Melton Family of Leonard, Texas

Fannin County TXGenWeb
Melton Family
(part of this family settled in Leonard)

From ;Jenny Markham
<[email protected]>
WAGONS WEST TO TEXAS
Children of Robert and Elizabeth Melton
Sometime between 1875 and 1900, all of Robert and Elizabeth’s children left McMinn County, Tennessee, area of their family roots. Robert had died a casualty of the Civil War in 1861 where he was a Confederate private with Company A, 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Ashby’s). He had been a farmer in Bradley and McMinn Counties. Elizabeth provided a home for their four children, after his death, until their marriages or until they left Tennessee.
Records indicate that Elizabeth left Tennessee with her two younger sons, Nathan Shannon and Alfred Presley, about 1875 and settled in Cadron, Van Buren County, Arkansas. The 1880 Census for Van Buren County lists Nathan Melton, wife Levisa, daughter Harriet K. age 10 months, and mother Elizabeth. There is an entry in the marriage records of Van Buren County for Alfred Melton and Harriet Harton in 1876. Daughter, Lucinda, and family were in nearby Quitman, Cleburne County, Arkansas during the 1880's. Alfred, a Methodist minister, wife Harriet and two-year-old son R. H., were living in Dardanelle, Yell County in 1880. Alfred’s death at age 30 occurred at the Methodist parsonage in Russellville, Pope County, Arkansas.
By 1900 Nathan had died also. The widows of the brothers were living with relatives in Van Buren County at the time of the 1900 census. Nathan’s 20-year old daughter, Harriet was living with her mother. Harriet, widow of Alfred was living in her mother’s household. From all indications, life had been difficult for both young families and particularly for Alfred’s family. The couple gave birth to five children between the years of 1876 and 1885 and all children died prior to 1910. Harriet died in 1914. The trail for Nathan’s widow and daughter is being pursued.
Exact dates are not known for Lucinda and Ebb’s movements. Supposition is based on the known birth dates and birthplaces of their children. Lucinda Melton was born 12 Oct 1848 near Athens, Tennessee and is the daughter and oldest child of Robert and Elizabeth (Eliott) Melton. Lucinda married Frances Edmund (Ebb) McKinney, son of William and Diannah (Wilson) McKinney 2 Nov 1865 in Athens, TN. Lucinda and Ebb McKinney had eleven children: William, who died in infancy, Nathan Henry, Lizzie, Reuben Martin, Eliazer Charles and Tinnie Luella, were born in McMinn Co., TN. The McKinney's apparently left Tennessee and settled in Quitman, Arkansas about 1881. The remainder of their children: Cordie, Mary Alberta, Beatrice and James were born in Arkansas.
Lucinda’s son, Reuben McKinney, was the first member of his family to leave Arkansas for Collin County, Texas. His sister, Lizzie McKinney Hooper who had married in Arkansas, followed him. The remainder of the family was in Texas by the time the 1900 census was recorded.
Ebb was a farmer, as were many men of that time period. He acquired quite a lot of acreage during his lifetime in the south central part of Collin County. Due to the economic climate, he lost most of it prior to his death. Records indicate he is buried in Thompson Cemetery, although no stone has been found, along with his wife Lucinda 1903, sons Nathan 1899 and Charles 1900, and daughter Lizzie 1901.
Of the remaining children, only Reuben, Tinnie, Beatrice, and James are known to have married and produced a total of ten children. They reared their families in Collin and Denton Counties, specifically in the communities of Nevada, Wylie and Ponder. Reuben was a farmer. Tinnie's husband was a farmer and merchant and James was involved in the grocery business. Beatrice married Mr. Douglass and had a daughter who died early. After Beatrice was widowed, she and her unmarried sister, Mary, lived with their sister and brother-in-law, Tinnie and Jesse Stallings until their deaths.
