USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. II > Part 40
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000. Its population is growing rapidly and in 1906 was estimated at 2,000. There is a prosperous wholesale grocery firm located here, and others are contemplating similar establishments owing to the excellent railway facilities to be had.
Newton County was established February 25th, 1836, and was a part of the extensive region ceded to the United States by the Choctaws in the treaty of Dancing Rabbit, 1830. The county has a land surface of 561 square miles. It was named in honor of Sir Isaac Newton. The county is a square, containing sixteen town- ships, and is bounded on the north by the county of Neshoba, on the east by Lauderdale county, on the south by Jasper county and on the west by Scott county. It originally formed the lower half of Neshoba county, townships numbered 5, 6, 7, and 8, of ranges numbered 10, 11, 12, and 13, east of the basis meridian, being taken from that county to form its area. Besancon's Annual Register for Mississippi (1838) gives the following list of county officers for that year: N. Bright, Sheriff; Geo. W. Parris, Judge of Pro- bate; Wm. Gregg, Clerk of the Circuit Court; Geo. Armstrong, Clerk of Probate; Mercer M. Booker, Surveyor; Thos. P. Redwine, Assessor and Collector ; Thos. Maulden, Treasurer ; Jessey Henry, Coroner ; Dudley H. Thompson, Ranger ; Thos. J. Runnels, Free- man Jones, Benjamin Bright, Roland Williams, Joshua Tatnum, Members of the Board of Police. A most interesting and instruc- tive account of the antiquities of the county will be found in Vol- ume 6, Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, by Capt. A. J. Brown whose valuable "History of Newton County" is also very instructive and complete. Speaking of the old town of Pink- ney, he says: "The name Pinkney dates as far back in the history of Newton county, as any other name in it. It is not known from what the town derived its name; the probabilities are it was set- tled as early as 1837, probably earlier, and was a place of some im- portance and trade. Lane & Boyd, merchants of that place, are re- ported to have had a stock of goods of $10,000, who issued a frac- tional currency called 'shin-plasters,' and were correspondents of the Decatur bank, and when the bank failed it naturally carried the business of Lane & Boyd with it. . About twenty years ago Mr. S. D. Daniel commenced a general merchandise bus- iness and sold a large amount of goods and made money. The place has a good mill seat. The name of Pinkney gave way to Stamper," and Stamper has given way to Stratton, which is rapidly growing, owing not only to the fine water power to be obtained, but also to the excellent farming lands surrounding the town. This region, long the home of the Choctaw Indians, re- ceived a considerable influx of hardy settlers early in the last cen- tury. By the year 1837, there were in the county 1,506 whites and 426 slaves and during the last decade the region has taken on a new and more rapid growth, and while it possesses no towns of much size, it now has a population of about 21,000 souls. The county seat is the old town of Decatur, located near the center and having a population of 250. Its two largest towns are Hickory (pop. 626)
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and Newton (pop. 2,000), located at the crossing of the Alabama & Vicksburg Ry. with the M. J. & K. C. R. R. Some of the other villages are the old settlement of Union in the northern part, Chunkey's Station, Conehatta and Lawrence. The Alabama & Vicksburg Ry. runs across the southern part of the county from east to west and gives it direct communication with Jackson and Meridian, and the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City R. R. traverses the county from north to south. This railroad has opened up some fine timber lands, which afford an excellent opportunity for man- ufacturers at Newton. A short line known as the Tallahatta Ry. from Meehan Junction on the A. & V. Ry. taps its eastern border. The county is well watered by numerous creeks, which flow south from the Chickasawhay River. The timber of the region consists of pine, oak, sweet and black gum, cedar, magnolia, beech and cypress. It lies in what is known as the central prairie belt and its surface is level, undulating and hilly; the soil varies in character, con- sisting of prairie, pine and bottom lands and "reed brakes." It produces cotton, corn, oats, sorghum, tobacco, sugar cane, rice, potatoes, field peas and all kinds of vegetables and fruits suitable to the latitude. Many fine beds of marl are to be found in the county and an extensive use of fertilizers is made; in the year 1900 $41,710 was expended in this direction.
