John Blackburn Churchman

John Blackburn Churchman as a young man

John Blackburn Churchman

Vinnie Jerusha Churchman

• Sex: M
• Born: January 3, 1875 in Jefferson County, Tennessee
• Died: April 26, 1949 at the home of his daughter Ruby McClure in Bogata, Red River County, Texas
• Buried: April 28, 1949 at Bogata Cemetery in Bogata, Texas by Curtis Wilkenson, funeral director
• Notes: In the 1910 Texas Census, John, his wife Vinnie, and their first three children were living in Franklin County, Texas. This county is located south of Red River County, in northeast Texas. John was a farmer by trade. We have no proof that he actually owned any land; he and his family worked as share-croppers in the cotton fields in the Franklin - Red River County area. His granddaughter, Nyle Loreen Morgan, recalls that the family was extremely poor. During the Great Depression the girls would get two dresses a year. The family called John Blackburn Churchman "Papa John". Another granddaughter, Betty Ann Craddock, recalls that his wife would sometimes call him a "Black Dutchman" when she was angry with him.

  Later in his life, after his wife's death in 1943, he was confined to a wheelchair, and lived with various family members, including his daughters Ruby, Lula Mae, and his son Elmer, until his death in 1949.

Father: William H. Churchman, b. August 18, 1838 in Jefferson County, Tennessee

Mother: Annie E. ??, b. ca 1851 in Tennessee

Family 1: Vinnie Clevenger, b. May 8, 1881 in Morristown, Tennessee -- d. June 10, 1943 in Red River County, Texas -- buried in the Bogata Cemetery, Bogata, Texas -- daughter of George Henry Clevenger and Mahala D. Clark

• Married: August 23, 1904 in Mt. Vernon, Franklin County, Texas

1. Lula Mae Churchman, b. July 23, 1905 in Texas
2. Ruby Ethel Churchman, b. July 14, 1907 in Texas
3. Elmer Churchman, b. September 22, 1909 in Texas
4. Effie Irene Churchman, b. January 26, 1912 in Texas
5. Willie Alice Churchman, b. June 8, 1914 in Texas
6. Viola Churchman, b. March 21, 1917 in Texas
7. Dorothy Helen Churchman, b. July 18, 1920 in Texas

Sources:

1. John Blackburn Churchman’s death certificate
2. Texas 1910 Census
3. Grave stone in Bogata Cemetery
4. Interview with Ruby Churchman McClure
5. Interview with Nyle Lorene Morgan Randolph
6. Pictures from Betty Huckins, Sandra Pryor