Patrick County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Biographies.....Shelton, Pearle Maude April 26, 1899 - July 14, 1981
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Ron Martin cindyandron@bellsouth.net June 23, 2024, 2:11 pm

Author: Ron Martin

  Pearle Maude Turner Shelton was born on April 26, 1899 in Dodson, a very 
remote location in Patrick County, Virginia to John Jefferson “Jeff” Turner and 
Ruth Rebecca Robertson Turner.

  Just prior to her seventeenth birthday on April 8, 1917, she married William 
Edgar Bryant, the son of William Pinckney "Willie" Bryant and Martha Elizabeth 
"Bettie" Moran Bryant who was also from Dodson.

  On October 16, 1918, the couple welcomed their first and only child, Lucille. 
However the excitement of the birth of their daughter soon turned to tragedy as 
Willie passed away on December 26, 1918 due to the effects of the Spanish flu 
which ravaged the country.

She remained single while raising her only daughter but then she married William 
Thomas Shelton, the son of Joseph Peter Shelton and Susan Ruth Shelton who also 
lived in Dodson sometime around 1923 or 1924.

  Soon thereafter, yet another tragedy struck as their first daughter was born 
and then passed away in 1925. The couple welcomed their second child, a son, 
William Thomas Shelton, Jr. on April 8, 1926. Their second son, Charlie Randolph 
Shelton was born on February 13, 1928, and another son Alvin Ralph Shelton was 
born on April 11, 1931.

  It appears as they raised their children, Pearle became very instrumental in 
shaping their education as well as the children in her community as she began 
teaching at the Martin School. The first documentation of this was in August 
1943 when the list of teachers was published in The Martinsville Bulletin for 
the 1943 school year.

  In August 1944, it appears that she moved closer to home as she was teaching 
in the Dodson School, and she remained in that capacity until the late 1940's.  
It appears that 1948 could have been her last year as a teacher as she was 
hospitalized in April and May of 1949.

  It would also appear that Pearle and her husband became affiliated with the 
Primitive Baptist Church as there was one instance in 1948 and another in 1949 
noted in the Elder James Goode Lane Hash's fantastic diary "The Calendar Record 
of Events 1909-1959" in which he wrote that he spent the night with the family. 
Based on geographic location, one would believe that they were affiliated with 
Union Primitive Baptist Church was just over a mile from the school in which she 
taught.  The fact that both her husband and her funeral were held at Union 
Primitive Baptist Church would seemingly support that fact.

  It is unknown as to when the Dodson School closed as the neighborhood schools 
gave way to larger schools around the county as the county slowly developed the 
educational system.

  It appears that Pearle returned to taking care of the home after her teaching 
career concluded.

  She was heavily involved with the Democratic Party in Patrick County, and it 
appears that her affiliation began in the 1930’s as she was chosen as an 
election judge for the Dodson precinct along with Charles P. Bryant and S.L. 
Turner in June 1939.  She was also chosen as a clerk for the Dodson precinct in 
October 1941.  Her name was prominently mentioned throughout the 1930's, 1940’s, 
and 1950's for her involvement in the party. She was chosen as an alternate 
delegate to the various convention several times in the 1950's.

  On December 31, 1951, Pearle Maude Turner Shelton made history in Patrick 
County as she was the first woman to ever serve on a jury in that county. The 
Honorable Judge John D. Hooker recognized the noteworthy event by stating that 
"History was being made today in Patrick County."

  Her husband William Thomas passed away on December 15, 1971, due to the 
devastating effects of lung cancer. She lived another ten years passing away on 
Tuesday, July 14, 1981.  At the time, she was survived by her daughter, Lucille 
Bryant Nester, two sons, Randolph Shelton and Ralph Shelton as well as one 
brother, John Abe Turner, three grandchildren, and one great grandchild. Her 
funeral was held at Union Primitive Baptist Church on Thursday, July 16 with 
burial in the Jeff Turner Cemetery located on Heidelbach School Road.


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