Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II, Part 24

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 1314

USA > Mississippi > Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II > Part 24

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By great exertion and heavy sacrifice the owners of the property succeeded in giving the town a second start in 1866. The first manufactory established in Meridian was the foundry and machineshops of Messrs. Sellars, Murphy & Lister. They were located just above the railroad crossing north of the town. The senior partner in this firm was Mr. L. H. Sellars, now president of the Memphis & Pensacola railroad. The second was the Kewanee planingmills, located near where the Planters' compress now stands. This plant was moved from Kewanee, this county, to Meridian, by the Whiffle Brothers. Out of this beginning has grown one of the largest sash, door and blind factories in the Southwest.

In those days cotton brought fifty cents a pound, flour $14 to $16 a barrel, bacon sides twenty-five cents and hams thirty cents, whisky was twenty-five cents a drink, while the sup- ply was unlimited. An air of prosperity pervaded the town which attracted general attention. The cessation of war seemed but to add renewed vigor to growth, and within a year the newspapers of the state had already begun to devote considerable space to the wonderful stories about Meridian. These attracted business men here from all directions. Substantial business houses had gone up, and the increase in wealth and population had exceeded anything of the kind that had ever before been known in the state. A village had within twelve months expanded into a town of one thousand five hundred.

This was before the days of the mushroom towns of the Pennsylvania oil districts and of the far West, which grew to their full stature and decayed before finishing touches could be put on the homes of the populace. It was something new for the South, espe- cially following so closely upon the ending of a four years' war. There is little wonder that the growth of the town was considered magical. "It now numbers two thousand five hundred souls," was enthusiastically written in May, 1866, "and bids fair to become an interior com- mercial city. The grand advantages of the place was a phrase which found a lodgment in the heart of every Meridianite, and it was their staff of hope whenever anything happened to check the forward pace of their town. In 1870 it had a population of two thousand seven hundred and nine, and had as many handsome two and three-story brick stores and blocks as many of the large cities of the state of ten times its age, and its growth and im- provement have been rapid and steady since. In 1880 the population was four thousand and eight; in 1890, ten thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine.

During the first half of the period from 1865 to 1875, Meridian was substantially dead, many of her most enterprising citizens having lost their all during the closing years of the war, which rendered them unable to contribute anything toward the development of the town. In the latter half of this decade Meridian passed successfully the point of doubt and uncertainty. Railroads projected were constructed, and Meridian's rivals reluctantly conceded its pre- eminence. In 1870 the Memphis Avalanche said: "Meridian is the most rapidly growing town in the state of Mississippi, and its future still brighter. Sherman burned it up in 1864, but it now has a population greater than that of any town in the state except Vicksburg. The Mobile & Ohio and the Vicksburg & Selma railroads cross there, and the most important road she has projected will be completed this year. This is the direct line to Chattanooga, up the Wills valley, and it is the air line from New Orleans to New York, passing by Meridian,

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Chattanooga, Knoxville, Lynchburg and Washington. A bill has been introduced in the legislature at Jackson, Miss., to extend the Chattanooga & Meridian road to New Orleans; and a like bill has already passed the legislature of Louisiana. The same Boston capitalists that now have the construction of the road from Chattanooga to Meridian propose to make it directly to New Orleans, on an air line, and they want no help. This means that they know it will pay its stockholders, as it is the shortest line that will ever be built between New Orleans and New York. This is the future of Meridian; and another road will be built there; we allude to that from Grenada. Such a line can not long remain unoccupied; and its extension to Pensacola will soon follow, thus placing Memphis as near the Gulf as she now is to Louisville."

A letter to the Clarion from Baldwyn dated March, 1870, has the following allusion to this thriving young city: "The growth of Meridian is truly wonderful. The latest and most noticeable improvement is a large and handsome brick hotel, which will be ready for guests this summer. It presents a truly metropolitan appearance. It is being erected by a stock company and will be an ornament in its line. With the location of the courthouse, the establishment of gas works, and the converging here of so many railroads, Meridian may yet be the Chicago of the South. She should not be ambitious, however, to attain to the distinction which the latter enjoys in the way of morals." From this time on Meridian's progress was great. The period from 1875 to 1880 witnessed still greater progress in Meridian's commercial and financial growth than even the last decade had done. Notwith- standing the draft upon her resources caused by the Civil war, her advance was rapid and substantial, and some of the city's fine buildings were erected during that period, and some of its large manufactories and other enterprises were started about this time. The impetus that Meridian has acquired during the past ten years is certainly accelerating. Since the census of 1880 the population has increased nearly seven thousand, and, with extended rail- road facilities, the future outlook for Meridian is tinted with a roseate hue, with every pros- pect that another year will see her population fully doubled, and the busy hum of machinery heard upon every side. Never in the history of Meridian was there such a need of houses as exists at present, and there are a great number in process of erection.

