Encyclopedia of Mississippi History Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions and Persons, Vol. II, Part 33

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 33

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).

Next day (22d) Quitman's brigade, including the Rifles, occupied the fort (Teneria) that the Rifles had taken, exposed to the fire of the citadel, Fort El Diablo and other works, while offensive opera- tions were going on under the direction of Gen. Taylor. On the morning of the 23d Col. Davis took Company H, Lieutenant Moore, and Company G, Lieutenant Greaves, and two companies of Ten- nesseeans, out to reconnoitre. Ad. Griffith having been wounded, Lieut. Cook volunteered to act in his place. "The duty we had to perform was considered both difficult and perilous." As they ad- vanced into the town, parties of the enemy fled at their approach. The fort (El Diablo) was found to be evacuated and the artillery removed, but the interior was swept by the fire from other forts, and the Mississippians took shelter outside the walls. A safer position was taken, to the left. At this point Company B, Capt. Cooper, took the place of Company G, and Company D, Lieut. Russell, took the place of one of the Tennessee companies. Push- ing on to the left they came to a barricade across the street, and under the fire of sharpshooters. Two balls narrowly missed the colonel as he led his men. A little battle followed, the enemy occupying a massive stone building. Private Tyree, coming up from the rear to take part in the fight, was killed. "We continued to advance, and drive the enemy by passing through courts, gardens and houses, taking every favorable position to fire from the house- tops, which from their style of architecture furnishes a good de- fense against musketry, until near the plaza, where we found all the streets barricaded and swept by so severe a fire that to advance from our last position it became necessary to construct a defense across the street. For this purpose we used the baggage and pack saddles found in the houses, and though under a fire of artillery as well as musketry, had more than half finished the work when we were ordered to retire." The retreat was made in good order, but Lieut. Howard and others were wounded. Col. Davis specially mentioned Capt. Cooper, Lieuts. Moore, Russell, Posey, Greaves, Hampton, and Cook, Surgeons Seymour, Halsey, and Sergeant- Major Harlan. Two volunteers on the 23d, Maj. E. R. Price of Natchez, and Capt. I. R. Smith, were conspicuous for gallantry.

The companies of this regiment left in Fort Teneria when Davis started out, were under the command of Maj. A. B. Bradford. They moved out about an hour later, when so ordered, (leaving

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Capt. Taylor and company to hold the fort), advanced for several hundred yards under a heavy fire, and found cover of the houses. Remaining there some time awaiting orders, a number of the men joined Col. Davis. Orders finally came from Quitman to charge the town, which was promptly responded to. "We carried the street here for several hundred yards under a continued shower of grape and canister shot, accompanied with musketry, and took a position in the heart of the town and maintained it firmly for sev- eral hours under a most galling fire the whole time, and until we were ordered by the commanding general to draw off and then re- tired in good order. The officers with me were Captains Willis and McManus, Lieutenants Patterson, Townsend, Wade, Arthur, Bradford and Markham, who all behaved with great presence of mind and courage, as did every soldier who accompanied us." (Report of Major Bradford.)

Next day Monterey was surrendered to Taylor, Colonel Davis being one of the three American officers who met the Mexicans to arrange terms. The official report of casualties of the Mississippi regiment was 14 killed and 47 wounded.

Montevista, a postoffice of Webster county, located on Shutispear creek, a tributary of the Yalobusha river, 6 miles north of Walthall, the county seat.

Montgomery, a post-hamlet of Lincoln county, on the Illinois Central Railroad, 5 miles north of Brookhaven, the county seat and nearest banking, express and telegraph town. Population in 1900, 48.

Montgomery, an extinct settlement in Holmes county, situated on the west bank of Big Black river, at Pickens ferry. It was incor- porated in 1836.

Montgomery, Alexander, said to be the pioneer of that family in Mississippi, came from the famous Waxhaw settlement of Scotch- Irish in South Carolina. His journey seems to have been made after the period of the Revolution. He came down by way of Ten- nessee, without means, to seek the lands being offered by the Spanish government in the Natchez, and in 1793 was granted 500 arpents on Thompson's creek. It appears from the land reports that a John Montgomery was in the district in 1790. In 1801 Alex- ander Montgomery was chosen by President Adams, from the nominations of the representatives, as one of the Territorial council of five, and he held this office five years, after which he was elected to the house of representatives. In 1808 he was again appointed to the council, and being re-appointed in 1809, was chosen president of that body. His death occurred in November, 1812.

