October Ancestry Challenge – William Henry Blanks II

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 – 23 posts/23 days/23 ancestors.

We’re in week three!

Ancestor #10 – William Henry Blanks II and kids

William Henry Blanks II was my 3rd great grandfather. He was born in 1800 in Greene County, Georgia. His father, grandfather, great grandfather, 2nd great, and 3rd great were all born in Virginia, dating back to 1660.

His grandfather was Henry Blanks. The following is Henry’s will.

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HENRY BLANKS 1794 will

Will of HENRY BLANKS-Pittsylvania County, Va., dated September 15, 1794-, recorded October 20, 1794.

“IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN I HENRY BLANKS of the County of Pittsylvania being sick and weak of body but of sound sense and memory and considering the certainty of death and the uncertainty of the time thereof have thought fit to make this my last Will and Testament in the manner followeth.

ImprImis I recommend my soul to God who gave it me and my body to the earth to be interred at the discretion of Executors hereafter named,

Item I lend to my beloved wife during her widowhood my house hold and kitchen furniture, all my stock of horses, cattle and hogs, the tools and plantation utensils belong to the plantation whereon I live together wilth use of the same during her widowhood after my just debts are pay’d

Item I give to my Sons JOHN and JOSEPH two hundred and ten acres of Land that I now Live on joining Bannister river to be equally divided between them. Also it is my will and desire that the above mentioned household and Kitchen furniture and all my stock of horses, cattle and hogs, the tools and plantation utensils belong to the Plantation should be equally divided between my Sons JOHN and JOSEPH and my Son in law WILLIAM PARSONS and POLLY his wife , WILLIAM FARTHING and TABITHA his wife .

Item I gave to my Son JAMES of Georgia a horse now in his possession to him I give the same to his heirs forever

Item I give to my Son WILLIAM of Georgia a mare cow & calf and a sow now in his possession to him I give the same to his heirs forever

Item I give to my Son in Law BENJAMIN WATKINS and his wife SARAH five Shillings and of my movable Property after my wife’s widowhood

Item I give to my Son in Law DANIEL BAYTS and his Wife ELIZABETH a cow and calf now in their possession to him I give the same to his heirs forever

And lastly this is my last Will and Testament hereby revoking all former Wills by me made. In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Seal this fifteenth day of September one thousand seven hundred and ninety four.

Signed, Sealed and published in the

presence of us who subscribed the same

in the presence of the said Testator

Thomas Anderson, Francis Anderson

Elkanah Echols, Richard Anderson

AT A COURT held for Pittsylvania County the 20th day of October 1794– within written last Will and Testament of HENRY BLANKS deceased was exhibited into Court and proved by the Oaths of two of the witnesses hereto and Ordered to be Recorded. And on the motion of NAOMI widow and relict of the said Testator Certificate is granted her for obtaining Letters of Administration of all and singular the Goods and Chattels, rights and Credits of the said Testator with the said Will annexed she having first taken the Oath by Law prescribed and together with JOHN BLANKS, JOSEPH BLANKS and JOHN OWEN the securities entered into Bond and acknowledged. the same By the Court Teste Will Tunstall C. C. -Pittsylvania County, Va., Deed & Will Bk. 10, p. 75.

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William Henry II’s father William Henry I was born about 1760 in Virginia and was captain in the NC militia during the American Revolution. He served 1779-1780 and defended Charleston, SC under Brigadier General Caswell. In 1799, after five generations in Virginia, the family moved to Georgia, but as evidence of the above will, there was already some family there. After William Henry I died in 1823, his son sold all of his belongings. The newspaper clipping is from the Georgia Journal, 27 Jan 1824, pg 3.

William Henry II married Nancy Young in 1819 and had 8 children in Greene County, Georgia. Sometime between 1840 and 1850, he moved his family to Lauderdale County, Mississippi. I don’t know the reason, but every one of them went.

