Spurlins of Hardeman County, Tennessee
Spurlins lived in Hardeman County, in southwest Tennessee, by the 1830s. Eli and George W. Spurlin are buried at Wesley Cemetery, Piney Grove, and George drew a Confederate pension. Another branch moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas, and on to Texas.
Sourcing: mixed 9 genealogy · 2 news · 2 government
Elias (Eli) Spurlin
WikiTree's profile of Elias (Eli) Spurlin gives his dates as 29 August 1834 to 8 November 1896. It cites a Find a Grave memorial in Wesley Cemetery, Piney Grove, Hardeman County.[1] That memorial gives the same dates and burial place, names his mother as Sarah "Sally" Mayfield Spurlin (died 1861), and describes him as the second husband of Angeline Huddleston Ayers.[2] The WikiTree profile notes that he was recorded in Hardeman County in the 1850 and 1860 censuses. He married Susan R. Binkley in 1858 and Angeline Ayers in 1867, and the 1870 census spells the surname "Shurling."[1] It also cites guardian bonds from the 1870s filed in Hardeman County courts.[1]
The Bolivar Bulletin of 13 November 1896 reported that Eli Spurlin had died suddenly on Sunday night at his home in the Eighteenth District. He complained of pain near his heart after supper and died within an hour. The paper said he had been twice married and left a wife and one child. He was buried by the Masons and was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church.[3] The Sunday before that issue was 8 November 1896, the death date on his WikiTree and Find a Grave profiles. The paper gave his age as 61, a year less than those profiles' 1834 birth date implies.[3][1]
His widow's death was reported in the same paper on 1 May 1903 as that of Mrs. Ann Spurlin, at her home in the 18th district. She was a daughter of Esquire P. M. Huddleston. Her first husband, Frank Ayers, had died in a Northern prison during the Civil War, and her second marriage was "to Eli Spurlin, who died six years ago." She had been a Methodist for 50 years and was buried in Wesley Cemetery.[4]
George W. Spurlin
Find a Grave links Eli's memorial to that of a brother, George W. Spurlin (19 January 1839 – 14 December 1914), who is buried in the same Wesley Cemetery. The headstone inscription recorded on George's memorial reads "CO K 1 TENN INF CSA."[2][5] The Tennessee State Library and Archives index of Confederate pension applications lists a soldier's pension, no. 4853, for George W. Spurlin of Hardeman County, with his unit given as the "1st Tenn., Ala. and Miss. Inf."[6] The National Park Service's Soldiers and Sailors index has a G. W. Spurlin as a private in Company K of the 4th Confederate Infantry, with a note to "see also 42 Tenn. Inf." The index gives no residence, so linking this record to the Hardeman County man rests on the name and company letter.[7]
James Spurlin and the move to Arkansas
Another WikiTree profile describes a James Spurlin, born about 1810 in Hardeman County, who died about 1846 at Hot Springs, Arkansas.[8] Notes credited to a descendant give a family story that James was a sheriff or deputy at Hot Springs. He was said to have been killed "down by the river" while breaking up a fight, and his eldest son, William Rufus, later tracked the killer to Texas and settled there.[8] The story of the killing is family tradition and has not been confirmed from records. The same notes list Hardeman County marriages and tax records for other Spurlins in the 1830s.[8] WikiTree also has a profile for a John Spurlin (1805–1850) who died in Hardeman County.[9]
WikiTree lists among James's children William Rufus Spurlin (1833–1899) and James Franklin Spurlin (1846–1918).[8] Find a Grave places William Rufus Spurlin in Killeen City Cemetery, Bell County, Texas, which fits the family story that he settled in Texas. His memorial transcribes an obituary saying he died at Brookhaven, Texas, and was buried at "the Sugar Loaf cemetery", a different name from the one on the memorial.[10] James Franklin Spurlin, a Confederate private in Company E of the 19th Arkansas Infantry, is buried in the Spurlin Cemetery near Hot Springs (see Spurlins Ferry and Spurlin Cemetery (Garland County, Arkansas)).[11]
Research notes
