Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. II, Part 19

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association
Number of Pages: 1032

USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. II > Part 19

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).

In 1850 a steam power mill was in operation at Woodville, where, also, the first railroad shop was established. In 1857, it was noted that there was at Jackson a plow and wagon factory producing a very good output. The penitentiary at that time and particularly in 1861-63, was a considerable factory,-at the last a military fac- tory.

Beginning in 1865 with the Wesson mills, there were established, by 1884, 14 cotton and woolen mills in the State, and 13 oil mills, and there was a large installation of saw mills in the long-leaf pine region. This growth of industry was particularly rapid dur- ing the years 1880-84.

The Mississippi Mills, at Wesson, was described by a newspaper correspondent in 1874, as having a working capital of $400,000, all supplied by the stockholders; a main building 50x347 feet, looms 168, operatives 250, all white and mainly from the class of non-slaveholders before the war; highest wages paid, $6 a week. "This is emphatically a domestic institution-President Richard- son, of Jackson, being an old resident, and all the stockholders of the same class-men who have accepted the situation, and are making a good thing out of it."

The census of 1870 showed 11 tanneries, 14 machinery factories, 11 factories for agricultural implements, 2 car works, 10 textile factories. The first fertilizer factory was established at Jackson in 1881. A factory of the same sort at Meridian is engaged also in the manufacture of sulphuric acid. Good fire brick have been made at different places in Mississippi, notably at Harriston and Meridian. There are two potteries, both on a small scale, at Holly Springs and Biloxi. (Muckenfoos, 1900.) There was once a suc- cessful glass factory at Moss Point. The sands of Pearl river are said to be well adapted to the manufacture. In 1900 there were 18 iron factories in the State, using Alabama pig iron. The first ice factory was established at Jackson in March, 1880. There were about 17 in the State in 1900, the largest at Vicksburg. The manufacture of illuminating gas from resin, began at Jackson in

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1857. Coal gas is little used, but electric lighting plants are numer- ous.

About 1885 the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas railroad (now Yazoo & Mississippi Valley) shops were located at Vicksburg, in consideration of a donation of $100,000 by the city, which was raised by an issue of bonds, and the grant of lands. This is the principal manufacturing establishment of the State.

The bottling of mineral water is a profitable industry which en- gaged four companies in 1900, the largest at Meridian, and the oldest at Raymond.

There were 24 turpentine stills in 1900.

The opening up of the lumber region of the State, after 1865, began on the Pascagoula, attracted by the good natural harbor with 17 feet of water on the bar, within four miles of the mouth of the river. Fifteen saw mills of considerable capacity were erec- ted at the mouth of the river by the close of 1872, in which year there was a shipment to eastern and gulf ports of the United States, and to Mexico, West Indian and European ports, of 35,- 236,500 feet of lumber. A much smaller amount was shipped from Pearl river. It was in this year that for the first time after the war, interest was generally awakened in the development of Mississippi coast facilities, and the aid of congress was solicited.

(See Centennial Exposition, New Orleans exposition ; Census of 1900; Cotton Seed Oil.)

Marianna, a postoffice of Marshall county, about 8 miles west, southwest of Holly Springs, the county seat. Population in 1900, 23.

Marie, a postoffice of Sunflower county.

Marietta, a post-hamlet of Prentiss county, about 32 miles south of Corinth, and 12 miles southeast of Booneville, the county seat. Baldwyn, 10 miles to the west, on the Mobile & Ohio R. R., is the nearest railroad, telegraph and express and banking town. It has a money order postoffice. Population in 1900, 100.

Marion. This old town flourished before the War and was the county seat of Lauderdale county until the close of that struggle. When the Mobile & Ohio R. R. came through the county, it missed the town by two miles and the railroad station of the same name was made the seat of justice and soon absorbed the business of its namesake. Gen. W. S. Patton was proprietor of the hotel at old Marion in 1860.

Marion County was established at an early day during the territorial era, December 9, 1811, and received its name in honor of General Francis Marion of Revolutionary fame. The county has a land surface of 1,095 square miles. It is a sparsely settled dis- trict in the south central part of the State next to the Louisiana border. The counties of Lawrence, Pike, and parts of Covington, Lincoln and Lamar were originally embraced within its extensive limits. It was carved from the old counties of Wayne, Franklin, and Amite, and its original limits were defined as follows: "All that tract of country . beginning on the line of demarca- tion, where the fourth range of townships east of Pearl river inter-

