USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. II > Part 76
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While preparations were going on for confederation and war, Congress was talking compromise, and the famous Crittenden res- olutions were proposed. Said the Natchez Free Trader: "They come too late. They never will be agreed to by the South." They
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were not in fact given serious consideration anywhere. (See Con- vention of 1861.)
Seigers, a postoffice of Hinds county, on the Illinois Central R. R., 6 miles south of Jackson.
Selden, a postoffice in the extreme northeastern part of Tippah county, 2 miles east of Brownfield station on the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City R. R., and 20 miles from Ripley, the county seat.
Selfcreek, a hamlet of Oktibbeha county, 12 miles due west of Starkville, the county seat. Population in 1900, 75.
Selma, a postoffice of Adams county, on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., about 9 miles from Natchez.
Selsertown, an extinct settlement in Jefferson county, which was situated on the extreme southern limits of the county, about six miles from the old town of Washington in Adams county. The old Natchez trace ran through this place, and early in the last century, George Selser kept an inn here and gave the settlement its name. We are told that the last owner of the old inn was one John Mc- Collum, who proclaimed his nationality by the sign in front of the stables, "Intertainment for Man and Baste." Not long after the War between the States, the old house and stables were burned. In the vicinity of the old settlement was a large Indian mound, which was investigated in 1838 by a party of scholars from Natchez.
Seminary, a village of Covington county, about 8 miles south- east of Williamsburg, the county seat. It is a thriving station on the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad, 21 miles by rail from Hattiesburg. It has a money order postoffice and an express office. The Bank of Seminary was established here in 1905 with a capital of $30,000. There is a large saw mill and a turpentine plant located here and the town is prospering. It has three churches and a good school. Population in 1900, 500.
Seminary Fund. By the public land act of 1803 congress reserved from sale thirty-six sections, or 23,040 acres, for the use of a semi- nary of learning in the Mississippi Territory, incidental to the sur- vey of the Creek boundary line. After the division of the Terri- tory and the admission of the State of Mississippi, a substitute act was approved February 20, 1819, granting the State, in addition to the grant for Jefferson college, "another township, or a quantity of land equal thereto, to be located in tracts of not less than four entire sections each, which shall be vested in the legislature of the said State, in trust, for the support of a seminary of learning there- in," the lands to be located by the secretary of the treasury when the Indian title had been extinguished in suitable lands. The lo- cation was made by 1823. In 1825 the legislature authorized the State auditor to lease the seminary lands for four years, bonds being required for improvements and proper care. "The plantation at the old Choctaw agency" was to be leased for three years to the highest bidder. An act of 1827 required notice of leasing to be given, and offer to the highest bidder. Further provision for leas- ing was made in 1830, proceeds to be paid into the State treasury. An act of March 2, 1833, required the governor to appoint three
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commissioners to estimate the value of the thirty-six sections, whereupon the State auditor should advertise them for sale in tracts of not less than a quarter section, to the highest bidder, at not less than three-fourths the appraisement, three years credit to be given, the proceeds of the notes given by the purchasers to be invested in stock of the Planters' bank. The land was sold in 1833, all, with the exception of half a section, in exchange for notes with approved security, for the aggregate amount of $277,322. Gov. Lynch re- ported in 1835 that the notes were all due, with interest, making the amount $310,00. Gov. McNutt, in 1839, said the notes were generally well secured, "but many of them are under protest. The late auditor, John H. Mallory, has embezzled a portion of the fund. Many of the drawers of the notes are dead, and others have moved out of the State." A committee of the House in 1841 was of the opinion that if due diligence had been used, more than three- fourths of the large outstanding debt (about $168,000) could have been' collected. Auditor Saunders declared that in some instances the land was occupied by persons not bound for the payment of the same. In 1841 $163,513 was uncollected, $16,439 was in the State treasury, and $137,189 had been invested in the Planters' bank.
An act of 1840 directed the selection of a site for a State univer- sity, and "all sums of money belonging or hereafter accruing to the seminary fund, are hereby appropriated for the use and benefit of the University of the State of Mississippi." The Semi- nary fund was created by act of July 26, 1843, to include "all moneys which have accrued or may hereafter accrue from the sale of the thirty-six sections, etc., and all bank stock, in which any such mon- eys shall have been vested," to be under the control of a commis- sioner appointed for four years, with authority to bring suits to re- cover the assets, assisted by the attorney-general. The treasurer of the State was required to keep an account of money paid on account of the fund, credited it with interest at five per cent. on previous receipts, and thereafter eight per cent. interest.
