Person Page - 17

     (?) Louis IV King of France died in 954. Probable grandson maternally of Edward the Elder, King of England, d. 924.

     Sidney Scott Stapleton was born on 23 December 1951 at Fayetteville, Cumberland Co., NC.¹ He was the son of Robert Stapleton and Ruth Carter. Sidney Scott Stapleton died on 13 December 2019 at Fayetteville, Cumberland Co., NC, at age 67. He was buried.²

S. Scott Stapleton, M.D., 67, of Fayetteville passed away Friday, December 13, 2019, in Fayetteville, NC.
Friends and family are welcome to join us in celebrating Scotty’s life on January 11th, 2020 from 6 - 8:30PM at the Stapleton residence, 1111 Offshore Drive, Fayetteville, NC 28305.
Scott “Scotty” Stapleton was born on December 23, 1951, one of four children born to the late Ruth Carter Stapleton and Robert “Bob” Stapleton. Scotty was born and raised in Fayetteville, NC, where he attended Terry Sanford Senior High School and played guard for the varsity basketball team. As a senior he was voted “Best All Around” by his fellow classmates and was also nominated for the Morehead Scholarship.
Ultimately, his talent for athletics and passion for academics led him to pursue a basketball scholarship and Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Syracuse University. He continued his career in academia, earning his Master of Microbiology from NC State University. Upon graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine, he completed his residency at Duke Eye Center and became an ophthalmic surgeon. In 1984, he moved back home to Fayetteville, NC with aspirations to open Cross Creek Eye Clinic, and subsequently founded Cape Fear Eye Associates.
Practicing medicine came naturally for Scott and he was a wonderful provider that cared deeply for his patients, staff, and surrounding community. He took great pride and fulfillment in improving and restoring the gift of sight. A true scholar at heart, you would most often find him in his home library, overlooking the lake he loved, while reading veraciously, writing passages and reflecting on the teachings, stories, and words of thousands of authors.
However, his immense love for life did not cease at the written word and his work. His goal was to love his family, experience every precious moment and live without regrets. As he would often say, “these are the good ole days”, which is why after 30 years in practice, Scotty slid into retirement so he could finally enjoy “oysters and beer for dinner every day of the year”. For the next 5 years he travelled and biked all over the world with the love of his life and wife, Caro Lee. No matter whether he was spending time with his family; cruising in his red Porsche with the top down and his yellow Lab “Gracie” sitting shotgun; playing 18 (or more) holes with the fellas; listening to his vinyl record collection; or simply having a drink or good meal with loved ones. He always took time to appreciate God’s gifts.
Scotty is preceded in death by his son, Brent Scott Stapleton; parents, Ruth Carter Stapleton and Robert “Bob” Stapleton.
He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Caro Lee Stapleton; daughter, Jennifer Ruth Joeckel; grandsons, Mason Blake Joeckel and Sutton Scott Joeckel; sisters, Gloria Lynn Nimocks and Patricia Bock Stapleton; and brother, Robert Michael Stapleton.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to The CARE Clinic, PO Box 53438, Fayetteville, NC 28305 and Highland Presbyterian Church, 111 Highland Avenue, Fayetteville, NC 28305.

     Ruth Carter was born on 7 August 1929 at Plains, Sumter Co., GA. She was the daughter of James Earl Carter Sr. and Bessie Lillian Gordy.¹ Ruth Carter married Robert Stapleton in 1948. Ruth Carter died on 26 September 1983 at age 54.

     James Earl Carter Sr. was born on 12 September 1894 at Arlington, Calhoun Co., GA.² He was the son of William Archibald Carter and Nina Pratt.^3,4 James Earl Carter Sr. married Bessie Lillian Gordy, daughter of James Jackson Gordy and Mary Ida Nicholson, on 27 September 1923 at Plains, Sumter Co., GA.² James Earl Carter Sr. died on 22 July 1953 at Plains, Sumter Co., GA, at age 58.² He was buried at Lebanon Cemetery, Plains, Sumter Co., GA.⁵

Earl was an insurance broker, farmer and fertilizer dealer, a Baptist, and a Democrat. A veteran of World War I, he served on the County Board of Education and was a state representative in his first term when he died at age 59. ³

