Irish Culpeppers

By Lew Griffin and Warren Culpepper

Were there any Irish Culpeppers?  From time to time, we have heard researchers who believed that they descended from Culpeppers in Ireland. Certainly, a number of English and American Culpepper women married men with Irish ancestry, and several of these are documented within our family tree. And presumably, although we have no specific evidence, a number of English and American Culpepper men married women with Irish ancestry. But to date, we have identified no Culpeppers, Culpepers or Colepepers who were born in Ireland or lived there for any significant period of time.

Once source of the misunderstanding is an article that appeared on David Culpepper and is discussed below. If you are aware of any Culpeppers of Irish descent, or if you are aware of other Culpepper Irish legends, please let us know.

David Culpepper, born 15 Dec 1768

An article from Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia, Vol. 3, page 60, reads as follows [the text in brackets are comments by Lew Griffin]:

David Culpepper is the ancester [sic] of a number of Wiregrass Georgians. He was born in Ireland, Dec. 15, 1768, son of John and Agnes Culpepper who came to this country about 1780. David had two brothers, Sampson and Charles Culpepper, who also lived in Laurens County. [Charles was actually David's first cousin, the son of his uncle Sampson Culpepper]

The Culpepper were among the earliest settlers of Laurens County soon after its creation and were there as early as 1811 or before. [Actually, they settled on Buckeye Creek, in what later became Laurens County, in the 1780's. See the article on David's father, John Culpepper, in the Family Tree] David Culpepper married Elizabeth Hogan, born March 6, 1775, daughter of Griffin and Mary Hogan. They had four known sons, possibly other children.

1. Benjamin, b. 1794, m. Nancy
2. Joel, b. 1798, m. Mary Butler
3. Chadwell, b. 1800, m. Frances
4. David Sneads, b. 1814, m. Catherine Livingston, Jan. 8, 1835

Mr. Culpepper died at his home in Laurens County, Aug. 21, 1832, in his 64th year. He and his wife were organizing members of Buckeye Baptist Church and remained faithful members until their deaths.

Lew Griffin: The evidence that David and John were from North Carolina is abundant, and can be found in the article on John (#3217) in the Family Tree.

I read your article on "Irish Culpeppers" which proposed that there were no American Culpeppers descending from Culpeppers born in Ireland. The myth was said to have originated from a report in Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia. I do not know when Wiregrass was written, but if it was done after about 1935, it likely got its information from Crisp County, Georgia: Historical Sketches by a Judge W. Fleming (Probate Court Judge). He lived in my hometown of Cordele, Crisp Co. GA. In discussing Judge Fleming's book with a number of local people over the years who personally knew the good Judge, I am informed that he made quite a few errors and did not verify a lot of his information. I became convinced that he was in error when he stated that our Culpepper Ancestor (John of John and Agnes) came over from "Ireland." My Uncle, Dr. Leon Raines Culpepper, had picked up on this error around 1960 or earlier, and marked it in his copy of the book.

Leon was the owner of the David Sneads Culpepper Family Bible, and personally gave it to me on March 1, 1985. The volume was in shambles when he got it, but he sent it off and had it refurbished to a beautiful condition. A musician and college professor, Leon did extensive research on the Culpepper family history in the Washington Library in Macon, Ga. I remember him stating that our Culpepper ancestor was "definitely from England, not Ireland." He told me he would go "straight to the stacks" in the library for his research. Leon was the one who put together a "Culpepper Family Tree" which was in at least a dozen different sheets and which had to be spread out on the floor to fit the pieces together. It started with John and Agnes Culpepper and went forward with hundreds of names included--a tedious, time-consuming, scholarly work to say the least. Copies, bought for $1.00 each, are in scores of Culpepper homes, but do not bear Leon's name as the author, owing to his modesty and lack on interest in notoriety."

P. Melton Culpepper, Jr.
Attorney
Cordele, GA

Lew Griffin's response

Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia was published in 1951 by Folks Huxford (another Judge). So he probably did copy the story about Irish Culpeppers from the book Melton mentions by Judge William P. Fleming, Crisp County, Georgia: Historical Sketches, which was written in 1932 according to the LDS library catalog.