USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. II > Part 20
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ever. A number of lignite beds and some good marls have been found in the county.
The twelfth census of the United States for the year 1900 gives the following farm, manufacturing and population statistics for Marshall county : Number of farms 4,516, acreage in farms 379,098, acres improved 82,581, value of the land exclusive of the buildings $1,733,630, value of the buildings $813,720, value of live stock $803,- 901, total value of products not fed $1,751,664. Number of manufac- tures 98, capital invested $151,428, wages paid $39,436, cost of ma- terials $77,589, total value of products $192,903. The popu- lation consisted of whites 8,966, colored 18,708, a total of 27,674, or 1,631 more than in the year 1890. There has since been a steady increase in the population and in manufactures. Land values are advancing and good properties are in demand at a good price. The total assessed valuation of real and personal property in Marshall county in 1905 was $3,031,618.86 and in 1906 it was $3,231,123, showing an increase of $199,504.14 during the year.
Martin, an incorporated post-village of Claiborne county, on the Natchez-Jackson branch of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 8 miles southeast of Port Gibson, the county seat. Hermanville is its nearest banking town. It has a money order postoffice, and express, telegraph and telephone facilities. Population in 1900, 151. It was named in honor of General W. T. Martin of Natchez.
Martin, Francois Xavier, Territorial judge, was born in Marseil- les, France, March 17, 1764, removed to Martinique at the age of 18 years, and thence went to the United States, making his home at New Bern, N. C., in 1786. He learned the printer's trade as a means of acquiring the English language, with such success that he became proprietor of a newspaper and publisher of schoolbooks and almanacs. Studying law and gaining admission to the bar, he extended his publishing ventures to law treaties of his own compiling, including a digest of State laws and British statutes in force, and in 1797, his Notes of a Few Decisions of the superior courts of North Carolina and the circuit court of the United States, 1778-97. He also collected materials for a history of North Caro- lina, published in the form of annals at New Orleans in 1829. Af- ter 20 years of successful practice as a lawyer he was appointed judge of the Mississippi territory, March 7, 1809, to succeed the venerable Judge Bruin, and thence, after a brief service, he was transferred to the bench of the Territory of Orleans, where his services gained for him the title of father of the jurisprudence of Louisiana. He was made attorney-general of the State in 1813, judge of the supreme court in 1815, and chief justice in 1837, retir- ing from the bench in 1845. His death occurred in December, 1846, at New Orleans. He was the author of a digest and reports of Louisiana law, and a history of Louisiana from the settlement until 1814.
Martin, W. T. Mr. Martin opposed the doctrine of secession, as he said in the convention of 1865, "with all my energy, in 1851; and in 1860 opposed it with such pertinacity that I was accused
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of being unfaithful to the South and not fit to be trusted. The ordinance of secession was an act of revolution. As such alone, I was willing to fight to sustain it."
In 1860 he was captain of the Adams Troop of cavalry, one of the ten companies in the State army, which went to Memphis and was mustered into the service of the Confederate service June 16, 1861. Going to Virginia with other Mississippi cavalry companies, the 2d Mississippi battalion was formed under the command of Martin as major. This was the only representation of Mississippi cav- alry in the east. In July, 1861, the battalion was merged with Love's Alabama battalion, and a Georgia company, to form the Jeff Davis Legion, of which Martin was the commander. In the latter part of 1861 he was on scouting duty toward the Potomac, and was presently promoted to lieutenant-colonel, and colonel. He was particularly distinguished in J. E. B. Stuart's raid around McClellan's army, before Richmond, in the summer of 1862, he and Fitz Lee and W. H. F. Lee leading Stuart's battalions. Pro- moted to brigadier-general December, 1862, he was sent to the west, whence came an urgent demand for assistance. Subsequently the legion, under Cols. William G. Conner and J. Fred Waring, and Majors I. F. Lewis and W. M. Stone, was distinguished in the battles of Brandy Station and Gettysburg, Trevillion and Ream's Station, and made its last fight before Raleigh, N. C., in April, 1865. In Tennessee Gen. Martin, whose reputation was wide- spread as an intrepid cavalry leader, was given command of a divi- sion including the brigades of Roddey and Cosby, with which he took part in VanDorn's brilliant victory at Thompson's Station, March 5, 1863, and rendered important service during the Tulla- homa campaign. He was in command of the cavalry in Long- street's expedition against Knoxville; was promoted to major- general November, 1863, and commanded a division of Wheeler's cavalry during the Atlanta campaign, after which he was assigned to command in northwest Mississippi. After the surrender of the armies he was elected a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1865 (q. v.), and was a member of the constitutional convention of 1890. In 1905 he was appointed postmaster at Natchez.
