Zebulon Vance and Mary Josephine Wright Dalton

Zebulon Vance (Zeb) Dalton, born Aug., 1860 in North Carolina, is thought to be a son of Bradley and Dicey A. Dalton of Rutherford Co., NC. He married Mary Josephine Wright c1894 in North Carolina, a daughter of Thomas A. and Margaret Ann Coffey Wright. Zeb died Jan. 23, 1927 in Mobscott, Raleigh Co., WVa.

Given his age (39) at the time of marriage to Mary, Zeb was apparently married at least once before. In the 1900 census, the first in which he and Mary would appear as a family, Mary reported that she and Zeb had been married for six years and, that she was the mother of five children but only four were living.

The eldest child in the 1900 household was Corah* [sic], age 11, born 1888. Mary was still married to Tilmon Gragg at that time. Other children in the 1900 household was Clyde V., born May, 1895 and, Nola Frenise [sic], born Aug. 7, 1903. I have not yet determined the location of Mary's other three children in 1900.

Mary was born Oct. 18, 1867 in Kelsey**, Watauga Co., NC, near Coffey's Gap and died Jan. 31, 1944, also in Mobscott. She and Zeb are buried at the Sunset Memorial Park in Beckley, Raleigh Co., WVa.

Prior to her marriage to Zeb, Mary had married Tilmon Monroe Gragg on Mar. 3, 1888 in Caldwell Co. Tilmon was born Feb. 1858 in Caldwell Co., and died Dec. 12, 1928 in Camden Co., NC. he was a son of Edmond and Indiana Isabelle Gragg Gragg.

Their children were: William Henderson, born Jan. 14, 1884, died Oct. 28, 1946, married Mary Etta Coffey, a daughter of George Washington (Wash) and Matilda (Tilda) Coffey Coffey. The second child was Rhett, born May, 1886; the third Alverdia, born Mar., 1893.

After Zeb's death, Mary married Ed Foster. There are no known children from this union. I have not yet been able to find additional information about Ed.

Henderson, Mary's son by Tilmon Gragg, fathered at least 10 children by Mary Etta Coffey and, will be the subject of a future blog.

Please contact me with additions and/or corrections at the e-mail address below.





*I have just learned that Corah [Cora] was actually the daughter of Mary and Tilmon.

**The old home-store sat beside what is now the Collins Road and NC Hwy 221, the old Foscoe Road. Some locals referred to that area as Coffey's Gap. Mary's parents, Thomas and Margaret Coffey Wright, later sold the place to William Washington Collins, a native of Georgia.