USA > Alabama > History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume II > Part 58
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1864-5-John T. Talyor; Jacob Magee; C. F. Moulton; Samuel Wolff.
1865-6-Alexander Mckinstry; John R. Tompkins; F. B. Clarke; John Grant.
1866-7-Alexander Mckinstry; John R. Tompkins; F. B. Clarke; John Grant.
1868-George F. Harrington; John Carra- way; Ovide Gregory; James Shaw; J. E. Quinn.
1869-70-George F. Harrington; Alexan- der Mckinstry; John Carraway; Adolph Proskauer; J. E. Quinn; Jacob Magee.
1870-1-George H. Ellison; O. J. Semmes; H. T. Toulmin; James McDermott; Nat Strauss.
1871-2-George H. Ellison; James McDer- mott; O. J. Semmes; Nat Strauss; H. T. Toulmin.
1872-3-D. C. Anderson; Leroy Brewer; Frank Draxler; John H. McHugh; A. R. Manning.
1873-D. C. Anderson; Leroy Brewer; Frank Draxler; John H. McHugh; A. R. Man- ning.
1874-5-L. Brewer; John Forsyth; T. H. Price; J. M. Rabby; D. C. Anderson.
1875-6-L. Brewer; John Forsyth; T. H. Price; J. M. Rabby; D. C. Anderson.
1876-7-Oliver S. Beers; John H. Glennon; Thos. H. Herndon; Samuel C. Muldon; W. A. Shields.
1878-9-G. B. Clark; W. F. Jolly; Samuel C. Muldon; Neil McCarron; J. Little Smith.
1880-1-H. Austill; C. C. Langdon; M. Pounds; L. B. Sheldon; Thos. H. Price.
1882-3-L. Brewer; C. C. Langdon; S. C. Muldon; Peter Hamilton.
1884-5-Z. M. P. Inge; Rufus Dane; W. D. Toler; C. C. McDonald.
1886-7-D. H. Lay; E. Ledyard; T. G. Bush; J. C. Coleman.
1888-9-D. H. Lay; Erwin Ledyard; Win- field S. Lewis; W. A. Anderson.
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1890-1-W. S. Lewis; M. B. Kelly; E. H. Buck; G. J. Sullivau.
1892-3-Neil McCarron; C. L. Lavretta; J. A. W. Goldsby.
1894-5-Leslie E. Brooks; Thos. H. Smith; Edward M. Robinson.
1896-7- E. M. Robinson; L. E. Sheldon; J. J. Delchamps.
1898-9-J. J. Delchamps; C. L. Lavretta; E. M. Robinson.
1899 (Spec.)-J. J. Delchamps; C. L. La- vretta; E. M. Robinson.
1900-01-R. H. Clarke; L. E. Brooks; John Craft.
1903-Francis Otey Hoffman; Albert Sid- ney Lyons; Joseph Carlos Rich.
1907-Francis O. Hoffman; A. S. Lyons; Jos. H. Norville.
1907 (Spec.)-Francis O. Hoffman; A. S. Lyons; Jos. H. Norville.
1909 (Spec.)-Francis O. Hoffman; A. S. Lyons; Jos. H. Norville.
1911-Albert P. Bush; B. B. Chamberlain; Geo. J. Sullivan.
1915-B. B. Chamberlain; W. K. P. Wil- son; C. A. Grayton.
1919-Daniel B. Cobbs; Footer K. Hale, sr .; John J. Russell.
REFERENCES .- Toulmin, Digest (1823), index; Acts of Ala .; Brewer, Alabama, p. 385; Berney, Handbook (1892), p. 316; Riley, Alabama as it is (1893), p. 201; Northern Alabama (1888), p. 238; Alabama, 1909 (Ala. Dept. of Ag. and Ind., Bulletin 27), p. 168; U. S. Soil Survey (1912), with map; Alabama land book (1916), p. 112; Ala. Official and Statistical Register, 1903-1915, 5 vols .; Ala. Anthropological Society, Handbook (1910) ; Geol. Survey of Ala., Agricultural fea- tures of the State (1883) ; The Valley regions of Alabama, parts 1 and 2 (1896, 1897), and Un- derground Water resources of Alabama (1907).