Andrew Taylor Melton was born 4 Feb 1850 near Athens, Tennessee and is a son of Robert and Elizabeth (Eliott) Melton. Andrew married Lucinda Glaze, daughter of William M. Glaze and Permelia Rudd, 20 October 1868 in Athens, Tennessee. He was a laborer and later a farmer in McMinn County. He bought 80 acres on the bank of the Chestua Creek on 15 August 1874 from Nathan Melton, his grandfather. The land was next to Nathan's homestead. Andrew Taylor and Lucinda had nine children: James Henry, Effie Lavernia (wife of William Gresham), Naomi Delia (wife of William Walter Rogers), Rettie Parmelia (wife of Will Blair), Cleophus Fennimore, Ollie Garfield, Nettie Lavissa (wife of John William Cotton), Alfred William, Stella Diora (wife of Ancel Neale). Andrew Taylor and Lucinda moved their family from Athens to Leonard, Fannin, Texas in 1897. Lucinda died there in 29 January 1915 and Andrew Taylor followed on 4 June 1927.
Andrew Taylor and Lucinda traveled to Texas with their unmarried children: Rettie, Fen, Ollie, Nettie, Alfred, and Stella, probably in the winter of 1897. They moved by covered wagon. At least one of the rivers they crossed was frozen, and the metal wheels of the wagon cut grooves in the ice, which had to refreeze before the next wagon could cross. Their daughter: Delia, husband W. W. Rogers, and family arrived in Texas in 1895. The 1900 Federal Census indicates that all of the children and families were in Fannin County Texas near Leonard.
The first settlers came to the area around 1843. After the Civil War there was a large migration of people from Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi to the blackland prairie of southwest Fannin County. The town of Leonard was established on the M.K.&T. railroad. Cotton was king in Leonard for seventy-five years. It was such a dominant factor that school started in July and let out in August to allow time for cotton picking. The population of Leonard in 1889 was 400. The annual Leonard Picnic became an established event. It was the social highlight of the year. Family reunions, amusement rides, bands, boat rides on the Leonard Pool, and baseball games were all part of the Picnic. People anticipated the event and came from long distances to participate in two days of fun.
Taylor was a farmer and owned his property. There are land records that indicate Taylor bought property in Leonard, quickly sold it and carried the note for the buyer. When he retired, he sold his farm, bought a two-story home in Leonard and lived there until his death in 1927. He was of average height with a slender build and wore a beard. His grandchildren recall his visits to their homes with great pleasure. He always came with a suitcase packed with gifts for each of them. Lucinda was of average height and slight build with dark auburn hair. The red hair can be seen in many of her descendants. Both Taylor and Lucinda are buried in the Leonard Cemetery.
Apparently, Taylor’s mother, Elizabeth, migrated to Fannin County after the deaths of her two younger sons. Although, she is not found on a census until 1910 where she is in the household of W.W. Rogers. Tragedy struck the Rogers' home in 1908 when Delia died of tuberculosis. She left five small children. The assumption would be that Elizabeth was helping Walter rear his motherless children. Elizabeth died 15 January 1913 short of her 80th birthday on 25 May. She is buried in the Melton Family plot in the Leonard Cemetery.
James Henry and Carrie married in Tennessee and their first four children were born there. Their fourth child, Lou, was born in Tennessee in 1895. Their next child, Victor, was born in Texas in 1900. Henry must have been quite an entrepreneur. He purchased and sold land in the Leonard area beginning in the late 1890’s. He then moved only a few miles down the road to the Clinton/Merit area of Hunt County. He continued to purchase several pieces of property in Merit and Greenville. His primary occupation was farming in Clinton where he also owned a grocery store. His children were reared in the small farming community of Clinton. At the time of the 1920 census, Henry, Carrie and family were living on College Street in Greenville. Shortly thereafter, Henry and Carrie divorced and he remarried.
At the time of his death in 1923, Henry was separated from his second wife, Mary, and living in Clinton once again. He was a slender man, about 5’11” tall with red hair like his mother. He died at a relatively young age of stomach cancer and is buried in the Clinton Cemetery. The inventory of his will indicates that he had 132 acres of land two miles north of Carrollton in Dallas County, Texas, along with property, home and store in Clinton, acreage in Hunt County, and the property and home where his estranged wife was living in Greenville.
