Law Firm Celebrates 210th Birthday

A Vicksburg law firm is celebrating 210 years in practice reports the Vicksburg Post. It is likely the oldest law firm in the state at present.

Coahoma County Records Being Microfilmed

The Clarksdale Press Register reports that members of the Genealogical Society of Utah are in Coahoma County to preserve county records by microfilming them.

165 Year Old Spoon Found

A spoon bearing the surname Classen and the year 1839 was found in an estate sale in DeSoto County recently. The spoon is thought to have been made for a newborn in the family. The purchaser began a search to locate the family which may have originally owned the spoon. Read about it in the DeSoto Times.

Birthplace of Civil Rights in Forrest County

St. John United Methodist Church in Palmer's Crossing in Forrest County holds the distinction of being the birthplace of civil rights for the county. A marker has been erected. Read about it in the Hattiesburg American.

Glen Allan's Old Hardware Store

Read the fascinating story of The Old Hardware Store, a 150 year old building in the Washington County community of Glen Allan in the Delta Democrat Times (Greenville).

Historical Novel Inspired by Walk Through Cemetery

Mack R. May took a stroll through the Grand Gulf Cemetery where he was fascinated by some of the tombstones. He thought he would write a short story or two, but he ended up with an historical novel. Read about The Consort and how to obtain a copy in the Daily Leader (Brookhaven).

President James Polk, Mississippi Slave Owner

Being a librarian does sometimes have its advantages. Today I was cataloging a book which came into our collection. As I was checking its table of contents against the record for spelling errors and accuracy, I noticed that the subject of the book, President Polk, owned a plantation in Mississippi. The book is called Slavemaster President: The Double Career of James Polk and was written by William Dusinberre. Glancing through the book, I noticed that his plantation was in Yalobusha County. It is certainly an interesting connection to the state's history.

MUW History

What is now known as Mississippi University for Women was established in 1884 as the Industrial Institute & College (II&C). Read the history of this institution at the W's Web site.

Vicksburg Fights Historic Bridge Designation

The city of Vicksburg is opposing the proposed National Register of Historic Places designation of the US 80 bridge over the Big Black River. The Vicksburg Post has an article about this.

Possible Unusual Use for Historic Natchez Home Looms on the Horizon

The Hattiesburg American reports that Emerald Star Casino and Resort wants to purchase the Briars and its neighboring Ramada Inn. The home is listed as an historic home.

Vicksburg Monuments Moving

Erosion has forced park officials to move several monuments at the Vicksburg National Military Park. Read about it in the Vicksburg Post.

William Carey College's Oldest Graduate

The Hattiesburg American has a story about William Carey's Oldest graduate which includes some of her memories.

Rowan Oak Reopens

Rowan Oak, the home of William Faulkner, has been undergoing renovations for 3 years; however, it is finally open once again to tourists the New Albany Gazette reports.

Recalling the Civil Rights Era

A teacher and a few others recall 1965 and the Civil Rights movement in the Clarion Ledger (Jackson).

Exploring WWII Shipwrecks

The Sun Herald (Biloxi) has an article about exploring some of the shipwrecks from World War II that are in the Gulf of Mexico. Although there are much older shipwrecks in the area, the explorer featured is interested in these 20th century wrecks.

History of Natchez

The City of Natchez has a nice overview of its history on their web site. It is divided into several periods.

Fire Destroys Historic Pascagoula Home

Fire destroyed a home in Pascagoula that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Read about it in the Mississippi Press.

Pre Civil War Letters from Vicksburg

The Vicksburg Post has an article on a new book available that is compiled from letters written by Emma Balfour between 1847 and 1857. The article describes the book and tells how to purchase a copy.

Elizabeth Shown Mills

Elizabeth Shown Mills is one of my favorite genealogical authors. I was absolutely delighted when I noticed that the Commercial Dispatch (Columbus, Miss.) had an article telling about her study of Southern culture over the years and of her pursuit of what she now calls "generational history." Mills is a native of Mississippi, having been born in Cleveland. She and her husband were editors of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly for a number of years. She is the author of the genealogist's style manual called Evidence! Citation and Analysis for the Family Historian as well as editor of Professional Genealogy. Her most recent book is a novel called Isle of Canes which is based upon her research of the people in the region of Louisiana called Cane River which was made famous by Lalita Tademy's novel. She has written numerous articles and books besides these. It also appears in the Hattiesburg American.

Mississippi Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo History

I stumbled across an interesting web site that contains a history of Mississippi's Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. The site includes photos as well as historical information on its founding, leaders, and importance.

35th Anniversary of Hurricane Camille

The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson) contains a great article on the 35th anniversary of Hurricane Camille. The article features a map of the storm's track and some great photos of the destruction wrought by the hurricane.

Hurricane Camille Documentary

If you live in Jackson or Harrison counties in Mississippi, you may be able to view a documentary entitled A Lady Called Camille on Cable One. If you do not live in that area or do not subscribe to Cable One, you can purchase a copy of the video for $19.95 from the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum in Biloxi.

Book on Hurricane Camille

When I blogged yesterday about Hurricane Camille, I had no idea that the Sun Herald (Biloxi) would be featuring a book on that storm today. News reporter Philip Hearn has written a new volume entitled Hurricane Camille: Monster Storm of the Gulf Coast. He did a book signing in Pass Christian on Saturday.

A Bit of Culinary History

The world is mourning the loss of Julia Child, the culinary giant. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo) reports that it was a Mississippian who introduced Julia to fried okra! Tom Blanton was a student at Harvard Divinity School in Massachusetts, and Julia lived down the street.

Senatobia to Get New Historical Marker

The Bethesda Cemetery in Senatobia will soon have a marker honoring the Latvians who moved to the area following World War II and who are buried in the cemetery. Read about it in the Senatobia Democrat.