President Montgomery's first wife was a daughter of Maj. Rich- ard King, and his second marriage was to a lady of the Swayze family. He was the father of a large family, the most distinguished of whom was Judge Alexander Montgomery. Four of his brothers, William, Samuel, Robert and Joseph, followed Alexander to Mis- sissippi, and founded families of importance.

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Montgomery, Alexander, son of the foregoing, was a native of Adams county, and upon his election by the legislature to the cir- cuit and supreme court in November, 1831, defeating William L. Sharkey for that honor, became the first native Mississippian upon the bench. He was a pupil of George Poindexter and Edward Turner, and a clear-minded and expert counsel. He was noted rather for a well-balanced equipment for his profession rather than any especial brilliancy. In the practice of law he was associated with his partner, Samuel S. Boyd, a native of Maine, and their firm was for many years one of the leading ones of the State. His term upon the bench was cut short by the adoption of a new con- stitution and judicial system, which went into effect in 1833. He lived to be a very old man and died at Vicksburg.

Montgomery County was established late in the history of the State, May 13, 1871, and was carved from the counties of Carroll and Choctaw (q. v.). It was named in honor of General Richard Montgomery, who fell in the assault on Quebec. It is one of the smaller counties, containing a superficial area of 391 square miles and lies in the north central part of the State, bounded on the north by Grenada county, on the east by Webster and Choctaw counties, on the south by Attala county and on the west by Carroll county. Its first county officers were W. B. Peery, Eli P. Cartlidge, Thomas C. Curry, James Thomas, Supervisors; John C. Mckenzie, Sheriff ; Thomas C. Blackmore, Clerk of the Chancery Court ; Henry Harris, Clerk of the Circuit Court ; T. B. Brown, Assessor ; F. M. Shyrock, Treasurer ; W. H. Parke, Superintendent of Education. All of these officers were temporary appointments of Governor Alcorn, at the time the county was first organized. Its largest town and the county seat is Winona, which is a growing place of 3,500 people, at the junction of the Illinois Central and the Southern Railways. The word "Winona," is an Indian word meaning "first-born daughter." It has a large number of important industrial enterprises and is located in the center of a rich farming region. A few of the other towns in the county are Duck Hill (pop. 300), Kilmichael (pop. 400), Thrail- kill, Stewart, Eskridge, Lodi, Minerva, Poplar Creek, Fox, Carnegie, Sawyer and Alva. Good transportation facilities are provided by the two railroads above mentioned. The Big Black river runs through the southeastern part ; the other streams are Bogue-Hays, Mulberry, Lewis', Wolf and many other smaller creeks. The gen- eral surface of the land is undulating, a small part is hilly. The soil is a rich, dark or yellow loam, on the bottoms a dark alluvial. It produces large crops of cotton, corn, oats, wheat, rye, sorghum, field peas, ground peas, potatoes and hay. Fruits and vegetables are extensively raised for both home consumption and the market. The timber consists of oaks, ash, poplar, walnut, hickory, chestnut, maple, gum and cypress. It is an excellent stock region and a good many horses, especially, are bred in this section. The climate is mild and healthful and good school and church privileges are found throughout the whole county.

The following statistics, taken from the twelfth census for 1900,

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relating to farms, manufactures and population, will be found in- structive: Number of farms 2,394, acreage in farms 215,967, acres improved 91,375, value of land exclusive of buildings $933,650, value of the buildings $380,710, value of live stock $478,328, total value of products not fed $860,035. Number of manufacturing establish- ments 61, capital invested $183,707, wages paid $57,488, cost of materials $180,184, total value of products $361,223. The population in 1900 consisted of whites 7,963, colored 8,573, a total of 16,536 and an increase over the year 1890 of 2,077. The population in 1906 was estimated at 20,000. The total assessed valuation of real and personal property in the county in 1905 was $2,386,684 and in 1906 it was $2,703,811, which shows an increase of $317,127 during the year.

Mont Helena, a postoffice of Sharkey county, on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 3 miles north of Rolling Fork, the county seat. Population in 1906, 40.

