John Houston

Full Name

John Houston

Victim Profile

John Houston

Name Variations

N/A

Biography

On August 5th, 1950, John Houston at age 43, was found on the train tracks near the Deatsville Railroad Depot after being lynched by unknown attackers for reasons unknown. Despite promises of investigation by the local sheriff, no further action was ever taken to investigate his lynching, leaving John Houston and his family without justice. Houston was survived by his wife of over 15 years, Corene Houston, and their three children, Lovelace, Lee Gusta, and Darwson (Dawson). John Henry Houston, named after his paternal grandfather Henry Houston, was born in 1907 to Dack (Dock) and Louvenia Houston in Sumter, Alabama where his father worked as a farm laborer. Throughout the duration of his life, after leaving school in grade 7, John worked as a sharecropper and at the time of his death was working on Peyton Gibbs’ plantation at Pine Flat as a farm laborer, following in the footsteps of his father. Houston was married to Corene “Cora” Henderson on December 29th, 1934 in Elmore, Alabama. As of 1940, the couple resided in Cold Spring, Elmore, Alabama with their two children Lovelace, age 21, and Lee Gusta, age 19. In October of 1942, Houston traveled to Ft. Benning, GA in order to enlist in the military, but was discharged after just a month of service to his country due to an unknown disability of Houston’s that existed prior to his enlistment. In 1950, just shortly prior to his death, Cora and John were living in Mountain Creek, Autauga, Alabama with their youngest son, Darwson (or Dawson) who was only 6 years old.

Documented or Attempted

Documented

Birth Date

Circa 1907

County of Birth; County of Death

N/A; Elmore County

Death Date

August 5, 1950

Date of Attempted Lynching

N/A

Age at Death

43

Race

Black

Sex

Male

Researchers

Lizzie Parker

Case Number

AMP541-19500805-000

Identified by:

Alabama Memory Project

Mother

Louvenia Houston

Father

Dack "Dock" Houston

Spouse or Partner

Corene Houston

Child

Lovelace Houston, Lee Gusta Houston, Darwson "Dawson" Houston

All other relatives

Henry Houston (grandfather)

Occupation

Sharecropper

Education Level

N/A

Head of Household and Literacy Status

N/A