BIO: McCulley, Hopkins Co


    JOSEPH COFFMAN MCCULLEY, Hopkins-KY, was born July 12, 1887 at Orton. He
was the third of five children born to Alanson McCulley, b 31 Oct. 1857 d 29
Nov. 1921, son of Joseph Scott McCulley and Jane Frances (Cox) and Ilenah 
Deborah  (Coffman), b 22 May 1862 d 2 Dec. 1951, daughter of Benjamin Coffman
and Catherine Slaton.  Alanson & Ilenah were both natives of Hopkins-KY.  
Joseph Scott McCulley went to Pike-MS to visit his sister Nellie who had 
married Rev. Charles Curtis.  They went to dinner at his sisters home.  She
had several daughters who were in the kitchen preparing their meal.  He went
into the kitchen and told Granny he had come to get him a cook.  Clara Mae
(Norman) b 9 Sept. 1886 was chosen and he married her on February 6, 1910.  
She was the daughter of Martha Adeline "Patty" Curtis b 5 Aug. 1860 d 30 Dec.
1922 and Hugh Monroe Norman b 28 May 1858 d 14 Jul. 1889.  Joseph Coffman’s 
parents wondered what kept him so long in Mississippi.  They came down after 
him and liked it so much they went back to Hopkins, sold their property and 
hired a railroad car to ship their belongings to Pike-MS.  They arrived on 
Christmas Day dressed in their winter woolens only to find the climate so 
mild the children were running barefoot in the streets.  They rest together 
at Reeves Cemetery in Pike-MS.

Joseph Coffman McCulley was a farmer who had little schooling.  He ran a 
dairy business and worked for a time with the railroad.  At the end of his 
life he had accumulated 192 1/2 acres in Pike County.  He was blessed with 
four children, Bennie Alton McCulley, Sr., Ilda Lee (McCulley) Jackson, 
Frances Hazel (McCulley) White and Ruby Louise (McCulley) Pray.  Joe and 
Clara had eighteen grandchildren, thirty six great grandchildren and too-
numerous-to-count great, great grandchildren.  He died June 5, 1971.  She 
followed on September 2, 1971. They are buried at Reeves Cemetery along with 
his parents and wife’s family.  He was a Methodist and a charter member of 
the Pearl River Avenue Methodist Church. His wife was a Baptist.  They each 
went to the church of their choice and attended the other’s church when it 
was important to do so.


Submitted by Cathy Langhoff 
langhoff-family@home.com
Date: Fri, 07 Nov 1997