His two eldest sons James Lafayette Blanks and Thomas Young Blanks became Reverends and also served in the Confederate Army. His third son Jefferson Franklin Blanks moved to Arkansas between 1857 and 1860. Next, he had a fourth son Richard Lane Blanks and two daughters Martha Ellen and Nancy Ann. Finally, his youngest child was my 2nd great grandfather, William Henry Blanks III.

William III married Martha Lettie “Mattie” Carpenter and remained in Lauderdale County until he retired. He spent his golden years an hour away in Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi. His death certificate states he died of senility and chronic bronchitis in 1922. His wife died eleven years later, following a stroke.

I find it strange that all of the children remained in Lauderdale County except for Jefferson. I wonder what was so intriguing about Arkansas in the late 1850s to make him leave his family. Jefferson married, had seven children, and raised them in Arkansas.

His youngest son was Jack Bruce Blanks. Jack also moved away from his family and married a girl in Louisiana and opened a general store. I don’t know which one in this photo is him, but I love this old picture.

According to William II’s will, his youngest children Nancy Ann and William III were his favorites. He left them his entire estate. He left $1 to each of his other children.

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The Last Will and Testament of William H Blanks… State of Mississippi Lauderdale County August 18,1859.

Know all persons by these present that I do this day bequeath to my daughter Nancy & son William the sum total of my Estate being in consideration of my parental affection and love for them. My sons James, Thomas, Jefferson, and Richard I do give unto one dollar a piece also my daughter Martha English I give the same one dollar to be by each and all of them held in peace for life. My daughter Nancy and son William are by the Law of the Land old enough to choose their own guardians. Let them choose who they please their money is to be for their education and raising to be laid out on them at the will of their Guardian he to give Security for his management of the same, all of the above do request as the Last Will on Earth hoping the same may be satisfactory to all people on Earth in Testimony on which setting my hand and Seal Witness by undersigned. W H Blanks

W J Brown, P H Higgins

Jas F Ginnen

P. S. It is my wish for Nancy & William to have their brother Thomas to hold their business in charge.

Will Book 1, Page 17 Lauderdale County Courthouse, Meridian, Mississippi.

October Ancestry Challenge – Sir Thomas Culpeper

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days about 23 ancestors.

Ancestor #9 – Sir Thomas Culpeper of Hardreshull, Bayhall, and Exton

***** or *****

We’re All Connected, but Don’t Tell My Trophy Husband!

I’ve studied genealogy since I was a teenager, and am constantly stunned that my trophy husband only knows his grandparents and great grandparents and doesn’t care to know any more than that. He said his great grandfather came over from England and for reasons unknown, took the surname Dallas (photo). He told me, “You’ll never trace my family because no one knows who Grandpa Dallas really was.”

Well, I take that as a direct challenge.

A day later I asked him, “Would you like to know who your Dallas really was? Yes, I found him. His name was Stanley and he was the son of Captain Edmund Stanley.”

As a side note, I’ve spent years and years tossing it in his face that I come from Nobility. I have Lords and Sirs all over my family tree and there’s even a good chance I descend from King Charlemagne himself.

So anyway, I traced the Stanleys way back and found my trophy husband’s 16th great grandfather was Sir Thomas Culpeper of Hardreshull, Bayhall, and Exton. WAIT! SIR THOMAS WAS MY GRANDFATHER, TOO…he’s my 17th great. So, hubby and I are related waaaayyy back when. That’s cool.

But do I stop there? No! …I should have stopped there.

I found that Sir Thomas had two wives. I descend from the second wife Joyce Baynard, and trophy hubby descends from the first wife, Lady Alianora de Greene.

Sir Thomas and Lady Alianora had a daughter also named Alianora (Eleanor) who married Sir Reginald 3rd Lord Cobham.

(photos are Alianora and Sir Reginald, Church of St Peter and St Paul in Surrey)

Alianora and Sir Reginald had a daughter, Elizabeth Cobham who married Richard LeStrange. These LeStrange guys are all Barons. For you “Cousin’s War” fans, are any of these names starting to ring a bell yet? Ok, we’ll continue.

