USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. II > Part 79
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Confederate loss in battle was 10,699 killed and wounded; the Fed- eral loss 15,000 killed, wounded and captured.
The battle of Shiloh, so-called from the old church of Shiloh, round which the struggle raged for two days, was in many respects the most desperate of the war. Only the rough and wooded char- acter of the ground, and the timely arrival of reinforcements under Buell, saved the Federal army from utter defeat. When the ex- hausted Confederates were finally forced to retire, an eye-witness of the retreat says that in a ride of 12 miles he saw more of human agony than he trusted he should ever again be called to witness. The long line of wagons, packed with wounded like bags of grain, and drawn by mules plunged belly deep in mud and water; the groans of the wounded and dying; the cold drizzling rain which turned to hail at night, from which the wounded had no blankets to shield them, made a sight never to be forgotten.
Ship Island. This island was first called "Surgeres" by the French, in honor of Compte de Surgeres, commander of the frigate Le Marin of D'Iberville's expedition, who discovered it February 9, 1699. They afterwards called it l'Isle aux Vaisseaux or Ship Island. On the original expedition of D'Iberville to the Missis- sippi in 1699, his ships lay at anchor in the harbor of this island for many weeks, while the commander was engaged in fixing upon a place of settlement for the colony. When the headquarters of the colony were removed to Mobile Bay in 1701, Dauphine Island, then called Massacre Island, was used as the general naval rendez- vous for a number of years. In 1717, the harbor at Dauphine Island became chocked up with sand, and Ship Island was selected as the future place of anchorage, and deposit by MM. D'Epinay and De Bienville. Ship Island was always the first point on the coast where vessels anchored on coming from France. A fort was built there with convenient accommodations for troops, besides warehouses for the storage of goods and supplies for the colony. In the report of M. Hubert on Pensacola, Mobile, and Dauphine Island in 1721, he recommends "Ship Island" as the best harbor on the coast of Louisiana, and the best harbor for a naval station and ships of war (His. Coll. of La., 2nd ser. p. 44).
The island is low, flat and sandy ; is about two miles long by half a mile in breadth, and lies about twelve miles off the coast of Har- rison county of which it forms a part. It is now a United States military reservation and contains a total area of about 50 acres. As a part of the public domain it was reserved for military purposes by Executive Order dated August 30, 1847. Federal jurisdiction was ceded by an act of the State legislature in 1858, "for the pur- pose of enabling the United States to carry into effect an act of Congress of March 3, 1857, providing for the fortification of Ship Island, Coast of Mississippi, by building and maintaining such forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, wharves, and other struc- tures, with their appendages, as may be necessary for the object aforesaid." The State, however, retained concurrent jurisdiction over the island for the service of its civil and criminal process. The
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United States government maintains a quarantine station here. See Gulfport and Harrison county for description of the great modern ship harbor at this point.
Shipp, Barnard, was born near Natchez, April 30, 1813. His grandfather, Richard Shipp, moved to Kentucky from Fauquier county, Va., in 1784, whence William, son of the latter, moved to Natchez in 1802. He was successful as a merchant, and married a daughter of Joseph Barnard, a Londoner who had settled in 1784 on a tract of land five miles north of Natchez, making a plantation called Elysian Fields. After the birth of Barnard Shipp, the family moved to Kentucky, but they returned to Natchez in 1817 on the steamer "Vesuvius." Barnard was educated in the Partridge mil- itary school at Norwich, Vt., taught school at Lexington, Ky., and made the latter place his home 1828-48. In 1902 he was a resident of Jacksonville, Fla., and contributed reminiscences to the Gulf States Historical Magazine. He is the author of two volumes of poems, 1848 and 1852, but mainly known for his works: "The History of Hernando de Soto and Florida," 1881, and "The Indians and Anti- quities of America," 1897.
Shivers, a postoffice in the southern part of Simpson county, on the Columbia Branch of the Gulf & Ship Island R. R., about 14 miles south of Mendenhall. It has a money order postoffice, tele- graph, telephone and express offices, two stores, two saw mills and a cotton ginery. The population in 1906 was estimated at 150.
Shoccoe, a post-hamlet of Madison county, 8 miles east of Canton, the county seat and nearest railroad and banking town. Popula- tion in 1900, 25.
