Arthur Herman Yelton (221.1)

Born: 6/3/1887 Falmouth, Pendleton County, Kentucky

Died: 9/11/1967 Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio

Parents: Sanford Melvin Yelton and Mary Elizabeth Williams

Spouse: Millie Ellen Nee. Carter (Kenton County, KY - 3/13/1909)

Children: William Sanford Yelton 1910-1988 / Edgar Otto Yelton 1911-1994 / Mary E. Yelton 1913-2001 / Mildred Yelton 1915-2018 / Ruth Arline Yelton 1917-2004 / Leonora B. Yelton 1919-2007 / Ralph “Blondy” Herman Yelton 1921-2004 / Stanley Dedrick Yelton 1927-2004

Bio:

Arthur was born in Pendleton County to a farming family and represented the third generation of Yelton men to be born in the county. His dad farmed and his mother kept house. In 1900, he was living with his parents and four siblings in Bonars, Pendleton County. A fifth sibling, a sister named Nellie Agusta, would come in 1904. Young Arthur and his sibling all attend school and they all can read and write, as can all of their neighbors.

Arthur and Millie’s marriage Certificate

March 13, 1909

On March 13, 1909, Arthur married Millie Ellen Carter in Kenton County, Kentucky, a woman from Southern Ohio and close to his age who also comes from a large farming family. By 1910, Arthur has moved his young family into a rented farmhouse in Bonar on which he works. The crop of the area at the time is predominantly cotton, while keeping hogs and/or chickens was also common in the area. Being only 40 miles South of Cincinnati, it is possible that the young Yelton family begin to hear about automobiles.

In 1917, Arthur registers for the draft in Lucas County, Ohio along with all other eligible men, nearly 23% of the nation’s population between all states. He is listed as a carpenter, with a wife and at least a single child. He is described as tall, of medium build, with dark blue eyes and dark brown hair. Although his occupation and status would have given him a reason to avoid the draft, he did not claim exemption.

By 1920, the family house in Bonar has expanded. With six kids, Arthur has switched professions to being a carpenter on his own account. while they still rent their house, his profession sticks out from others on the census, all of whom are farmers. Also, three of Arthur and Mary’s kids have been born across the state line in Ohio (Edgar, Mildred, and Ruth).

A map of Falmouth

1936

Arthur’s WWI Draft Card

Carpenter, tall, not disabled

Arthur has moved his family to Falmouth by 1930. With all of their kids, Arhtur and Millie live in an owned house worth $1000 on Mullins Avenue. At age 42, Arthur works as a house carpenter while Millie keeps house and looks over their many children. He makes a wage although he works on his own account, and they own a radio. Their relocation to town is strongly reflected in the census and within the family. Their neighbors on their street include contractors, grocery store workers, and factory workers. Arthurs’s 16-year-old daughter Hattie works at the Levy Pants factory while two of his sons are general laborers. The most expensive house on the street belongs to 85-year-old Ben B Hitch, a veteran of the Civil War, at $5000. The cheapest house is rented by Mr. WC Jenkins and his wife Violette at $10 a month. WC works as a laborer on the county road.

Arthur’s WWII Draft Card

Arthur has once again switched professions by 1940, listed as a lumber mill worker making $600 a year. At age 52, he lives on State Street in Falmouth with his seven kids, aged 24 to 7. His oldest daughter Millie works as a maid in a private home while his youngest kids attend school. The highest grade Arthur attained was sixth grade. Falmouth is slowly starting to modernize around the Yelton family. It is likely that the town would have had a hardware store, a grocery, and a bank; big time-metropolitan to the cotton farm. rationing was beginning to take effect, limiting the amount of gas, sugar, and tires available to the people of Falmouth. In 1942, Arthur again registers for a World War. he is listed as 6’1”, with blue eyes and gray hair and “sallow” complexion. He weighs 160 pounds and his left hand is noted as “first finger disfigured”.

Falmouth Post Office

1941. Retrieved Scenes from Falmouth, Kentucky

Arthur and Millie Later in Life

The kids have all moved out by 1950 other than a young man named “Paul”. He is 19 and is listed as a son of Arthur and Millie although I am not sure of the relation. Arthur is a paper hanger working on his own account, much like he was before the war years. They have moved houses, now living on Wilson Street. There is not much information available for Arthur and Millie between the 1950s and the mid-60s. It is assumed that they lived in Toledo, where she died in 1966 and he died in 1967.