The industry of stock raising has proved profitable and this item is a large one in estimating the resources of the county. The fol- lowing statistics from the twelfth United States census for 1900, relate to farms, manufactures and population :- Number of farms 3,277, acreage in farms 299,641, acres improved 114,928, value of land exclusive of buildings $1,135,760, value of buildings $543,230, value of live stock $605,696, total value of products not fed $1,165,- 741. Number of manufactures 63, capital invested $162,102, wages paid $44,141, cost of materials $130,085, total value of products $285,297. The population of the county in 1900 was whites 11,659, colored 8,049, a total of 19,708 and an increase of 3,083 over the year 1890. The population in 1906 was estimated at 21,000. Artesian water has been found at Hickory, at Chunkey's Station and along the eastern border of the county. The total assessed valuation of real and personal property in Newton county in 1905 was $2,435,291 and in 1906 it was $3,765,433 which shows an increase of $1,330,- 142 during the year.
Newtonia, a postoffice in the southern part of Wilkinson county, 6 miles south of Woodville, the county seat, and nearest banking, express and telegraph town. Population in 1900, 26.
Newton Landing, a post-hamlet of Warren county, on the Mis- sissippi river, about 16 miles south of Vicksburg. Population in 1900, 24.
Newtonville, a postoffice of Attala county, 13 miles east of Kos- ciusko, the county seat. Population in 1900, 22.
Newzion, a postoffice in the southeastern part of Pike county, 25 miles east of Magnolia, the county seat.
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Nicholson, a station on the New Orleans & North Eastern R. R., 34 miles northwest of Bay St. Louis, the county seat of Hancock county. Picayune is the nearest banking town. A money order postoffice is maintained here. Population in 1900, 100; in 1906 the population was estimated at 300.
Nicholson, Isaac R., a native of Georgia, was a lawyer in North- ern Alabama before his coming to Mississippi. In 1822 he was colonel on the staff of the governor. In 1825-27 he represented Copiah county in the legislature, and was elected speaker in 1827. Upon the organization of a new judicial circuit in 1828 to include the Choctaw cession of 1820 and the upper Tombigbee country, he was elected by the legislature as judge of the circuit and the fifth member of the supreme court. In this position he served with notable ability until the change of the judicial system under the constitution of 1832, when he resumed the practice and contin- ued in it until his death at Natchez.
Nick, or Malone Station, a postoffice of Marshall county, on the Illinois Central R. R., 14 miles by rail south of Holly Springs.
Nile, a postoffice of Attala county, 10 miles southeast of Kos- ciusko, the county seat.
Nirvana, a postoffice of Panola county.
Nittayuma, a post-hamlet in the northwestern part of Sharkey county, on Deer creek and on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 10 miles north of Rolling Fork, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice. Population in 1906, 125.
Nixon, George H., colonel of militia, distinguished in the Creek war (q. v.) "was born in Virginia, and, living some years in South Carolina, removed thence in 1809 to the Mississippi territory." He was lieutenant-colonel commanding the militia of his county, before the Creek war, when he was selected by Governor Holmes, in October, 1813, to command a battalion organized for duty in the field. It is said of him in Pickett's history of Alabama: "During the Creek war, Colonel Nixon, at the head of a considerable force, scoured the swamps of the Perdido and other streams, and fre- quently killed and captured Indians. After he had accomplished all he could, he marched to the head of the Perdido, where he divided his command, sending Maj. William Peacock, with the troops of the 39th, (Col. John Williams' regiment) to the Boat- yard, on Lake Tensaw, while he marched the remainder of his command to Fort Claiborne. He was an excellent officer and served in the war until its conclusion. [He was a member of the first state legislature in 1817, and was appointed colonel of the Seventh regiment, (Marian and Hancock) in the same year.] He died in Pearlington, Miss., in 1824. He was a large and fine-look- ing man, with fair complexion, and was very popular."
Noah, a postoffice in the northeastern part of Lafayette county, about 14 miles from Oxford, the county seat.