At the beginning of his administration Gov. A. G. Brown said: "Where is the seminary fund, is a question often asked but never yet satisfactorily answered. Our constituents will expect of us some account of this munificent fund, and a speedy application of it to the great purpose for which it has been set apart." In 1846 he said: "This fund was formerly collected through the agency of the Planters' bank and by law it was invested in the stock of that institution. It was a trust fund, so declared by the act of congress making the donation of lands, out of which it sprung. The State, as trustee, had no authority for investing it in the stock of any bank ; she did so, however, and $84,900, with several years' interest on that amount, has been lost. The State is, in my opinion, under the most solemn obligation to pay it back." At this time there was in the State treasury of this fund, $103,000, and if all collections were made, and the lost principal and interest refunded, the total fund would be $250,000.
An act of 1848 fixed the rate of interest at six per cent., to be
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paid on the amount then standing on the books and afterward to be received. Gov. McRae urged the obligation of the State in 1856. A calculation was then made, showing the gross liability of the State on account of this fund to have been, January 1, 1857, $1,- 077,790, considering the State accountable for what had been lost as well as the part collected. In 1869 the State treasurer's books showed a total credit in favor of the fund of $89,000. Gov. Alcorn in 1871 urged that the fund be restored as a debt of the State, and calculated that on the basis of Auditor Saunder's statement for 1841, "the amount which the State now owes the University is about $650,000."
The action taken prior to 1876 was the payment to the University of an annual allowance of $50,000, to cover what interest might be due from the State upon the fund. Subsequently the allowance was reduced, but in 1880 a settlement was made, so that the fund was accounted for by including an estimate of the amount due in the debt of the State. It appeared in the debt statement after 1880 as $544,061, on which interest is paid at 6 per cent. annually by the State.
Another section was donated for the University by the United States in 1894, and was sold by the State for $138,668. This amount was added to the State debt to the University endowment fund, which is given in the last financial report as $688,410.
Senath, a hamlet of Monroe county, 6 miles northeast of Aber- deen, the county seat. It has rural free delivery from Aberdeen.
Senatobia is the county seat of Tate county, situated near the center of the county, on the line of the Illinois Central railroad. Its name is an Indian word, meaning "white sycamore," or, accord- ing to another authority, "black snake." It was spelled in the Chickasaw dialect Sen-a-ta-ho-ba. Senatobia was founded at the time of the construction of the Mississippi & Tennessee (now the Illinois Central) railroad, on land which belonged to Eli McMullen. It was incorporated in 1856, and its first mayor was William Finney. Subsequent mayors have been J. L. Medders, A. Motley, I. D. . Oglesby, William Atkinson, R. L. Wait, A. A. Royall, T. E. Neely, J. C. Roseborough, J. F. Heard, J. F. Dean, W. J. East, J. B. Stamps, J. L. Medders, a former incumbent, N. A. Taylor, J. W. Lauderdale, Harper Johnson and C. P. Varner. The county seat was located here in 1873, when Tate county was first organized, and the first county courts were held in Blackbourne's Hall. Its population in 1900 was 1,156 and in 1906 it was estimated at 1,500. The region about the town is an excellent fruit and vegetable country, and a considerable business is done in shipping these products of the soil to the nearby market of Memphis, distant 37 miles. The town also handles a large amount of cotton and corn. About 15,000 bales of cotton are shipped from here annually. It offers excellent advantages for brick and sewer pipe factories. It has a handsome court house building, which was erected in 1875 by J. H. Cocke, at a cost of $19,800. An addition was made to the court house in 1904, costing $5,000. The town is a separate school
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district and maintains two excellent white schools and one negro school, by local taxation. The Blackbourne College for white girls, and the Senatobia high school for white boys, are each open 9 months in the year and are free to all children within the corporate limits. There are more than 60 places of business in the town, and many of the business houses are constructed of brick which were manufactured within a quarter of a mile of the court house. The only exception being a few new buildings for which the brick could not be supplied here. The total assessed valuation of personal and real property for 1905 was $668,378 ; the tax rate was 512 mills with 6 mills school tax. The town has a debt of only $2,100. With the ex- ception of the Roman Catholic, the principal denominations are rep- resented in the churches here. The town owns and operates its electric lighting and water works systems. There are two banks- The Tate County Bank, established in 1891 wth a capital of $25,000, and the Senatobia Bank, established in 1900, with a capital of $30,000. There are two local papers published here-The Sena- tobia Democrat, a weekly Democratic paper, and The Baptist Herald (colored), a religious paper. The industries of the town are a large oil mill, capitalized at $55,000; a steam laundry, owned by the citizens of the town ; a brick plant, blacksmith and repair shops, and two cotton gins.