Other towns of this county are Marion, which was the county seat until 1866, when the courthouse was removed to Marion Station, where it remained until the establishment of the seat of justice at Meridian in 1870; Lockhart, Lauderdale Station (near old Lauderdale Springs, a popular resort in the ante-bellum days), Toomsuba, and Daleville.

Summit is distant one hundred and eight miles from New Orleans and seventy-five miles from Jackson, the state capital. It stands on one of the highest points in the state, four hundred and twenty feet above tide-water. The business portion of Summit is almost entirely of brick, several fire experiences having taught the advisability of such construction. About thirty stores are here in full operation, the principal of these being on a very exten- sive scale. The cotton trade of the town is a weighty item, the average receipts being from thirteen thousand to fifteen thousand bales each season, as large in comparison to the size of the place as that of any town on the Illinois Central road. A compress will doubtless be built ere long. The shipment of country produce is becoming more and more important. Chickens and eggs are being sent in quantities to New Orleans.

Summit's location, in the heart of the pine belt, offers advantages in timber well worth notice. There is within four miles, just the other side of McComb city, one of the most

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complete sawmill, planing, drying establishments in the state. J. White is the proprietor. The business gives employment to about one hundred and fifty men. Three miles north of Summit Messrs. Johnson & Whitney have another complete mill, while still more are projected.

To the advancement of this place the admirable religious and educational institutions of the city have largely contributed. The churches, five in number, are in every respect commodious, thoroughly fitted places of worship. The colored race have also three good churches. This is the seat of Lea Female college, and has first-class public schools for whites and blacks.

Natchez was visited by La Salle and party in 1682, but did not receive its first white settlers until 1698, when Pere Davion, who shortly after located where Fort Adams now is,- and Pere St. Cosme, who remained among the Indians at that point and remained until the year 1707 arrived. The latter was killed by the Chittimaches near Donaldsonville, La., while en route to that Indian town. On February 11, 1700, Lemoyne d'Iberville and Lemoyne Bienville, accompanied by Henri de Tonti, who visited them at Biloxi, arrived at Natchez and were welcomed by Pere St. Cosme. The proposition to establish a post there was well received and the name La Ville de Rosalie aux Natchez was bestowed upon the site. The cabin of the chief and the temple of the sun were soon given neighbors in the shape of stately log huts and the foundations of a city were made. In 1716 a fort was constructed at that point, and in 1718 the plantation of M. de la Houssaye, on St. Cath- erine's creek, was opened, and a house for the owner erected in the village. The farms of Pellerin and Bellecourt were opened close by in 1819, and in 1820 the great plantation of Hubert was cleared on that creek, the gristmill, the forge, the armory and the machine-shop were erected and equipped, and the Montplaisir tobacco farm, within a half-myriameter, or about three miles of the village, established. No sooner was this settlement made than British intrigue introduced trouble, and the disagreements between the colonists and Indians, leading up to the massacre of 1729, were commenced. The history of this terrible affair is given in the second chapter of the general history of the state. Enough here to state that the French colony at Natchez was exterminated, and, in turn, the Natchez them- selves were blotted off the face of the earth by the French colonial troops and Choctaws in 1732. In 1745 there were eight white males (soldiers), two negro families, and fifteen negro slaves at Natchez. In 1751 there were fifty soldiers in garrison there. In 1772 the British ventured in, and their leader, Col. Anthony Hutchins, located lands on St. Catherine's creek. Five years later the British purchased the Natchez district from the Choctaws for a few presents, although they had parceled it out to favorites in 1772, Hutchins being given a large tract, including the White Apple village and twenty-five thousand acres to Amos Ogden. In 1772 Richard and Samuel Swayze of New Jersey purchased nineteen thousand acres from Captain Ogden at twenty cents per acre, and in the fall settled where is now Kingston, in Adams county. Samuel was a Congregational preacher, and as his own and other families who came with them to settle here were members of this society, he had little trouble in organizing the first protestant religious association in the Natchez country, or even in the whole South. In 1780 fears of Indian attack drove those settlers to Natchez post, where Samuel took up lands on the east bank of St. Catherine's bayou. They selected lands on the Homochitto. Four years later (1776) the new town of Natchez boasted of twenty houses, log and frame, located under the bluff. The merchants were James Willing, an American; Captain Bloomart, a British pensioner; Thomas Barber and Hanchett & New-

