First Decoration Day in Columbus - 1862

In a Sun-Times article dealing mostly with the namesake of Cleburne County, Arkansas, we find an account of the first decoration day in Columbus, Mississippi (Lowndes County). It begins:

Honnoll related a story about the first Decoration Day in Columbus,
Mississippi, in 1862. "After the Battles of Shiloh and Corinth the ladies of
Columbus went to the cemetery where their loved ones that were killed in the
resent battles of the war were buried."

WeRelate

From time to time, I get questions from people enquiring about web-based programs that will allow people to enter and document their family history. I've recently run across blog posts that talk about two such programs.

Dick Eastman is talking about WeRelate which has just entered a partnership with the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne. It's a wiki service.

Dick also mentioned PedigreeSoft which is more of a database which can be accessed anywhere.

Indexing the 1900 MS Census

I signed up as a volunteer over at http://www.familysearchindexing.org/. It takes a couple of days to get your password. Once you are "official", you can do the training tutorials and then begin indexing. The first time I went in to retrieve a batch, I didn't quite understand how to specify from which project I wanted my records, and I got a bunch of Poles in Massachusetts. However, I've learned that by choosing the "Download from" button that I can choose the project I want. Most of the MS records I've received so far have been Holmes County, but one batch was Grenada County. I also decided to try Alabama to see what counties I got there. I got Talladega. I've recruited a few other volunteers. The software is simple to use. You do need a high speed Internet connection. I hope you'll consider volunteering.

20th Carnival of Genealogy

It's online at Creative Gene. Laura Lucy Taylor lived in Monroe County, Mississippi. You'll find her story among other stories about our female ancestors in this week's edition.

Nathaniel Everette Collins Cemetery Clean-up

Saturday, March 31, 2007, has been designated clean-up day for the Nathaniel Everette Collins Cemetery in Lawrence, County, MS. Nathaniel was born on Feb 28, 1818, and died near Jayess, MS on Jan 6, 1879. His cemetery is located on old Collins family land, near Jayess. Volunteers are needed to clean this old cemetery. You may contact Patsy Lambert Jones at her email address, patwes@sbcglobal.net, or Mrs. Joyce Lambert at her telephone number, 601-587-2209 for further information.

Nathaniel Collins father was Nathaniel Madison Collins, who is buried in Marion Co, MS. Nathaniel Madison Collins fought with Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812. Nathaniel Everette’s grandfather was Elisha Collins, who fought in the American Revolution. Elisha married Frances Madison, a cousin of James Madison, 4th President of the United States. Elisha also moved to Mississippi in his later years, and died in Lauderdale Co, MS on Sept 28, 1842.
Nathaniel Everette Collins had 13 children, all born in Lawrence Co, MS. The names and spouses are as follows:

Dr Franklin Edwin Collins, born Sept 17, 1842, married Eveline E Magee
Susan Adaline Collins, born May 2, 1845 married Nick Gunnels
Jane Frances Collins, born Feb 28, 1847, no record of marriage
John Richmond Collins, born Sept 27, 1848, married Florance Medora May
Nathaniel Monroe Collins, born Feb 26, 1850, married Mary Bridges Magee
Mary Durham “Molly” Collins, born Aug 4, 1852, married Josiah Barnes Lewis
Everette Milton Collins, born June 23, 1854, married Addie Partheny “Duck” Mullins
Lucy Margaret Collins, born Sept 11, 1856, married Needham Jasper Alford
Ann Sophronia Collins, born Sept 3, 1858, married Jesse Obed Magee
Thomas Jefferson Collins, born Oct 28, 1860, married Lizzie Alford
James Monroe Collins, born Oct 28, 1860, died 1861
William Harrison Collins, born Oct 21, 1862, married Victoria E Bush
Nancy Isabella “Id”Collins, born Dec 6, 1864, married Needham Jasper Alford.

It was Nancy’s death wish that her old maid sister Lucy, raise her six children. The family could not accept a single woman living with a single man, so Lucy was required to marry Needham Jasper Alford.

Descendants of those named above, have many of the familiar surnames now in SW Mississippi. Names like, Dunaway, Cothern, Lambert, Greer, Moak, Weir, Rushing, Thames, Mullen, Conerly, Boyd, Carney, Pittman, Stephens, Cochran, Calhoun and more.
If you think you may be descended from Nathaniel Everette Collins, please contact the telephone number or email address listed above. All descendents are eligible to join the Daughters or the American Republic (DAR), Sons of the American Republic (SAR), and the Madison Family Society. The Madison Family Society has a family reunion every 3 years at the James Madison Plantation in Virginia.

Cemetery cleaning volunteers will be provided coffee and pastries. All participants are also asked to bring a picnic lunch and a lawn chair. Drinks will be furnished throughout the day.

No Probate?

Michael John Neill offers tips for researchers who can find no probate record to assist in their research. It's an older article but he referred to it this week. It's certainly a situation many researchers face and is worth revisiting even if you read it several years ago. (By the way, browse around his current blog. He has all sorts of interesting census records of people who later became famous and some handwriting challenges for those who like to decipher old handwriting.)

Southern Claims Commission Records

Dick Eastman has an excellent post describing the Southern Claims Commission records and their online availability.

WTVA Museum

Tupelo's WTVA is celebrating 50 years of broadcasting. When I was younger, they used to be known as WTWV, but as TVA gained prominence in the region, they changed their call letters. They've opened at temporary museum to celebrate the anniversary at the Barnes Crossing Mall in Tupelo.