Sunday Morning Sunrise

After a rainy two days, and a foggy Saturday night, the cold north wind started breaking the clouds apart early this morning, revealing a spectacular sunrise in Itawamba County.
 

Frog Level Swamp

Frog Level Swamp as seen from Van Buren Road. Frog Level is a large swamp located south of Mantachie Creek near the creek's confluence with the Tombigbee River in western Itawamba County. This scene was photographed recently on a cold late autumn day.
 

Martha Eudoxie Raburn with Daughter Susie

Pictured are two of the early residents of historic Bonds House in Mantachie, currently operated by the Itawamba Historical Society as the county‘s museum of history. Mrs. Raburn appears in the 1880 Itawamba County census listed as Udoxey with her husband, William Greenberry Raburn (died November 9, 1894) and children Franklin, Elvira and Willis. William Greenberry is listed as the Itawamba County Tax Assessor. By the 1900 census the widowed Mrs. Raburn (born July 1856 in Georgia) is listed with her children Jessie F., General, Mattie, Doxie, Bennett and Susie A. During the 1920’s Mrs. Raburn lived with her daughter, Ila and her husband Oscar Middlebrook Younghanse in historic Bonds House in Mantachie.

Martha Eudoxie Raburn was born July 5, 1854 in Gwinnett County, Georgia, the daughter of Jesse and Elvira Davis and died in Itawamba County during 1928. She was buried in Center Star Cemetery in Mantachie.
 

Thanksgiving Greetings: 1908

An embossed vintage postcard from 1908 for Thanksgiving Greetings, printed in Germany shows a Victorian holiday scene. During the Turn of the Century era, postcards were widely used and commemorated such holidays as Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloweeen, Valentine's Day and personal events such as birthdays, weddings and the like.
 

Nancy Caroline Cockrell Thornberry's Portrait

My great grandfather was Marion Cockrell. His sister was Nancy Cockrell Thornberry, who was born during 1870 in Clay County, Alabama. They were the children of Elam Cockrell (born May 16, 1822 in Johnston County, North Carolina, died November 4, 1889 in Itawamba County) and Carolina Devaughn (born 1824 in Georgia, died in Itawamba County).

During the early 1870's several Cockrell families of the Clay County, Alabama area wanted to move west to better land. They were like thousands of southern families after the Civil War who wanted to leave their war-torn country to seek a better life in the newer country to the west. In 1873 a group of Cockrell families left their homes in the Clay County, Alabama area to begin their search for a better life. In this group of several families were Elum Cockrell, along with his wife, Caroline and their children, John, Marion, James M. Duff, Jordan and three year old Nancy. Along with Elum's family were Elum's daughter, Jane, with her husband, Benjamin East and their one year old daughter, Lula and Elijah Cockrell with his wife Jane, and one year old son, Billy. The families loaded their wagons with their furniture and personal possessions and headed west across Talladega Mountain. After crossing the Coosa River they crossed Shades Mountain and Red Mountain and traveled through Jefferson, Walker and Marion Counties in Alabama before ending their 200 mile journey in Itawamba County, Mississippi in the New Home Church community east of Fulton. By 1900 the family had purchased a farm west of the Tombigbee in the Centerville Community. It was here on November 24, 1887 Nancy Caroline married James P. Thornberry. Nancy Caroline lived out the remainder of her life in the Centerville community where she reared a large family. During the 1950’s Nancy Caroline was named by The Itawamba County Times newspaper as Itawamba County’s Citizen of the Year for a lifetime of charitable work done in the community. Nancy Caroline died in the Centerville community during 1964 and was buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery.
 

Miss Mittie’s and Miss Belle’s School at Ozark

The above school group photograph was taken around the turn of the century in the Ozark Community of Itawamba County. On the back of the old photograph mounted on cardboard, the following is written: “Miss Mittie Grissom’s and Miss Belle Senter’s school at Ozark.” The photograph was found in a collection of photographs belonging to the Will Ferguson family. The Ferguson family owned a farm in the Ozark community and moved to Fulton before 1920. The Ferguson home in Fulton was located on South Cummings Street.
 