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man. The planters in the neighborhood had almost reached that stage of prosperity which the French planters were enjoying when the massacre of 1729 wiped them out. The new British colonists of Natchez were not to be exempt, their unreasonable exhibition of tory proclivities, their professed preference for British rule and the opportunities to aid the British soldiery attracted the attention of the fathers of the republic, and James Willing, who resided among and knew them, was commissioned to win them over to the Revolution or crush their power to help the enemy. How well he succeeded is part of the national history as it is of that of the state. In 1779-80 the Spanish troops drove the British from west Florida and placed Colonel Grand Pre in charge of a small garrison at Natchez. In April, 1782, colonists made a demonstration against the Spanish, and by the use of a forged letter urged the Spanish officer to surrender Fort Panmure (named so by the British in .1764), then the name of the post. The Britishers took possession and sent the garrison under guard to Loftus hights. Arrived at that point a Spanish force was observed ascending the river. The captors released the captives and fled. The commander of the Spaniards was Major Mulligan, and he, without delay, went in pursuit, came up with the fugitives, killed fourteen, and captured many. The colonists fled in mortal fear, among the first to go being the Hutchins, Dwights, and Lymans, leaders of the opposition; but the Spaniards exercised the greatest moderation and there was little or no loss inflicted upon the miserable sec- tionalists.

On March 29, 1798, the Spanish garrison evacuated Natchez, and Captain Guion installed a garrison of United States troops.

The population of Natchez in 1785 was one thousand five hundred and fifty, and in 1788, two thousand six hundred and seventy-nine; in 1812, one thousand and twenty-one whites, four hundred and fifty-nine slaves, and thirty-one others, numbering one thousand five hundred and eleven; in 1820, one thousand four hundred and forty-eight whites, and seven hundred and thirty-six negroes; in 1837, three thousand seven hundred and thirty-one; in 1870, nine thousand and fifty-seven; in 1880, seven thousand and fifty-eight; and in 1890, ten thousand one hundred and forty-nine.

An act to incorporate the city of Natchez was passed by the territorial legislature March 10, 1803. The first meeting of the common council was held April 9, 1803, with Samuel Brooks, mayor; Lewis Kerr, recorder; and Samuel Neil, an alderman. Samuel Brooks was mayor a long time; but as the record books were destroyed nothing is certain regarding his immediate successors. The mayors and presidents of the council from 1815 to the present time are named as follows: Edward Turner, 1815; William McComas, 1818; Robert W. Wood, 1855; John Hunter, 1859-63; William Dix, 1866; John W. Weldon, 1869; Robert H. Wood, 1871-4; Henry C. Griffin, 1874-83; I. Lowenberg, 1883-7; William H. Mallery, 1887-9, and W. G. Benbrook, 1889-91.

The first postmaster appointed for Natchez by the United States was Abijah Hunt, commissioned July 1, 1800. This was the first postoffice established in Mississippi by the United States, that at the Chickasaw agency, in charge of James McIntosh, being the second, January 1, 1802, and that at Greenville, established September 10, 1803, with John Shaw master, the third.

