He appears to be the son of Joseph Blanton and Jane Munkers. Joseph died near Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1844 on the way to Oregon. Jane returned to MO and married Abner Hackworth. He descends from William Blanton of Lee County, Virginia and is a member of the group we call the Southwest Virginia Blantons:

William>John>Joseph>Dr. Frank

The web is full of spurious genealogies purporting to identify William's father. However, there is absolutely no evidence of his identity.

Email me at rbsgenealogy@ameritech.net and I will send you Louise McDonald's research on this family. Also, search http://www.genforum.com/blanton with Showers to read Steve Showers' posts, although he descends from a different branch.