The Ida W. Moore Monument Mystery

The Ida W. Moore monument in the old Fulton graveyard is an example of the many highly ornate monuments in this old cemetery. This towering monument features a carved marble basket of flowers atop the monument. The base of the monument shows the monument was crafted by R. Miller of Aberdeen, in neighboring Monroe County. To-date I have not been able to find any information about this monument carver, or find any information about Ida W. Moore or her husband Clem C. Moore. There is no Clem C. Moore family listed in the 1850 or 1860 Itawamba County census records that I could find, but from the highly ornate quality of the monument, and its shear size, the family must have been financially successful. The biographical information on the monument reads:

IDA W.
Wife of
CLEM C. MOORE
Born
Nov. 29, 1836
Died
Oct. 19, 1855

I would appreciate hearing from any reader who has information about Clem C. and Ida W. Moore in Itawamba County during antebellum times or the monument carver, R. Miller of Aberdeen in Monroe County.
 

Mantachie Creek: A Major Tributary of the Tombigbee

Mantachie Creek, labled as Hatchie Pullo Creek on early Chickasaw Cession records is a major water course in western Itawamba County. Beginning just east of the old antbellum Itawamba County town of Guntown (in present-day Lee County) the creek runs in a southeasterly direction several miles before it empties into the Tombigbee River, north of the old river port town of Van Buren. The photograph above was taken Thursday from the Peppertown Road Bridge looking to the west, not far from the creek's confluence with the Tombigbee River. Early maps of the county have the creek spelled Mataches with the name Mantachie in use as early as the 1850's. During antebellum times, some of Itawamba County's larger farms were located along this creek, and today this area continues to be a major agricultural area.
 

Big Oak Farms on an Autumn Day

Yesterday, being a beautiful sunny cool November day, I enjoyed a nice autumn visit to Big Oak Farms northeast of Mantachie Creek in western Itawamba County. The thoroughbred horse farm is located on lands patented by Henry W. Stegall during 1836. The rolling pastures and colorful trees on this beautiful farm, surrounded by beautiful wooden fencing creates a scenic rural landscape in the heart of Itawamba County’s agricultural area.
 

The Old Wren Road

Looking eastward toward the Tombigbee River lowlands and the Van Buren and Aberdeen Road, the old Wren Road, is a single-lane paved rural road in Itawamba County. Large trees cover the old antebellum road, creating an effect of a deep shaded arbor. Located just south of the old river port town of Van Buren, the road is named for the Robert S. Wren family. This family settled a large farm here along this old road during 1840.

Robert S. Wren was born around 1797 in Virginia and about 1830 he married his wife Sarah (born 1803 in Maryland) in Alabama. Their eldest son, Randolph was born around 1831 in Alabama and died after his 19th birthday in Itawamba County. Robert S. Wren’s name appears on the Richmond Masonic Lodge roster for the year 1840. During 1842 a second son was born – William H. He was the couple’s only child to reach adulthood.

During the 1860 Federal census, living with the Robert S. Wren family were Isaac Eddington (probably their farm manager) and the Van Buren Methodist Church pastor, James Hampton (with his wife and two children). Robert S. Wren and his wife probably died during the early 1860’s (no dates are inscribed on their gravestones) and were buried in the old Keyes graveyard.

On February 16, 1868, William H. Wren married Mary Elizabeth Wright and after his parent’s death, took over the operation of the Wren farm. William and Mary Wright Wren were the parents of eight children: Ella, Martha Emma, Annie Lee, Robert Jackson, Thomas, William, Alfred and Edward.
 

The David McKnight Shannon Monument in the Old Keyes Graveyard

The old Keyes Cemetery in western Itawamba County contains hundreds of 19th Century monuments. Pictured above is the David McKnight Shannon monument. The monument reads:

DAVID M.
SHANNON
Born
Mar. 28, 1790
Died
Oct. 18, 1860

David McKnight Shannon was born in Davidson County, Tennessee. He was the son of David Shannon (born 1756 Montgomery County, Virginia) and Jane McKnight. David McKnight Shannon married Anna Pickens on December 10, 1806 in Williamson County, Tennessee. During the 1820’s some of the Tennessee Shannon families moved to Monroe County, Mississippi and by the 1830’s were living in the old Itawamba County river port town of Van Buren and in extreme southwestern Itawamba County along Coonewah and Chiwapa creeks. David McKnight Shannon’s son, Robert Finis was a merchant at Cardsville, south of Van Buren before the Civil War.

David McKnight Shannon’s uncle was Samuel Shannon, an early Itawamba County planter for whom the town of Shannon in adjoining Lee County was named. He owned a plantation between Coonewah and Chiwapa creeks and is listed on the early tax lists of Itawamba County. This area of old Itawamba County became Lee County during 1867.
 

