Isaac Abraham Deaton

Isaac Abraham Deaton, known as Ike, was born July 8, 1897. He was the third son of Leuticia Carver and John Starlin Deaton. After his father was killed he chose not to go with his half-sister, Etta Davis Deaton, to Georgia. So he lived with Dr. Leonard at first and later with several other families in Telico Plains, TN growing up. When he was nineteen years old there were no jobs to be found. He said he was hungry and saw a sign that read, "THE MARINES ARE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD MEN". He went in, joined and stayed thirty-four months. He spoke Spanish fluently, even though he only finished the second grade. All of the Deaton men had very little formal education but had excellent minds. He married Phebie Ellis on August 24, 1922. Phebie was born June 29, 1905. Her parents were John Ellis and Cordelia Kilby Ellis. Ike and Phebie had thirteen children but four of them died as infants. When Rueben Deaton's wife died, Ike went to Cherokee and got his brother's son, Johnnie, and brought him home to live with the family. Johnnie stayed with them until he married. Ike spent most of his life working in logging camps. He owned a farm in Madisonville, TN. His wife, children, and hired hands worked the farm. He had a small house on the farm and usually there was a family living in it that helped with the work. (Lucille Deaton Roberts, Robert Lee Deaton's daughter, has fond memories of living in that house for about four years when she was very young. She enjoyed the time spent with Uncle Ike's children.) He would be gone for long periods of time working at the logging camp. His specific duty was keeping the saws sharpened. The story goes that often the younger children would forget who he was during the absences. Murlon, one of the younger children, was outside playing when Ike returned home one day from the logging camp. He asked the child if he could speak to his mother. He immediately ran inside and told his mother some old man outside wanted to speak with her. He was a hard-working man who loved his family. The Deaton's were notorious for making and drinking whiskey. Yet here was a man that only had whiskey touch his lips one time which was enough for him.