Happy Birthday, John Roy Lynch!

John Roy Lynch was born on this day 168 years ago; he came into life a slave on 10 September 1847 near Vidalia, Louisiana. His father ran the plantation and his mother was a slave. From this humble and repressive beginning, he rose to prominence in Reconstruction-era politics in Mississippi, surely the grandfather of the Civil Rights Movement in our great state. He became an outspoken voice of calm, rallying for the civil rights of African-Americans and denouncing violent White Rights groups who were terrorizing the South.

• Lynch was appointed Justice of the Peace in Natchez in 1869.
• That same year, he was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives. He was named Speaker of the House in January of 1872 when he was just 24, the first African-American to hold that position.
• At 26, Lynch was elected as the youngest member of the 43th US Congress (1873-1875.) He went on to serve two more terms (the 44th and 47th Congresses.)
• Lynch wrote two books in during his lifetime, The Facts of Reconstruction and Reminiscences of an Active Life, his autobiography. Both books are available at the Mississippi Library Commission. 

Poster promoting The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynchwritten by Chris Barton and illustrated by Don Tate

Earlier this year, Eerdmans published a picture book biography of Lynch, The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch. It was written by Chris Barton and illustrated by Don Tate. You can read our review here. If you'd like to learn more about John Roy Lynch, check out this short biography here.

Tubman on the Money

The nonprofit organization Women on 20s has announced the winner of their online election to see who America thinks should be the first woman on United States paper currency. They announced the winner as Harriet Tubman yesterday and have petitioned the President to recommend to the Treasurer that the change be made by 2020, the 100 year anniversary of Women's Suffrage in America. Harriet Tubman was a fascinating woman who:

• Was born with the name Araminta. She changed her name to Harriet, possibly in homage to her mother Harriet Ross, after she escaped slavery.
• Was hit on the head when trying to help another slave avoid punishment. The resulting injury troubled her the rest of her life, bringing seizures, headaches, and blackouts.
• Made at least nineteen trips on the Underground Railroad and helped nearly 300 slaves reach freedom in the North. She was never caught.
• Was a nurse, laundry woman, cook, and spy during the Civil War. Once, she even led a raiding party!
• Helped former slaves and orphans after the Civil War, starting schools and a home for the aged.

For more information, check out these excellent resources on Harriet Tubman and her life at your local public library or the Mississippi Library Commission:

Harriet Tubman
written by Marion Dane Bauer

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
written by Carole Boston Weatherford
illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman
written by Alan Schroeder
illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent: How Daring Slaves
and Free Blacks Spied for the Union During the Civil War
written by Thomas B. Allen
illustrated by Carla Bauer

Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom
written by Catherine Clinton

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harriet_Tubman.jpghttp://www.womenon20s.org/campaign
"Tubman, Harriet Ross." Encyclopedia of Women Social Reformers. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2001. Credo Reference. Web. 13 May 2015.

The Free State of Jones

Did anyone see Matthew McConaughey in Jackson last week?  McConaughey is here filming for the movie The Free State of Jones.  Based on true events, The Free State of Jones film follows Mississippian Newton Knight as he rebels against the Confederacy in Jones County,Mississippi. 

Knight was a farmer, soldier, and Southern Unionist.  He is best known for his role in forming the Free State of Jones, which consisted of a band of Confederate Army deserters who turned against the Confederacy in the surrounding area of Jones County, Mississippi. Knight’s desertion remains controversial to this day. Some believe that he was a noble man that refused to fight for something that he did not believe in.  Others believe that he was a deserter and an outlaw. To learn more about Newton Knight and the Free State of Jones stop by the library and check out these books!
The Echo of the Black Horn: An Authentic Tale of “The Governor” of “The Free State of Jones”
by Ethel Knight Published by Newton Knight’s grandniece, Ethel Knight, in 1951, this book is a denunciation of Knight and his followers.  Ethel portrays Knight as a manipulator, traitor, and an ignorant murderer.  








The State of Jones

by Sally Jenkins and John Stauffer

The State of Jones claims to tell the true story of the real South. This is an investigative account of Newton Knight’s life on and off the battlefield.

A Mini-Confederacy: The Free State of Jones A Source Book

edited by Mary H. Kitchens and Theresa Blackledge

This source book contains both scholarly writing and fictive legend of the activities of Newton Knight and Jones County, Mississippi.  Both sides of the controversy are represented and it is up to the reader to decide whether Newton Knight led the Free State of Jones for a noble cause or if he was a manipulative outlaw.

 


Legend of the Free State of Jones

by Rudy H. Leverett

This book provides evidence proving that much of Jones County was in fact loyal to the Confederacy. This brings up questions about the accuracy of local history accounts about the Free State of Jones and Newton Knight. 