Martinsville, a post-hamlet in the south-central part of Copiah county, on the Illinois Central R. R., 5 miles south of Hazlehurst, the county seat. It has express and telegraph offices, two churches, a school, and lumber mills. Population in 1900, 68.
Marydell, a postoffice in the northeastern part of Leake county, 12 miles from Carthage, the county seat.
Mashulaville, a post-village of Noxubee county, situated on Harshuqua creek, 10 miles west of Macon, the county seat, and nearest telegraph, express and banking town. It has three churches, two stores, and a money order postoffice. A fine saw mill and a gin are located here. Population in 1900, 125.
Mason and Harp. The Mississippi river had its pirates, and there is mention of their operations from New Madrid and Chick- asaw Bluffs, in the old chronicles. Emigrants were frequently
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waylaid and robbed of their possessions and occasionally lives were taken. While the Mississippi river had these terrors, the adven- turer from the South Atlantic States had first to pass the dreaded Mussel Shoals, where the Chickamauga Indians levied tribute upon lives and property. When the right to travel the trail from Natchez to Bear Creek was obtained from the Indians, bands of highway- men began to infest that line of travel also. In April, 1802, Gov- ernor Claiborne was informed that a band headed by Samuel Mason and Wiley Harp, had attempted to board the boat of Col. Joshua Baker between the Yazoo and Walnut Hills. The same outlaws had been operating on the trail, and for years had been robbing travelers and committing murders. Col. Daniel Burnet was ordered to take 15 or 20 volunteers and pursue the banditti, and the United States officers at Walnut Hills and Bear Creek were asked to cooperate. A reward of $2,000 was offered for their cap- ture. Harp seems to have separated from the band about this period of time and gone up into Kentucky. John L. Swaney, the old mail rider on the Natchez Trace, claimed to know both Harp and Mason well. He said there were two brothers, one known as Big Harp, and the other as Little Harp. According to this au- thority, Big Harp, after a career of crime in Tennessee and Ken- tucky, was hunted down and killed by a company of men, but his brother, Little Harp, made his escape, and was undoubtedly one of the men hung at Greenville. Mason and most of his gang made their escape from the country, if the following testimony of Swaney is to be credited. He says: "On one of my return trips from Natchez, I fell in with the wife of young Tom Mason (according to Swaney, the elder Mason was known as Tom Mason; he had two sons Tom and John, who, with six or eight other men composed the band), carrying a baby and a small sack of provisions in her arms. She was making for the Chickasaw Agency, to go thence to her friends. She begged me to help her on her way, which I did by placing her on my horse. I did this for a day, and made up the lost time by traveling all night. Mrs. Mason told me they were all safe and out of reach." The usually accepted version of the death of Mason is as follows: Two of his band, tempted by the large reward, concerted a plan by which they might obtain it. An opportunity soon occurred ; and while Mason, in company with the two conspirators, was counting out some ill-gotten plunder, a tomahawk was buried in his brain, or, according to another, he was shot, and his severed head brought to Greenville, in Jefferson county, by the two traitors. As Circuit Court was in session at the time, they went before the Judge to make their affidavit and get a certificate to the Governor. The head was duly identified by persons who knew Mason well, but before the certificate was made out, the two miscreants were recognized by two travelers whose father they had recently robbed and murdered. They first recognized the horses of the two bandits at the tavern, where they had just alighted, and at once repaired to the court house, identified the men and demanded their arrest, declaring that they had helped
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rob and murder their father some two months previously on the Natchez Trace. The prisoners gave their names as Sutton and May and were tried, convicted and hung at Greenville, being pros- ecuted by George Poindexter, attorney-general. The leader Mason was now dead, together with two of his gang; Harp had fled the State, and the disheartened gang dispersed, with the result that few robberies were committed thereafter in Mississippi for many years.
