Rev. William Henry Culpepper

Male, #32073, (17 Oct 1813 - 22 Mar 1909)

Parent*John Culpepper of Randolph Co., AL (1 Oct 1772 - 13 May 1855)
Parent*Nancy Gillespie (c 1778 - 25 Jul 1848)
Rev. William Henry Culpepper|b. 17 Oct 1813\nd. 22 Mar 1909|p32073.htm|John Culpepper of Randolph Co., AL|b. 1 Oct 1772\nd. 13 May 1855|p31566.htm|Nancy Gillespie|b. circa 1778\nd. 25 Jul 1848|p31584.htm|John Culpepper|b. say 1748\nd. after 1772|p20882.htm|Sarah Oglethorpe|b. circa 1750|p20884.htm|||||||

DNA* He has been proven by DNA and genealogical research to be a descendant of Joseph Culpepper of Edgecombe Co., NC, who is a grandson of Henry Culpepper of Lower Norfolk, VA. 
Birth*17 Oct 1813 William was born at Edgefield District, South Carolina, on 17 Oct 1813. 
 He was the son of John Culpepper of Randolph Co., AL and Nancy Gillespie. 
1830 Census1 Jun 1830 William and George was probably a free white male, age 15 and under 20, in John Culpepper of Randolph Co., AL's household, on the 1830 Census at Monroe Co., Georgia.1 
Marriage*27 Mar 1831 He married Sarah Leslie at Upson Co., Georgia, on 27 Mar 1831.2,3 
1840 Census*1 Jun 1840 William was listed as the head of a family on the 1840 Census on 1 Jun 1840 at Meriwether Co., Georgia.4 
Marriage*2 Jan 1851 He married Catherine Alexander at Coweta Co., Georgia, on 2 Jan 1851. 
Employment*1 Jun 1860 William's occupation: farmer at Randolph Co., Alabama, on 1 Jun 1860. 
Civil War*between 1864 and 1865 He served in the War Between the States between 1864 and 1865
(William Henry Culpepper joined the Home Guard. He served as a 4th corporal in Captain A. P. Hunter's Company, Mounted Infantry, Randolph County Militia, for Falkner's Battalion. On a 21 Oct 1864 muster roll William Henry Culpepper was described as having "blue eyes, grey hair, fair complexion, five feet, ten inches tall.").5 
Photographedsay 1870 He was photographed say 1870 at Randolph Co., Alabama.6
William Henry Culpepper
1870 Census*1870 William was listed as the head of a family on the 1870 Census at Louina, Randolph Co., Alabama. 
Photographed*say 1880 He was photographed This photo was found by Leonard Hoyt Kirk (1907-1998) in the abandoned home of his grandparents, John W. Kirk and Florilla Culpepper. Capos Conley 'Chip' Culpepper III of Little Rock now has the original, in its original frame. say 1880 at Randolph Co., Alabama.
William Henry Culpepper
1880 Census*1880 William was listed as the head of a family on the 1880 Census at Flat Rock, Randolph Co., Alabama. 
Marriage*25 Oct 1880 He married Mary F. P. Falkenburough at Clay Co., Alabama, on 25 Oct 1880.7 
1900 Census*1900 William was listed as the head of a family on the 1900 Census at Flat Rock, Randolph Co., Alabama. 
Death*22 Mar 1909 He died at Wadley, Randolph Co., Alabama, on 22 Mar 1909. 
Burial* His body was interred at Wadley City Cemetery, Wadley, Randolph Co., Alabama. 
Biography* William Henry Culpepper was the tenth child and eighth son of John and Nancy (Gillespie) Culpepper. His parents had been noted in Richland District, SC in the 1810 census but, during the Civil War on a 21 Oct 1864 muster roll for the Home Guard, Rev. Culpepper was listed as Born S.C. Age 51 Farmer, Edgefield Co. S.C. This information was apparently supplied by Rev. Culpepper and appears to indicate that he was born in what was then Edgefield District, SC. It is possible that the family had moved on to Edgefield District by 1813. There is an 1814 record of Rev. Culpepper's father, John Culpepper, receiving a state grant of 138 acres on Cuffeetown Creek in Edgefield District, SC.

Mrs. J. (Clara Haralson) Moorcroft, recalled 8 what she had heard about Rev. Culpepper's childhood:

When my grandfather, my mother's father, William Culpepper, was a boy... he used to tell how the panthers would scream in the swamps when he and his brothers were climbing trees to get and eat the scupenon 9 and other vines that bore fruit.

