Francis Marion (F.M.) Hatton walked across the rich, agricultural fields of Delaware County and stopped to talk with an elderly man about his interest in purchasing the land from the neighboring landowner.
The man was laying on a daybed at his residence and talked with his mouth full of tobacco — a spittoon at the ready — listening intently to F.M.’s story. F.M. talked about his plans for the land and his frustration in being a bit short of funds to cover the purchase price. At the story’s conclusion, the elderly man wiped the tobacco from his chin and reached beneath his daybed to produce a can containing untold funds, but plenty to cover the additional $600 F.M. needed to pay for the 134-acre property — thus started an incredible family tradition farming the land.
Born in 1867, F.M. had come from Stantontown east of Ashley to the north. He built a new house on the property and began to farm it.
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