Earl and Lillian were enumerated in the 1930 Militia District 884, Sumter Co., GA, federal census. He was a farmer age 35, she was 31. Children in the household were Jim E. 5, Gloria 3, and Ruth 0.⁶

Earl and Lillian were enumerated in the 1940 Plains, Sumter Co., GA federal census. He was a farmer, age 45, she was 41. Children in the household were James 15, Gloria 13, Ruth 10, and William 3.⁶

     Bessie Lillian Gordy was born on 15 August 1898 at Richland, Stewart Co., GA.² She was the daughter of James Jackson Gordy and Mary Ida Nicholson.^3,4 Bessie Lillian Gordy married James Earl Carter Sr., son of William Archibald Carter and Nina Pratt, on 27 September 1923 at Plains, Sumter Co., GA.⁵ Bessie Lillian Gordy died on 30 October 1983 at Americus, Sumter Co., GA, at age 85.² She was buried on 2 November 1983 at Lebanon Cemetery, Plains, Sumter Co., GA.⁶

Registered Nurse and former Peace Corps Volunteer to India.

     President James Earl Carter Jr. was born on 1 October 1924 at Plains, Sumter Co., GA.² He was the son of James Earl Carter Sr. and Bessie Lillian Gordy.^3,4 President James Earl Carter Jr. married Eleanor Rosalynn Smith, daughter of Wilburn Edgar Smith and Frances Allethea Murray, on 7 July 1946 at Plains Methodist, Plains, Sumter Co., GA.^2,5

Georgia Family Lines by Kenneth H. Thomas, Jr.

Jimmy Carter worked on his father's farm but he had an uncle in the United States Navy who sent him postcards from exotic ports, so as a boy he dreamed of attending the Naval Academy. He was the first in his family to attend college, first in 1941 at Georgia Southwestern for a year then Georgia Tech for a year. He then went to Annapolis, graduated 60th in his class in 1946.

He worked in nuclear submarines but resigned his commission in 1953 when his father was diagnosed with cancer to run the peanut farm.

Carter won his first elective office in 1960, became governor of Georgia in 1971, and the 39th president of the United States in 1977.

From the AJC 6 July 2006:

Jimmy and Rosalynn grew up near each other in Plains, but they didn't become an item until he came home on summer break from the Naval Academy in 1945.

At 18, Rosalynn Smith already had a crush on her future husband. She visited the Carter home often to see her best friend, Jimmy's sister Ruth, and admired a photo of him in his Annapolis uniform. But the midshipman was seeing someone else — Miss Georgia Southwestern College, no less.

"I had never even thought of asking Rosalynn out on a date," he says.

Carter's steady was busy on the last night of his summer break, so he asked Rosalynn Smith out to a movie. The next morning, he told his mother that he had met the girl he was going to marry.

The ceremony took place the following summer at Plains Methodist Church. As the couple drove up together, the pianist was playing "Here Comes the Bride" for the second time and they had to run up the steps.

After the service, the newlyweds borrowed his father's new car — a 1946 Plymouth — and drove to Atlanta, where they spent their first night as man and wife in the Biltmore Hotel. The next morning, pulling out for Chimney Rock, N.C., Carter promptly crashed into another auto, demolishing it but barely scratching his daddy's Plymouth.

     Gloria Carter was born on 22 October 1926 at Plains, Sumter Co., GA.¹ She was the daughter of James Earl Carter Sr. and Bessie Lillian Gordy.² Gloria Carter married William Everett Hardy on 29 July 1945 at Sumter Co., GA.³ Gloria Carter married Walter Spann in 1954. Gloria Carter died on 5 March 1990 at Americus, GA, at age 63.¹

     William Alton Carter III also went by the name of Billy Carter. He was born on 29 March 1937 at Plains, Sumter Co., GA.¹ He was the son of James Earl Carter Sr. and Bessie Lillian Gordy.¹ William Alton Carter III married Sybil Spires on 21 August 1955 at Plains Baptist Church, Plains, Sumter Co., GA.^2,3,4 William Alton Carter III died on 25 September 1988 at Plains, Sumter Co., GA, at age 51.¹ He was buried on 26 September 1988 at Lebanon Cemetery, Plains, GA.⁵

From the Daily News of Los Angeles of 26 September 1988, viewed online at Genealogybank.com, accessed 18 October 2017:

Billy Carter, the irrepressible gas station proprietor and farmer who vaulted to national celebrity in his brother Jimmy's successful campaign for president in 1976, died of cancer of the pancreas Sunday morning at his home in Plains, Ga. He was 51.

