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 34

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 34

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five members. It was organized at East Pascagoula in 1855. Its charter members were Thomas L. Sumrall, W. M. ; A. E. Lewis, S. W .; W. G. Elder, J. W .; J. E. Sarozin, secretary; Cheri Sarozin, treasurer; W. Griffin, S. D .; Lyman Randall, J. D .; Bernard Gillsley, tyler. The lodge was cordially supported, and grew and prospered till 1862, when the environments of war became too great for it, and in common with nearly all other interests it was compelled to succumb. Nothing is found of its work till it was reorganized in 1866 by H. B. Griffin, senior warden. holding over from 1862, H. L. Houze, a past master of Wilson lodge No. 72, acting as W. M .; J. M. McInnis, J. W .; A. H. Delmas, secretary; H. Krebs, treasurer; W. G. Elder, J. D. ; J. B. Delmas, tyler. After its reorganization the lodge took on its old-time vigor and prosperity, and speedily took high rank among the Masonic insti- tutions of the state. About this time it was removed to Moss Point, where a suitable build- ing awaited it. It soon numbered among its members nearly all the leading citizens of the vicinity, and has for many years impressed itself upon the morals of the community, as well as contributed largely to all charitable enterprises. Its charities reach away up into the

thousands. In each of the yellow-fever epidemics of 1874 and 1878, this lodge dispensed hundreds of dollars indiscriminately to initiated and profane alike. In the Masonic councils of the jurisdiction of Mississippi, Pascagoula lodge No. 202 has not been without her honors. In 1881 one of her past masters, J. W. Morris, was appointed senior grand deacon, and another, M. M. Evans, district deputy grand master, in 1880 and 1881. The same individ- ual was appointed deputy grand master by the lamented Grand Master Patty, in 1884, and was elected junior grand warden in 1886, senior grand warden in 1887, and grand master in 1888; was appointed on the committee of complaints and offenses in 1889 and 1890, and on the committee of law and jurisprudence in 1891. J. K. McLeod, another past master, was appointed on the committee on complaints and offenses in 1886 and 1887. The lodge at this writing is occupying its accustomed position among the lodges in the state, and will doubtless continue to write itself in the history of Free Masonry in Mississippi. Its wor- shipful masters were: Thomas L. Sumrall, two years; A. E. Lewis, five years; W. G. Elder, one year; H. B. Griffin, one year; H. L. Houze, seven years; S. A. McInnis, three years; M. M. Evans, three years; J. K. McLeod, six years; J. W. Morris, one year; T. A. Coulson, two years; W. Watkins, one year; J. H. Rolls, one year; J. W. Stewart, present incumbent. H. L. Houze R. A. chapter No. 108, situated at Moss Point, was organized January 17, 1876. with the following charter members: H. L. Houze, H. P .; D. M. Dunlap, king; Nel- son Wood, scribe; W. H. Rolls, C. of host; J. W. Griffin, P. S .; W. C. Morrow, R. A. C .; George Wood, M of third V. ; D. A. Yates, M. of second V. ; C. W. Calhoun, M. of first V. ; H. C. Horens, treasurer. This chapter was named in honor of its first high priest, a patri- arch in Masonry. One who had devoted much of his life to its service, and who has always loved Masonry for its pure and elevating influence, his life has been an exemplification of Masonic tenets and principles. It was therefore but a just tribute to call the chapter which he did so much to establish and maintain after his name. H. L. Houze chapter No. 108 has contributed its share toward charitable enterprises, always joining with Pascagoula lodge for that purpose. Among the leading members of the grand chapter, she has her representative in the person of J. K. McLeod, one of the past high priests, who was installed grand prin- cipal sojourner in 1887, grand captain of host in 1888, grand scribe in 1889, grand king in 1890 and deputy grand high priest in 1891.

Pride of Moss Point lodge No. 1913, grand united order of Odd Fellows in America, composed exclusively of colored persons, was organized in 1879, with the following as charter members: D. Anderson, C. S. Colland, A. Haskins, B. J. Mayo and W. W. McInyon.

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It now has thirty members, and is devoted to the care of the sick and destitute of its mem- bers. It expends considerable in this direction.