Unfortunately, William Henry Culpepper's father has not been found in the 1820 census of South Carolina or Georgia so it is not known if the family remained in Edgefield District, SC until moving on to Georgia. The family is presumed to have been living somewhere in the district during this time because, although no record of sale has been found for the land which was granted to William Henry's father, in Feb 1823, John Culpepper sold another 144 acres "where I now live" on Cuffeetown Creek for $800. It was after this that the nine year old William Henry Culpepper presumably accompanied his parents when they moved to Georgia.

Since William Henry Culpepper's father's name was noted on a list of people for whom mail was being held at the Milledgeville Post Office in Baldwin Co., GA on Oct. 1, 1824, the family is believed to have been staying with or near the young family of Daniel Culpepper, one of William Henry Culpepper's older brother. After Daniel's death in October of 1825, William Henry Culpepper probably moved with his parents and the extended family to Monroe Co., GA where William Henry Culpepper's father, John Culpepper, appears in land records in 1827 purchasing land in the Twelfth District for $800.

William Henry Culpepper would have been 16 years old when the 1830 census was taken. His father, John Culpepper, was listed in Monroe Co., GA, with his wife and one son, 10-15 years old, still living at home, presumably William Henry Culpepper's younger brother, Lewis Peek Culpepper. It is possible that William Henry was living in Upson Co., GA by 1830 with family of his older brother, John Jefferson Culpepper. There is a male, age 15-20, in the John Jefferson Culpepper household in the 1830 Upson Co., GA census who has not been accounted for and William Henry Culpepper was apparently living in Upson Co., GA by 1831 since this is where he married his first wife, Sarah Leslie.

Based on the probable birth locations of their children, William Henry and Sarah (Leslie) Culpepper apparently remained in Upson Co., GA until after the birth of their fourth child, John Malcolm Culpepper. Civil War records for William Henry and Sarah (Leslie) Culpepper's first child, Elias Daniel, do not preserve his place of birth but family records for the second child, Mary Bathsheba, and Civil War records for the third child, Francis Marion, give Upson Co., GA as the place of birth. There are two sources of information about the place of birth of the fourth child, John Malcolm Culpepper: Masonic records and an obituary. According to Masonic records 10, presumably based on information supplied by John Malcolm Culpepper, his place of birth was Crawford Co., GA. In his obituary, John Malcolm Culpepper's place of birth was given as "Upton County, Ga." presumably Upson Co., GA. If the William Henry Culpepper family was if fact in Crawford Co., GA at the time of John Malcolm's birth, it would suggest that the family was already in the process of joining up with William Henry's parents in preparation for the extended family's move to Meriwether Co., GA. In any event, it seems likely that not long after John Malcolm's birth in 1835, William Henry and Sarah (Leslie) Culpepper and their young family along with William Henry's parents, John and Nancy, and his brother, Lewis Peek Culpepper, joined George Washington and Perlina (Perdue) Culpepper and their family in Meriwether Co., GA.

In 1838, William Henry Culpepper and his father, John Culpepper, show up in the Meriwether Co., GA deed records 11 in District 8 which is the area around Greenville. John William Culpepper, a George Washington Culpepper descendant, obtained copies of the deeds and F-233 shows that on 6 March 1838 Levi Adams sold land lot #256, in the 8th District, of Meriwether County, Georgia, containing 202 1/2 acres, to George Washington and William Henry Culpepper for $450.00. John William Culpepper wrote: 12 [Land lots 255 and 256 which were sold to John, George Washington and William Henry Culpepper in the] 8th District are located approximately 2 to 3 miles northwest of Greenville, about one mile east off of Georgia Route 100 on the Jarrell road. 255 crosses Jarrell Road.

An article in the 21 Apr 1905 Meriwether Vindicator noted that the families "settled on adjacent farms a few miles northwest of Greenville near the old Ector mill (now Maffetts's)." The article then noted that William Henry's father, John Culpepper, had settled "on what is now known as the Willis Jarrell place near town." But in 1839, George Washington Culpepper began purchasing land near what is now the community of Lone Oak, GA northwest of the farms of his father and brother and he had apparently moved his family there by the time of the 1840 census of Meriwether Co., GA, since John and Nancy (Gillespie) Culpepper were noted living next door to William Henry Culpepper and his young family but the George Washington Culpepper family was noted separately.

