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 33

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 33

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St. James' church, Port Gibson, dates its history from the 9th of April, 1826, when the Rev. Albert A. Muller visited Port Gibson and organized a parish of the Protestant Episco- pal church, under the name of St. John's church. On the 17th of May in the same year eleven clerical and lay delegates, representing this newly-organized parish and three others, met in convention in Trinity church, Natchez, for the purpose of organizing a diocese of the Protestant Episcopal church in the state of Mississippi. St. John's church was represented by the Rev. John Wurts Cloud, rector-elect, and the Hon. Joshua G. Clarke, chancellor of the state, and Mr. I. W. Foote, lay delegates.

In 1848 a reorganization of the parish was effected under the Rev. F. W. Boyd, and its present name of St. James' church was adopted. Under a succession of rectors services were held in the courthouse and in hired rooms. In 1860 a further and final reorganization was effected and the sum of $5,000 was promptly subscribed toward the purchase of land and the erection of a church edifice. A lot was selected and partly paid for, but during the Civil war which ensued, although the organization was kept alive, the results of the previous efforts to secure a place of worship were engulfed in the general disaster. The amount subscribed was not realized and the purchased lot was lost. After the war a ladies' aid association was organized and incorporated. Its energy was soon rewarded by success in

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raising $2,500, with which a plat of ground on the corner of Church and Jackson streets was purchased. It contained a dwellinghouse (a small portion of which, said to have been originally built of logs and more recently clapboarded, is, as is claimed, the oldest building in Port Gibson,) which being removed so as to front on Jackson street, was converted into a rectory, leaving ample space for the erection of a church upon the corner. In the meantime the congregation worshiped in the brick building (now used by a colored congregation) on Church street, in the northern part of the town. At this time (1869 to 1876) the rector of the church was the Rev. James S. Johnston, now bishop of western Texas.

In 1881, under the energetic administration of the Rev. Nowell Logan (now rector of Holy Trinity church, Vicksburg), the work of raising funds for the building of a church was renewed, and with success. On the 30th of October, 1884, the cornerstone of a handsome brick church, designed by W P. Wentworth, architect, Boston, was laid by the grand lodge of F. & A. M. of Mississippi. The building was completed early the following year, and presents a very attractive appearance, both without and within, being one of the most prominent of the few striking architectural features of the town. The total cost was $5,600. Of its stained-glass windows, the triple lancet over the altar is a memorial of the late Rev. Charles B. Dana, D. D., who was rector of the parish (1861-1866) throughout the gloomy period of the Civil war. One of the side windows is a memorial of Mr. Charles A. Pearson, a devout layman of the parish who died in 1878. A fund has been raised by the Sunday-school guild toward the purchase of a peal of bells, which will be placed as soon as sufficient tower room can be erected.

The parish received its charter in 1882 and the Ladies' Aid association deeded the prop- erty, church and rectory to the incorporated parish. But the association has continued its existence and still renders efficient service in the parochial work. The parish made material progress during the rectorate of the Rev. Mr. Logan (1881 to 1888). It now reports seventy communicants. Its present vestry is composed of Dr. W. Myles and Capt. N. S. Walker, wardens, and Capt. W. W. Moore, Capt. A. K. Jones, chancery clerk, John A. Shreve and Sen- nator Stephen Thrasher vestrymen. The present rector, the Rev. Arthur Howard Noll, entered upon his duties in October, 1889. He is a New Jerseyman by birth, and was called to the bar of that state in 1876. He was engaged in railways in Mexico 1882-5, and then prepared for the ministry. He entered upon his missionary work a deacon in 1887 in western Texas. He was ordained a priest in Eagle Pass, Tex., in 1888, by the Rt. Rev. James S. Johnston, bishop of western Texas, wholly unconscious that in a year's time he was to become the successor of that prelate in his first parish.

