Happy Birthday Walter!

Happy Birthday, Walter Choplin: Farmer, Father, and Family Legend

On July 14, 1877, a boy named James Walter Choplin was born in rural North Carolina. Folks called him Waldo when he was young. As an adult he was James, or Walter, or J.W., but mostly Walter.

Walter Choplin was the fourth son of Frances Tyson Ann “Ticy” Joplin—the complicated and resilient woman I wrote about in The Mystery of Ticyann. His father was Allen Davis, Ticy’s long-time partner and the man who deeded the family 200 acres, but a man Walter and his siblings would not claim. We don’t have much information on Walter’s childhood. We assume he grew up on that land or at least close to it. Like many boys of his time, he worked it from a young age. He was always a farmer, always a man of the land.

We don’t know for sure if July 14, 1877 is his actual birthday—but it’s the one we have, and it’s the one we honor. What we do know for certain is that Walter lived a life full of family, resilience, and community—the kind of wealth that can’t be measured in dollars.

A Life Rooted in the Soil

The first official glimpse of Walter comes in the 1900 census, where he appears as a 21-year-old living and working on the farm. His name pops up again and again in the Bailey Items section of the Creedmoor Times, a column full of small-town news, church picnics, and front-porch visits. Those mentioned were always "visiting until bedtime" and "reporting a nice time.”

It was at one of these gatherings that he met Lela Smith, a bright young woman 20 years his junior. Walter was 40 when they married; Lela was just 20. Together, they would raise 11 children, suffer heartbreak, and build a home that still stands as the heart of the Choplin family.

In 1935, their youngest child at the time Robert Samuel Choplin, died in his sleep at just 18 days old. It was a devastating loss—but the family endured. Just three years later, in 1938, Walter and Lela welcomed twin girls—Billie Jean and Betty Jane—their final children and the first of many twins to come in the family. Billie Jean is my grandmother, and today, both she and her twin sister are still with us, a living link to the past.

The Choplin Homeplace

Walter built the Choplin Homeplace with his own hands—a classic Southern white farmhouse with a wide front porch, no indoor plumbing, and (famously) a three-bay outhouse. He even tracked the cost of construction on a piece of wood, which now serves as the closet door under the stairs—a hidden time capsule we still cherish.

The family rode a wagon to Woodland Baptist Church every Sunday unless the weather was bad—then they rode the shorter distance to Good Hope Baptist. They didn’t have much money, but Walter had everything that truly mattered. By the time he passed away on February 3, 1960, he had raised 10 living children and welcomed 14 grandchildren into the world.

A Legacy Still Alive

Even now, decades later, Walter’s legacy is alive and well. Every Christmas, the Choplin family gathers to celebrate Christmas and to catch up. Cousins travel from near and far. We wear Santa hats. We sing carols. We belt out “The 12 Days of Christmas” (with varying levels of musical talent.) It’s loud, chaotic, joyful—and unmistakably Choplin.

And just like in the Creedmoor Times, everyone still “reports a nice time.” Only now, we text it to the cousins who didn’t come.

Remembering Walter

I never got to meet my great-grandfather, Walter Choplin, but I feel his presence in the land, in the traditions, and in the stories we tell. His life wasn’t about headlines or riches—it was about hard work, love, loss, and lasting family. That’s a legacy worth celebrating!

Today, on what would be his 148th birthday. By my count, he has 11 children, 27 grandchildren, 51 great-grandchildren, 19 great-great-grandchildren, and 6 sets of twins in the family. We honor not just his birth, but the home and family he built from the dirt up.

Happy Birthday, Walter.

Have a memory of Walter? Or a different count of his descendants?—Lets hear it! Leave it in the comments!

P.S.—If you get a chance go by to see Granny & Papa or Aunt Betty or give them a call! They would love to hear from y’all!