In 1842, William Henry and his brother, George Washington Culpepper, are noted deeding land 13 in the 8th District of Meriwether Co., GA to their father, John Culpepper and George Washington Culpepper in turn purchased more land 14 near Lone Oak. But William Henry Culpepper and his young family apparently remained on the land now owned by John Culpepper near Greenville, GA.

The 21 Apr 1905 Greenville, Meriwether Co., GA Vindicator then records that "after residing here some years he [John Culpepper, William Henry's father] disposed of his farm reinvesting in a choice plantation in Randolph county, Ala." Mrs. J. (Clara Haralson) Moorcroft wrote 15 that her grandparents had moved to Alabama when her mother, Sarah Jane Culpepper "was six years old...." Sarah was born 17 Jan 1844 so she would have been six years old on 17 Jan 1850. However, based on the birth locations of their last two children noted in Bible and census records, William Henry and Sarah (Leslie) Culpepper probably moved their family to Randolph Co., AL after September of 1846 and before January of 1849. The youngest child, Florela Caroline, who was born 22 Jan 1849, was consistently recorded in census records as having been born in Alabama. Land records narrow the window even more. In January of 1848, William Henry's father, John Culpepper, sold the farms northwest of Greenville, GA to Jacob Moon. 16 William Henry Culpepper is noted in Randolph Co., AL land records in August of 1848. 17 Mrs. J. (Clara Haralson) Moorcroft also wrote 15 that when her grandparents moved to Alabama, John Culpepper was already a widower. William Henry Culpepper's mother, Nancy (Gillespie) Culpepper died 25 Jul 1848. Circumstantial evidence 18 suggests that the family was already in Alabama when she died, unfortunately, there is no record of the location of Nancy's grave so there is no proof. The family was apparently in Alabama in time for William Henry and Sarah (Leslie) Culpepper's oldest son, Elias Daniel Culpepper, to join the Clegg family which moved from Alabama to Arkansas in 1848.

In any event, the extended family was apparently in Randolph Co., AL at least by August of 1848 and probably earlier. Five months later, in January of 1849, William Henry lost Sarah, his wife of 17 years, who had just given birth to their 11th child, Florela Caroline Culpepper.

The 37 year old widower, William Henry Culpepper, was recorded in the 1850 census of Randolph Co., AL with his younger children (except for his youngest son, Lewis Washington, who was living nearby with his grandfather, John Culpepper). According to census records, William Henry Culpepper owned real estate valued at $1,000. The land that William Henry Culpepper purchased in 1848 was west of what is now the town of Wadley, AL, about half way between the town and the Pleasant Hill Church. Although people had begun settling in the Wadley area in the 1830's, the town did not come into existence until 1906.19 When William Henry Culpepper moved to the area, the business center was across the Tallapoosa River in Louina which had started out as an Indian trading post and was on the old stage coach line from Wedowee to Dadeville.19 Before the Civil War, this was a prosperous area responsible for one-third of the taxes paid in the county. 20 Lebanon Land office records 21 also show that William Henry Culpepper purchased an additional 40 acres of land in the northwest part of the southwest division of Section 11 in Township 20 South, Range 10 East on September 1, 1849. This land is north of what is now Wadley, AL, and south of the Tallapoosa as it curves west after passing under the John W. Overton Bridge on Highway 48.

In January of 1851, William Henry Culpepper married Catherine Alexander. The marriage was recorded in Coweta Co., GA so William Henry must have had some contact there, possibly with Nancy (Corley) Culpepper, the widow of his oldest brother, Joel Culpepper.

In 1855, William Henry Culpepper's father, John Culpepper, died. Unfortunately, it is not known if he was living with or near William Henry at the time and his grave, like Nancy's, has not been located. William H. Culpepper and his second wife, Catherine, were recorded in the 1860 census of Almond P. O. District to the west of Louina, Randolph Co., AL. Although in the 1860 election, the men of this area generally were Democrats and supporters of Stephen A. Douglas,22 William Henry Culpepper was a Republican and probably a supporter of Abraham Lincoln.23 On the subject of slavery, Mrs. J. (Clara Haralson) Moorcroft wrote 15 about her grandfather, William Henry Culpepper:

Mama's father did not own slaves, he did not believe it was right to buy and sell human beings, but he hired them to work....