Nod, a postoffice of Yazoo county. It has two stores, a church and school, and a population of about 60.
Noel Amendment-See Judiciary (1870-1905.)
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Nola, a postoffice in the western part of Lawrence county, about 10 miles northwest of Monticello, the county seat. It is a station on the Illinois Central R. R., running from Brookhaven to Monti- cello.
Nolan, Philip, was a Kentucky Irishman who became famous through his association with Gen. Wilkinson. In his ingenious defense before the court martial of 1811, Wilkinson said of Nolan : "It is true, this extraordinary character was first my protegé, and afterwards my agent, in Louisiana, and that he took charge of my affairs in the years 1789-90 and 1791. To this gallant, meritorious, unfortunate young man's letters, I appeal with confidence for his and my own political principles and attachments. Not- withstanding all my management and influence Mr. Nolan had cause to be jealous of the Spaniards and considered Governor Gayoso his mortal enemy."
When Wilkinson, abandoning his monopoly of trade to New Orleans, in 1791, received a commission in the army of the United States, Nolan made a trip down the river, from which he did not return for several years. Then he wrote to Wilkinson, from Frank- fort, June 10, 1796: that he had been suspected for a spy by the Mexicans, and even by Gayoso and he dared not write. "A letter from a trader in horses, to a general of the Federal armies, would have confirmed suspicions that were nearly fatal to me." Miro's passport in Mexico, on his last trip, had not protected him from suspicion as a spy, and he was cheated out of all his goods, and re- duced to poverty. Disappointed and distressed, he went among the Indians, that wandered between the Illinois and San Antonio. "I was a favorite with the Tawayes and Cammanches, successful in the chase, victorious in little feats of activity, but I could not altogether Indianfy my heart." A sense of obligation drew him back; he turned hunter, sold skins, caught wild horses and made his way to Louisiana with fifty head. "At Orleans I was received as a person risen from the dead-protected by the Baron. Re- turned again to San Antonio and caught 250 head. I lost a great part of these by the yellow water; sold the best at Natchez, and arrived here yesterday with 42 head."
It was, perhaps, in this wild period of his life, that Nolan became associated with St. Gertrude, the wife of Anthony Leal, the record of whose depositions and denials, made in her dungeon, was among the Spanish archives of San Antonio.
After his return to Kentucky Nolan resumed his relations with Wilkinson. It was alleged that he received from Thomas Power, agent of Governor Carondelet, the $9,640 sent up to New Madrid for the general. In the winter of 1796 he started down the river with some boats loaded with Kentucky produce, and a cipher let- ter from General Wilkinson to Gayoso, at Natchez, with the fol- lowing recommendation :
"This will be delivered to you by Nolan, whom you know is a child „of my own raising, true to his profession and firm in his
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attachments to Spain. I consider him a powerful instrument in our hands, should occasion offer."
