Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. II, Part 70

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 70

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It is one theory regarding Wilkinson that when the hope of war vanished, he decided to abandon Burr, whose operations would now be embarrassing, and proceed with an eye solely to his own profit. He wrote the government Oct. 4 he would march to the Sabine, to wipe off the stigma of Spanish possession ; but he had not moved Oct. 8, when Samuel Swartwout arrived with the famous cipher message from Burr. Next morning Wilkinson confided to Col. Cushing that he had discovered that Burr was engaged in a plot of treason, the separation of the west from the United States. A week later, September 14-15, when Swartwout left for New Or- leans, the Mississippi cavalry arrived at Natchitoches, and among them was Walter Burling, a planter near Natchez, who was an intimate friend of the general. Wilkinson confided to him also the "discovery," and made Burling his aide-de-camp. It was now an-

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nounced that the general, menaced by treason in the rear and a for- eign foe in front, had decided to advance and make terms with the Spanish, so that he might be free to turn upon the domestic enemy. Then began the tremendous distortion of the Burr expedition, and the spreading of the alarm that made even Cowles Mead, the pro- fessed enemy of Wilkinson, become an auxiliary to the general in proceedings that from the distant viewpoint of the present, have a strong tinge of the ridiculous. The general prepared to ruin Burr as he had ruined Col. Morgan and his New Madrid enterprise. Whether he did this solely for personal profit or as a "good Span- iard," can be nothing more than a matter of conjecture.

The Mississippi infantry arrived at Natchez, October 15, pro- ceeded to Washington and were discharged. (Natchez Messenger, Oct. 21.) The Jefferson troops, however, remained with the gen- eral, and when Wilkinson had reached the Sabine, Oct. 29, Mr. Burling carried the letters between the general and the Spanish officer. The result appeared Nov. 5 in the Neutral Ground treaty, which was heralded as a great diplomatic victory, but the terms of which Wilkinson refused to disclose at the Burr trial. It was in fact, says one student (W. F. McCaleb, "The Aaron Burr Con- spiracy"), a move that compromised the western pretensions of the United States, made ridiculous the claim to the Rio Grande frontier, and was "a phase in an unsurpassed scheme of imposture and rascality." Wilkinson, accompanied by Burling, returned to Natchez, Nov. 11, and hurried to Concord, the home of Capt. Ste- phen Minor, of the Spanish regular army, where the general's wife lay, near to death. A few days later, Burling left for San Antonio to buy mules. Mr. Burling was a wealthy planter who had never dabbled in the business of such adventurers as Philip Nolan, and people wondered. He traveled overland, under a Spanish military escort, to the city of Mexico, had an interview with the viceroy, and thence proceeded to Vera Cruz and by boat to New Orleans, where he arrived before Wilkinson's departure for Richmond. This was subsequently explained by the general. He sent his "dear and honored friend" to "penetrate the veil which concealed the route to the city of Mexico," and as a cover gave him a passport declaring that he traveled to Mexico to inform the viceroy of the plot of Aaron Burr to invade that country. Burling also carried a passport from Captain Minor, dated Natchez, Nov. 17. Burling reached Mexico in January, and laid before the viceroy, Iturrigaray, a letter from Wilkinson, in which, the viceroy wrote to Cevallos, Spanish minister of state, "you will see he lays great stress on the measures he has taken at the risk of his life, fame and fortune in order to save, or at least to protect this kingdom from the attacks of the insurgents. He finally comes to what I had antici- pated, the question of payment for his services. He asks for $85,- 000 in one sum and $26,000 in another." The general also desired compensation for expenses. The viceroy answered that the gen- eral gave him no information that was not old; that he could not pay such sums of money without orders from the king, and wished

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him "happiness in the pursuit of his righteous intentions." When Burling returned, Wilkinson sent President Jefferson a bill for $1,500 as the expenses of the trip, and to this extent one govern- ment was found open to conquest by Messrs. Burr and Wilkinson. Mr. Burling's report of his journey, and description of the country, is printed in the memoirs of Gen. Wilkinson. Authorities: Missis- sippi Territorial Journals, American State Papers, McCaleb's "Aaron Burr Conspiracy," (quoting Spanish archives), Claiborne's Mississippi.

Sabino, a postoffice in the western part of Quitman county, about 7 miles southwest of Belen, the county seat.

Sable, a postoffice of Clarke county, 14 miles north of Quitman.

