Encyclopedia of Mississippi History Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions and Persons, Vol. II, Part 15

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 15

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).

Prefect Laussat was visited at New Orleans November 23 by Gen. Wilkinson, on his way from Pensacola to meet Gov. Claiborne at Fort Adams, and just as the general was being ushered out, an officer delivered the instructions of Napoleon for taking posses- sion of Louisiana and delivering it to the United States. Laussat took possession for France November 30. The Spanish garrison having departed, Daniel Clark organized a battalion of Ameri- cans and French creoles, about 300 in all, to maintain order in the interim. Among these were Col. Reuben Kemper, George Mar-

Digitized by Google

132

MISSISSIPPI

tin, George King, George Newman, Benjamin Morgan, Dr. Will- iam Flood and Woodson Wren, the latter afterward a postmaster and court clerk at Natchez.

At Natchez, December 1. Claiborne was able to embark for Fort Adams a company of the Natchez artillery, another of riflemen, and a company of militia infantry, in all about a hundred men, upon the schooner Bilboa, which he found on the opposite side of the river and impressed as a transport. He followed by land next day. Then followed a long delay at the fort. The boats for the expedition were not yet completed. On December 8 he wrote: "An embarkation is talked of on tomorrow, but so many prepara- tory arrangements yet remain to be performed, that I fear much longer delay. Our militia were mustered this morning and amount to about two hundred." The regular troops numbered about 250.

"On the 17th of December, the two American commissioners encamped within two miles of New Orleans." After communi- cating with Laussat, they visited his house, "with an escort of thirty of the Mississippi horse volunteers, and, on their approach, were saluted with nineteen guns." Laussat, with an escort, re- turned the call. Dec. 20. the American troops marched into the walled city, through the gate, greeted by a salute of 21 guns, and formed upon the plaza (now Jackson square) facing the Louisiana militia. At the city hall there was the formal reading and ex- change of documents, after which Laussat proclaimed the transfer of the province and handed the keys of the city to the governor of Mississippi, who then arose and spoke, welcoming the inhabi- tants upon their future participation in the rights of American citizens. The French tricolor dropped, the stars and stripes went up, the signal gun boomed, and the roar of cannon sounded from the batteries and boats, in which joyous tumult the Natchez artil- lery and their brass field piece had due participation.

Monette says (II, 354) the governor's "military escort consisted of a company of volunteer cavalry, under the command of Capt. Benjamin Farrar, the first troop ever formed in the territory, and one which for many years afterward maintained an elevated char- acter for patriotism and chivalrous bearing."

Tennessee troops arrived in time. perhaps, to join the expedi- tion, though they had not arrived at the date of Claiborne's last letters from Fort Adams. It is certain that Col. Doherty's Ten- nessee regiment of mounted infantry spent the month of January at Natchez and vicinity. Some of them were in hospital at Fort Dearborn under the care of Dr. John W. Tulloch.

Until January. 1804. the Spanish flag still waved at Concord, across the river from Natchez. Maj. F. L. Claiborne wrote Jan- uary 10: "On Thursday. ten o'clock, Concord will be taken pos- session of. If Colonel West will honor us with his company on the occasion, it will be gratifying."

Louisville, the county seat of Winston county, is an incorporated post-town on the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City R. R., about 46

Digitized by Google

133

MISSISSIPPI

miles southwest of Columbus, and 95 miles northeast of Jackson. It was named in honor of Colonel Louis Winston, an early settler. The new extension of the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City R. R.,, has recently been completed from Mobile to Middleton, Tenn., so that the old town is now provided with good shipping facilities. The region about it is devoted to farming and stock raising. Louisville has a court house, a State Normal School, four hotels, and the fol- lowing church buildings: Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Cum- berland Presbyterian and Catholic. Among its important industries are two cotton gins, a saw mill, a spoke factory, and two brick man- ufacturing plants. The Winston County Journal, a Democratic weekly, was established here in 1892. The Bank of Louisville was established in 1903; it is a branch of the Grenada Bank, one of the strongest financial institutions in the State. The following fraternal orders have lodges here : Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World. The population of Louisville in 1900 was 505 ; in 1906 it was estimated at 1,200.

Love Station, a small village in the southern part of De Soto county, on the line of the Illinois Central R. R. It is situated about 5 miles south of the county seat, Hernando, and has a population of 131. In the early days of the county, Dr. W. R. Love was a prominent physician and planter of the locality. A money order postoffice is maintained here.