Elizabeth and Richard had a son named John LeStrange who married Jacquetta Wydeville. I’m sure THAT name rings a bell.

Jacquetta’s mom was Jacquetta de Luxembourg. Her first husband was John of Lancaster Duke of Bedford (photo), who was King Henry V’s brother. Jacquetta was a cousin of the Holy Roman Emperor and the marriage was meant to strengthen ties between England and the Holy Roman Empire. When the Yorks defeated the Lancastrians in 1461, both Jacquetta’s husband, John of Lancaster, and King Henry V were killed in the battle. Edward IV of York became king.

Jacquetta de Luxembourg soon married Sir Richard Wydeville Baron Rivers (photo) and went from being a Duke’s wife to being a Baron’s wife. I don’t know if that’s a step up or a step down. They had 14 children including the young Jacquetta Wydeville.

Their eldest daughter Elizabeth Wydeville (photo) soon married King Edward IV(photo) and became Queen of England, giving birth to the Tudor era, as she was the grandmother of King Henry VIII.

So, seeing that Jacquetta of Luxembourg and Sir Richard Wydeville are my trophy husband’s 13th great grandparents, I guess he actually has more blue blood than I do. But, please, please, don’t tell him.

October Ancestry Challenge – How far back can you go?

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days (Monday through Friday) about 23 ancestors.

We’re ending week two!

Ancestor #8 – Zachariah Prickett

How far back can you go?

I’ve traced my roots so far back, there is some evidence that I am descended from King Charlemagne. The cool thing about that is his family is traced very accurately back to sometime in — wait for it — BC. Yes, Before Christ. Yes, a really, really long time ago.

But as far as my American roots go, as far as I can tell, I am a 13th generation American.

Most of my family came to America from England in the 1600s, and they all seem to have migrated south in the 1800s when the U.S. Government started selling off large plots of land to get the country settled. Someday I’ll sit down and figure out the exact numbers of generations and how far back each go, but when you get up to your 10th greats, there are 2048 of them!!! I just don’t have that kind of time.

I have a lot of 10th, 11th, and 12th generation American ancestors, including a 12th generation on my dad’s Crane side. My 9th great grandpa John Weldon’s (1626-1711 Massachusetts) great grandson’s granddaughter, Mary Polly Weldon, married Jeremiah Crane in 1801. They were my 4th greats.

But the farthest back I can trace my American roots is on my mom’s side. He was my 13th generation, 10th great grandpa Zachariah Prickett, born in Burlington County, New Jersey in the mid to late 1600s. Burlington County is just east of Philadelphia, south of Trenton, northwest of Atlantic City.

Zachariah married a woman named Ellipha in 1699 and had at least four children: John, Zachariah Jr, Hannah, and Elizabeth.

The line from Zachariah to me is:

13. Zachariah Prickett

12. John Prickett

11. Capt Jacob Prickett. This was his home built in 1781. It was located just past Prickett’s Fort State Park in Fairmont, West Virginia. It was destroyed by arsonists on March 7, 2005. Jacob was a Revolutionary War soldier.

10. Josiah Prickett

9. Sarah “Sally” Prickett, who married William Howington

8. Herod Howington

7. Nimrod Howington

6. James C Howington – Civil War soldier <<<

5. John Thomas Howington

4. Mary Elizabeth Howington who married John Patrick “Pat” Burke <<<

3. Ina Inez Burke (Ancestor #7) who married Earl Wilmar Culpepper

2. Linda Faye Culpepper, my mother <<< who married my daddy, Andrew Frank Crane V V V

1. and…..ME!

October Ancestry Challenge – Ina Inez Burke Culpepper

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days (Monday through Friday) about 23 ancestors.

We’re in week two!

Ancestor #7 – Ina Inez Burke Culpepper

My maternal grandmother Ina Inez Burke Culpepper.