"Shoestring District," Sixth Congressional District (1876-1892). On March 8, 1876, the legislature, which was Democratic, passed a bill redistricting the State for congressional elections. The ob- ject of this bill was so to "gerrymander" the districts that not more than one colored representative could be elected. This was ac- complished by throwing all the counties on the Mississippi river, where the negro vote was largest, into the sixth district, composed of the counties, Tunica, Coahoma, Bolivar, Washington, Issaquena, Yazoo (later transferred to the fourth), Warren, Claiborne, Jef- ferson, Adams, and Wilkinson, to which Sharkey was added on its organization later in the year, and Quitman when it was orga- nized in 1877. Gov. Ames allowed the bill to become law without his signature, March 18, 1876, ten days after it was sent to him and eleven days before his resignation. The shape of this district, which was the whole western side of the State, about 250 miles long and in many places not more than 20 miles wide, gave origin to the name "shoestring" by which it was known all over the United States.
Shongalo, an extinct village in Carroll county, near Vaiden, in- corporated by the Legislature in 1840.
Shongelo, a post-hamlet in the north-central part of Smith county, 6 miles north of Raleigh, the county seat. Population in 1900, 20.
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Short, a post-hamlet in the northeastern part of Tishomingo county, 1 mile from the Tennessee river, and 10 miles due north of Iuka, the county seat and nearest railroad and banking town. Pop- ulation in 1900, 50.
Shraderville, a postoffice of Sharkey county.
Shrock, a post-hamlet in the southwestern part of Attala county, about 24 miles from Kosciusko, the county seat, and 6 miles east of Goodman, the nearest railroad station and banking town. Pop- ulation in 1900, 46.
Shubuta, an incorporated post-town in the southern part of Clarke county, on the Chickasawhay river, and a station on the Mobile & Ohio R. R., 39 miles south of Meridian. It has tele- graph, express and banking facilities. The Bank of Shubuta was established here in 1902 with a capital of $25,000. A Democratic weekly newspaper, the Mississippi Messenger, established in 1879, is published here by C. A. Stovall. It is an important cotton ship- ping point, and also ships wool and naval stores. It has a money order postoffice, and a high school. There is a large saw milling plant, a large oil and fertilizer plant and a cross-arm plant. The town is growing and had a population in 1906 of 750.
Shuford, a postoffice of Panola county, 12 miles southeast of Batesville, one of the seats of justice for Panola county.
Shuqualak, an incorporated post-town in the southern part of Noxubee county, on the Mobile & Ohio R. R., 10 miles south of Macon, and 53 miles north of Meridian. It has telegraph, express and banking facilities, a water works system, and a good school. Cotton is the chief crop of the surrounding region, and a large amount of that staple is shipped from this point. The Bank of Shuqualak was established in 1900 with a capital of $15,000. It supports a Democratic weekly paper, the New Era, established in 1898, E. B. Hamilton editor and publisher. The population of the town in 1900 was 600, which had increased to at least 800 in 1906.
Shute, a postoffice of Panola county.
Sibley, a hamlet of Adams county, situated on Second creek, 9 miles south of Natchez. It has a money order postoffice.
Sibleyton, a hamlet of Montgomery county, on the Southern Railway, 14 miles east of Winona, the county seat, and about a mile north of the Big Black river. Kilmichael is the nearest bank- ing town. It has a money order postoffice.
Sidney, a post-hamlet in the northeastern part of Carroll county, about 14 miles from Carrollton, the county seat. Grenada is the nearest banking town. A portion of Carroll county is called "Little Texas," and the leading citizen of that section, who is styled the Governor, resides at Sidney.
Sidon, an incorporated post-town in the southeastern part of Leflore county, on the navigable Yazoo river, and a station on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad, 8 miles south of Greenwood, the county seat and nearest banking town. It was named for the ancient city of that name in Palestine. It has two churches, a steam grist mill, a bank, two public gins, and a money order post- office. Population in 1900, 148; estimated in 1906 to be 250.
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Sierra, a post-hamlet of Neshoba county, 7 miles southwest of Philadelphia, the county seat. Population in 1900, 23.
Signal, a postoffice of Warren county, 4 miles northeast of Vicks- burg, on the Y. & M. V. R. R.
Silver City, a post-town on the Y. & M. V. R. R., and on the Yazoo river, in the western part of Yazoo county, about 20 miles north of Yazoo City. It has a number of good general stores, several churches, a bank, a lumber yard, a public gin and a cotton compress. It is a flourishing place with good schools and a popu- lation of about 500.
