Josiah Cyrus Shelton married Elizabeth Oran, who is said to be a full-blooded Indian, on 22 June 1822 in Rockingham County NC. Mary Elizabeth Oran had been born in that county in 1802 and she lived to be ninety-three years old. Our Shelton family gets our longevity from her Native American genes and probably the crook in our noses also. I have the crook in my nose and so does one of my granddaughters, Megan Elizabeth Weldon. My other cousins do not have the crook in their nose.

Josiah Cyrus and Elizabeth Shelton traveled over the Cumberland and one story that is told is that Josiah Cyrus Shelton was camping near White Plaines KY and he met up with the Oglesby Family, who were also traveling on their way to Webster County. One of the Oglesby boys, Gustavas Adolphus, fell for the Shelton's daughter Elizabeth. The children were teenagers and the Oglesby boy asked his parents if he could go with the Sheltons. He eventually he married Elizabeth Shelton, who he thought was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. You can read more about this in Billy Oglesby's Family History.

Josiah C., age 59, and Elizabeth Shelton, age 49, are listed in the 1850 Henderson County KY census at household #381 with nine children. They are listed in the 1860 Webster County KY census. In the 1870 census, after the death of her husband, Elizabeth Shelton is listed in the Webster County KY census; she is sixty-eight years old and is living with her son Albert H. Shelton and his family. In the 1880 Union County KY census, Elizabeth Shelton, age seventy-seven, is again living with son Albert Shelton and his family.

Josiah Cyrus and Elizabeth Shelton are both buried in the Shelton Cemetery in Webster County, KY. They were blessed with fourteen children and that may explain why most all of the Sheltons in Webster County are kin. There are a lot of black Sheltons and in 1865 when they were freed they took the Shelton name because they were slaves of the Sheltons. I am not proud of this but it is part of the history.

The children of Josiah Cyrus and Elizabeth Oran Shelton are listed below. I am descended from their daughter Lucinda Shelton, whose life is documented on the next page:

1. Pinckney Shelton, born 1820-1825, was listed as an idiot in the census; he had the measles twice and his fever became so high that it affected his mind. He could work but his mental capacity was slow. He died in 1890 and is buried at Mt. Lebanon Cemetery.

2. Hamilton P. Shelton, born 1822, married Rosannah Grayson 9 Oct 1845 in Henderson County KY and they became the parents of nine children. He died in 1883 and they are both buried at Mt. Lebanon Cemetery.

3. Minerva Shelton, born 1823, married Elisha Melton 6 Feb 1842 in Henderson County KY and they became the parents of seven children. She died in 1860.

4. Sarah A. "Sally" Shelton, born 1825, married Reuben Anderson Melton 30 Dec 1841 in Henderson County KY and they became the parents of thirteen children. She died in 1883.

5. Agnes Shelton, born 1829, married Barney Hankins 8 Oct 1845 in Henderson County KY and they became the parents of five children. She died in 1866; they are both buried at
Mt. Lebanon Cemetery.

6. Martha Jane Shelton, born 1830, married Stanhope Lively and they became the parents of two children. She died in 1902.

7. Mary Elizabeth Shelton, born 1833, married Gustavus Adolphus Oglesby and they became the parents of ten children. She died in 1915.

* 8. Lucinda Shelton, born 1834, died 1903, is my great-great-grandmother and her life is documented on the next page.

9. Joseph Zealot Shelton, born 1836, married 1) Sarah Jane Chandler 7 Feb 1856 in Hopkins County KY, and they became the parents of five children. Sarah Jane died in 1865 and Joseph Zealot Shelton married 2) Catherine Gates 6 Jul 1865. He died in 1896 and is buried at Petersburg Cemetery. Joe Z. Shelton obituary

10. Eliza Louise Shelton, born 1838, married 1) Benjamin F. Lamb and they became the parents of two children. Eliza married 2) her second cousin George Washington Shelton 22 Jul 1869 Webster County KY, and they became the parents of one child. Eliza died in 1883 and she is buried at Mt. Lebanon Cemetery.

11. Amy Shelton, born 1840, married William Holtzclaw. She died in 1903.

12. Andrew W Shelton, born 1842; died 1849

13. Albert Henry Shelton, born 1844, married Cyntha Parthenia "Part" Brackett 26 Oct 1865 in Webster County KY and they became the parents of six children. He died in 1930 in Garvin County OK.

14. John William Shelton, born 1846, married Narcissa Jane Witherspoon. He died in 1903. John William Shelton wrote a book about the family in 1902-1903. There is a photo of John William Shelton online.