MOBILE FEDERAL BUILDINGS. The Federal building at Mobile is used jointly as customhouse and post office. The original building was authorized, September 30, 1850, and an appropriation made for the site and building to cost $100,000. Additional ex- penditures on the building were authorized and funds appropriated as follows: July 21, 1852, $100,000; August 4, 1854, $65,000; March 3, 1855; $95,000. Subsequent appro- priations for repairing damages caused by fire, for the purchase of furniture, and for various repairs, were made as follows: June 12, 1858, $32,600; March 3, 1859, $10,000; April 20, 1870, $15,000. The building was completed and occupied in 1856, having cost $379,564.93. It contained 23 rooms which were occupied by the post office, custom serv- ice, lighthouse engineers, weather bureau, and the Federal courts. The cubic contents of the building were 1,009,600 feet; it was heated by steam and open grates; and equipped with elevators.
The above-described building was not the first erected by the United States Govern- ment, for Congress by acts of May 24, 1828, and April 30, 1830, authorized the purchase of a plot of ground at the southwest corner
of St. Francis and Royal Streets for the sum of $3,400, on which a customhouse should be erected. The purchase was made May 25, 1831, and a building whose cost is not available, was soon after constructed. Addi- tional appropriations for alterations and re- pairs of this building were made by acts of May 3, 1843, and August 10, 1846, but the amounts are not at hand. The act of Septem- ber 30, 1850, referred to above, authorized the purchase of additional land and the re- moval of the old building. Sufficient land was accordingly bought to extend the frontage on Royal Street to 101 feet and on St. Francis Street to 178 feet.
On May 30, 1908, Congress authorized the purchase of a new site for a post office build- ing and appropriated $125,000 for the pur- pose. The construction of a building to cost $225,000 was authorized June 25, 1910, and the first appropriation for its construction, $40,000, was made August 24, 1912. The limit of cost was increased by $75,000, March 4, 1913, and additional appropriations for the completion of the building were made as follows: June 23, 1913, $140,000; August 1, 1914, $50,000; March 3, 1915, $70,000. The new lot, 195x142 feet, at the corner of St. Michael and St. Joseph Streets, was ac- quired October 25, 1909, and the building, now in process of construction, is practically completed.
REFERENCES .- U. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 9, p. 539; vol. 10, pp. 22, 559, 659; vol. 11, pp. 84, 323, 324, 425; vol. 16, pp. 84, 324; vol. 35, pp. 487, 532; vol. 36, p. 696; vol. 37, pp. 422, 866; vol. 38, pp. 11, 612, 826; History of public build- ings under control of Treasury Department (1901), p. 11; Supervising Architect of the Treasury, Annual report, 1916, pp. 248-250.
MOBILE GAS COMPANY. A public utility corporation, chartered May 31, 1906, in Ala- bama, and owning the properties of the Mo- bile Gas Light & Coke Co. and the Electric Lighting Co. of Mobile; capital stock author- ized and outstanding, $600,000; shares, $100; funded debt, $1,408,000; property in Ala- bama-coal-gas plant of 600,000 feet daily capacity, and a water gas plant of 700,000 feet, 84.76 miles of mains in Mobile and suburbs; franchises do not expire before 1926; supplies all the gas for light, heat, and fuel to Mobile and suburbs; offices: Chicago and Mobile.
REFERENCE .- Poor's manual of public utilities, 1916, p. 378.
MOBILE, HATTIESBURG AND JACKSON RAILROAD COMPANY. See New Orleans, Mobile and Chicago Railroad Company.
MOBILE HEBREW RELIEF ASSOCIA- TION. On February 16, 1860, the "Mobile Hebrew Relief Association," was incorpor- ated by B. L. Sim, Isaac Goldsmith, Joseph Aaron, S. Ellmann, M. Goldsmith, Joseph Stein, J. Rosenthal and J. B. Schuster as incorporators. Extensive powers were con- ferred, including the right to hold real and
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HISTORY OF ALABAMA
personal property not to exceed $50,000 .- Acts, 1859-60, p. 463.