Ministers of the Methodist church preached occasionally at Port Gibson before 1820, but no regular organization was made until 1827, when Rev. Thomas Griffin gathered some persons into the church. Port Gibson at that period was considered quite an irreligious community, and Mr. Griffin met great opposition. Among the early members were the Humphreys and Jeffries families, Joshua Kelley and his wife, Mrs. Isabella Kelley, Thomas Loury and Mrs. Susan Loury, James S. Mason and J. L. Foote. Of these, Mrs. Kelley, Mrs. Loury and Mr. Foote still survive. In the early history of the church it was favored with the ministrations of those eminent men, Dr. William Winans, Dr. Bill Drake, Rev. John G. Jones and Rev. Elias Porter. For a time the congregation, as all others, worshiped in the courthouse. A church was erected in 1830, which was in a few years destroyed by fire. Another was then built on the same spot. This was removed, and the present impos- ing brick structure was completed on the old site in 1859, costing $20,000. The church now numbers one hundred and fifty. Rev. E. H. Moureger is the present pastor (1890).

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Besides Port Gibson, the towns of Claiborne county are Grand Gulf, Rocky Springs, St. Elmo, Hermanville, Carlisle, Tillman and Martin, all, except Rocky Springs and Grand Gulf, on the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad. The history of Grand Gulf is inter- esting in its way. It was once a bustling little river city and handled forty thousand bales of cotton every year. Its first and a subsequent location caved into the river; it was three times visited with destructive fires, the last time burned by Federal troops; a cut- off of the Mississippi placed it two miles from the river, and its only railway, extending from Grand Gulf to Port Gibson, was not only abandoned, but taken up, and Grand Gulf is little more than a memory.

The city of Brookhaven is located on the Illinois Central railroad one hundred and twenty-nine miles north of New Orleans, fifty-five miles south of Jackson, the state capital, and seven hundred and eighty-six miles south of Chicago. It is five hundred feet above tide- water and is the highest point on the Illinois Central railroad between New Orleans and Holly Springs, Miss. It is the county seat of Lincoln county, where all county business is transacted. The corporate limits embrace a square mile, of which the railroad depot is the center. The first settlement of the place was in the fall of 1856 and spring of 1857. John Storm, who closed a useful and well-spent life a few years ago, after having raised a large family who are now among Brookhaven's most active and respected citizens, and Mr. Jesse Warren, who also raised a large family and was long circuit clerk of the county, were among the first settlers. Messrs. Warren and Storm were also the first regular merchants of the town; what few shops existed before they opened business in the spring of 1857 having been of a very inferior and unpretentious order.

For a year or two the railroad extended no farther from New Orleans than Summit, which was its northern terminus and the distributing point for freights for all of the sur- rounding towns and counties. Finally, however, the road was completed to this point, and in May, 1857, the first train reached Brookhaven. It was a freight, and Mr. A. O. Cox, ex-sheriff of the county, who was the first station agent of the railroad, stated that the tariff on the cargo for delivery at this place was $1,350.

For eight or ten months Brookhaven continued as the northern terminus of the railroad, 'and during this time its growth was very rapid and its business large. The first year it was a railroad town, the shipment of cotton amounted to eighteen thousand bales. But the railroad was soon completed to Beauregard, Hazlehurst and other points farther north, thus dividing the business, and from that time its growth was more gradual and business settled down to the permanent basis which it has since maintained. The population has increased steadily and is now fifteen hundred.

The business of Brookhaven is of a stable and promising character. The record will show that there have been fewer failures among her business men than in any other town of like size in the state. It is the market and trading point of a majority of the people of the county, as well as a very large proportion from Franklin, Jefferson and Lawrence counties. The building of the Meridian and Northeastern and the Mississippi Valley railroads has no perceptible effect toward drawing away trade, nor is it feared that it will, as this will only take off a few from the outskirts of Brookhaven's trade territory and will be more than offset by the constant development that is going on. The twenty-seven sawmills of the county, with their hundreds of employes and dependents, and the sturdy agricultural population will sustain and continually increase its commercial importance.

The city is under the direction of a board of mayor and aldermen and a marshal (who is also ex-officio taxcollecter), elected every two years.

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Brookhaven has ever been noted for the beauty of her women and the gallantry of her men, and in point of intelligence, culture and animation her society circles will com- pare favorably with those of any other community. With schools the city is peculiarly favored. First and foremost among these is the now famous Whitworth Female college. In addition to this a male academy of high grade is conducted, and several competent and experienced teachers; each conducts a mixed school for small boys and girls. The public schools of the city are also run four months of each year.