Senators, U. S. The first senators were elected by the legislature, October 9, 1817-Walter Leake and Thomas H. Williams, who took their seats December 11.
Leake drew the short term, four years from March 4, 1817. He resigned in 1820, and in January, 1821, David Holmes was unani- mously elected to the vacancy, also to serve six years from March 4, 1821. He resigned in 1825, and Governor Leake appointed Pow- hatan Ellis, September 28, 1825, ad interim. Ellis was a candidate before the legislature in January, 1826, and received 21 votes, but Thomas B. Reed received 23 and was elected for the unexpired term of Holmes. In the next legislature, January, 1827, the verdict was reversed (Ellis 27, Reed 16), and Powhatan Ellis was elected for six years from March 4, 1827.
All this time, and until March 4, 1829, Thomas H. Williams was the other senator, having been elected to a second term of six years. In January, 1829, the legislature voted for a successor to Williams-Thomas B. Reed, 34; Charles Lynch, 13; Thomas Hinds, 3. Reed's term was six years from March 4, 1829. But he died within the year, and the legislature in January, 1830, elected Robert H. Adams to fill out his term, the vote being, Adams 24, Joshua J. Child 3, George Poindexter 16, R. J. Walker 2. Adams died in the same year, and the governor appointed George Poin- dexter, October 14; and he was elected in November, receiving 41 votes to 6 for Judge Child. Consequently Poindexter was the ef- fective successor of Williams, to March 4, 1835.
Powhatan Ellis resigned, 1832. The governor appointed James C. Wilkins, who declined, and John Black was appointed. The ap- pointment was unanimously confirmed by the legislature January
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31, 1833, and eleven ballots taken for the term following. John Black, James C. Wilkins and P. Rutilius R. Pray were the candi- dates. Pray was gaining, when the senate withdrew, and the house resolved that such action was "unparliamentary and out of order." Black was subsequently elected. In 1835 the legislature asked him to resign because he had opposed President Jackson. He resigned in 1838.
The fight of Poindexter for reelection raged through 1834 and 1835. In January, 1835, a special session of the legislature was called to elect, but the attempt to count in 16 new representatives from the Choctaw counties caused the senate to refuse to recognize the house, and the session was adjourned by the governor to pre- vent trouble. The vote for senator in January, 1836, was,-on the first ballot-Robert J. Walker, 36; Franklin E. Plummer, 18; George Poindexter, 23. Plummer gained, Poindexter lost, and James C. Wilkins received as high as twelve votes. On the fifth ballot Walker received 44, a majority of two, and was elected for six years from March 4, 1835. He took his seat February 22, 1836. In 1840 he was reelected. S. S. Prentiss was put in nomination, but his name was immediately withdrawn by Mr. Guion. The vote was Walker 70, Prentiss 37, Smith 3, Black 2, Williams 1, Foote 1, Poindexter 1. The resignation of Senator Walker was re- ceived February 21, 1845 ; Joseph W. Chalmers, of Marshall county, was then appointed, and this was confirmed by legislative election in January, 1846, for the remainder of the term, Chalmers receiv- ing 96 votes to 33 for George Winchester. At the same session, for six years from March 4, 1847, Henry S. Foote was elected, 93 to 35, over Winchester.
At the election of senator vice Black, resigned, in January, 1838, the vote was: James F. Trotter, 62, W. S. Bodley, 32, John Hen- derson, 25. Trotter was a Democrat or "loco-foco," the others both Whigs. Trotter took his seat February 19, 1838, and resigned in the same year. In January, 1839, to fill the unexpired term, Thomas H. Williams received 60 votes; John Henderson, 52. For the six years from March 4, 1839, John Henderson, Whig, was elected, receiving 59 votes; C. Pinckney Smith, 30; Thomas H. Williams, 19
At the senatorial election in 1844 Jesse Speight, of Lowndes, received 78 votes ; Roger Barton, of Marshall, 43; C. P. Smith, 6; Joseph A. Marshall, 2. Jesse Speight died at his home in Lowndes county May 1, 1847, and August 10 Col. Jefferson Davis was ap- pointed to fill the vacancy, by the governor. January 11, 1848, the legislature elected Davis by acclamation to fill out the term of Sen- - ator Speight. At the election (to succeed Speight-Davis) February 11, 1850, Roger Barton received 8 votes, Jefferson Davis 64, A. G. Brown 3, William A. Lake 4, John I. Guion 15, William L. Sharkey 8, Jacob Thompson 1, necessary to choice 65. On the second bal- lot Davis received 73, Barton 37, scattering 19, and Mr. Davis was declared elected for six years from March 4, 1851.
