Rev. Oscar Burke Culpepper

Male, #34307, (8 Apr 1880 - 24 Aug 1948)

Parent*Rev. John Butler Culpepper (1 Aug 1849 - 19 Jan 1937)
Parent*Melvina Harper (22 Nov 1857 - 20 Jun 1937)
Rev. Oscar Burke Culpepper|b. 8 Apr 1880\nd. 24 Aug 1948|p34307.htm|Rev. John Butler Culpepper|b. 1 Aug 1849\nd. 19 Jan 1937|p33293.htm|Melvina Harper|b. 22 Nov 1857\nd. 20 Jun 1937|p33294.htm|Dr. James M. Culpepper|b. 1 Feb 1823\nd. 11 Feb 1898|p32364.htm|Lucinda B. O'Daniel|b. 18 Sep 1825\nd. 31 Jan 1910|p32365.htm|James A. Harper|b. circa 1821|p20553.htm|Sarah (?)|b. circa 1826|p43141.htm|

Birth*8 Apr 1880 Oscar was born at Fort Valley, Houston Co., Georgia, on 8 Apr 1880. 
 He was the son of Rev. John Butler Culpepper and Melvina Harper. 
1880 Census1 Jun 1880 Marvin and Oscar was listed as a son in Rev. John Butler Culpepper's household on the 1880 Census at Bibb Co., Georgia.1 
Marriage*15 May 1900 He married Katherine Reginold at Memphis, Shelby Co., Tennessee, on 15 May 1900.
Burke and Kate (Reginold) Culpepper
1900 Census*1 Jun 1900 Oscar was listed as the head of a family on the 1900 Census at Stillwater, Payne Co., Oklahoma.2 
Photographed*circa 1905 He was photographed circa 1905 at Mississippi.3
Rev. Burke Culpepper
1910 Census*15 Apr 1910 Oscar was listed as the head of a family on the 1910 Census at Lowndes Co., Georgia.4 
1920 Census*1 Jan 1920 Oscar was listed as the head of a family on the 1920 Census at Memphis, Shelby Co., Tennessee.5 
Photographedsay 1925 He was photographed say 1925 at Memphis, Shelby Co., Tennessee.6
Dr. Burke Culpepper
Photographedsay 1930 He was photographed say 1930 at Memphis, Shelby Co., Tennessee.7
Rev. Burke Culpepper -- Fighter of Sin
Photographedcirca 1946 He was photographed Left to right: Katherine (Day) Skinner and Mr. Skinner, Richard C. Skinner, and the Rev. Oscar Burke Culpepper, Christening his first great grandson. circa 1946 at Harris Memorial Church, Memphis, Shelby Co., Tennessee.8
Richard Skinner Christening
Death*24 Aug 1948 He died at Bowling Green, Warren Co., Kentucky, on 24 Aug 1948.9 
Burial*circa 27 Aug 1948 His body was interred circa 27 Aug 1948 at Forest Hills Cemetery, Memphis, Shelby Co., Tennessee. 
Biography* Mrs. John (Dorothy Culpepper) Wingfield preserved a 25 page typed manuscript "ONE FAMILY - CULPEPPER" written by her grandfather, Rev. George Bright Culpepper, who noted: In the year 1879, in Fort Valley, Georgia, a third child was born to John Butler Culpepper and his wife, Melvina, who was given the name of Oscar Burke. He became a Methodist preacher, and at the present time (September 26, 1942) is one of the general evangelists of the Methodist Church, and lives in Memphis, Tennessee. His wife is Catherine Reginol Culpepper. They have several children and one of their sons is an eye, ear,nose and throat specialist in Birmingham, I think he bears the name of Oscar Burke, Jr. Another son, James, is a preacher.
     Charles Ross Culpepper wrote, 12 Nov 1977, that "Burke Culpepper was a brilliant evangelist. I was with him two years.... As a pastor I had Uncle Burke with me on five occasions and since Dad [Marvin M. Culpepper] died in 1927, he [Oscar Burke Culpepper, Sr.] was like a second father." Mrs. Robert Joseph Culpepper wrote in a June 1977 letter that Rev. Burke Culpepper had written a book Put God First in which he mentioned his father John B. Culpepper, D.D. and his mother, Melvina.
     A booklet Getting Acquainted With Father was found among personal papers of Ida W. and Edgar C. Culpepper of Lone Oak, GA and was preserved by a niece, Eleanor Culpepper Willingham. The booklet had the following dedication: Sacredly dedicated to the honor of ONE LIVING BURKE CULPEPPER, whose service to Corsicana has been of inestimable value to the religious live of her citizenship, this story from his convert, W. O. Saunders, of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, is reproduced in pamphlet form from the February, 1923, issue of the American Magazine.