Near the mouth of the Ohio river he fell in with Ellicott, on his way to survey the Spanish boundary. It is a curious fact that Ellicott depended upon him for advice as to his conduct, and re- ceived confidential information about the Spanish-American sit- uation, in ignorance that, to Gayoso, the governor at Natchez, Nolan was the agent of General Wilkinson. How much this had to do with the subsequent complications, or how much of accident there was in the meeting of Ellicott and Nolan, is an interesting subject of conjecture. Precisely what Gayoso thought of Wilkin- son it is difficult to conclude. But before this time the Spanish officials were disposed to believe that Wilkinson was utterly false, and it appears that they finally visited their vengeance upon the unfortunate agent of the chief intriguer. During the subsequent complications at Natchez Gayoso wrote to Carondelet to keep Nolan at New Orleans, because he feared his influence. Ellicott wrote in his journal: "A few days after we had encamped at the confluence of the rivers (Mississippi and Ohio), Mr. Philip Nolan, so well-known for his athletic exertions, and dexterity in taking wild horses, stopped at our camp on his way from New Madrid to fort Massac, having two boats at the latter place shut up in the ice. From him I obtained much useful information relative to the situations, and characters, of the principal inhabitants of Natchez; which at that time was a matter of mere curiosity, but which eventually I found extremely useful. Being pleased with his conversation, and finding that he had a very extensive knowl- edge of the country, particularly Louisiana, I requested the pleas- ure of his company down the river, as we were unacquainted with the navigation of it, to which he agreed. While in our camp he observed a number of Indians, who were from the west side of the Mississippi, and spoke to them in the several languages with which he was acquainted, but they could not understand him ; he then addressed them by signs, to which they immediately re- plied, and conversed for some time with apparent ease, and satis- faction. This was the first time I had ever seen, or heard of this curious language, and being led by curiosity to speak to Mr. . Nolan upon the subject, he informed me that it was used by many nations on the west side of the Mississippi, who could only be understood by each other in that way, and that it was commonly made use of in transacting their national congress concerns." A vocabulary of part of this curious language has been sent on to the American Philosophical Society by William Dunbar, Esq. When Francis Baily, afterward famous as an English scientist, visited New Orleans in 1797, he met Nolan at table, and learned that he was preparing for a trading expedition up Red river, on his way to Mexico. "He told me it was a life of extreme fatigue, and very difficult to be procured, as the Spanish governors were very jealous whom they admitted to this privilege; and it would be impossible to carry it on without their permission. His mode
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of carrying such articles as he takes out is in little barrels, which are placed upon packhorses, three barrels upon a horse; and in this manner he will travel for hundreds-I may say thousands, of miles through the woods, bartering with the Indians as he goes along, and receiving in return skins and furs, or wild horses. These horses (of which there are plenty in the Apelousa country, and in the province of Mexico) are caught in a most curious man- ner, and which can only be effected with success by those who have been used to the practice," i. e., the now familiar method of lassoing. In a letter from New Orleans, April, 1797, Nolan tells a story of one Newman, "an unprincipled villain," ruined and imprisoned, who had threatened to make some exposure regarding Wilkinson. Nolan was about to start from Natchez for San An- tonio, with a party of ten riflemen. "I have got such a passport, that I apprehend neither risk nor detention; I have instruments to enable me to make a more correct map than the one you have ; Ellicott assisted me in acquiring a more perfect knowledge of astronomy and glasses, and Gayoso himself has made me a present of a portable sextant. My time piece is good. I shall pay every attention, and take an assistant with me, who is a tolerable mathematician." Writing from Natchez, July 21, he declared he would set out next day, having waited for assurance of peace. He would take $7,000 worth of merchandise, and every necessary credential from the Baron. Gayoso had been appointed governor of Louisiana at last, and Grand Pré governor of Natchez. Of Gayoso Nolan said: "He is a vile man and my implacable enemy ; yet he treats me with attention. . The Baron knows him, and has done all in his power to secure me from his vengeance. I have, however, my fears; and I may yet be obliged to shoot the monster with a poisoned arrow. What do you think of Ellicott? He professes great friendship for me. Will we have a war? At all events, I can cut my way back, and you may calculate on me."
Edward Everett Hale quotes Nolan as writing: "I look for- ward to the conquest of Mexico by the United States and I expect my friend and patron the General (Wilkinson), will, in such event, give me a conspicuous command." Mr. Hale adds: He expected the command in the expedition which John Adams and Hamilton were preparing at Cincinnati in the "new army", as it was called. This army was to be commanded by Hamilton, and a considerable part of it gathered at Cincinnati. It is likely, however, that Nolan's main ambition was in regard to a conquest of Mexico, such as afterward engaged the attention of Aaron Burr.
In the spring of 1800 Nolan appeared at Natchez on his way to Kentucky, and acting as an agent for Major Minor's brother, took away a slave Caesar, who had served as Indian interpreter for Minor and Sargent.