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sects the said line, thence west with said line of demarcation, to the sixty-mile post, east of the Mississippi, being the first range of townships west of Tansopiho, thence north on said line of townships to the Choctaw boundary line, thence along said Choctaw boundary line to the fourth range of townships east of Pearl river, thence with said range to the beginning." Within the last few years, several new lines of railroad have been built and the population has increased rapidly, more than 30 per cent. from 1890 to 1900. A quarter of a century after its establishment, the county had only 1,940 whites and 1,554 slaves; in 1890 it had 9,532 inhabitants, and in 1900 it had 13,501. Two of the prominent early settlers of the region were Dougal McLaughlin and John Ford, both of whom rep- resented the county in the Constitutional Convention of 1817. The former was a native of South Carolina, descended from an old High- land Scotch family, and a man distinguished for his probity and sterling worth. The following is a partial list of the civil officers of the county for the years 1818-1827: Charles M. Norton, Ruse Perkins, William Lott, Benjamin Lee, Isaac Brakefield, Henry Heninger, Benjamin Youngblood, David Ford, John H. Norton, John Regan, Ransom, M. Collins, Justices of the Quorum, 1818- 1821; Simeon Duke, Ranger, Assessor and Collector, and Sheriff ; Jepthah Duke, William Mellon, John Alexander, County Treas- urers ; James Phillips, David Ford, William Roach, Hector McNeal, County Surveyors; Jacob Tomlinson, William Graham, Robert Stacy, Wm. Phillips, James Rawles, Thos. Collins, Hope H. Lenoir, Daniel Farnham, Jordan Elder, Wm. H. Cox, Nathan M. Collins, and Jesse Crawford, Justices of the Peace; Hugh McGowan, William Spencer, Judges of Probate. Columbia, the county seat, is located on the east bank of the Pearl river, contains a population of 2,000, and is a station on the Mendenhall-Maxie branch of the Gulf & Ship Island R. R. The New Orleans Great Northern R. R. is building through the county from south to north, beginning at Slidell, La., and extending up the west bank of the Pearl river. The Pearl river, and numerous tributary creeks in the western part, constitute the principal water courses. These streams are exten- sively used for logging operations, as Marion county lies entirely within the long leaf pine region of the State and is well timbered. The surface of the county is gently undulating and the soil is light and sandy and reasonably productive. On the bottoms, however, it is fertile and raises excellent crops without the use of fertilizers. There are also extensive "reed brakes," which, when drained, prove very productive. In 1899, $18,690 was expended for labor and $22,110 for fertilizers on the farms of the county. The products are corn, cotton, oats, sweet and Irish potatoes, peas, rice, peanuts and sugar-cane. Pasturage is extensive and stock raising has proved profitable.

The twelfth United States census for 1900 gives the following data: Number of farms 1,781, acreage of farms 236,333, acres im- proved 54,156, value of land exclusive of buildings $634,450, value of buildings $293,710, value of live stock, $399,339, total value of

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products not fed $612,585. Number of manufacturing establish- ments 43, capital $132,538, wages paid $68,322, cost of materials $182,004, total value of products $379,178. The population in 1900 consisted of whites 9,178, colored 4,323, a total of 13,501 and 3,969 more than in the year 1890. The total assessed valuation of real and personal property in Marion county in 1905 was $3,856,739 and in 1906 it was $5,330,728, which shows an increase during the year of $1,473,989.

Marion Station, a post-village of Lauderdale county, on the Mobile & Ohio R. R., 5 miles northeast of Meridian. It has two churches, a high school, several stores and a money order post- office. Population in 1900, 130.

Marks, a postoffice of Quitman county, on the Yazoo & Missis- sippi Valley R. R., 6 miles southeast of Belen, the county seat.

Marksville, a postoffice in the northwestern part of Holmes county, on the Yazoo river, about 18 miles from Lexington, the county seat.

Marquette and Joliet. After the death of Hernando de Soto, more than a century elapsed before any further attempt was made to explore the Mississippi. The river seems to have been forgot- ten, although several Spaniards, either by design or by accident, had reached its shores. It had been explored for at least a thou- sand miles, was known to have at least two branches equal in size to the finest rivers in Spain, to be nearly a mile wide and perfectly navigable, and yet it was laid down on the maps as an insignifi- cant stream. often not distinguished by its name of Espiritu Santo, and we can only conjecture what petty line was intended for the great river of the west.

