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 29

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 29

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Tombigbee lodge No. 12, K. of P., was instituted July 10, 1889. Its first officers were W. L. Kemp, C. C .; W. A. J. Jones, V. C .; H. A. Osborne, prelate; C. S. W. Price, M. of Ex .; George F. Shattuck, M. of F .; S. Schwab, K. of R. & S .; R. R. Spiers, M. at A. Its present officers are W. A. J. Jones, P. C .; D. P. Davis, C. C .; A. A. Wofford, V. C .; W. L. Jobe, prelate; S. Schwab, K. of R. & S .; Mr. Loeb, M. of F .; George F. Shattuck, M. of Ex .; R. R. Spiers, M. at A. The lodge meets on the first and third Tuesdays in each month. The membership is forty-four.

The last election for mayor and council in Columbus occurred December 1, 1890. There was no opposition to the democratic ticket. Captain Moore has been elected mayor three times. and his administration of affairs has given great satisfaction. E. T. Sykes, J. M. McGown, D. M. Richards, W. W. Westmoreland, J. M. Street and C. S. Franklin con- stitute the board of councilmen. Among the several villages of this county are Crawford, Arteria and Caledonia.

190

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

Aberdeen, the seat of justice of Monroe county, and one of the oldest towns in the northern part of the state, is situated on the west bank of the Tombigbee river, and has a population of about three thousand four hundred and forty-five. It is beautifully located and has a good trade, although it is not as extensive as formerly, as only branch lines are built to Aber- deen. The Mobile & Ohio, Kansas City, Memphis & Birminghan and the Illinois Central lines all have branches terminating at Aberdeen. The United States courthouse and post- office building cost in the neighborhood of $100,000, and is a beautiful and imposing struct- ure. The town has a cotton campus, an ice factory, a spoke factory and other manufactures, and two flourishing banks; The First National, organized May 1, 1887, with a capital of $75,000, formerly the private bank of Jinkins Bros., and the bank of Aberdeen, organized October 10, 1888, with a capital stock of $50,000. The city has one of the finest and most complete public school buildings in the state, and several elegant church buildings.

Aberdeen possesses many advantages as a manufacturing and distributing center, and will in the course of time develop into an important city. The present conspicuous advantages of Aberdeen will be greatly improved with the completion of prospective rail- roads, which, besides giving increased transportation facilities, will also place it in direct communication with the great coal and iron districts of Alabama, located within a reasonable distance, and giving access to the great forests of valuable timber which form one of the most valuable, while least appreciated, of the resources of the Southern states.

Prof. Lawrence C. Johnson, of the United States Geological survey, recently expressed himself as follows, concerning Aberdeen and its surroundings:

" At the head of navigation, this is the natural and nearest outlet to a large territory of both Mississippi and Alabama. It should control the coal and iron regions of at least Lamar and Marion counties, Ala., and have an equal chance at the grand coal fields of Walker. With your population and position you already possess two kinds of capital necessary to enter the lists in the great iron industries of what we may term the New South. Your position, geologically considered, is advantageous. Situated at the eastern edge of what the books call the Eutaw formation of the cretaceous group, you have behind you all the wealth of the calcareous soils of the prairie. Beyond the Tombigbee you have thin soils, it is true, in the sharp hills of what we call the Tuscaloosa formation; but these hills are clothed with the finest timber, and when that is removed it becomes the land of the mulberry, grape, peach, and all the fruits of our climate. In this formation let it be understood that you have no gold, no silver, no lead, nor any coal; do not waste your time upon them; but you have an abundance of iron ores, carbonates and limonites of various grades. In Lamar county, from ten to fifteen miles of the Mississippi line, there are many deposits of limonite ore. The old Hale & Murdock mines are well known. This is not an accidental, sporadic case of the occurrence of ore, but belongs to. a system - belongs to the lower division of the Tuscaloosa formation, which we have traced from Autauga county, Ala., to Tishomingo county, Miss. It may not be discovered as a continuous iron belt, because erosion has played a big part here, and has cut many gaps in it; and another later formation, called the Orange sand, has in many places covered up, and now conceals the older strata. The Tuscaloosa formation has another in its upper division; not as rich, perhaps, as the lower, and is still more interfered with by erosions and by Orange sand deposits, but of much importance to Aberdeen, because it lies up and down the headwaters of your river and approaches quite near to your city. This might well be called the Green wood springs belt, for it appears in Monroe county in greatest force in that vicinity. It is two or three miles in breadth, extending to the high hills east of Buttahatchie river, opposite

