. Clodfelter, Elbert is listed as being owed $2.80, perhaps for carpentry work. 

A school record shows the attendance of two boys, Walter and William Melton, in 1901. Their father is given as Elbert Melton. This would have been Elbert, Jr. 

Elbert purchased a lot in the town of Spencer in 1909.

Elbert Melton passed away in 1915. He had spent most of his adult life in Rowan County. His wife had passed away sometime before him.

Rowan County marriage records show that Elbert had passed his name down to descendants for generations. 

The children of Elbert Melton and Annie Valentine Melton were:

1850 Matthew "Matt" Melton m Emily

1853 Christopher Columbus "Lum" Melton m Harris

1858 Tamar Ann Melton Wood (Henry J.)

1863 Mary Melton Archie (Emmanuel)

1864 Curtis Melton

1869 Laura Melton Harris (George) d 1924 Philadelphia, PA.

1870 Elbert Melton, Jr. (Phoebe Hargrave) d 1913 Salisbury, NC

1874 Robert L. Melton (Adeener) d Philadelphia, PA.

New Pittsburgh Courier

The Pittsburgh Courier

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania · Saturday, May 31, 1924

The Salisbury Post

Salisbury, North Carolina • Sat, Feb 15, 1913Page 7

The descendants of Elbert Melton can be found in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Indiana, Philadelphia, PA and Washington, DC.