Senator Foote became a candidate for governor in 1851, the is-
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sue being one of national importance, and he had been censured by the legislature as misrepresenting his State. He became a candidate without resigning his seat in the senate. Senator Davis after the withdrawal of Quitman, became the opposing candidate for governor, and at once resigned his seat, September 23. There- upon the acting governor of the State, appointed John J. McRae to fill his place until the legislature should convene. Foote was elected governor. McRae took his seat in December. Foote also served in the senate until just before his inauguration.
February 7, 1852, Gov. Foote formally reported that there was a vacancy on account of his resignation to be filled; that "Missis- sippi has only one senatorial representative now in Washington, and he, holding his authority by executive appointment alone, is unfortunately a gentleman who, whatever qualifications his friends may attribute to him, is well known to entertain sentiments and opinions highly dangerous in their character and tendency, and which have been twice openly repudiated by the sovereign people of the State, in two successive popular elections." He urged the legislature to elect two senators who would support the compro- mise of 1850. He noted that the two houses were in disagreement about the form of procedure in the election to fill the two vacancies, and the election for the regular term to begin March 4, 1853, and urged that an agreement be reached. The message was laid on the table and ordered printed by a vote of 40 to 38. An agreement was reached so that a joint ballot was taken for a successor to Foote, February 18. Twenty-five candidates were voted for, Walker Brooke receiving 42 votes, A. G. Brown 12, A. B. Bradford 9, necessary to a choice 61. On the second and third ballots N. S. Brown had 20 votes, and on the third Brooke was elected, receiving 61 votes. He was a Whig.' On the following day the ballot was for the unexpired term of Jefferson Davis. Stephen Adams, Union Democrat received 66 votes, John J. McRae 47, scattering 4. It was also the agreement that there should be a ballot on the 23d for a senator for the full term beginning March 4, 1853, but the house adjourned that day in memory of Jehu Wall, deceased. Brooke took his seat March 11; Adams, March 17, 1852. The State senate with a Democratic majority, of holdovers, refused to take part in the election required by the State and National law. The majority of the committee on the subject, of which O. R. Sing- leton was chairman, reported that there was a precedent in 1835 to sustain such action, and that the mails brought word that the legislatures of Alabama and Tennessee were likewise refusing to elect. The reason was frankly stated: "The present legislature was confessedly elected, under the pretended issue of Union or dis-Union-all other considerations were merged in it.
Your committee are clearly of the opinion that the legislature may elect or not, to fill the term commencing March 4, 1853, as a sound discretion may dictate." The legislature adjourned without an election for the approaching full term.
The next legislature, elected in 1853, was strongly Democratic.
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Gov. Foote resigned three days after delivering his message. Two days later, January ?, 1854, the ballot was taken, with this result: Albert G. Brown, 76; Henry S. Foote, 22; William L. Sharkey, 7; William A. Lake, 3; A. K. McClung, 2; F. M. Rogers, 2; J. A. Quitman, 1; J. D. Freeman, 1. Brown had 18 votes to spare. Gov. Foote had made no appointment to fill the vacancy in the senate, and Stephen Adams was the only senator during the session from December 5, 1853, until Brown took his seat January 26, 1854. His term was six years from March 4, 1853.
The contest for the senatorship in the legislature of 1856, for the term beginning March 4, 1857, was between Jefferson Davis, then a member of the cabinet of President Pierce, and Jacob Thompson, for some years prominent as a congressman. Both were of the same political sentiment, and the Democratic majority in the legislature was overwhelming. The northern counties were generally for Thompson, but Reuben Davis, Barry of Columbus, and Green of Holly Springs, supported Davis. At the caucus the latter had a majority of two, and next day he received 90 votes out of 123 cast.