Love, William Franklin, was born March 29, 1852, in Amite county, Mississippi, near Liberty. He was educated at the Uni- versity of Mississippi, and was a planter by profession. He was elected to the legislature for ten years, and to the State senate for eight years. He was a delegate to the Constitutional convention in 1890, and in 1896 was elected to the 55th congress. He died in office, October 16, 1898.

Lovell, William S., was born at Washington, D. C., November, 1829, son of Dr. Joseph Lovell, surgeon-general of the United States army. After the death of his parents in 1836 he resided with an aunt in New York, and in 1845 was matriculated at Will- iams college, Mass., which he left to enter the United States navy. He was on duty off the coast of Africa in 1848, and in 1850 sailed as second officer of the brig Advance, in the Grinnell expedition in search of Sir John Franklin. His ship was frozen in the ice for 260 days. He passed the examinations at Annapolis in 1853, and after a South American cruise, sailed in 1855 again for the arctic regions as master and executive officer in the successful search for Dr. Kane. He received for this service medals from Queen Victoria and was promoted to lieutenant. In June, 1858, he married Antonia, daughter of Gen. John A. Quitman, of Nat- chez, and in the following year resigned his commission and en- gaged in planting with his brother, Joseph Lovell, afterward a Confederate general. In 1860 he organized at Natchez the Quit- man Light Artillery, with which he went to Pensacola as captain, in the spring of 1861. There he was made chief of harbor police, and soon promoted to major and ordered to New Orleans, where

Digitized by Google

134

MISSISSIPPI

he became lieutenant-colonel of the 22d Louisiana regiment, and had charge of arming the river defense vessels, on the staff of his brother. After the fall of New Orleans he was inspector-general on the staff of Gen. Pemberton, with headquarters at Vicksburg. In 1864 he ran the blockade at Wilmington, N. C., to take command of a blockade runner, and was at London for this purpose when the war closed. Returning to Natchez he resumed the work of planting and after the death of his brother in 1869, was one of the greatest planters in the South.

Low, a post-hamlet in the southwestern part of Smith county, 12 miles distant from Raleigh, the county seat. It is a station on the Laurel branch of the Gulf & Ship Island R. R., 8 miles north of Mt. Olive, the nearest banking town. Population in 1900, 45.

Lowndes County was erected January 30, 1830, and was named for William Jones Lowndes, member of Congress for South Caro- lina. The county has a land surface of 504 square miles. It was originally the southern part of Monroe county and embraced within its area a part of the present county of Clay. The act creating the county defined its boundaries as follows: "All that portion of Monroe county lying south of a line commencing at a point on the State of Alabama, where a line running due east from Robinson's bluff, on the Buttahatchie river, would strike the state line of Alabama; thence from said point, due west, to said Robinson's bluff ; thence down the said river to its mouth; thence west, to the western boundary line of the county of Monroe, as designated by the act of 1829, extending process into the territory occupied by the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes of Indians, shall form a new county, etc." December 6, 1831, its limits were extended "to commence on the State line of Alabama, at the house of William Lucas, and to run from thence in a northwest direction, so as to cross the Robert- son road, at a place on said Robertson's road, known by the name of Wilson's stand, so as to include said Wilson's stand; and from thence on a direct line from the place of beginning until said line strikes the Natchez trace; and from thence north, along the said Natchez trace to the northern boundary line of said county of Lowndes." And again Dec. 23, 1833, it was extended to include "all the territory south of a line, running from the junction of the But- tahatchie river, with the Tombigbee river, to the northeast corner of Oktibbeha county, and east of and between Oktibbeha county and the Tombigbee river, and north of Noxubee county." Finally in 1871, its northern and western limits were modified, when some of its area was taken to form part of the county of Clay (q. v.).

The first County Court convened at Columbus, April 12, 1830, and consisted of Thomas Sampson, President, and Micajah Brooks, Samuel B. Morgan, Associates. Other county officials the same year were R. D. Haden, County Clerk; Nimrod Davis, Sheriff ; John H. Morris, Assessor and Collector: O. P. Brown, County Treasurer, and William L. Moore, County Surveyor.