191

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

the mouth of Sipsey, and southeastward from that point; on the west of the Buttahatchie it tends northward, up Sipsey. This belt exhibits two classes of ore: one superficial, found only on the tops of the ridge, as well as seen in two of the cuts of the Kansas City, Mem- phis & Birmingham railroad, east and west of Wise's gap; the other ore springs from a different source, and is found in the foot hills near Greenwood springs. This last is a limonite that is formed from a change of the carbonate; a carbonate I did not actually see, but know its presence, not only from the resultant ziodic chambered ore seen there, but from the abundance of springs charged with bicarbonate of iron. Of these the chief is Greenwood."

Aberdeen commandery, U. D., was organized in 1891. Frank P. Jinkins is eminent commander. Wildy lodge No. 21, I. O. O. F., is an old lodge, of which W. S. Lindamood is noble grand.

Eureka lodge No. 719, Knights of Honor, organized about 1875, with Dr. William G. Sykes as dictator, is in a prosperous condition. It has about one hundred members, and J. M. Acker is the dictator. Castle Gray lodge No. 198, Knights of the Golden Rule, organized December 21, 1881, by Deputy Supreme Commander J. R. Hodges, has about one hundred members. Apollo lodge No. 14, Knights of Pythias, established in 1878, with William Howard as chancellor commander, now has a membership of about forty-five, and Kirby Lann is its chancellor commander.

Aberdeen lodge No. 32, A. F. & A. M., was organized in 1837, with J. H. Lawson as worshipful master, and the following members: David Hall, Nathaniel W. Walton, T. B. Pollard, John Franks, James G. Williams, Daniel Burnett, Thomas J. Ford, George Weight- man, Parker Alexander, A. R. Hunter, A. J. Holliday, John Abbott and Alex Baker. Dr. William G. Sykes is now worshipful master. In 1884 the lodge erected a magnificent three- story brick temple at a cost of about $38,000. This beautiful structure, which also contains the operahouse, has a seating capacity of six hundred.

Amory lodge No. 165, A. F. & A. M., at Amory, organized with Hon. Wright Cun- ningham as worshipful master. W. A. Griffith is now worshipful master. This lodge was formed by the consolidation of lodges Nos. 165 and 178.

Euphemia Royal Arch chapter No. 13, at Aberdeen, was organized in 1847, with R. H. Dalton as high priest. Frank P. Jinkins is the present high priest.

Aberdeen council, R. & S. M., No. 28, was organized in 1860, with B. B. Barker, J. N. Walton and W. S. Vestal as first officials. Present officers are R. B. Brannin, C. N. Simpson and S. H. Berg.

Other towns in this county are Amory, Smithville, Quincy, Gattman, Strongs, Reynolds, Prairie and Muldon.

Water Valley is situated on the Illinois Central railroad, about ninety miles southeast of Memphis, midway between Jackson, Tenn., and Canton, Miss. Water Valley has risen from a heap of ashes since the war and grown to a population of two thousand, eight hundred and twenty-eight and in wealth to several millions. The Indians still roamed the forest in the neighborhood in 1840, while some rude habitations indicated the thrift with which a live pop- ulation were beginning to enter upon the work of reducing to civilization an unbroken wil- derness. The first house in or near the town was built about this time by a Mr. Ragland, and is now occupied by Dr. Askew. It was a stage stand along a public highway between Oxford and Coffeeville. About 1847 Capt. P. D. Woods built near the same spot a rude storehouse and kept a stock of goods which would not now compare with the most unpreten-

