Shelton Crosthwait (abt. 1779 - abt. 1825)

Born about 1779 in Albemarle, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 1825 at about age 46 in Old Jefferson, Rutherford, Tennessee, United States

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Bio - Work in progress (costa-310) 14 Sep 2020

Biography

Shelton Crosthwait was born about 1777 in Albemarle County, Virginia, United States. He was one of five children born to James William Crosthwaite and Ann Shelton who were married in Albemarle in 1776/77. ^[1]Shelton's father, who went by his middle name of William, and his maternal grandfather Henry Shelton, were among 100+ men who signed the "Declaration of Independence" for the state of Virginia on June 21, 1779 in Albemarle, Virginia. In essence, the men were declaring to refuse all allegiance to King George III of Great Britain, his heirs & successors & that "I will be faithful & bear True Allegiance to the commonwealth of Virginia as a free & independent state...". William signed the Declaration, Js. Wm. Crosthwaite.^{[2] [3]}

In December of 1786 when Shelton was about nine years old his father died at the age of 46.^[4] The following year on 13 September 1787 Shelton's mother Ann married Jacob Powers in Albemarle, Virginia.^[5] Ann and Jacob had at least four children together. Sometime after their last child Susanna was born Ann and her family removed to Harrison, Kentucky.

Shelton married Elizabeth Thompson on October 10, 1804, in Amherst, Virginia. They had at least two children during their marriage.

1. George Divers Crosthwait (1808-1890)
2. Rebecca Thompson Crosthwait (1810-1870)

Shelton's brother, Thomas died in 1815 at the age of 38 and wrote in his will dated, 22 November 1815, that "I do hereby constitute and appoint my beloved brother Shelton the guardian of my son William, until he shall arrive at the age of twenty-one years and that my said brother bind him to serve an apprenticeship to such a trade my brother shall think proper..." ^[6][7]

In 1825 Shelton passed way Rutherford, Tennessee, ten years after Thomas at the age of 46 . He was buried in Murfreesboro, Tennessee at Hickory Grove Cemetery. In Shelton's Find A Grave bio it is written that "Shelton Crosthwait was extremely ambitious and soon had built a grand plantation on both sides of the Stone's River and a lovely mansion called "Fairmont" on the hill overlooking Jefferson and surrounding area. Following the death of Shelton Crosthwaite's brother Thomas, he raised his brother's son, William. This same William Crosthwait would one day marry Malinda Nugent (her second marriage ). Malinda's son, John Gumm (1827-1904), from her first marriage to William Gum in 1819, was Judy Garland's Francis Ethel Garland great grandfather. Shelton's bio also mentions that "Shelton Crosthwait's granddaughter, Mary Elizabeth "Bettie" Ridley Blakemore, daughter of Rebecca Crosthwait, who was born in Murfreesboro lived at her grandfather's estate, Fairmont (near Chattanooga, Tennessee) during the Civil War and kept a diary until she died in 1864." ^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ Prather, Genevieve Logan, and Elizabeth Prather Ellsberry. 1960. Descendants of Henry Shelton's daughter, Ann. 1960. Chillicothe, Mo: E.P. Ellsbery.
2. ↑ http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/albemarle/history/declaration.txt
3. ↑ Albemarle Declaration of Independence James William Crosthwaite, Henry Shelton, signatories
4. ↑ U.S. Find A Grave James William Crosthwaite https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/185491544/james-william-crosthwaite
5. ↑ Dodd, Jordan. Virginia, Marriages, 1660-1800. Provo, UT, USA. Ancestry.com Operations Inc. 1997. Jacob Powers and Ann Crosthwait 1787.
6. ↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99G1-6PZR Tennessee Wills and Probate Records Books, Vol 1-6, 1804-1827.
7. ↑ Crosthwait View Ancestry Record 9176 #2397709 View free Ancestry Sharing Image 288 and 289 of 1024.
8. ↑ U.S. Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Shelton Crosthwait https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/158537550/shelton-crosthwaite

• "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHLT-STZ : accessed 16 September 2020), Shelton Crosthwait, Rutherford, Rutherford, Tennessee, United States; citing p. 163, NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 124; FHL microfilm 193,686.