'Thomas was my 4th great-grandfather.
He was married to Elizabeth Stark on January 2, 1798, in Virginia. They had the following children: Martin, Catharine Ann, Azild Carter, John, Thornton, George W., Sharh, Jeremiah, Charlotte, and Mary. The census information of 1860 shows him listed as a Justice of the Peace. His father was George Shelton born between 1730 and 1740 in Virginia.
Thomas Shelton, better known as Squire Shelton, died at Aberdeen, Ohio, on the 15th ult., aged ninety-four years. In 1816 he was elected a justice of the peace for Huntington township, Brown County, which office he held without interruption to the day of his death. It is said that during the fifty-four years he was magistrate he united in marriage 4,000 couples or 8,000 persons. His place was the "Gretna Green" for runaway lovers from Kentucky, whom he joined in wedlock without the formality of license. Marriage for a long time was not considered legal; but the Legislature of Kentucky, at an early day, passed an act legalizing them, to avoid litigation in the settlement of estates, and the Ohio Legislature, a few years ago, passed a similar act. He was born in Stafford County, Va., served as a constable at the trial of Aaron Burr for treason, and emigrated to Ohio in 1813.
NEW YORK HERALD, New York, NY. Tuesday, March 8, 1870, page 4
A GRETNA GREEN FOR RUNAWAY KENTUCKY LOVERS
Contributor: Scooter (46820566) • [email protected]
October 5, 2022
'Thomas was my 4th great-grandfather.
He was married to Elizabeth Stark on January 2, 1798, in Virginia. They had the following children: Martin, Catharine Ann, Azild Carter, John, Thornton, George W., Sharh, Jeremiah, Charlotte, and Mary. The census information of 1860 shows him listed as a Justice of the Peace. His father was George Shelton born between 1730 and 1740 in Virginia.
Thomas Shelton, better known as Squire Shelton, died at Aberdeen, Ohio, on the 15th ult., aged ninety-four years. In 1816 he was elected a justice of the peace for Huntington township, Brown County, which office he held without interruption to the day of his death. It is said that during the fifty-four years he was magistrate he united in marriage 4,000 couples or 8,000 persons. His place was the "Gretna Green" for runaway lovers from Kentucky, whom he joined in wedlock without the formality of license. Marriage for a long time was not considered legal; but the Legislature of Kentucky, at an early day, passed an act legalizing them, to avoid litigation in the settlement of estates, and the Ohio Legislature, a few years ago, passed a similar act. He was born in Stafford County, Va., served as a constable at the trial of Aaron Burr for treason, and emigrated to Ohio in 1813.
NEW YORK HERALD, New York, NY. Tuesday, March 8, 1870, page 4
A GRETNA GREEN FOR RUNAWAY KENTUCKY LOVERS
Contributor: Scooter (46820566) • [email protected]
October 5, 2022
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