Encyclopedia of Mississippi History Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions and Persons, Vol. II, Part 101

Author: Dunbar Rowland
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Madison, Wis. : S.A. Brant
Number of Pages: 1020

USA > Mississippi > Encyclopedia of Mississippi History Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions and Persons, Vol. II > Part 101

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).

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late 30's and early 40's, the States of Alabama, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee, contributed many settlers of wealth and enterprise to this region of the State, among whom may be mentioned, Rev. Joseph Edwards, Col. John S. Doxey, Berry and John Hodges, Allen and Barton Sloan, Samuel Knowles, William D. Sloan, Vin- cent and John Wages, William Hamilton, Davis Pannel, Dr. Thompson, Ira Kemp, Frank and Alexander Morgan, Dr. H. N. Moss, John Y. and Milas Nesbit, Ezekiel Millsaps, Zack Tate, J. C. and Wiley D. Robbins, Carey Snider, B. C. S. and Dr. Porter McAllister, Dr. M. Wilson, John and Robert McAllister, Rev. Isaac Smith, Eli Cornwell, Benjamin Parker, William Liddell and Rev. James Boswell. (See Lowry & McCardle, History of Mis- sissippi, page 590, for an excellent roll of the early settlers of Union.) In the year 1857 Moses Parker was conducting a school at the old town of Myrtle, two miles south of the present town of Myrtle, on the line of the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham R. R. From an incident of the time, the place was first known as "Candy Hill," but after the War, when a postoffice was established here, it took the name of Myrtle. Hill and Murray, and W. C. and B. F. Whittington were merchants in old Myrtle, and it had an excellent school conducted by Mr. Chosen Myers. The advent of the railroad two miles away caused the removal of the postoffice and business of the old town to the new station of the same name on the railroad. The postoffice and little store on the old site are now known as "Avanelle." The county seat of Union is the thriv- ing town of New Albany above mentioned, situated near the center of the county, on the line of the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City R. R., where it crosses the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham R. R. The town grew from a place of 548 inhabitants in 1890 to one of 1,033 people, according to the census of 1900, and to an estimated population in 1906 of 3,000. It is on what is known as the "Pontotoc Ridge," the highest land in the State, has a rich farming country all about it, with plenty of good springs and water, and is rapidly forging to the front as a business place, and shipping point. Wallerville, (pop. 184), Blue Springs (pop. 198), and Myr- tle, above mentioned (pop. 165), are other prosperous railroad vil- lages in the county. The two lines of road above mentioned pro- vide the region with excellent shipping facilities in every direction. The streams are the Tallahatchie river, which runs through the center of the county, and its tributary creeks the Oconitahatchie, Wilhite, Locks, Lappatubba, and Jones; the head streams of the West Fork of the Tombigbee river take their rise in the eastern part of the county. There are 82,641 acres of improved farm lands and much of the balance is well timbered with white, red and black oak, poplar, hickory, ash, pine, gum, walnut, etc. The soil is loamy with a red clay sub-soil, and produces cotton, corn, wheat, oats, rye, sweet and Irish potatoes, sorghum and various kinds of grasses. All kinds of vegetables, and fruits such as apples, pears, peaches, figs, strawberries, blackberries, dewberries, etc., are grown in abundance. Stock do very well here, alfalfa, cow-peas, and

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Japan clover on the hills and bottoms affording extensive pasturage, and those who have gone into stock raising have found it very profitable. Some lignite (brown coal) has been found, also beds of marl and limestone in some portions of the county. There has been a tremendous growth of manufactures since the data for the U. S. census of 1900 were obtained.

The following statistics, taken from the twelfth census of the United States for 1900, relate to farms, manufactures and popula- tion :- Number of farms 2,895, acreage in farms 218,437, acres improved 82,641, value of land exclusive of buildings $1.051.830, value of buildings $359,400, value of live stock $546,722, total value of products not fed to stock $946,446. Number of manufac- turing establishments 45, capital invested $89,776, wages paid $18,- 860, cost of materials used $63,862, total value of products $131,804. Population in 1900 consisted of whites 12,380, colored 4,142, total 16,522, increase of 916 over the year 1890; in 1906 the population was estimated at 18,000. Land values in the last 5 years have in- creased fully 200 per cent. Artesian water has been found in various parts of the county. It will be noted that the capital in- vested in manufactures in 1900 was only $89,776, but in 1906 a conservative estimate places the capital invested in the county at fully $600,000. The total assessed valuation of real and personal property in Union county in 1905 was $2,084,346 and in 1906 it was $2,688,900, which shows an increase of $604,554 during the year.

