(This is the family of Stephen Shelton (b. 1809 NC) who first married Nancy Brown, a mixed blood Cherokee woman and second married Abigail Harris.) Hello! My own branch of Sheltons takes on a twist a bit different from many of the others stories I've heard. Take a look at this bit of history that follows. If you feel you just might belong to our scattered group, I do hope you will respond so we can exchange information. My addy is s2gibso@yahoo.com. You may also visit the site directly at www.spiritfamily.org. Check us out and give us a call if this look like we might be kin. Thanks! ~~Sheila Gibson~~ SHELTONS were already in the frontiers of America long before the Revolution. We suspect our particular branch was part of the Sheltons found in the colonial records of Virginia & the Carolinas. We have studied some of these lines and followed them into the Indian territories of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Arkansas & Missouri still in very early times. By the 1820s we know some of our Shelton ancestors lived in Missouri. By the 1830s some became Mormons; others of our family actively fought against them. When the Mormons were preparing to leave Illinois, some of these Shelton children did not want to go; and so they ran away. It is supposed that nonMormon relatives hid them. Most sadly, since angry mobs were now forcing the Mormons to leave at this time, our Shelton family was permanently split apart. The two groups totally lost contact with each other. In Utah, the pioneers found refuge from religious intolerance. But FAMILY IS FAMILY; and these pioneer Sheltons ever longed to be reunited with the rest of their family. This yearning continues into our day. As descendants and extended families of the Mormon pioneer Sheltons, we still seek to find our unknown family. Not only are we seeking decendants of those who stayed behind, but we also seek to find their fathers� and grandfathers� families as far back as we can. We have renewed hope today in this age of cyberspace that with tools like this SpiritFamily website we can share information and finally find answers to questions we have been seeking for many years. Sheltons of Utah married into families of BROWN, CUMMINGS, CUNNINGHAM, FAUSETT, GRAGG, HAIR, HAMILTON, HARRIS, HENDERSON, HULLINGER, IVIE, JOHNSON, KINSEY, MANTLE, MCGIMNSEY, MORTON, ROBINSON, RUSHTON, SMITH, SULTZER, THOMPSON, WARDLE, WATKINS, WRIGHT & many others. Here's hoping that by working together we can finally find the roots from whence we came. Extended family is very welcome also. Please join us in our project. Thanks! *This site is lovingly dedicated to Leonard Aaron Shelton (1914-2003), descendant of the Utah Shelton pioneers. ~~Sheila Shelton Gibson, SpiritFamily Domain Administrator. ~ Sheila Gibson ~ SpiritHawk ~ Housework Makes You Ugly ~ Help Jamie Help E.B. Victims: www.anetherealsuite.com Thank you! Wado! ~