James Levin Culpepper
Male, #34787, (25 Apr 1866 - 26 Jul 1924)
| Parent* | James Louis Culpepper (28 Jul 1833 - 29 Aug 1922) | |
| Parent* | Margaret Hall Harbour (14 Feb 1841 - 14 Apr 1931) | |
James Levin Culpepper|b. 25 Apr 1866\nd. 26 Jul 1924|p34787.htm|James Louis Culpepper|b. 28 Jul 1833\nd. 29 Aug 1922|p32403.htm|Margaret Hall Harbour|b. 14 Feb 1841\nd. 14 Apr 1931|p32405.htm|Francis G. Culpepper|b. 31 Jan 1804\nd. 21 Oct 1903|p32062.htm|Eglintine Langley|b. 6 Apr 1810\nd. 3 Apr 1878|p32064.htm||||||| | ||
| Name Variation | James Levin Culpepper was also known as Lev. | |
| Birth* | 25 Apr 1866 | James was born at Sweet Home, Lavaca Co., Texas, on 25 Apr 1866. |
| He was the son of James Louis Culpepper and Margaret Hall Harbour. | ||
| 1880 Census | 1 Jun 1880 | Thomas, James, Harvey, Charles, Joseph, Jacob, Mathew and Ruben was listed as a son in James Louis Culpepper's household on the 1880 Census at Lavaca Co., Texas.1 |
| Marriage* | 2 Oct 1889 | He married Etna Florence Grant at Lavaca Co., Texas, on 2 Oct 1889.2 |
| 1900 Census* | 1 Jun 1900 | James was listed as the head of a family on the 1900 Census at Goliad Co., Texas.3 |
| 1910 Census* | 1 Jun 1910 | James was listed as the head of a family on the 1910 Census at San Antonio, Bexar Co., Texas.4 |
| Photographed | circa 1916 | James Louis Culpepper and Margaret Hall Harbour and family were photographed From left to right: Louis, James Lev, Harve, Jake, Matthew, and Curtis, with Curtis Jr. holding his father's finger. Brothers Joseph and Everette are not present. circa 1916.5 Sons of James Louis Culpepper and Margaret Hall |
| 1920 Census* | 1 Jan 1920 | James was listed as the head of a family on the 1920 Census at San Antonio, Bexar Co., Texas.6 |
| Death* | 26 Jul 1924 | He died at San Antonio, Bexar Co., Texas, on 26 Jul 1924.7 |
| Burial* | circa 28 Jul 1924 | His body was interred circa 28 Jul 1924 at Mission Cemetery, San Antonio, Bexar Co., Texas. |
| Biography* | James Levin Culpepper was known as "Lev." He was not listed with his parents in the 1870 census. He was listed as "James Levin Culpepper" on the delayed birth record of his daughter, Cecil Hae Culpepper in 1892. On the same certificate, J. L. Culpepper's place of birth was given as "Shiner, TX" but he was probably born at Old Sweet Home which was near Shiner. Mrs. James L. (Vivian Hastings) Culpepper copied the following deed (37?) in which James L. Culpepper donated (for a $1.00 token) an acre of land for a school and cemetery: THE STATE OF TEXAS COUNTY OF GOLIAD ____________________KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS: That I, J. L. Culpepper, of said county and state, for and in consideration of the sum of One ($1.00 dollar cash to me in hand paid by J Gus Patton, County Judge of Goliad County, Texas, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, have bargained, sold and conveyed and by these presents do bargain, sell and convey, unto the said J. Gus Patton, County Judge, as aforesaid, all that certain lot or parcel of land lying and being situated in said Goliad County, Texas, the same being One acre of land, taken in the form of a square as near as possible out of the southeastern part of all that certain tract of land containing 750 acres conveyed by Jno. A. Donalson and wife to H. G. Culpepper, C. E. Culpepper and J. L. Culpepper by deed dated 2d day of Nov. 1893, and duly recorded on deed records of said Goliad County Texas, in Vol. V page 741; said One acre of land composes the most southeastern corner of said tract of 750 acres, and is hereby conveyed to the said J. Gus Patton, County Judge as aforesaid, and to his successors in office, for public school and public burial purposes only. _____To have and to hold the above described premises unto the said J. Gus Patton, County Judge, and to his successors in office, forever, as long as the same shall be used for public school and public burial purposes. _____Witness my hand this Sept 2, 1906 ______________________________________J. L. Culpepper. A granddaughter, Dorothy Nash Roberts wrote the following account: The last five children of Lev and Etna were born near Pettus and Berclair, Texas. Bertha and Ethel died there and are buried in a little graveyard on their farm property. It is doubtful that the graves could be found today. An infant son of Harve and Dona (GRANT) CULPEPPER is also buried there. Around 1906, the family