The Shells of Pigeon Creek Genealogy Web Site
The ancestors, descendants, and cousins of the Shells of Pigeon Creek, Alabama.
Notes for John Henry Lofton
John Henry Lofton spent the early years of his life in Hall County, Georgia. His father disappeared sometime between 1834 and 1836. The exact year is unknown. In 1834, John Henry is listed as a student in Mr. John Parkes Academy, whom John Henry Lofton called his favorite teacher. He told daughter Susan Lofton McCurdy that he always liked and had respect for Mr. Parkes. The family struggled after his father's death as his mother's sole way of making a living was sewing for the public. The children were so young that they couldn't help their mother much with making a living. They were at the Academy one year as paying students and on the Poor Childrens' List the next, unable to meet the tuition cost.
John Henry went south to Macon, Georgia and joined the 13th United States Infantry under Colonel Echols and was placed in Company D. The commander of Company D was Captain Clinch. The 13th United States Infantry was sent to the instructional camp on the banks of the Rio Grande River. While there, John Henry rose to the rank of corporal. This unit took part in the sea-borne landings at Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was quite a feat. They took part at the fighting near the NationalBridge, and stayed in camp there guarding the supply lines of Winfiled Scott's army as it moved on to take Mexico City. The 13th United States Infantry was near the village of Olizana when the war came to an end. John Henry was discharged July 15, 1848 at Mobile, Alabama.
John Henry returned home to Hall County and lived for over a year before the gold bug bit him and he moved to California during the 1849 gold rush. He returned to Alabama to visit briefly with sister Martha Lofton Evans and her husband, Thomas J. Evans, and while there met Sarah Campbell, whom he married Oct. 12, 1871 at Black Oak Church near Grove Oak, Alabama. He soon filed for a land grant based on his military service at the Huntsville Land Office for 160 acres of land. He built a cabin to establish his homestead and moved with Sarah to the community of Callahan near Dutton, Alabama. The land grant became final on July 22, 1889, when President Benjamin Harrison signed the doument in Washington, DC. John Henry and Sarah lived the rest of their lives on this place near Kirby Creek. They raised 4 daughters: Rebecca, Susie, Magnolia, and Mollie. John Henry suffered from neuralgia, cramps and liver problems in his later years. He died June 2, 1893.
Harold Bouldin. From the Lofton Report (Lofton Report.rtf).
7, Jackson County, AL.
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