Henry County AlArchives Biographies.....Helton, James September 1825 - living in 1893
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Ann Anderson alabammygrammy@aol.com May 26, 2004, 11:08 pm

Author: Brant & Fuller (1893)
    JAMES HELTON, one of the most prominent farmers of Henry county, was born in
South Carolina in September, 1825. He is a son of William A. and Susan (Jordan)
Helton, who were natives of South Carolina, but who moved to Alabama in 1826.
They settled in Henry county, near where Mr. Helton's present home is situated.
William A. Helton died in 1839. His widow was a member of the Primitive Baptist
church, and lived with her son till her death, which occurred in 1873. James
Helton was brought up on the farm, performing the ordinary duties pertaining to
farm life, during his minority, and with extremely limited opportunities for
acquiring even the rudiments of an education. His deprivation in this respect
was so great that when elected justice of the peace in 1850, he could scarcely
write his name, and he had learned to do that as well as to read by his own
efforts. In 1847 he was married to Miss Catherine Strickland, daughter of James
Strickland. She was born in Henry county, received her education in the common
schools of the county, was married in her sixteenth year, was a member of the
Primitive Baptist church, and died in 1872. James Helton was married the second
time in 1874 to Miss Martha A. Holmes, daughter of James Holmes. She was born in
Henry county, and married at about the age of twenty years. In 1863, Mr., Helton
enlisted in the Sixth cavalry under Capt. McCray, and served until the final
surrender. He then resumed farming, and has followed it ever since. In 1880 he
erected a cotton gin on his premises, and in 1885 built a small store and
stocked it with such supplies as are needed on a plantation for the hired hands.
This store has constantly increased in size and contents, until now he carries
about $1,000 worth of general merchandise.Thepostoffice is also kept in this
store and Mr. Helton's son, John Wesley Helton, is the postmaster. The office
was named Wesley in his honor. In 1891 he increased the capacity of his cotton
gin by putting in a good ten-horse power steam engine, and now does the ginning
for the entire neighborhood. Mr. Helton had three children by his first wife,
viz.: Amanda, deceased wife of Harris Gambler; Matilda, deceased wife of
Granberry Burnham; and John Wesley, single, and living at home. By his second
marriage he had one child, Susie, at home and attending school. In 1874 Mr.
Helton was elected county commissioner, without any knowledge on his part that
he was a candidate, until he was elected. In 1884 he was elected treasurer of
Henry county, and served one term with general satisfaction to the public. He is
now a candidate for re-election. He has always voted the democratic ticket, and
has always been known as a public-spirited man, alive to all the important
issues of the day. He is one of the largest and most progressive planters of
Henry county, owning 1,900 acres of good farming and timbered land, and has much
of it in a high state of cultivation. Though deprived of opportunities of
obtaining such an education as he desired, yet his experience of the world has
so taught him wisdom, that he is now recognized as a man of sound judgment and
practical views, and he is for these and other qualities highly respected by the
entire community.



Additional Comments:
from "Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 1092-1093
Published by
Brant & Fuller (1893)
Madison, WI

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