My Genealogy Hound

Lewis Dalton, merchant, miller and farmer, Dalton, Ark. Some of the most energetic and enterprising business men of the thrifty little town of Dalton are identified with the growth and prosperity of the same, and none more so than Mr. Dalton. He is an energetic and thorough man of business, and has acquired a wide reputation for general business ability and for honorable dealings. Aside from this he is also one of the most extensive land owners in the county. He was born in Ripley County, Mo., in 1835, received his education in the subscription schools of those days, and only attended one school where grammar was taught. At the age of twenty-five years he commenced farming, and this continued one year. In 1862 he joined the Confederate army, Company I, under Col. Adams, but served only a short time when he was discharged on account of disability. He then returned home and resumed agricultural pursuits which he has followed all his life, and in 1874, engaged in the milling business, erecting a cotton-gin and mill on the Eleven Points River. Previous to the war, January 4, 1860, he married Miss Sarah A. Stubblefield, and two children were born to this union: Acenith, who was born December 13, 1861, and Elijah who was born November 1, 1863, and is a merchant at Dalton. At the time of his marriage Mr. Dalton had cultivated his father’s farm, and in 1868 he purchased 287 acres of land. Since then he has added to the original amount until he now owns 1,100 acres, all in one tract, except forty acres. At the close of the war he had very little property, and his father had nothing left except his land. Now our subject is worth at least $30,000, all of which he has made by his own hard work and good business management, besides placing a good income in the hands of his two children. Mr. Dalton is a member of the Masonic order, and is Democratic in politics. He is the son of Elijah and Zillah (Gains) Dalton, natives of Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively. Elijah Dalton was born in 1807, and came with his parents to Madison County, Mo., in 1809. He was principally reared in that county, and early in life learned the brick mason trade, but did not follow this after his marriage in 1832. He commenced farming in Ripley County, Mo., and continued this occupation there until his death, which occurred in 1884. In connection with tilling the soil he also operated a water-mill. To him and wife were born seven children-(two now living): James M. (deceased), William M. (deceased), Lewis, Elijah (deceased), Zimriah (deceased), Zylphia (deceased) and Levi, who is now residing in Ripley County, Mo. Levi was assessor for that county for six years, was also collector for four years, and is one of the representative men. He follows merchandising in connection with farming, and resides west of Doniphan, Mo. When Elijah Dalton commenced life for himself, he was not possessed of a great amount of this world’s goods, but he entered a farm on a strip of land between Missouri and Arkansas, that never belonged to either of the States, until about the breaking out of the late war. Mr. Dalton improved this farm and resided on it the remainder of his days. At the time of his death he was worth about $5,000. He lost his wife in 1852. She was a worthy and consistent member of the Christian Church. Mr. Dalton took for his second wife Miss Elizabeth Stubblefield, whom he married in 1862. By this union one child was born, Joseph, who lives on the old homestead in Ripley County, Mo. Mrs. Dalton died in 1865, and Mr. Dalton was married, the third time, to Mrs. Margaret Johnson, nee McKinnie of Ripley County. She still survives him and is now married to A. J. Ponder of Doniphan, Mo. Mr. Dalton was a Democrat in his political views, and was a member of the Masonic fraternity. The paternal grandfather of Lewis Dalton was a native of South Carolina, and came to Missouri in 1809. He was a minister in the Baptist Church. The maternal grandfather, Nathaniel Gains, was born in Culpeper County, Va., in 1765, and died in 1849. He was a cousin of Gen. Gains, of Revolutionary fame. His father was a great friend of Gen. George Washington.