The above account of the death of Mason and the dispersal of his band is substantially corroborated by Thomas Reed, Esq., in his Centennial history of Jefferson county and by the historian, Monette. The historian, Claiborne, seems to incline to the belief, in accordance with the testimony of Swanay, above referred to, that the head brought to Greenville was not that of Mason at all, but that Mason and his gang, after the governor's proclamation, were closely hunted by the whites and Indians, and after a num- ber of narrow escapes, made their escape across the Mississippi, to somewhere about Lake Providence, in the Spanish Territory. The account of Capt. W. L. Harper, of Jefferson county, quoted by Claiborne, is as follows: "Governor Claiborne offered a large reward for the capture of Mason, the leader of the band that in- fested the road. Mason's family then resided in this county, not far from old Shankstown, and his wife was generally respected as an honest and virtuous woman, by all her neighbors, and one of her sons was a worthy citizen of Warren county not many years ago. The reward tempted two of his band to kill Mason, or some one they said was Mason, and bring in his head to Greenville for recognition. Many fully identified it by certain marks thereon, except his wife, who as positively denied it. The Governor had sent his carriage for her expressly to come down and testify. But some parties had recognized in the claimants two men who, along with Mason, had robbed them but a short time before, when they were arrested, tried and hung, thus getting their reward, but not exactly in the way they sought. They gave their names as May and Sutton, and many believed Mason fled the country and died in his bed in Canada."
January 16, 1804, George Poindexter, attorney-general of the Territory, informed the acting governor that several persons were confined in the jail of Jefferson district, charged with capital of- fences in the Choctaw country, these persons being "notoriously confederates of Mason's junta, who for a length of time have infested the highway leading from this Territory to the State of Tennessee." Poindexter advised that a special session of oyer and terminer be called to dispose of the cases. There is on file in the Mississippi Department of Archives and History an inter- esting record, in French, of the trial of Samuel Mason for robbery at New Madrid in January, 1803.
Mastodon, a post-hamlet of Panola county, situated on Indian creek, 15 miles west of Sardis, one of the seats of justice for the county. Population in 1900, 45.
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Mate, a postoffice of Lauderdale county.
Matherville, a post-hamlet in the northeastern part of Wayne county, 13 miles north of Waynesboro, the county seat. Popula- tion in 1900, 52. The town is growing and has three stores, a church, a school, a cotton gin, and a saw mill. It lies in the midst of a prairie belt. Population about 100.
Mathiston, an incorporated post-town of Webster county, on the Southern, and the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City Ry's, 10 miles southeast of Walthall, the county seat, and 8 miles east of Eupora. It has several stores, a saw and planing mill plant, a handle factory, a Munger system cotton gin, two white churches, and a bank, the Bank of Mathiston, established in 1905, with $15,000 capital. The Review is a Democratic weekly, published and edited by Chas. A. McClure. The town is comparatively new and is growing rapidly. It has a good school ; several fine brick business houses have been erected during the year 1906. It is surrounded by a fine agriculture district, cotton and corn being the chief staples. Its water supply is excellent. The population in 1906 was estimated at 600. Three rural mail routes emanate from Mathiston.
Matthews, a post-hamlet of Pontotoc county, about 16 miles from Pontotoc, the county seat. Population in 1900, 19.
Matthews, George, Jr., territorial judge, commissioned July 1, 1805, was born in Oglethorpe county, Ga., the son of General and Governor George Matthews, associated with the history of Mis- sissippi through the Yazoo land schemes. On account of the storm of protest against these laws, young Matthews was persuaded to leave his native State, and his appointment in Mississippi seems to have been only preparatory to making his home in Louisiana, where he was given a Territorial judgeship, January 19, 1806. In Louisiana he married a Miss Flower, of East Feliciana. Gov. Claiborne appointed him chief justice of the State when it was or- ganized and he gained distinction in this office.