Monticello, the capital of Lawrence county, is located on the west bank of the Pearl river, 50 miles south southeast of Jackson. It was made the county seat of Lawrence county on March 1, 1815, and was named for the famous home of President Jefferson. Monti- cello was once an important business point, and a political center of note. It has given the State two of its governors, Gov. Lynch and Gov. Runnels; also a secretary of state, a state auditor, two circuit judges, and one congressman. The vice-chancery court was held here prior to 1854. S. S. Prentiss was here first licensed to practice law. The legislature at one time selected Monti- cello for the State capital, but rescinded its action 24 hours later and located it elsewhere. A branch of the Illinois Central R. R. extends from Brookhaven to Monticello. There are several stores and a bank, good churches and schools. The Lawrence County Press, a local weekly established in 1888, is owned and edited by Joseph Dale. The town lies in the yellow pine region of the State, and cotton and corn are grown in considerable quantities in the sur- rounding country. It at one time had steamboat connection with New Orleans and Jackson. Population in 1900, 155, and in 1906 the population was estimated at 500. There are good prospects that another railroad will be built through Monticello soon.

Montpelier, a post-village of Clay county, located on Sand creek, about 16 miles northwest of Westpoint, the county seat and nearest banking town. Mantee, on the M. J. & K. C. R. R., 6 miles west, is the nearest railroad town. It has a money order postoffice. Popu- lation in 1900, 121.

Montrose, a post-hamlet of Jasper county, on Tallahoma creek, and on the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City R. R., about 36 miles southwest of Meridian, and 13 miles from Paulding, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice, an express office, a bank, several stores, three churches, a school, a saw mill and a cotton gin. The Bank of Montose was established in 1905. The Jasper County Review, a Democratic weekly, is published here, Rev. W. W. Moore

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being its editor. The population in 1906 was estimated at 500, a gain of 350 over the census returns for 1900.

Moore's Bluff, an extinct town of Lowndes county, was on the west side of the Tombigbee river, 5 miles above Nashville, and was an important shipping place for cotton. It had two com- modious brick warehouses and in its prosperous era shipped thou- sands of bales of cotton annually, some of which came all the way from the counties of Oktibbeha and Choctaw. The road leading west from this point followed an air line for eight miles and was known as the "Cotton Road." "During the shipping season, this road was thronged with wagons loaded with cotton and plantation supplies." (Lowndes county sketch, Love.) The chief merchant and warehouseman of the town was Nelson Goolsby. The final decay of the town was caused by the building of the Mobile & Ohio railroad, which largely diverted traffic from the river and created new trade centers.

Mooretown, a hamlet in the western part of De Soto county, on Hurricane creek, an affluent of the Coldwater river, 7 miles west southwest of Hernando, the county seat and nearest railroad and banking town. It has a money order postoffice. Population in 1900, 30.

Mooreville, a post-hamlet of Lee county, 9 miles east of Tupelo, the county seat, and nearest railroad and banking town. It has an academy, three churches and two lodges, Masons and Woodmen of the World. Population in 1900, 54.

Moorhead, an incorporated post-town in the eastern part of Sun- flower county, 9 miles east of Indianola, the county seat, at the junction of the Southern and the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley rail- roads. The town was founded in 1898 by Chester H. Pond, who in- vested largely in the wild lands of the vicinity. It has steadily grown, and its population in 1906 was estimated at 700. Among the important industrial enterprises of the town are a large cotton factory, a cotton-seed oil mill, a stave and heading plant, and a mill for the manufacture of persimmon wood into shoe lasts and shuttles. Moorhead is arranging to install a fine electric light and water works system, and a large brick and tile-drainage plant is now (1906), in course of construction. It is provided with express, tele- graph and telephone facilities, has four churches, good schools for both white and colored, and a negro college supported by northern people. The Bank of Moorhead was established here in 1904 as a branch of the Grenada Bank, which institution has a capital and surplus of $315,000. Wm. E. Stevenson is the local manager at Moorhead. A large amount of cotton is shipped annually from this point, and the lands about the town are as fertile as any in the Delta. They are being rapidly settled by both northern and southern men, and as a consequence the town has an enviable future.

Morancy, Honore P. "The most important person about Walnut Hills, when the Americans settled there, was Honore P. Morancy, planter, merchant, postmaster. He and his brother, when small boys, had been saved when the massacre in St. Domingo occurred.

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They were sent to the United States by Stephen Girard or his agents, and, having no kindred, were received on their arrival at Baltimore and educated by Charles Carroll of Carrollton. Honore came to Louisiana, taught school in Opelousas, settled first at Walnut Hills, and subsequently became an extensive planter at Milliken's Bend. His brother, Emilius, settled at Walnut Hills as a physician, but died long since." (Claiborne's Mississippi, p. 535.)