192

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

tious house in the city. The goods were brought by chance wagons from Memphis and other points. Capt. William Carr had already built a log house which now stands near the center of the business portion of town, east of the railroad. Mr. Rasha Robinson settled about a half-mile north. The town was incorporated in 1848 and B. H. Collins was the first mayor. About 1850 there had sprung up two or three business houses near the present site of the town. In 1856 the Mississippi Central railroad was complete to this point, and the little town of a half-dozen business houses began to assume the airs of a railway station. In 1861 there were perhaps a dozen places of business. A company was raised in the town and sur- rounding country which for gallantry and courage stand prominent in the history of the lost cause. The Federal army pushed its way to the city in the winter of 1862-3 and burned the little wooden village, and its people returned to find the rewards of their industry a heap of ashes. In 1865 there were left from the ravages of war two or three business houses. Oxford and Holly Springs suffered also, and at the latter place the car shops of the railroad were burned. Inducements were offered to the railway company to rebuild its shops in Water Valley, which was determined upon in 1867. Now began an era of prosperity, and hand- some buildings sprang up like magic. With the meager facilities merchants were scarcely able to handle the immense business which crowded upon them, but it seemed well nigh im- possible to overtax the resources and tact of those who guided the destinies of the young city. Buildings sprang into existence every day and the population increased faster than industry could furnish shelter; yet the spirit of improvement never flagged, and in 1874 the popula- tion had grown from two hundred to twenty-five hundred. Already the city had overshad- owed her plucky little neighbor. Coffeeville had wrung from her a division of the courts, and was fast absorbing the trade that formerly went to that place and Oxford. Other causes tended to cause a cessation of growth for some years; but her plucky business men faced the storm of depression and maintained a brave front, and now have finally overcome all difficul- ties and are on a solid financial basis.

Within the past three years many handsome buildings have gone up. Real estate has nearly doubled in value. The population is increasing.

Water Valley bank was chartered in 1888. The company is successor to Bryant & Shackelford, who began business in 1882. Mr. G. D. Able, formerly of Oxford, is the cashier, and Mr. John Wagner bookkeeper, the latter the son of Mr. D. R. Wagner. Both of them are native Mississippians. The bank does a daily business of about $15,000.

The cotton factory enterprise was begun by a joint stock company about 1870. The build- ing was nearly completed by the company when it failed, and it stood idle for some years, when Mr. D. R. Wagner determined that an enterprise so important to the city should be enlivened by the hum of machinery. He, with his associates, purchased the property and imported the machinery at once. The value of this property to the city may easily be estimated when it is known that seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds of cotton are consumed yearly, and the gross earnings amount to nearly $40,000, a large part of which is paid to operatives, and the surplus of profit on the capital invested, goes into investment here. The Water Valley Manufacturing company, which began operations in 1866, was later merged into the concern controlling the mills.

Around Water Valley, imbedded under the soil, is the best of clays for the manufacture of earthenware. The factory commenced operations a little more than two years ago, and has demonstrated the fact that a profitable enterprise is open for development here.

The planingmill and sash, door and blind factory is doing a good business.

Water Valley lodge No. 132, A. F. & A. M., was chartered in 1847. Valley City lodge

193

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

No. 402 was organized July 5, 1888. St. Cyr commandery No. 6, K. T., was organized January 25, 1867. Water Valley lodge No. 82, I. O. O. F., was chartered January 23, 1867; Grand Encampment No. 22, March 1, 1887. Knights of Honor lodge No. 1062, is a pros- perous organization. Lochinvar lodge No. 55, K. of P., was organized May 14, 1890.

The Water Valley Courier was established April 5, 1867, by E. A. Goodland, editor and proprietor. It was afterward sold to W. B. Yowell, who changed its name to the Southern Eagle. About one year later it was sold to F. W. Merrin, who called it The Vallonian, and afterward restored to it its original name. In 1882 he moved the plant to Plant City, Fla., where the paper is published as the South Florida Courier by S. W. Merrin & Son.

The Mississippi Central was founded in 1869 by Capt. R. M. Brown and A. V. Rowe. In 1875 it was purchased by S. B. Brown. In 1881 it was published by Johnson Ater, with E. A. Garland as editor. In 1885 it was changed to the Free Churchman, and edited by M. B. Fly. In 1887, as the People's Friend, it was published by G. Aycock. In 1888 it was pur- chased by McFarland & Lee, and published as the North Mississippi Herald.

The Progress was founded in 1882 by S. B. Brown as editor and publisher, with his son, T. D. Brown, as assistant editor.