MOBILE, JACKSON AND KANSAS CITY RAILROAD COMPANY. See New Orleans, Mobile and Chicago Railroad Company.
MOBILE LIBRARY. See Libraries.
MOBILE LIGHT AND RAILROAD COM- PANY. A public utility corporation, char- tered in perpetuity by the legislature, February 6, 1897; capital stock authorized and outstanding, $2,250,000; shares, $100; funded debt, $2,093,000; property in Alabama -62.21 miles of electric railway in the city of Mobile, and between Mobile and Magazine Point, Spring Hill, Whistler, and Monroe Park, power station, 85 passenger cars, 13 other motor cars, also Monroe Park (40 acres), water power, and 320 acres of land near Mobile; franchises expire in 1955. It purchased the property and franchises of the Mobile Light & Railway Co. and the Mobile & Spring Hill Railway Co., July 1, 1897, and of the Mobile Street Railroad Co., September 19, 1901; and sold the electric light plant thus acquired to the Mobile Illuminating Co., a subsidiary operating company, in July, 1906; offices: Mobile.
Street railways in Mobile date from acts of the legislature, February 4 and 23, 1860, the first "To enable the corporate authorities of the city of Mobile to grant the privilege of constructing Railroads within the corporate limits of said city," and the second "To In- corporate the Mobile and Spring Hill Railroad Company," (q. v.). Under authority of these laws the Spring Hill Railroad, and later the Dauphin Street line, were constructed, both being completed before the commencement of the War. During the 20 years beginning with 1866, lines in different parts of the city were built and operated by several independent companies; on Dauphin, Royal, Conception, and Government Streets, for example, and the line on Davis Avenue. All these lines were gradually acquired by a company known as the City Railroad Co., and were later merged into the system of the Mobile Street Railway Co., since consolidated and reorganized under the present title as shown above. Franchises for lines on various streets were granted by the city, as follows: Royal Street to the bay, January 1, 1866; Government Street, April 6, 1866; Washington Avenue and Con- ception Street, July 12, 1866; Dauphin Street from Royal to Commerce, July 15, 1872; Davis Avenue to Bienville Square, December 26, 1879; Government and Royal Streets curve, June 10, 1880; State Street and Davis Avenue, October 18, 1882; Live Oak extension of Bay Shore Railroad, July 5, 1883; double track on Royal Street from Government to State, October 5, 1883; City Railroad ex- tension, September 5, 1886. An ordinance of 1887 was the basis for the consolidations which resulted the present system. Authority for the introduction of electric power was given in ordinances of 1891 and 1893. The principal franchises of the Mo-
bile Light & Railway Co., acquired by the present company, July 1, 1897, were granted by city ordinance, July 1, 1893.
REFERENCES .- Acts, 1859-60, pp. 261-263, 263- 271; 1896-97, pp. 586-598; Poor's manual of public utilities, 1916, pp. 379-380; Berney, Code of Mobile (1907), p. 521.
MOBILE NATIONAL CEMETERY. A res- ervation acquired for cemetery purposes, con- taining 116,736 square feet of ground, sit- uated in the City of Mobile, and used as a National Military Cemetery. Part of this plot was deeded by the City of Mobile, to the United States, May 31, 1866, conveying squares numbered 20 and 24, in what is known as the "New Graveyard." A small strip south of, and adjoining the original tract, was con- veyed on July 30, 1894. The State of Ala- bama ceded all rights and title to the original enclosure by an Act approved March 6, 1875. The lot is an irregular figure, 440 feet east and west, by 280 feet north and south, con- taining about three acres of level sandy land.
The known interments, on June 30, 1913, were 874. The unknown interments at that time were 238. While the cemetery contains bodies of a number of men who were killed or died in service, during the War of Seces- sion, and whose original interment was at Forts Morgan and Gaines, and at Pollard and Conecuh, there are 66 bodies of unknown soldiers from Fort Jackson Military Cem- etery, transferred here during the '90s of the last century. These men were all soldiers, killed during the Indian War of 1813-14, and had been exhumed from various places in the northern and eastern parts of the State, and interred at Fort Jackson.
