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- History of Southeast Missouri: : A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People and Its Principal Interests, by Robert Sidney Douglas, Volume 1, 1912. Pages 605-606
J. Thompson Blanton. In that particular portion of Iron county in which his home is situated and where he is best known, J. Thompson Blanton, farmer, stockman and
veteran of the Civil war, stands as one of the important and highly esteemed members of his community. Here he has resided for many years, since 1858, to be exact, and although not a native of the county, he has resided in the state all his life with the exception of a period spent in farming in the state of Nevada and during his war service.
The attractive Blanton homestead is situated some seven miles southeast of Ironton and is one of the highly improved estates of Iron county.
Mr. Blanton was born in Madison county, Missouri, on the Saint Francois river, October 24, 1843, and is the son of Benjaman F. and Ailsey (Berryman) Blanton. The mother was a niece of the Rev. J. C. Berry man, a detailed sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this work. She died in 1869. aged about seventy years. Her father, whose farm included what is now Arcadia, was .Tosiah Berryman, a prominent man of his day.
He came to Missouri at the same time as his clergyman brother, who was the founder of Arcadia College. Benjamin F. Blanton was born in Lincoln county and removed to Madison county as a young man, locating on the Saint Francois river, near Wayne County, that being the scene of his marriage. He subsequently removed to Arcadia Valley and died in Dunklin County, at the age of about seventy years. He whose name inaugurates this record is the second in order of birth in a family of ten children, of whom four are now living. The other surviving members of the family are: Mrs. Michael Deguira, of Fredericktown; William II., of the vicinity of that place; and Moman, who is a Fredericktown resident.
Mr. Blanton passed the roseate days of boyhood and youth in Madison county, and there received his schooling. When about seven teen years of age he came to Iron county, which has ever since been the scene of his residence, with the exception of the time spent in the far west, above alluded to. He engages in general farming and also in the stock business, and in both departments has met with success, his methods being up-to-date and well-directed. When the Nation went down into the dread Valley of Decisionin the ’60s, Mr. Blanton enlisted in the Confederate army, as a member of Company C, Ninth Missouri Infantry, his enlistment taking place in Arkansas. The young man of nineteen was firmly convinced of the logic of the severing of the states from the national government if its rulings were against their conviction and he proved a loyal and valiant soldier. He participated in several engagements, but was fortunate enough not. to receive a wound. When peace was restored to the stricken country, he went
In October, 1871, Mr. Blanton was united in marriage to Miss Caroline F. Kinkead. who was born in Saint Francois county, in October, 1852, and is a daughter of Andrew B. and Rebecca C. (Elgin) Kinkead, who came to the state in their youth and were marriedin Saint Francois county, which continued to be their home for the rest of their lives. The father died before the Civil War, but the mother survived until February,1906, when she passed away at the age of ninety years. He was a tanner and farmer by occupation. He was born in Kentucky and the mother in Virginia, and they were both consistent members of the Christian church. Mrs. Blanton is one of a family of seven children, but of this number only one brother, Nicholas A., a farmer in St. Francois county, survives in addition to herself.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Blanton has been blessed by the birth of the following children: Beatrice is the wife of M. P. Gregory, of Madison county and the mother of two children, Helen and Corena; Pauline died at the age of two years; Benjamin B., deputysheriff of Iron county, is a citizen of Ironton; Gerard, a farmer of Madison county, married Miss Belle Freeland and their two daughters are Winifred and Charlene; Cartright R. is at home; Sophie is the wife of James L. Freeland, a farmer of Iron county,and their two sons are Nicholas and Josiah; M. Deguire is at home, as are also the twin brothers, Langdon E. and •James E., and the youngest member of the family, Ailsey Litia.
In evidence of the zeal and energy of Mr. Blanton is the fact that his farm had but twenty acres cleared when he bought it and at the present day some two hundred acres are under cultivation. It is one of Iron county’s finest farms, is adorned with a fine, commodious dwelling, and its buildings and fences are of the most substantial character.
In the matter of politics Mr. Blanton has always been a Democrat, having given his suffrage to the party since his earliest voting days. He is a member of the Masonic order and Mr. Blanton and exemplified its high ideals in his own living. Mrs. Blanton retains her membership in the Christian church of Libertyville. Saint Francois county, and the various members of this popular family enjoy high standing in the community in which their interests are centered.
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1843 - 1929 (85 years)