William Henry Culpepper was 47 years old when the Civil War began and he watched his sons leave for war. In June of 1864, 17 year old boys and 45 to 50 year old men were called to serve in the Confederate Army 24 and William Henry Culpepper joined the Home Guard. He served as a 4th corporal in Captain A. P. Hunter's Company, Mounted Infantry, Randolph County Militia, for Falkner's Battalion. On a 21 Oct 1864 muster roll William Henry Culpepper was described as having "blue eyes, grey hair, fair complexion, five feet, ten inches tall."

The family Bible of a grandson, L. M. Perry, has the following note in the "IMPORTANT INCIDENTS About Ancestry, Birth, Education, Early History, etc., etc." section of Bible:

William H. Culpepper has been a Local Preacher for thirty years in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Unfortunately, the entry was not dated. One wonders however if the record was made in conjunction with the marriage of L. M. Perry to Ada Flippin in January of 1896. If so, Rev. William Henry Culpepper might have taken up preaching after the Civil War. And "Rev. W. H. Culpepper" was noted as a Methodist minister in the Almond P. O. district of Randolph Co., AL in the 1887 - 1888 Alabama State Gazetteer & Business Directory.25 Almond, to the west of Louina, was described as having a post office and a population of 50 at the time.

In 1872, Rev. William Henry Culpepper also served as a County Commissioner of Randolph County, AL along with W. H. Osborn, W. D. Louvorn, and I. N. Brown. In the 1880 census, Rev. Culpepper was listed as a farmer living at Flatrock Beat #8 near Louina, Randolph Co., AL. His second wife, Catherine, and his widowed daughter, Melvina (Culpepper) Elliott, were also living with him.

Catherine, Rev. Culpepper's wife of 29 years died in June of 1880. Rev. Culpepper was 66 years old. He was married a third time, to Mary F. P. Falkenburough.

Rev. Rev. Lewis Peek Culpepper, mentioned his brother, Rev. William Henry Culpepper, in a 19 March 1898 letter to Mr. B. F. Burke, the husband of Georgia (Culpepper) Burke, the youngest daughter of another brother, Francis G. Culpepper:

Brother William was Eighty-four Last Oct.... I was Eighty-one last August. So we are a Long Life People.... My Brother Williams nerves is completely shatered, can scarcely hold his saucer to drink his coffee. But I attribute that in a greate measure to smoking, he is an inveterate smoker, but that is not always the cause....
Rev. William Henry Culpepper was listed with his third wife, Mary, in the 1900 census of Flatrock District, near Louina, Randolph Co., AL. He died in 1909. He was 95 years old. His death was not recorded in the Family Bible.

Obituary for William H. Culpepper, Randolph, Alabama

http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/al/randolph/obits/revwhculpep.txt

January 2002

RESOLUTIONS
----------------------------

In Memory of Bro William H CULPEPPER, Almond Lodge, No 523 A F & A M.

Whereas, God in His infinite wisdom, has seen fit to remove Bro William H CULPEPPER from the walks of men to transplant him in the kingdom above, the Masonic Fraternity has suffered a great loss.

Bro CULPEPPER was our oldest and most loyal member until extreme age prevented.

He was born Oct 17th, 1813; died March 22nd, 1909.

He was made a Mason at Milltown Lodge in 1853.

As a Minister of the Gospel and a true christian [sic] worker, the church has lost a noble life. No better, noble life has this Lodge ever possessed.

Resolved, that while we deeply mourn our loss, we humbly bow to the will of God which was accomplished in this life and death. We will ever cherish in our hearts the memory of this good man and imitate his virtues in our lives.

That the bereaved family have our deepest sympathy in their loss, but we point them to the life he lived, and to all who follow in his footsteps there will be a grand reunion of this lodge and noble family, in that home above, where Jesus has gone to prepare for you, that “where I am there you may be also.”

(Signed)
Alfred M CAMP, W M. [Worshipful Master]
James R WILKINSON, S W. [Senior Warden]
Hiram D ABLE, Secy.

[From The Roanoke Leader (Randolph County, Alabama), 12 May 1909, p.1]

-------

In 1976, the caretaker for the Wadley, AL City Cemetery where Rev. Culpepper was buried recalled that when Rev. Culpepper died, over 2,000 people attended his funeral which had to be held in an open field since there was no building in the county large enough for the crowd. Rev. William Henry Culpepper was buried in the Wadley City Cemetery which had been a private Elliott Family Cemetery and was known as Mrs. Elliott's Cemetery for Rev. William Henry Culpepper's sister, Sarah (Culpepper) Elliott. 