In October, Gov. Sargent was notified by Capt. Vidal, com- manding at the Spanish post of Concord, opposite Natchez, that Nolan was preparing to enter Spanish territory "in a manner to disturb the amity between Spain and the United States," and the
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subject was referred to Judges Lewis and Bruin, who called Nolan before them; but there being no evidence against him, and as he had a passport from the Spanish governor, he was dismissed. Papers bearing on this episode were found in the office of the secretary of state of Mississippi and read by a Federal officer, in 1863, and by him related to Edward Everett Hale, who had made the name of Philip Nolan familiar by his story of "A Man without a Country," taking the name from the references to Nolan in the memoirs of General Wilkinson. Nolan had by this time, October, 1800, married Fanny Lintot, who was related to the Minors of Concord mansion, and a son, Philip, was born after his father ventured again into Spanish territory, never to return. Nolan had with him, in this expedition, it appears, a small body of armed men, and the Spanish authorities suspected him of organizing a rebellion.
On March 26, 1801, he was shot down and killed at the head of his men, by Spanish troops. "His companions were all taken pris- oners and made to work in the Spanish mines. From time to time, rumors or messages would come back from them. On the 11th of November, 1807, Ephraim Blackburn, one of their number, was hanged. Observe, they had all been acquitted by the court which tried them. They were to be decimated. But there were but nine of them left, from the twenty companions of Nolan. A drum, a glass tumbler, and two dice were brought. The prisoners knelt and were blindfolded. Ephraim took the glass first and threw the dice. He threw three and one. This was the lowest throw and so he was hanged." (E. E. Hale, "Philip Nolan," edition of 1898, introduction.) Mr. Hale regarded the killing of Nolan and im- prisonment of his companions as one of the causes for the bitter hatred of the Spaniards in the Mississippi valley.
Nolen, a postoffice in the north-central part of Yalobusha county, 6 miles west of Watervalley, one of the county seats of justice, and the nearest railroad and banking town.
Nome, a postoffice of Pike county, 20 miles east, northeast of Magnolia, the county seat.
Norfield, an incorporated post-town in the southern part of Lin- coln county, on the Illinois Central R. R., about 12 miles south of Brookhaven, the county seat. The Natchez, Columbia & Mobile, a standard guage railroad, doing a general business, but operated primarily as a logging road, extends east from Norfield for about 20 miles and taps a rich pine country. It is a prosperous lumbering town, located in the heart of the long-leaf yellow pine region. Many northerners have settled here. The important business in- terests of the town, including lumber yard, saw mill and logging road, are in the hands of one of these families, the Butterfields. It has a money order postoffice. Population in 1900, 347; in 1906 it was estimated at 700. The town is furnished with electric light and water by the Butterfield Lumber Co.
Norfleet, a postoffice of Covington county.
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Norfolk, a postoffice in the northwestern part of De Soto county located on the Mississippi river, 6 miles west of Walls Station, on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. Population in 1900, 21.
Norrell, a postoffice of Hinds county, on the Alabama & Vicks- burg R. R., 14 miles west of Jackson.
Norris, a postoffice of Scott county, 4 miles southeast of Forrest, the county seat, and nearest railroad and banking town. Popula- tion in 1900, 21.
Northbend, a post-hamlet of Neshoba county, 6 miles northeast of Philadelphia, the county seat. Population in 1900, 40.
Northcarrollton, an incorporated post-town of Carroll county, on the Southern Railway, less than a mile north of Carrollton, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice, telegraph and express facilities, a cotton seed oil mill, a brick factory, and is supplied with electric light from Carrollton. The town has 4 churches. The Peoples Bank was organized in 1901 with a capital of $25,000, which has since been increased to $45,000. Its population in 1900 was 189 ; the estimated population in 1906 was 400.
Noxapater, a postoffice of Winston county, located 9 miles south of Louisville, the county seat, on the Noxapater creek, and on the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City R. R. It has several good general stores, the largest saw milling plant in the county, cotton gins, 2 churches, a good school and a bank-The Bank of Noxapater, a branch of the Grenada Bank, established in 1905.