Uniontown, an extinct town in Jefferson county situated on the south side of Cole's creek, and the next station above Selsertown on the old Natchez Trace. It was a place of importance in the early history of Jefferson county and platted into streets. Col. John A. Watkins, of New Orleans describes its business life in the following terms: "At Union Town, Shackleford established an extensive tannery, and had branches at the old Cable place and at Mrs. Wallace's. Ellis had a public gin, as few at that day were able to run one for private use. Farley made all the hats. We killed coons and took the skins to him, and in return got a hat. Jake Warner made boots at Uniontown, Pintard was cabinet-maker, McMurchy made wagons, plows, etc., and old Getzendmar made bull-whips. Weaving was extensively carried on, but it was done by hand. Greenleaf, about 1197, established a cotton-gin factory, and that, the first gin ever used in Mississippi, was made by a negro."

See Publications Miss. His. Soc., Vol .. V., pp. 344-345. Good- speed's Biog. and His. Mem. of Miss. Vol. I, p. 176.

United Confederate Veterans. As soon as the South began to re- cover from the effects of the war local associations of Confederate veterans were organized in different regions. There was a notable reunion of Confederate veterans at New Orleans February 13, 1888, at which Generals S. D. Lee, J. R. Chalmers and Wirt Adams were among the representatives of Mississippi. An organization was formed of the Confederate States Cavalry, with Gen. S. D. Lee as president, and vice presidents for the various States, among

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whom were George Moorman for Louisiana, Wirt Adams for Mis- sissippi, Joseph Wheeler for Alabama, W. H. Jackson for Tennes- see, Fitzhugh Lee for Virginia, Wade Hampton for South Carolina. General Adams was chairman of the committee that reported the plan of organization. June 10, 1889 a convention was held at New Orleans to form a federation of Confederate associations. The Adams county Mississippi Veteran association was represented at this convention by L. D. Aldrich and E. L. Hopkins. This con- vention organized the United Confederate Veterans, and elected Gen. John B. Gordon commander-in-chief. As a State federation the grand camp of Confederate Veterans was organized at Aber- deen, October 15, 1889. Gen. E. C. Walthall was elected grand commander; Gen. W. S. Featherston, and three lieutenant grand commanders, Gen. S. D. Lee, Gen. Will T. Martin. The staff officers were Maj. E. T. Sykes, adjutant-general ; Maj. L. W. Ma- gruder and Capt. T. C. Carter, aides-de-camp. The State organiza- tion began with three local organizations. Gen. Walthall was suc- ceeded in command, October 15, 1890, by Gen. W. S. Featherston, who served until his death May 28, 1891.

The first general reunion of the United Confederate Veterans was held at Chattanooga, Tenn., July 3-5, 1890, and the second at Jackson, Miss., June 2, 1891. At this reunion Mississippi was rep- resented by ten camps, the number being much larger than any . other State except Louisiana, which was represented by the same number. The meeting was in the hall of the house of representa- tives of the old capitol, and was opened with prayer by Rev. H. F. Sproles. The address of welcome by Gov. John M. Stone was responded to by Gen. John B. Gordon, commander-in-chief. At this reunion Col. George Moorman, of New Orleans, was the ad- jutant-general and chief of staff, having been appointed to that position by Gen. Gordon, July 23, 1891. Gen. Moorman had com- manded a body of Mississippi cavalry during the war. As adjutant- general and chief of staff he worked with zeal and energy for many years, and much of the success of the organization is due to his efforts. At this reunion the principal event was the perfecting of the constitution. Resolutions were adopted in memory of Gens. W. S. Featherston and Joseph E. Johnston, and a committee was appointed to confer with Mrs. Jefferson Davis in regard to the lo- cation of a monument to the president of the Confederacy.

The Mississippi division has been well represented, and its mem- bers have played a prominent part in all the general reunions. The third of these was at New Orleans, April 8-9, 1892, when the re- port showed 188 camps in the organization ; the fourth at Birming- ham, April 25-26, 1894, where Gen. Stephen D. Lee was elected deputy commander of the army of Tennesse, and was also memo- rial orator ; the fifth at Houston, Texas, May 20-24, 1895. At this reunion Gen. Stephen D. Lee was chairman of the committee on resolutions, and the constitution adopted at the Jackson reunion took the place of the one adopted at Birmingham. The introduc- tion of Winnie Davis caused great enthusiasm. The sixth reunion

