USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. I > Part 40
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In 1842 the legislature established the "District Chancery court of the State of Mississippi," consisting of one judge, styled the vice-chancellor, with jurisdiction over 22 counties in the northern part of the State. Joseph W. Chalmers was the first vice-chan- cellor, April, 1842, until the regular election in November, 1843, when Henry Dickinson was elected for four years. In 1846 a vice- chancellor's court was organized for the Southern counties, and James M. Smiley appoined for the same, to hold until the election, when he was elected for a full term over Powhatan Ellis, and in 1850 he was reelected. Resigning in 1852, he was succeeded by B. C. Buckley.
In the Northern district, Dickinson was succeeded by Daugh- erty, 1850-55. James H. Trotter served 1855-56, after which Daugherty was again on the bench until the court was abolished.
The chancery court was abolished by an amendment to the con- stitution, adopted February 6, 1856, and the jurisdiction was transferred to the circuit courts.
John A. Quitman, when chancellor, in 1830, was authorized to report the decisions of this court, but the law was not complied with. An act of 1842 made it the duty of the attorney-general to report the same, and the first volume was issued by John D. Free-
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man in 1844, made up from the opinions of Chancellor Buckner. Smedes and Marshall published another volume in 1844. In the reconstruction period, under the constitution of 1869, chancery courts were revived, but by a system similar to that of the circuit courts. See Judiciary.
Chaparral, a post-hamlet in the extreme northern part of Wayne county, 4 miles east of the Mobile & Ohio R. R., and about 11 miles North of Waynesboro, the county seat.
Chapelhill, a postoffice in the southwestern part of Hinds county, 6 miles east of Utica and 12 miles southwest of Raymond, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice and a church.
Chapeltown, a station of Panola county on the Sardis & Delta R. R., 6 miles west of Batesville, one of the seats of justice for Panola county, and its nearest banking town. It has a postoffice.
Chapman, a postoffice of Rankin county, about 8 miles south- east of Brandon, the county seat and nearest railroad and banking town. Population in 1900, 23.
Charleston, the county seat of Tallahatchie county, is an incor- porated post-town located on Tillatoba creek, about 24 miles northwest of Grenada ; the nearest railroad, express and telegraph town is Oakland on the I. C. R. R. The original county seat was Old Tillatoba (q. v.) one mile to the northwest of Charleston across the Tillatoba creek; but it was discovered that the land on which it was situated had a defective title and the county seat was removed to Charleston in 1837. The town has three churches, a brick courthouse and jail, an Odd Fellows Lodge, a Masonic hall, a bank, the Charleston Bank, established in 1901, and a news- paper, the "Tallahatchie Herald," a Democratic weekly, estab- lished in 1892. The leading agricultural staple of the region about the town is cotton. Its population in 1900 was 480; the popula- tion in 1906 was estimated at 800. There are two gins, one a Munger system and the other a Winship system. The total as- sessed valuation of taxable property, both personal and real, is $323,000; the tax rate is 712 mills. The town is well supplied with pure artesian water. Its schools are under excellent manage- ment and rank high. A branch of the Y. & M. V. R. R. is under construction to Charleston and will reach the town within a year.
Among Charleston's early citizens were : I. L. Watkins, John H. Montgomery, Geo. W. Johnson, Jacob Harvey, J. S. Bailey, Dr. J. W. Rhew, Jones G. Kindrick, A. B. Betts, John Funston. Arm- strong & Bailey were the leading mercantile firm. In 1852 W. E.
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Halley established the Charleston Female school which flourished for several years.
