A Dutton Mini-Reunion in Anson County, North Carolina

June 6, 2010

Cousins,

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to pass through Dutton Country in Anson County, North Carolina, where Samuel Sneed Dutton youngest son of Zachariah Dutton, settled and made his home, and where his descendants continue to reside.

After stopping and visiting the courthouse square in Wadesboro, the county seat of Anson County, I went to meet two cousins from two different branches of the family, for lunch. Barbara Ann Dutton Britt is the great-great-granddaughter of Samuel Sneed Dutton and a resident of Wadesboro. Richard Maxwell is the son of Bill and Jane Maxwell of Ridgecrest, California who visited me in Alabama a few years ago. Though his great-great-grandfather Edmond Dutton migrated to Alabama, and his great-grandfather Alexander Dutton to Texas and Oklahoma, and his grandfather Stephen Petway Dutton to California, he nonetheless returned to live only a county over from his long-lost Dutton cousins in Monroe, North Carolina, by coincidence (or perhaps some work of Providence, or the bonds of kinship).

And I am descended from a third branch of the family, from William Dutton, who migrated to Alabama and whose descendants still reside there. Our respective ancestral lines:

Barbara Ann:

Zachariah Dutton > Samuel Sneed Dutton > William Cavasso Dutton > Charles Marshall Dutton

Richard:

Zachariah Dutton > Edmond Dutton > Alexander Dutton > Stephen Petway Dutton

Joseph:

Zachariah Dutton > William Dutton > James Zachariah Dutton > Daniel Moody Dutton

After lunch together, my traveling friend and I got in the car with Barbara Ann and her husband Pete and they took us out into Dutton Country, showing us landmarks as we went. Richard followed us in his Jeep. We arrived at Long Pine Methodist Church, the family church of William Cavasso Dutton and his family, where he and many generations of his descendants are buried. Barbara Ann took us on a tour of the cemetery, pointing out many relatives.

We took a group photo of our mini-reunion:

After spending some time at the cemetery, and saying farewell to Richard (Barbara Ann invited him to the official Dutton reunion the following week), Barbara Ann took us on to point out the pasture where Samuel Sneed Dutton and his wife Betsy Robinson Threadgill are said to be buried. There wasn’t much to see; it was very grown up, and I was not able to see the remains of the cemetery. I hope to return someday, and would like to see a marker placed to note the location.

Returning to Wadesboro, we said our goodbyes and were on our way. All in all, it was an outstanding visit, and a great experience to commune with faraway cousins in another place where the roots of the family tree run deep.