A statement issued by the family said Carter, whose condition was diagnosed a year ago as being inoperable, died "quietly and peacefully in his sleep at 7 a.m." with members of his family at his bedside.

Carter, who took charge of the family peanut warehouse and farm in Plains when his brother ran for president, proved incapable of handling his sudden fame after his older brother's election and became the subject of repeated investigations by the Internal Revenue Service and other government agencies.

The most highly publicized was a federal inquiry into his ties to Libya, which provided what he said was a $220,000 loan. Carter, who visited Libya in 1978 and 1979, had a brokerage arrangement with an American company that was seeking an allotment of Libyan oil. At the time, Libya was trying to obtain American transport planes. Carter was a registered agent for the radical Libyan regime, but he insisted that he never sought to intercede on its behalf in Washington.

A Senate committee ultimately found no evidence that Carter had influenced American policy. But it said in its report, a month before the 1980 presidential election, that President Carter had been negligent in not dissociating himself from Billy's unorthodox activities.

"I do not deny I brought most of my notoriety on myself, nor do I apologize for it," Carter told the Senate investigators earlier. "I refused to conform to an image that a lot of people thought a president's brother should adopt. I considered myself to be a private individual who had not been elected to public office and resented the attention of different government agencies that I began to hear from almost as soon as Jimmy was sworn in."

He also felt compelled that day to declare that he was not "a buffoon, a boob, or a wacko." Those were some of the terms about him that appeared in the press, which, depending on the occasion, he both courted and denounced.

His more conventional business ventures were mostly unsuccessful, including the short-lived Billy Beer that he had no hand in brewing but that he promoted with gusto. He also had no success in operating the family peanut warehouse and farm.

These businesses could not be managed properly while in a blind trust, Carter later maintained, and the town was so besieged by tourists that "it became impossible to carry on normal business in the office."

Without the job at the warehouse, Carter had nothing to do "except drink beer and go around making a fool of himself," a friend said. By March 1979, Carter was persuaded to enter treatment for alcohol abuse at the Long Beach Naval Hospital, in California.

In 1981, financially beleaguered, Carter was forced to sell much of his

Plains property, including the gas station at which he once played the clown prince on a throne of beer cases. The money went to pay off $70,000 in federal tax arrears and about $30,000 due to local bankers who had threatened to foreclose on his home.

The tax agency charged that Carter had not properly reported his income

from speaking engagements and personal appearances, which reportedly brought him more than $100,000 a year. The agency refused to accept his complaint that his records had been seized for use in various federal investigations and were therefore unavailable to him.

"They tried to make an example of me, to embarrass me," he said of his tax pursuers. "But nothing embarrasses me." Carter had previously repaid $1,000 of the Libyan loan, the balance of which is believed to have gone unsatisfied.

Carter, whose full name was William Alton Carter III, was born in Plains on March 29, 1937, and, except for a stint in the Marine Corps, lived there until April 1977, when he moved about 20 miles to Buena Vista to escape the crowds that had begun to engulf his hometown.

Carter's sister, Ruth Carter Stapleton, and his father, James Earl Carter, both died of pancreatic cancer and the disease also contributed to the death of his mother in 1983.

Besides his wife, he is survived by four daughters, Kim Fuller and Jana and Mandy Carter, all of Plains, and Marle Usry of Charlotte, N.C; two sons, William IV, of Franklin, Tenn., and Earl, of Plains; his brother, Jimmy; a sister, Gloria Carter Spann, of Plains; and four grandchildren.

Carter will be buried at Plains Lebanon Cemetery, where a graveside service will be held on Monday at 4 p.m.