     The following is from the INTRODUCTION of the same booklet: WITH the hope that every man or woman, boy or girl who reads this story will be more thoughtful concerning his or her father, more attentive to his happiness, and more appreciative of him, more than twenty Corsicana people have joined Hastings Harrison, General Secretary, and W. S. Goode, Boys Work Secretary, of the Y. M. C. A. in defraying the expense of printing this pamphlet. This story is taken from the February, 1923, issue of the American Magazine, and is given you in pamphlet form free of charge. W. O. Saunders is editor and publisher of the Independent Newspaper of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The Independent has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the United States in proportion to population. In the June, 1922, issue of the American Magazine is Mr. Saunder's life's history, written by himself, entitled "The Autobiography of a Crank." As a writer he called a spade a spade, and stood out for what he believed was right, regardless of public opinion. His relationship to the people of his community was unpleasant. He was the victim of many fistic encounters, threats of violence, and was way laid many times. His trouble led finally to a gun battle between himself and some irate Church people, whom he had written about in an issue of the Independent. The most of the community turned against him, and he was recognized as an infidel. The following taken from his autobiography in the 1922 June issue of the American gives an account of his conversion, and because of its local interest is herein reproduced: "Half of the reading citizens of the town didn't speak to me. I was a social outcast. 'The Independent' was taboo in many of the so-called respectable homes. I could get almost no local advertising. "Then came to town one Burke Culpepper, an evangelist of Memphis, Tenn. A tent was pitched for him, and he began a series of union revival services, backed by all the churches. I stayed away from his meetings until it was necessary for me to attend at least one service to write about it intelligently. The evangelist captured me. He was different from the common run. The fellow was pleading with the church people to take Christ into their lives. He said a man who professed to be a Christian and who wasn't on speaking terms with every man in his town ought to get right with God or get out of the church. That sounded like honest-to-God religion to me. I went to hear Burke Culpepper again. "My second appearance at the tent was the signal for a determined and united effort upon the part of the active brethren and sisters to save my soul. It was an embarrassing situation to me, and I might have quit the meeting but for an invitation from the evangelist for anyone to testify as to any benefit derived from the meetings. I came to my feet. I told the evangelist and his audience of possibly two thousand that I was delighted with the message he had brought to the people, that nowhere in any of my writings against preachers and churchianity [sic] would they find one word in conflict with the gospel of Jesus of Nazareth. I told them that if there was any great divergence in our views it was that I believed the teachings of Jesus were practicable, and the church didn't. I was sure the church did not believe in the practical application of the teachings of the Master; because, while stressing its creeds and dogmas, it had utterly refrained from frankly facing the economic obstacles to a literal acceptance of Christ's teachings. "There was an embarrassing silence following my qualified confession of faith and expression of doubt. And then the evangelist stepped to the very front of his platform, and leaning far out, told the congregation not to worry about the salvation of W. O. Saunders. 'I behold in him a man who is seeking God for himself, a man capable of thinking for himself. He will find God.' "That evangelist from Memphis, Tenn., knew how to handle a crank. "Before he finished his campaign in Elizabeth City he had persuaded the church people themselves to bury their differences. He went into the very courthouse, where court was in session. Two lawyers in that court had been implacable enemies for years, and one had carried murder in his heart for the other. Before Burke Culpepper got through with them they had their arms around each other's neck, and everybody in the court room was shaking hands with everybody else. "Suddenly I discovered that I, the crank, the monster, the assassin of character, had become popular. People who had never spoken to me before remembered that I had done a lot of good for the town! There was less graft than in former years. The streets were paved. Then sanitary condition of the town had improved. The town had forged ahead in every way. A year later, I was unanimously elected to represent the county in the General Assembly. "I am often told that The Independent is the best looking, best edited country newspaper in America. The Independent has succeeded only as