This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------D345DC86027BC6BC11E8F96D Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit --------------D345DC86027BC6BC11E8F96D Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Message-ID: <[email protected]> Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2000 00:22:08 -0500 From: Dottie Jackson <[email protected]> X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.04 [en] (Win95; U) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Fwd: A letter to link Sarah B. Shelton-LaPrade and Stephen Shelton References: <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit [email protected] wrote: > --part1_54.cd3607.25c11e59_boundary > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > Hi > I would like to share this email that I received from Marc Shelton with > others on the lists that have connections to Habersham co.Ga. > gbeam > > --part1_54.cd3607.25c11e59_boundary > Content-Type: message/rfc822 > Content-Disposition: inline > > Return-path: [email protected] > From: [email protected] > Full-name: Sheltontree2000 > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2000 16:10:14 EST > Subject: A letter to link Sarah B. Shelton-LaPrade and Stephen Shelton > To: [email protected] > CC: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], > [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], > [email protected] > MIME-Version: 1.0 > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > X-Mailer: Windows AOL sub 54 > > Dear GROUP, > > It sure to me enough time to getting down to writting out this letter I have. > In some ways I guess the reason I am doing it now is to get a response back > from my Shelton group lists and find out what you all think of the letter > regarding the notice that Sarah B. Shelton-LaPrade and Stephen Shelton are > related, thus related then to William B. Shelton, and Anderson M. Shelton. > This letter may be the only real evidence that exists that actually link > Sarah B. Shelton- LaPrade to my Stephen Shelton. > > The letter is about four pages, It gives good reference to Habersham County. > Sarah B. Shelton and Stephen Don't come until much latter in the latter. > The letter will be written as it is with now spelling corrections for > authenticity. > Well, here it goes. > > Capt. W.T. Gosnell Dec. 6, > 1963 > > Dear Son: > > I have been jotting these things down as they come to my mind. When of was > about 13 years old my father rented the Vincent LaPrade farm for onr year. > This farm was bordered on one side by the Ezekiel (Zeke) Mote farm and on the > other side by th Benton Barron farm. Then, the Benton Barron farm war > bordered by the old Enos Brock farm all on the same road, My Father lived on > the old Enos Bock farm a short distance from the Benton Barron home. When we > were there in 1936 the old Oaky Mountain Baptist Church is Between the Benton > Barron home and the Laprade home. Bout half way from the Laprade house to > the Bottom land then in cultivation was a gold mine. The bottom land is the > level land lying along the banks river, creeks, and brancehs. The Cultivated > landon rolling hillside is called upland. > > We used to stand a few feet from the gold mine pits and try to see as far > down them as possible. If they had caved in we would have been goners for > sure. At that time the Laprade fram was owned by Joe Brock. He offered to > sell th farm to my Dad. He was to take the tanbark off the place wach year > as annual payments. In the spring after the sap had risen, men would to the > forrest and peel tanbark, each on on his own posessions. This was done by > cutting down chestnut oask trees, pealing all the bark off, and then stacking > the bark aroung the stum and log of the fallen tree, to be hauled to the tan > yard as it was then called. This bark was then ground up and Animal hides > mostely from cattle, were tanned in the ooze made from this bark, the make > leather, This tannerywhen I was small was located down the road three of > four miles from the Benton Barron home. I think it was owned by Lindsey > Willbanks. I hope I spelled Lindsey right. A man by the name of Whiting > living near this place at the timemade shoes at the tannery. > > The Zeke Mote farm was between the Vincent Laprade farm, the Zeke Creek being > the border line between the zeke Mote farm and the Ben Free farm. Farther up > the creek and adjoining another part of the Ben Free farm was the Drewery > Mote farm. Ezekiel Mote and Drewry Mote were my Grandmp Wooten's Brothers, > and the only two of the Mote Boys Who remained in the mountains and raised > families. My Grandma Wooten's sister, Mary mote, Married Henry Spencer, > who's brother. Tome Spencer, owned the Spencer Hotel, that stood on the > corner of the square where the main street leading to the Clarkesville depot > begins. On the opposite side was one of the Asbury stores. > > Grandma Wooten's sister, Annie Mote, married a Watson. And her sister, Katie > Mote, also