The Cumberland Presbyterian church of Water Valley was organized October 14, 1843. Rev. Angus Johnson was first pastor, with James M. Morrison and Robert Nickle as elders. The organization was originally known as the Otuckaloffe church, but its name was soou after changed to Water Valley church. W. V. Johnson had charge in 1843-59; E. C. David- son, 1860-78; J. W. Roseborough, 1878-80; S. I. Reid, 1881-2; H. M. Sydenstricker, 1883-5; J. D. Lester, the present pastor, came in 1886. The church now has a member- ship of one hundred and ninety-three, and the house of worship was completed in 1868 at a cost of $8,000. Mr. Lester, the present pastor, is a native of Union county, Tenn., and was ordained in 1883 at Memphis, Tenn. He is stated clerk of the synod of Memphis, and clerk of the North Mississippi presbytery. The elders of the church and the dates of their ordination are: J. C. Mury, 1859; A. G. Buford, 1861; W. E. Benson, 1883; R. R. Pate, 1883, and Baron Leland, 1883. Elder T. J. Price, ordained in 1887, died in 1890.

Methodist Episcopal church of Water Valley was organized in 1858, by Rev. Robert Martin, with a membership of twenty. Services were held in the Masonic building. In 1859 the church erected a house of worship, completed in 1861, which was replaced by the present building in 1870, at a cost of $6,000. Rev. Mr. Martin was succeeded by Revs. M. D. Fly, W. S. Harrison, J. M. Boone, J. W. Honnol, J. W. Price, J. S. Oakley, J. M. Wyatt, and the present pastor, Rev. T. W. Dye. The church has a membership of three hundred and fifty, and its Sunday-school numbers three hundred. The church received its largest accession of membership during the labors of Rev. Harrison, a most noble man, now of Starksville, Miss.

Missionary Baptist church of Water Valley was organized August 19, 1859, with a membership of five, all of whom are now deceased except Mr. and Mrs. Shaw, of Natchez, Miss. The present membership is about one hundred and fifty. Rev. E. L. Wesson is pas- tor. There are other religious organizations represented here.

Coffeeville is one of the goahead cities on the Illinois Central, and has a population of eight hundred. It is one of the county seats of Yalobusha, located in the southwestern por- tion of the county, and is surrounded by a rich country and was incorporated in 1836. It has no boom, but each year shows a large increase of population. It has good schools, good society, and many churches. The business men, as a class, are spirited, enterprising, pro- gressive, sagacious and public-spirited merchants, and a more generous or wholesouled class

194

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

was never gathered in one city of its size. The new and elegant courthouse and many fine stores and buildings are evidences of thrift and prosperity.

The Coffeeville high school has quite recently moved into new buildings. The number of pupils enrolled has greatly increased during the current year. By the introduction of all " the many branches taught in the higher schools, the advantage to be derived from attending this school has been greatly increased. An endeavor is being made to make the school so thorough that it will not be necessary for students to go from home to receive an education. The school has been brought to such a standard that it has few rivals in Mississippi. The Wynn and Preston institute, with a large two-story building, was founded in 1890.

Coffeeville was a very popular and flourishing city in the antebellum days, and had among its citizens some of the highest men of the South.

The first paper published at Coffeeville was the Yalobusha Pioneer. The pioneer editor was E. Percy Howe. Beginning about 1850, the Southern Appeal was published for some years. Coffeeville Masonic lodge No. 83 was founded in 1818.

The first merchants of Coffeeville were D. M. Rayburn, Bridges & Shaw, and James Jones. The first white child born in Yalobusha county was James D. Haile, now bookkeeper for Herron & Co., of Coffeeville. S. McCreles built the first house in Coffeeville some time in 1830, and gave the place its name.

The Methodist church was probably the first religious body formed here: It now has a neat building and a membership of about eighty-five.

The Cumberland Presbyterian church was organized by Rev. W. S. Burney, of Oxford, Miss., in 1845. Rev. Mr. Burney was succeeded by Dr. J. C. Provine, now of Nashville, Tenn., and he by Dr. R. S. Thomas, the present pastor, for over forty years in charge of the church. When he came in 1848 the church had only eight members. The present membership is sixty-five. The first building was erected in old Coffeeville in 1850, the present brick struc- ture in 1877.

The Baptists have a building here. Their pastor is Rev. Mr. Farris.

The Coffeeville academy was founded by Dr. Thomas in 1850, and flourished until the war. The Coffeeville institute, founded in 1867, flourished about ten years.

Other towns and villages in this county are Torrance, Oakland, Garner and Tillatoba. Coffeeville, Water Valley and Torrance are on the Illinois Central railroad; the other places mentioned, on the Mississippi & Tennessee railroad. Pine Valley is an old and well-known business point. Tabernacle lodge No. 340 was organized there with thirty members. Taber- nacle Methodist Episcopal Church South was organized in 1840. It now occupies its third house of worship, a large structure, with a Masonic hall in connection.