The Old Homestead

Yesterday morning I was out in the rural countryside of western Itawamba County and driving around a bend in the road I came upon a side view of a huge old abandoned homestead standing majestically like a sentinel overlooking the nearby road in the cold November landscape. Looking at this scene, a verse from a poem entitled The Old Homestead by Alice Cary comes to mind:

And when the winds moan wildly,
When the woods are bare and brown
And when the swallow’s clay-built nest
From the rafter crumbles down;
When all the untrod garden-paths
Are heaped with frozen leaves,
And icicles, like silver spikes,
Are set along the eaves;

Verse from: The Old Homestead by Alice Cary, From Friends’ Intelligencer, Volume XXV, Philadelphia, 1869.
 

Autumn Leaves

With a breezy, cold and wet weekend, my lawn is now littered with autumn's fallen leaves. It's the time of year for frosty mornings and cool days.
 

A Widow's Son

The Eugene Lafayette Clifton monument in the old Fulton graveyard is one of several monuments memorializing Civil War soldiers from the town. Eugene was the son of Wilie Daniel Clifton and Julia Fielder Oliver Clifton of Fulton. His father was a town merchant and planter during antebellum times. The monument reads:

A Widow's Son
Eugene L.F. Clifton
Son of W.D. & J.F. Clifton
Born Fulton, Miss. March 12, 1844
Died Warrenton Hospital, Florida August 27, 1861


During 1909, Mrs. Mollie Gaither of Fulton, submitted the following 19th century newspaper clipping to the Itawamba County News. The old newspaper clipping was printed in the October 14, 1909 edition of the newspaper. Below is a transcript of the old clipping:

At the breaking out of the Civil War in 1861, there were about 40 voters within the corporate limits of the town of Fulton, and 5 or 6 boys who were under age. Of that number, 18 were killed in battle and died of disease contracted in the army, towit: Eugene Clifton, died at Pensacola, Florida; J.W. Norwood, died at Savannah, Georgia; Henry Mulder, died at home; Geo. Mulder, died at home; M.M. Shelby, died; J.A. Wright, died; A.S. Fry, died at Dalton, Georgia; J.L. Holmes, killed at Resaca, Georgia; D.N. Owen, killed at Murfreesboro, Tennessee; J.J. Lindsey, killed at Jonesboro, Georgia; S.S. Owen, killed near Appomattox, Virginia; W.A. Graham, killed at Mumfordsville, Kentucky; Pryor McWilliams, killed at Chickamauga, Tennessee; C.H. Walker, killed at Perryville, Kentucky; Dan Whitener, killed at Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Capt. B.F. Toomer, killed at Franklin, Tennessee; Frank Rogers, killed at Murfreesboro, Tennessee; John Guess, killed at Chickamauga, Tennessee. The corporate limits of Fulton was one square mile.

For further information about the Clifton family, view the article, Wilie Daniel Clifton Monument in the Old Fulton Cemetery.
 

Many Early County Graveyard Monuments Came Upriver From Mobile

Throughout Itawamba County, Mississippi there are many examples of grave monuments from the early part of the county’s history. Many of these monuments are crafted artistically with both wording and sculpture. One such example is the 1846 Matilda M. Cayce monument in the old Fulton graveyard. Fulton was established on the Tombigbee River during 1839 and is one of the older towns in northeastern Mississippi. It wasn’t long after the town was established that the Fulton graveyard was established next to the Fulton Male Academy. The ornate marble Cayce monument reads:

SACRED
To the Memory of
MATILDA M. CAYCE
wife of D.N. Cayce
who departed this life
December 26th. 1846
aged 28 years, 7 months
and 15 days
Joined angels watch her sleeping dust
Till Jesus comes to raise the just.
And then may she wake in sweet surprise
and in her Maker’s image rise.