Silvercreek, an incorporated town in the central part of Law- rence county, on the Columbia branch of the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad, and at its junction with the Miss. Central R. R., 8 miles northeast of Monticello, the county seat. The town is situated on a high level and has excellent drainage. It is on the west bank of Silver creek, one of the prettiest streams in the State. To the west- ward are beautiful hills covered with magnificent forests of yellow pine. The Lawrence county high school is located here, and there are good churches, several large mercantile establishments, and a strong bank, The Merchants & Planters Bank, established in 1903 with an authorized capital of $30,000. The Silver Creek Star, a Democratic weekly, was established in 1903 with R. W. Hall, editor and publisher. There are saw mills, a planing mill, a brick plant, a machine shop, an ice factory, bottling works, a cotton gin, four hotels, three livery and one sale stable. These advantages and others combine to make this one of the best towns in Lawrence county. The town is surrounded by an abundance of hardwood timber and the vicinity is adapted to fruit and vegetable growing which is proving to be a very successful industry. Here is a splendid location for manufactures, especially of hardwood timber. The lands around Silvercreek are fertile and can be purchased in small or large bodies at a very reasonable figure.
Silversprings, a post-hamlet of Tippah county, about 10 miles northeast of Ripley, the county seat and nearest railroad and bank- ing town. It has a money order postoffice. Population in 1900, 66.
Similo, a post-hamlet of Lincoln county, about 12 miles south- west of Brookhaven, the county seat and nearest banking town. Population in 1900, 60.
Simlin, a hamlet in the northeastern part of Lawrence county. The postoffice at this place was discontinued in 1905, and mail now goes to Vixen.
Simmonsville, a post-hamlet in the south-central part of Pike county, about 10 miles southeast of Magnolia, the county seat and nearest banking town. Population in 1900, 57.
Simonton, John M., was elected to the State senate from Ita- wamba county and served in 1859-61, leaving the legislature to enter the military service, where he was distinguished, rising to the rank of colonel of the First regiment. He was again a member of the senate, 1864-68, a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1865 (q. v.), senator 1884-88, and a member of the constitutional convention of 1890. He was elected in 1895 land commissioner,
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an office he held at the time of his death, June 24, 1898. Governor McLaurin said of him, "In all his life he exemplified the lovely character of a loyal patriot and pure Christian."
Simpson County was organized seven years after Mississippi became a State, January 23, 1824, and was named for Judge Josiah Simpson. The county has a land surface of 578 square miles. It was part of the Choctaw cession of 1820, termed the New Purchase, and previously formed the eastern part of the county of Copiah, erected during the preceding year. It lies a little south of the center of the State and is bounded on the north by Rankin county, on the east the old Choctaw Indian line of 1820 divides it from Smith county, on the south the Choctaw boundary line of 1805 divides it from Lawrence and Covington counties, and on the west is Copiah county, the Pearl river forming the dividing line. It has an area of about twenty townships, and as early as 1837 had a free white population of 2,329, slaves 891, a majority of these early settlers coming from the older portions of the State on the west and south.
The following is a list of the county officers for the year 1824, the year the county was created: Duncan McLaurin, Judge of Probate; Wm. Morris, Peter Stubbs, Neal McNair, Richard Nall, James B. Satturfield, Associate Justices ; Laughlin McLaurin, Jacob Carr, James Briggs, John C. Halford, Justices of the Peace ; Richard Sparks, Sheriff; Neal McNair, Assessor and Collector ; Daniel Mc- Caskill, Coroner ; Eli Nichols, Surveyor ; John C. McFarland, Treas- urer ; Daniel L. Ferrington, Notary Public; Gideon Royal, Ranger ; other county officers in 1825, 1826 and 1827 were John Briggs, Joseph R. Plummer, John Campbell, Absalom Harper, James Welch, Joseph Carr, Justices of the Peace; John R. Hubert, Associate Justice ; William B. Easterling, Treasurer and Surveyor ; Macom McDuffee, Ranger.