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was at Richmond, when there were 856 camps representing every Southern State. Gen. Stephen D. Lee delivered the oration at the laying of the cornerstone of the Jefferson Davis monument. The seventh reunion was at Nashville, June 22-24, 1897, where the gen- eral body was divided into three departments, with Gen. Stephen D. Lee commanding the army of Tennessee. At the eighth re- union, Atlanta, July 20-23, 1898, Col. Chas. E. Hooker, of Missis- sippi, delivered the annual oration. This was the last reunion at- tended by Winnie Davis. At the ninth reunion, at Charleston, May 10-13, 1899, there were memorial exercises in her honor. At this reunion Gen. Moorman's report showed 1,209 camps, a num- ber of them being in the North. At the tenth reunion, Louisville, May 30-June 3, 1900, Gov. Robert Lowry and Col. Chas. E. Hooker were conspicuous figures. The surviving members of Jefferson Davis' family attended, and his granddaughter, Miss Varina How- ell Davis Hayes, was sponsor for the South. At the eleventh re- union, Memphis, May 28-30, 1901, Mississippi had 70 camps repre- sented, more than any other State except Texas. Of the 2,309 delegates, she sent 233. The twelfth reunion was held at Dallas, April 23-25, 1902. At this meeting Mississippi had 57 camps rep- resented and Private John Allen was one of the chief orators. The thirteenth reunion was at New Orleans, May 19-21, 1903. At this meeting Mississippi had 207 delegates representing 107 camps.

The fourteenth reunion was held at Nashville, June 14-16, 1904. Gen. Mickle's report showed 1,575 camps and a membership of about 75,000. The 1905 reunion of the veterans was at Louisville, Ky., June 14-16, 1905, when the report showed 1,600 camps. The reunion of 1906 was held at New Orleans.

At the Jackson reunion, June 2, 1891, the Grand Camp of Con- federate Veterans, and all the other local organizations of Veterans in the State were united in the Mississippi Division, U. C. V. Gov. J. M. Stone was chosen major-general commanding. The succeeding commanding generals have been as follows in the order named: W. D. Holder, John A. Webb, Robert Lowry, W. D. Holder, D. A. Campbell W. D. Cameron, Robert Lowry, B. V. White, W. D. Cameron, Robert Lowry, the present incumbent, who has held the position for several years. The next meeting of the Mississippi division, after the Jackson reunion, was at Meridian. After that, the meetings were held at the time and place of the gen- eral reunion, until 1899, when the division met at Vicksburg. Other meetings have been at Meridian, 1900; Hattiesburg, 1902; Jackson, 1903. The present commander of the army of Tennessee depart- ment is Lieut .- Gen. Clement A. Evans, Atlanta; the adjutant-gen- eral is Gen. E. T. Sykes, Columbus, Miss. The present comman- der-in-chief of the United Confederate Veterans is Gen. Stephen D. Lee, who succeeded Gen. John B. Gordon. The adjutant-gen- eral and chief of staff is Wm. E. Mickle.

The purposes of the U. C. V. organization are stated to be "strictly social, literary, historical and benevolent, and its labors shall be directed to cultivating the ties of friendship between all

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the survivors of the armies and navics of the late Confederate States ; to keep fresh the memories of our comrades, who gave up their lives for the lost cause, in battle or in other fields of service, or who have died since the war; to the perpetuation of the records of their deeds of heroism by the collection and disposition in the manner they judge best, of all materials of value for future histo- rians; to the aiding and relieving to the extent of its ability all members, their widows and orphans, in extreme cases of sickness and want, and to provide homes for them when necessary."

United Daughters of the Confederacy. This organization was formed at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 10, 1894, and is composed of the widows, wives, mothers, sisters and lineal female descendents of men who served honorably in the armies and navies of the Confed- erate States, or who served in the civil service of the Confederate States or one of the Southern States, or who gave personal services to the Confederate cause. It is made up of local federations, gov- erned by State divisions, which are in turn subordinate to the general organization. The constitution of the Society states its objects to be "social, literary, historical, monumental, benevolent, and honorable in every degree, without any political signification whatever." It will endeavor (1) "To unite in the federation all bodies of Southern women now organized or that may hereafter be formed; (2) to cultivate ties of friendship among our women whose fathers, sons, and, in numberless cases, mothers, shared common dangers, sufferings, and privations, and to perpetuate honor, integrity, valor, and other noble attributes of true Southern character ; (3) to instruct and instill into the descendents of the people of the South a proper respect for and pride in the glorious war history, with a veneration and love for the deeds of their fore- fathers which have created such a monument of military renown, and to perpetuate a truthful record of the noble and chivalric achievements of their ancestors. All with the view of furnishing authentic information from which a conscientious historian will be enabled to write a correct and impartial history of the Con- federate side during the struggle for Southern independence."