Henry’s sons had varied occupations: auto mechanic, construction, postmaster, and farmer. His children lived in Texas, California, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Henry and Carrie had three daughters, of which only one, Lou, lived to mature adulthood. Ivy died as a small child and is referred to as “Little Ivy”. Myrtle died as a young woman and left two small children who were reared by family members until the height of the Depression when they were placed in Boles Home for children. Lou married and lived a large part of her life in Oklahoma.
Delia and Walter left Leonard for the drier climate of New Mexico with the hope her health would improve. Their next move was to Childress, Texas where she died. Walter and his children moved back to Leonard to be near Taylor and Lucinda. Walter was a farmer and also had a grocery store on the Town Square of Leonard. A few years after Delia’s death, Walter married “Aunt Lizzie” and had five more children, all boys. She and Walter remained close to the Melton family throughout their lives. Some of the family moved to the Amarillo, Texas area, while the majority stayed in Fannin and Hunt counties. Walter is buried between Delia and Lizzie in the Rogers' family plot in the Leonard Cemetery.
Rettie married Will Blair, who was a barber. They, too, moved to Childress, Texas. While there, they adopted a daughter, Naomi Ruth. Shortly afterwards, Will died. Rettie and Ruth moved to Leonard. Taylor and Lucinda had retired and moved to town. After Lucinda’s death, Rettie and Ruth lived with Taylor. Rettie was a proficient seamstress and sewed for the public. Her sewing room was in a second story room of their home. Ruth graduated from high school in Leonard, married and moved to Denison, Texas, taking Rettie with her. Rettie lived with Ruth until the last few years of her life. She, too, is buried in the Leonard Cemetery in the plot with her parents and grandmother. Ruth never had children. She died several years later in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Effie married Will Gresham in Tennessee prior to the Melton migration. By the time the 1900 census was taken they were in Leonard, Texas also. Their daughter, Bertha, was born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1906. They made their way back “home to McMinn County, Tennessee” by the 1920 census where they lived for most of their remaining years. Late in life, Will and Effie, went separate ways. Their youngest daughter was living in California and Effie went to live with her. She was with her at the time of her death and is buried at Knottsberry Farm. Several of their descendants are still in the McMinn County area. Their daughter, Bertha, married Henry Melton, who was a distant cousin, and they shared the same great great grandparents. A son, Hirshel, married Dovie Melton, who was a distant cousin also.
Fen married Alice Knight, had two children and lived in Denison, Grayson County, Texas. They owned a grocery store on Mirick Avenue. In fact, they owned the entire block. Their house was on the same block. Alice is remembered as having a wonderful sense of humor. Fen had failed to cut firewood for her cook stove. She was determined that was not to become her job. She had asked repeatedly that he cut the wood for her but her requests had fallen on deaf ears. To make her point, when Fen came home for lunch he found his plate, filled with a raw potato and uncooked dried pinto beans, on the table, waiting for him. She got her firewood. Their son spent his adult years in San Antonio. Their daughter, Vallie Mae, lived in Grayson County for the last several years of her life. She and her parents are buried in Denison, Texas. Fen was tall and slender with a light brown hair.
The Leonard Picnic of July 1903 was the event where Ollie Garfield met Jennie Belle Fuller. The Methodist minister, in the home of Belle's foster mother, Matilda Caroline Stone, married them 23 December 1903 in Leonard. Ollie’s brother and sister-in-law, Fen and Alice, were the witnesses. Ollie was a farmer. He and Belle farmed in the Fannin County area around Leonard and Celeste. After the birth of their fifth child, they moved by covered wagon to Cooke County, Texas. The trip took three days to travel about 75 miles. They bought a farm on the Cooke and Denton County line where their sixth child was born. They sold that farm and bought 250 acres just inside the Denton County line near the town of Sanger. Their last four children were born in Denton County. They retired in 1945, sold the farm, and moved into town. They lived in their home on Bolivar Street until their deaths. They are both buried in the Sanger Cemetery. O.G. was about 5’11”, slender, with curly light brown hair and toughened by the hard labor of his life as a farmer.