The first courts of the new county were held at the house of William Gibson, and, in 1827, the village of Westville was made the county seat and remained such until recently, when the county records were moved to Mendenhall, where they remained until Nov. 1905, when they were returned to Westville. A contest be- tween Mendenhall and Westville over the final location of the county seat was taken before the Supreme court of the State for determination, and the court ordered the county seat to be located at Westville pending an election to decide whether it would be located at Westville or Mendenhall. The election was held in 1906 and Mendenhall was selected as the county seat. Mendenhall is lo- cated in the north-central part, at the junction of the two lines of the Gulf & Ship Island R. R. Westville is about 11/2 miles east of Pinola, which is on the Columbia branch of the Gulf & Ship Island rail- road running south through Lawrence county. There are no large settlements in the county ; some of the other towns are Braxton, Magee, Maddox, Everett, Coat and Weathersby. More than one- third of the acreage of the county is now improved, and much of the balance is finely timbered with long leaf or yellow pine; on the river and creek bottoms are oaks of all kinds, ash, beech, magnolia, pecan, hickory, poplar, cypress, etc. The general surface of the
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land is undulating, level on the bottoms, and some portions hilly. Though a piney woods country, the lands are fairly fertile, those on the three forks of Silver creek being reputed among the best in east Mississippi. Stock can range without much care the entire year, feeding on the native grasses and switch cane. The products of the county are corn, cotton, sugar-cane, rice, sorghum, oats, field peas, ground peas, and all varieties of fruits and vege- tables common to the latitude. Strong river flows through the center of the county from northeast to southwest, Pearl river is the western boundary, and the numerous tributaries of these two streams afford excellent water power. Many fine mill sites are to be found on the streams and creeks. The Gulf & Ship Island R. R. traverses the county from northwest to southeast, and the Columbia branch of the Gulf & Ship Island R. R., extending from Maxie to Mendenhall, provide it with good shipping facilities. The county has increased rapidly in population since the advent of the railroad. School and church advantages are general throughout the county. A great number of lumbering plants have been established since 1900 and there are probably as many as 30 saw mills in the county.
The following statistics, taken from the twelfth United States census for 1900, relate to farms, manufactures and population : Number of farms 2,161, acreage in farms 222,949, acres improved 74,281, value of lands exclusive of buildings $770,750, value of buildings $301,320, value of live stock $369,313, total value of products not fed to stock $698,362. Number of manufacturing es- tablishments 27, capital invested $68,985, wages paid $20,207, cost of materials $64,311, total value of products $121,274. The popula- tion in 1900 was whites 7,846, colored 4,954, total 12,800, increase over 1890, 2,662. The population in 1906 was estimated at 15,000. The total assessed valuation of real and personal property in Simp- son county in 1905 was $2,233,826 and in 1906 it was $4,009,701 which shows an increase of $1,775,875 during the year.
Simpson, Josiah, Territorial judge, was a native of Pennsylvania, educated at Princeton college, and after reading law engaged in the practice of that profession. He married a Miss Stuart, of Fredericksburg, Va. In 1812 he was appointed one of the Terri- torial judges, to succeed Judge Fitts, and the records show his presence at least as early as October of that year. He made his home at Green Hill, near Natchez, afterward known as Devereaux Hall, "one of the old historic homes of Natchez, beautiful in its loveliness, with many sweet memories clustering around it." Says J. F. H. Claiborne, "Nature had given him a vigorous intellect, and being a close student and very methodical in his habits, with great purity of character and simplicity of manners, he was fully equal to the high station to which he had been called. Judge Simpson soon impressed himself on the bar and the commu- nity as a man of great ability, learning and rectitude, and no man was more beloved." In the constitutional convention of 1817, "a position he would have avoided, but was literally forced into by
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a universal call, he took a very prominent part, and his conserva- tive character is impressed upon the most important features of our first constitution. He died soon after the convention dis- solved."
Cowles Mead introduced a bill for the relief of his widow in the legislature of 1817, in evidence of Mississippi's high sense of respect for the memory of "Josiah Simpson, late a judge of the superior courts of the Mississippi Territory, and late a member of the convention, where he rendered great and signal services to the State, to the citizens thereof, and to posterity, by the purity of his principles, sustained by talent, integrity and judgment." The legislature passed an act to provide for the education of his child, who according to Claiborne, afterward became the wife of Thomas L. Dobyns, of Rodney, Miss.