Sabougla, a post-hamlet in the southwestern part of Calhoun county, a short distance south of the Yalobusha river, and about 15 miles from Pittsboro, the county seat. Grenada, 18 miles west, is the nearest railroad and banking town. Population in 1900, 150.

Safety, a hamlet of Kemper county, situated on Sucarnoochee creek, about.9 miles north of Dekalb, the county seat. Population in 1900, 65. The postoffice was discontinued in 1906 and mail is addressed to Minnieola.

Sage, a hamlet in the southern part of Union county. It has rural free delivery from Pontotoc.

Sageville, an old village of Lauderdale county, now extinct. It was located near the present station of Okatibbe. (See Lauder- dale county.)

Saint Anns, a post-hamlet in the west-central part of Leake county, on Yokahockany creek, 10 miles west of Carthage, the county seat. Kosciusko is the nearest railroad and banking town. Population in 1900, 59.

Saint Elmo, a post-hamlet of Claiborne county, on the Natchez- Jackson division of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 12 miles east of Port Gibson, the county seat. Hermanville is the nearest banking town. It has a church and a store. Population in 1900, 62.

Saints Rest, a post-hamlet of Sunflower county, 6 miles west of Indianola, the county seat and nearest railroad and banking town. Population in 1900, 42.

Sale, John Burress, was born in Amherst county, Va., June 7, . 1818, son of an eminent preacher, Alexander Sale, who moved with his family to Lawrence county, Ala., where John B. was educated at the LaGrange college. At 19 years of age he was admitted to the bar, and two years later was made judge of probate. In 1845 he made his home at Aberdeen, Miss., forming a law partnership with John Goodwin, to which James Phelan was admitted in 1854. In 1861 he raised a company of volunteers, which became a part of the 27th regiment, of which he was elected major, and later lieuten- · ant-colonel. He was judge-advocate of the Army of Tennessee six months and was then promoted to colonel and ordered to re- port to Gen. Bragg as chief of staff. Bragg was at that time, February, 1864, and later, charged with the conduct of military operations of the armies of the Confederate States, under the direc-

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tion of President Davis. After his return home in 1865 he resumed the practice of law, associated with Senator Phelan and later with Col. W. F. Dowd. He died January 24, 1876.

Colonel Sale was genial with his friends, but in general he was reserved almost to haughtiness. "His mind, like his tall person, was of a massive, ponderous order, and moved slowly but effec- tively. A man of more immense application and labor never exis- ted." (R. Davis' Recollections.) He was generally regarded as one of the ablest lawyers in the history of the State.

Salem, an old town in Tippah (now Benton) county, which was a place of some importance during the 30's and 40's. It was incor- porated in 1837, had a population of about 200, and supported about a dozen business houses, two hotels and a prosperous female school. It was finally absorbed by Ashland, the county seat of Benton, a few miles to the east. (See Tippah county.)

Salem, a post-hamlet of Benton county, 6 miles west of Ashland, the county seat and about 14 miles northeast of Holly Springs, the nearest banking town. It has two churches. Population in 1900, 32.

Sallis, an incorporated post-town in the southwestern part of Attala county, on Long creek, an affluent of the Big Black river, and a station on the Kosciusko branch of the Illinois Central R. R. The town was located in 1874, and was named for Dr. James D. Sallis, the former owner of the town site. It is 11 miles by rail west of Kosciusko, the county seat. Durant is the nearest banking town. It is situated in a fine cotton growing region, and ships a large amount of the staple annually. It has a money order post- office, an academy, several churches, and a steam grist mill. Popu- lation in 1900, 195. The population in 1906 was estimated at 250.

Salona, a postoffice of Washington county.

Salt. One of the first inconveniences of the people during the war of 1861-65 was the shutting off of the supply of salt. State Geologist Hilgard made a search for salt in the State, without success. Governor Pettus in the summer of 1862 sent agents to Virginia, Alabama and Louisiana, and there was no available sup- ply found except in Louisiana. The only way to obtain salt was by mining at New Iberia, La., hauling by wagon to Atchafalaya, and shipping thence by boat, exposed to capture by the Federal navy.