O.G. and Belle’s children represented several occupations and locations of residence. Seaborn and his family lived in Oklahoma for the majority of his career. Ruth and family lived in Oklahoma and Denton County, Texas. Buck carried on the farming tradition in Grayson County, Texas. Linnie became a registered nurse and lived in Fort Worth. Luther made his career with the military and lived in various places around the world, settling in Fort Worth after retirement. Lillie Belle and family were involved in farming in Denton County. Alvin worked for the railroad and retired to ranching in the Brownwood, Texas area. John worked for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company and worked in mission churches in the Laredo, Uvalde area of Texas. Dwyane worked in the civil defense industry for the company that is currently Lockheed in Fort Worth.
Nettie married John Cotton in Hunt County in 1900. Their first child was born two years later in Hunt County. In 1905 they were living in Oklahoma. During the years 1906 through 1910 the family was in Louisiana. By 1916 they were living in Dallas, Texas. John was in the meat packing business as General Manager of Wilson Meat Packing Company. He retired from that company in Oklahoma City and moved to Dallas, Texas. While in Dallas, he and a partner formed the Virden Meat Packing Company. He sold his interest in the company to his partner in 1927 and went to California with the intention of starting another meat packing company. He and his oldest son, Mark, went to Los Angeles alone to start their company. Nettie and children: Goldy, Johnnie, Winston and Mel drove to California to join John and Mark early in 1928. Their trip to California was made in a Willis Knight car. They drove across the desert on a wooden plank road. Late in 1928 the family moved to San Francisco. John became the Business Manager and Treasurer of the Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco.
Their children lived in California and the northwest Pacific states. At least some of this family was very musically talented. The most popular West Coast radio show of 1928 belonged to their son, Winston.
Youngest son, Alfred, left Fannin County as a young adult. He married his wife, Emylee Elizabeth Orr, in San Antonio. They made their home there until the birth of their first child, Peg. The young family of three moved to Dallas for several years. While in Dallas a second child was born, Alfred Jr. Also, during some of their years in Dallas, they were next-door neighbors to Alfred's sister, Nettie, and her family. While in Dallas, Alfred was employed first by Proctor and Gamble as the credit manager. He was employed next by Firestone Tire Company as an office manager and moved to San Antonio as a branch manager of the company in 1926. The family lived in San Antonio the remainder of their lives. Alfred had his own business, Al Melton Radio Co., during the years of 1929 through 1931. The business was advertised as, "Philco All Electric Radio and Radio Supplies, Batteries and Repairers". His pleasant, caring personality was well suited to his profession. He was a slender built, spry and nimble man. Alfred had an interest in family history.
Daughter, Peg, and her husband were involved in education and spent several years in the real estate business in Midland. Son, Alfred Jr. used his doctorate degree in anthropology by teaching at Valdosta State University in Georgia. He also was a Methodist minister.
Stella married Ancel Neale in Fannin County. They raised their two sons in Leonard where Ancel was a barber. Their oldest son, Hubert, left Texas for Chicago, Illinois after he graduated from high school. His younger brother, Alfred Melton, followed him upon graduation. He was 5”11 1/2” tall and made the statement that he could not live in Texas as an adult because he was not 6’ tall. He inherited red hair from his grandmother, Lucinda. Both Hubert and Melton married women from Chicago and raised their families there. Stella and Ancel divorced while living in Texas. She moved to Chicago to be near her sons and families. Ancel moved to Chicago about two years prior to his death in 1946. Stella and Ancel are both buried in Desplains, Illinois.
Through the history of the Melton family there have been many members who served their country in the military forces. Never was it more evident than during World War II.
James Henry’s grandson, Walter Reeves Melton, served in the US Navy and gave his life for his country. He volunteered for the military December 8, 1941, the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He served on the USS Colorado during the invasion of the Philippine Islands. He was in a gun turret on deck and was killed by shrapnel from a Japanese Kamikaze plane that crashed into the ship. A shipmate, Rufus Cranford, knew that Walter had been keeping a diary, which was against regulations. The shipmate found the diary and hid it until the end of the war. At that time he made efforts to find Walter’s family, but to no avail.
