Harrelson

Others have traced our Harrelson family history back to the immigration of Peter Harrelson from Denmark in the 1640s. My ancestors moved from Virginia to South Carolina and on to Benton (present-day Calhoun) County, AL in the mid 19th century. My grandfather, John Gideon Harrelson lived from July 14, 1877 to May 6, 1953. He was the son of Robert Harrelson and the grandson of Gideon Harrelson, Jr. See the family tree for further details.

"Papa" Harrelson married Naomi Jane Howard on May 14, 1899 in Calhoun County, AL. I believe Naomi Jane to be the daughter of F. J. and Sarah Jane Campbell Howard, but I have not been able to prove this conclusively. John and Naomi had 11 children, ten of whom lived to adulthood. Naomi died in 1928 and "Papa" married Elsie Helton in 1929. She died in 1935 and he later remarried Vinnie Haynes.

My mother, Ruth Evelyn Harrelson was born May 11, 1916. She was the ninth of John & Naomi Harrelson's eleven children. When she was 27 years old, she married my father Frank Sylvester Gaines. He was twenty years older than her and had two grown daughters. They operated a small grocery store in Weaver, AL. They were married ten years before I was born in 1953. Unfortunately, Mother died two days later on July 6, 1953 at age 37. My father died a year later.

...John Gaines

Grave markers help establish dates for family history researchers. We have collected photos of the gravestones of several Harrelson family members. Click here to see those photos.