Scranton lodge No. 45, I. O. O. F., was instituted April 5, 1886. Its charter members were W. F. A. Parker, J. H. Rolls, R. P. Blalack, S. J. Armstrong, J. S. Blalack, W. K. Mead and J. W. Mead. It has at present writing eighty members, and is a thrifty and prosperous lodge, embodying most of the prominent citizens of Scranton and vicinity among its members. It annually dispenses large amounts in charity, and is a useful, moral agent. Its members are liberal in its financial views, having built a very imposing edifice for the occupancy of the lodge, with several rooms and halls for rent for offices and other purposes. This building cost upward of $5,000 and is a beauty in architecture. Scranton lodge No. 45, stands in the front rank of Odd Fellows' lodges in the state, and will doubt- less impress itself upon the history of that order.

Gulf lodge No. 2884, Knights of Honor, situated at Moss Point, Miss., was organized June 8, 1881, with the following charter members: W. D. Bragg, W. E. Bingham, A. Blumer, S. J. Bingham, George N. Cook, Burton Goode, W. Fred Herrin, John W. Morris, E. C. Woods and D. A. Yates. It numbers at present seventy-five members, including most of the leading persons of the community. It has always been a useful adjunct to the moral and financial forces of the county, having in its brief existence contributed largely not only to the healthy, moral sentiment of the town and vicinity, but has dispensed to the widows and orphans of its deceased members amounts aggregating $18,000.

Escatawpa lodge No. 3115, Knights of Honor, was organized in 1884 with sixteen charter members. It now has thirty-two. It has paid out $6,000 in benefits.

Gulf lodge U. D., A. F. & A. M., is in process of organization at Scranton, Miss. Its charter members are S. T. Hariland, M. C. Pankey, W. M. Denny, R. D. Smith, J. A. Miller, M. C. Allman, W. A. Chapel, C. P. Bowman and C. H. Alley. They are all well- known gentlemen and will doubtless conduct this new lodge successfully.

Greenwood, the county seat of Leflore county, is located on the left bank of the Yazoo river about three miles below where that river is formed by the confluence of the Yalobusha and Tallahatchie rivers and has a population of one thousand souls. Here also the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley railroad has an incline for the ready transfer of freights from steam- boats, a number of which ply daily carrying on a lucrative business up and down the river from this point. The growth of the town in the past six years has been almost phenom- enal, it having grown in that time from a village of about five hundred inhabitants. Beside a large local trade there are several large wholesale establishments located at Green- wood and a number of cotton buyers and it is a lively business point. It has three churches, Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopal, for the whites, and a large Methodist church for the colored population, besides two public schoolhouses one for each race, also an elegant opera- house and ample lodgerooms for the various secret and benevolent orders. A number of manufacturing companies have been incorporated and facilities will be supplied to handle the immense amount of cotton shipped from this and adjacent points. Here too a packery of beef could find the material necessary for carrying on that business, since a large number of cattle are raised in this and adjoining counties.

South of Greenwood, on the line of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley railroad, is the thriving village of Rising Sun, at which place the railroad taps the Yazoo river, and there is probably the best dirt road in the country leading from there to the hill country on the east.

Ten miles south from Greenwood on the same railroad where it taps the river is the

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town of Sidon, second in size and importance in the county which has kept proportionate pace in improvements with the county seat, and where a number of roadscoming in from the hill country make a desirable trading point where are ample church and school facilities and a live whole-souled people.

Going north from Greenwood ten miles is found the third town of size and importance in the county, Shell Mound, on the right bank of the Tallahatchie river, which is the entre- pot of supplies for a large territory embracing the farms on the MeNutt lake and Quiver river, where is raised the finest staple of cotton in the world. McNutt, situated on a lake of the same name, was once the county seat of old Sunflower county, and while the march of improvement has turned aside from this once thriving inland town, it still boasts of its school and church and is noted for the hospitality of its people.

Emmaville is a pretty village on the right bank of the Tallahatchie. Railway facilities which are promised will cause Red Cross, Shannondale and Minter city, three beautiful little villages on the Tallahatchie river, to develop into towns of some size.

Sheppardtown, ten miles south from Sidon, on the right bank of the Yazoo river, is another thriving village having the rich land of Bear creek from which to draw its trade and still farther down the Yazoo at stated intervals can be found large storehouses where clever merchants do a good business. Between Sidon and Rising Sun, on the right bank of the river, is Roebuck landing, one of the best trading points in the county, where an immense business is done. Going west from there around Roebuck lake, a cutoff of the Yazoo, are to be found several stores, and at Itta Bena, where the line of the Georgia Pacific railroad crosses that lake, quite a village has been built. Fort Loring, where the same railroad crosses the Yazoo river three miles west from Greenwood, has attained importance.

