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A Minden native, Batton was the son of James Bryant Batton (1880-1939) and Nolie K. Batton (1881-1971). The senior Batton, formerly of Dubberly in south Webster Parish, was a former Webster Parish chief deputy sheriff, a two-term Minden police chief,<ref name="Minden Herald 1947, p. 1">''Minden Herald'', October 24, 1947, p. 1.</ref> and an unsuccessful candidate for sheriff in a special election held in 1933 after a devastating [[tornado]] struck the city. Batton's brother, [[J. D. Batton]], was the Webster Parish sheriff from 1952 to 1964.
A Minden native, Batton was the son of James Bryant Batton (1880-1939) and Nolie K. Batton (1881-1971). The senior Batton, formerly of Dubberly in south Webster Parish, was a former Webster Parish chief deputy sheriff, a two-term Minden police chief,<ref name="Minden Herald 1947, p. 1">''Minden Herald'', October 24, 1947, p. 1.</ref> and an unsuccessful candidate for sheriff in a special election held in 1933 after a devastating [[tornado]] struck the city. Batton's brother, [[J. D. Batton]], was the Webster Parish sheriff from 1952 to 1964.
Batton graduated in 1932 from Minden High School, at which in the fall of 1931 he played [[football]].<ref>''Minden Press-Herald'', August 29, 1986, p. 24.</ref> His first wife, the former Dorothy Alice Shurtleff (December 18, 1914 – May 14, 1973), was a daughter of A. C. Shurtleff (January 15, 1882 – September 16, 1928) and Cora Belle Shurtleff (February 1, 1888 – December 16, 1960).
Batton graduated in 1932 from [[Minden (Louisiana) High School|Minden High School]], at which in the fall of 1931 he played [[football]].<ref>''Minden Press-Herald'', August 29, 1986, p. 24.</ref> His first wife, the former Dorothy Alice Shurtleff (December 18, 1914 – May 14, 1973), was a daughter of A. C. Shurtleff (January 15, 1882 – September 16, 1928) and Cora Belle Shurtleff (February 1, 1888 – December 16, 1960).
The Battons resided in a house made of brown rock at the intersection of Goodwill and Marshall streets in Minden. The house is across the street from the boyhood home of the [[singer]] David Houston and near the football star David Lee of the former Baltimore Colts. The Battons had three children: Jackie Batton Reeves (born August 1938) and husband, Henry Rogers Reeves (born May 1937), of Haughton in Bossier Parish; James Howard "Jimmy" Batton (1943-1997), a former Webster Parish sheriff's deputy, and Dorothy Gale Batton Smith (born 1946) and husband, Harold Eugene Smith (1940-2011)<ref>Harold E. Smith obituary, ''Minden Press-Herald'', November 3, 2011.</ref> of Waynesboro [[Virginia]]. There were also five grandchildren.<ref name=obit/>
The Battons resided in a house made of brown rock at the intersection of Goodwill and Marshall streets in Minden. The house is across the street from the boyhood home of the [[singer]] David Houston and near the football star David Lee of the former Baltimore Colts. The Battons had three children: Jackie Batton Reeves (born August 1938) and husband, Henry Rogers Reeves (born May 1937), of Haughton in Bossier Parish; James Howard "Jimmy" Batton (1943-1997), a former Webster Parish sheriff's deputy, and Dorothy Gale Batton Smith (born 1946) and husband, Harold Eugene Smith (1940-2011)<ref>Harold E. Smith obituary, ''Minden Press-Herald'', November 3, 2011.</ref> of Waynesboro [[Virginia]]. There were also five grandchildren.<ref name=obit/>