40th Anniversary of Civil Rights Murders

The Neshoba Democrat is featuring several articles about the anniversary of the Civil Rights murders in that area. Visit the 40th Anniversary section for current perspectives on the murders. 44 Days in 1964 features original articles concerning the murders.

Mississippi in Africa

The Neshoba Democrat has a review of the highly acclaimed book, Mississippi in Africa. The book, written by Alan Huffman, tells the story of a plantation owner who had the plantation sold and his slaves shipped to Liberia in Africa upon his death. This article tells of Huffman's research into this as well as providing a bit of a summary.

B. G. "Billy" Allen Recalls Bombing of Japan

The DeSoto Appeal, an edition of Memphis' Commercial Appeal, has an article with B. G. "Billy" Allen's memories of his military service and the bombing of Japan.

125 Years for Lewisburg United Methodist Church

Lewisburg United Methodist Church in DeSoto County is celebrating its 125th anniversary. The church was established August 16, 1879 on land donated by Pleasant Vaughn. Read about it in the DeSoto Appeal, an edition of Memphis' Commercial Appeal.

Sultana's Explosion in Mississippi River

This week's Family Trees column features a book written about the explosion of the Sultana, just north of Memphis on the Mississippi River. The overloaded boat had picked up passengers (mostly soldier) in Vicksburg. More than 1800 of the 2400 passengers on board died. There is also a query posted regarding the Winston County Porter and Loftin families.

Airliewood - Historic Holly Springs Home Survives Fire

Airliewood, which once served as Gen. Grant's headquarters, survived a fire last week. Check out the South Reporter for an article and photo about the fire.

Remembering Hurricane Camille

With all eyes on Bonnie and Charley this week, I'm sure a lot of Mississippians recalled Hurricane Camille. Hurricane Camille smashed into the Mississippi Gulf Coast August 17, 1969 and stuck around into the wee hours of the morning. Back in those days, all hurricanes were named after females. I heard an interesting comment yesterday by one of the meteorologists on The Weather Channel. He said that it is interesting that all the more destructive ones since the new naming patterns seem to be male! I thought it might be fun to include a few links of some of the better resources dealing with Hurricane Camille. One of the best is called "Thirty Years After Hurricane Camille: Lessons Learned, Lessons Lost" and is housed at the Center of Science and Technology Policy Research of the University of Colorado. The Maritime Museum also has a page devoted to the hurricane showing pictures of the destruction. Beauvoir (Jefferson Davis home) has a page on its site telling of the damage on those stately grounds. Another site sponsored by a disaster relief organization contains an article written on the 30th anniversary of the storm called "30 Years Later, Camille's Legend Remains Firmly Etched in Gulf Coast Memory." The Harrison County Library System has some tracking maps showing the path of the storm.

Hartley Sanford, World War II Veteran

The Bolivar Commercial featured a nice article yesterday about Hartley Sanford, a World War II veteran. He recalls his life story as well as some of his ancestors in this account.

Vicksburg Living History Encampment

Read about the Living History Encampment program at the Vicksburg National Military Park in the Vicksburg Post.

Tippah County Museum

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal features an article on the Tippah County Museum in today's edition. The article describes its organization by retired teachers and some of its exhibits.

World War II Personal Histories

The Northeast Mississippi Historical and Genealogical Society is wanting to collect personal histories from the World War II era. Read about their planned oral history project in the Sun Herald (Biloxi) or the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo).

Mississippi Road Atlas

I was in BooksAMillion in Tupelo the week before last and stumbled across an atlas that has been out for awhile, but I'm ashamed to say that I hadn't paid much attention to it before. It is called the Mississippi Road Atlas and was released by University Press of Mississippi in 1997. It is an item that should belong in the collection of every genealogical researcher in the state of Mississippi. There is a map for each county which gives all the county beats and all the section, township, and range lines! While DeLorme's Mississippi Atlas & Gazetteer (1998) gives is better for locating roads and stuff, the Mississippi Road Atlas is better at helping one locate that ancestor's property. It can also help the person using census records have a better idea of the part of the county in which a family lived at the time the census was taken. This is one tool that will pay for itself as you work on your family history.

Magnolia Proposes Ordinance to Preserve Historic Buildings

The Enterprise-Journal (McComb) reports that Magnolia has proposed a new ordinance that would prevent historic buildings from being moved out of town.

Genealogy Seminar in Hamilton, Alabama

Genealogical researchers in Northeast Mississippi may want to attend the Genealogy Seminar on Friday, October 8 at Bevill State Community College, Hamilton (Alabama) Campus; Bevill Business and Community Center. It is presented by the Hamilton Campus Library. Speaker is Robert Scott Davis, Jr. of Wallace State Community College who is author of Tracing Your Alabama Roots. The morning session runs from 8 a.m. to noon. Registration fee is $20 in advance (deadline Sept. 27) or $25 on the day of the seminar. Lunch is on your own. For an additional $10, attendees may attend a computer training session in the library from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on "Using Ancestry.com." To pre-register, call Gail Woodridge at 1-800-648-3271 extension 5372 or the library staff at extension 5313. All genealogical socities are welcome to display publications although retail sales are not allowed. Membership sign-up is approved. Persons attending receive 4 contact hours for the morning session or 7 for the full day.

Vicksburg National Military Park News

There's a new woman at the head of Vicksburg Military National Park. Read about it in the Vicksburg Post.

Cedar Oaks

Read about the history of the home called Cedar Oaks in the Oxford area in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo).

Family Trees column (syndicated)

Read this week's Family Trees column which is syndicated in several Mississippi newspapers in The Clarion Ledger (Jackson) or Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo). This week's column talks about a new Civil War book and has a couple of queries. (The Daily Journal has more queries in its version.)