married a Watson. Her sister, Elizabeth Mote Marries a cantrell. > She died very young. I have seen all of Grandma's sisters except Elizabeth. > They have all visited in my dad' home and we have visited in their home. > These all lived their lives in Habersham county and reared families. The > Youngest one of Grandma's Brothers was Frank Mote, who lived in New Holland, > Ga. the last I heard of him. Lewis Mote lived in Goode, Miss. and reared a > family of twenty six children by two wives. John and James Mote also moved > somewhere. Inever knew where. Farther down the road from Benton Barron farm > was Enos Brock farm the the Joe G? Crow's farm then the tannery. The > Willbanks, the David Porter store, the Seed Post Office was in this store. > before it was made a rural route. Ontop of the hill farther on down the road > was the old Taylor Willbanks store where Robert Gosnell was a clerk when I > was a small girl. Many times I have gone with my Dad to this store. A short > distance from the store out in the woods if the graveyard where Mr. and Mrs. > Gosnell (Bill & Cindy) and one of your Dad's sisters are burried. There was > a Baptist church called Old Salem at this place whivh was later moved to the > Macedonia Church. From there on the same road is the Macedonia school house > and about one or two hundred yards from this school house is the place your > Dad, Lamar, Eurilla, Irene were both born in Rabun county. Farther on is the > little Fair Play Law House. Here the road forks. One leads to Macedonia > church, one of the roads was called Possum Trail Road. The other road > starting from the Law House if a one mile rural mail route leading to a farm > your once before we came to Oklahoma. Owen and Velma were born on this farm. > There was good apple and peach orchard on it. Your Dad wanted to buy a new > Ford ?ouring car and instead of borrowing money from the bank, he borrowed it > from an individual, Nevitt Taylor, to make the down payment on the car. He > mortgaged the farm and all equipment including the team. The man got offened > (when Lamar shot one of his turkey poults for tresspassing in our cabbage > patch) and forclosed the mortgage. We were left without a home. We sold the > cattle I Owned, all the furnityre, hogs, and chickens. I claimed all the > cows and two or three yearlings which were really mine raised from heifer > calf that was given to me by Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gosnell. We took all the > proceeds from all of this and moved to Oklahoma in 1924. About 2 miles > farther up this same roas on top of the mountain is where your grandparents > Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gosnell, reared their famils and both died there. Will > Gosnell, your Dad's borther owned a farm adjoining part of ours and reared > his family there. I think his son Minor Gosnell, still lives there. > > We now go back to the Law House and the Possum Rail Road, Leading from the > Law House to the River Road which runs along Soque River to the old wool > carder where they made rolls out of wool, which housewives apum into thread, > wove into cloth or knit into socks and stockings. One of the Soque River > Bridges is near this old Carder. We now cross this river bridge whichleads > on by Alley's Chapel church and A. &M. College, Bethelhem Baptist Church > where I attended School on term. Grandpa Shelton, then lived on ghe late > Dr. James Phillips farm about two miles up the Soque River from the > Clarkesville bridge. He and my Dad cultivated this farm one year. The late > Dr. I. A. Ketron's residence stood on the hill near the Bethlehem Church, > overlooking the city of Clarkesville. The road that leads to Walter's farm > and Stone Pile Baptist Church (Stone Pile Roas) begins at the Bethlehem > Church. The cool Springs Road comes into the Riber Road at the Clarkesville > Bridge. Going into Clarkesville, after crossing the bridge you turn onto a > lefthand street upa steep hill, you come to Clarkesville, Church (Baptist). > Across the right from there was the Free Hotel. On the other side from the > street from the Hotel was the Martin Building. On the corner of the swuare > containing the Post Office and Asbury Hadwarw store, from there across the > street was the courthouse and farther down was the city jail/ > > The Mountain View Hotel and Spencer Hotel were all wooded structures. The > Courthouse, Martin Bldg. and City jail were brick if I remeber correctly. > Down main street toward the depot was the late John Knoz Burns old residence. > The methodist Church I believe was along this street. Alco the Eciscopal > Church. I saw my first train at the Clarkesville Depot on the Talluah Falls > Railroad. > > We'll go abck to the Old Law House mentioned earlier. We'll go doun by the > Macedonia Creek and up the Hill to the Macedonia Church where my oldest > children and I attended Sunday School and church. At that time your Dad > wouldn't go to Church so the children and I took a shortcut trhough