Charlevoix's Voyage, 1721. Father Pierre Francois Xavier de Charlevoix, a Jesuit Priest and distinguished traveller and writer, was born at St. Quentin, France, in 1682. In July, 1720, he em- barked for Canada on a visit to the missions and arrived in that country in September. From Quebec he proceeded up the St. Lawrence to the lakes, and from thence he descended by the Illi- nois to the mouth of the Mississippi river, touching at New Or- leans, which had just been selected for the capital of Louisiana. In his "Historical Journal," made up of letters addressed to the "Duchess of Lesdiguieres, Father Charlevoix has given us a most accurate and vivid description of Louisiana ; of the Mississippi and its tributaries, the topography of the country, the manners and customs of the Indian tribes and their villages; of the missionary establishments and colonial posts, and of people and things as they existed at that day. Of the post at the Yasous he says: "I see no reason why they chose the river of the Yasous for the place of their grant. There was certainly choice of better land, and a bet- ter situation. It is true, that it is of importance to secure this river, the source of which is not far from Carolina ; but a fort with a good garrison, to keep under the Yasous, who are allies of the Chicachas, would be sufficient for that purpose." Of the French settlements at Natchez he says: "This canton, the finest, the most fertile, and the most populous of all Louisiana, is forty leagues dis- tant from the Yasous, and on the same hand. The landing place is over against a pretty high hill, and very steep; at the foot of which runs a little brook, that can receive only boats and pettiaugres. From this hill we ascend a second smaller one, at the top of which they have built a kind of redoubt, inclosed with a single palisade. They have given this intrenchment the name of a fort." After stating that M. d'Iberville, "who was the first that entered the Mississippi by its mouth," had inspected the site at Natchez and was so favorably impressed with the location that he favored the location of the new metropolis of the colony at this point, he con- tinues: "He traced out the plan of it, and intended to call it Rosalie, which was the name of Madam, le Duchesse de Ponchar- train. But this project is not likely to be soon executed, though our geographers have always roundly set down in their maps, the town of Rosalie at the Natchez. . . . The company have a warehouse, and keep a clerk here, who has not as yet much em- ployment. Among a great number of particular grants, which are
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already in a condition of producing something, there are two of the first magnitude; that is to say four leagues square: One be- longs to a society of St. Malo, who bought it of M. Hubert, gov- erning commissary, and President of the Council of Louisiana : The other belongs to the company (Western Company) who have sent hither some workmen from Clerac to make tobacco here. These two grants are so situated, that they make an exact triangle with the fort, and the distance of one angle from the other is a league. Half way between the two grants is the great village of the Natchez. . The great village of the Natchez is at pres- ent reduced to a very few cabins" because "the savages, from whom the great chief has a right to take all they have, get as far from him as they can; and therefore many villages have been formed at some distance from this."
Charlotte County. This was the western division originally of British West Florida, and included Mobile and the country to the Mississippi. Mobile was the seat of government, subordinate to Pensacola. The gulf coast of the present State was a part of it, also Baton Rouge. The gulf coast was opened to settlement by treaty with the Choctaws in 1765. After 1770 the Natchez district, to the Yazoo, was added, and a boundary established by treaty with the Indians. The population of the river border rapidly increased, and before 1778, or in that year, the county was divided, and the districts of Manshac and Natchez established.
Charlton, a postoffice of Madison county, 6 miles west of Can- ton, the county seat and nearest railroad and banking town.
Charm, a postoffice of Madison county.
Chatawa, a station in the southwestern part of Pike county, on the Illinois Central R. R., 3 miles north of Osyka, the nearest banking town, and 8 miles south of Magnolia, the county seat. It is on the Tangipahoa creek and a popular summer resort for New Orleans people. It has a money order postoffice, a church and convent, a seminary, and a house of the Redemptorists. Pop- ulation in 1900, 54.
Chatham, a post-hamlet in the southwestern part of Washing- ton county, on Washington Lake, 22 miles south of Greenville. Population in 1900, 20.
Chatos. See Indians.
Cherryhill, a postoffice on the eastern border of Calhoun county, 12 miles east of Pittsboro, the county seat.
Chester. This little village of 132 inhabitants was made the county seat of Choctaw county by act of the Legislature, Febru-
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ary 25, 1875. In February, 1874, the courthouse at the former county seat, La Grange, was burned. The original county seat of Choctaw county had been located at the old town of Greensboro, but when Montgomery county was carved from Choctaw on May 13, 1871, the county seat was moved by act of the Legislature to La Grange, located within two miles of the geographical center of the county. There was a good deal of dissatisfaction with the change in county boundaries, and with the location of the new county seat, and people clamored for a further division of the county and a new location for the county seat of justice. The State Legislature, at this period, contained a majority of Repub- licans in its membership, and it is believed that interested parties caused the destruction of the courthouse and county records at La Grange to facilitate the further division of the county, and the creation of a Republican county out of part of its area. At any rate, the Legislature again divided the county to form the county of Sumner (now Webster), April 6, 1874, a few months after the courthouse at La Grange was burned. All of Choctaw county north of the Big Black was taken to form Sumner, and La Grange was now left within one mile and a half of the county line. This resulted in the final location of the county seat at Chester, above mentioned. Leroy Boyd, John Kennedy and Herrod Fondron were appointed commissioners to locate the new site within two . miles of the geographical center. William Wood donated forty acres of land for the purpose, which was accepted by the commis- sioners, and a town was there laid out and called Chester after a town in South Carolina. The county records were moved here in in July, 1875. The town is on the French Camp and Starkville road, but has no railroad facilities, and consequently has never grown to any size, being overshadowed by the growing railroad town of Ackerman, a few miles to the southeast.