The Presbyterians, Catholics, Methodists, Baptists and Episcopalians all have commo- dions and comfortable churches, and all except the latter have regular religious services and Sunday-schools.

Though owning no synagogue the Jewish citizens also maintain a religious organization and hold worship at stated periods. The colored population likewise display a creditable interest in religious matters, and support one Baptist and two Methodist churches with very comfortable houses of worship.

Secret societies are represented by lodges of I. O. O. F., Masons, Knights of Honor and Knights and Ladies of Honor, which meet in a large and commodious hall built and owned by the Masonic fraternity. Heuck's hall, capable of seating six hundred persons and equipped with a well arranged stage and fine scenery, furnishes accommodation to various excellent traveling combinations during the winter months, and amusement to lovers of the drama.

Other towns in this county are Bogue Chitto, Montgomery and Caseyville.

Bogue Chitto, about ten miles south of Brookhaven on the. Illinois Central railroad, is situated on the Bogue Chitto river. It is one of the oldest towns along the road, having been in existence ever since the railroad was built. Owing to various causes, the growth of this town has been very slow. Its buildings being entirely wooden structures, it has been twice destroyed by fire and until within the past few years has had a hard struggle for existence. The population of Bogue Chitto is two hundred and twenty-five, nearly double what it was a few years past, and is increasing rapidly and steadily. Its volume of busi- ness has swelled until it is ten times greater. There are five dry goods and grocery stores. Messrs. B. E. Brister & Co. own two large saw and planingmills, besides doing a flourish- ing mercantile business. J. M. Tyler also owns a fine watermill and gin about a half-mile from town. The lumber manufacturing interests of Bogue Chitto are equal to those of any and superior to those of a great many places of much greater pretensions. There are seven mills for manufacturing rough and dressed lumber in the vicinity of the place. The annual shipment of lumber is about $40,000 to $50,000. Messrs. Wesson & Money own one of the finest bodies of pine timber in the country, with a narrow gauge railroad and locomotive running through it to a distance of eight miles east, and there is a probability that the road will be extended to Pearl river. The Natchez, Bogue Chitto & Ship Island railroad will possibly become a fixed fact in the near future, though it may take a different name, and in view of that fact the value of property in and around Bogue Chitto is increasing. The corporate limits of the town include about a mile square. There are some very sightly resi- ences and very fine sites for many more. The school facilities are fine. There are two churches, one white (Methodist) and one colored (Baptist); one Masonic aud town hall.

Woodville (population one thousand) the seat of justice for Wilkinson county, is one of the oldest towns in the state, and prior to its incorporation (which dates back to about 1808) was one of the earliest settlements in the then Natchez district. Peopled by one of th

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proudest races on earth, its population comprised men whose sense of honor was the most exalted, and whose chivalry, exhibited whenever occasion presented, led them to deeds of valor and heroism.

It would be difficult to point out a location for a town that would combine more advan- tages than that of Woodville. Situated upon an elevation four hundred and fifty feet above the river level at Bayou Sara, the breezes of the gulf are here distinctly felt and enjoyed .. The topography of Woodville and its immediate environments is one that is admirably. adapted to thorough drainage and perfect sanitation. The watershed of the town is four- fold, and drainage occurs at the four cardinal points of the compass. The inevitable conse- quence of all this is that Woodville is one of the most healthful spots in the country, and enjoys unusual immunity from the ills that flesh is heir to.

Woodville is supported wholly by the trade afforded by its surrounding agricultural country, whose inhabitants raise principally cotton, corn, oats, hay and live stock for the market, the county being specially adapted to the successful cultivation and growing of. either. Wilkinson county contains twenty-five townships, and has a population of about seventeen thousand five hundred and sixty-four, the principal portion of which is engaged in agricultural pursuits. Were its arable lands wholly occupied it could, with ease, sustain a population of from sixty thousand to seventy-five thousand souls. It will thus be seen that excellent opportunities exist for the acquirement of land and homes by immigrants from other states and countries. Quite a number of large, well supplied stores provide the agri- cultural population with all needful supplies, and during the busy cotton season this town wears an aspect of thrift and bustle that would be creditable to much larger business places. The enterprise and promptness of her business men are proverbial.