the woods > and walked when the farmhand didn't take us in the wagon. From here we go on > by the Ivester and Franklin homes. Manson Franklin, the Baptist preacher who > performed our wedding ceremony lived on this road. I think we turn off this > road onto the road leading to Hollywood. Turnerville and Talluah Falls, Then > we pass by New Liberty Methodist Church, Kollock's Chapel which was either > Episcopal or Catholic. From here we go on to Hills Crossing. one mile from > Clarkesville depot. We'll now go back to Zeke's Creek, from here we go to > the ton of the hill where the road forks. The plain road leads ro the Ben > Free home. Another road leads to the Drewry Mote home, and short road about > two hundred yards a long le ads to Georgia nad Fayette Morrison's home which > is a part of of the old Ben Free Palntation. Ny Father and Mother wete > Married two years and seven months before if was born. When I was about > three years of age, my Father rented the Gayette Morrison fam from Ben Free. > His Father, Martin Free, when a boy, settled on this plantation. My > Grandmother Mote, who was Nancy Free. was Martin Free's Sister, I attended > Raper Hill School just across Raper Creek from this Morrison farm, and on the > Raper Mountain Road, that leads to Ledford Gap. later called Canup Gap and > still later Wykle Store, Raper Creek flowed through th bridge below the old > Hills, Mill. > > My Father brought my Mother as a bridge to my Grandmother Wooten's home which > was on this crossroad between the Raper Creek Bridge and Soque Bridge and her > home was just across the branch from Hendriz Free's home. This was given to > help (Grandma Wooten) by her Father John Mote Sr. Her home was between the > Ben Free farm and Hendrix Free farm. At the time of my parents marriage, > Hendrix Free's farm was owned by Billy Morrison and his wife Sarah ann who > was the daughter of my Grandmother Wooten's Aunt Katie Free. > > Grandma Wooten's farm extended up the mountainside to the Ben Free farm and > down through the bottoms and across Raper Crec. A walnut tree stood on ghe > line down in the bottom. Grnadma had showed me many times about where the > lines were, else O would never known. > > They, my grandmother and My Father, sold the palce to Mr. Henry Syamey, who > built a house on thehill a short distance from Grandma's house. As my Dad > was her only son, she always lived with him. She and I were always going > places together and the many things she told me were inbedded in my mind. > Oneday while cleaning our a ceder chest I ran across a packer of letters. I > began reading them and read some of them. My Grandmother happened to see me > nad had me stop/ They were anonymous letters and were very threatening. At > that time I think she was keeping her aged Father, John Mote. These letters, > they thought were from some of the kin who were envious of my Grandmother. > In the letters it seemed they thought she would receive more of the estate > tham they. I was about 11 years old when I read those ugly letters, however, > it seemed they had no choice but to sell out, give her aged Father to someone > else to keep, and move. In those days there were few lawn, no detective or > F.B.I we discussed the subject of the letters several times after that, and > Father, Mother and Grandmother told me to keep mum to everyone else. None of > my brothers and sistersever knew about itand it does seem like a fairy tale > but every word is true. This is why the Wooten's Aaron Wooten left no > estate, I thought they did like Esau in the bible, sold their heritage for a > mess of potage, but they did have a problem. > > I do not know where my Mother's Father, Levi Shelton, came from. He was > Irish amd had blue eyes, fair complexion, He was a Northern soldier or Yankee > as they were called. His Father, Steve Shelton. who was my Grast > Grandfather, had a sister named Sally Shelton, who married John Laprade. > They are both buried in the Oaky Mountain Baptist Church Cemetary. On her > tombstone is the words "Thou God seest me" My Mother's Mother was Sarah Ann > Williams. Her Father's name was Aboslum of (Ab) Williams. I never knew her > Mothe's name. > > My Father's Mother was Nancy Mote. Her Father was John Mote Sr. born Dec. > 1798. The day of the month is illegible. Her Mother's name was Nancy Free > Born April 25, 1801. My Father's Father was Abram Wooten. (with to Ts at > that time) who died of measles during the civil war. He was a soldier in the > Civil War. He volunteered in the Southern Army when my Father was one year > old. Abram Wootten's Father was Aaron Wootten (my Father was named Aaron for > him) who came from South Carolina and later to Georgia when my Grandfather > was a boy, he remarries and one child was born of this union. His name was > Ben Wooten. Later they dropped one of the Ts. Your Grandfather Gosnell, > your Father's Father, was Willaim Perry Gosnell. His Father was Charlie > Gosnell, who remarried a lady named Dockina. Th