The county's genealogy pages on FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails give record sources.[12][13] The military page of the Genealogy Trails site lists the county's pensioners on the roll in 1883 and Civil War service and pension records.[13]
See also
- Spurlins Ferry and Spurlin Cemetery (Garland County, Arkansas) · Places mixed
Garland County, Arkansas, near Hot Springs, has two Spurlin-named sites: a historical river crossing that GNIS records as Spurlins Ferry, and Spurlin Cemetery on Papas Trail, a family burial ground with about 160 Find a Grave memorials whose earliest dated burial is from about 1890. A family tradition links the cemetery's Spurlins to a James Spurlin said to have been killed at Hot Springs in the 1840s. - Spurlins of Fentress County, Tennessee · Genealogy mixed
Spurlins were among the early families on the Wolf River in Fentress County, Tennessee, where Daniel Spurlin is said to have started the family's Spurlin Cemetery in 1858. A 1920 county history profiles M. H. Spurlin, a Wilder lawman and justice of the peace. - Spurlin family lines by state · Genealogy weak
A state-by-state guide to the main Spurlin and Spurling family lines in the United States, from colonial Virginia and North Carolina to Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Texas and Indiana, with the sources behind each link. - Spurlins in Historic American Newspapers · History strong
The Library of Congress's Chronicling America collection returns thousands of newspaper pages for the Spurlin name, from Louisiana politics in 1886 and an Indiana 'ghost' lawsuit in 1897 to a Texas railroad town named for John L. Spurlin and a runaway locomotive in 1935. - Spurlins in the American Civil War · History strong
Spurlins served on both sides of the Civil War. They included Confederates from North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee and Union soldiers from New Hampshire, Iowa, Indiana and Tennessee. This roundup collects service-index records, rosters, pension, pardon and soldiers' home records, and county-history accounts. - Spurlins of Navarro County, Texas · Genealogy mixed
Georgia-born Spurlins were in Navarro County, Texas, around the time of statehood. An 1893 county history records Emma Spurlin as the first wife of Isaac B. Sessions, one of the county's organizers, and the Hamilton merchant John L. Spurlin was born at Chatfield Point in 1853.
References
- ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ Elias Spurlin (1834–1896) (Spurlin-4) — WikiTree Genealogy
- ↑ ↑ Eli Spurlin (1834–1896) — Find a Grave Memorial 28537003 — Wesley Cemetery, Piney Grove, Hardeman County Genealogy
- ↑ ↑ The Bolivar Bulletin (Bolivar, Tenn.), 13 November 1896, image 3 — Chronicling America, Library of Congress News
- ↑ The Bolivar Bulletin (Bolivar, Tenn.), 1 May 1903, image 3 — Chronicling America, Library of Congress News
- ↑ George W Spurlin (1839–1914) — Find a Grave Memorial 10129897 — Wesley Cemetery, Piney Grove; inscription as recorded on the memorial Genealogy
- ↑ Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Hardeman County — Tennessee State Library and Archives — "Spurlin, George W. | Hardeman | S | 4853 | 1st Tenn., Ala and Miss. Inf." Government
- ↑ Spurlin, G.W. — 4th Regiment, Confederate Infantry, Co. K — Soldiers and Sailors Database, National Park Service — private; NARA film M818 roll 22; note "See also 42 Tenn. Inf." Government
- ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ James Spurlin (1810–1846) (Spurlin-52) — WikiTree — descendant's notes; children list read via the WikiTree API Genealogy
- ↑ John Spurlin (1805–1850) (Spurlin-3) — WikiTree Genealogy
- ↑ William Rufus Spurlin (1833–1899) — Find a Grave Memorial — Killeen City Cemetery; obituary Genealogy
- ↑ James Frank Spurlin (1846–1918) — Find a Grave Memorial — Spurlin Cemetery, Hot Springs; PVT Co E 19 Arkansas Infantry CSA Genealogy
- ↑ Hardeman County, Tennessee Genealogy — FamilySearch Wiki Genealogy
- ↑ ↑ Hardeman County, Tennessee Genealogy and History — Genealogy Trails — volunteer-transcribed county records; military pages list 1883 pensioners and Civil War service records Genealogy
Last reviewed 2026-09-24.