Also inscribed in this old monument just above the ground is the monument carver’s name and location – J. Turner, Mobile. In most instances, the monument carver’s name is located on the part of the monument below the ground, but in the situation of the Cayce monument, it is well above ground-level. During years of research I have come across this monument carver’s name in early probate records of the county. For instance, in the George Shumpert probate records from the early 1850’s, I learned that Mr. Turner crafted George Shumpert’s grave stone. Payment records from his estate show $25 was paid to Jarvis Turner of Mobile for a marble head and engraving. The cost to ship the monument upriver from Mobile aboard the steamer Sallie Carson was $1.50

Jarvis Turner of Mobile was simply a logical monument carver to create many of the old ornate monuments in Itawamba County, as much commerce took place between Mobile and the county. It was to Mobile that most of the county’s cotton was shipped, and wholesale store goods were bought in Mobile by local merchants for resale in Itawamba County – all due, in most part, to easy shipping along the Tombigbee River.

So who was this J. Turner of Mobile who crafted many of early Itawamba County’s gravestones? The 1850 census of the city of Mobile shows Jarvis Turner, the stone cutter, was born during 1820 in England. Living with Turner was his Massachusetts -born wife, Marcia (aged 30) and young son Freeman (aged 2, born in Alabama). Turner was an early marble carver making many beautiful tombstones throughout Alabama’s black belt region as well as areas along the upper Tombigbee River. He had come to Mobile during 1836 and on December 11, 1847 married Marcia H. Ewers. During 1852 he was one of the incorporators of the Mechanics’ Savings Company of Mobile and in 1867 was elected as a city alderman representing the 2nd ward. After selling his monument business, during 1871 he established a planning mill that later developed into a door, sash and blind manufacturing company located at the corner of Water and St. Anthony streets. During the 1880 census year he was living on North St. Joseph Street in the city (aged 63) with his wife Marchia and children Belle, Sarah, Freeman, George and married daughter Janie Burgess with her husband Richard (cotton merchant) and their daughter Marchia. Jarvis Turner died during 1884 and was buried in Magnolia Cemetery in the city of Mobile.

Researching the early Matilda Cayce monument in the old Fulton graveyard was an interesting exercise – not necessarily because of the subject of the memorialized, but simply because of the subject of who crafted the monument itself.



 

Boguegaba Creek

The above scene of Boguegaba Creek was photographed from the Shumpert Road bridge in southwestern Itawamba County. Boguegaba Creek, less than two miles southwest of Boguefala Creek, follows the Boguefala Creek course through this part of the county. The creek begins in present-day Lee County just north of Mooreville flowing southeastward through the old Itawamba County town of Richmond (present-day Lee County) and through the southwestern corner of Itawamba County into Monroe County. During the 19th Century many of Itawamba County's larger cotton plantations were located along this creek.
 

The Last Blooms of Wild Cotton

In the edge of the woods near my house I photographed this white blossom before the first autumn frosts of the season. Called Wild Cotton by many locals, the Swamp Mallow is a perennial wetland plant usually found in areas such as swamps, marshes, ponds, ditches and wet woods throughout Itawamba County. A native of the southeastern United States, this plant has showy blossoms throughout the summer and fall and can grow as high as seven or eight feet tall.
 

A Reflection of Autumn Skies

A lake in the Greenwood community reflects the colorful trees and autumn sky.
 

Veterans Day

Last evening I went through a wooden box of World War II memorabilia that belonged to my dad – a member of The Greatest Generation. The collection includes many old photographs. My dad enjoyed photography as a young man, and each place he visited, he snapped photos - many of them. I have many images of places he visited and of friends he made during his service. Also included in the collection are old half-used war ration books, his dog tags, a Dixie Division patch that was on his uniform and personal correspondence – letters a young farmer and soldier wrote home - homesick for the beautiful rural hills of Itawamba County, Mississippi, missing his young bride, and longing to see his mom, dad, brothers and sisters. His time in service was simply the first time he had been away from home and family.

Going through that collection last evening brought back many fond memories from my youth when I would sit with my dad going through the old photograph collection. He knew the names of every young soldier in the photographs and looking at those pictures he had taken decades earlier would bring back vivid memories and powerful stories. I will always remember those stories he told when I was a kid as we thumbed through the aging photographs.

In later years he always wondered what became of his fellow soldier friends during the war. After the war, the young soldiers simply went their separate ways back to their homes and farms all across the country. In his last years I recall many times he would sit in his favorite chair watching the television as news was broadcast of recent wars. As the images of young soldiers flashed before him, many times a tear would run down the quiet elderly man’s face. He simply knew what they were going through and understood fully the sacrifices they were making serving their country. He once had walked in their shoes many miles and many years before them.

Today is Veterans Day. Let’s not forget the veteran and the sacrifices they have made for their country.
 