I called her Mamaw. That’s her holding me in 1966.

She was born Feb 8, 1915 to John Patrick “Pat” Burke and Mary Elizabeth Howington and was the eldest of seven children. The family always thought there were six children total until last year when I visited the family cemetery and found a headstone for Rudolph Owen Burke 1916-1917. I researched all her dad’s brothers and her brothers, but none of their ages fit to have a child born in 1916 except her parents. Also, the middle names of all her brothers were Otho, Otis, and Olen, so Owen seems to fit in there nicely.

Mamaw married Earl Wilmar Culpepper on August 1, 1936 at the age of 21. They live a quiet life in and around Meridian, Mississippi and had two daughters, one being my mother. She worked as a seamstress and could sew anything by looking at it in the store for a few minutes. I’m positive she made the dress she’s wearing. If she were young today, I’d make her go on “Project Runway.”

She died following open heart surgery in 1975 at the age of 60. She came out of the surgery just fine, but no one told her to NOT take aspirin once she got home. I guess in those days, when you were in pain, you popped aspirin. She awoke unable to breathe and my grandfather said her neck was swollen and black and blue. She died of “complications of aortic valve replacement/respiratory arrest/laryngeal hemorrhage and edema/anticoagulation.”

She is buried with her husband, parents, and paternal grandparents at a little cemetery in the middle of nowhere in Newton County, Mississippi – Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery.

The best part of the story:

I couldn’t trace her mother’s family, the Howingtons. Her mother (my great grandmother) Mary Howington Burke was a brick wall for a long time. One day, I saw an obituary for her husband Earl’s mother (yes, my other great grandmother Annie Culpepper – Ancestor #1 blog). It said Annie was survived by a daughter named Mae Howington. I knew my grandfather’s little sister was Zeffie Mae, but who was this Howington she was married to?

Turns out, it was the man I always knew as Uncle Sug (as in Sugar). Melton “Sug” Howington was Mary Howington’s little brother. Mamaw’s uncle. Since he was married to Earl’s little sister, that also made him my mother’s uncle. Long story short, I traced Melton and found the whole Howington clan! Yay!

So, in closing, I just want to tell you that what they say about the south is true, and it is possible I’m my own cousin!

October Ancestry Challenge – Joel B Culpepper

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days (Monday through Friday) about 23 ancestors.

We’re in week two!

Ancestor #6 – Joel Bluett Culpepper

My great great grandfather Joel Bluett Culpepper was born in 1845 in Clark County, MS and died 11 Nov 1911 at Beauvoir Confederate Soldiers home in Biloxi, MS.

If you’re not familiar with Beauvoir, it was the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and following the Civil War, it was turned into a home for Confederate veterans. It is now a historical site and I have sat on that porch many, many times. The first photo is pre-hurricane Katrina. The second is me on the rebuilt front steps in December 2012.

Joel was born to Rev. Joseph M Culpepper and Nancy Yarbrough along with 3 brothers and 2 sisters. His paternal grandparents were Simeon Culpepper and Elizabeth Bluett. That’s where his middle name came from. It’s an old southern tradition to give maiden names of mothers and grandmothers to son and grandsons.

Joel signed up for the 63rd Alabama Infantry Co K, stating that his residence was in Choctaw Co, Alabama. His brother Benjamin signed up for the 40th Alabama Infantry Co C. I have no idea why the boys signed up in Alabama or if they were actually living there at the time. The answer may lie in their father.

Their father, the Rev Joseph M, signed up for the 37th Mississippi Infantry on April 11, 1862 and died on August 15th of the same year in a battle at Columbus, Mississippi. Joel was only 17 at the time and Benjamin was 18. They may have been sent to Alabama to live with relatives following their father’s death and signed up for the cause to honor him. The enrollment date on Benjamin’s war documents is October 1863 in Sumter County, Alabama, but the date is not visible on Joel’s document, but it was definitely before Benjamin signed up.

