1865 Political Broadside Mailed to Woodlawn in Itawamba County

In going through some old letters and papers belonging to my great great grandmother Hare’s (Elizabeth Hare Sheffield, wife of Adam Sheffield) family I came across a political broadside (click image for larger view) published in Okolona in nearby Chickasaw County and mailed to their home at Woodlawn in Itawamba County during 1865. W.G. Henderson, a 33 year old lawyer in Okolona was running for the office of District Attorney for the Ninth Judicial District.

Elizabeth Hare was born around 1815 in Moore County, North Carolina, the daughter of John C. Hare. On May 7, 1832 she married Adam Sheffield, the son of Isaac Sheffield and Rebecca Hare, of Wilcox County in south Alabama. The Sheffield and Hare families farmed lands on the Alabama river north of Mobile before moving upriver to Itawamba County.

The political broadside was mailed to Elizabeth Hare Sheffield’s uncle – Andrew Hare at Woodlawn in southwestern Itawamba County. Andrew Hare was born during 1800 in Moore County, North Carolina. On May 28, 1828 he married Dicy Tyler in Wilcox County, Alabama.

The old broadside reads:

"To the Voters of the Ninth Judicial District.
Fellow-Citizens: -
I am a candidate for District Attorney of the Ninth Judicial District of the State of Mississippi, comprising the counties of Monroe, Chickasaw, Pontotoc, Itawamba and Tishomingo.

In coming before you for this responsible office, I promise to bring to the discharge of its duties, all my energies, to enforce and uphold the laws, and I trust with an ability adequate to its demands. A practice of ten or twelve years in the profession of the Law, is a fair guarantee of my qualifications for the position. If any of my competitors have higher claims upon the people, or greater ability to serve them in the position to which I aspire, I shall remain content if they prefer them to me. For whatever support you may give me at the ballot box, in the approaching election, I shall always be profoundly grateful.

Respectfully Yours,
W.G. Henderson
Okolona, Miss., Aug. 20, 1865"

Genealogical Notes:

1860 Federal Census
Chickasaw County, Mississippi
Town of Okolona, Page 48
36-36

W.G. Henderson: 28, Lawyer, North Carolina
Dona: 24, Alabama
Laura: 2, Mississippi

1870 Federal Census
Harrison County, Mississippi
Town of Mississippi City, Page 346
34-26

William Henderson: 38, Chancery Judge, Alabama
Dona: 30, Mississippi
Laura: 12, Mississippi
Adona: 4, Mississippi
Emma Brown, 30, Servant, Mississippi