JAMES MELTON was born January 19, 1849, in what is now Webster County, Ky., and is a son of R. A. and Sarah A. (Shelton) Melton. The father was born in Henderson County, Ky.; he died May 3, 1879, aged sixty-three. The mother was born in North Carolina; she died in April, 1883. Our subject owns his present farm, which consists of 144 acres of land. He was married, in 1870, to Catherine Mabery, of Webster County; she died April 11, 1877, leaving three children: John T., born July 10, 1871; Samuel R., born December 15, 1873; and Jennie B., October 6, 1875. Mr. Melton's second marriage, in March, 1878, to Mary Mitchell, of Webster County. There is one son living by this union—James J., born September 20, 1882.
Source: J. H. Battle, W. H. Perrin, & G. C. Kniffin. Kentucky. A History of the State. Louisville, KY, Chicago, IL: Battey, 1885. Page 1039.