Matthews, Joseph W., was born in 1812, near Huntsville, Ala. He came to the State as a government surveyor, and became a planter near the extinct town of Salem, living two miles distant, in Marshall county. In 1840 he was a member of the lower house of the legislature, and he was in the senate in 1844-48. In the militia he had the rank of colonel. He was nominated for governor of the State by the Democrats in 1847, against Maj. A. B. Bradford, a hero of the war then in progress, and was elected by a large ma- jority. (See Brown's Adm.) His simplicity of life was indicated by the campaign names attached to him-"Jo Salem," "Jo, the well-digger." Reuben Davis wrote of him: "He had great prac- tical sense, but was neither brilliant nor oratorical. He was pecu- liar and extremely pleasant. To hear him speak was like listening to a well-told narrative, and you could almost suppose you were listening to his personal experience of public events, and observa- tions of men and things. In all this he had the faculty of being earnest and impressive." He died August 27, 1862, at Palmetto, Ga., on his way to Richmond, Va.
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Matthews' Administration. The inaugural address of Governor Matthews, January 10, 1848, was mainly devoted to national poli- tics, as influenced by the war with Mexico and the prospect of gaining new territory from that republic. (See Brown's Adm.) He said :
"In the constitutional compact between the States, it was ex- pressly stipulated that new States might be admitted into the Union upon the same footing with the original States. The pro- hibition of slavery was not made a condition of the Union of the original States, it cannot therefore be made a condition of the ad- mission of new States. So far from the institution of slavery con- stituting an objection to the union of the original States, it is ex- pressly recognized by the constitution, and guarantees for its pro- tection were incorporated into that instrument; for the States into which fugitives might fly, were bound to deliver them to their owners, although slavery might be prohibited by the laws of such States. The institution of slavery is a right reserved by the States; and if Congress refuses a new State admission into the Union within its limits, such refusal, in my judgment, will be a flagrant disregard of the injunctions of the constitution, and an abandonment of the compact, which, at present, and it may be fondly hoped shall, to the end of time, bind together the States of this glorious Union. Our present territory, or that which may be acquired, is, and will be, the common property of the United States. To prohibit the citizens of one portion of the Union from inhabiting such territory, without first submitting to a disfran- chisement of rights secured to them by the constitution would be a palpable violation of that clause which provides that 'citizens of each state shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.' This is a momentous question ; one on which is suspended the existence of this happy confederacy. It is useless to evade the question by refusing territorial indem- nity from Mexico. It must be met. We must know whether the compromise of the constitution are to be respected; whether citi- zens of the slave States are to be considered as equals with their northern brethren, and whether slavery is regarded as such a crime that those who hold this species of property are unworthy of an association with the inhabitants of the free States. Experience has proved that no people have ever gained anything by yielding to invasions of their rights, but, generally, in the end, they lose everything ; and while I believe that we should, in reference to this momentous and exciting question, exercise moderation; while I would appeal to the interest, the patriotism and the justice of our brethren of the free States, and entreat them to pause and reflect well, before they take a step which must result in consequences appalling to the heart of every patriot; yet I would meet any and all attempts to interfere with or invade our constitutional rights with a firmness and decision that should be felt and respected. On this subject they can yield, but we cannot. We have no desire to interfere with their domestic institutions, nor can we submit to
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their interference with ours. We ask not that slavery shall exist in a State, in order to its admission into the Union, but that the people of each State shall establish such domestic institutions as they may deem most conducive to their interests and happiness. To prevent the extension of slavery territory, would prove the greatest calamity to that portion of population. If they were lib- erated they could not remain amongst us. They are prohibited from migrating to most of the free States and denied the right of citizenship, I believe, in all. What, then, should we do with them? Soon their natural increase would lead, either to their extermination, or to the expulsion of the white race."