Family 1

Sarah Leslie (15 Feb 1808 - 22 Jan 1849)
Children

Family 2

Catherine Alexander (5 Nov 1811 - 22 Jun 1880)

Family 3

Mary F. P. Falkenburough (8 Jun 1842 - 24 Jul 1939)

Charts Descendants of Joseph Culpepper of Edgecombe Co., NC (Six Generations)
Last Edited 18 Oct 2008

Citations

  1. 1830 Federal Census, United States.
    Page 194, Unk Twp, Monroe Co., GA (ID: 31566)
    John Culpepper, 1 M10-15, 2 M15-20, 1 M50-60, 1 F50-60.
  2. Dwight L. Carlisle enclosed a photocopy, with a 6 Feb 1996 letter, of the marriage record from the Rev. William Henry Culpepper Family Bible:

    William. H. Culpepper was marrid to Sarah Leslie 27th March 1831
    to Catherine Alexander 2 January 1851
    To Mary F. Falkenburogh Oct 25 1880

    Married in Upson Co. GA by Charles Hardy, E. M. E. C.
  3. Ancestry.com, compiler, Georgia Marriages to 1850, Online database at Ancestry.com, 1997.
    http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/inddbs/2085a.htm
    William H. Culpepper and Sarah Lester on 27 Mar 1831 in Upson Co., GA.
  4. 1840 Federal Census, United States.
    Page 123, Unk Twp, Meriwether Co., GA
    William H. Culpepper, 2 M0-5, 2 M5-10, 1 M20-30, 1 F0-5, 1 F5-10, 1 F30-40.
  5. From his biography.
  6. E-mail from Tommie Sue Reeves Smith, e-mail address, 942 Clarice, Grand Prairie, TX 75051 to Lew Griffin, numerous e-mails.
  7. No. 429 William H. Culpepper To Mary Falkenborough on October 25, 1880 by John B. Miller, Minister, at the residence of W.W. Falkenborough. Bond:William H. Culpepper and L.G.Dean.
    Marriages of Clay County Alabama transcribed by Pat Scott
    .
    Also, Dwight L. Carlisle enclosed a photocopy, with a 6 Feb 1996 letter, of the marriage record from the Rev. William Henry Culpepper Family Bible:
    .
    William. H. Culpepper was marrid to Sarah Leslie 27th March 1831
    to Catherine Alexander 2 January 1851
    To Mary F. Falkenburogh Oct 25 1880.
  8. "The William Culpepper and Sally Leslie Family," typed page
  9. scuppernong - a cultivated muscadine (a grape of the southern U.S. with musky fruits in small clusters) with yellowish green plum-flavored fruits
  10. Saltillo [TX] Lodge #631
  11. F-233, F-396
  12. letter 21 Apr 1995
  13. DB G-458: LL 256 A-100 WD
  14. DB G 452
  15. "The William Culpepper and Sally Leslie Family," typed sheet
  16. Deed Book I 392 11 Jan 1848
  17. Certificate or Warrant 10628 for 39 acres and 64 rods in the southwest part of the northeast division of Section 10 in Township 22 South, Range 10 East to "William H. Culpepper" A photocopy of a page from a register of land sold by township and section records the date of sale as August 10, 1848. Computerized land office records list the "SIGN_DATE" as "1850/03/01"
  18. see the John and Nancy (Gillespie) chapter
  19. Eugenia Elizabeth Smith, A History of Randolph County p. 15
  20. Eugenia Elizabeth Smith, A History of Randolph County p. 11
  21. Access No. AL3170 .069, Image Name 17134, Vol ID 66: Document No. 10121
  22. Eugenia Elizabeth Smith, A History of Randolph County p. 44
  23. Marilyn Davis Barefield, Historical Records of Randolph County, Alabama 1832-1900 (Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, Inc., 1985) pp. 63-64 from Alabama Historical Quarterly Vol. IV, Fall 1942 p. 368 from article #32 of a history of Randolph Co., AL by J. M. K. Guinn from a series which ran in the Wedowee Randolph Toiler from 6 Dec 1894 to 13 Mar 1896
  24. James Trager, The People's Chronology: A Year-by-Year Record of Human Events from Prehistory to the Present (New York: Henry Hold and Company, 1992) p. 495
  25. Marilyn Davis Barefield, Historical Records of Randolph County, Alabama 1832-1900 p. 143