J. L. Culpepper M.D.1,2
M, (between 1830 and 1855 - between 1876 and 1930)
| Birth* | between 1830 and 1855 | He was born between 1830 and 1855.2 |
| Death* | between 1876 and 1930 | He died between 1876 and 1930.2 |
| Last Edited | 21 February 2010 |
Citations
- The ancestry of this person is unknown. If you can help in identification of the parents or other relatives, please contact Warren Culpepper, using the link at the bottom of this page.
- J. L. Culpepper, M.D., Physician
Died before 31 Dec 1929
Type of practice: Allopath
Kentucky School of Medicine, Louisville: Transylvania University Medical Department, 1876.
Unknown (?) Culpepper1
M, (say 1914 - )
| African* | He was an African-American. | |
| Birth* | say 1914 | He was born say 1914 at Georgia. |
Family | ||
| Child |
| |
| Last Edited | 28 February 2010 |
Citations
- The ancestry of this person is unknown. If you can help in identification of the parents or other relatives, please contact Warren Culpepper, using the link at the bottom of this page.
Walter Culpepper of Memphis1
M, (1 January 1910 - 25 July 1995)
| African* | He was an African-American whose ancestry is unknown. If you can help identify him, please contact us. (Contact info is in page footer.) | |
| Birth* | 1 January 1910 | He was born on 1 January 1910.1 |
| Marriage* | say 1935 | He married Hattie (?) say 1935.2 |
| SSN* | 1955 | His Social Security Number was issued in 1955 in Tennessee.1 |
| Death* | 25 July 1995 | He died at Memphis, Shelby Co., Tennessee, on 25 July 1995 at age 85.1 |
| Obituary* | 27 July 1995 | Memphians Flocked To Culpepper's Chicken With $10 in his pocket and a firm conviction that everyone deserves the best of service, Walter Culpepper carved himself a niche in Beale Street and Memphis history. Opening his once-famed Culpepper's Chicken Shack near the end of Beale's raucous heyday in the 1930s, Mr. Culpepper spent more than 30 years serving the likes of Elvis Presley, Cab Calloway, B. B. King, Bobby Blue Bland and Bing Crosby. Mr. Culpepper's restaurant, known for its late hours and top-notch barbecue, always boasted an eclectic crowd, from the tuxedo-and-evening-gown set to working folks in blue jeans and slick, shifty gamblers in flashy clothes. And, even during bitterly segregated times, served both black and white. "When people went out on the town and had a good time, the evening wasn't over until you went to the Chicken Shack. "You never knew who you'd see in there - celebrities and people in tuxedos standing next to folks in jeans," said Freddie L. Moore, Mr. Culpepper's niece. "He treated everyone the same and made sure his waitresses did, too. That was his way of doing business," said Moore, who cared for Mr. Culpepper in recent years. A small chapter of Beale Street history ended Tuesday (25 Jul 1995) when Mr. Culpepper, retired now for nearly 25 years, died of heart disease at UT Bowld Hospital. He was 85. Opened in 1932, Culpepper's Chicken Shack was a place that won't be found in most written histories but was stamped on the memories of a generation of Memphians. The restaurant first opened on Fourth Street, just off Beale, and first boasted a clientele of tired, hungry and occasionally drunken gamblers and ''sporting people" from the Midway and Beale's many other gambling houses, said Moore. Mr. Culpepper told his family that, when he opened, he had all of $10 for supplies. He would purchase as much chicken as he could afford, cook it, sell it and then put the money back into more supplies. At the time, he sold a half-chicken for 50 cents. Soon, the restaurant became a favorite of most Beale Street patrons and performers, including most of the famous black musicians and band leaders who played the Beale Street clubs. The patronage of political boss E. H. Crump helped spread the restaurant's fame to Memphis's white community, which seldom ventured to Beale during the '30s. A fire in 1938 forced a move to 204 Hernando, a short distance away, but the restaurant's popularity only grew. Even during the 1940s, when Beale Street lost its clubs and prosperity, the restaurant remained popular, visited regularly by celebrities such as Crosby, William Holden and Mae West. "He always believed in serving people with a smile and always treated everyone the same, no matter how