Changes

His grandfather, Randolph "Ran" Batson (1863-1956), built a vast acreage of timberland across Mississippi and started a major reforestation program.<ref name=johnobatsonobit/> Batson was one of four children of John Oscar Batson, I (1884-1956), and the former Nellie Mae Nickolson (1884-1973),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/11206095/person/112014855466/facts|title=Nellie Mae Nickolson|publisher=Ancestry.com|accessdate=February 23, 2019}}</ref> he was named for an uncle, Schuyler Batson (1901-1949).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.myheritage.com/names/schuyler_batson|title=Schuyler  Batson|publisher=Myheritage.com|accessdate=July 26, 2018}}</ref> Batson was the twin brother of Ellen Rose Breed (1923-2012), a Baptist laywoman from [[Jackson]], Mississippi. The brother and sister were born in the [[rural]] Hillsdale community south of Lumberton in southern Mississippi and reared in Lyman and Gulfport in Harrison County. The two graduated in 1940 from Gulfport High School.<ref name=elbreed>{{cite web|url=http://wright-ferguson-ridgeland.tributes.com/dignitymemorial/obituary/Ellen-R.-Breed-94270840|title=Ellen Breed obituary|publisher=Tributes.com|accessdate=July 26, 2018}}</ref>

His grandfather, Randolph "Ran" Batson (1863-1956), built a vast acreage of timberland across Mississippi and started a major reforestation program.<ref name=johnobatsonobit/> Batson was one of four children of John Oscar Batson, I (1884-1956), and the former Nellie Mae Nickolson (1884-1973),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/11206095/person/112014855466/facts|title=Nellie Mae Nickolson|publisher=Ancestry.com|accessdate=February 23, 2019}}</ref> he was named for an uncle, Schuyler Batson (1901-1949).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.myheritage.com/names/schuyler_batson|title=Schuyler  Batson|publisher=Myheritage.com|accessdate=July 26, 2018}}</ref> Batson was the twin brother of Ellen Rose Breed (1923-2012), a Baptist laywoman from [[Jackson]], Mississippi. The brother and sister were born in the [[rural]] Hillsdale community south of Lumberton in southern Mississippi and reared in Lyman and Gulfport in Harrison County. The two graduated in 1940 from Gulfport High School.<ref name=elbreed>{{cite web|url=http://wright-ferguson-ridgeland.tributes.com/dignitymemorial/obituary/Ellen-R.-Breed-94270840|title=Ellen Breed obituary|publisher=Tributes.com|accessdate=July 26, 2018}}</ref>

His brothers were Roy Glen Batson, Sr. (1907-1986) who established a hardware store in Jackson in 1952,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19041463/obituary_r_glen_batson_son_of_j_o/|title=R.  Glen Batson|publisher=Newspapers.com|date=January 11, 1986|accessdate=July 26, 2018}}</ref> and Dr. Oscar Randolph Batson, Sr. (1916-2004), the  dean of the [[Vanderbilt University]] School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical affairs in the 1960s and early 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.troymessenger.com/2005/01/03/thursday-december-9-2004-obituaries/|title=O. Randolph Batson, M.D.|publisher=''The Troy Messenger''|location=Troy, [[Alabama]]|date=January 3, 2005|accessdate=July 26, 2018}}</ref> Batson was a cousin of Dr. Blair E. Batson (1920-2018), for whom is named the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children in Jackson, an entity of the [[University of Mississippi]].<ref name=elbreed/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ux.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2018/11/27/blair-e-batson-ms-doctor-whose-name-used-childrens-hospital-dies/2130666002/|title=Blair E. Batson, 'the father of organized pediatrics in Mississippi,' dies|publisher=''Jackson Clarion-Ledger''|author=Sarah Fowler|date=November 27, 2018}}</ref> Another cousin, John Oscar Batson, II (1924-2019), a son of Schuyler Batson's uncle, Claud Lafloy Batson (1892-1948), was like their grandfather engaged in the timber business with holdings across the South. For a time, John O. Batson, a graduate of [[Vanderbilt University]] and [[Yale University]], taught forestry at the University of the South in Sewanee, [[Tennessee]]. In 2011, he was inducted into the Mississippi Forestry Hall of Fame in Jackson, as had been their grandfather years earlier.<ref name=johnobatsonobit>{{cite web|url=http://obits.nola.com/obituaries/nola/obituary.aspx?n=john-o-batson&pid=191619832|title=John O. Batson|publisher=''New Orleans Times-Picayune''|accessdate=February 23, 2019}}</ref>