Prior to Benjamin signing up, on April 9, 1863, Joel was captured by Federal Forces and held prisoner at Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island until the end of the war. He was an 18-yr-old boy.

In 1870, Joel married Mary E “Mollie” McFarland and they had six children, one of them being my great grandfather William Samuel “Sam” Culpepper who married Annie Josephine Blanks. I wrote about her in my Ancestor #1 blog.

Mollie died in 1908, and Joel moved in with his daughter for a time until it was decided he would enter Beauvoir under his rights as a Confederate soldier. He lived there for 10 months preceding his death. The records on file name him as James B Culpepper. He and Mollie are laid to rest at Zion Cemetery in Kemper County, Mississippi.

October Ancestry Challenge – George Washington Spencer

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days (Monday through Friday) about 23 ancestors.

We’re in week two!

Ancestor #5 – My 3rd great grandfather George Washington Spencer

My 3rd great grandfather was George Washington Spencer. He was born June 1829 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and died at the age of 72 in July 1901 in Newton Co, Mississippi. He was the son of Rev. William Saladin Spencer and Martha Didama Gross. He had ten siblings and was the second from youngest, so I imagine he got away with just about anything he wanted to. You can just imagine by the tenth child, you’d just throw up your hands and say, “Whatever!”

Behind this church is the cemetery where his parents are buried. It is possible George attended this church and his father may have preached there. (the photo is from my cousin mebauc)

George married Nancy Virginia “Jenny” Holdcroft in 1858 at the age of 29. She was ten years is junior. Hubba hubba. They lived in Newton County, Mississippi, and he was listed on the 1860 Federal Census as a school teacher.

When the Civil War broke out, he joined the 35th Mississippi Infantry, Company B on March 1, 1862 and some of the muster rolls show him as being hospitalized in Jackson, Marion, and Lauderdale Springs. Reports state he had an infection in his leg. In 1864, he was granted a medical discharge. My cousin told me George’s wife went by wagon to pick him up and bring him home. Though it’s nearly impossible to read, the following is his medical discharge.

The leg infection did not stop him from making whoopee, however! He had seven children between 1859 and 1878, the eldest being my 2nd great grandmother Nancy Didama “Grandma Damie” Spencer Burke.

He is laid to rest next to his wife (who died in 1928 at the age of 89) in unmarked graves at Hickory Cemetery, Newton County, Mississippi.

October Ancestry Challenge 2013 – Eula Ouida Keene Pickett

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days (Monday through Friday) about 23 ancestors. It’s still not to late to join us. Come on, you can catch up.

Ancestor #4 – Eula Ouida Keene Pickett

One of my favorite people in the whole world was my great grandmother Eula Ouida Keene Pickett. She was my devoted pen pal while I was growing up (as we lived in different states), and I still have many of her cards and letters in my scrapbooks. I spent every summer with her as a child and remember gathering chicken eggs, watching her sew quilts, and staying far away from her nasty little chihuahua who was blind in one eye and would bite you if you got too close.

She was the daughter of Thomas Gilbert Lafayette Keene, an upstanding business man who served as Treasurer of Lauderdale County, MS from 1904-1907, and Sarah Elizabeth “Bettie” Brown, daughter of a Confederate hero who was captured by the Union army and escaped, then allowed himself to be captured again to help others escape, which he/they did.

She was born 18 March 1899 and was the sixth of seven children totaling three girls and four boys. She also had an older half-sister from her mom’s first marriage.

Eula married Benjamin Berry Pickett in Lauderdale County, Mississippi in 1916 at the age of 17. They had 3 children: Howard, Azalea (my grandmother), and Fleta Clarice.

Eula’s older half-sister, who was also named Fleta, was 14 years her senior, and the two had a special relationship. In 1920, Fleta had a daughter and named her Eula, and in Dec 1921, Eula had a daughter and named her Fleta Clarice. While Eula was six-months pregnant with Fleta, her father died in Sep 1921. If that wasn’t hard enough to endure, on 8 May 1923, baby Fleta Clarice died of pneumonia. She was seventeen months old.