Chesterville, an incorporated post-town in the eastern part of Pontotoc county, and 10 miles east by north of Pontotoc, the county seat, and 7 miles west by north of Tupelo, the nearest rail- road, express, telegraph and banking town, at the junction of the M. & O. and K. C. M. & B. R. Rs. It has a general store. Popu- lation in 1900, 112.
Chewalla, a postoffice of Marshall county.
Chewawa, a postoffice of Chickasaw county, on the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City R. R., 6 miles south of Houston, the county seat.
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Chicacilla. It was to this point, one league north of Chicaca (see Pontotoc Battle), that De Soto moved his forces after the Indians had surprised his camp and burned the village of Chicaca. Says the Gentleman of Elvas in his chronicle of De Soto's expedi- tion : "Upon Wednesday, the 15th of March, 1541, after the Gov- ernor had lodged eight days in a plain, half a league from the place which he had wintered in, after he had set up a forge, and tem- pered the swords which in Chicaca were burned, and made many targets, saddles and lances; on Tuesday night, at the morning watch, many Indians came to assault the camp in three squadrons, every one by themselves. Those which watched gave the alarm. The Governor with great speed set his men in order in other three squadrons, and leaving some to defend the camp, went out to en- counter them. The Indians were overcome and put to flight. The ground was Champaign and fit for the Christians to take the ad- vantage of them; and it was now break of day. But there hap- pened a disorder, whereby there were not past thirty or forty In- dians slain ; and this it was: that a friar cried out in the camp with- out any just occasion, 'To the camp, to the camp.' Whereupon the Governor and all the rest repaired thither, and the Indians had time to save themselves. There were some taken, by whom the Governor informed himself of the country through which he was to pass. "Finally, on Tuesday, April 26th, the Spaniards left Chicacilla and slept at Alabamo." (q. v.)
Chickamauga, battle, see Army of Northern Virginia.
Chickasaws, see Indians.
Chickasaw Bayou, battle, see Vicksburg, second campaign.
Chickasaw Bluffs. The mouth of Wolf river, at Chickasaw bluffs, the site of Memphis, was fortified with a stockade by the French, in very early times, and the place named Fort Prudhomme, in honor of one of LaSalle's companions who was temporarily lost there. Bienville, on his last expedition, built a stockade there, and called it Fort Assumption. (See Chickasaw-French Cam- paign, 1739-40.) The place was called Ecores á Margot. It was a seat of piracy by the Chickasaws and renegade white men about the close of the English period. Until the Chickasaws ceded West Tennessee it was the Mississippi river part of the nation, whose main seat was in the Pontotoc ridge country.
Early in Washington's administration the United States sent to this place presents to be distributed to the Chickasaws, which greatly excited the jealousy of the Spanish. On May 25, 1793, Jaudenes and Viar, the Spanish commissioners at the seat of gen-
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eral government, charged the United States, in the most disrespect- ful terms, with meddling in the affairs of the Indians in alliance with Spain, which included all the nations south of Kentucky and east to Georgia. One of the accusations was that the United States was aiming to occupy a military post at "the Ecores Amargas." Jefferson replied to this that it was really wonderful that the United States had not done so, considering the acts of Spain pending the negotiations regarding the boundary; but, he said, not only was such an occupation not intended, but "we know not what place is meant by the Ecores Amargas."
After complaining thus, the Spaniards proceeded to fortify the place themselves.
It appears from the propositions of Governor Carondelet to the people of Kentucky, in 1797, that a formal treaty was concluded at Chickasaw bluffs, in 1795, between Don Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, governor of Natchez, and "Augliakabee and some other Chickasaw chiefs," by which the Indians ceded a tract of land for a military post. This was probably part of the business of Gov- ernor Gayoso when Power accompanied him up the river to negoti- ate in Kentucky. It was stipulated that if the West should secede from the Union, Spain should be allowed to hold this military post, which was called Fort Ferdinand of the Bluffs (Barrancas).