Simrall, Horatio F., was born near Shelbyville, Ky., February 6, 1818. He was of Scotch-Irish descent, and his father was an officer in the War of 1812. He attended the Hanover (Ind.) col- lege ; then taught school for a while, after which he took a law course at Transylvania university, and was admitted to the bar. He came to Mississippi in the fall of 1838; stopped at Natchez, but located at Woodville in 1839, and soon became prominent as a lawyer. He was in the legislature of 1846-48; made a strong effort to secure free schools for the State, and secured a system of free schools for Wilkinson county. In 1857 he became a professor of law in the University of Louisville, but returned to Wilkinson county in 1861. Meanwhile a Confederate State government had been set up in Kentucky, and he was elected lieutenant governor. He returned to that state, but it was soon in the possession of the Federals, and he came back to Mississippi. After the war he was a member of the legislature of 1865-66 and as chairman of the com- mittee on federal relations recommended rejection of the Four- teenth amendment. In 1867 he removed to Vicksburg. He was prominent in defending people who were tried before the military courts. He went to Washington with a committee of Democrats and appealed to President Grant against the proscriptive features of the constitution of 1868; was appointed supreme judge in 1870; held this place for nine years, becoming chief justice in 1876, and retired to private life in 1879. He was offered the professorship of law in the University of Mississippi in 1881, but declined. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1890.
Sims, a post-hamlet of Attala county, about 10 miles north of Kosciusko, the county seat and nearest banking town.
Sims, William H., was born in Lexington, Ga., in 1840, son of Dr. James Saunders Sims and Amanda Booker Moore. He gradu- ated from the University of Georgia before he was nineteen, and after being admitted to the bar at Lexington spent a year in study at Harvard. In 1859 he made his home at Columbus, Miss., and was just beginning his practice when he enlisted in the Confederate army, where he rose to the rank of colonel. After arduous service in the army, during which he was twice wounded, he was captured
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in 1865, and taken to a military prison at Louisville. Out of 9,000 prisoners here, all were soon discharged except Col. Sims and two others, who were to be tried for treason. Finally, however, he was paroled, and in 1866 began his practice again in Columbus. In August, 1870, he married Louie Upson, of Lexington, Ga. He was elected to the State senate in the "Revolution of 1875," and when John M. Stone succeeded to the governorship, he was unanimously chosen president of the senate, and thus exercised the duties of lieutenant-governor. In 1878, he and Governor Stone were re- elected for four years. He was president of the Democratic State convention in 1885, and at the St. Louis Democratic convention in 1888 he was instrumental in reconciling the jarring factions in the platform committee. For several years he resided at Columbus, engaged with his business interests and his practice, but is now. living in Florida.
Sinai, a postoffice of Rankin county.
Singer, a postoffice of Tunica county.
Singleton, a post-hamlet of Winston county, about 40 miles southwest of Columbus, and 13 miles east of Louisville, the county seat and the nearest railroad and banking town. It has two churches. Population in 1900, 75.
Singleton, Otho R., was born in Jessamine county, Kentucky, October 14, 1814. After graduating from St. Joseph's College, Bardstown, Ky., and from the Lexington Law School, he moved to Mississippi in 1838. He was a member of the lower house for two years and of the State senate for six years. He represented Mis- sissippi in the thirty-third, thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth congresses, and resigned from the latter January 12, 1861. He represented Mississippi in the Confederate congress throughout the war, and in 1875 was elected to the national congress where he served from the forty-fourth to the forty-ninth congresses inclusively (1875- 1885). He died in 1889.
Sitka, a postoffice of Covington county, 13 miles east of Williams- burg, the county seat.
Siwel, a hamlet of Hinds county, 8 miles southwest of Jackson. It has a money order postoffice.
Sixteenth Sections. The act of congress, in 1803, providing for the sale of land "south of the State of Tennessee," excepted "sec- tion No. 16, which shall be reserved in each township, for the sup- port of schools within the same." As each township contains 36 sections, this was a reservation of one-thirty-sixth of the area, in other words, one mile square in every six miles square. This pro- vision would be equivalent, under fair conditions, to a land tax of nearly thirty cents on the dollar for public education. The land was acquired by the United States by conquest, international treaty and purchase, and the school sections were a reservation from the lands which the United States were offering for sale. Said Gov- ernor Leake (1822): "The sixteenth sections were not granted to the States or Territories in which they lay, but the title re- mained in the United States, and was held by them in trust for the
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