{"id":1943,"date":"2023-04-02T16:11:11","date_gmt":"2023-04-02T16:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/?p=1943"},"modified":"2023-04-02T16:39:28","modified_gmt":"2023-04-02T16:39:28","slug":"churchwell-surname-in-black-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/churchwell-surname-in-black-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Churchwell As An African American Last Name"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The 2010 U.S. Census recorded 450 black Americans with Churchwell as their last name. That represented 16% of the total of 2,758 entries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This article tracks their numbers in the census since the Civil War. We also look at historic African American people named Churchwell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We end with a review of early records of black military service in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/churchwell-surname-in-black-history\/#After_The_Civil_War\" title=\"After The Civil War\">After The Civil War<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/churchwell-surname-in-black-history\/#Churchwell_In_The_1900_And_1940_Census\" title=\"Churchwell In The 1900 And 1940 Census\">Churchwell In The 1900 And 1940 Census<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/churchwell-surname-in-black-history\/#Historic_Black_Figures_With_The_Churchwell_Surname\" title=\"Historic Black Figures With The Churchwell Surname\">Historic Black Figures With The Churchwell Surname<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/churchwell-surname-in-black-history\/#Robert_Churchwell\" title=\"Robert Churchwell\">Robert Churchwell<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/churchwell-surname-in-black-history\/#Churchwell_In_Black_Military_Records\" title=\"Churchwell In Black Military Records\">Churchwell In Black Military Records<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"After_The_Civil_War\"><\/span>After The Civil War<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Emancipation-commemoration-stamp.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-955\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The 1870 census was the first survey after the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1850 and 1860, only free African Americans were recorded in the census. The many enslaved were omitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From 1870 onwards, all black Americans were included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>124 people named Churchwell were recorded in the 1870 census as black and 45 as mixed.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was a total of 463 people with the name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Churchwell_In_The_1900_And_1940_Census\"><\/span>Churchwell In The 1900 And 1940 Census<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The mixed category was dropped from the census in 1900, so we just need to look at the black numbers this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>The 1900 census recorded 140 people with the last name Churchwell as black within a total of 739 that year.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mixed category returned in the 1910 and 1920 censuses. It was dropped again in 1930, but replaced with extra categories for colored and non-white in a way that seems confusing now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This changed again in 1940 and we can simply focus on one black category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>The 1940 census recorded 140 people named Churchwell as black within a total of 1,368.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Historic_Black_Figures_With_The_Churchwell_Surname\"><\/span>Historic Black Figures With The Churchwell Surname<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Churchwell-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1978\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Churchwell-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Churchwell-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Churchwell-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Churchwell.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Here are some notable African Americans in history with Churchwell as their last name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Robert_Churchwell\"><\/span>Robert Churchwell<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Born: 1917<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>From: Clifton, Tennesse<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Died: 2009<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Robert Churchwells\u2019 family moved from Clifton to Nashville in his youth. He wrote for his high school newspaper and gained a keen interest in journalism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After serving in the army duing WWII, Churchwell studied English at Fisk University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When he was hired by the Nashville Banner in 1950, he became the first black journalist working for a major Southern newspaper. He was known as the Jackie Robinson of Journalism for breaking that color barrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the early years, Churchwell wasn\u2019t allowed sit in the newsroom. He wrote at home and walked to the office with his articles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But he covered the Civil Rights Era with tenacity. The Nashville Chapter of the NAACP honored him in 1981 when he retired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some more notable black journalists:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/abbott-surname-in-black-history\/#Robert_Abbott\">Robert Abbott<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/bennett-surname-in-black-history\/#Lerone_Bennett\">Lerone Bennett<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/cobb-surname-in-black-history\/#Charles_Cobb\">Charles Cobb<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/cornish-surname-in-black-history\/#Samuel_Cornish\">Samuel Cornish<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Churchwell_In_Black_Military_Records\"><\/span>Churchwell In Black Military Records<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/civil-war-ship-black-crew-members.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1691\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/civil-war-ship-black-crew-members.jpg 400w, https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/civil-war-ship-black-crew-members-240x300.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Military records are a rich resource of for family history research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I couldn&#8217;t find anyone of the name of Churchwell in the archives of the Buffalo Soldiers &#8211; the black army regiments that were formed during the Civil War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, I located one entry in the archive of African American sailors that is kept by the National Parks Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The information in this archive includes tage, height, rank, occupation, and where and when they enlisted. It also includes every ship that they served on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can search the database on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/civilwar\/search-sailors.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Parks website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Robert Churchwell<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The entry I found was for Robert Churchwell from Portsmouth, Virginia. He enlisted in October 1858 at Norfolk when he was aged 28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His naval rank was Landsman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i>&#8220;Landsman&#8221; was the lowest rank at the time and was given to recruits with little sea experience.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2010 U.S. Census recorded 450 black Americans with Churchwell as their last name. That represented 16% of the total of 2,758 entries. This article tracks their numbers in the census since the Civil War. We also look at historic African American people named Churchwell. We end with a review of early records of black &#8230; <a title=\"Churchwell As An African American Last Name\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/churchwell-surname-in-black-history\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Churchwell As An African American Last Name\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1978,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1943"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1943"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2001,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1943\/revisions\/2001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploreblackheritage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}