According to a 2006 Dalton genealogy report submitted by Jean England, Reuben
Dalton was the first of his line to settle in Grainger Co., TN.1
He settled in Thorn Hill in 1801 after having served as a soldier in the
Revolutionary War.2 Reuben had been an Ensign in Captain Isham’s company in the
Virginia State Militia. He died prior to
the passing of the law that gave veterans of that war the right to apply for a
pension.
He was born in Bedford Co., VA c1752. He arrived in “Montgomery
Co., VA from Pittsylvania Co. in 1772” and bought “170 acres in the area known
as Little Reed Island Creek.” In her
report, Jean tells us that Reuben was listed on Tennessee tax rolls of 1797 as
owner of 200 acres but was probably still in Virginia at the time. He sold some of the Virginia property in 1797 and the
rest of it in 1801 when he relocated to Tennessee.
Reuben died in 1801 and was
buried “on the Fred Davidson farm on Copper Ridge Rd. near Cedar Springs
Baptist Church” in Thorn Hill. Archie Dalton, a long time Dalton researcher, wrote to me in 2005 and reported that Reuben "is buried in the woods close to the Bluff Davidson graveyard..." near Thorn Hill. I have been unable to locate the farm or the cemetery and, it is not clear to me how either burial site is known.
On Jan. 4, 1808 he applied
for a marriage license in Grainger Co. to marry Nancy Shockley.3 Nancy was born c1757 at Pittsylvania. Her
family likely migrated along with others into Grainger Co. about the same time
as Reuben.
The union between the couple
produced at least nine children: Enos;
Elizabeth; Agnes Anne; William Meredith; Reuben, Jr.; Mary; Carter; Hannah Ann
and Timothy. In this paper we will try
to follow Timothy, thought to have been born in 1810.4
Timothy is the first known
Dalton known to me to marry into the Coffey family. His wife was Delphia Coffey, a daughter of
George Coffey and Margaret L. Rucker. We
can follow George back to Edward and Ann Powell Coffey through his father,
Benjamin Coffey who married Mary “Polly” Hayes.
I will only touch on the descendants of Timothy who also married Coffeys.
Delphia and Timothy were
married in Grainger Co. on Dec. 29, 1828.5 Over the next 26 years,
she became the mother of at least 11 of Timothy’s children. Timothy died c1863
in Grainger Co.; neither a death record nor place of burial has been
located. In any event, Delphia, yet with
young children at home, married the widower Jacob Hipshire on Mar. 23, 1863. Jacob was age 66 years and Delphia was age 48
when they married. There were no known
children.
Jacob was a North Carolina
native and son of Henry and Delphia Delamar (sic). His first wife was Matilda Hayes, born c1810
in NC, died 1855 in Grainger Co. Her
parents were Thomas and Sarah “Sally” Rucker Hayes. Margaret Rucker, wife of George Coffey and
Sarah “Sally” were sisters, daughters of Colby and Sarah Roberts Rucker.
The 11 children of Timothy
and Delphia were: David, born c1831;
George Washington, born Feb. 3, 1832, died Dec. 24, 1904;6 Manerva,
born c1834; Thomas, born c1834; Ally (Ollie?), born c1837; William Nelson, born
Dec 6, 1839;6 Green C., born c1840; Colby Timothy, born c1842;
Hiram, born c1843; Emeline, born c1844 and Harriet, born c1854.
Son George first married Charlotte
Hedrick, a daughter of John and Lucinda Hipshire Hedrick. His second wife was
Sarah Ann, Charlotte’s sister. George and Charlotte’s son Lafayette, known as “Lee
Fate” married Cornelia Dalton, a child of Tandy Witcher and Matilda Coffey
Dalton. Lee Fate’s son James Franklin, (1880-1947), married twice, the second
to Louvernie “Vernie” Coffey (1887-1978), a daughter of Lacy and Margaret Ogan
Coffey. James’ first wife was Mattie Collins to whom he was married in
1903. I know of only one child, a son
Creed, born 1913. Mattie died in 1917 at
the same time as Creed; she of “pulmonary consumption,” he of “lobar pneumonia.”7
I know of no children born to James and Vernie.
Daughter Ally (Ollie?)
married William Hedrick and their daughter married Eva (1895-1963) married Guy
Willis Hedrick, her multiple second and third cousin. Guy was the son of William Henry and Margaret
Jane Coffey Hedrick. Jane was the
daughter of Thomas and Martha Jane Shockley Coffey.
Son Colby Timothy
(1842-1908) married Letitia Wolfe (1842-1904), a daughter of Moses and
Catherine Wolfe Wolfe. Their son
Greenberry (1868-1942) married Lula May Coffey (1869-1948). Lula was a daughter of Austin and Elizabeth
Dalton Coffey. Austin descends from
Edward through his father Elijah Coffey who married Rebecca Shockley. Elizabeth Dalton was a daughter of Colby John
and Elizabeth McGinnis Dalton. Colby
goes back to Reuben through his father William Meredith Dalton who married
Delphia Rucker, the daughter of Colby and Sarah Roberts Rucker.
The death date and place of
burial for Timothy and Delphia is unknown. The death dates for many of the
children are known and some of their burial sites are also known. However, more research is required to confirm
and verify.
Corrections and additions welcomed.
1 Jean
England, Thorn Hill, TN, compiler, Dalton Ancestors, an attachment to e-mail from the author to Jack Coffee:, Sep. 25, 2006. Most of the early information about Reuben is credited to Jean.
2 A
monument to his memory has been placed at the Mount Pleasant Methodist Church
in Thorn Hill.
3 "Tennessee
Marriages, 1796-1950", index, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X8YZ-WJ2 : accessed 24 January 2015),
Reubin Daulton and Nancy Shockley, 04 Jan 1808; citing Grainger, Grainger,
Tennessee, reference ; FHL microfilm 968,583.
4 Birth
dates and locations for all of the children are inconsistent. Some dates are prior to Reuben and Nancy’s
marriage; some in Virginia and some in Grainger Co. He may have been previously
married.
5 "Tennessee State
Marriages, 1780-2002", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VNDC-3SC
: accessed 05 6Mar 2013), Timothy Dalton and Delpha Coffer, 1828.
6 Betty
White Martin, "Descendants of Timothy Dalton". Grainger Co., TN, Jul.
18, 2005
7 "Tennessee
Death Records, 1914-1955", index and images, FamilySearch.org
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