it served its people. I have worked almost sixteen hours a day for almost thirteen years, putting my best and my worst into this country newspaper. I have given much punishment, and in turn, have been punished much for my crankiness. Out of it all I have learned a few lessons that may be epigrammatically stated: "I have learned that the American people have a lively passion for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, about everything and everybody--except themselves and their family connections. "I have learned that the people prefer entertainment to reformation. Even the medicine faker could not have sold his wares without his bag of tricks. "I have learned that there are few heads for facts and figures, but that everybody has a heart. "I have learned that I am not at all like other men, and that other men are not at all unlike me; all of us have our ideas, our ideals, our whims, our idiosyncrasies--call them what you will-- and that a graveyard no larger than a county will eventually hold us all."
     The following is from the same booklet: Governor Neff Commends Rev. Burke Culpepper Hon. Pat M. Neff, Governor of Texas, on January 29, wrote Rev. Burke Culpepper as follows: "Just before I left Waco, my home town, to come to Austin to assume the duties of Governor you held a series of meetings there, covering several weeks. The atmosphere created by you in those meetings helped me to solve several questions pertaining to my duties as Governor. "You have been preaching for three weeks in Austin at the beginning of my second administration. Your sermons have been helpful in fostering and promoting among our citizenship an appreciation of the worth-while things of life. As you leave this morning for other fields of labor, I want you to know that you carry with you my personal commendation of the work that you are doing and my sincere appreciation of the friendship that has grown up between us for the past few years. I just want you to know as you go that your services have been helpful here in the Capitol of the State, and that I am for the gospel you preach."
     The following obituary came from p. 1 of the Memphis Commercial Appeal of 25 Aug 1948: Dr. O. Burke Culpepper Dies; Preached From Age Of 8 To 68 Dr. Oscar Burke Culpepper, a Methodist evangelist who preached his first sermon at the age of eight and his last early this week, died yesterday afternoon at 4:15 in Bowling Green, KY. The 68-year-old Memphian was in Bowling Green to conduct one of the revivals for which he was famed throughout the South. A heart ailment which he had periodically ignored to carry on his work was the cause of his death. Dr. Culpepper was one of a widely known family of general evangelists and ministers. His father, the Rev. John B. Culpepper, was the fountain head of 25 men of God, representing three Culpepper generations, at the time of his death in Memphis in 1937. Called Himself "Prayer Baby" Dr. Culpepper was one of the general evangelists of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He was fond of referring to himself as a "prayer baby." Like Hannah of Biblical times, he used to say, his mother prayed that he might become a preacher even before he was born. As a child he felt the call. He began to accompany his pioneering father on evangelistic trips. Then, after 12 to 15 years of apprenticeship, he struck out on his own. He was one of the first to become a member of the Evangelistic Association of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The association placed him on the Board of Control and made him secretary-treasurer. It is said he led hundreds of thousands to a better way of life. Making his headquarters at his home at 536 LeMaster, he took to the road every two weeks, or so, for many years. One Son Is Pastor Dr. Culpepper, who was educated at Macon, GA, and Asbury College, Wilmore, KY, moved to Memphis 35 years ago. One of his two sons, the Rev. James Culpepper of St. Clair, MO, is a Methodist pastor. The other son, Dr. Oscar Burke Culpepper, Jr., is a Birmingham optometrist. He also leaves his wife, Mrs. Kate Culpepper, and a daughter, Mrs. John Day, of Memphis. The body will be returned to Memphis this afternoon. National Funeral Home will be in charge. Publication: Put God First by Rev. Burke Culpepper, D.D; A series of evangelistic sermons delivered through the south and west. Louisville, KY, Pentecostal Publishing Co. [c1925] 168 p. 19 1/2 cm. Library of Congress BV3797.C85 NC 0828 917 also Duke University Durham. 

