The Letters of Henry Melton

Henry Harrison Melton was born around 1820 in what is now Stanly County, North Carolina. He was the son of John Melton, Sr., originally of Granville, NC and Margaret "Peggy" Wilkerson Melton. He died on July 1, 1863 at Gettysburg, in Pennsylvania. He may have been named for his grandfather, Henry Melton, father of John Sr.

Henry married Martha Ann Kirk, daughter of Stanly County farmer and businessman, Parham Kirk. Together, they would have 9 children:

Julia, Samuel Houston (S. H.), Jane E., Mary Francis, Sarah Louisa, John A., Rosa, James A. and Louis D.
The youngest, Louis D. H. Melton, or Milton, was born on January 13, 1863, just months before his father died.

H. H. Melton was just one of the many soldiers who perished during the Civil War. His father-in-law, several of his brothers and nephews also served and several died. He wrote of few letters, of which copies are available in the History Room of the Stanly County Public Library. His letters have also been mentioned, or included in a few books, some on the Civil War, others in family histories. In those letters he mentions several family members and neighbors. In transposing those letters here, I will attempt to interject information on who he was most likely referring to in his letters, by having thoroughly researched the family. His letters are just one of several contributory pieces of evidence of a solid and related connection between two factions of the Melton family. Not solid proof, by no means, but a definite link.


Now, in the words of Henry Harrison Melton:

"I this evening seat my self to try to tell you all some ider (idea) of camp life. I like it better than I expected. I arrived at Salisbury Friday night and was very much forteag (fatigued).
We started to Statesville about 8 ocok (o'clock) and got thare (sic) little after 9. I am not mighty well with a pain in my back, my finger is not well yet so I am in low dull spirieets (spirits) but I think that I will like camp life very well. (No information on how he injured his finger.) There is no telling how long that we will stay hear (sic) and if I have to leave I don't cear (care) how soon. I would like for you to git (sic) some cloth from Missouri to make me some pants. (I am fairly certain he is not referring to the state of Missouri here, but to Missouri Melton Forrest, the daughter of John Melton, Jr. and wife of Jesse Tatum  Forrest. John Melton, Jr. is one of the Melton's not directly connected in the land records to John Melton, Sr. As most of John Melton's Sr's children sold their portions to siblings or others, they are connected. John Melton Jr.'s land was located in the same general area as John Sr.'s and the rest of the Melton's and after his death, his widow Nancy Boysworth Melton is recorded as having sold his tracts in conjunction with surviving daughters, Laura J Melton Gill and Missouri Bosworth Melton Forrest. She and Laura relocated to Gold Hill in Rowan County where she operated a Hotel. Missouri and Tatum Forrest, as he was known, would relocate north of Rowan into Davie County and spend the remainder of their lives there and are buried at Fork Baptist Church).
Send them to me by Mr. Marshall, for white cloths (clothes) is not fit for camp-my close that I wor of is blalcker (sic) than the land I had wore 3 weeks at home. I bought  50 lbs of lard from Wm Kirk  and 50 lbs of bacon and if he brings it you must credit his note with the amount I sent the note to I O Marshall and 260 dollars and told him to give you one hundred and sixty-he will due if he hant done it before now. (Probably William Kirk, his brother-in-law, son of Alexander Kirk. There were other -and related- William Kirks. "I O Marshall" was probably "J" instead of "I" and referring to Joseph Marshall. Henry Marshall was still alive in 1860, but in his late 70's. Not likely him.) By (sic) what you need for you all and pay Marcus (referring to Marcus Carter) thirteen dollars for what I am dew (due) him. I want you to see Almond and tell him that I want him to go and see Addim Kirk. (Almond Boysworth. The Boysworths were close associates of  and intermarried with the Meltons)-pray him to teach that school shore and let all the children go if you can spare them. (Adam Kirk, son of Daniel Kirk and Mary 'Polly" Forrest Kirk. Seen in 1850 census as a student. Later a farmer, but perhaps well educated). tell the poor little things that I want them to be myty (mighty) smart and think of thr (sic) pore father and not forgit (sic) him for I shall never far git (sic) them If I never see them again and for lord sake be smart. If you get any cloth get some patterns from Timpyus (Most likely Temperance "Tempie" Russell, a seamstress who lived in Albemarle and whose son John Russell claimed James R Melton as his father) to cut them by and if you can't make them you migt get hur to make them,(might get her). To George, I want him to cover that house as soon as possible (possibly George Melton, who also fought in the Civil War and was a nephew of Henry.) and will get Mr. Marshall some rock and git T. Rummage to put it up. (Probably Joseph Marshall as Henry Marshall would have been about 80 by then. T. Rummage probably refers to Tillman Rummage, who lived nearest and was the only adult Rummage whose name started with a "T" in the area at the time.)
I wont you or Bud to see Parham Kirk, get some leather and carry it to Green Laton. (Parham Kirk, Father- in-law of Henry, and Green Laton, probably the elder,C. Green Laton,  born in 1826, not Green Laton, son of John, born in 1846. Green was a popular given name in Stanly County during the 1800's.) and let him mend up all the old shoes and will dew. (he probably meant 'he will do it'.) The balance he must make and I want it done soon as posable (sic) and don't neglect it - I don't want you all to let Jimmy to for git me. (son James A Melton 1861-1949) I want you to git him some warm cloths and shoes before cold winter. (At the time this was written, Jimmy was the youngest son. Martha would have been around 4 or 5 months pregnant with youngest son Louis Dee H. Melton, named obviously for Louis D H Kirk, a name that ran through the Kirk family. She had an uncle and first cousin with the name. The name may have reckoned back to a further ancestor as well, I don't know.) You will direct your letter to Camp Hill 8th Ridgment (sic) Company D Stanly boys.  I want you all to write and let me know what is going on ginerly (generally). I will writ every week so that you can git the letter Saturday morning by James R Martin  and if, you want to buy anything, you must send Bud (referring to eldest son Samuel H. Melton) to J Marshall and he will attend to you. I will let you know who our mess is - Stanly Parham Mauldin (1838-1877 son of James O and Mary Mauldin), Thomas Simpson (several of those, probably either the son of Isaac and Lucy or William and Anna.) E. G. C Melchor, (Christian Green Melchor, son of Mathias, who would migrate to Arkansas after the war., Henry Kirk (Henry Clay Kirk, son of Lewis Jackson Kirk and Purity Eudy Kirk, cousin of Martha Kirk Melton) Nathan Rummage - a very good crowd- if anybody comes up I will send you all something. Tell Bud that Uncle Stanly says that he must write to him -to Aunt Sarah - that he wrote to her once. Tell your grandmother and all howdy for me. Tell Marcus and all his people howdy. I will write to him and he must do the same. Tell Marcus that if he gets his money that I want him to pay that note if he pleases.  I will not writ any more now, but will write more next week. I want all to put in something. signed. Henry H Milton. 


Winchester Virginia
14 Sept 1862

Miss Martha Milton, by dear wife and children

I for the time sence I left home have not heard from you  but one time. I am well at this time and hope these lines  may reach you and find you  all well. We have been traveling far (sic) the last twelve days. Tomorrow we will leave for Maryland shore in the morning tho I don't think we will stay thare long. (I believe his misspellings also may belie his accent). I wrote to you and Jim last Tuesday. (Jim may well have been James R. Melton). If you don't got that I want you to have that ground about my shop and that about the house sowed in oates. I wrote to Jim to buy Green Michers mare and colt, (Green Melchor) if he dose you might wean the colt you can get oats from George Shankle. (Again, E.C.G. Melchor and the Shankles were German descended settlers of the Fork area in the southern part of the county) Try and rent that ground to Whitson Nash if you can. (Whitson Nash 1826 -1884, son of Edmund B. Nash and Tabitha Smith Nash, married Nancy Jane Hearne. Whitson was also a popular name of the era, maybe leading back to a common ancestor or matrilineal surname.) Tell him that I will write to him first chance. We have seen hard times since we have bin out. I have not bin shaven since I left home nor have not sot (sic) on a Chair. When I git to the regiment I will write again. You need not write until you hear from me again. I want to know whether you got money I sent. I've got some more that I could send if I had the chance. I have not got any shoes noer clothes yet and am most barfooted and most naked. I will git clothes and shoes when I git to the regiment. I don't want you to be uneasy about me far I will due the best I can and you must do the same. I send you 17 grains of wheat I got at Richmond. I want you to give it to Tatom Forrest (Jesse Tatum Forrest, husband of Missouri Melton, daughter of John Melton, Jr. and Nancy Boysworth Melton),and tell him to plant it in the garden so that we can git the seade (sic). Take cear (care) of everything. I think that I will be home about Christmas, for I think that the war will stop before long tho I can't tell. I'm in hopes of it. Tell Jim he must buy that mare shore that you can have hur to ride and go to mill and hall (sic) up the corn. Nothing more now so God bless you all forever, you don't know how bad I want to see you all.  So good by for awhile. 

