John Williams Culbertson, this writers maternal Grandfather was a descendent of English and Welch ancestors. It is claimed that we go clear back to the Feudal Lords one in particular in the "House of Duncan". An English sea captain named named John Culbertson was actively engaged in bringing immigrants to the New England territory. He later settled in Iowa area having married a Cherokee Indian maiden.
Eliza Ellen Embry was born in the Iowa area, date unknown about 1865. It is claimed one of her relatives by the name of John C. Breckinridge was Vice President under James Buchanan 1857 to 1861. the Democratic vote was split between Stephen A. Douglas and John C. Breckinridge allowing the Republican to win the 1861 presidential election, that being Abraham Lincoln.John Culbertson and Miss Embry were married in Iowa in the 1880's, exact date unknown. Perry, the eldest son was born in Iowa. Lillian the eldest daughter was born in Missouri. Later the family moved to Pueblo, Colorado where all the other children were born except, Mable Vineland, who was born while the Culbertson's lived for a while in Vineland, Colorado just east of Pueblo.
Eleven children were born to this union they were:
1. Perry2. Lillian3/4. Two sister who died in the early 1890's during the Pueblo flu epidemic5. Clarence6. Louis7. Roy8. Mable9. Earl10. Ted11. Winnie Pearl (Writers Mother)
1. Edith2. Hazel3. Richard (Deaf)4. EthelPerry & Clara separated in the later years. Perry died in Long Beach, California in 1972.
Lillian married Carl Feebeck in Pueblo and to this union three children were born:
Lillian and Carl as well as two of the children, Floyd and Nadine are deceased.1. Floyd2. Nadine3. Dorothy
Clarence married a girl from West Virginia named Lucille Sheets and they had three kids:
1. Wendell2. Marvin3. Alta
Clarence worked for many years at the Colorado Fuel and Iron Corp. He gave his life to Jesus Christ in the Friends church at Melba, Idaho in the 1930's and later served and worshipped God in the Assembly of God church in Pueblo, Colorado. He died died in 1976at Pueblo. This writer would have to say Uncle Clarence was the closet of all his Aunts and Uncles on Mom's side of the family, we miss him very much.
Louis Culbertson was married at one time and had one son. There is a picture of the boy in the family album but nothing is known about his where abouts.
Lou spent some time in prison in California for killing a man. He always claimed he was framed and later, in 1941, he left Colorado saying to this writer, one day as we sat on Aunt Lillian's front porch in Pueblo, "I've got some scores to settle". He left that night and to this time, May 1980, no one in the family ever heard of him again.
Roy married Ella in Pueblo, Colorado. They embraced the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints. To this union six children were born:
- Ella May
- Alfred William
- Lorraine
- Buelah
- Martha Dee
- Janie
Aunt Mable married the young energetic little homesteader, afford mentioned, Dick Easom. They had eight children and raised them all on the same place the Dick Easom homesteaded in 1905. The children were:
- Leslie
- Marjorie
- Lyle
- LeRoy
- George
- Margaret
- June
- Florence
Earl emeried a Pueblo girl named Mary Zabukovec. They had no children but their home was always open to all their Nieces and Nephews for games and music. Uncle Earl was the last of the Culbertson brothers and sisters to depart this life. He died in 1979. He and Aunt Mary both retired from the Colorado Fuel and Iron Corp..
Theadore (Ted) the youngest of the of the Culbertson boys married Olive and they had three girls:
- Pearl
- Ruby
- Betty
Ted was an exuberant young man which caused his marriage to break up. he also died tragically in a shoot out with a Colorado Fuel and Iron guard in 1929.
The youngest girl of the Culbertson clan was born May 16, 1901 and was raised in Pueblo, Colorado. Her name being Winnie Pearl. We will cover her marriage, offspring and life in more detail as we pick up the Davis story in the next chapters.
Grandpa John William Culbertson homesteaded out east of Colorado Springs in the early 1900's. This made the Davis's, Culbertson's, Mayhew's, and Easoms homesteaders in the same area and about the same time.
Grandpa Culbertson died in 1911, he was brought to Pueblo for burial. It was about this same time that Mable Culbertson married Dick Easom. Grandma Eliza Culbertson and her youngest girl Winnie Pearl, age 10, stayed with Aunt Lilly and Carl Feebeck in Pueblo, for a while during this time. The Culbertson boys worked together on the homestead.