Besides Greenwood, this county has the following towns and villages: Itta Bena, Sidon, Shell Mound, Minter city, Sunnyside, Old McNutt, Rising Sun and Red Cross.

Friar's Point, the seat of justice of Coahoma county, is located on the Mississippi river and on the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad, and has a population of seven hundred and seventy-six. Coahoma county was established February 9, 1836, and its courthouse and public offices have been located at various times at Delta, Port Royal, again at Delta and at Friar's Point, where good county buildings have been erected. Since the construction of the railroads, of which several lines intersect the county, Friar's Point has greatly improved, and is now, with a good hotel, several manufacturing eslablishments and the bank of Friar's Point, Friar's Point Improvement company, and the Friar's Point Building & Loan associa- tion, and many large mercantile houses, one of the busiest towns of its size in any state.

Clarksdale is a new town, having been built up since the advent of the railroad in 1884, but is now the metropolis of the county, with eight hundred. It is a railroad junction of importance, and its site is well chosen, beautiful and advantageous, on high ground above overflow at the head of navigation of Sunflower river. Clarksdale, Coahoma county, has grown up since 1884. Until then its site was occupied by only the store of John Clark, the owner of a plantation including the site. The advent of the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railway, about that time, caused the beginning of the growth of a town which now has a population of eight hundred and is incorporated. Clarksdale lies in the very heart of the great delta region, one hundred and seventy-seven miles from Memphis and three hundred and eighty-three miles from New Orleans. The amount of cotton handled reaches fifteen thousand bales per season, with good prospects for from eighteen thousand to twenty thou-

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sand bales during the present one, based upon the increased acreage and unusually fine crop prospects. Clarksdale has recently been made an interior town by the New York cotton exchange, something unusual for a place of its population. One among the largest and most complete cotton-seed oilmills in the South is located there, and a cotton compress has been built. There are also a large sawmill, public gin and gristmill in Clarksdale, and a substantial banking house, the Clarksdale Bank & Trust company, the successors of the Central City bank, organized in 1888. The civic societies, Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Knights of Honor and others, have flourishing lodges and strong memberships.

About fifty-five years ago the wife of a Choctaw chief gave her name to Attala county, and the settlement known then as Redbud was rechristened after the illustrious Polish hero. Kosciusko, in its early days, must have been a wild place. It was the haunt of robbers and desperadoes of all kinds, but it has undergone a very radical change, so that at present Mississippi knows no more orderly, peaceable or proportionately solid constituency. The county seat of Attala is a cotton town of one thousand six hundred and fifty inhabitants. Kosciusko enjoys the trade of three adjoining counties-Leake, Winston and Neshoba. It also draws a little from Choctaw and Montgomery counties. The country around is almost entirely in the hands of white small farmers, and a large proportion of the colored people own their own lands.

About twelve years ago Kosciusko became a railroad town, and is now one of the most prominent stations on the Canton, Aberdeen & Nashville branch of the Illinois Central rail- road. The coming of the railroad naturally helped to develop the place.

The Yockanowkaney river, one and a half miles from the town, affords a wonderful nat- ural water power, which would be invaluable for mill purposes. Kosciusko would, in fact, be a first-rate location for a mill or factory. Already two wagon factories are in full opera- tion here and are supplying all the home demand. All except the wheel timber is of local growth. Other industries here are a barrel factory, a furniture factory, two sawmills, a gristmill and gin and an extensive flouringmill.

Kosciusko is a well-governed, orderly, breezy little city. It boasts of a cozy little opera house, has good public schools, open ten months in the year, and its churches are eight in number, of which three belong to the colored people. The denominations represented are Presbyterian, Methodist, Cumberland Presbyterian and Baptist. Rev. Dr. J. H. Alexander has been pastor of the Presbyterian church since 1855. The town was named Pekin in 1833, was later called Paris, and since about 1830 has been known as Kosciusko.

Trinity lodge No. 88, A. F. & A. M., Royal Arch chapter No. 20, the local lodge K. & L. of H., and Farmers' Alliance No. 105 are flourishing societies at Kosciusko.