Governor Gayoso wrote to his wife, May 31, 1795: "Yesterday I passed from my post of Esperanza over to the Chicacha bluffs. whence I now write. I hoisted the king's flag and saluted it in the most brilliant manner from the flotilla and the fort. It being St. Ferdinand's day (the name of my prince) I gave the post that name. It was a pleasant day, and withal my birthday, and noth- ing was wanting to complete my happiness but your presence. The chiefs are to visit me tomorrow."
In March, 1797, a month after Ellicott's arrival at Natchez, the commissioner learned that Fort Ferdinand had been demolished or the material carried across the river to Esperanza. The state- ment in Claiborne's history that this was done upon the approach of Captain Guion in July, is incorrect.
Francis Baily stopped at "Chickasaw Bluffs, called in Hutchins' map the Cliffs of Margot," May 2, 1797, and learned that the fort was destroyed at the time the treaty was to be executed. He talked with a party of Chickasaws anxiously waiting, imagining every boat they saw was the one to bring the promised goods, and particularly impatient because they desired to go to war with the Creeks. As Baily tarried there, trading with the Indians, "Don
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Grandé," commandant at the post opposite, came across and asked for his passports. They spent a pleasant evening together, and in the course of conversation the officer said the reason they burned the fort was that it had been built merely on sufferance from the Indians, on condition that they should demolish it if they ever retired, so that no other power could make use of it. (Baily's Journal, p. 273.) The United States by treaty had promised the Chickasaws an annuity of $3,000, and the payment of this in goods was one of the duties of Captain Guion. The Indians were in- formed of Guion's approach, months before, and the Spanish agents had of course promptly notified the governor at New Orleans. Guion arrived July 20, and soon afterward wrote to the secretary of war: "Be assured, sir, that neither the demolition of the works, nor the solicitude of assuring to the inhabitants of that district the titles to their lands are the real causes for the detention of those posts. Had I halted at New Madrid but one day with the troops, and every means but violence was used to effect it, a great point had been gained by our neighbors, whose vessel from Nat- chez, laden with presents of blankets, shirts, hats, muskets, pow- der and lead, tomahawks, saddles and bridles, etc., for the Chicka- saws, arrived at their garrison of Hopefield opposite to this place about eight hours before our arrival here. Great pains and much industry have been used to detach from the friendship of the United States this nation of Indians, and I fear they have been in a degree successful." He also said: "It is certain that the Spaniards intended to re-occupy this post very soon."
The Indians had been assembled, waiting for the American goods, as early as June 14, but running out of sustenance, they had scattered, leaving about fifty at the bluffs. They did not gather again until about the middle of August; Guion surmised, to give the Spanish time to prepare for them. As it was, there was a spirited conflict of influence between Piamingo and the Col- berts, veteran soldiers under Wayne, on one side, and a consid- erable Spanish faction led by Wolf's Friend. The latter was dis- posed to make trouble about the Americans occupying land they had ceded to the Spanish, but Piamingo controlled the majority, and his wisdom was confirmed in the eyes of all by the marked superiority of the American presents.
Guion, upon his own judgment, built a "sexangular stockade," over which he hoisted the stars and stripes Oct. 22, 1797, and he left a garrison there when he went down the river early in Novem- ber. He named this Fort Adams, but within a year this title was
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applied to the extreme southwestern post of the United States, on Davion's rock, and Guion's stockade was called Fort Pickering. (See Occupation.) When Governor Claiborne came down the river for the first time in the fall of 1801 he found in command, Capt. Richard Sparks, of the 3rd regiment, who had established a sort of life saving station for the succor of travelers in distress, for the passage in the boats of that day was attended with much peril and hardship.