The present membership of the organization is 35,890, embracing 746 chapters, South and North. Its present officers are: presi- dent, Mrs. Lizzie George Henderson of Greenwood, Miss .; 1st vice-president, Mrs. Alfred Hunter Vorhees of San Francisco, Cal .; 2d vice-president, Mrs. D. A. S. Vaught of New Orleans, La .; recording secretary, Mrs. John P. Hickman of Nashville, Tenn .; corresponding secretary, Mrs. Annie W. Rapley of St. Louis, Mo .; treasurer, Mrs. James Y. Leigh of Norfolk, Va .; honorary presi- dents for life, Mrs. M. C. Goodlett of Nashville, Tenn .; Mrs. Clem- ent C. Clopton of Alabama ; Mrs. Albert Sydney Johnston Pritch- ard of California ; Mrs. Stonewall Jackson of Charlotte, N. C.

The State organization known as the Mississippi Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy was organized at Meridian by Mrs. Albert Weems, April 27, 1897. It represented five chap- ters: the Columbus chapter; the Ben G. Humphreys chapter, of

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Greenville ; the Okolona chapter; the Vicksburg chapter; and the Winnie Davis Chapter, of Meridian, the first chapter organized in the State. The Division was organized with a total membership of 303. The objects of the organization, as stated in the constitu- tion, are: "Educational, literary, social and benevolent ; to collect and preserve the material for a true history of the war; to honor the memory of those who served and those who fell in defense of the Confederacy; to record the patient endurance and patriotic devotion of Southern women in the war and in reconstruction ; to care for the survivors and those dependent upon them. Mrs. Annie Wright Duncan, of Vicksburg, was the first president of the or- ganization, and the other presidents have been, in the order named : Mrs. Lizzie George Henderson, of Greenwood; Mrs. Pinkie Mor- rison Moody, of Grenada; Mrs. John D. McInnis, of Meridian; Mrs. Helen D. Bell, of Jackson; and Mrs. Lilly McDowell, of Holly Springs, the present incumbent.

This division has been very active and enthusiastic in its work. It played a prominent part in having the cornerstone of the new capitol laid on Jefferson Davis' birthday, and in making that day a State holiday. It has erected most of the Confederate monuments on the soil of Mississippi ; placed hundreds of headstones at the graves of Confederate dead; fenced in, sodded and beautified plots where soldiers were buried, in some instances purchasing the ground ; assisted in building many Confederate monuments in other States; raised a part of the money for the Jefferson Davis monu- ment at Richmond, and contributed to the Rouss Battle Abbey fund. When Beauvoir was purchased for a Home for Confederate veterans, it repaired and maintained it from December 1903 to March 1904 when an appropriation was made by the Legislature. It also built annexes to the Home for Confederate veterans and their wives and widows. The J. Z. George Chapter of Green- wood pays the expenses of a girl each year at the industrial In- stitute and College at Columbus; and the W. D. Holder Chapter of Jackson, through the initiative of Mrs. Dunbar Rowland, with the assistance of the State Division, presented to the Department of Archives and History the magnificent oil portrait of Jefferson Davis which hangs in the Hall of Fame.

The last meeting of this organization was held at Macon, May 1905. The total number of Chapters represented was 65, with a membership of 2,347. Mrs. Lizzie George Henderson, at the last general convention held at Los Angeles, Cal., was made president, and Mrs. Annie Wright Duncan, of Mississippi, was at one time corresponding secretary.

United Sons of Confederate Veterans. In 1889 or 1890 R. K. Jayne organized a camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans at Leake, Miss., which is believed to be the first organization of this kind in the South. Mr. Jayne was elected commander of this camp, and Prof. J. C. Hardy, now of the A. & M. College was afterwards president. The next camp in the State was the Jeffer- son Davis Camp, at Jackson, in the spring of 1891. This was also

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organized by R. K. Jayne, who was elected commander. It took part in the unveiling of the Confederate monument at Jackson that year, marching in the procession with a Confederate and a United States flag side by side. In 1902 the representatives of the local organization met at Meridian and organized the State Division of United Sons of Confederate Veterans. It was at this meeting that a movement was started to establish the Beauvoir Confederate Home. (q. v.) The organization has grown to be a very strong one. The chief aim is to take up and carry forward the work of the Veterans. Its present officers are : O. L. Mckay, commander, and T. M. Henry, adjutant. The first commander was A. G. Daniel, of Yazoo City.

United States Constitution, Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments, see Reconstruction.