Noxubee County was established December 23rd, 1833, its name being taken from an Indian word meaning "stinking water." It is a fertile prairie region, lying on the northeastern border of the State and is bounded on the north by Oktibbeha and Lowndes counties, on the east by the State of Alabama, on the south by Kemper county and on the west by Winston county. It is one of the sixteen counties formed from the Choctaw cession of 1830 and its original boundaries were as follows: "Beginning on the Tom- beckbee river, at the point at which the line between townships 16 and 17 strikes the said Tombeckbee river, and from thence west with said line between townships 16 and 17, to the line between ranges 14 and 15 east ; and from thence south with said line between ranges 14 and 15 east, to the line between townships 12 and 13; from thence east, with said line between townships 12 and 13, to the line between the State of Alabama and the State of Mississippi, and from thence a northern direction with said line to the Tombeckbee river; and from thence up said river to the place of beginning." The original limits as thus defined have not been changed. The total area of the county is about 18 townships, or 659 square miles. Two of the early settlements were at Bounds- town, so-called from its first settler Mr. Jesse Bounds, and the town of Brooklyn. Boundstown never got beyond the rough country village stage, and was soon absorbed by the neighboring town of Brooklyn, situated on the Noxubee river, eight miles east of Shu- qualak. Loomis Bros. and Hinzy Walker were early merchants here. The river never proved to be navigable for steamboats, and
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by the outbreak of the War the town was dead. It was in this county, between the two prongs of Dancing Rabbit creek, that the famous treaty of Dancing Rabbit was made and signed, September 27th, 1830, whereby the Choctaw Indians relinquished to the United States all their remaining lands east of the Mississippi. The com- missioners for the United States were Major John H. Eaton and Colonel John Coffee. Some six thousand Indians, men, women and children, from first to last were encamped on the creek, and participated in the discussions leading up to the treaty through their Mingoes, chiefs, captains and warriors, chief among whom were the celebrated Colonel Leflore, Mu-shu-la-tub-bee, Nittakechi and Little Leader. This famous spot, so well known to the Choc- taw Nation, is now owned by a local citizen, and is entirely un- marked. Eye-witnesses to the signing of the treaty were two pioneer settlers of the county, Mr. Hilcar Burwell and Mr. G. W. Campbell. Other early emigrants to the region were William Dar- roh, Thompson Allen, J. L. Higginbotham, Isham Harrison, Wm. Colbert, W. C. H. Finley, Thomas Ellington, Felix H. Walker, J. T. Harrison, C. W. Allen, Thomas H. Dixon, Hezikiah W. Foote, John Bartlett, William Woodward, Cyrus Lovelady, John Culbert- son, Edward Freeman, Shelton Standifer and H. L. Jarnagin. The first court in the county was held in the log house of Joseph H. Frith, on the present site of Macon. The county seat is Macon, pleasantly situated in a beautiful valley, on the east bank of the Noxubee river, at the center of the county. Here, in the late 30's, a two storied brick court house, with porticoes and marble columns was built and used until a more commodious building costing $60,- 000 was erected just before the war. The present fine court house was erected in 1900. Macon is now a thriving place of over 2,000 peo- ple, with several prosperous manufactures and the center of a large trade from the rich farming country about it. The Mobile & Ohio R. R. gives it excellent shipping facilities. Brooksville (pop. 1,- 000), Shuqualak, (pop. 800), Cooksville, Mashulaville and Clifton- ville, are the more important towns. The Mobile & Ohio R. R. runs north and south through the center of the county. The Nox- ubee river runs a very crooked course through the center of the county from the northwest to the southeast, and, with its numerous tributary streams, provides the region with ample water. The eastern two-thirds of the county lies in the black prairie belt and possesses a rich, black soil, underlaid by rotten blue and white limestone. The western third is rolling, timbered lands, with a rather light sandy soil, and not so productive, but well adapted to the raising of fruits and vegetables. The county produces cotton, corn, small grains, potatoes, and fruits and vegetables of all de- scriptions, suitable to the latitude. The stock raising industry is extensive and has become very profitable; many northerners have gone into the horse business, breeding working horses as a spec- ialty, and there are probably as many fine cattle and hogs in Nox- ubee as any county in the State. Manufacturing industries have not attained much prominence as yet, but the region offers a fair
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