An excerpt from the diary, dated July 24, 1944, told of the horror of battle. It read: “The Colorado took 22 direct hits, mostly on the starboard side. The ship is full of shrapnel holes. Each lining space has one or more holes in them. Landed two shells on Boat Deck One and port tub (the anti-aircraft guns) killing eight Marines. Wounded 18. Boat deck’s full of dead and wounded. One sailor was carrying a 5.25 shell, and it exploded and plastered him all over the boat deck. I wish we would leave here.” The final entry was written 30 minutes before Walter was killed. Dated Nov. 27, 1944, it read: “Got up at 5:05--5:35, general quarters. 0900 hours, hospital ship came between our task force bound for Leyte to get wounded. 10:30--Condition One (the order to man battle stations.)”
Mr. Cranford packed the diary away with his other war memories for many years. In 1992 he rediscovered the diary, and with the help of the VFW, tried once again to find the family. A niece of Walter saw a classified ad in the Dallas Morning News seeking information of Walter’s family. The family contacted Mr. Cranford, who was living in Georgia. He brought the diary to Dallas where he presented it to Walter’s daughter, mother, brother, and two sisters almost fifty years after Walter’s death.
Walter is remembered with an inscribed brick on the wall of the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas
Wayland Swain, grandson of Effie Melton Gresham, was a Lieutenant in the Army and injured during WW II. The incident, as related by his wife Wilma: Wayland was in Europe with the Army as a jeep driver. On a particular day, he was driving several officers in a jeep loaded with bags of sand and ran over a land mine. The jeep and sand bags exploded. Wayland was the only survivor but not without enduring physical damage. The impact of the sand hitting him in the face injured both eyes resulting in amputation and severing the optic nerve. He wore prosthesis for the remainder of his life.
Fen’s grandsons, Elmore Jr. and Cleo, were both in the military. At the time of Fen’s death, E.K. Jr. was stationed at Camp Maxey in Paris, Texas. Cleo was a Lieutenant and stationed in England. He had enlisted in the Air Force in 1942 as an aviation cadet. He washed out in primary along with 70% of Class 42A at Bonham, Texas. He then went to OCS in Miami Beach, Florida. He was sent to Europe in an Air Depot group as 2nd Lt. serving B-26 aircraft at Stansted, England. From there he went to France at Cambrai where he was awarded the Soldier’s Medal along with several others for trying to help victims from a C-47 which crashed at the base. The plane was too low coming in while attempting to hit another runway. The right wing hit the ground and the plane cartwheeled, landing upside down. The two pilots survived. Later, Cleo was transferred to Station Complement Squadron and was scheduled for the Pacific at the end of the war. He was recalled during the Korean Conflict for twenty-one months. He was promoted to Captain during his station at Perrin Air Force Base in Texas.
Melton Harris Cotton, son of Nettie Melton Cotton, volunteered for the military at age 25 at the beginning of World War II. He was in the 91st Infantry Division of the Army, "The Fighting 91st". He first went to Africa at Oran in Operation Vendetta. He was in Ansio, Italy and fought up the Italian boot for twenty-two months. On May 2, 1945 his group had the Germans backed up to the foot of the Bavarian Alps, which was a few days prior to VE Day. He then went to Yugoslavia for six months. He left the military as a Captain with two Bronze stars plus other medals. Mel has dedicated the last several years of his life and time to the organization and building of the Camp White Historical Museum in Camp White, Oregon. The museum is a military museum honoring men and women who served our great nation. Mel served as President and Curator during the time it was being built.