The Meridian Star, May 8, 1923

Fleta Marie (Clarice) Pickett Born: December 1, 1921 in Lauderdale County, MS

Died: May 8, 1923 in Lauderdale County, MS

Fleta Marie (Clarice) Pickett Fleta Marie Pickett, 17-month-old daughter of Ben Berry and Eula Keene Pickett, who reside near Zero, MS., passed away this morning at 4 o’clock. Funeral services will be held from the residence Wednesday morning at 10 o’clock. Interment is to follow in Fisher Cemetery.

I find it interesting that they held the funeral in the living room.

A month later on 23 June 1923, Eula’s sister Fleta died at the age of 38.

1923 was NOT a good year for the family. Eula’s husband Ben and his brothers were involved in a bloody shoot-out with local law enforcement over a moonshine still. A revenuer (tax collector) was killed, and Ben was sent to prison for murder. This story is in a book by Hewitt Clarke called Thunder at Meridian. BTW, my grandmother Azalea was outraged by the book and said none of it was true. Then again, she was four at the time, and I’m sure the grown-ups did not tell her the all the gory details. I personally spoke with Mr. Clarke in September 2013 and he said he got that story from interviewing Clyde Pickett (Ben’s little brother) in Zero, MS and pieced the rest together from newspapers and court records.

Keep in mind, all of this occurred before Eula’s 25th birthday.

I don’t know how long Ben was in jail, but I know he served his time and was eventually released.

On September 2, 1936, Eula and Ben receive the phone call all parents dread: their 19-yr-old son, Howard, had been in an auto accident. According to his obituary, following a tire blow-out, the car rolled several times. Howard had internal injuries and did not regain consciousness. He died the following day.

The Meridian Star, September 5, 1936

Howard Benjamin Pickett

Born: November 19, 1917 in Lauderdale County, MS

Died: September 3, 1936 in Newton, MS

Howard Benjamin Pickett, 19, son of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Berry Pickett of Meridian, who was injured in an automobile crash near Newton on Highway 80, died in a Newton hospital late Thursday. Miss Hazel Brasfield, 15, also of Meridian, remained in a critical condition Friday morning. Pickett, who was said to have been driving the automobile when it crashed at 5 a.m., received internal injuries. He never regained consciousness. Miss Brasfield is suffering from a crushed thigh. Other occupants of the machine were Jim Edwards, Billy White, Neva Ezell, Jack Ward, and Geneva Burt, all of Meridian. All were slightly injured but were able to return to Meridian soon after the accident. Pickett is said to have rented the automobile from a 630 taxi driver at 7 a.m. Wednesday, stating he intended to go to Jackson. The crash occurred when a tire blew out, causing the machine to leave the highway, overturning several times before striking a stump. Funeral services will be held at 4 p.m. Friday from the Eight Avenue Baptist Church. Surviving are his parents: Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Berry Pickett and one sister, Azelea Pickett, all of Meridian. The Rev. Ed Grayson and Rev. Blanding Vaughan will officiate at the funeral. Interment will follow in Fisher Cemetery.

My great grandma Pickett was a very strong and devoutly religious woman. The more I learn of her life, the more I understand why she was that way. Ben’s mom was a Fisher, so Ben and Eula and their three children are all buried in the family plot at Fisher Cemetery in Zero, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, which is still maintained by the Fisher family.

October Ancestry Challenge 2013 – John Culpepper the Rebel

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days (Monday through Friday) about 23 ancestors. It’s still not to late to join us. Come on, you can catch up.

Ancestor #3 – John Culpeper of Culpeper’s Rebellion

Culpeper’s Rebellion took place in 1677 in Albemarle County, Province of Carolina—which later became North Carolina.