Signed; H. H. Milton


Sept 14, 1862

Mr. Marcus P Carter (whose daughter Sarah would marry John Russell, son of James R "Jim" Melton). 

A few words to you all. I am well all but my finger. It is not well. I want you to sow some oats for me if you please. I want that sowed round my shop and about my house and Martha will pay you for it. Tell all the children howdy for me. When I git whare I am going I will write to you all the nuse (News) that I know. Would write more now but it is almost night and we have to cook for tomorrow. Marcus I wish you all well. If I never see you again you all must do the best that you can. I have bin traveling for the last 12 days. Nothing more.

H. H. Milton

Company Muster Roll for July and August, 1863 states:

H. H. Melton  Pvt. Co F.

enlisted Aug 8, 1862
by Col. Davis
Period:  Consp.

Remarks: Killed July 1, 1863  Never Paid.   He did not make it home to see his family again.

A Camp Hill Muster Roll records a description of H. H. Melton as:
Age  42, Eyes : Blue, Hair: Light, Complexion: Light, Height: 6 ft 1 in. Occupation: Mechanic.
Where born: Stanly County, N. C.

Prior to his death at Gettysburg he was noted on August 8, 1862 as "Deserted at Berryhill Ford".

Where H. H. Melton, Sr. deserted prior to rejoining the regiment and recieving deadly injuries. 

A namesake nephew, also Henry H. Melton, enlisted on February 28, 1863 in Company H, North Carolina 13th Infantry at the age of 18. He was wounded at Gettysburg on July 5, 1863. He was captured at the Fairground Hospital, Petersburg, Virginia, suffering from a Gunshot Wound to the head on December 3, 1865. He died 13 days later on December 16, 1865, at the age of 20.

Monument for 1700 plus casualties buried at the site of the Fairgrounds Hospital Cemetery near Petersburg.

The Melton's Come of Age: 1841

I ended the last post with the Melton's who were shown in the 1840 census of Montgomery County, North Carolina: John the elder, John the younger, Joseph the elder, Joseph the younger, and Henry, making his first appearance as' Head of Household'. Betsy, who was in the previous two census records, and most likely a widow, had disappeared.

In 1841, the part of Montgomery County that had been known as "West PeeDee" became Stanly County.
Between 1840 and 1850, a great deal had happened in the Melton family. Members of the younger generation had reached the age of majority and the older ones had passed away. Land and court records can help clarify some of this change.

A road order was issued during the August 1841 Session of Court in the newly formed county. "Ordered by the court that Quisenberry Kirk be appointed overseer of the road from George Kirks' ferry to the Russell('s) old field and Jonathan Bell and hands, William Rush and hand, Gilbert Noble, James Melton, Jesse Pritchard, Henry Melton, Joseph Melton, Jr., Thomas Biles Senior hands, Thomas Biles, Jr. & Pleasant Biles work on said road. ".

This is the first appearance of James the younger in records. He was apparently not head of his own household yet in 1840. This also shows James working in conjunction with Henry and Joseph the younger, whom I know were brothers. In the Rowan County public library, in the family folders, I came across a flowery and boastful family tree of a descendant of James R Melton of Stanly County. He had his ancestor, the son of James, correct, and had the correct parents, James R. and his wife Mary Ann Kirk, but after that, this gentleman had went off into outerspace with James R having no connection to the local Meltons and descending instead from a Revolutionary War soldier named Thomas and to the poet Milton and other grandiose claims. While I can not dispute that the Stanly County Melton/Milton family may have biological connections to the poet, I do know that they also have much closer relations to each other.