Other towns in this county are Ethel, named in honor of a daughter of Capt. S. B. Mc- Connies; Sallis, named in honor of Dr. James Sallis, and McCool, named in honor of Hon. James F. McCool. The Methodists and Presbyterians have good houses of worship at Sallis.

Quitman, the seat of justice of Clarke county, was named in honor of Gen. John A. Quitman. The land upon which the town is built was owned and laid off into town lots by Gen. John Watts, afterward for many years judge of the circuit court. The population is four hundred and ten.

Enterprise, Miss., lies in the northwestern portion of Clarke county, and has both the Mississippi & Ohio and New Orleans & Northeastern railways to carry its products to all the great markets of the country. It also lies at the junction of Chunkey and Tibbee creeks, which here form the important Chickasawhay river, which in times gone by was navigable

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to the gulf, and from this place alone was wont to transport sixty-five thousand bales of cotton annually.

This place was founded by John J. McRae, afterward governor of the state. Its popula- tion, one thousand one hundred and thirty, and its annual cotton shipment amounts to four thousand bales. It has a number of substantial business houses, a cottonmill, gristmill and gin and the Wanita woolenmills a short distance from the corporation limits. There is also a line of street railway which connects the two depots, furnishing transit between the east and west ends, as the river divides the town. Schools, churches, and civil societies are found here, and as a place of residence it is highly spoken of. An excellent agricultural country surrounds the town, and its trade is largely drawn from adjoining counties, whose people find a good market.

Take the agricultural and timber resources of the county alone and they will, when fully developed, serve to support a place of ten thousand inhabitants, but when to these be added inexhaustible deposits of the richest iron ores, it will rightly be conjectured that Enterprise has a magnificent future before it, and that a second Birmingham will soon be found here.

From the explorations already made, it has been determined that heavy deposits of liminite ores exist in this vicinity, covering an area of country four miles wide by ten long, the trend being from northwest to southeast, and the dip of the strata being about thirty feet to the mile. From the analyses given farther along, it will be observed that being exceedingly rich in quartz, clay and lime, it will require little if any other additional flux; but if it should, there exist in close proximity, great ledges of the finest limestone, which will yield an abundance of flux for centuries. The ore stratum is solid and well defined, and runs in an average depth of twelve and one-half feet, although it often reaches a depth of twenty feet and more. Another peculiarity of this ore is that it is easily mined, and it is loose as a gravel bed almost, and can in many places be mined with a steam shovel. That it is exceedingly rich in iron and is easily reduced, the analyses show and furnace tests will confirm this. It now only remains for some one to erect a blast furnace between the two lines of railway, northeast of the city, right in the heart of the ore beds, where excellent water is abundant, and where charcoal can be made in the great forests surrounding. There is a most excellent site in the locality mentioned that ought, and doubtless will be, utilized for that purpose. But in the event that charcoal should not be found desirable for reduction purposes, it is but a short distance to the Warrior coal fields and great coke arms at and near Birmingham, with a line of road directly to them, or to the Patton mines reached via the Mississippi & Ohio and Grand Pacific railways, either of which could lay the coke down here at rates that would render the smelting at this point profitable. The Alabama Land & Development company has more than one hundred thousand acres of land in Clarke county.

The following analysis of the iron ore found at Enterprise will prove conclusively that the deposits of iron in this section, while inexhaustible, are also of remarkable richness and very easy of reduction, besides containing the requisite flux without the addition of lime- stone. Of a specimen of iron ore received from Mr. L. B. Brown for Dr. Moore, Enterprise: Carbonate of protoxide of iron, 37.5; peroxide of iron, 17.14; sulphuric acid, 1.52; phos- phoric acid, 1.4; carbonate of lime, 5.5; quartz, sand, clay and organic matter, 36. ; metallic iron in ore, 30.12; phosphorous in phosphoric acid, .62; sulphur in sulphuric acid, .61. Extract from a letter from Joseph Albrecht, analytical chemist, New Orleans, accom- panying the above analysis: "The ore contains no manganese and no other deleterious matters except those stated in the analysis; it must be roasted before it can be melted, but it is of easy reduction, wants no addition (in my opinion), as the quartz, clay and lime will form

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the necessary flux or slag required." Report of analysis by Charles Mohr & Son, analytical chemists, Mobile: "The material sent to us has been submitted to chemical analysis with the following results: Volatile matter (moisture and combined water and organic matter), 24.3; oxide of iron, 45.4; other metallic oxides, principally alumina, 7.8; silica (sand), 22.5. The 45.4 per cent. ferric oxide represents 35.58 per cent. metallic iron."