The blinding spotlights of national news media often hid the warmth of Good 'ol Southern men like Billy as his son Buddy expressed in his 1999 biography of his dad. He wrote about how close he was to his Dad and the wonderful times he had as he witnessed some of Billy's antics. But one of the most telling things Buddy wrote about was an attitude that the Carte's learned, probably at Lillian's knee that made them different than a lot of their neighbors; that gave Jimmy a special platform to stand on in his path to governor and president.

     John Colt was born on 19 May 1725 at Lyme, New London Co., CT. He was the son of Deacon Benjamin Colt and Miriam Harris. John Colt married Mary Lord, daughter of Thomas Lord Jr. and Esther Marvin, on 16 July 1747. John Colt married Mary Gardner on 28 October 1759. John Colt married Abigail Watson on 11 May 1773. John Colt died on 27 May 1784 at Lyme, New London Co., CT, at age 59. He was buried at Duck River Cemetery, Old Lyme, New London Co., CT.² Information: Ralph Giddings 721 Parkview Drive Fort Collins, CO 80525.

     Mary Lord was born on 27 September 1730 at Lyme, New London Co., CT.¹ She was the daughter of Thomas Lord Jr. and Esther Marvin.² Mary Lord married John Colt, son of Deacon Benjamin Colt and Miriam Harris, on 16 July 1747. Mary Lord died on 9 August 1759 at age 28.

     Deacon Benjamin Colt was born in 1698 at Lyme, New London Co., CT. He was the son of John Colt Jr. and Sarah Lord. Deacon Benjamin Colt married Miriam Harris, daughter of Thomas Harris, on 26 May 1724 at Lyme, New London Co., CT. Deacon Benjamin Colt died on 4 October 1754 at Lyme, New London Co., CT.

Dr. Harris notes that the birthdate, often repeated of 1698, is disputed by the available record of his gravestone inscription in Marvin Graveyard at Lyme. He died "Oct. 4, 1754, in this 50th year," which would make his birth about 1705, unless the "0" on the weathered stone was a "6" which case he would have been born about 1699.

Further information is apparently available in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, 84 (1953):140-141, which had corrections published elsewhere.

     Miriam Harris was born on 12 March 1700 at Saybrook, Middlesex Co., CT. She was the daughter of Thomas Harris. Miriam Harris married Deacon Benjamin Colt, son of John Colt Jr. and Sarah Lord, on 26 May 1724 at Lyme, New London Co., CT. Miriam Harris died on 30 July 1765 at Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA, at age 65.

     John Colt died on 10 June 1785.¹ He was born on 10 June 1785.¹ He was the son of Dr. Amherst Colt and Miriam Giddings II.

     John Gardner Colt was born on 15 July 1787.¹ He was the son of Dr. Amherst Colt and Miriam Giddings II.

     William Colt was born on 8 June 1793.² He was the son of Dr. Amherst Colt and Miriam Giddings II. William Colt married Laura Case, daughter of Darius Case and Mary Giddings, on 26 March 1818.³ William Colt died on 3 December 1850 at Railroad accident, NH, at age 57.^4,3

     Aseneth Colt was born on 1 May 1795 at Lyme, New London Co., CT.^1,2 She was the daughter of Dr. Amherst Colt and Miriam Giddings II.^3,1 Aseneth Colt married Japhet Homer Case, son of Japhet Case and Chloe Thrall, on 17 December 1818 at Hartland, Hartford Co., CT.⁴ Aseneth Colt died on 9 November 1870 at Barkhamsted, Litchfield Co., CT, at age 75. She was buried at East Hartland Cemetery, East Hartland, Hartford Co., CT.⁵

     Amherst Colt was born on 17 May 1797.¹ He was the son of Dr. Amherst Colt and Miriam Giddings II.¹ Amherst Colt married Ann Case.¹

     Mary Colt was born on 9 March 1799.¹ She was the daughter of Dr. Amherst Colt and Miriam Giddings II. Mary Colt married Samuel Colby.¹

     Lydia Colt was born on 9 March 1799.¹ She was the daughter of Dr. Amherst Colt and Miriam Giddings II. Lydia Colt married Zacheus Colby.¹

     Mercy Johnson was born on 1 October 1760 at East Hampton, CT. She was the daughter of Caleb Johnson and Mary Cooke. Mercy Johnson married Jabez Giddings, son of Deacon Thomas Giddings and Mary Colt, on 20 September 1784 at Hartland, CT. Mercy Johnson married Dr. Amherst Colt, son of John Colt and Mary Lord, on 28 September 1806 at East Hartland, CT.