At the legislative session of November, 1857 Albert G. Brown was elected almost unanimously (receiving 111 votes out of 115 cast) to succeed himself for the term beginning March 4, 1859. This apparently premature election was because the time of secession had been changed, and the legislature would not meet again regu- larly until November, 1859.
Davis and Brown were senators January 9, 1861, when the Mis- sissippi convention adopted the ordinance of secession. This was in the midst of the second session of the 36th congress. Senator Brown withdrew January 12 and Senator Davis January 21. Their seats were declared vacant March 14, 1861.
During the Confederate period, the State held that it had with- drawn from the Federal compact and did not seek representation in the United States congress until after the close of the war. The first subsequent elections of senators were for the terms succeeding those to which Davis and Brown were elected.
The first legislature after the close of the Confederate States period, meeting in October, 1865, on the 19th elected William L. Sharkey for the term beginning March 5, 1863 (to succeed Jeffer- son Davis). He received 102 votes, to 26 for Fulton Anderson. For the term beginning March 5, 1865 (to succeed Brown), the first ballot was William Yerger, 26; J. W. C. Watson, 19; W. S. Feath- erston, 6; James L. Alcorn, 40; S. J. Gholson, 21; E. C. Walthall, 10; Lock E. Houston (not nominated) 2. On the fourth ballot, on the following day, after the names of Walthall, Watson and Feath- erston had been withdrawn, Alcorn was elected, receiving 74 votes to 33 for Gholson and 19 for Yerger. When Congress met in De- cember, 1865, Sharkey and Alcorn were refused recognition until an investigation had been made, and in the following year they were excluded until further "reconstruction" (q. v.) had been brought
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about. They had some recognition as "delegates," however, pend- ing the final exclusion.
The next election of senators was by the provisional session of the legislature in 1870, January 19. For the term of six years be- ginning March 4, 1871, succeeding the vacant term to which Alcorn had been elected in 1865, Gen. Alcorn was elected by a vote of 120 to 1 for Judge Sharkey. For the full term beginning March 4, 1869, to succeed the vacant term to which Sharkey had been elected in 1865, Gen. Adelbert Ames was elected, receiving 94 votes, Gen. Robert Lowry 24, Horace Greeley 1, J. L. Alcorn 1.
To fill out what remained of the vacant term, 1865 to 1871, five ballots were taken. On the first the leaders were R. W. Flournoy 27, J. W. Vance 19, A. Alderson 21; B. B. Eggleston 19, J. W. C. Watson 18. Flourney and Watson were "home" candidates. Wat- son was withdrawn, and on the third ballot Hiram R. Revels, a negro army chaplain, received a considerable vote. The opposi- tion endeavored to unite on Vance, who came within ten votes of election. Next day, Revels was elected by a vote of 81 to 38. He was not, as has been frequently stated by historians, "chosen to fill the unexpired term of Jefferson Davis." He was in the suc- cession to Brown, but not to fill out even his term. No one filled out the term of Mr. Davis. Judge Sharkey was elected to the following term, 1863-69, and his successor, for 1869-75, as stated above, was Gen. Adelbert Ames.
Senator Ames resigned in January, 1874, to become governor, and February 4, Henry R. Pease was elected to fill out his term, receiving 95 votes, the opposition voting mainly for H. M. Street. At the same time Blanche K. Bruce, a mulatto, was elected for the term 1875-81 to succeed Pease. Bruce was succeeded by George.
The first election of J. Z. George was in January, 1880. The Democratic members were in overwhelming majority, but there were 15 Greenbackers, whose choice for senator was Ethelbert Barksdale. The Democrats took 49 ballots on nine successive even- ings in caucus, the candidates at first being Barksdale, O. R. Sing- leton and E. C. Walthall. Later the name of Gen. George was pro- posed. The houses met in joint convention to ballot, but voting separately. The first ballot, January 21st, was: J. Z. George 35; Ethelbert Barksdale 49, O. R. Singleton 52, A. M. West 13, B. K. Bruce 2, Harris 1. Next day the Barksdale and Singleton vote was given to George and he received 131 votes. Senator George was reëlected in 1886, one vote being cast in opposition, for Mr. Alcorn. He was again reelected in 1892. At the regular session of the legislature in 1896 H. D. Money was elected to succeed Senator George at the expiration of his term in 1899. Senator George died August 14, 1897, and Mr. Money was appointed by the governor, October 11th, for the remainder of the term. He has since continued in the office, the last election being in January, 1904, for the term beginning March 4, 1905.
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