Thus the valley of the Mississippi had been abandoned by the Spaniards, and a few years after, the French at the north, began to hear of it through the western missionaries and traders, the two classes who alone had carried on the discovery of the west for the French. Among the latter was Joliet, and among the former, Marquette. Says Bancroft: "The long-expected discovery of the Mississippi was now at hand, to be accomplished by Joliet of Que- bec, of whom there is scarce a record but this one excursion that gives him immortality and by Marquette, who, after years of pious assiduity to the poor wrecks of Hurons, whom he planted near abundant fisheries, on the cold extremity of Michigan, entered, with equal humility, upon a career which exposed his life to per- petual danger, and by its results affected the destiny of nations." In 1672 the French minister wrote to Talon, then Intendant of Canada: "As after the increase of the colony, there is nothing more important for the colony than the discovery of a passage to the south sea, his majesty wishes you to give it your attention." (Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi, Shea.) As Talon was about to return to France, he recommended Joliet to his suc- cessor Frontenac. "The Chevalier de Grand Fontaine," writes Frontenac, on November 2, 1672, "has deemed expedient for the service to send the sieur Jolliet to discover the south sea by the

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Maskoutens country, and the great river Mississippi, which is be- lieved to empty into the California sea. He is a man of experience in this kind of discovery, and has already been near the great river, of which he promises to see the mouth." Marquette was selected to accompany him, and the winter was spent in preparation, in studying what had been learned of the great river, in assembling around them Indians who had some knowledge of the river, and in drawing their first rude map of the Mississippi, and the water courses that led to it. They made careful, cool investigations, and though the discovery was dangerous, as little as possible was left to chance. They embarked in May, 1673, and descended as far as the 33rd degree, where for the first time they were met with a hostile reception by the excited Metchigameas. By the aid of the mysterious calumet, they finally made their peace and de- scended thirty miles farther to the village of Akansea, on the eastern shore. Here they were well received, and learned that the mouth of the river was but ten days sail from the village. But they also heard that there were nations there trading with the Europeans, and that there were wars between the tribes. They now saw that the Mississippi emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, between Florida and Tampico, two Spanish points, and feared lest they might fall into their hands. Consequently, after a night of consultation, they decided to return, and set out from Akansea July 17 for the long homeward voyage. Unfortunately, Joliet lost the journal and map of his voyage, while shooting the rapids above Montreal, and was forced to draw up a narrative and map from recollection, which Frontenac transmitted to France in November, 1674. Marquette, whose health had suffered from the long journey, remained behind at St. Francis to recruit his strength. He also had drawn up a map and journal of his voyage, and as is known from his autograph letter, transmitted copies to his superior at his request prior to October. Doubtless the French government was possessed of these in 1675, but the court allowed the whole affair to pass unnoticed. The narrative was not even published until Thevenot obtained a copy in 1681 and published the same. The fruits of this celebrated voyage would never have been gathered, except for the courage and enterprise of La Salle, who knew of the voyage and, perhaps, had even been one of the few that saw the maps and journal of Joliet, before they were lost, and who finished what they had begun in 1682 by descending the Mississippi to its mouth.

Marschalk, Andrew, pioneer of printing in Mississippi, who en- tered the United States army from New Jersey, in 1791, for the Indian wars in Ohio. He was promoted to captain in August, 1794, and retained as lieutenant of artillery and engineers in No- vember, 1796. He was with the troops that followed Guion down the river in 1797, and was associated with Lieut. Meriweather Lewis in the garrison at Chickasaw bluffs. (See Military Occupa- tion.) Afterward he was in the garrison at Walnut Hills. Mars- chalk was a printer by trade and personally bore a strong resem-

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blance to Benjamin Franklin. In the spring of 1799, on account of his qualifications as a printer, he was assigned to command at the post of Natchez, by command of Gen. Wilkinson, so that he might print the laws of the new Territory. In July of that year the governor addressed an earnest remonstrance to Maj. Cushing, then commanding on the river, against the transfer of Marschalk to Walnut Hills. It seems that Marschalk's fellow officers ridi- culed him for making himself useful in this way, and Cushing, something of a martinet, would not allow it unless the lieutenant would accept a furlough. (Sargent's Journal, p. 203.) At Walnut Hills he finished the printing of the 25 laws of the Territory, says the Vose Mss.

A newspaper called the Mississippi Gazette was issued early in the year 1800, and this must have been the work of the indus- trious lieutenant. He was honorably discharged from the army June 1, 1802, and thereafter was publisher of newspapers and shared with Terrall the honors of public printer, as the favors of politics permitted. In 1814 he was succeeded by P. Isler. Mars- chalk was a "Wayneite" in the army, and in politics a Federalistic Republican, and supported Governors Williams and Holmes against the other branch of the party, led by Cato West and Cowles Mead. He was engaged in a bitter newspaper warfare as publisher of the Herald, with Terrall, of the Messenger, in Wil- liams' administration. He was prominent in the militia, adjutant of the First regiment, promoted to major commanding the bat- talion for the expected war in 1809, brigade-major for the Terri- tory in 1810, and adjutant-general and inspector, with the rank of colonel, December, 1811.