Five of Ollie’s seven sons were involved in WW II. Luther made a career of the military. He joined the National Guard in 1934. He was a Sergeant in the Guard when it was federalized during WW II. He transferred into the Army at that time. He was the first non-commissioned officer to transfer into the Army as a commissioned officer from Fort Worth, Texas. Luther was in the training aspect of the 36th Division and served throughout the continental United States for the duration of the war. He was discharged from the Army after the war and reenlisted in 1948. He did not receive his commission upon reenlistment. His unit was on guard duty on both coasts of the United States during that time. The Korean Conflict broke out and he received his commission again. He was stationed in Korea for eighteen months with the United Nations. He was a Lt. Colonel at the time of his retirement.
Alvin enlisted in late 1942 as a Merchant Marine on a support vessel with the Navy. He was a Motor Machinist 1st Class. He was not directly involved in any battles, although he served in the Pacific. He trained at San Diego, California. He was in the Seabees with a construction battalion. His job took him to damaged ships in the southwest Pacific to repair and make them seaworthy. Alvin and his brother, John, were in the same port simultaneously. No one was allowed to leave John’s ship due to the short time it was scheduled to be docked. Alvin heard that John’s ship was nearby and boarded it to find John. As he went on deck, all of the men assigned to the ship (about 2,000) were there due to repairs being made below. Alvin was overwhelmed at the number of men and the short time allocated to find John. The brothers had not seen each other in three years. Alvin saw a young man sitting on deck, with his back to Alvin, shining his shoes. Alvin walked to him, tapped him on the shoulder, and began his question: “Do you know John Melton?” The young man turned to him and it was John. The brothers were able to visit for a short while and a long way from Sanger, Texas.
Jack enlisted in the Marines in January 1943 and was trained at Fort Gillespie, San Diego, California. He left the States with the 27th Marine Division in the fall of 1943. As a member of the first Marine Paratroops Division, he made jumps at Villa La Vall, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, and Bougainville. After a short furlough, he went to the Pacific in August 1944 with the 3rd Battalion, Co. H., 27th Marines, 5th Division from Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California. He was involved in several battles of the Pacific: Bougainville, Guadalcanal, and was in Pearl Harbor after the original battle. He went to the south end of Indonesia and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. The Marines would jump from the planes and because of the dense forests of the islands their parachutes would snag in the trees. Enemy snipers killed many young men who were hanging targets. The Marine Paratroopers became the Rangers and eventually became the Green Berets. He was at Tarawa Island, which is part of the Marshall Islands, and was working his way to New Guinea. His last battle was at Iwo Jima. He was there from 15 February 1945 until his death on 15 March 1945. He was in the “clean up crew” after Iwo Jima had been surrendered by the Japanese and considered “secure”. His group was flushing out the Japanese left on the island who did not know that it had been surrendered. He picked up a rocket launcher from a fallen soldier and strapped it to his back to continue their battle. He successfully launched the missile, which served its purpose, but was killed in the process. Jack’s superior officer wrote his parents saying “he successfully launched the missile and truly laid down his life for his friends”. He was a Corporal at the time of his death. Jack was buried on Iwo Jima until his body was transported to the US for burial on a cold, snowy day in January 1949 in the Melton family plot, Sanger, Texas.
John joined the Navy in May 28, 1941. He was assigned to the target vessel, USS Utah, and stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The Utah was an old ship that had been reinforced with extra boards and steel planks on its deck to protect it during training with other ships. It was docked at Ford Island, across from the USS Arizona, which was on Battleship Row. Perhaps because of the reinforced decking, the Japanese may have mistaken it for an aircraft carrier. It was hit immediately during the attack. The ship did not totally submerge, but instead, rolled on its side away from shore and began to sink. John was on deck, reading a Reader's Digest as the Japanese struck.
His accounts of the events are: "I watched a plane come over going toward Honolulu. Sometimes planes would come over and buzz the field there. I just thought it was a normal thing. But I heard some distant explosions; and when the plane dipped down, I saw the Japanese insignia, red circles on the wings. When the plane came real low over us and dropped torpedoes, I went below deck really fast and told the guys we were being attacked by Japanese. The ship was hit three times by three different torpedoes, three different planes. I started back up to the deck, but the planes were strafing the decks. So I went back down. I stayed down until the ship rolled over so far that water was coming in the second deck. I kept trying to hang on to that Readers' Digest, kept stuffing it in my belt. But after going up and down that ladder so many times, I finally lost the magazine, just gave up on keeping it. They told us to get out. The ship had rolled over so far that I walked down the hull, just slid on my feet, and jumped into a boat that was there. After some time in the boat, we waded on to shore. I watched the rest of the battle from Ford Island."
