Rebuilding Beauvoir

LINK - A judge has settled a dispute that will allow the rebuilding of Beauvoir to begin.

Grist Gets Reburial

LINK - Confederate veteran W. H. Grist was buried again this weekend. Grist died in the Battle of Harrisburg on 15 July 1864.

Champion Hill

Timothy B. Smith, a graduate of Mississippi State University who works for the National Park Service, has written a book entitled Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for Vicksburg. It's been out a couple of years, and the reviews to date are excellent.

Choctaw Churches - Jerusalem & Little Jerusalem

LINK - This week's featured churches are Jerusalem Baptist Church and Little Jerusalem Baptist Church.

DeSoto County Publications

The Genealogical Society of DeSoto County has a couple of new publications available:

NEW! Cemetery Inscriptions of DeSoto County (White) (#301)
A new compilation of all known White cemeteries in DeSoto County including
information not included in the 1986 book. Appox. 475 pages with maps and
locations.
$65 – Hardback
$50 – Soft bound (spiral)

NEW! Cemetery Inscriptions of DeSoto County (African American) (#303)
A new compilation of tombstone inscriptions from African American cemeteries
in DeSoto County. These were not included in our original cemetery book
published in the 1980s. Approx. 275 pages.
$50 – Hardback
$35 – Soft bound (spiral)

Shipping and handling is $4 for the first book and an additional charge for
each additional volume.

Visit their web site for further information, including the society's address and other publications available.

Reburying Mr. Grist

LINK - Civil War soldier Pvt. W. H. Grist is getting a reburial, complete with a horse-drawn hearse.

Battle of Harrisburg

LINK - A history of this Lee County battle.

Family Reunion Tips

The Hattiesburg American offers tips on reunion planning. The section contains several articles!

Software to Record Cemeteries

On the APG mailing list, a couple of people gave some reviews about a software package they had discovered for recording cemeteries. It's called CemEditor and is now in version 2. While it still has a few "bugs" to work out, the overall concensus is that it is a valuable developing tool. All indications are that the software developer has been very responsive to comments and suggestions to this point. You can learn more about it at OVS Genealogy.

While browsing the page, I discovered they have an ObitEditor software under development that will allow you to record obituaries. It will be interesting to see what features this software offers.

Mrs. Stringer Donates Journals

LINK - Mrs. Stringer, a former director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, answered the request of a New Orleans organization by donating a collection of the Journal of Mississippi History to them. The article goes into depth about Mrs. Stringer's work in the area of Mississippi history.

The Travelling Salesman

LINK - Here's an interesting piece about travelling salesmen whose hey-dey was from the mid-1800s to about 1940.

Prentiss, Mississippi Ghost Town, Part II

LINK - Part 2 of a 3 part series on the ghost town of Prentiss in the Mississippi Delta.

Genealogy Fair Report

LINK - A report on the regional genealogy fair held at Mississippi State University June 24.

Ackerman Church of God

LINK - Ackerman Church of God is Choctaw County's Church of the week.

Union Spy from Chickasaw County

Thomas D. Cockrell, a professor at Blue Mountain College, and Michael B. Ballard, a professor at Mississippi State University, have edited and made available the memoir of Levi Holloway Naron who was a spy for the Union during the Civil War. Naron was a native of Chickasaw County who was driving from his home county because of his Union sentiments. He met up with General Sherman who quickly realized Naron's unique position to be a scout and spy, not to mention an occasional raider, for the Union cause. The original work was dictated to Richard W. Surby, a Union soldier from Illinois, who published it as part of a book he authored in 1865. The book (Chickasaw: A Mississippi Scout for the Union: The Civil War Memoir of Levi H. Naron) is a worthwhile addition to anyone studying the Civil War in Mississippi or Southern Unionists.

Hancock County Book

Louisiana's Loss, Mississippi's Gain: A History of Hancock County, Mississippi From the Stone Age to the Space Age was written by Robert G. Scharff and published by Brunswick Publishing in 1999. It's a fairly large volume. The author has utilized many sources in his research of the county's history. While the book was written before the devastation to the county caused by Hurricane Katrina, it does contain a great deal of information on the county's history through the 1990s. There is an entire chapter devoted to Hurricane Camille. There are chapters devoted to both the French and Spanish Colonial periods. If you don't already own a copy and are interested in the history of this Gulf Coast county, it is worth adding a copy to your own library. It's available from both Amazon and Barnes & Noble online.