Information from: Ralph Giddings 721 Parkview Drive Ft. Collins CO 80525.

     John Colt Jr. was born circa 1661 at probably Hartford, CT. He was the son of John Colt Sr. and Mary Skinner.⁴ John Colt Jr. married Sarah Lord, daughter of William Lord and 1st Wife (?), before January 1687/88.⁴ John Colt Jr. married Joanna Smith, daughter of Richard Smith, after 1712.⁴ John Colt Jr. died on 2 January 1750/51 at Lyme, New London Co., CT.⁴ He was buried at Duck River Cemetery, Old Lyme, New London Co., CT.

Dr. Gale Harris notes that John, Jr., was born about 1661 based on his gravestone in Duck River Cemetery at Old Lyme, Ct., (NEHGR 77[1923]:198. The place of birth is not known, but is probably Hartford, CT, where both his parents were living about a year before.

Loomis lists 3 daughters without knowing their names or birthdates. Loomis does not list John, III, but Dr. Harris notes his will. Dr. Harris also notes that Homer Brainard presented a list of John Jr's children in TAG 14(1938):172-73 but the article is full of errors. There are certainly more children.

     Sarah Lord was born circa 1658 at Saybrook, Middlesex Co., CT.² She was the daughter of William Lord and 1st Wife (?) Sarah Lord married John Colt Jr., son of John Colt Sr. and Mary Skinner, before January 1687/88.³ Sarah Lord died before 9 September 1718 at Lyme, New London Co., CT.³

     Harris Colt was born on 19 February 1731 at Lyme, New London Co., CT. He was the son of Deacon Benjamin Colt and Miriam Harris.

     Sarah Colt was born in 1730. She was the daughter of Deacon Benjamin Colt and Miriam Harris.

     Temperance Colt was born on 28 February 1738 at Lyme, New London Co., CT. She was the daughter of Deacon Benjamin Colt and Miriam Harris.

     Lt. Benjamin Colt was born in 1738 at Lyme, New London Co., CT. He was the son of Deacon Benjamin Colt and Miriam Harris. Lt. Benjamin Colt died on 30 August 1781 at Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA.

     James Denison Colt was born in 1740 at Lyme, New London Co., CT. He was the son of Deacon Benjamin Colt and Miriam Harris.

     Jabez Colt was born in 1742 at Lyme, New London Co., CT. He was the son of Deacon Benjamin Colt and Miriam Harris.

     Peter Colt was born on 28 March 1744 at Lyme, New London Co., CT. He was the son of Deacon Benjamin Colt and Miriam Harris. Peter Colt died on 17 March 1824 at age 79.

     John Colt Sr. was born probably in the early 1630's.⁵ He married Mary Skinner, daughter of John Skinner and Mary Loomis, circa 1660.⁵ John Colt Sr. married Hester Edwards, daughter of John Edwards and Dorothy Moulton, circa 1665.⁵ John Colt Sr. died soon after 25 September 1713.⁵

There is a lot of confusion on John Sr.'s wives. Gale Ion Harris has written two articles that cover John Edwards and Joseph Fitch. These two articles, one in TAG, the other in NEHGR, seemingly unrelated, together give a very detailed, documented picture of John Colt Sr. and Jr. In particular, the NEHGR article gives considerable detail under the listing for Hester. There are also additions and corrections in NEHGR Vol 150, April 1996, pages 215-216.


Dr. Harris also notes in a letter that a lot of information on the Colts was fiction created to please Colt descendants. Statements that he arrived in 1638 are based on Royal R. Hinman's inventions in the mid-19th century and somehow on a misunderstanding of the record of the baptism in Hartford on 7 Feb. 1646/7 of Sarah, daughter of John Cole of Farmington. By some carelessness this record was misinterpreted to be for a daughter of John Colt. John Colt never had a daughter Sarah. The subsequent history of John Cole's daughter Sarah is known and there is no possibility that John Colt was her father.