In 1815, when George Poindexter was one of the Territorial judges, Marschalk, publishing the Washington Republican, made a ferocious attack upon him, including the story that Poindexter mounted his horse and rode from the field to New Orleans when the cannon opened, January 8. Poindexter called Marschalk be- fore him for contempt of court. He refused to answer interroga- tories, and was fined the limit of the Territorial law, $20, with im- prisonment for 24 hours. At the end of that time, when called be- fore the court, he said, "I thank your honor for sentence. I pay the fine. I meant a contempt." He was then indicted for libel, and the result of the trial was said by Judge Leake to have vindi- cated the character of Judge Poindexter. After this Poindexter assaulted the editor in his office, whereupon a warrant was issued, from which the judge released himself by a writ of habeas corpus. He was the first public printer of the State, in 1818, and held the office several times thereafter. His death occurred August 10, 1837.

Marshall, a post-hamlet of Sunflower county, 24 miles north of Indianola, the county seat. Ruleville, 4 miles southeast, on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., is the nearest banking and rail- road town. Population in 1900, 45.

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Marshall, Chas. Kimball, was born in Durham, Me., August 29, 1811, of French Huguenot descent. His parents removed to Bos- ton, and gave him the best school advantages for several years, and then they came to the South. He held a position in New Or- leans for a while, attended Woodward college, Cincinnati, until his funds became exhausted, when he returned to New Orleans and went to work in a foundry, where sugar mills were manufac- tured, in order to secure means to continue his college course. He was soon placed in charge of the foundry, and, while holding this position he carried on his studies, also held religious services at the parish prison. In May 1832 he was licensed to preach by the Methodist conference at New Orleans. He started to college again, but stopped at Natchez, to supply a pulpit which had just been vacated. At every service the church was thronged, and he found himself famous in a day. He was induced by the oldest ministers to give up his purpose of re-entering college, and he be- came a member of the Mississippi Conference in 1832. The hand- some and eloquent young man was at once in demand for the best pulpits. He was wonderfully successful as a pastor in Baton Rouge, La., Jackson, Miss., Vicksburg, and other places.

Dr. Marshall had all the qualifications of a great orator, and as such ranked in popular esteem with Prentiss. The two men were friends, each admiring the splendid genius of the other. He dedi- cated more churches and occupied the pulpit or platform at more college commencements than any man who ever preached in the Southwest. His fame as an orator became international. He was a public spirited citizen and was a leader in every movement to develop the South's material resources.

In 1836 he married Amanda Vick, daughter of the founder of Vicksburg, and they made that city their home. But he continued his ministerial work with zeal and energy to the end of his days. Much of his life was spent in helping those in distress. He passed through 13 yellow fever epidemics, ministering night and day to the sick and dying, and was especially active during the great epidemic of 1878. Few, if any, have ever shown such heroism and self sacrifice in times of distress and danger. During the war of 1861-65 he devoted himself with untiring energy to the sick and wounded in the field. To him the Confederate government was indebted for its system of depots and hospitals, and for its factory for making wooden legs, the model of which he drew up. He gave much attention to the "negro problem." In 1880 he delivered an address before the board of directors of the American Colonization society, declaring that colored men were not necessary to Southern industry, and that the future of the American negro was in the colonization of Africa. In 1883 he published a pamphlet, "The Colored Race," being a reply to Rev. J. L. Tucker, of Jackson, in which he contended that the negro of America was not brought into the world without capacity for progress. He died at Vicks- burg, Jan. 14, 1891.

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Marshall County was established February 9, 1836, the year in which the Chickasaw cession of 1832 was cut up into counties, and settlers were rapidly pouring into the new region. The county has a land surface of 707 square miles. It was named for Chief Justice John Marshall and formerly included within its area a considerable portion of Benton, Tate, and several other counties. The act creating the county defined its limits as follows: "Beginning at the point where the line of the basis meridian intersects the northern boundary line of the State, and running thence south with the said basis meridian line, to the center of township 6; thence west through the center of township 6, according to the sectional lines, to the center of range 5 west; thence north through the center of range 5 west, according to the sectional lines, to the northern boundary line of the State, and thence east with the said boundary line, to the beginning."