This road order also refers to Joseph as Joseph, Jr. , meaning Joseph the elder was most likely still alive in 1840, and so they referred to Joseph D. Melton as "Jr.". To those unfamiliar with genealogical research, it may seem like the term "Jr." should mean "son of". It does now, but 'back in the day', it simply meant 'the younger' and not necessarily 'the son of'. The younger man could be a nephew, a cousin, a grandson, or simply no relation at all, just residing in the same general area with an older man of the same name.
The Milton/Melton family (the name is shown interchangeably in early records) also show a close interaction to the Bosworth (later Boysworth) and Forrest families, and to some extent, the Biles and Kirks.

The 1841 tax list records the following Meltons and where their properties were located.

John Melton Sr.      100 acres on Mountain Creek, no poll
John Melton Jr.        75 acres on Vickory Branch, one poll
Henry Melton      no property mentioned, just one poll
Joseph Melton    no property mentioned, just one poll.

James was apparently not old enough yet to qualify as a poll. John Senior was too old., and by the time the tax man came around, Joseph Sr. had apparently deceased.

There was an older James Melton who lived in Montgomery County, before she was split in half in 1841 as evidence by land transactions: Montgomery County, NC Land Warrants and Surveys 1833-1950

4612  Sally (Sarah) Curtis 25 acres warrant 7263 issued Jan. 16, 1815 by Will Stone to Sally Curtis......joins Moses Curtis, deceased and includes part of William McGregor's old place on Yadkin River, entered October 15, 1814, surveyed by D. Cochran for Sarah Curtice, on West Side of Yadkin River; border begins at William McGregor deceased's upper corner willow oak of "the" old "plantation" tract on the river bank and joins Bennett Soloman; Bennett Soloman and James Melton chain carriers.
Now, here is where a working knowledge of the history of the county might help a little bit. If I am not mistaken, the William (or Willm) McGregor referred to in the above reference, was probably the Rev. McGregor whom the reknown Dr. F. Kron from Prussia, whose home is restored in Morrow Mountain State Park, purchased his property from. The Rev. McGregor founded a very early church in these parts called "The Mouth of the Uwharrie Baptist Church". According to legend, Rev. McGregor is buried still on the property now known as the Kron place, in Morrow Mountain State Park, and passed away about a decade before this land transaction took place.

The name Bennett Soloman is also an important one, as Soloman's pop up in Melton records later on. I have not nailed it down yet, but I believe a Melton daughter married a Soloman son.

4748 James Melton 12 acre warrant 7800 issued May 7, 1818 by D McRae to David Miller for 12 ac joins Moses "Kertis" & Thomas Huckabee; entered Feb 7, 1818; 12 ac surveyed Oct 23, 1818 by D. Cochran, on Yadkin River border; begins at William McGregor deceased's upper corner willow oak on the river bank and joins Thos Huckabee; Parham Kirk & Stephen Kirk, chain carriers;

This transaction was 3 years after the Sarah 'Curtice" transaction and seems to be in the same area, the Rev. McGregors willow oak. But James Melton did not show up in the census records.... More acutely, he did not show up in the 1810 census, but was here or nearly an adult, by 1815. There was no 1820 census for Montgomery County. It was destroyed. He probably would have shown up in it. There was an 1830 census with John, Joseph and a female head-of-household, Betsy. In all likelihood, but without possibly any proof due to the series of Courthouse fires, Betsy (Elizabeth), was the widow of the elder James Melton.

Courthouse fires have been the scourge of researchers for centuries. 

What will the 1850's hold for the Melton family and will records shed light on who is who and how they got there?

Untangling the Melton's Pt I

In attempting to discover what became of the children from Stanly County born in "Shades of Gray", first, I wanted to find out who they were exactly. Who were their mothers, and how were the persons of the same surname,  and the men they were bound to, connected to the children or their mothers.