Tap Roots

by James Street

This fictional book is loosely based on the rebellion of Jones County.A film version was released in 1948.

The Free State of Jones starring Matthew McConaughey is set to be released in 2016. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124037/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_County,_Mississippi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton_Knight

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/life/2015/02/10/mcconaughey-sightings-free-state-of-jones/23165475/

Ada May Day: A Mississippi Juneteenth

Today is June 19, better known in many circles as Juneteenth. On this memorable day in 1865, slaves in Texas were told that they were free, had been free, in fact, for several years. (Want to know more about Juneteenth? Check out our nuggets from a few years ago.) Nowadays, the day is celebrated across the United States as a day of African-American heritage and freedom. One of our faithful patrons mentioned Ada May Day to us as the Mississippi alternative. We have to admit, we had to look this one up (but boy, are we glad we did!)

Ada May Day springs from the Mississippi dialect for the eighth of May. Traditionally, this was the day that, in north-central Mississippi, was celebrated as "Emancipation Day, Mr. Lincoln's Day, or Freedom Day" (Clarion Ledger). It turns out that Mississippi was surrendered to Union Army forces on May 6, 1865 by a general in rural Alabama. Conjecture and folklore state that the news didn't reach the northern Mississippi area until two days later, on May 8.

Though the day has not been taken up nationally, like Juneteenth, it is still celebrated by Mississippians. We found one such celebration in this news article from The Dispatch (covering Columbus, Starkville, and the Golden Triangle). Many thanks to the McCain Library at the University of Southern Mississippi for their help tracking down this elusive holiday. We wish you a belated Ada May and a very happy Juneteenth!

Maines, John. "Ada May." Clarion Ledger 8 May 1987. Print.

She Done What She Could

Webster's Blue
Black Speller

I've been searching for the first school shooting in Mississippi for the past day or so. I favor a three-pronged attack: print sources, Internet databases, and ye olde Internet search. You'd be amazed at what isn't available on the Internet! I was scanning a print book called From Cotton Field to Schoolhouse: African American Education in Mississippi, 1862-1875, which led me to The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography, wherein I found an incredibly moving story that cried out to be shared:

Belle Caruthers was born a slave. At the end of the War Between the States, she was one of 437,000 blacks set free (31). Most were completely illiterate. Belle was not. She had cared for a white baby as a slave and, "The baby had alphabet blocks and I learned my letters while she learned hers" (33). Belle later found a Webster's Blue Black Speller and used it to study. Her master kicked her when he found her pouring over its pages (33). This did not phase Belle in the least. "I found a hymnbook one day and spelled out, 'When I Can Read My Title Clear.' I was so happy when I saw that I could really read that I ran around telling all the other slaves" (34). I can imagine her excitement, can't you? It practically leaps from the page even now, over 150 years later.

Tombstone of Belle G. Caruthers
She done what she could.

Belle went on to some further schooling herself; she then spent many years as a teacher in the Holly Springs area, passing on her love of and knowledge and learning. She married and raised a family. Belle also wrote for The South, the local county newspaper printed in Holly Springs. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History holds the newspaper for the years Belle would've written her column. I think a personal trip to MDAH is in order in the near future!

Do you see what happened there? I went into my search looking for one thing and came out with a great story and a new resource. (I can't wait to try this in my genealogy research!) Mrs. Belle may have passed away in 1938 at the age of 91, but I think she still has a lot to teach the world.

Blue Black Speller http://www.blockaderunner.com/Catalog/catpg9a.html
Gravestone at Hill Crest Cemetery - She Done What She Could: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12301446
Rawick, George P. The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography Supplement, Series 1, Volume 7 Mississippi Narratives, Part 2. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977. Print.

Jackson Burning

One-hundred and fifty years ago today, May 14, 1863, the city of Jackson, MS was captured in the First Battle of Jackson. Upon learning that Union soldiers were advancing on the capital city, the Confederate leader General Johnston evacuated the city while Brigadier General Gregg held off the enemy.

On May 14, 1863, General Sherman began the bombardment of the city of Jackson... I recall the terror-stricken flight of thousands of women and children as we streamed along the roads that hot day, with everything we could carry. I had two suits of clothes on, and mother was wearing her furs-for we did not know whether we would ever come back to the house or whether the house would escape the fire. We camped in tents on the Pearl River for several weeks.

--Thomas Frank Gailor, six-year-old child, future Episcopal Bishop of Tennessee

Over 1,000 soldiers died, the majority of them Confederates. Majors General U.S. Grant, William Sherman, and James McPherson held a celebration in the Bowman House, the only hotel in town. The town was looted and burned and the Union troops continued on toward Vicksburg.