Several foreigners proposed to run salt in through the blockade, and with one of these, Minett, the governor made a contract in 1862 to pay 500 bales of cotton for a cargo of salt, Minett depos- iting $10,000 in Confederate notes as security. But the contract was never fulfilled. Then the governor sent D. S. Pattison, with $20,- 000 and a steamboat, to get salt at Iberia. A boat load was ob- tained, but on his return Pattison was delayed by the Confederate authorities, on account of danger from Federal gunboats, until he was actually blockaded. He managed, however, after much labor, to bring 40,000 pounds to Vicksburg. An effort to manufacture on State account failed, and contracts were made with Strong, Cunningham & Co. to manufacture at Saltville, on private account for North and Northeast Mississippi. The legislature by act of

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January 1, 1863, appropriated $500,000 for the purchase of salt, and Capt. C. W. Turner was appointed salt agent. He contracted for salt from the State salt works of Alabama, but the delivery by the contractors was unsatisfactory. In April, 1863, Col. A. M. West was appointed to distribute the salt, and in October he was given entire charge of the salt affairs. Fifty bales of the cotton bought to pay Minett was turned over to Dr. Luke Blackburn, one of the medical commissioners of the State, to be exchanged at Havana for medical supplies. Under the act of January 1, 1863, there was expended in the following ten months, for salt, $120,000 in Treasury notes. The legislature of 1865 authorized the appoint- ment of a commissioner to sell all the property invested in the State Distillery and Salt works. J. R. Robinson, commissioner, closed out the Distillery, but found no property of the Salt works.

Saltillo, an incorporated post-town in the north-central part of Lee county, on the Mobile & Ohio R. R., 9 miles north of Tupelo. Guntown, 5 miles north, is the nearest banking town. The five commissioners appointed by the legislature in 1866 to organize the new county of Lee, held their first meeting in Saltillo, November 12, 1866. The Lee County Citizen, a semi-monthly Republican paper, was established here in 1898, and is edited and published by R. D. Gladney. The town has a brick and tile factory, two cotton gins, a saw mill, several stores, five churches, one of them the only Catholic church in the county, and a good school. The population in 1906 was estimated at 300.

Sandersville, an incorporated post-town in the northeastern part of Jones county, on the New Orleans & North Eastern R. R., 10 miles northeast of Laurel. The Bank of Sandersville was estab- lished in 1905. Lumbering and stock raising are the important in- dustries of the locality. It has a money order postoffice. Popula- tion in 1900, 357.

Sandhill, a postoffice of Rankin county, about 18 miles northeast of Brandon, the county seat. Jackson is its nearest banking town.

Sandpoint, a post-hamlet of Smith county, 5 miles northeast of Raleigh, the county seat. Population in 1900, 23.

Sandy, a postoffice of Panola county, 10 miles northeast of Bates- ville, one of the county seats of justice, and the nearest railroad and banking town.

Sanford, a post-hamlet in the southeastern part of Covington county, on the Gulf & Ship Island R. R., about 18 miles from Wil- liamsburg, the county seat. Seminary is the nearest banking town. There is a good saw mill located here, a church and a good school. The population in 1906 was estimated at 300.

Santee, a post-hamlet of Covington county, 10 miles southwest of Williamsburg, the county seat, and 1 mile east of the Missis- sippi Central Railroad. Population in 1900, 25.

Sapa, a post-hamlet of Webster county, on the Southern Railway, 3 miles east of Eupora, the nearest banking town. It has a money order postoffice. Population in 1900, 50.

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Sarah, a postoffice in the extreme southwestern part of Tate county, on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., about 15 miles west of Senatobia, the county seat and the nearest banking town.

Saratoga, a station at the junction of the main line of the Gulf & Ship Island R. R., with its Laurel branch, situated in the south- eastern part of Simpson county. Mount Olive is the nearest bank- ing town. It has a money order postoffice, two saw mills, a planing mill, a good general store, and bottling works. There is a fine spring near the town.

Sardinia. An extinct town of Yalobusha county which flourished down to 1856. It "was located on the Craig plantation near the Yacona river, 1 mile north of the present church of Sardinia." (See sketch of Yalobusha county.)