Lowndes county has long been known as one of the most pros- perous and wealthy sections of the State. As early as 1817, some

Digitized by Google

135

MISSISSIPPI

scattered settlements were made in this region, and in 1818 Dr. Gideon Lincecum built the first house on the present site of Colum- bus. His autobiography contains the following reference to this incident : "We made preparation to set out (from Tuscaloosa, Ala.) on November 1, 1818. In the afternoon of the twelfth day we reached the Tombigbee river, three miles above where Columbus now stands, and there I made my camp. Father went two hundred yards below and pitched his tent. As soon as I got my house done, I went over the river to see the Choctaws. After the road was made by the government from Nashville to Natchez, which crossed the river where Columbus now stands, I went down there to see what kind of a place it was. I thought it was an eligible town site. I was so fully impressed with this belief, that I went home and rived a thousand boards, put them on a raft and floated them down the river with the intention of building a snug little house on a nice place I had selected. I was not the only person that had noticed the eligibility of that locality, for when I got down to the place, a man named Coldwell was about landing a keel-boat. He was from Tuscaloosa (Ala.) and had a cargo of Indian goods which he cal- culated on opening on that bluff as soon as he could build a house to put them in. I proposed to sell him my boards and he in turn proposed to sell me his goods. After some parleying, I took the goods, hired his boat hands and went to work, and in three days had knocked up a pretty good shanty. We soon got the goods into it and commenced opening boxes and taking stock; but the Indians heard of the arrival and flocked in by hundreds. I began selling whiskey and such goods as we had marked, and this prevented us from work in the day time. Having only night time to work on the invoice, it took ten days to get through, but I had sold enough to pay the first installment and Coldwell went home highly pleased. I bartered with the Indians for every kind of produce, consisting of cowhides, deer skins, all kinds of furs, skins, buck horns, cow horns, peas, beans, peanuts, pecans, hickory nuts, honey, beeswax, blow- guns, etc. Every article brought cash at 100 per cent. on cost. I made frequent trips to Mobile for sugar, coffee and whiskey, staple articles in the Indian trade, but all my drygoods came from the house of Dallas and Wilcox, Philadelphia."

That portion of the county lying east of the Tombigbee river is older historically by fourteen years than the western part, as the former came under territorial control by the Choctaw cession of 1816, while the western part was not acquired until the Choctaw cession of 1830. The first white man to reside permanently upon the soil of what is now Lowndes county, was Major John Pitchlyn, (q. v.) the son of an English army officer, who was reared from boy- hood among the Choctaws, and was in after life the sworn inter- preter of the United States in various treaties and dealings with the Choctaws.

The following is a list of the pioneer settlers on the east side of the Tombigbee, as compiled by William A. Love, in his interest- ing sketch of Lowndes county: Settlers in 1817, John Halbert,

Digitized by Google

136

MISSISSIPPI

Silas McBee, Benjamin Hewson ; 1818, Thomas Cummings, William Butler, Peter Nail, William H. Craven, Newton Beckwith, John McGowan, Westley Ross, A. Cook, James Brownlee, John Port- wood, Thomas Kincaid, Ezekiel Nash, Wm. Weaver, Thomas Cooper, Cincinnatus Cooper, Conrad Hackleman, David Alsop, Spirus Roach, Thomas O. Sampson, Hezekiah Lincecum, Gideon Lincecum ; 1819, Robert D. Haden, Ovid P. Brown, Richard Barry, Dr. B. C. Barry, Martin Sims, Bartlet Sims, William Cocke, Thomas Townsend, William L. Moore, Wm. Ellis, Wm. Leech, John Egger.