Natchez in 1812 was no unimportant place. There was nothing to interfere with the prosperity, save the threatened invasion and subjection of the United States by the British. Marchalk's almanac of that year paints the town in words and figures thus:

"Four tailor shops, three blacksmiths, four saddlers, six carpenters, five cabinetmakers, one coach and sign painter, three hatters, two tinners, four boot and shoemakers, one

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trunkmaker, one bookbinder, one wagonmaker, one chairmaker, one nail factory, three barbers, four brickyards, one butcher, four bakers, one brushmaker, three gold and silver- smiths, one confectioner and distiller, four bricklayers, one horsemill (corn), one plasterer, twelve watercarts, eight physicians, seven lawyers, three English schools, one incorporated mechanics' society, one Free Mason lodge, four magistrates, three printing offices, with weekly papers, two porterhouses, six public inns, five warehouses, one readingroom and coffee- house, twenty-four drygoods stores, four groceries, two wholesale stores, seventeen catalenes, one commission store, one bank of Mississippi, capital $500,000, managed by thirteen directors, with Stephen Minor president. Under the ' Hill ' were two blacksmith shops, one tavern and thirteen catalenes."

Among the giants of the old Natchez bar were: Wm. B. Griffith; Robert Walker, United States senator from Mississippi, and secretary of the treasury under Polk; Felix and Eli Houston; John A. Quitman, governor of state and member to congress, and a dis- tinguished general in the Mexican war; Thomas B. Reed; George Winchester; John T. McMurrain; S. S. Boyd; William Vannerson, who died in 1871, and is spoken of as the Nestor of the Mississippi bar; Alexander Montgomery; G. M. Davis; Grafton Baker; Aylett Baker; Ralph North, ex-circuit judge, and Gen. Wm. T. Martin. Among these might be mentioned Hon. S. S. Prentiss, though he practiced here but a short time.

Church societies of nearly all denominations are represented in Natchez. The Catholic church dates its foundation here to 1698, when Father John B. Buisson de St. Cosme, Father Davion, and other priests established missions among the Natchez. In 1885 St. Mary's cathedral was dedicated. The erection of this magnificent church edifice was begun in 1841 and completed in 1885 at a total cost of $78,241. St. Mary's cathedral is a hand- some Gothic structure of brick, the most graceful building in the state. It has a beautiful and well proportioned spire, one hundred and ninety-six feet high, surmounted with a cross. In this steeple there was placed in 1881, the result of a provision in the will of P. H. McGraw, a fine clock with four large dials, one of which is illuminated. The Protestant churches date to a period early in the eighteenth century; indeed, the Methodists had mis- sionaries or itinerants here in 1799. A Presbyterian church was organized at Pine Ridge February 25, 1807, by Rev. J. Smylie. This church is still in existence, and is the oldest Presbyterian church in Adams county.

The organization of the Presbyterian church at Natchez was practically effected in 1817 by the enrollment of eight persons as members. The Rev. Daniel Smith, a clergyman from New England, who had been laboring as a domestic missionary in the community for more than a year, was invited to minister to it as a stated supply; and John Henderson, Joseph Forman, Richard Pearce and William B. Noyes were ordained as its bench of ruling elders. To this body Samuel S. Spencer was added in 1818. Steps had been taken as early as 1810 for the erection of a Presbyterian house of worship, and in 1812 the corner-stone of the building was laid. It was a brick structure, located on the spot where the present church stands. It was dedicated in February, 1815. The engagement with the Rev. Mr. Smith having terminated in 1819, the Rev. William Weir, a native of Ireland, was elected pastor, and on the 31st of March, 1820, was installed by the Mississippi presbytery. This gentle- man, therefore, was the first regular pastor of this church. He is remembered by some few aged citizens, and is spoken of as a man of learning, of great purity of character, and emi- nently zealous in his work. His period of labor, however, was a short one, his death having occurred on the 25th of November, 1822. The square marble tomb which marks the spot of his sepulture may still be found in a neglected lot which belongs to the church in the city cemetery.

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The second pastor of the church was the Rev. George Potts, who first visited Natchez as a licentiate of the presbytery of Philadelphia. Having been subsequently ordained by the presbytery, he was installed pastor by the presbytery of Mississippi in December, 1823. The number of communicants at this time was forty-nine. The first donations reported to have been made by this congregation were in the year 1825, and consisted of $20 to the missionary fund, and $30 to the educational society. In the beginning of 1825 Samuel Postlethwaite was ordained as a ruling elder-a man distinguished for his urbanity as a gentleman and for his integrity as a Christian, and a fine type of that band of merchants who, in the earlier times of Natchez, made their class noble. In 1828, the church edifice originally erected being found inconvenient, the trustees resolved to erect a new one, which work was in the course of the next two years successfully effected. This second building was the original of the one now occupied, a large and handsome brick edifice, and was dedicated on the first Sabbath of January, 1830. The pastorate of Mr. Potts ter- minated in November, 1835, having continued thirteen years. His removal from Natchez was occasioned by his acceptance of a call from the Duane Street church, New York. He left a communion list of one hundred and thirty-five persons. During his incumbency another addition had been made to the ruling eldership in the person of Dr. Andrew Macrery.

