Charner Burdett Colvin
1851-1923
The Life of Charner B. Colvin
Charner Burdette Colvin, commonly known as C. B. Colvin, was a gospel preacher among the churches of Christ whose life spanned the turbulent years of nineteenth-century America and extended into the early decades of the twentieth century. He was born in Corinth, Adams County, Mississippi, the son of Bynum G. Colvin (1807–1860) and Isabella Wallace Colvin (1818–1860). His early life was marked by hardship, as both of his parents died in 1860 when he was still a boy. According to family accounts, his father had worked as an overseer on a plantation in Mississippi. At approximately twelve years of age, Charner moved to Tennessee, where much of his formative years were spent.
During the Civil War, Colvin enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private in Company H of the 12th Louisiana Infantry. Like many young Southern men of his generation, the war undoubtedly shaped his outlook and experiences. After the conflict ended, he began building a life centered around family, faith, and preaching.
On December 25, 1876, Charner married Mahala Ann Shelton in Dyer, Tennessee. Mahala, born in 1857, was the daughter of Thomas Shelton, who had been born near Newberry, Tennessee. She was one of nine children from her father’s first marriage; after the death of her mother, Thomas Shelton remarried and fathered six additional children. Family tradition preserves the memory of Mahala as a strong and devoted wife who shared in the hardships and travels of frontier life.
Charner and Mahala began their married life in Tennessee. Their first known child, Magawa H. Colvin, was born in 1878. After the birth of their first child, the family moved to Texas in 1879, where their son Thomas Franklin Colvin was born that same year. Later, the Colvins relocated to Dexter, Missouri, where the remainder of their children were born and raised. Their known children include: Magawa H. Colvin (1878–?); Thomas Franklin Colvin (1879–?); Sarah Ellen Colvin (1883–1908); Ezra Colvin (1896–?); and Lillie M. M. Colvin (1900–?). Family records also indicate that additional children may have been born in Missouri, though not all names are presently known.
C. B. Colvin devoted the greater portion of his life to preaching the gospel among churches of Christ. He labored as an evangelist and minister during an era when many congregations in the rural Midwest and South depended upon itinerant preachers who traveled extensively to encourage congregations, conduct meetings, and proclaim the New Testament message. His ministry appears to have taken him through Missouri and surrounding states, and he became known simply as “brother C. B. Colvin.”
An obituary notice published at the time of his death provides a glimpse into his final years and the esteem in which he was held. The notice reads in part: “Rev. Colvin, pastor of the Church of Christ, corner Washington and Church, died suddenly this morning at his home on Jasper, aged 71 years, 10 months and 7 days. Funeral services will be conducted tomorrow morning at ten o’clock by Rev. I. D. Ames of this city.” The obituary further stated that he left behind his wife, three sons, and three daughters, and noted the sympathy expressed by many friends of the family. It also observed that the family had only been in Aurora, Missouri, for four or five months prior to his death, suggesting a late-life move connected perhaps with preaching work or family circumstances.
His wife, Mahala Ann Shelton Colvin, preceded him in death in 1918, succumbing to the Spanish Flu. He was married a second time, but her identity remains uncertain. Charner Burdette Colvin passed from this life on October 5, 1923, in Aurora, Lawrence County, Missouri. He was buried in Maple Park Cemetery in Aurora, where his grave remains a reminder of a life devoted to faith, family, and ministry.
Though many details of his preaching work have been lost to history, the surviving records portray C. B. Colvin as a dedicated gospel preacher among the churches of Christ, a Civil War veteran, a husband and father, and a man who spent much of his life serving congregations across the American South and Midwest. His life reflects the experiences of many frontier-era ministers whose quiet faithfulness helped establish and sustain churches in small towns and rural communities during a formative period in American religious history.
-Scott Harp, 05.21.2026
News Clippings
Gospel Advocate, June 9, 1876, p.552
Gospel Advocate, April 13, 1876, p. 359
Gospel Advocate, August 31, 1876, p. 851
Firm Foundation, February 21, 1911, p.4
Gospel Advocate, August 4, 1921, p. 749
Poplar Bluff Republican, Butler County, Missouri
Thursday, January 26, 1899, p.1
Death Of Sister Colvin
Poplar Bluff American, Poplar Bluff, Missouri
Tuesday, December 17, 1918
The Aurora Advertiser, Aurora, Missouri
Thursday, October 11, 1923, p.2
The Aurora Advertiser, Aurora, Missouri
Thursday, October 25, 1923, p.5
Directions To Grave
C. B. Colvin is buried in the Maple Park Cemetery in Aurora, Missouri. Aurora lies around 30 miles southwest of Springfield, Missouri on Hwy. 413/60. Turn right south of town on Hwy, 39/ S. Elliott St. and soon you will see the cemetery on the left. Enter from E. Prospect St. across from the church of Christ. After entering take the first left back toward Hwy. 39 and the grave will be down on your right.
GPS Location
36°57'15.8"N 93°43'09.9"W
or D.d. 36.954388,-93.719428
C. B. Colvin
November 8, 1851
October 5, 1923
Photos Taken May 6, 2026
Webpage Produced May 21, 2026
Courtesy Of Scott Harp
www.TheRestorationMovement.com
Special Recognition: Your webmaster had the privilege of visiting the grave of C. B. Colvin while involved in a gospel meeting in Lebanon, Missouri in May, 2025. Day trips south allowed for the opportunity to visit Aurora, a town where the Colvin family provided great influence.