Morgan, James Bright, was born in Lincoln county, Tenn., March 14, 1835, and moved with his parents to DeSoto county, Miss., in 1845. He was admitted to the bar at Hernando in 1857, and was soon elected probate judge. He entered the Confederate army as a private, and left the service as a colonel. After the war he was again elected judge, and was member of the State senate in 1876- 78. In 1878 he was appointed Chancellor, and served four years. In 1884 he was elected to the 49th congress, and served till 1891. He was murdered on a railway train June 18, 1892, as the outcome of a difficulty with John Foster, an attorney of Hernando.

Morganton, a hamlet of Itawamba county, 10 miles south of Fulton, the county seat. The postoffice here was discontinued in 1905, and it now has rural free delivery from Smithville, in Monroe county.

Morriston, a post-hamlet in the northern part of Perry county, 9 miles north northeast of Hattiesburg, the nearest railroad, tele- graph, express and banking town. Population in 1900, 65.

Morrow, a postoffice of Lauderdale county, 9 miles north of Meridian.

Morton, an incorporated post-village in the western part of Scott county, on the Alabama & Vicksburg R. R., 34 miles east of Jackson, and 12 miles west of Forest, the county seat. It was given the maiden name of the wife of Col. E. W. Taylor. It has two churches, a high school, a bank, which was established in 1904, a grist mill and cotton gin combined, ten or fifteen business houses, and two good hotels. Its population in 1906 was estimated at 500.

Moscos, a post-hamlet of Covington county, on the Gulf & Ship Island R. R., 6 miles east of Williamsburg, the county seat. Collins is the nearest banking town. Population in 1900, 56.

Moscow, a post-hamlet of Kemper county, 10 miles southwest of Dekalb, the county seat. Population in 1900, 30.

Moseley, a post-hamlet of Rankin county, 10 miles east of Brandon, the county seat. Pelahatchie is its nearest banking town. Population in 1900, 25.

Moselle, a post-hamlet in the southern part of Jones county, on the New Orleans & North Eastern R. R., 10 miles south of Ellis- ville, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice. Population in 1900, 73.

Moses, a post-hamlet in the north-central part of Kemper county, 5 miles northwest of Dekalb, the county seat. Population in 1900, 65.

Moss, a postoffice in the southern part of Jasper county.

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Moss Point, an incorporated post-town of Jackson county, at the mouth of the Escatawpa river, 4 miles north of Pascagoula, the county seat. The Pascagoula Street Railway and Power Company, an interurban electric road, connects it with Scranton and Pasca- goula. It is an important manufacturing point, and has a number of large steam saw mills, several planing mills, a foundry, lath and shingle mills, a machine shop, etc. A branch of the Scranton State Bank was established here in 1892, and a branch of the Merchants and Marine Bank of the same place in 1899. The town is pros- perous and growing rapidly. Population in 1900 was 1,900, which has been materially increased since that date, and was estimated at 3,000 in 1906.

Mott, Christopher H., was born in Livingston county, Ky., June 22, 1826, and reared at Holly Springs, Miss., was educated at St. Thomas hall, and Transylvania university, Ky., studied law under Roger Barton, and was a partner of L. Q. C. Lamar in 1850-61, and represented Marshall county in the legislature of 1850. He began his military career as first-lieutenant of the Marshall Guards, Company I of the First regiment, Mississippi rifles, in the war with Mexico, 1847-48, being then hardly more than a boy. Subse- quently, while probate judge, he was sent on a special mission to California by the United States government. In 1860 he organized a company, of which he was captain, in the State army, and was appointed one of the four brigadier-generals under Maj .- Gen. Jef- ferson Davis in January, 1861. This rank he resigned to accept election as colonel of the 19th Miss. Inf., which he and Lamar raised and with which he went on duty in Virginia in the summer of 1861. In the first important battle of the campaign before Richmond, at Williamsburg, May 5, 1862, he was shot dead while leading his reg- iment in a charge against the Federal position. He had been pro- moted to brigadier-general, but had not received his commission. The legislature in 1864 appropriated $600 for his widow, Sallie Mott, in payment of his services as brigadier-general in 1861.

Mound Bayou, an incorporated town in the eastern part of Boli- var county, is located on the main line of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley railroad, 27 miles south of Clarksdale. It is the only town in the State, and probably the only one in the United States, in which all its citizens are negroes. The plan of this settlement originated with Isaiah T. Montgomery, who was born a slave on the plantation of Joseph E. Davis, near Vicksburg.

Mound Bayou has thirty-two mercantile establishments, three blacksmith and wagon shops, a newspaper, three doctors, one law- yer, a photographer, a harness shop, gin and saw mill, three gins, a restaurant and boarding house, and a bank organized March 8, 1904. with an authorized capital of $10,000, of which over $6,000 iş paid in. The population of Mound Bayou in 1900 was 287, and its present population is estimated at over 1,000.