The successor of Mr. Potts was the Rev. Samuel G. Winchester, a native of Balti- more, and previously pastor of a church in Philadelphia. His installation took place on December 24, 1837. The bench of elders having been reduced by deaths and removals to two members-the venerable John Henderson and Dr. Macrery-the congregation elected to that office Thomas Henderson, William Pearce and Franklin Beaumont, who were ordained February 25, 1838. In the year following the church building was repaired, and its means of accommodation enlarged by the introduction of the galleries which are at present stand- ing. About the same time the very neat and commodious parsonage belonging to the church was purchased for the use of the pastor. Mr. Winchester's labors were brought to a close unexpectedly by his death, in August, 1841, while he was absent at the North, whither he had gone as commissioner of the general assembly, which met that year in Philadelphia. He was succeeded by Rev. Joseph B. Stratton, whose pastorate has been a successful one.

The Baptist church was organized in Natchez in January, 1837. Rev. Ashley Vaughn was the first pastor. This society never erected a church and soon after the society became extinct.

The Wall Street Baptist church was organized in 1850, by Rev. T. J. Freeman. A tasty and commodious brick church was erected at once at a cost of about $15,000 and was dedicated April 6, 1851.

The introduction of Methodism into Natchez occurred in 1798, and Tobias Gibson, of South Carolina, was the first minister. Their large and handsome church, corner Jefferson and Union streets, is supplemented by Wesley chapel for the benefit of the factory operatives and citizens of the north part of the city, and also a commodious brick structure on Pine street, occupied by the colored Methodists.

The conception of the English Protestant Episcopal church of Natchez dates back to 1821, and on May 10, 1822, Rev. James Pilmore was installed as the first rector. A church was erected in 1823; alterations and improvements were instituted later, and now they have an elegant house of worship which cost some $35,000.

The Temple B' Nai Israel is a brick house presenting some architectural features and good interior decoration. The one Methodist and two Baptist churches of the negro societies are commonplace structures.

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Of benevolent institutions there are the following: St. Mary's Orphan home, for girls, and D' Evereaux hall, an orphan asylum for boys, both of them being conducted under the auspices of the Catholic church. A Protestant orphan home, for boys and girls, is also well sustained.

D'Evereux Hall, the Catholic home for orphan boys, is possessed of a fine property, including many acres of valuable land, thirty four of which are cultivated by the boys, pro- ducing a handsome income. In the midst of this, and surrounded by lawn, grove and flower garden, stands D'Evereux Hall, a substantial brick structure of two floors, handsome in design and well adapted to the purpose for which it is employed. This institution is under the immediate management of the Christian Brotherhood, and is presided over by Brother Gontran, whose fine executive ability, experience, economic management, energy and devo- tion to the undertaking, have rendered the establishment partially independent of outside support. This institution was chartered Jannary 25, 1858, by Rt. Rev. Bishop Elder, then bishop of Natchez, and a number of Catholic gentlemen. From limited operations in a small wooden building, the institution has been enlarged until it has called into requisition a fine and valuable estate. From fifty to sixty orphans form the average charge of the establish- ment, whose maintenance costs some $4,500 per year. Its income is derived from the follow- ing sources: One half proceeds annual orphans' fair, $1,400; proceeds market garden, $1,800; from guardians and friends of orphans, $600; Christmas collections in church, $250; a total of $4,050 per annum. This is the reliable income of the establishment, the differ- ence between this and the expenditure being met by various means. The Hall is a per- fect model of domestic economy. The garden, of between thirty-four and thirty-five acres, is worked by the boys, one hour per day being all of this description of labor required from each individual.

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Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II, Part 24

Author: Goodspeed Brothers Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 1314