Perhaps no town in the state takes greater pride in her secret organizations than Wood- ville. The Masons have a lodge, a Royal Arch chapter and council, all of which have large membership and are in first-rate financial condition. The Odd Fellows have a lodge and encampment in like excellent standing. This latter order is in a flourishing state financially. The Knights of Honor have a large membership and a flourishing lodge, the order being justly popular here. " The American Legion of Honor is also represented in a lodge num- bering about forty-five members.

The Protestant Episcopal church (St. Paul's) is one of the oldest churches in the town, and has its pulpit regularly supplied. This church has a fine organ and a choice choir. The Catholic congregation of Woodville has an attractive, commodious house of worship, where services are held every fourth Sunday in each month. The Methodists have a large congregation and a handsome church edifice, where they worship every Sunday. The Bap- tist church is likewise a very handsome building. This denomination is also a large one. They have services on the first and third Sundays in each month. The Presbyterian con- gregation worship in a large and comfortable church in the town, and number among their worshipers a goodly list of the old residents of the town and county. The Hebrew popula- tion of Woodville numbers about twenty families, who hold their regular weekly services in the Jewish temple, Beth Israel, which was built in 1878. The congregation wasorganized a few years prior to the construction of the temple. Rabbi Henry Cohen, formerly of Kingston, Jamaica, and London, England, is the spiritual head of the congregation. Besides filling the pulpit at the synagogue here, his labors extend to Bayou Sara, where he has a large Sabbath-school, and to other neighboring localities. There is also a Jewish cemetery here, which was dedicated about twenty years ago.

There is a large public school for whites in Woodville, in a most satisfactory and flour- N

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ishing condition. There is also a public school for colored people in the town. This is perhaps one of the best colored schools in the South. The late Judge Edward McGehee donated, during his life, a handsome sum of money toward the education of the youth of Woodville, which was one of the many generous benefactions bestowed by this big-hearted philanthropist. The donation is represented in a fine building and ample grounds, in the corporate limits of Woodville, and is under the management of the conference of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. Though controlled by the Methodist church the school is in no wise sectarian. The public schools throughout the county are sufficiently numerous to meet the requirements of the school population, and here, as elsewhere in the South, there are ample educational advantages for all.

Woodville has only one direct connection by rail with Bayou Sarah, via the West Feliciana railroad, over which trains leave Woodville at 7 A. M., on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; returning, arrive here at 4:30 the same day. A mail is carried over this route.

There is also a regular hack line (conducted by Mr. G. M. Petty), which connects Woodville with the Mississippi Valley railroad. The hack leaves Woodville every morning at 7:30 o'clock, making close connection with the south-bound train at Centerville, Miss. The hack lays over and connects also with the north-bound train, and, returning, arrives here at 4:30 P. M. This gives Woodville a daily mail from New Orleans, as well as from the North.

The Woodville Republican is the name of the local paper, whose editor and proprietor, Mr. J. S. Lewis, devotes himself assiduously to its publication. The Republican is a hand- some county paper and deserves to be well supported.

The patriotic ladies of Wilkinson county organized themselves into a Confederate mon- umental association, and through their noble efforts, ably seconded by the veterans of the lost cause in the town and county, erected a beautiful monument in a square lot opposite the south side of the courthouse, "In memory of the Confederate soldiers of Wilkinson county-1861 to 1865.". The foregoing inscription appears upon one side of the shaft, near the base, and just above the word "Confederate." Upon another side appears the Confed- erate battle-flag, and just beneath a private soldier wearing the gray, bis musket held at rest. On a third surface is the coat of arms of the Confederate states, and upon the front a Confederate cavalryman, mounted and equipped for battle. Above this figure a second battle-flag is unfurled. The shaft is sixteen feet high and surmounts a mound covered with an evergreen sward. It is a very handsome monument, and the entire work reflects credit upon the dutiful daughters of patriotic old Wilkinson. A suitable iron railing to inclose the monument square completes the work.