A Country Home

Last week I was in the southwestern part of the county and photographed the above old home in the Evergreen community. It is thought this home was built during the 19th Century by Thomas Whitesides, a son of early county planter, James Whitesides. For generations, this beautiful old home has been known as the Evans home.
 

George McCanles Portrait

George McCanles was a worker on the Will Ferguson farm in the Ozark community in Itawamba County during late Victorian times. According to the 1900 US Federal census for Itawamba County he was a day laborer, single and born during June of 1844 in Alabama.
 

Autumn Colors at Hopewell

An old tree by the roadside in front of Hopewell Baptist Church, west of the Tombigbee River, shows vivid autumn colors. Hopewell was organized during the early 1840's and is located in the old Woodlawn community. Laster a post office was created near the church called Abney. Two of my direct ancestors attended this historic church - Richard Leake Gillentine (born January 29, 1806 in Sparta, Tennessee, died August 17, 1877 in Itawamba County) and Adam Sheffield (born 1811 in Moore County, North Carolina, died 1899 in Itawamba County). The small adjacent graveyard has a memorial tablet honoring my ancestor, Jacob Rhyne (born 1786 in Dallas County, North Carolina, died 1843 in Itawamba County). Most members of the church during the 1800's were buried in historic Keyes Cemetery to the south of the church.
 

Palmetto: An Early African American Cemetery and Community

Today the site of Palmetto is silent. Tall oak trees and dense undergrowth surround the old community cemetery – the only remaining evidence of this once thriving African American community a few miles northeast of Fulton in Itawamba County, Mississippi.

The site of Palmetto once belonged to S. John Warren during antebellum times. S. John Warren was born in Virginia in 1776 and moved to Kentucky with his family following the American Revolution. He married Cassandra Gentry, daughter of Richard Gentry on November 1, 1806 in Madison, Kentucky. They were the parents of Willey, Reubin, Charles, Sarah, Cassie, Isom J. and Susanna.

After the death of his first wife, S. John Warren married Sarah Robinson in Tennessee and soon thereafter moved his family to Limestone County, Alabama. While in Alabama the following children were born to S. John and Sarah: William D., John F., Sarah, Napoleon Bonaparte, Melinda and George W. Following some of his older sons, S. John moved his family to Itawamba County about 1840 where two more children were born. They were Alex and Manerva.

S. John owned a sizeable farm of 1,680 acres northeast of Fulton near Dulaney Branch. S. John's son, Charles, was elected the first sheriff of Itawamba County in 1836 and the Warren family served Itawamba County by holding several public offices throughout the years. S. John Warren died on September 19, 1863 and was buried in a small family plot on his farm.

The Warren family, according to probate records, owned 13 slaves, consisting of two families – the James Warren family and the George Warren family.

After emancipation and the Civil War, a former slave - George Warren, bought 160 acres from the S. John Warren estate. The deed was signed by Dr. Napoleon Bonaparte Warren, the administrator of the estate during 1869.

The 1870 U.S. Federal census for Itawamba County shows three Warren families living on the 160-acre property: James Warren, his wife Sarah and children Mary, James, Francis, Cassiday, Jane, George and Wiley; George Warren, his wife Mary and children Jane, Elizabeth, Jacob, Rubin, Ely, George and John; Fred Warren and wife Sarah and child Lucy.

During the Reconstruction era, the small community continued to grow as George Warren sold various plots of land and by 1900 the community of nearly sixty inhabitants consisted of several farms, a church, school and cemetery known as Palmetto. Surnames during the community’s history consisted of Warren, Tucker, Lunceford, Fisher, Lawhorn, Clemmons, Wiley, Luster, Pollard, Moody, Steele, Hegwood, Odell, Ramsey and Law.

After 1920 the community declined as most residents moved to the town of Fulton and other areas. Today nothing is left of the old community except the historic cemetery hidden in the dense woods and undergrowth. This old cemetery stands as a lasting legacy to the historic African American community of Palmetto in the hills of eastern Itawamba County, Mississippi.