United States Courts. (See Judiciary, Territorial.) The estab- lishment of a Federal court in the Mississippi Territory was pro- posed in congress in 1807-8, against which the Mississippi house of representatives protested, because it would allow non-resident British claimants of land to bring suit to enforce their grants, and appeal to the United States supreme court, which might cause "great inconvenience and utter ruin." At the session of congress in which a resolution was adopted admitting the State of Missis- sippi to the Union, Delegate Poindexter moved that the judiciary committee be instructed to inquire into the expediency of making provision for the due execution of the laws of the United States within the new State. The committee reported a bill, which was recommitted and reported again without amendment and passed. Passing the senate also, it was approved April 3, 1818. This act provided, "That all the laws of the United States, which are not locally inapplicable, shall have the same force and effect within the said State of Mississippi as elsewhere in the United States. That the said State shall be one district, and be called the Mississippi district. And a district court shall be held therein, to consist of one judge, who shall reside in the said district, and be called a district judge." He was required to hold two sessions annually at the seat of government, and given the jurisdiction and powers defined under the original legislation for the western States, in the case of Kentucky. Provision was made for the appointment of a clerk, marshal and attorney of the United States. The judge was to receive a salary of $2,000, the clerk fees, and the marshal and attorney $200 a year in addition to fees. The Federal court was held at Natchez, until after the act of March 3, 1835, requiring its removal to Jackson. The act of June 18, 1838, dividing the State into two districts-the Northern, with Pontotoc as the seat of the court, and the Southern, sessions to be at Jackson. May 16, 1866, an act was passed changing the seat of the Northern district to Ox- ford. The Eastern division of the Northern district, court to be held at Aberdeen, was created by act of June 15, 1882 ; the Western division of the Southern district, court at Vicksburg, was created February 28, 1887; the Southern division of the Southern district,

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court at Mississippi city, was created April 4, 1888; the Eastern division of the Southern district, court at Meridian, July 18, 1894.

The first judge of the Federal court was William Bayard Shields, already a citizen of Mississippi, and there have never been any exceptions to the appointment of citizens of the State. Shields was commissioned April 20, 1818, and served until his death in 1823. Peter Randolph, a citizen of Wilkinson county, recently from Virginia, was commissioned temporarily June 25, 1823, and permanently December 9, 1823. Powhatan Ellis resigned his seat in the United States senate to accept a commission dated July 14, 1832, to succeed Randolph. He resigned to enter the diplomatic service, and was succeeded by George Adams, commissioned Jan- uary 20, 1836. Samuel J. Gholson, the next Federal judge, served from his commission February 13, 1839, until the secession of the State. Alexander M. Clayton was appointed by President Davis judge of the corresponding court under the Confederate States government, 1861-65. Robert Andrew Hill was commissioned by President Johnson May 1, 1866, resigned August 1, 1891, and was succeeded by Henry C. Niles. During Governor Lowry's adminis- tration and up to the present time, there has been an agitation for the re-arrangements of Federal districts in Mississippi, and the appointment of an additional judge, but so far congress has not seen fit to make the change.

The list of district attorneys with dates of commission, is as follows: Bela Metcalfe, April 20, 1818; William B. Griffith, March 13, 1822; Felix Huston, January 9, 1828; George Adams, March 3, 1830; Richard M. Gaines, January 20, 1836. These were for the district comprising the entire State. After the division into two districts, as follows: Northern District: Samuel F. Butterworth, June 25, 1838; Oscar F. Bledsoe, January 13, 1841; Andrew K. Blythe, December 18, 1848; Woodson L. Ligon, August 27. 1850; Nathaniel S. Price, April 1, 1853 ; Jehu A. Orr, May 31, 1854; Fla- vius J. Lovejoy, March 12, 1857. Since 1865-J. H. Viser, James E. Stewart, Edwin Hill, G. Willey Wells, Henry B. Whitfield, Thomas J. Walton, Green C. Chandler, Charles B. Howry, Henry C. Niles, H. A. Montgomery, Andrew Fuller Fox, Chapman L. Anderson, M. A. Montgomery, W. D. Frazee.

Southern District: Richard M. Gaines, July 9, 1840; Horatio J. Harris, August 10, 1840; Carnot Posey, November 4, 1859. Since 1865 -- R. Leachman, G. Gordon Adam, E. Philip Jacobson, Felix Branigan, William W. Dedrick, Luke Lea, J. Bowmar Harris, A. H. Longino, Albert M. Lea, Robert Charles Lee.

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Encyclopedia of Mississippi History Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions and Persons, Vol. II, Part 101

Author: Dunbar Rowland Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Madison, Wis. : S.A. Brant Number of Pages: 1020

Author: Dunbar Rowland
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Madison, Wis. : S.A. Brant
Number of Pages: 1020