In his message of January 26 Governor Matthews declared that his conviction was that "the State is bound by every consideration of good faith, justice and honor, to pay" the Planters' bank bonds, which it was proposed to repudiate. He discussed and refuted the argument that the bonds were illegal because the legislature vio- lated its contract with the old Bank of Mississippi, in chartering the Planters' bank. He said that a refusal of the State, now, to pay these bonds "would consign the character of the State to in- famy and indelible disgrace." As a means of payment he proposed "that we immediately bring into market the 500,000 acres of land granted by the general government to the State; and that we shall receive in payment for the land, gold, silver, auditor's warrants and bonds of the State issued to take stock in the Planters bank and the coupons for interest on the same." The amount for which the bonds would sell would of course be placed to the debit of the State and to the credit of the internal improvement fund, bearing interest or not, as the people might choose. Without increasing our taxes one dollar, we would have the splen- did sum of $175,000 annually at our disposal to improve our rivers, make railroads, and all such other improvements as the people might require." Such a law was passed. (See Banking and In- ternal Improvement.) But of its workings the Governor said in 1850: "The very short crops of our great staple, for the last two years; the extremely low price of the same; the unprecedented overflow of the Mississippi river, and the prevalence of the cholera, with the inducements to emigration presented by our immense territories westward," had conspired to limit the sales of public lands.
The years 1847-50 were a period of great prosperity in Missis- sippi, caused by the jubilant spirit that followed the successful war with Mexico, carried forward and reinforced by the discovery of gold in California. "All the prairie and bottom lands of Missis- sippi rose at once to $75 and $80 an acre." The crops were im- mense, great quantities of cattle and horses were raised, and there was no pauper in the land. (Reuben Davis.)
Gov. Matthews said in his message of January, 1850, "With the exception of cholera, which has merely touched the western margin of our State, an unusual degree of health has been enjoyed.
Although less propitious seasons than usual and low prices for
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our staple have diminished the pecuniary rewards of our industry, yet no extensive embarrassment exists. Our citizens are mostly free from debt; our storehouses abound with plenty; and, under the benign influence of our institutions and the guidance of a beneficent providence, our march is onward and upward towards prosperity and happiness."
His summary of finances showed that the assessments were a little over $500,000, of which $100,000 was assessed against the United States bank of Pennsylvania, the Commercial and Rail- road bank of Vicksburg and the Bank of Vicksburg. This $100,- 000 was the subject of litigation and yet uncollected. The receipts from ordinary sources of revenue in 1849 were $358,617, the ordi- nary current expense $139,957. The balance in the treasury Jan- uary 1, 1849, was $438,667; but $183,850 of this was due the Two and Three per cent. funds, the Seminary and the Sinking funds.
The State officers elected for November, 1848 to November, 1850, were, Samuel Stamps, secretary of state; Richard Griffith, treasurer; George T. Swann, auditor. John D. Freeman was at- torney-general.
Notable events of the administration were the adoption of the Hutchinson Code or revision of statutes; the building of the Jack- son and Brandon railroad; the advent of the telegraph; the found- ing of the institute for the blind; the law for leasing the Chicka- saw school lands; the law for sale of internal improvement lands to pay the Planters bank bonds; the election of Jefferson Davis to the United States senate ; the Jackson convention of 1849.
A large part of Governor Matthews last message was devoted to the same subject as his first State paper, with this difference, that the State of California had been organized by its inhabitants, and a constitution adopted prohibiting slavery. The governor said :
"In the event of the adoption of the Wilmot proviso, by Con- gress, or the admission of California into the Union by virtue of her late pretended constitution, the abolition of slavery in the Dis- trict of Columbia, or the prohibition of the commerce in slaves between the States, I recommend that the Governor be authorized to order an election of delegates from all the counties in the State, to a convention to take into consideration the mode and measures of redress, and to adopt such measures for our future security as the crisis may demand." (See Convention of 1849.)
At the election of 1849 Gen. John A. Quitman was the Demo- cratic candidate for governor, representing the extreme doctrine that there was no effective right anywhere to restrict slavery. He received 33,117 votes to 22,996 for the Whig candidate, Luke Lea.
Mattie, a hamlet of Covington county, 10 miles northeast of Wil- liamsburg, the county seat. The postoffice here has been discon- tinued, and mail now goes to Norfleet.
Mattox, a postoffice of Kemper county, 10 miles southwest of Dekalb, the county seat.
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Mattson, a hamlet in the southeastern part of Coahoma county, at the junction of two branches of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. It is 10 miles by rail from Clarksdale, and has a money order postoffice.
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