In the extreme southwestern part of the county was an old postoffice known as Dailey's Cross Roads for its postmaster John A. Dailey. Another old postoffice that antedated the building of the railways, was Prairie Hill, in the west central part of the county. The early settlements at Plymouth, West Port, Nashville and Moore's Bluff, are now all extinct, but were important trading points on the Tombigbee river in the early history of the county. (See sketches of above towns under separate titles.) These early settlers were attracted from the older states by the richness of the county, its contiguity to a fine navigable stream, its mild climate ard the fact that the "Military Road," from New Orleans to Nash- ville, opened by U. S. troops 1817-1820, offered ready means of access to the region. A little later, when the Indian lands were offered for sale, settlers came in rapidly, and as early as 1837, the county had a population of 5,495 whites and 7.362 slaves. Columbus was an incorporated town in 1822 and by 1837 had a population of about 3,500 and was the center of a thriving trade for all the sur- rounding region. It is the county seat and is a thriving place of 12,000 inhabitants, located on the east bank of the Tombigbee river, at the junction of the Mobile & Ohio, and the Southern railways, giving it excellent shipping connections north, south, east and west. It is an unusually attractive city and the home of much wealth and culture. It is one of the largest manufacturing centers in the northern part of the State, being grouped with Corinth, Biloxi and Scranton by the returns of the last census. Besides its industrial enterprises, it is the seat of one of Mississippi's most noteworthy schools-The Industrial Institute and College. (q. v.) founded in 1884. This Institution possesses a noble group of buildings and has been highly successful in carrying out the purposes of its founders, the in- dustrial and collegiate training of young women. Over 5,000 young women have received its instruction and over :00 are now entered on its roll of attendance. Some of the more important villages in the county are Artesia (pop. 343), Crawford (pop. 389), Caledonia, Mayhews Station, and Penn. The Mobile & Ohio R. R. crosses the county in two directions and the Southern Ry. runs from north- east to southwest until it reaches Columbus, then northwest to Westpoint. The Tombigbee river flows through the county and is navigable to Columbus, and, with its numerous tributaries, gives the county plenty of water advantages. About one-half of the county lies west of the Tombigbee river in the black prairie belt. a gently undulating, rich region, well timbered and producing good

Digitized by Google

137

MISSISSIPPI

crops of cotton, corn, oats, sorghum, wheat, clover, grasses and all kinds of fruits and vegetables. The region east of the Tombigbee is not so rich, the soil being light and sandy and somewhat hilly, but capable of making a fine grade of cotton. A good deal of attention is paid to raising live stock and the industry is a profitable one. The live stock of the region was valued at nearly $?00,000 in 1900. Churches and excellent schools abound throughout the county and the climate is mild and healthful.

The following statistics, taken from the twelfth United States census for 1900, will be found instructive and shows the develop- ment of the county in agriculture, manufactures and population at that date: Number of farms 3,46%, acreage in farms 242,942, acres improved 150,057, value of the land exclusive of the buildings $2.280,260, value of the buildings $:03,940, value of live stock $682.598, total value of products not fed to stock $1,486,173.

Number of manufacturing establishments 103, capital $684,696, wages paid $145,133, cost of materials $404,228, total value of products $806,680.

The population in 1900 consisted of 7,121 whites, 21,974 colored, a total of 29,095 and an increase of 2,048 over the year 1890. The population in 1906 was estimated at 35,000. Manufacturing has greatly increased in the last five years, there being no less than $300.000 worth of new investments in Columbus alone. Artesian water has been found in various parts of the county. The public highways are improved and maintained by direct taxation. The total assessed valuation of real and personal property in Lowndes county in 1905 was $4,615,390 and in 1906 it was $5,341,632, showing an increase during the year of $666,242.

Lowrey, Mark P., was born in McNairy county, Tenn., Decem- ber 29. 1828, and was reared in poverty, having lost his father in early childhood. Toward the close of the war with Mexico he went with a Mississippi company to that country, and on his re- turn he learned the craft of a brickmason. At the age of 21 he married Sarah R. Holmes, of Tishomingo county, Miss. Three years later he entered the ministry of the Baptist church, and in 1860 he was the pastor at Kossuth. Under the call for troops in the spring of 1861 he raised a company there, which was assigned to the 32d regiment of which he was elected colonel, and commis- sioned April 3. At the battle of Perryville, Ky., he commanded Wood's brigade, and received a painful wound in the left arm. At the battle of Chickamauga he again commanded the brigade, and his conduct impelled Gen. Cleburne, the division commander, to call him the bravest man in the Confederate army. He was promoted to brigadier-general. As one of Cleburne's most trusted generals, he won new distinction at Missionary Ridge and Ring- gold Gap and throughout the Atlanta campaign, at the battles of Franklin and Nashville, and in the last campaign in the Carolinas. He was frequently in command of a division, and in every capacity proved his ability. Throughout the war he continued his work as a preacher, and labored incessantly for the religious cause. After

Digitized by Google

138

MISSISSIPPI

the war he farmed on a small scale for the support of his family and continued preaching ; acted as State evangelist and reorganizer for his church; and declined various suggestions of political honors. He was a well-known writer for the religious press; was for ten years president of the Baptist state convention, and in 1873 founded the Blue Mountain female college, of which he was president for 12 years. February 27, 1885, he died suddenly in the railroad depot at Middleton, Tenn. His will, drawn up not long before his death, closed with these words: "I subscribe my- self the friend of all humanity and the humble servant of the Lord Jesus Christ."

