Kay Risher, and others, have insisted time and time again that James Franklin Bolton did not marry Martha (Margaret) Risher. What I have also seen insisted in these message boards is that the Martha that married James Franklin Bolton was a Smith.

The death certificate for James Franklin Bolton, Jr. lists Martha Risher as being James' mother. This information was provided by my grandfather, Girard Frank Bolton. I would think that my grandfather would know the names of his own grandparents, just as any of you know the names of your grandparents.

I have not yet seen the 1880 Clarke County, MS Census, but on 29 Dec 2000 Mary Perkins wrote that she knows for a fact that Martha Risher appeared on the same census listed with James F Bolton. Coincidence? I doubt it.

Though historic documents do exist that show James Franklin Bolton was married to Martha Risher, I have yet to find a single historic document that shows my James Franklin Bolton being married to a Martha SMITH. If anyone can point me to historic documents that do prove that my Martha's maiden name was SMITH, I would much appreciate it. Otherwise, I would appreciate it very much if people would stop insinuating that my grandfather didn't know who his own grandparents were - people that he knew personally and whose names he passed to his children and grandchildren in oral tradition.

-- Roy Dalton Pope, Jr.