The first family I am looking into is the Meltons or Miltons. The name is shown inter-changeably in records.

The Meltons in Stanly County were a singular family. Land transactions have helped to connect a few of them together. They seem to have been a small family in the beginning, related to the Lees, Boysworths, Kirks and Perry's, with overlapping generations. A few of the Melton brothers, as in the comparable Murray family, seemed to have been dominant, Henry H. and David.

I started with the court records that listed the children. These are the children listed and any adults associated with them.
1841
-Allen Melton, age 18, bound to William Boysworth until 21.
- Robert, son of Polly Melton, brought to court to be bound.
-Elbert, son of Charlotte Melton, brought to court to be bound.
1845 Elisah H Milton bound to William Boysworth.
1846 Mary Caroline Milton bound to Benjamin L. Whitley until age 18.
Margaret Melton bound to John Perry until age 18.
1850 George Milton age 7, living with James Hinson and Nancy Milton Hinson.
1847 Henry Melton bound to John Perry.



There were court actions involving adult Meltons in the 1841 to 1850 court proceedings, as well, that show connections to each other and other families:
-Henry Melton on the Insolvent list
-William Boysworth (land transaction) to William Davis - proved by John Melton.
-Joseph Melton - Insolvent.
-Last Will and Testament of James Cox proved by Joseph Melton.
-Special Letters of Administration granted to John G Forrest on Feb. 16, 1846 on estate of John Melton, Sr.
-John G Forrest, appointed administrator of the estate of John Milton, Sr. William Forrest and Alpha Swaringen, standing bond.
-H. H. Melton - juror
-James Melton -patrol
Mary Melton - land transaction to David and William Melton.
Joseph Melton- land transaction to David and William Melton.
Stephen Foreman, defendant, with Henry Melton, Roland Forrest, Robert Melton and SFL Morton.
Joseph Melton allowed to prove attendance.
 1850 District 1 Captains for Patrol: R. Melton, H. H. Melton.

There were several instances of Melton's or Milton's being called for jury duty or serving as bondsmen.
These adult Milton's were as follows: David, William, Robert, Joseph, James R., John Sr., John Jr. and Henry H or H. H.

The Stanly County Register of Deeds office also offered a great source of information on the Meltons. Some transactions seemed to be regular sales or transfers of land from neighbor to neighbor, or a sale to move. Others offered indication of relationship, especially creating a list of  the 'heirs of John Melton'.

-June 25 1847 Mary Melton "a single woman" to David and William Melton "my brothers".

-Feb.  1, 1847 Joseph Melton to David and William Melton, land on Mountain Creek, "which is the lands of John Melton, Sr., deceased and Joseph being lawful heir of deceased."

-Feb 20, 1846 James Hinson and Nancy Hinson to David Melton and William Melton "which are part of lands of John Milton, Sr. being heirs of John Melton". ..being located on Mountain Creek.

- May 13, 1851 John Boysworth to David Melton - Almond Boysworth's corner, William Davis's line, John Meltons corner, 150 acres.

-Nov 8, 1854 H.H. and R. S. Melton to E. Hearne and J. R. Melton. Henry H. and Robert S. securities in the Salisbury branch of the Cape Fear Bank in the sum of $750.00.  .....on the waters of Jacob's Creek, H. H. Melton resides adjoining William Forrest and W. F. Nash. 100 acres on the PeeDee River known as the William Davis tract.


Book 34 Page 438 - Division of the lands of Jonathan Boysworth: 1) James 2) Almond 3) Mary 4) William 5) Caswell 6) John 7) Elizabeth 8) Nancy Milton.

In the marriage records, most of the marriages are of members of the younger generation, children of the adults mentioned in the court records. The court records and deeds seem to indicate a Mr. John Melton Sr., who had the following heirs: John, Jr.,  Joseph, James R., Henry H., David, William, Mary and Nancy Hinson. A Robert was named as the son of Polly in the P's and Q's. The Robert mentioned in the land records could have been a different Robert, or the same. Polly was a nickname for Mary in those days, so the Mary, heir of John Melton Sr., was probably the Polly, mother of Robert. Next I'll look at the census records and see if they can pull some things together.