Dr. Harris also cites the Great Migration Newsletter, 7 [Jan.-March 1998], 8, in demonstrating the error in assuming that John Colt arrived in new England on the Griffin in September 1633. John Colt, Sr.'s, origins and parentage are unknown (TAG 68:7 or NEHGR 150:215). He also had no third wife as was speculated.

The earliest record of John Colt Sr. is 5 June 1656 when he is found in a card game with some companions at Hartford. No specific record of his age survives.

Glel Ion Harris wrote a third article on John, a "Review and Reconciliation" in TAG 80:2.

     Daniel Hayes was born on 26 April 1686 at Windsor, Hartford Co., CT.⁵ He was the son of George Hayes and Abigail Dibble. Daniel Hayes married Martha Holcombe, daughter of Nathaniel Holcombe and Mary Bliss, on 1 March 1716 at Simsbury, Hartford Co., CT.⁶ Daniel Hayes married Sarah Lee, daughter of John Lee and Elizabeth Crampton, on 4 May 1721 at Simsbury, Hartford Co., CT. Daniel Hayes died on 23 September 1756 at Salmon Brook Ecclesiastical Society, Simsbury, Hartford Co., CT, at age 70.⁵

Daniel Hayes was taken prisoner by the Indians in 1707/08, carried to Canada, and kept in captivity at least five years. He earned his own ransom, for which he was reimbursed by Ct. Martha Buel Holcomb witnessed Daniels' capture far from her home as she was walking to get cows at the bottom of a far hill.

Daniel lived in Salmon Brook Village, CT. Phelps' History of Simsbury Hartford, written in 1845 details his captivity. Charles W. Hayes, in A Long Journey 1876, states "He built in 1720 the house occupied by him and his descendants for four generations on the east side of Salmon Brook Street, in the lower or southern part of the village. The members of the first Congregational Society met in this house from 1739 until 1743. He is buried in the Old Salmon Brook Cemetery. Charles W. Hayes, copied his gravestone: 'Here lies ye Body of Mr Daniel Hays who Served his Generation in a Steady Course of Probity and Piety and was a Lover of Peace and God's Public Worship and being satisfied with Long Life left this World with a Comfortable hope of Life Eternal Sept 23 1756 In ye 71 year of his age.' "

     Capt Ezekiel Hayes was born October or November 21, 1724 at Simsbury, Hartford Co., CT.¹ He was the son of Daniel Hayes and Sarah Lee. Capt Ezekiel Hayes married Rebecca Russell, daughter of Col. Judge John Russell and Sarah Trowbridge, on 26 December 1749 at Branford, New Haven Co., CT. Capt Ezekiel Hayes died on 17 October 1807 at New Haven, CT.¹

McCracken notes he was a blacksmith, scythe-maker, innholder and prominent citizen of both Branford and New Haven, CT. He was second child to bear this name. His reason for moving from Simsbury to Branford is not apparent.

     Ensign Rutherford Hayes was born on 29 July 1756 at Branford, New Haven Co., CT.¹ He was the son of Capt Ezekiel Hayes and Rebecca Russell. Ensign Rutherford Hayes married Chloe Smith, daughter of Col. Israel Smith and Abigail Chandler, in 1779.¹ Ensign Rutherford Hayes died on 25 September 1836 at West Brattleboro, VT, at age 80.¹

     Chloe Smith was born on 10 November 1762 at South Hadley, MA. She was the daughter of Col. Israel Smith and Abigail Chandler. Chloe Smith married Ensign Rutherford Hayes, son of Capt Ezekiel Hayes and Rebecca Russell, in 1779.¹ Chloe Smith died on 17 February 1847 at Brattleboro, Windham Co., VT, at age 84.

     Rutherford Hayes was born on 4 January 1787 at Brattleboro, Wiindham Co., VT. He was the son of Ensign Rutherford Hayes and Chloe Smith. Rutherford Hayes married Sophia Birchard, daughter of Roger Birchard and Drusilla Austin, on 13 September 1813 at Wilmington, VT. Rutherford Hayes died on 20 July 1822 at Delaware, OH, at age 35.

McCracken notes: Blacksmith and merchant. refers to George Hayes genealogy by Rev. Charles W. Hayes (Buffalo, NY 1884) noting that earlier editions did not mention the president.