Sardis, the seat of justice for the first judicial district of Panola county, is located in the north-central part of the county, on the Illinois Central R. R., 50 miles south of Memphis, Tenn. The following information concerning the origin of the town is supplied by the article on "Extinct Towns and Villages of Mississippi," by Dr. F. L. Riley, in the fifth volume of the publications of the Mis- sissippi Historical Society : "This town had its beginning in a small log school house, known as Danville Academy, in which Daniel B. Killebrew taught. The Baptists then built a church at this place and called it the Sardis Baptist church. This church gave the name to the town which was afterwards built at this place." It is claimed that W. H. Alexander built the first house in Sardis in 1836 and was the first postmaster ; also that he named the town "Sardis," obtaining the word from the Bible. Mr. Alexander is still living in Sardis at the age of 86 years. The old town of Belmont, now extinct, was located in the 30's, 5 or 6 miles to the southeast, on the Tallahatchie river and was absorbed by Sardis, after it had failed in the contest for the county seat with Old Panola (see Belmont). The two judicial districts of the county are a relic of this old contest. The Sardis & Delta Railroad, a short spur line, extends southwest from Sardis for about 22 miles to Carrier.

Sardis is the largest and the most important town in the county. It has one of the most healthful locations in the State, and is sur- rounded by a fertile agricultural district. It has telegraph, tele- phone, express and banking facilities. The Southern Reporter, an influential Democratic weekly, established in 1885, is published here by J. F. & P. N. Simmons. Large quantities of timber for spokes, staves, and lumber are shipped from this point annually. It has two banks, the Bank of Sardis and the Panola County Bank, with an invested capital of $114,000 ; two hotels, a public high school for both races, separately conducted; a system of water works; a privately controlled electric lighting plant ; Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Catholic and Episcopalian churches ; also colored Methodist and Baptist churches. Among the manufacturing enterprises now in the town are a hardwood saw mill, bending works, a box factory, a mill for the manufacture of hardwood flooring and inside furnish-

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ing lumber, a veneering factory, two cotton gins, a cotton-seed oil mill, brick and tile works, bottling works and a machine shop.

Sardis has a debt of $15,000; the assessed valuation of its prop- erty, real and personal, is $455,473 ; the tax rate is 10 mills ; the pop- ulation in 1900 was 1,002; the estimated population in 1906 was 2,000.

Sarepta, an incorporated post-town in the northeastern part of Calhoun county, about 20 miles east of Water Valley, the nearest railroad and banking town. It has three churches and a money order postoffice. Population in 1900, 172.

Sargent, Winthrop, was born at Gloucester, a coast town of Mas- sachusetts, May 1, 1755. His first paternal ancestor who came to America was William Sargent. He immigrated to the colony from Gloucester, England, some time before 1668, since which time his descendants have been distinguished in law, literature, art and politics.

Winthrop Sargent was graduated from Harvard University, and soon after went to sea as captain of a merchant vessel owned by his father. On July 7, 1775, he enlisted in the Army of the Rev- olution, as a lieutenant in Gridley's regiment of Massachusetts artillery ; on December 10, 1775, was promoted to captain lieuten- ant of Knox's regiment, Continental artillery. He received the following promotions before the close of the war: Captain 3d Con- tinental Artillery, January 1, 1777; brevet major, August 28, 1783; served as aide-de-camp to Gen. Howe from June, 1780, to 1783.

Major Sargent took an active part, with his artillery, at the siege of Boston, the battles of Long Island, White Plains, Tren- ton, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth and other important operations. A chronicler of 1801, in writing of Sargent at the close of the war, says: "Six months' pay in Morris' notes and his sword were all that were left him." In this condition of affairs Major Sargent determined to apply for a commission in the army of Hol- land, and with that end in view, applied to General Washington for a testimonial of his service in the Continental army, who gave him a certificate in these words:

"I certify, that Major Winthrop Sargent, lately an officer in the line of artillery, and Aide-de-Camp to Major General Howe, has served with great reputation in the armies of the United States of America : that he entered into the service of his country at an early period of the war, and during the continuance of it, displayed a zeal, integrity and intelligence which did honor to him as an officer and a gentleman.

"Given under my hand and seal, this 18th day of June, 1785. "(Signed) George Washington, late Commander in Chief, &c."

At this juncture a company was formed, made up largely of revolutionary soldiers, for the settlement of the Ohio river coun- try, known as the Northwestern Territory, and Maj. Sargent ac-

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cepted employment as a surveyor, charged with the duty of laying out the country into townships. On the organization of a govern- ment for the Northwest Territory, in 1787, he was elected its secretary by the old congress.