Long story short, the people were fed up with the government and fought back—a story we’ve heard a hundred times. This story, however, is different because John Culpeper, the leader of the rebellion, was my uncle. He was brothers with my 9th great grandfather Henry, sons of my 10th great grandfather John Culpepper the Merchant, who was the subject of my Ancestor #2 blog.

The government of the Carolina colony, set up by His Royal Highness King James I and ruled in 1677 by His Royal Highness King Charles I, consisted of eight Lords Proprietors, the head being deputy governor Thomas Miller, who was also the tax collector. The people were increasingly unhappy with Mr. Miller as they had been taxed nearly to death, and he was severely limiting their freedoms. The final straw came when England passed an act regulating and taxing the shipping of goods to and from the colonies. It sounds like we’re leading up to the Boston Tea Party, but not yet. That didn’t happen until 1773—almost 100 years later. Maybe the people who currently tax us should take a look at history and see the results.

Anyway, young whippersnappers John Culpeper and George Durant, captured and imprisoned Thomas Miller and the members of his cabinet and held them in prison for two years while John stepped in and acted as governor. Fortunately King Charles was too busy partaking in pleasures to worry about those disorderly colonies, so they were free to convene their own legislature and exercise all powers and duties of their own government.

No one cared much about the governing of the colonies, but when the Crown heard rumors that John was acting as tax collector/treasurer and was handing the money inappropriately, he was summoned to England to plead his case. One shouldn’t embezzle from the Crown. When he arrived, he was arrested for treason and embezzlement. He was put to trial, but he was found not guilty as he was acting under the orders of a properly elected assembly …namely his own cabinet. huh? It probably didn’t hurt that daddy was a lawyer and highly esteemed in the colonies.

Culpeper’s Rebellion was a step towards American independence, fanning the flames that would 100 years later become the Revolutionary War.

October Ancestry Challenge 2013 – John Culpepper the Merchant

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days (Monday through Friday) about 23 ancestors. It’s still not to late to join us.

Ancestor #2 – John Culpepper the Merchant

My 10th great grandfather was John Culpepper, whom we refer to as John Culpepper the Merchant. He was born in 1606 in Kent, England to John Culpepper of Astwood and Ursula Woodcock, and some say he may have died in Virginia around 1674. I say “may have” because there is some genealogical confusion as to which John Culpepper was which. There were fathers, sons, and brothers all with the same name confused further by very sketchy records. Through my research, I have come to believe the John Culpepper who died in 1674 was actually his nephew, son of his brother Thomas.

Anyway, we do know John married a woman by the name of Mary and had sons named Henry (my 9th great grandfather), Dennis, James, Robert, and John of “Culpepper Rebellion” fame. At this point in history, female children weren’t noted, so between the five male births from 1635ish to 1645ish there may have been daughters born also. There is some evidence he had daughters named Hannah and Susannah, which sounds to me like a Dr. Seuss book, but the more I look at them, the more I’m convinced they were not his daughters. There is also further evidence of another girl named Abigail. I haven’t examined her records (or lack of them) yet.

A few years ago, my cousin Warren Culpepper visited England and attempted to get pictures of John’s childhood home, the Culpepper manor, Astwood in Feckenham, but they were asked to leave by the owner. These photos are as close as they got.

John is thought to be the ancestor of most American Culpeppers. He and his brother had ties to Virginia, so between the boys running back and forth to England (who kept VERY good records) and colonial America (who kept very poor records) we kind of lose track of him.

The few other details we know is that he was baptized in Harrietsham, England at St. John the Baptist Church (built in the 11th century) on 6 Oct 1606; he was admitted to Middle Temple (a law school) to be trained as a lawyer on 7 May 1621, listed in the records there as the second son of John Culpepper of Astwood, Esquire; and he probably didn’t like being a lawyer, because he took up a career of merchant instead. Darned kids never do what you want them to do.