A Superintendent and one assistant are sta- tioned here. There is a lodge or chapel and the grounds enclosed by a brick wall.
REFERENCES .- Mms. references in Alabama De- partment Archives and History; U. S. War De- partment Reports.
MOBILE RIVER. Formed by the junction of the Alabama (q. v.) and the Tombigbee (q. v.) Rivers, 45 miles north of the Mobile Bay, and emptying into the bay through five separate mouths, known as the Blakeley, the Appalachee, the Tensas, the Spanish, and the Mobile. It forms the southern extremity of the great Alabama-Tombigbee drainage sys- tem. Its average width from the confluence of the Alabama and Tombigbee to the point where it begins to divide so as to form the Mobile Delta, a distance of about 5 miles, is 1,050 feet, and its average depth about 40 feet. The delta formed by the Mobile and its several branches contains about 375 square miles.
The Mobile River traverses a part of Mo- bile County and divides that county from Baldwin County for some distance. It flows through a low, marshy, flat country, much of which is heavily timbered. The river is nav- igable throughout its length, and practically no improvements for navigation have been
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HISTORY OF ALABAMA
made by the Government except in connection with Mobile Harbor (q. v.), of which the lower river forms a part.
See Mobile, City of.
REFERENCE .- Manuscript data in the Alabama Department of Archives and History.
MOBILE RIVER COMMISSION. An ex officio commission composed of the mayor of the city of Mobile; the president of the Board of Revenue and Road Commissioners of Mo- bile county; the president of the Mobile Chamber of Commerce; the United States Engineer in charge of Mobile Harbor; and a lawyer of not less than 10 years standing at the bar of Mobile, to be appointed by the governor every 4 years. The mayor of Mobile is ex officio the chairman, and the city clerk of Mobile, ex officio the clerk of the board. The jurisdiction of the commis- `sion extends over the Mobile and Tensas Riv- ers from a point 100 yards above the head of Tensas River to a line in Mobile Bay run- ning east and west through the light house at the mouth of Mobile River; and over all the tributaries and cut-offs of those rivers as far up as tidewater extends; that is, over the whole of what is known as the Mobile Delta. The commission was established to regulate the navigation of Mobile Harbor (q. v.), including the location, construction, and maintenance of bulkheads, wharves, dry- docks, boomlines, and similar structures; and is authorized to have maps of all the waters under its supervision prepared at the ex- pense of Mobile County. It is required to hold a regular meeting at least as often as once every two months. The members serve without compensation, but the secretary is entitled to stipulated fees for recording and transcribing the minutes of its meetings.
An act of February 28, 1889, amended the foregoing in various particulars, namely, the personnel was changed to the mayor of Mo- bile, the president of the Board of Revenue and Road Commissioners of Mobile County, the president of the Mobile Chamber of Com- merce, a lawyer of not less than 10 years standing at the bar of Mobile, and a citizen of the county of Mobile of not less than 4 years residence therein, the last two to be appointed by the governor for terms of 4 years; and prosecutions and other litigation conducted by the commission were made triable before the mayor of the city of Mobile. Other minor changes in the provisions of the law were made but need not be discussed here.
The law establishing the commission pro- vided that it should adopt by-laws for its government, and procure an official seal. A set of by-laws (bearing no date), and a seal were adopted and the former printed in pamphlet form soon after the commission's establishment. Aside from this, no other publications appear to have been issued.
REFERENCES .- Acts, 1886-87, pp. 647-656; 1888- 89, pp. 793-797; By-laws and act of establish- ment, 1887, pp. 10, 6.
MOBILE SAMARITAN SOCIETY. On February 23, 1860, the Samaritan Society of Mobile was chartered with David McNeil, William Stewart, Daniel Wheeler, H. V. H. Vorshees, G. Horton, R. C. Cunningham, William Barnewall, jr., H. A. Lowe, John Wylie, and William P. Hammond as incor- porators. Power was given to hold real and personal property, and to exercise such pow- ers as are incident to private corporations and "necessary for the benevolent purposes of its organization." The act recites that the incorporators "have associated themselves for charitable and benevolent purposes, and the relief of the sick and destitute, within the limits of the city and county of Mobile." -Acts, 1859-60, p. 464.