Corinth, the seat of justice of Alcorn county, is the most prominent city in northern Mississippi, and has a population of twenty five hundred. It is situated on the Memphis & Charleston and Mobile & Ohio railroads, ninety-three miles from Memphis. During the Civil war it was occupied successively by the Federal and Confederate forces, it hav- ing been regarded as a point of much strategic importance. The Confederate army fell back on Corinth after the battle of Pittsburg landing. Upon its evacuation by Beauregard, Corinth was invested by Halleck. General Rosecrans made his headquarters at Corinth while in command of the district. General Van Dorn attacked Corinth later and made determined battle, directing his troops in person, but was driven back and pursued by Gen- erals Hurlbut and Ord, but escaped beyond the Hatchie river.

Corinth has grown steadily and substantially since the war. It has ten churches, is

195

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

amply supplied with good public schools and other institutions of learning, and has numer- ous commercial, manufacturing and financial institutions.

Jacinto, the former seat of justice, is a small place but the center of considerable local trade. Other towns are Danville, Rienzi, Wenasoga and Glendale. Rienzi has a popula- tion of three hundred and seventy-five. Its first plat was near its present site, where at the outbreak of the war quite a village had grown up which had considerable prestige until the division of Tishomingo county. In 1875 Rienzi was visited by a destructive storm by which it was destroyed and a number of its citizens were killed. The Methodists, Baptists and Cum- berland Presbyterians all have good houses of worship; they now meet in the Methodist church and in Mason's hall.

Grenada, the capital of Grenada county, is a bustling, thriving little city of twenty- three hundred inhabitants, beautifully located on a level plateau at the head of navigation of the Yalobusha river, and on the main line of the Illinois Central railway, and is the terminus of the Mississippi & Tennessee railroad, a branch of the Illinois Central from Memphis to Grenada. Grenada has four churches: Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian and Episcopal. Each has a good congregation and a flourishing Sunday-school.

The Grenada Collegiate institute, costing $40,000, for the education of young ladies, and under the supervision of the North Mississippi conference, is located here and has about two hundred students. There is a high school for boys, and several smaller schools, besides two free schools (one white and one colored), with large attendance, presided over by com- petent teachers. Two public-school buildings, one for each race, have been erected, costing $15,000.

In the management of the corporate affairs the strictest business rules are observed, and everything is done upon a cash basis. There are in successful operation a cotton com- press, a cottonseed oilmill, a steamgin and gristmill, a collar factory, a tannery, a cream- ery, ice factory and cold storage warehouse and other smaller enterprises. Other enterprises could be opened with profit, and the people of Grenada will advance means to worthy and competent persons coming here to engage in creditable enterprises. There is a bank here with a paid-up capital of $60,000, and deposits of over $100,000, and a building and loan association which has proven a benefit to the community. The assessed value of the property in the city is over $650,000. All branches of the mercantile business are represented. Grenada is one of the largest receivers of cotton on the Illinois Central railway, the average receipts being about fifteen thousand bales. The various secret orders are represented, and flourish- ing lodges of Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, and Knights of Honor are here.

The city proper is just one mile square, and is laid off into beautiful lots and wide streets. The stores are handsome, and the residences comfortable and convenient. Many of the houses are of the latest styles of architecture.

The cotton trade is extensive and growing, two thousand bales being handled each year. The town has the additional advantages of a cotton compress, which was erected in 1885. The business portion of Grenada lies about half a mile from the railroad. It comprises between forty and fifty stores. Every branch of business is well represented, some of the houses doing a very heavy trade. There are three good hotels and two lively newspapers. In banking facilities the city is well to the front. The Merchants' bank has a paid up capital of $40,000, and a large support from the district. A handsome new building has been erected for it on the public square. Grenada is uot as yet rich in manufactories, but there are a successful oilmill and gristmill and gin.

196

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

The trade which supports this active town is drawn from a circuit of seventy to eighty miles, and extends over five counties. There is a fair jobbing trade, and in some branches, notably hardware, dry goods and drugs, Grenada merchants launch out far beyond the limits of their territory. Excellent freestone water is supplied by wells and pumps, and there is good natural drainage. The system of sidewalks is complete and commendable. The most prominent building is the courthouse, an ornate structure of brick, erected in 1884 at a cost of $25,000. There is also a large public hall, with a capacity of eight hundred.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 29

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