Before 1633, he became part owner with his elder brother of a merchant ship called the “Thomas and John,” which was involved in trade between England and the colonies. Merchants of colonial America left very few records, so our research suffers, but it would appear he and his brother owned a trading company with points of presence in England, Barbados, New England, and Virginia. Maybe this is where my love of tall ships comes from.

Even though we don’t have a lot of records about John Culpepper the Merchant, we can tell he was obviously a brave man, sailing back and forth across the Atlantic like that. Ahoy, sailor!

October Ancestry Challenge 2013 – Annie Blanks Culpepper

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Lori Crane

The October Ancestry Challenge 2013 is 23 posts in 23 days (Monday through Friday) about 23 ancestors. Hop on the ancestry train and join us.

Ancestor # 1 – whew, 23 is a long way to go!

I was going to post in chronological order, but I’ve decided to be completely random. With that being said, here is…

…my great grandmother.

Josephine Annie Blanks Culpepper was born 10 Nov 1877 in Kemper Co, MS and died 15 Nov 1961 in Mobile, AL.

Annie was the daughter of William Henry Blanks III and Martha Lettie “Mattie” Carpenter. She was the fourth of seven children. There was only one boy in the bunch and sadly, he died at the age of five, when Annie was only three, so she never knew him. She grew up with five sisters.

I often wonder about the emotional health of Annie’s family of origin. Her mother, Mattie, lost her own father in the Civil War when she was fourteen, and the family not only lost a half dozen men to the war but another dozen family members to typhoid which was running through the county the winter of 1862/63. I imagine Mattie’s mother was probably emotionally shut down for a long period of time following all those deaths, so Mattie probably did not get the emotional support an adolescent girl needs, therefore it is possible she did not pass that maternal nurturing down to Annie and her sisters, because she never got it herself. I could be completely mistaken, though.

Annie married William Samuel “Sam” Culpepper at the age of 21 in 1899. She said about Sam that he was “handsome with rosy cheeks and teeth as white as pearls.” Sam worked as a sawyer and followed the sawmill business, so Annie was left alone on the farm with the children for great lengths of time. They had nine children between 1900 and 1921, with five being boys and four being girls. All but one of their children lived to a ripe old age.

There are a few things that strike me about Annie. First, I never met her as she died the year before I was born. Next, she lived through a fairly good time in history. The Civil War was long finished before she was born, and I imagine living in the back country of Mississippi, she wasn’t too affected by WWI or WWII. She grew up in a time before televisions and cars, and witnessed a technological growth of astounding proportions. I imagine the first television or automobile caused great excitement in the family.

Following Sam’s death in 1939 at the age of 66, Annie moved to Mobile, Alabama, and spent her golden years with two of her sons who had previously moved there. She died in Mobile at the age of 84 and her remains were returned to Mississippi to be buried next to her husband at Mt. Nebo Cemetery in Newton County, Mississippi.

Obituary November 16, 1961

Mrs. Annie Culpepper

Funeral arrangements were being completed today for Mrs. Annie Blanks Culpepper, 84 of Mobile, a former resident of the Martin community who died yesterday at Mobile.

Mrs. Culpepper was a member of the Duffee Baptist Church and had been active in its various organizations until she suffered a broken hip three years ago.

Her two daughters are Mrs. Mae Howington of Meridian and Mrs. Aaron Spears of Enterprise. She is also survived by five sons, Joe Culpepper of Susqualena, Earl and Clinton Culpepper, Meridian; Fred and Frank Culpepper, Mobile; and two sisters, Mrs. Woodie Logan and Miss Velma Blanks of Laurel.

The body was to arrive in Meridian this afternoon and will be at Stephen’s.

The services will be held at 2 o’clock tomorrow at the Mt. Nebo Baptist church with Rev. Herman Pilgrim in charge, assisted by the Rev. Vernon Blackburn.

Interment will be in the Mt. Nebo cemetery.

Lori Crane

award-winning author. musician. cute shoes.

Category Archives: history

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