MOBILIANS, NANIABAS, AND TOHOMES. Three small coast tribes, of the Muskhogean group, or linguistic stock. They are of Choc- taw lineage. Their seats were in south Ala- bama, along the lower Alabama, the Tom- bigbee and the Mobile Rivers. These tribes living near each other, and with a language .substantially in common, were held together in a league, or loose confederacy, and had an inter-tribal council house. They are re- ported as thrifty and industrious farmers, as having on several occasions supplied the French with corn; and their relations with their white neighbors were always friendly. About a hundred years ago they lost their identity by absorption with the Choctaw na- tion.
In 1700 the three tribes are given 600 warriors; in 1702, 350 warriors and 350 families, and in 1758, 100 warriors, includ- ing some of the Chattos. The figures are given comparatively.
Mobilians .- The most important of these three small tribes was the Mobilians, now quite definitely known to have been the de- scendants of the Maubilas of the De Soto period. Prof. H. S. Halbert is authority for the statement that in all probability the In- dian town of Nanipacna (q. v.) contained a remnant of the people residing in the town destroyed by De Soto in 1540. It is of inter- est to note that De Crenay's map of 1733 places Les Vieux Mobiliens, "The Old Mobil- ians," in the same locality, on the east side of the Alabama River, and just below the influx of the Pine Barren Creek. This location as given by De Crenay was evidently their habitat before their removal further south.
Their last homes in Alabama were on both sides of the Mobile River, and in its islands. Their main formation was on the east side of the river six miles above Fort Mobile. They kept up their tribal organization until 1765. To them must be assigned all the place names on the Alabama River signifi- cant in the Choctaw language, that are found recorded on D'Anville's map, 1732, and De Crenay's map, 1733. This evidence of the Mobilian dialect of the Choctaws to the east led to its adoption as the trade language, or medium of intercommunication by all the southern tribes from the Atlantic seaboard
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HISTORY OF ALABAMA
to the Mississippi River. There is strong in- ferential evidence that this language was used in the days of De Soto, and was doubt- less in use centuries before the coming of the Spaniards.
Father Alexander Huvé, July 27, 1715, at Fort Louis de la Mobile, baptized an Indian, to whom was given the name Jean Louis Mau- vila, "ou comme l'on dit vulgairement Mobili- enne nation." This name, Mauvila, is here noted as the form of the tribal name used by themselves, and as it sounded to the ears of Father Huve a Frenchman. It is how- ever more than likely that the natives used a "w" instead of a small "v," making the pronunciation of the name found as if written Mo-wil-a, since the letter "v" does not exist in the Choctaw-Muscogee dialects. It may here be noted also that the word Mobile is called Mo-il-a, by the modern Choctaws.
Naniabas .- The name of this tribe is also written Nanna Hubba, meaning "fish-eaters," and they were known descriptively as Les Gens de la Fourche, "The people of the fork." They lived on the west side of the Tombigbee just above the junction with the Alabama River, and their settlements apparently ex- tended as far north as Bates Creek. Their principal village was at Nannahubba Bluff, which will always locally perpetuate their presence in the State. Like the Mobilians they kept up an independent tribal organiza- tion, although they federated both with that tribe and with the Tohomes. Hamilton is authority for the statement that "their mounds are still seen in the woods, and bones are found about the Seaboard wharf. Arrow heads abounded back of Beaufort's Landing, on the line between Mobile and Washington Counties, and a little bronze pot has been picked up not far away."
Tohomes .- This tribe, one of the small group of coast Indians, lived on the west side of the Tombigbee, their habitat being appar- ently bounded on the north by Bassett's Creek. Earlier writers often confuse them with their neighbors, the Mobilians and the Nannahubbas. Iberville classes them with the former. They appear to have lost their identity after 1711 when Fort Louis was moved to the present site of Mobile, and were probably absorbed with the Mobilians. The name is sometimes writen Thomez.