Its original area was about 23 townships or 828 square miles. In 1870 it gave up part of its territory on the east to Benton county, (q. v.) and in 1873 it gave up another portion of its area to assist in the formation of Tate county, and received, in lieu of the portion surrendered to Tate, all that portion of De Soto county lying with- in townships 1 and 2, R. 5 west. Subsequent slight modifications of its boundaries have resulted in defining its present limits as follows: "Beginning on the line between the States of Mississippi and Tennessee at the center of R. 5 west; thence east on said State line to the line between ranges 1 and 2 west; thence south on said line to the southwest corner of section 6, T. 3, R. 1 west; thence east on section lines to the southeast corner of section 4, T. 3, R. 1 west ; thence due south on section lines to the southwest corner of section 3, T. 6, R. 1 west; thence east to the basis meridian ; thence south by the said meridian to the Tallahatchie river; thence down said river with its meanderings, to the mouth of Little Spring creek ; thence up said creek to the center of township 6; thence west by section lines to the line between R's 4 and 5, west; thence north to the line between T's 4 and 5; thence west to the center of R. 5 west ; thence due north to the beginning." It is an attractive stretch .of country, located on the extreme northern border of the State next to Tennessee, and is bounded on the east by Benton county, on the south by Lafayette county, the Tallahatchie river forming part of the dividing line in the southeastern corner, and on the west by Tate and De Soto counties.

The following is a list of its civil officers for the year 1837: William H. Bourland, Clerk of Probate; James C. Alderson, Clerk of Circuit Court; Thomas Lane, Probate Judge; M. J. Blackwell, Surveyor ; Frederick Wells, Assessor and Collector; Thomas J. Oliver, Treasurer ; Benj. Daluron, Coroner; T. McCrosky, Sheriff ; G. W. Graham, Ranger ; Dickson Rogers, Henry White, Wm. Hicks, W. C. Edmundson, E. H. Patts, Board of Police ; John Roaks, T. L. Treadwell, D. E. Brittonum, Henry Moore, Milton P. Johnson, Geo. W. Wry, T. M. Yancy, J. C. Randolph, J. B. Cockran, Robert

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Carson, Justices of the Peace ; John P. Planes, James Rhodes, Sill- mane Weaver, John M. Malone, Lewis Johnston, Constables.

Marshall county received its full share of settlers during the early rush of emigration into the newly opened Chickasaw cession. By the year 1840, it had a population of about 17,500, and by the year 1850 the population was 29,089. Among these were many prom- inent families and wealthy planters.

Three of the earliest settlements were at Tallaloosa, located about 8 miles southwest of Holly Springs, on the Pigeon Roost creek ; Waterford, one mile west of the station of the same name on the Illinois Central R. R., and the place of muster for the militia of that part of the State; and Hudsonville, about 4 miles southwest of old Lamar, on the stage road from Lagrange, Tenn., to Holly Springs, Miss., and 2 miles southeast of the station of the same name on the Illinois Central R. R. All three places are now practically extinct. Its chief town and county seat is Holly Springs, the "City of Flowers," containing 3,500 inhabitants and located near the center of the county at the junction of the Illinois Central, and the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham railways. Mr. Addison Craft, one of the pioneers of Marshall county, states that it was named by the roadsters who traveled from the Chickasaw Bluffs to the land office at Pontotoc. At this spot they found an extensive ravine covered with holly, and having some 30 or more clear, cold springs of water. It was an excellent camping ground and the camp was called Holly Springs. It is the center of a good dairy and market- garden region, has several factories and the most extensive pottery works in the State. It is also the seat of the Mississippi Synodical College, and the North Mississippi Experiment Station. It was here that Gen. Van Dorn made his celebrated raid on the Federal stores left behind by Grant, December 20, 1862. Some of the other more important settlements are Byhalia (pop. 760), Potts Camp (pop. 306), Redbanks on the K. C. M. & B. R. R., Waterford (pop. 128), Hudsonville on the I. C. R. R., and Bethlehem, Corners- ville, Mount Pleasant and Wallhill away from the railroads. The region lies in the yellow loam district, its surface is undulating, level on the river and creek bottoms. The soil on the bottom lands is fertile, on some of the upland ridges poor and sandy and on many of the table lands quite productive. It produces good crops of cotton, corn, small grains, vegetables, and all the large and small fruits do well. The timber consists of oaks, hickory, walnut, poplar, gum, beech, maple, cypress, etc. Excellent pasturage is to be had and the live stock industry is very profitable. In 1900 the live stock was valued at more than $800,000. Its close proximity to the large city of Memphis (50 miles), and the two important lines of rail- road which cross its surface, the Illinois Central and the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham, give it a ready outlet for its num- erous products. The more important water courses in the county are the Tallahatchie river on the south and its tributaries, and the numerous creeks flowing west, which constitute the headwaters of the Coldwater river. None of these streams are navigable, how-

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Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. II, Part 19

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association Number of Pages: 1032

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association
Number of Pages: 1032