moved to Ft. Worth because the mother wanted the children to be able to go to a good school. They only stayed there about three months, however, and went back to the farm. Lev raised cotton which he marketed in Pettus. They had Mexican migrant workers and had difficulty keeping them after the cotton was sold. In order to keep the workers from migrating to work other crops, Lev built small houses for them and bought food wholesale and sold it to them for what it cost him. This was also a way of keeping them from going to town on weekends to buy groceries, because they would invariably get drunk and not be able to work. He also bought mixed hard candies by the bucketful and sold it to the workers. Allan, Cecil, and Irene would get to it first and pick out the kinds they liked before their father sold it to the workers. Because the family grew so fast, Lev bought the house owned by his brother-in-law, Haywood, moved it, and attached it to his own farmhouse. This provided extra room for the children, and a place for his use in storing and selling the food and candy he purchased for the workers. Pettus was about seven miles from their home; Berclair was about 13 miles, and "THE CITY" (Beeville) was about 15 to 20 miles away. The family went to Beeville to shop, riding in their carriage drawn by either the two black horses, Prince and Rebel, or the two sorrels, MacKinley and Jefferson (Mac and Jeff). Lev also built the Culpepper School House - a one room school - on his own land about a mile from the house. He was the only trustee. Most of the children were Polish from families nearby, but there were some Guthries, Wilsons, and of course, lots of lots of Culpeppers. The teacher lived with the Guthrie family. Once when she didn't make it to school because of an injury, the Culpepper kids stayed around the school all day and had a picnic instead of going home. When they got home, their father used a switch, first on Allan, then on Cecil and Irene, but when he got to Clara with her big, sad eyes, he just told her to go on in the house. Shortly after returning from Ft. Worth, they sold - or traded - the farm for property in Electra, Texas and moved to Wichita Falls where they lived for about a year before moving to Uvalde. They lived there for about 3 years, during which time Irene, who had diabetes, caught measles and died at age 14. From there they moved to San Antonio in 1911, where they lived in a large house on San Pedro and rented out rooms. Lev had lost all his property somehow and since he was a farmer, there was not much he could do to earn a living in a city. After about a year, they moved again, this time to Stockdale, and then in 1914, they moved to Floresville. This is where Clara was graduated and where they lived when the war started. They moved back to San Antonio and bought a rooming house on South Flores, near the Katy (MKT) depot that was under construction at that time, and this was where Cecil met J.B. I have copies of newspaper accounts of the murder of James Levin CULPEPPER. I also have recollections of my mother, Cecil H. CULPEPPER NASH, and my aunt, Clara CULPEPPER ANDERSON. They told me that the day before his death on a Saturday, they had each asked their father to spend that Saturday performing some tasks for them - baby-sitting, for one - but he refused because he wanted to go to the polls to watch voting activities. They said he was leaning against a tree near the curb, whittling, when two men passed, and one was cursing the people as loiterers, and when my grandfather challenged the cursing man - asking if he "meant that for me?" - the man shoved him, and as he did so, he stumbled over a foot scraper and fell into the gutter. As he was falling, he pulled his gun and fired it, killing my grandfather instantly. This description of what happened came from witnesses who testified at the trial. The newspaper - San Antonio Express, 27 July 1924, said that former deputy, James Lubbock, was charged with murder and taken to jail. On Tuesday, the report was that he was released on $7500 bail. I am in the process of looking for accounts of the trial which was conducted some time later. |
Family | Etna Florence Grant (25 Jul 1872 - 1 Nov 1918) | |
| Children |
| |
(1 Nov 1890 - 28 Mar 1975)| Charts | Descendants of James Louis Culpepper of Wilson Co., TX |
| Last Edited | 31 Oct 2006 |
Citations
- 1880 Federal Census, United States.