they were dressed or looked. It (the restaurant) was always integrated because he believed in serving everyone," his niece said. In the 1950s, Mr. Culpepper's food became a favorite of the young Elvis Presley, who often wandered Beale in his youth. In recent years, Mr. Culpepper used to like to tell the story of when someone asked Elvis why he referred to him, a black man, as "Mr. Culpepper." "Elvis said, 'I've been calling him Mister all along, why would I change now?' " Culpepper had said. Mr. Culpepper and his late wife, Hattie, also were known for their friendship to young people on the street, befriending them, feeding them, helping them find jobs and occasionally helping pay to send them to school. "They loved children. They had an adopted daughter, but didn't have any children of their own physically, so they kind of adopted a lot of children off the street," said Moore. The Culpeppers retired from the restaurant business in 1971 after Mrs. Culpepper was attacked and pistol-whipped while working behind the counter of a new shop on Vance, near Lauderdale. The couple's age, in addition to the declining neighborhood, helped make up their minds, their niece said. Mrs. Culpepper died in 1992, but Mr. Culpepper continued to work at a local hospital until recently. It was while he was in the hospital himself that one of his acts of kindness was repaid. While being taken downstairs in a wheelchair for a medical procedure, one of the doctors told the staff he wanted them to take extra special care of Mr. Culpepper. " 'I know you, Mr. Culpepper. I was one of your alley kids you used to feed,' " the doctor told his patient, Moore said. Mr. Culpepper, a mason, was a member of Progressive Baptist Church. The widower of Hattie H. Culpepper, he leaves a daughter, Lois Jean Culpepper of Chicago; a sister, Georgia Mattox of Memphis, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.2 |
Family | Hattie (?) (say 1913 - 1992) | |
| Last Edited | 14 July 2010 |
Citations
- U.S. Social Security Administration, compiler, Social Security Death Index (SSDI), Online database at Ancestry.com.
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/vital/ssdi/main.htm - The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/
Obituary of Walter Culpepper (#61205), "Memphians Flocked To Culpepper's Chicken,"by Jerry Huston, Thursday, July 27, 1995, Page A12.
Hattie (?)1
F, (say 1913 - 1992)
| African* | She was an African-American. | |
| Birth* | say 1913 | She was born say 1913.1 |
| Marriage* | say 1935 | She married Walter Culpepper of Memphis say 1935.1 |
| Married Name | say 1935 | As of say 1935, her married name was Culpepper.1 |
| Death* | 1992 | She died at Memphis, Shelby Co., Tennessee, in 1992.1 |
Family | Walter Culpepper of Memphis (1 January 1910 - 25 July 1995) | |
| Last Edited | 28 February 2010 |
Citations
- The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/
Obituary of Walter Culpepper (#61205), "Memphians Flocked To Culpepper's Chicken,"by Jerry Huston, Thursday, July 27, 1995, Page A12.
L. C. Culpepper of Clarke Co., AL
M, (1 September 1921 - 4 October 1995)
| African* | He was an African-American whose ancestry is unknown. If you can help identify him, please contact us. (Contact info is in page footer.) | |
| Birth* | 1 September 1921 | He was born on 1 September 1921.1 |
| SSN* | between 1936 and 1950 | His Social Security Number was issued between 1936 and 1950 in Alabama.1 |
| Death* | 4 October 1995 | He died at Thomasville, Clarke Co., Alabama, on 4 October 1995 at age 74.1 |
| Last Edited | 14 July 2010 |
Citations
- U.S. Social Security Administration, compiler, Social Security Death Index (SSDI), Online database at Ancestry.com.
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/vital/ssdi/main.htm
Elmer Russell1
M, (say 1921 - )
| Birth* | say 1921 | He was born say 1921. |
| Marriage* | 15 April 1945 | He married Annie Oneda Culpepper on 15 April 1945. They had three children: Judy, Gary and Nancy.1,2 |
Family | Annie Oneda Culpepper (19 June 1924 - 16 October 1994) | |
| Last Edited | 21 August 2010 |
Citations
- E-mail written 17 Feb 2010 to Warren Culpepper from Nancy Stevenson (#61216), e-mail address.
- E-mail written 7 Aug 2010 to Warren Culpepper from Beverly June Culpepper (#61228), e-mail address.