Fort Adams was settled by Wilkinson's army in 1798, when the soldiers were in canton- ment until about 1807. Fort Adams was named in 1800, in honor of the president. Pinck- neyville, the original seat of justice, was founded in the first settlement of the territory. It was platted in 1805 by Thomas Dawson, and its plat was recorded in 1806 by James Johnson, clerk.

Jackson academy, incorporated in 1814, was located in what is now John A. Redhead's yard, where the site is still to be seen. The school flourished for a number of years, and afterward the place was known as a stand for physicians. The Wilkinson lodge No. 10, I. O. O. F., was started in 1846. Asylum lodge No. 63 was chartered about the same time.

The Baptist church in Woodville was incorporated in 1824; the Presbyterian church at

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Cold Spring in 1825; St. Paul's Episcopal church in 1825; Consolation church below old Mount Pleasant, in this county, in 1831; Bethel church, at the old camping grounds near Thompson creek, the present site of Bethel church, was first built of logs by Edward McGehee, William James and friends, and was dedicated by Rev. Lewis Hobbs in 1813. Some years after this building was replaced by a frame church, that later by a brick building, which stands as a monument to the honor of Judge Edward McGehee. The Methodists had a church at Pinckneyville some years before this, and another at Loftus Heights. The next oldest church was at Midway, first known as Grave's church, founded by the Bowman family and established about 1815 or 1817 by Mark Moore, afterward moved to Centerville, where there is a flourishing organization with a membership of one hundred. The Presbyterian church of Centerville has a neat frame building and a membership of fifty. The Baptist church at same place numbers about thirty-five members.

In the western part of Wilkinson county, Miss., is a stream running almost due north and south. It runs through an alluvial country and in many places has high banks. With almost every overflow, like the Mississippi river, it changes its current and causes large caving of the banks. For many years these caving banks have brought to light remains, such as bones, tusks and teeth, of some extinct animal, said to be the mastodon. In one instance a tusk was found measuring five feet, from the point, in length, and six inches in diameter at the largest part. Unfortunately this specimen was neglected and gradually crumbled away from the action of the air. If varnished with common copal varnish these specimens may be preserved indefinitely, otherwise they soon crumble and perish. There are in the county many valuable specimens, such as jaw teeth, front teeth, points of tusks and larger bones, which have been treated with varnish and are well preserved. One spec- imen consists of the jawbone with the teeth all in good state of preservation. The negroes gather up these remains after an overflow, and for a consideration bring them to the curi- ous in such matters. The supply seems to be inexhaustible.

Oxford, the seat of justice of Lafayette county, is a flourishing town of two thousand population on the line of the Illinois Central railroad. The city was almost totally destroyed by the Federal army during the war.

The legal bar of Oxford has always ranked high, and in the biographical department of this work will be found sketches of the leading lawyers of the past as well as the present day.

The Bank of Oxford was organized February 1, 1872, with a paid-up capital of $33,333.33, and an authorized capital of $100,000. W. L. Archibald was the first presi- dent, and W. A. West its first cashier.

A. T. Owens is the present president, and Ben Price cashier. It is one of the sound and prosperous banking institutions of the state. Another bank at Oxford is the Merchants & Farmers, which was established in September, 1889, with a capital of $50,000. Charles Roberts was its first and he is its present president, and W. A West is cashier.

Other towns in Lafayette county are Taylor, Springdale and Abbeville.

Scranton, the seat of justice of Jackson county, is a growingly important town of one thousand one hundred and fifty inhabitants, on the Southern border of the county and state on the shore of the Mississippi sound, and on the Louisville & Nashville railroad.

Other towns in this county are East Pascagoula, West Pascagoula and Ocean Springs. The two Pascagoulas depend on Scranton for mail facilities. Ocean Springs, which is noted chiefly for the extensive pecan culture of Col. W. R. Stuart, has a population of five hundred.

Pascagoula lodge No. 202, A. F. & A. M., is situated at Moss Point, and has seventy-

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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 33

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