Sherman (Texas) Democrat, Sunday, January 12, 1941, p.9
MANAGER OF GIN DIES SUDDENLY - Special to The Democrat - WHITEWRIGHT - John F. (sic - should be S) Blanton, 72, manager of the Planters gin here for fie months died suddenly of a heart attack at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the gin while doing windup work in preparation for closing the plant until next fall. His son, Otho Blanton, was with him. //
The body was taken to Vernon where the Blantons have resided for the last 30 years for funeral services and burial there Sunday afternoon. // Mr. Blanton was born Dec. 30, 1868 in North Carolina, a son of Mr. and Mrs. B.F. Blanton. He was married to Miss Nannie Jones at Bowie in 1881. The family came to Texas in 1874 and located at Ely then moved
to Bethel in 1880. Mr. Blanton attended old Grayson college here. He was a member of the First Church of Christ Scientist. // Surviving are his mother of Whitewright; his widow; three sons, Otho and Bert of Vernon and Jack of Oklahoma City; four sisters, Mrs. F.A. Meierant of Wellington, Kan, Mrs. Jasper Jackson of Oklahoma City, Mrs. Addie Sweatt of Whitewright and Mrs. W.A. Badgett of Denison and four brothers, Charles of Whitewright, Jim of Lubbock, W.A. of Oklahoma City and Jesse of Houston.
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Whitewright Sun, January 16, 1941, p. 5, v. 56, No. 3
J.S. BLANTON - Funeral services for J.S. Blanton, Whitewright gin operator, were held at 3 p.m. Sunday at Vernon with J. Rodocker, member of the Christian Science church of Wichita Falls, officiating. Burial was in East View Memorial Park, Vernon. Pallbearers were nephews and flower girls were nieces of Mr. Blanton. // Mr. Blanton died suddenly
Friday afternoon while on duty at the Planters gin Company plant here, which he had managed during the last ginning season. He had returned to Whitewright to wind up the affairs of the ginning season after spending the holidays at Vernon, and Friday was the last day he intended to work before going to his home at Vernon. The body was prepared for burial here and was taken to Vernon Saturday morning. // Born Dec. 30, 1868, in Rutherford County, North Carolina, Mr. Blanton came to Texas with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Blanton, in 1871, and grew to manhood on the Blanton farm south of
Whitewright. He married the former Miss Nannie Rebecca Jones of Bowie Jan. 1, 1891,at Bowie. They celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary last New Year's day. //About 50 years ago in one of his first business ventures, Mr. Blanton gave Whitewright its first electric plant. A few years later he, together with his father and Jeff Ray, operated a string of gins and power plants in Texas and Oklahoma, with headquarters at Ardmore, Okla. In 1903, he moved to Vernon and there built one of the first cotton gins in that part of the state. When he sold out a few years later to the Vernon Cotton Oil
Company he became associated with that firm and was superintendent of the company's gins for a period of about 30 years, until two years ago. He was also one of the organizers of a power company in Vernon soon after the turn of the century. In addition to his other interests, Mr. Blanton also operated a laundry at Vernon for a time. // Mr. Blanton was a member of the Church of Christ, Scientist, and was a member of the mother church at Boston. He was a member of the Vernon Woodmen of the world Lodge and was one of only two men in Vernon who were members of the Woodmen Circle. // Surviving are his wife, three sons Otho and Bert F. Blanton of Vernon and Jack V. Blanton of Oklahoma City; two daughters, Mrs. J.A. Jackson of Oklahoma City and Mrs. F.A. Meierant of Wellington, Kan; his mother; Mrs. B.F. Blanton of Whitewright; four brothers, C.S. Blanton of Whitewright, J.F. Blanton of Merkel, W.A. Blanton of Oklahoma city, and J.A. Blanton of Houston, and two sisters, Mrs. Addie Sweatt of Whitewright and Mrs. W.A. Badgett of Denison. (Researcher's note: John Stephen Blanton was the son of Benjamin Franklin "Frank" Blanton and Julia Ann Blanton. His paternal grandparents were Benjamin Edward Blanton and Mary Feagans of Rutherford Co., NC. His maternal grandparents were Stephen Fletcher Blanton and Sarah McDaniel. His maternal great-grandparents were Jeremiah Blanton and Sarah Rebecca Womack of Rutherford Co., NC.)