Family

Katherine Reginold (circa 1882 - )
Children

Charts Descendants of Dr. James Marion Culpepper Taylor Co., GA
Last Edited 4 Oct 2007

Citations

  1. 1880 Federal Census, United States.
    ED 11, Page 102B, Family 190, District 481, Bibb Co., GA
    John B. Culpepper, Self, M, M, W, 30, Itenerant Preacher, GA/GA/GA
    Melvina Culpepper, Wife, F, M, W, 22, Keeps House, GA/GA/GA
    S. Valtonia Culpepper, Dau, F, S, W, 4, --- , GA/GA/GA
    Marvin M. Culpepper, Son, M, S, W, 3, --- , GA/GA/GA
    Oscar B. Culpepper, Son, M, S, W, 1, --- , GA/GA/GA
    John Harmon, Other, M, S, W, 16, Sells Wood, GA/GA/GA.
  2. 1900 Federal Census, United States.
    ED 190, Sheet 29B, Pg 214A, Gen.com Im-6, 3 Ward, Stillwater, Payne Co., OK
    Oscar B. Culpepper, Head, M, Apr-1879, 21, md-0 yrs, GA GA GA, Evangelist
    Kattie B. Culpepper, Wife, F, Mar-1882, 18, md-0 yrs, Ch 0/0, TN TN TN.
  3. John Butler Culpepper, Happy Home, Louisville, Kentucky: Pickett Publishing Company, 1905.
  4. 1930 Federal Census, United States.
    ED 121, Page 10B, Valdosta District, Lowndes Co., GA
    Burke Culpepper, Head, M, 31, Md 10, GA/GA/GA, Preacher
    Kate Culpepper, Wife, F, 28, Md 10, Ch 3/3, TN/TN/TN
    Oscar Culpepper, Son, M, 9, S, MO/GA/TN
    Katherine Culpepper, Dau, F, 6, S, MS/GA/TN
    James Culpepper, Son, M, 3, S, MS/GA/TN.
  5. 1920 Federal Census, United States.
    Memphis Ward 16, Shelby, Tennessee; Roll: T625_1764; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 158; Image: 347.

    Name Age
    Burke Culpepper 40
    Kate Culpepper 37
    Oscar Culpepper 18
    Katharine Culpepper 16
    James Culpepper 13
    Fred Reginnold 72
    Kate Reginnold 65
    Claudie Johnson 25.
  6. James Marion Culpepper, Burke Culpepper Prince of Evangelists, Louisville, KY: The Herald Press, 1952.
    opposite Title Page, courtesy of Richard C. Kearney, Ph. D.

    Caption on page: Dr. Burke Culpepper.
  7. James Marion Culpepper, Burke Culpepper Prince of Evangelists, Louisville, KY: The Herald Press, 1952.
    Page 69, courtesy of Richard C. Kearney, Ph. D.

    Caption on page is "Fighter of Sin."
  8. James Marion Culpepper, Burke Culpepper Prince of Evangelists, Louisville, KY: The Herald Press, 1952.
    Page 129, courtesy of Richard C. Kearney, Ph. D.
  9. Commonwealth of Kentucky / Health Data Branch, compiler, Kentucky Death Index, 1911-2000, Online database at Ancestry.com.
    http://www.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3077
    O. B. Culpepper, 24 Aug 1948 at age 68, Warren Co., KY, Residence: Tennessee, 48, 19625.