In the war against the Miami Indians, Secretary Sargent served as adjutant-general of the army in the field under Gen. Arthur St. Clair, and was wounded in the disastrous defeat on the Maumee, November 4, 1791. He continued to serve as secretary of the Northwestern Territory, and much of the time as acting-governor, until May 7, 1798, when President Adams appointed him governor of Mississippi Territory. In a letter to Secretary Pickering, rela- tive to arrangements for going to his new post, he says, under date of June 16, 1798 :

"General Wilkinson arrived here the evening before last and has. assured me of accommodation to descend the river in a very few days, so that you will not probably hear again from me at this place."

Governor Sargent arrived at Natchez August 6, in very poor health, and was taken to Concord, the old home of Governor Gay- oso, where he remained until convalescent. His first official act was performed August 16, when he delivered an address at Nat- chez to the people of the Territory.

The territorial officers, as appointed by President Adams, were : William McGuire, chief justice; and Peter Bryan Bruin and Dan- iel Tilton members of the Court. John Steele was appointed sec- retary.

Legislative authority was vested in the governor and territorial judges. Judge Bruin was the only resident member of the Court, and the absence of the other members greatly embarrassed the governor in the organization of his administration. Judge Tilton did not arrive until January 10, 1799, and Judge McGuire not until the following summer.

On the arrival of Gov. Sargent in the Territory, the United . States and France were on the eve of hostilities, which prompted him to temporarily organize the militia, which was done by an official order, dated September 8, 1798.

Political discontent, under the leadership of Anthony Hutchins and Cato West, soon began to manifest itself. Sargent was a Fed- eralist ; the majority of the people were Jeffersonian Republicans, and party feeling prevented them from cooperating with him in his, really, earnest and sincere efforts to give them good govern- ment.

On the arrival of Judge Tilton, the legislative branch of the gov- ernment was organized, and the first law of Mississippi Territory bears date of February 28, 1799.

Soon after this time Gov. Sargent was married to Maria McIn- tosh Williams, a young widow of considerable fortune in lands, which gave him a permanent interest in the Territory. One son was born of this marriage, William Fitz Winthrop.

The leaders of the opposition violently attacked the laws that

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were enacted by the governor and judges. These dissensions re- sulted in a public meeting of the opponents of the administration, at which a committee was appointed to present grievances to the governor and judges. The committee also appointed Narsworthy Hunter as its agent, and instructed him to proceed to Philadelphia and lay their complaints before congress. The petition to con- gress was prepared by Cato West; it bears date of October 2, 1799, and was signed by fifteen citizens of the Territory.

The agitation by the West Committee, as represented by Hunter, before congress, resulted in the supplemental act of June 24, 1800, which authorized a legislative body for the Territory, to consist of a house of representatives elected by the people, and a legislative council nominated by the house and appointed by the president. The house had a membership of nine; the council was composed of five members.

On June 24, 1800, the governor ordered an election for members of the house of representatives, to be held at the county seats on the fourth Monday of July. The election resulted in a victory for the opponents of Gov. Sargent. The representatives-elect met Sep- tember 22, 1800, at the government house in Natchez.

In his address to the representatives of the people, the governor adopted a conciliatory attitude, but the presence of Hutchins and West as members, probably, prevented agreeable relations.

The Territory had been divided into three counties, Adams, Pickering and Washington, which were named in honor of John Adams, Timothy Pickering and George Washington. Adams County was represented by Henry Hunter, James Hoggett, An- thony Hutchins and Sutton Banks; Pickering County by Cato West, Thomas M. Green, John Burnet and Thomas Calvit. Wash- ington county's election was held irregularly, in that it was not held on the day fixed by law, and the House refused to seat John Flood McGrew, the representative from that county.

The change to the second grade of government, as provided for by the act of June 24, 1800, soon became unpopular, and a petition for its repeal, dated December 6, 1800, signed by four hundred citi- zens of the Territory, was presented to congress.

When President Adams was defeated by Thomas Jefferson for the Presidency, Gov. Sargent, early in April, 1801, took a leave of absence, which had been granted some time before, to visit Wash- ington, in order to defend his administration against the attacks of his political enemies, and seek vindication by reappointment. He left the Territory soon after, and proceeded to the national cap- ital for that purpose, but his mission was not accomplished, as William Charles Cole Claiborne was commissioned governor of the Mississippi Territory May 25, 1801.

The popular opinion of the Sargent administration has been de- rived from Claiborne's Mississippi ; and it is somewhat natural that his criticism should have been adopted without investigation by other historical writers. Claiborne pictures Sargent as a cold, austere, unsympathetic, arbitrary, grasping man, who was never

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Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. II, Part 70

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