His brothers were Roy Glen Batson, Sr. (1907-1986) who established a hardware store in Jackson in 1952,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19041463/obituary_r_glen_batson_son_of_j_o/|title=R.  Glen Batson|publisher=Newspapers.com|date=January 11, 1986|accessdate=July 26, 2018}}</ref> and Dr. Oscar Randolph Batson, Sr. (1916-2004), the  dean of the [[Vanderbilt University]] School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical affairs in the 1960s and early 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.troymessenger.com/2005/01/03/thursday-december-9-2004-obituaries/|title=O. Randolph Batson, M.D.|publisher=''The Troy Messenger''|location=Troy, [[Alabama]]|date=January 3, 2005|accessdate=July 26, 2018}}</ref> Batson was a cousin of Dr. Blair E. Batson (1920-2018), for whom is named the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children in Jackson, an entity of the [[University of Mississippi]].<ref name=elbreed/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ux.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2018/11/27/blair-e-batson-ms-doctor-whose-name-used-childrens-hospital-dies/2130666002/|title=Blair E. Batson, 'the father of organized pediatrics in Mississippi,' dies|publisher=''Jackson Clarion-Ledger''|author=Sarah Fowler|date=November 27, 2018}}</ref> Another cousin, John Oscar Batson, II (1924-2019), was a son of Schuyler Batson's uncle, Claud Lafloy Batson (1892-1948). Like their grandfather, he too was engaged in the timber business with holdings across the South, including Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana. A graduate of Vanderbilt and [[Yale University]], this Batson taught forestry at the University of the South in Sewanee, [[Tennessee]]. In 2011, he was inducted into the Mississippi Forestry Hall of Fame, as had been their grandfather years earlier. Portraits of Randolph and John O. Batson hang in the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson.<ref name=johnobatsonobit>{{cite web|url=http://obits.nola.com/obituaries/nola/obituary.aspx?n=john-o-batson&pid=191619832|title=John O. Batson|publisher=''New Orleans Times-Picayune''|accessdate=February 23, 2019}}</ref>

Batson married the former Lucile Grogan (1927-2009), a daughter of Kenneth Forbes Grogan, Sr. (1886-1975) and the former Effie Bigby (1900-1995) of Edwards, Mississippi, to the west of Jackson. Mrs. Batson graduated from Baptist-affiliated Mississippi College in Clinton. The couple served the [[Lord Jesus Christ]] at churches in [[Indiana]], the Emmanuel Baptist Church on  Jackson Street in downtown [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], Louisiana, and the First Baptist Church at 431 North State Street across from the state capitol in Mississippi.<ref name=lubatson>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/39846894/lucile-batson|title=Lucile Grogan Batson|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=July 26, 2018}}</ref> In Alexandria, the Emmanuel church established a family life center under Batson's leadership. He was thereafter one of twenty-two pastors at the large historic First Baptist Church in  Jackson, established in 1838.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/35951533/pastor-abruptly-resigns-from-first-baptist-church-of-jackson-after-just-one-year|title=Pastor abruptly resigns from First Baptist Church of Jackson after just one year|publisher=Msnewsnow.com|date=July 24, 2017|author=Marie Edinger|accessdate=July 26, 2018}}</ref>

Batson married the former Lucile Grogan (1927-2009), a daughter of Kenneth Forbes Grogan, Sr. (1886-1975) and the former Effie Bigby (1900-1995) of Edwards, Mississippi, to the west of Jackson. Mrs. Batson graduated from Baptist-affiliated Mississippi College in Clinton. The couple served the [[Lord Jesus Christ]] at churches in [[Indiana]], the Emmanuel Baptist Church on  Jackson Street in downtown [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], Louisiana, and the First Baptist Church at 431 North State Street across from the state capitol in Mississippi.<ref name=lubatson>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/39846894/lucile-batson|title=Lucile Grogan Batson|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=July 26, 2018}}</ref> In Alexandria, the Emmanuel church established a family life center under Batson's leadership. He was thereafter one of twenty-two pastors at the large historic First Baptist Church in  Jackson, established in 1838.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/35951533/pastor-abruptly-resigns-from-first-baptist-church-of-jackson-after-just-one-year|title=Pastor abruptly resigns from First Baptist Church of Jackson after just one year|publisher=Msnewsnow.com|date=July 24, 2017|author=Marie Edinger|accessdate=July 26, 2018}}</ref>