REFERENCES .- Margry, Decouvertes (1880), vol. 4, pp. 427, 429, 504, 512, 514, 517, 531, 594, 602; Ibid (1883), vol. 5, pp. 427, 429, 477, 478; Romans, Florida, p. 331; La Harpe's "Journal," in French, Historical Collections of Louisiana (1851), vol. 3, p. 34; Mississippi Provincial Archives (1911), vol. 1, p. 239.
MOCULIXA. An Indian village situated on the east side of the Tombigbee, in Pickens County, and visited by De Soto's army in No- vember, 1540. It is almost certain that this was the name, not of the village, but of its chief, as the Spaniards in their ignorance of the languages of the natives sometimes mistook the name of the chief for that of his
village. If the x in Moculixa is to be pro- nounced as k, then we have a very common personal name among the Choctaws, "Moshu- lika," or "Mosholika," or "Musholika," "0" and "u" being interchangeable. In the case of The Choctaw Nation of Indians v. The United States, in the Court of Claims, No. 12,742, filed in 1881, appear the names of sixteen Choctaws bearing this name, but spelled in various ways. . The fact is interest- ing that the name of a Choctaw chief in the days of De Soto, should be a common Choc- taw personal name in modern times. Moshu- lika has lost its initial vowel in the rapidity of speech, and is the word Amoshuli, with the definite particle ka suffixed, which adds a kind of personality to the term.
REFERENCES .- Narratives of De Soto (Trail makers series, 1904), vol. 2, p. 129; Mms. rec- ords Alabama Department Archives and His- tory.
MODERN WOODMEN OF AMERICA. A fraternal and beneficial society, Pioneer Camp No. 1, the first local Camp of the Society was organized at Lyons, Clinton County, Iowa, on the evening of January 5, 1883, with 21 charter members, J. C. Root, founder. On May 5, 1884, a charter was granted to the Society by the State of Illinois, under which it has since operated. In 1897, the head office was removed to Rock Island, III. The Head Camp is the Supreme governing body of the Society, convenes quadrennially, and is composed of delegates chosen by State Camps in proportion to the membership in good standing in each State. When the Society was first organized it was forbidden by its own rules to operate south of Mason and Dixon Line, but in 1911 the rules stated that the territory in which local camps might be organized should embrace the United States of America. and certain provinces of Canada. The first Sunday in June of each year has been designated as Memorial Day of the So- ciety, and the graves of deceased members are decorated, and appropriate services are held in each camp. The emblems of the Society are the axe, beetle and wedge. The official colors are red, white and green. In- surance in force in 1917 amounted to $1,- 611,602,000. The Society owns a Sanatorium at Woodmen, Colo., 12 miles northwest of Colorado Springs, comprising 1,380 acres of land, for the benefit of its members afflicted with tuberculosis.
Alabama was made a part of the jurisdic- tion Modern Woodmen of America, September 1, 1911. On July 1, 1918, the total mem- bership in the State was 6,923, in 230 camps or lodges. The total amount of insurance in force represented by the Alabama member- ship on July 1, 1918, amounted to $9,311,- 500. From September 1, 1911, to August 1, 1918, the Society had paid a total of 116 death claims in Alabama, amounting to $167,- 168.50.
REFERENCES .- Official literature of the So- ciety; letter and data from J. G. Ray, Assis-
.
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HISTORY OF ALABAMA
tant Head clerk, M. W. of A., Rock Island, III.
MONROE COUNTY. Created by proclama- tion of David Holmes, Governor of the Mis- sissippi Territory, June 29, 1815. The county embraced all the lands which had been ceded by the Creeks at the treaty of Fort Jackson, August 9, 1814, an area making nearly one half of the present area of the state. But in a very short time its dimensions were reduced by the successive formations of Montgomery, Conecuh and Wilcox Counties, it receiving its final shape and size by a part being added to Clarke County November 28, 1821.
It has a total area of nearly 990 square miles, or 647,680 acres.
The county was named for James Monroe, who at the time of its establishment was sec- retary of state to President James Madison.
Location and Physical Description .- Sit- uated in the southwestern part of the state, it is bounded on the north by Wilcox, on the south by Conecuh, east by Butler and Cone- cuh, and on the west by Clarke Counties. The surface of the northern part of the county is hilly and broken, that of the central and southern undulating.
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