Chickasaw County is located in the northeastern part of the State and was established February 9, 1836, during the adminis- tration of Gov. Charles Lynch. The county has a land surface of 507 square miles. It was named for the Chickasaw Indians and was a part of the territory ceded by that tribe in the Treaty of Pontotoc, October 20, 1832. It is bounded on the north by Pon- totoc and Lee counties, on the east by Monroe county, on the south by Clay and Webster counties and on the west by Calhoun county. The original limits of the county were as follows :- "Be- ginning at the point where the line between ranges 5 and 6 east, intersects the northern boundary of Oktibbeha county, and run- ning thence with the said northern boundary, to the eastern boun- dary of Choctaw county ; thence along the eastern and northern boundaries of Choctaw county, to the eastern boundary of Yalo- busha county; thence north with the said eastern boundary of Yalobusha county, to the point where the line between townships 11 and 12 intersects the same; thence east with the said township line, to the line between ranges 5 and 6, and thence south with the said range line, to the beginning." Its original area was about 30 townships or 1,080 square miles, which has been reduced to 507 square miles, by the subsequent formation of Clay, Webster and Calhoun counties, which were party carved from its territory. Two of the earliest settlements were Prairie Mount (q. v.), situ- ated on the edge of the prairie, in the northeastern part of the county ; and Pikesville (q. v.), once the center of trade for what is now known as Egypt Prairie, and located on the east bank of Chuquatonchee river, at the east end of the old turnpike, still maintained on the road from Houston to Aberdeen. Both these places are now extinct, but were prosperous villages in the early days of the county. The following is a list of the county officers for the year 1838: John Delashmet, Littleberry Gilliam, (see Prairie Mount), Benjamin Bugg, Thomas N. Martin, Benjamin Kil- gore, Members of the Board of Police; Mathew Knox, Judge of Probate; Richard L. Aycock, Sheriff; Claiborne Williams, Cor-
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oner; Geo. W. Thornton, Clerk of the Circuit Court; Charles Graeff, Clerk of the Probate Court; John W. H. Davis, Assessor and Collector; Wiley Griffen, County Treasurer; Peter Tittle, Ranger; William McNutt, County Surveyor. The county seat is Houston, but the circuit and chancery courts are also held at Okolona. April 21, 1863, the county suffered the loss of many of its early records by fire. Houston, named for the famous Indian fighter General Sam .. Houston, was incorporated in 1837, and is now (1906) a town of 1,600 people. Okolona is a town of 2,500 inhabi- tants, located on the Mobile and Ohio railway, in the heart of the "black prairie" belt. The center of a large fertile district, it is an important shipping point for grain and hay and has a pros- perous local trade. The name is derived from an Indian word meaning "much bent". Other towns in the county of more or less importance are Houlka, Sparta, Sycamore, Van Vleet, Buena- vista, Woodland and Atlanta. Nearly every section of the county is well watered by the numerous creeks, and, in the hilly portions, many fine springs of pure water are to be found, which, with the excellent pasturage that prevails, has given a great impetus to the live stock industry, and has rendered Chickasaw county one of the most prosperous horse raising and creamery districts in the State. The Mobile & Ohio R. R. runs through the eastern part of the county from north to south and a branch of the same road runs through the county from east to west, and west of Houston it passes through a fine belt of hardwood and pine tim- ber lands. The Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City R. R. passes through the county from north to south in the western part of the county. The timber resources of the county are extensive and consist of the varieties common to this section of the State, oaks, hickory, walnut, beech, ash, poplar, pine and chestnut. The gen- eral surface of the county is quite diversified; the eastern part is in the "black prairie" region; the central part is sandy and hilly, and the western part is in the flatwoods district, a good cotton soil, covered with much valuable timber and known also as a good hay and stock region. In the east the soil is of great depth and fertility and splendid crops of cotton, grains and grasses as well as fruits and vegetables are grown. The central portions, when not overworked, are fertile and produce good crops of all varieties, and is remarkable for its adaptation to fruit culture which is be- ing developed to a great extent on Pontotoc Ridge. Churches and good schools are found in every township throughout the county. Manufactures are still in their infancy, consisting of a few saw
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mills, wood working plants, grist mills, and cotton gins. It is in- teresting to note the large agricultural wealth disclosed by the last United States census for 1900. The total number of farms was 2,894, embracing 256,839 acres, of which 124,490 acres were improved and had a value amouning to $1,584,060 exclusive of the buildings; the latter were valued at $482,430; the total value of the live stock was placed at $603,517 and the total products at $1,134,497. The census gives the following manufacturing data :- Total number of establishments 53, capitalized at $72,620, paying wages to the amount of $20,559 and producing products to the value of $68,918. The total assessed valuation of real and personal prop- erty in the county in 1905 was $2,191,694 and in 1906 it was $3,005,- 554, which shows an increase during the year of $813,860. The white population in 1900 was 8,148, colored 11,744, total 19,892. The total population in 1906 was estimated at 23,000. Land values have in- creased fully 400 per cent in the last 5 years, and manufactures have increased more than three-fold. The public highways are worked by contract and the public schools are progressing. Chuqua- tonchee creek has been declared a drainage district, and, by the issue of bonds, this creek is to be dredged, thereby re-claiming a large area of alluvial lands for settlement.
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