Sailors on board were confused about what was happening. The men were using the extra boards on the deck as a ladder to climb up the deck to the side of the ship. The commanding officer was telling the men to jump and swim underwater. The water was ablaze with gas and oil fires and the Japanese planes continued their attack. Some of the men on the Utah were trapped below deck at the time of the attack. Air pockets formed when the vessel rolled over. Some of the men were able to escape through the bottom of the ship while 58 others were trapped in a watery grave.
After the attack, John stayed in a barrack on shore for a while and then was assigned to the USS Minneapolis. He was in the Pacific during the remainder of the war. He was involved in 16 of the 21 major naval battles including Coral Seal and Midway Battles, Pearl Harbor being the first and Leyte Gulf, Philippine Islands, being the last. The Minneapolis was a heavy cruiser, which meant they had eight-inch guns and a larger ballast to handle the blast from the guns. The force of all the guns on one side being fired together would actually move the ship sideways. John was in a ship-to-ship battle, Tassafaronga, off Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, when 90 feet of the bow of the Minneapolis was destroyed. Thirty-five men were lost in the battle. They were able to close out the water and get to Guadalcanal Harbor. On their way to the harbor, they were running without lights and very little power. A ship picked them up on radar and signaled to identify themselves. The Minneapolis was hesitant to do so in the event it was an enemy ship, which was signaling. The decision was made to return the signal. Fortunately, it was a US ship and they were able to get help. The ship sank in the harbor of Tulagi. They were in a shallow area of the harbor and the ship did not submerge. While they were there, trees were cut daily to camouflage the ship. Water was rationed while work was being conducted. Disease broke out among the crewmembers. One of the doctors who was stationed at the port and gave medical attention to the men was Dr. Furstan. Years later, John’s sister, Linnie, a registered nurse in Fort Worth for many years worked for the same Dr. Furstan. She had worked for him for several years prior to making the connection.
John was next assigned to the USS Carter Hall. It was a “landing ship dock”. It lifted ships out of the water where they could be worked on until they were again sea worthy. John was Seaman First Class when he was discharged in May 1946.
Dwyane, the youngest of O.G. and Belle’s sons, enlisted in the Navy July 1945 and was discharged in June 1946. He was on a light cruiser, USS St. Louis 49. He was in boot camp for only a couple of weeks prior to the Japanese surrender. After boot camp, he went to Sacramento, Hawaii, Kwaialein in the Marshall Islands, Guadalcanal, San Francisco, Pearl Harbor, Guam, and Samoa. They would pick up shore based military men who were nearing discharge and take them home. At one point, after having been at sea long enough to be tired of shipboard cuisine, near the Galapagos Islands the commanding officer of the ship caught a turtle. The officers on board had turtle meat and the enlisted men had turtle soup. They made their way to the East Coast of the U.S. and decommissioned their ship. Dwyane was then assigned to the USS Wichita and helped decommission that ship also. During the time the Wichita was being decommissioned and put in dry dock, an order was issued stating that when the ship was prepared, the men on duty could be discharged. Dwyane scrubbed bilges, mess halls, the area where sea water was changed into useable water, and his pay went from $32 a month to $64 a month. He was a Fireman Second Class at the time of his discharge.
There may be others whose names should be included in WW II list. There have been members of the family involved in every conflict of the United States beginning with the Revolutionary War through the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, Middle East War, and Bosnia.
The Melton family has, and continues to, use some of the same names, numerous times. William and John are two prime examples. Another naming pattern is from Melton women who name their sons Melton. Melton Cotton, Alfred Melton Neale, Donald Melton Harper, Melton Alfred Neale, are but a few.

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