Lowry, Robert, was born in Chesterfield district, S. C., March 10, 1831, son of Robert Lowry, a native of the same State, of an old and prominent Scotch-Irish family. About 1833 the elder Robert Lowry moved with his family to west Tennessee and thence, in 1840, to Tishomingo county, Miss. At the age of 13 young Robert Lowry went to the home of his uncle, Judge James Lowry, in Smith county, where, after a few years, he was a mer- chant at Raleigh, until 1851, when he and his uncle embarked in business at Brandon. Three years later he removed to Arkansas. where he read law and was admitted to practice. Returning after an absence of five years he became a partner of Judge A. G. Mayers, at Brandon. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in the Ran- kin Grays, Capt. J. J. Thornton, and at the organization of the Sixth regiment at Grenada in August, Thornton was elected col- onel and Lowry major. Under Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston he served in Kentucky at the battle of Shiloh, where he was twice wounded. On the resignation of Col. Thornton he was elected colonel and commissioned in May, 1862. He led his regiment in the famous Mississippi battles of Corinth, Port Gibson and Baker's Creek, served under Johnston during the siege of Vicks- burg, went with Polk's army to Georgia in the spring of 1864, and thereafter was identified with the army of Tennessee. He com- manded the brigade skirmish line at the battle of Kenesaw Moun- tain, and was distinguished for gallant performance of duty through the Atlanta campaign. When Gen. John Adams was killed at the battle of Franklin, Tenn., Nov. 30, 1864, he succeeded to command of the brigade, and was commissioned brigadier-general Feb. 4, 1865. He was in the Nashville campaign, and was finally on duty with Johnston at the capitulation at Greensboro, N. C., April 26, 1865. Returning to Brandon he resumed the practice of law. As a Democrat, he was elected to the State senate in 1865, and during the subsequent reconstruction period he was an ardent worker throughout the State for the policy of his party. In 1878 he was a candidate before the State convention for nomination for governor, but was defeated on the tenth ballot by John M. Stone. In 1881 he was nominated and elected. and in 1885 was reelected. His residence since then has been at Jackson. In association with W. H. McCardle he is the author of "A History of Mississippi." Jackson, 1891, also a school history, published in 1902.

Digitized by Google

139

MISSISSIPPI

Lowry's Administration, 1882-90. In his inaugural address, January 9, 1882, Gov. Lowry said of the recent election, "The part borne in that contest by prominent citizens of the State, not here- tofore identified with the successful party, is worthy to be men- tioned and remembered." Looking backward, he recalled the predictions of the impossibility of such race adjustment as had been made. "Thanks be to God, these gloomy prophecies have not been fulfilled in our history. We have survived, as best we could, the demoralizing effects of war, and the domineering evils incident to the existence of peculiarly distinct and different races, equally free, under the same government. And the trials of the past give courage and confidence to the present and the future. Great deeds and virtues are the legitimate offspring of great trials. To solve successfully the grave social and political prob- lems with which we yet stand face to face, and to adjust mutual differences and peculiarities of races as to render them mutual helps, instead of drawbacks to public and private interest, are ob- jects worthy of the loftiest ambition, and in which every citizen, high and low, may participate." Of education he said, "Free in- stitutions cannot be separated from free schools. Universal suf- frage is tolerable only when connected with universal education." Of immigration, "Prejudices against us must be combatted- apprehensions of insecurity among us, whether just or unjust, must be removed, and the advantages and attractions of the State must be potent factors in working out this result." Of industrial conditions-"We buy too much and sell too little. Our corn-cribs and smoke-houses are too far from home. Our income is princely, our expenditures are utterly exhausting. . When life, lib- erty, and the pursuit of property are secure, when the public morals are protected, an efficient system of public education estab- lished, and the public health, convenience and safety well guarded, and all at the smallest practical cost, there is but little omitted from the fundamental obligations of government. Under these condi- tions, individual action, diversity of interest, and, above all, the production of the necessaries of life at home, ought to cause the springs of prosperity to flow, and insure contentment, progress and independence. Whoever, either in a public or private capacity, contributes to diversify the industries of Mississippi, and to relieve her from dependence on other States and countries, is a benefactor to the State. The president or managers of a successful factory among us ought to be more highly appreciated and hon- ored by us than any public functionary in the land."

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.

Encyclopedia of Mississippi History Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions and Persons, Vol. II, Part 15

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