Mound City. a post-hamlet of Bolivar county. 10 miles southeast of Rosedale, the county seat and nearest banking town. Popula- tion in 1900, 57.

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Mount Carmel, a post-hamlet of Covington county, 12 miles west of Williamsburg, the county seat. Atwood, 6 miles southwest, on the Mississippi Central R. R., is the nearest railroad station. It has a church and a money order postoffice. Population in 1900, 96.

Mount Nebo, a postoffice of Kemper county, 6 miles south of Dekalb, the county seat. Population in 1900, 45.

Mount Olive, a money order post-town, about 54 miles southeast of Jackson, on the Gulf & Ship Island R. R. It has a telegraph office, an express office, a high school, a local newspaper-the Tribune, established in 1900, and owned and edited by T. J. Walker. The Mount Olive Bank was established here in 1901 with a capital of $18,000. There are also two churches and an academy. Popula- tion in 1900, 246. The population in 1906 was estimated at 1,000.

Mount Pleasant, an incorporated post-town in the northern part of Marshall county, about 15 miles north of Holly Springs. It has two churches. Population in 1900, 139.

Mount Zion, a post-hamlet in the southern part of Simpson county, 12 miles south of Mendenhall. Population in 1900, 25.

Mudcreek, a postoffice of Pontotoc county, 7 miles west of Pon- totoc, the county seat and nearest railroad and banking town. It has a Baptist church and a good school; also a Woodmen of the World lodge.

Muldon, a post-hamlet in the southwestern part of Monroe county, at the junction of the main line of the Mobile & Ohio R. R., and a branch of the same line which connects it with Aberdeen, 9 miles northeast. It has a church, a money order postoffice, and is an important cotton shipping station. Population in 1900, 75.

Muldrow, Henry Lowndes, was a native of Lowndes county, Miss., and a graduate of the classical and law departments of the University of Mississippi. He was admitted to the bar in 1859, entered the Confederate army in 1861, and surrendered at Forsythe, in 1865, as a colonel of cavalry. He served as district attorney in the sixth district from 1869 to 1871, and was elected to the State legislature in 1875. He was elected in 1876 to the 45th congress, and served from 1877 to 1885. He was first assistant secretary of the interior under Mr. Lamar, resigned in 1889, and resumed the practice of law in Starkville. He was a member of the Constitu- tional convention of 1890, and was appointed chancellor of the first district in 1899. Judge Muldrow died suddenly at his home in Starkville March 3, 1905.

Muldrow Station, a post-hamlet in the extreme northeastern part of Oktibbeha county, on Line creek, and a station on the Aberdeen branch of the Illinois Central R. R., 4 miles southwest of West- point, the nearest banking town. Population in 1900, 41.

Mullet, a post-hamlet of Greene county, 12 miles south of Leakes- ville, the county seat. Population in 1900, 20.

Mullonville, a postoffice in the northeastern part of Madison county. about 24 miles from Canton, the county seat.

Munfordville, Battle of. See Army of Tennessee.

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Murel, John A., the "western land-pirate," or negro stealer, was a native of Tennessee, and in the '30s was a famous character, much talked of and dreaded in Mississippi. His home was in Madison county, Tenn., when he became notorious. A pamphlet was published by Virgil A. Stewart in 1835 purporting to reveal the secrets of Murel and his confederates, from which it appears that there was a confederacy of men of great shrewdness, embrac- ing some men of law learning, for the stealing of negroes, and the harboring of runaways, the shipping of them to Texas or other dis- tant regions, and the sale at a great profit to the gang. So skillful were the operations of the gang, and so adroit their manipulations of the law, that slaveholders, when they suspected Murel of the loss of their slaves, were disposed to admit their loss as final with- out further effort at recovery. One method was to suggest to a discontented slave to run away and take refuge at a certain place, with one of the confederates. This person held him as a runaway, supposedly ignorant of where the negro came from. Presently an advertisement appeared describing the runaway, and offering a re- ward. Thereupon the harborer of the negro assumed the status of a taker-up of the runaway, and in a sense, attorney-in-fact for the owner. Instead of returning the negro, he would choose to commit a breach of trust and transport and sell him. There was no remedy except by suit for the value of the slave, and no prop- erty could be found on which to levy.

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Encyclopedia of Mississippi History Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions and Persons, Vol. II, Part 33

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