The Family › Temple–Catchings › Catchings
James Thomas Catchings
1882–1944
✦ direct ancestor — Owen's great-grandfather · Catchings line
♪ A song: Gentle James — by Owen Temple, further down this page
Life
- Born
- 12 Jun 1882 · Travis County, Texas, USA
- Died
- 13 Dec 1944 · Taft, San Patricio, Texas, USA
- Buried
- Taft, San Patricio County, Texas, United States of America
Parents
Marriage & children
Clarence Earl Catchings (1910–1998)
Velma Amy Catchings (1912–1984)
Oma Nadine Catchings (1913–1997)
Thomas Alvin Catchings (1916–1973)
Virgil Lee Catchings (1920–1997)
James Thomas Catchings, Jr. (1922–2008)
Benson Felix Catchings (1925–2014)
Timeline
- 1900ResidenceJustice Precinct 3, Lee, Texas — Age: 16; Marital Status: Single; Relation to Head of House: Son
- 4 Aug 1909MarriedAda Mae Johnson — Austin, Travis, Texas, United States
- 1910ResidenceJustice Precinct 6, Travis, Texas
- 1930ResidencePrecinct 4, San Patricio, Texas — Age: 47; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head of House: Head
- 1935ResidenceSan Patricio, Texas
- 1 Apr 1940ResidenceSan Patricio, Texas, United States — Age: 57; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head of House: Head
- —ResidenceRefugio, Texas
- —ResidenceTaft, Texas, USA
- —ResidenceTaft, San Patricio, Texas, USA
Life as they lived it
Not the dates — the person. What the records happen to show of work, habits, possessions and the odd episode. Each line says where it comes from.
1944 He was a farmer, and at his death in December 1944 had lived in Taft, San Patricio County, for 17 years. He died at 7:05 in the morning of cancer of the sigmoid, of about two years' duration.
work · His Texas death certificate, 13 December 1944
His schooling ended at the second grade of elementary school.
unusual · Note in the family tree; its source is not recorded
A studio portrait by McGregor Photo shows him seated with his wife Ada Mae and their children.
household · Captioned family portrait in the tree
Photographs
A song
Gentle James
from Rings on a Tree
My reading of his life communicates a quiet man who focused on farming. I know he died of cancer, and this song is an imaginative attempt at seeing the world through his eyes.
— Owen Temple · Lyrics →
Records behind this page
1900 United States Federal Census
Year: 1900; Census Place: Justice Precinct 3, Lee, Texas; Roll: 1654; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 0058; FHL microfilm: 1241654
1940 United States Federal Census
Year: 1940; Census Place: San Patricio, Texas; Roll: T627_4133; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 205-14
Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census
Year: 1910; Census Place: Justice Precinct 6, Travis, Texas; Roll: T624_1594; Page: 23B; Enumeration District: 89; Image: 1105.Ancestry · subscription
Birth dateabt 1884
Birth placeTexas
Residence date1910
Residence placeJustice Precinct 6, Travis, Texas
Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census
Year: 1930; Census Place: Precinct 4, San Patricio, Texas; Roll: 2388; Page: 15B; Enumeration District: 6; Image: 315.0.Ancestry · subscription
Birth dateabt 1883
Birth placeTexas
Residence date1930
Residence placePrecinct 4, San Patricio, Texas
Ancestry.com, Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997
Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Birth Indexes
Ancestry.com, Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013)
Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin Texas, USA
Ancestry.com, Texas, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1817-1965 (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016)
FamilySearch ↗free account
Ancestry.com, U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011)
National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for Texas, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 255
Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012)
Ancestry.com, U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2019)
Victoria Advocate; Publication Date: 5 Dec 2014; Publication Place: Victoria, Texas, USANewspapers.com · subscription
Ancestry.com, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015)
Ancestry.com, U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010)
The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War Ii Draft Cards (4th Registration) For the State of Texas; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147National Archives ↗
Ancestry.com, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
Registration State: Texas; Registration County: Refugio; Roll: 1983581
Texas Death Index, 1903-2000
United States Obituary Collection
Publication Date: 5/ Dec/ 2014; Publication Place: Victoria, Texas, USAVictoria Advocate · subscription
Research notes
Working notes from the research, kept verbatim — what was read, what it proved, what stays open. Many open with a line grading the parentage; what the grades mean.
Research note · 27 Jul 2026
PROOF CLASS: BOTH PARENTS = DIRECT (reviewed 4 Sep 2026). His 1944 Texas death certificate states the father in field 10 and the mother's maiden name in field 12.
Audited 27 Jul 2026. BOTH PARENTS EVIDENCED. Death certificate, San Patricio Co., 13 Dec 1944, file 58713, image 40394_b062265-03306 (Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903-1982 (Ancestry coll. 2272)): field 10 FATHER = 'Ben. Franklin Catchings' (b. Tenn.); field 12 MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME = 'Alice Craig' (b. Indiana). The Tennessee birthplace for his father is the second independent statement of it, and the Indiana birthplace for his mother matches her own 1929 certificate - two records, two informants, one answer.
Elsewhere
This person on Ancestry (sign-in required)