Palmetto Cemetery Survey

Rachel, wife of Ben Tucker
Died September 17, 1889

Virgie, daughter of B & R Tucker
February 28, 1890 – October 2, 1904

Rachel, wife of Bryant Odell
Died July 16, 1899
Aged 22 years

Willie D., wife of J.C. Hegwood
July 6, 1874 – May 31, 1897

Eliza Jane, wife of A.L. Lawhorn
March 15, 1854 – March 24, 1903

J.S. Lawhorn, son of A.& E. Lawhorn
December 20, 1873 – June 27, 1897

John, son of A.& E. Lawhorn
April 9, 1887 – July 11, 1897

Sarah Ramsey
Died July 13, 1939

Lawhorn Infant
1880

Charley, wife of R.B. Warren
March 1, 1865 – February 22, 1922

G.W. Warren
December 25, 1827 – November 21, 1905

Mary, wife of G.W. Warren
1833 – 1878

Jacob G. Warren
January 12, 1858 – June 5, 1882

John Moody
Died March 15, 1883
Aged 50 years

Liller, wife of John Pollard
March 15, 1883 – May 15, 1917

Jessner
September 22, 1880 – December 28, 1885
George
March 27, 1882 – February 15, 1887
Children of J.H. and D. Steele
 

Pine Grove Cemetery

A small part of historic Pine Grove Cemetery is photographed on a beautiful autumn day. This large cemetery and adjacent church building are located on former land of Dr. Christopher Hussey on the old Aberdeen and Jacinto Public Road in southwestern Itawamba County.
 

Autumn Colors in Fulton

Vivid autumn colors are seen in a quiet neighborhood in Fulton this morning. Autumn colors are at their peak this week throughout the beautiful hills of Itawamba County.
 

Detail of the Whitesides Plantation Home

A detail of the old Whitesides Plantation home is photographed on an autumn morning. The old Whitesides Plantation home facing the old Aberdeen and Jacinto Public Road is located west of the Tombigbee River in Itawamba County below the old Woodlawn Post Office along Boguefala Creek. James Whitesides operated one of the larger plantations in the county. The home was built during the 1840's and was originally a two-story structure. During Reconstruction, the second floor of the home was removed to make the structure 1 1/2 stories. For further information about James Whitesides and the Whitesides Plantation, refer to an earlier post about the subject.
 

Southern Cooking With Sweet Potatoes

The other day I stopped at a roadside market stand and purchased some Vardaman sweet potatoes. With the coming of November comes thoughts of the Thanksgiving feast and an important part of Thanksgiving dinner in the South is the sweet potato. It simply wouldn’t be a Thanksgiving meal around these parts without a sweet potato pie.

The sweet potato, botanically known as Ipomoea batatas, is the root of a vine in the morning glory family and native to the American tropics. The sweet potato has been found in Peruvian records from 750 B.C. and Christopher Columbus brought this sweet potato to the New World from Saint Thomas.

Sweet potatoes were cultivated in Virginia as early as 1648 and it has been said to have been taken to New England in 1764.

There are all sorts of recipes for the sweet potato. One of my favorites is candied sweet potatoes. This treat is made with brown sugar and butter. There’s also mashed sweet potatoes made with brown sugar, honey, butter and milk. This potato casserole is topped with marshmallows and baked in the oven. Sometimes folks add pecans and raisins to this treat.

But to me, the best recipe for sweet potatoes is the sweet potato pie made with butter, vanilla and cinnamon. There’s nothing like the aroma of a baking sweet potato pie on a cold late autumn day.

Take time to discover the sweet potato by visiting the Mississippi Sweet Potato Council website. They have a wide selection of tasty Southern recipes including such favorites as Sweet Potato Pie, Sweet Potato Pecan Pie and Hummingbird Cake.
 

Baled Hay and Soybeans

Yesterday morning while traveling through the Evergreen community I came across this scene on Patterson Road. Looking westward towards the Boguegaba Creek bottomlands the visitor can see baled hay, and in the distance, soybeans ready for harvesting.
 

New Blog Published Relating to Itawamba County Research

Mona Robinson Mills, Itawamba Historical Society member and a most excellent researcher from Oxford has published a new blog entitled Itawamba Connections. Since the blog’s debut several excellent articles have been published relating to Itawamba County families and places. Be sure to read the excellent post on Fall Colors at Bourland Cemetery, see the photographic post about Dinner on the Grounds at Enon Church and read the excellent article about the Mills family of Itawamba County. An in-depth article about the historic Bean Cemetery is featured and a most excellent article about a baptism at Mud Creek or Bennet’s Pond is featured.

Be sure to visit this most excellent blog, published by a talented Itawamba County researcher. It will be time well spent.