Daltons of Lafayette Co Mississippi

I have been wanting for some time now to write about my relatives. My maiden name is Dalton. I have spent all my life being asked " Are you related to the famous outlaws the Dalton Gang? " While I have spent many years trying to find the answer to this question, I still have not been able to make a connection. But it is really not a big deal to me either way. I would like to share some information that I do know about the family tree. Most of my Dalton relatives are buried at the Shiloh Baptist Church Cemetery in Lafayette Co. Ms.
I have been visiting this cemetery since I was a little girl. I use to go there with my grandparents all the time to put flowers on the gravesites of our departed relatives. I can remember when this cemetery was on a dirt road which dead ended at the cemetery. Now there is a two lane blacktop road right thru the middle of it. The new section across the road from the church was nearly empty in those days but now is almost full.

John Granvill Dalton was born July 7, 1889  in Corinth Ms and lived with his parents James Thomas (Tom) Dalton and Georgia Ann Duncan . He is listed in the 1902 Educatable Children of Alcorn Co Ms, Township 1 Range 9 as being age 12. Along with his brother Ezra age 16, sister Hattie (Holly) age 13, brother Jim age 10 and Sam age 5. Other children not listed were Mandie, Irene and Elmer. It has been reported to me that Ezra and Sam lived in Pontotoc, but I have no information to verify this claim. There is also a family story that Sam owned a grocery store somewhere in Pontotoc and there had been several robberies in the area, so Sam decided to stop the theives by rigging up a shotgun tied to a chair and if someone tried to open the door they would get blasted by the shotgun, unfortunately one day Sam went to open up the store and forgetting about his shotgun rig ,opened the door only to be shot and killed in his own store. There are also claims that Ezra got into a bar brawl one night and beat a man to death. Part of Granvill's farm was sold to pay for his bail. I do not have any documentation as to the truth of these claims, these were stories told to me by my dad.

John Granvill married Pearle Starnes, (pictured above) date of marraige is not know but they had six children James b. May 12, 1914 d. July 20, 1988, Earnest b. July 27, 1916 d. July 7, 1988, Cecil ( dates unknown), Flavil b. 1925 d. 1962, William and Dovie Mae b. Mar 24, 1921 d. Oct 18, 1922. All but Cecil are buried at the Shiloh Church Cemetery. It is said that Cecil lived in Louisiana, but I spoke with him by phone in the late 1990s at which time he was living in Memphis, Tn and was ill with cancer. I do not know what became of him or where he is buried. Flavil died in 1962 at the age of 37.  Uncle William was the youngest and wildest of the bunch and there are many family stories about how he was a moonshine runner back in the day. He passed away in 2006.

Pearl Starnes was born June 13, 1893 and was the daughter of Henry Allison and Josie Starnes, also buried at the Shiloh Cemetery. She passed away April 10, 1954. 

Over the years I have heard many stories about the Shiloh Cemetery from my dad. One story that I have heard many times over the years is that there was an unmarked Confederate Mass Grave at the Shiloh Cemetery which was once surrounded by cannon balls to mark the sight. Over the years, the cannonballs have been stolen one by one and there are no longer any left, so the exact location of the grave site is unknown. There has also been numerous acts of vandalsim at the cemetery, which has contributed to the story that there is a Confederate Soldier who walks the cemetery at night standing guard.  In the early 1950's there were heavy rains in Lafayette Co causing flooding in the cemetery at which time some of the Confederate bodies came to the surface, Granville & his son James  along with other members of the Shiloh church, helped to rebury the bodies. The older section of the cemetery was once overgrown with tall grass, and when I was a little girl, I was not allowed to wander into this section of the cemetery. Now, the cemetery is kept up by members of the Shiloh Baptist Church which sits adjacent to the cemetery and the older section has been cleared.

James Everett Dalton was my grandfather and son of Johnny Granvill Dalton. He was born in Lafayette Co MS May 12 1914. He married my grandmother Grace Donaldson  daughter of Luther Paul Donaldson and Martha Ann Pounds of Paden Ms., on April 22, 1934. They had 5 children, Margarite June b.. July 9, 1936, d. July 10, 1936, Jimmie Morris bSept 5, 1941 D. Sept 6 , 1941, Carol Grace b. Jan 7, 1943 still living in Desoto Co Ms, Jerry Glenn ( my Dad) b. Sept 29, 1946 still living in Marshall Co Ms and Jeanie Diane b. Jan 12, 1949 living in Biloxi Ms.  James Everett Dalton was a retired carpenter of Carpenters Local 345, a US Navy WWII veteran, serving on the ship Proteus during WWII, He was a deacon and member of Beverly Hills Baptist Church in Memphis Tn and died of complications from back surgery on July 20, 1988. He was an avid fisherman and frequently took the grandchildren fishing, he was the first person to teach me how to bait a hook. He was also a wonderful gardener and frequently sold turnip greens, corn, tomatoes, cantalope and watermelons in the front yard of his home in Memphis Tn. Every one knew him as Mr Jim.. He was a quiet man and always had a toothpick in his mouth. I have very   fond memories of my grandaddy and I miss him very much.

This photo above is of 4 generations of Daltons. James E, Granvill, Jerry and his oldest son Jimmie. It was taken at the nursing home a few months prior to Granvills death in 1972.

Baby Pictures of James E Dalton and Grace Donaldson

my grandparents

Headstone of Granvill & Pearl Dalton

Headstone of Earnest Dalton & wife Ophelia

William Daltons grave marked only with a footstone.

Headstone of James Everett & Grace D

Will B Dalton was the brother of Granvill's father Tom Dalton

his wife Katie lived to be 108 yrs old.

The Known Dalton Family Geneology:

Thomas Granvill Dalton b. 1830 in Alabama. He married Jan. 27, 1854 in Tishomingo MS to Sarah Elizabeth Asbell. Thomas Granville died March 1880 in McNairy, TN.

• Known children: James Thomas Dalton & Mellisa Jane Dalton and Will B Dalton

James Thomas Dalton b. Jan 13, 1859 in TN Married Georgia Ann Duncan b. June 27, 1861 d. Oct 1, 1949

• Known children: Ezra- b 1886, Hattie ( Holly) b. 1888, John Granvill, b. July 2, 1889, d. Dec 28, 1972, Jim b. 1892, Sam b. 1897, Mandie, Elmer, Irene.

John Granvill Dalton b. July 2, 1889, d. Dec 28, 1972 married Annie Pearl Starnes b June 13, 1893 d. April 10, 1954

•  Children: James Everett, Earnest, Cecil, Flavil, William and Dovie Mae

James Everett Dalton b. May 12 1914 d. July 20, 1988 married April 22, 1934 to Grace Donaldson b. Jan 17, 1915, d. Aug 4, 1998.

• Children: Marguerite June, Jimmie Morris, Carol Grace, Jerry Glenn & Jeanie Diane

Jerry Glenn Dalton b. Sept 29, 1946 married Toni Clayton Williams on Sept 3 , 1965

• Children Angela, Jimmie, Daniel, Deborah & Jeremy

Most of the remaining Daltons and there are too many to list, now reside in Marshall and Desoto Counties in Mississippi