ED 79, Sheet 18-19, Pg 416B-C, Pct 3, Lavaca Co., TX
J. L. Culpepper, M, 46, Head, M, AL GA SC, Farmer
Margaret Culpepper, F, 39, Wife, M, MS n/a n/a
Lewis T. Culpepper, M, 19, Son, S, TX AL MS, Works on Farm
Alice Culpepper, F, 17, Dau, S, TX AL MS
Matilda Culpepper, F, 15, Dau, S, TX AL MS
Levin Culpepper, M, 13, Son, S, TX AL MS
Harvey Culpepper, M, 11, Son, S, TX AL MS
Virginia Culpepper, F, 9, Dau, S, TX AL MS
Everet Culpepper, M, 7, Son, S, TX AL MS
Joseph Culpepper, M, 6, Son, S, TX AL MS
Josephine Culpepper, F, 6, Dau, S, TX AL MS
Georgia Culpepper, F, 5, Dau, S, TX AL MS
Jacob Culpepper, M, 4, Son, S, TX AL MS
Matthew Culpepper, M, 3, Son, S, TX AL MS
Reuben C. Culpepper, M, 1, Son, S, TX AL MS. - Texas Department of State Health Services, compiler, Texas Marriage Collection, 1814-1909 and 1966-2002, Online database at Ancestry.com, 2005.
http://www.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8795
Lavaca Co., TX: J. S. Culpepper and Etna Grant, 3 Oct 1889, Book III, p. 35. - 1900 Federal Census, United States.
ED 49, Sheet 9B, Pg 131, Pct 2, Gen.com Img 18, Goliad Co., TX
James L. Culpepper, Head, M, Apr-1866, 34, M, md-10, TX AL MS, Farm Laborer
Edna Culpepper, Wife, F, Jul-1872, 27, M, md-10, Ch 6/5, AL SC SC
Allen Culpepper, Son, M, Nov-1890, 9, S, TX TX AL
Cecil Culpepper, Daughter, F, Dec-1892, 7, S, TX TX AL
Irene Culpepper, Daughter, F, May-1894, 6, S, TX TX AL
Bertha Culpepper, Daughter, F, Aug-1896, 3, S, TX TX AL
Clara Culpepper, Daughter, F, May-1898, 2, S, TX TX AL
Haywood Grant, Brother-in-law, M, Aug-1878, 21, S, TX SC SC, Farm Laborer. - 1910 Federal Census, United States.
ED 25, Sheet 2A, Pg 295A, Pct 3, Gen.com Img 137, San Antonio, Bexar Co., TX
James L. Culpepper, Head, M, 43, M1, md-20 yrs, TX VA VA, Ranchman
Edna F. Culpepper, Wife, F, 36, M1, md-20 yrs, ch 7/4, TX NC NC
Allan H. Culpepper, Son, M, 19, S, TX TX TX
Cecile H. Culpepper, Daughter, F, 17, S, TX TX TX
Clara H. Culpepper, Daughter, F, 11, S, TX TX TX
Gladys H. Culpepper, Daughter, F, 3, S, TX TX TX
Frank Cyonon, Boarder, M, 25?, S, MN US US, Cashier-Bank. - Dorothy Nash Roberts records, Dorothy Nash Roberts (A granddaughter of James Levin Culpepper and a long time contributor to Culpepper Connections' records), Dallas, TX, to Lew Griffin.
- 1920 Federal Census, United States.
ED 92, Sheet 23B, Pg 268, 133 Ward Ave., San Antonio, Bexar Co., TX
Own=Y, Farm=N
James L. Culpepper, Head, M, 53, WD, TX TX TX, Packer-Ware House
Henry A. Culpepper, Son, M, 29, M, TX TX TX, Driver-Bakery Shop
Madge Culpepper, Daughter-in-Law, F, 21, M, TX TX TX
Gladious Culpepper, Dau, F, 13, S, TX TX TX
James M. Anderson, Son-in-Law, M, 21, M, 30, AR AR AR, Accessory Salesman-Auto Store
Clara A. (Culpepper) Anderson, Dau, F, 21, M, TX TX TX. - Texas Department of Health, compiler, Texas Death Index, 1903-2000, Online database at Ancestry.com, 2006.
http://www.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=4876
James Lev Culpepper, Bexar Co., Jul 26 1924, 22269.