Pontotoc, the seat of justice of Pontotoc county, was long the second town in North Mississippi in population and importance. The location of the land offices for the Chickasaw Indians, it early became a favorite field for commerce and speculation, and was the scene of busines transactions involving goodly amounts for the time. Among its early men of promi- nence were: William Y. Gholson, Charles Fontaine, Thomas J. Word, Judge R. Miller, William and James Davis and others equally well known. In point of intelligence the men and women of Pontotoc have always ranked above the average, and many of them amassed good fortunes and lived lives of leisure, devoted to the pursuit of art, literature and science. The United States court was held here for some years. The town was incorporated in 1837, and now has a population of about one thousand. It is located on the Gulf & Chicago railroad, being the terminus of the Pontotoc & Middleton branch of that system, and is the only place in the county except Cherry Creek (population one hundred and seventy-five) that has railroad facilities. Its business men are enterprising and progressive, and it is the center of a good country trade.

Ripley, the seat of justice of Tippah county, has a population of seven hundred and fifty, which ranks high for refinement, intelligence and enterprise, and is an important station of the Gulf & Chicago railroad. It is the center of a growing trade, and has attracted the attention of manufacturers. Its merchants, lawyers, physicians, and business men generally, are noted for their integrity and their ability. Other towns in Tippah county are, Dumas, Falkner, Brooklyn, Ruckenville, Guyton, Tiplersville, Cotton Plant, Blue Mountain, Lowrey, Silver Springs and Brigaba.

Iuka, the seat of justice of Tishomingo county, has over one thousand inhabitants and is situated on the Memphis & Charleston railroad. One hundred and fifteen miles east of Memphis, six miles from Alabama line, seven miles from the Tennessee river, upon one of the most elevated sections of Mississippi; readily accessible by the Memphis & Charles- ton railroad and its connections. The country around is hilly, and has been termed "The Switzerland of Mississippi." The corporation is one mile square. Every house is sur- rounded by ample grounds of orchard, park and garden. There are five churches, all with active, earnest membership, and a flourishing normal school. Cordial, hospitable, wide- awake, and energetic, the inhabitants of Iuka are pleasant people with whom to cast one's lot. Its people are educated and refined, and its business is flourishing and growing. Other towns in the county are Bay Springs, Cartersville, Eastport and Burnsville.

The site of Yazoo City, the justice seat of Yazoo county, was an Indian reservation, entered by Greenwood Le Fleur in 1827, under the provisions of the treaty of Washington, concluded January 20, 1825, with the Choctaw Indians. Yazoo City was first called Han- non's Bluff and afterward incorporated as Manchester, and subsequently as Yazoo City, the name having been changed about 1845. This town, the gem city of the world-famous Yazoo, Miss., delta country, is situated upon the eastern bank of the Yazoo river. The site is a well-chosen and wonderfully advantageous one, gently sloping back to the bluffs in the rear. A better or prettier site for a city could not have been selected. At its wharves are

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always seen steamboats loading and unloading, while along the levee run the tracks of the Illinois Central railroad, its depot, freight and warehouses presenting an equally busy scene. Along its principal business street are large, substantial brick business houses, fronted with iron, stone and plate glass, presenting a metropolitan appearance, giving the stranger an agreeable impression of its commercial importance. The streets are broad, beautifully graded, macadamized with gravel and well guttered.

Its population is five thousand two hundred and forty-seven, and its growth is steady, it having more than doubled since the close of the war. During the past few years improve- ments have been more rapid and of a much superior nature. Owing to its splendid navi- gation and railroad system it should, and doubtless will, become Mississippi's greatest indus- trial city. Its present industries consist of one large sawmill, a cotton seedmill, containing all the latest improved machinery, a large, first-class compress, a mill and gin, one ice factory and four substantial brick cotton warehouses. There are also brickyards, making an excellent quality of brick, used locally and shipped to other points. Two creameries are in operation, turning out large quantities of fine butter. Two amply capitalized banking houses furnish satisfactory facilities.

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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 34

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