Dulaney Family Reunion is August 29

The Dulaney Family Reunion and Traditional Dinner on the Ground will be held Saturday, August 29 beginning at 11 a.m. The big event will be held at the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, northeast of Fulton.

The meal will be at noon and everyone is asked to bring their favorite covered dish, drinks and lawn chairs. Ice will be provided by Dulaney's Grocery. All descendants and relatives of the first Dulaneys of Itawamba County are invited to attend.

The three Dulaney brothers - John, Alfred and Gilbert, arrived in Itawamba County around 1833 along with their mother Rhoda Thrasher Dulaney, widow of Thomas. John, the oldest brother was born in South Carolina while Afred and Gilbert were both born in Tennessee. In addition to their sons, Thomas and Rhoda had two daughters - Elizabeth and Nancy. Thomas and Rhoda were South Carolina natives who married about 1802 and moved to Lincoln County, Tennessee before 1808. Records are found there of Thomas serving as a constable and captain of the 2nd Regiment of the Tennessee Militia. Following the War of 1812, Thoma and Rhoda moved their family to Alabama where family legend indicates that Thomas was killed in 1829 when his gun accidentally discharged while visiting relatives in St. Clair County.

The three Dulaney brothers have hundreds of descendants in Itawamba County today. Their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren intermarried with many families including McNeece, Senter, Wilemon, Chilcoat, Johnson, Moxley, Brown, Hood, Tucker, Robinson, Works, Digby and many others.

The Dulaneys of Itawamba County have a proud and rich history. The task of documenting this history is a daunting task. However, family members are making progress. They ask all family members to help them show a complete picture by adding their family's pictures and memorabilia to the Dulaney family database.

Scanners, computers and copier, as well as operatorsm, will be at the reunion and reunion organizers ask that all those attending bring their family's old pictures, letters and memorabilia so they can find their rightful place in the Dulaneys of Itawamba County history.

For more information about this family reunion, contact Don Dulaney at 662-322-0466.
 

Good Genealogy Luck

Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings has a regular feature called Saturday Night Genealogy Fun. His installment this week asks the reader: "When have you had a dose of good genealogy luck?"

That was an easy question for me, as it would be for many folks in these parts. My genealogical luck comes from the mere fact of where I live. Where I live, so have most all my ancestors lived for the past 172 years or so.

Six generations of my ancestors have lived within 8 to 10 miles from where I have lived my entire life (with the exception of dorm life at college) – all within the same county. Within 8 miles of where I live, are the graves of four grandparents, 8 great grandparents, 16 gg grandparents, and even some ggg grandparents. In order to obtain family records of my Mississippi ancestors such as wills, deeds, marriages and the like since the 1830s, it’s a six mile trip to the county courthouse (and it’s nice to live in a “non-burned” county – most all records are extant since the county formation). And for information about extended cousins and their families, a trip to the neighborhood store usually suffices as more than likely I will run into several cousins while shopping for groceries.

I guess I have been lucky my ancestors stayed put for long periods of time. For the most part, from the early 1600s to early 1700s staying put in Virginia. From the early 1700s to the early 1800s in North Carolina and since the early 1800s moving down into Tennessee and Alabama before settling in Mississippi during the 1830s. And we’ve practically stayed put here ever since. Ancestors staying put sure makes it easier with researching their lives.
 

Summer Issue of Itawamba Settlers at the Printers

The summer issue of Itawamba Settlers magazine was delivered to the printers on Monday and should be in the mail to the current membership shortly. I am already working on the Fall 2009 issue. Articles in the Summer 2009 issue include:

Beachum Family Research Notes
David Johnson Journal
David Johnson Biography
Johnson Family Photographs
Mississippian Railway Article: 1923
The Thompson Family of Itawamba and Lee Counties
Police Court Minutes: 1866
A History of the Tombigbee Baptist Association
Newnan Cayce Biography
James N. Francis Biography
Zachariah Stephens Biography
Roman S. Thomas Biography
A Tourist’s Guide to Itawamba County: 1938
Itawamba County News Abstracts: 1911

 

Summer Issue of Itawamba Settlers Nearing Completion

The Summer 2009 issue of Itawamba Settlers, the quarterly magazine of the Itawamba Historical Society is nearing completion. This issue should prove to be a most interesting issue with material submitted by several members. There are several archival photographs to be published in this issue. Hopefull the quarterly will be submitted to the printers next week.
 

Society Program Meeting Tomorrow Night

Tomorrow evening, members and visitors of the Itawamba Historical Society will be treated to a special program by Dr. Terry Thornton, society member and author of the blog, Hill Country of Monroe County. He will be presenting a program about burial customs in the hill country of northeast Mississippi. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Gordon McFerrin Auditorium of the George Poteet History Center at the corner of Church Street and Museum Drive in Mantachie. A fellowship meal will be followed by the special program. This program should be both entertaining and educational, as Dr. Thornton is an excellent speaker. The public is invited to attend.
 

Lemon Balm

With all the damp weather we've been having in Itawamba County, plants are really doing well. Pictured above is a clump of lemon balm in my garden. Crushed leaves of this herb have a strong scent of lemon. I've always planted lots of herbs within my flower beds. Not only do they add an interesting texture to the garden, they're quite handy in the kitchen as well. I have basil, tarragon, lemon balm, bee balm, mountain mint, chives and two twenty-year-old rosemary shrubs. This year I've added peppers to my flower beds as well.
 

A Flea Market With a Purpose: May 8-9, 2009

The Itawamba Historical Society's annual giant flea market will be held tomorrow and Saturday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. This annual event is one of the major events of the year as a financial project. This year's event should prove to be one of the largest yet. Today society volunteers worked at the George Poteet History Center converting the auditorium into a big flea market sale area. Such items as antiques, books, household items, live plants, fresh baked goods, research books, arts and crafts are offered for sale. With the society's auditorium filled with items for sale and more items being displayed on the lawn tomorrow and Saturday, the society invites all those interested in finding a special treasure at a good price to come out and visit the next two days.

The historical society depends entirely upon membership dues and donations to further its work with the preservation and promotion of local history. Throughout the year the society's facilities are open to the public free of charge where hundreds of family researchers visit the society's Gaither Spradling Library and tour Historic Bonds House Museum. And each years hundreds of local school groups learn about their county's past. It is events like the annual giant flea market that keeps the society in operation.

So don't forget to support the society by stopping by the next two days. It will be time well spent.