Jackson was a beautiful town before we visited it but now it is a desolate looking place. I was very much apposed to burning when we first came in the service but I don't care now if everything in the Southern Confederacy is burnt.

--Sergeant Asahel Mann, Co. A, 4th Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, letter home dated May 31, 1863

House, furniture, and fine library of three thousand volumes,
were committed to the flames. -Benson J. Lossing, The Civil War in America

Jackson was occupied by Union forces four times during The War Between the States. It was burned three times and eventually earned the nickname of Chimneyville. Why? The only things left standing after the town was torched were the chimneys of once majestic homes and businesses. Check out Grady Howell's book Chimneyville for more information about Jackson before, during, and after the Civil War.


Howell, Jr., H. Grady. Chimneyville: "Likenesses" of Early Days in Jackson, Mississippi. Chickasaw Bayou Press, 2007.
http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/ms008.htm

Juneteenth



“ANOTHER MARCH: Negroes Freed By the Emancipation Proclamation Enter Union Lines at Newbern, N.C.”. Image courtesy The Atlanta Century.

On this day, in 1865, Texas slaves learned they were free nearly two years following President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation issued on January 1, 1863.  The slaves did not know they were free until Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and Major General Gordon Granger read from the President’s General Order No. 3:

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.  This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.  The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages.  They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere” (Gay 250).

Image courtesy Austin History Center on Wikimedia

African Americans were forced to celebrate outside of the state of Texas during some early observances of Juneteenth.  This holiday, also known as African-American Independence Day, was passed by an act of Texas legislature in 1979, marking Juneteenth as a paid holiday.  Juneteenth’s first official celebration was held in 1980 after over a century of its observance spreading through the U.S. by African Americans who moved out of Texas to reunite with family members.  It eventually was observed as an unpaid state holiday in other states as well.  Mississippi became the 36^th state to recognize Juneteenth, as of March of 2010, and is participating in a campaign to have it recognized as a National Day of Observance, like Patriot Day or Flag Day. 

Today, Juneteenth commemorations celebrate African-American heritage, renews interest in searching for African American ancestors, and provides an opportunity for family and friends to gather.  We have plenty of genealogy resources here at the Mississippi Library Commission.  Are you searching for long, lost relatives?  Are you trying to branch out your family tree?  We would love to help!

Gay, Kathlyn. African-American Holidays, Festivals, And Celebrations: The History, Customs, and Symbols Associated with Both Traditional and Contemporary Religious and Secular Events Observed by Americans of African Descent. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, 2007. Print

Image: Emancipation Day Celebration 1900

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emancipation_Day_celebration_-_1900-06-19.jpg

“Press Release”. National Juneteenth Observance Foundation. 25 March 2010. Web. 19 June 2012. < http://nationaljuneteenth.com/Mississippi.html>.

Shavin, Norman. The Atlanta Century: March,1860-May,1865 [vol.3, no. 48 (153) Sunday, January 25, 1863]. Atlanta, GA: I/D Publishing Company, 1966. Print

Meebo Musters Up The Military




Confederate artillery defending Charleston, 1863

Last week, I received a reference request from one of our Meebo patrons. (You remember Meebo, right? We're mlcreference if you need to ask a question!) This particular patron wanted to know about:

1. The difference between a regiment and a battalion
2. Harper's Regiment, CSA in Mississippi

I found my first answer in Dictionary of Military Terms:

A battalion is a tactical unit of one branch of a ground army's combat arms, varying in size and composition but generally in the range of 500 to 1,000 troops and usually commanded by a lieutenant colonel. It normally consists of three to five of the basic combat units of its branch (company for infantry, battery for artillery, company or troop for armor). Three or four battalions are usually combined to form a regiment or a brigade (Dupuy et al. 30-31).

A regiment is a military unit, particularly of infantry, cavalry, or artillery, that can be either administrative or operational... Since the late 18th century a regiment, commanded by a colonel, has usually been an operational unit of two or more battalions, and has functioned most often as a component of a division. In the modern US Army, until the mid-1960s, infantry regiments consisted of three battalions, in strengths varying from about 1,500 to 3,000 troops." (Dupuy et al. 208).

Finding Harper's Regiment in Mississippi proved a much larger task. Here are a few potential candidates:

• Harper's Battalion
  13th Mississippi Battalion Infantry
  Major N. B. Harper
  (Rowland 219)
• Harper's Reserves
  36th Mississippi Infantry, Company C
  Lt. Col. S.G. Harper
  Formed from men of Newton, Lauderdale, and Smith Counties
  Mustered 20 February 1861
  (Rowland 319)
• Harper's Battery
  Part of "Jefferson Flying Artillery"
  Captain William L. Harper
  Formed in Jefferson County May 6, 1861
  Mustered into state service at Fayette, MS April 1861
  (Rowland 479)

I relaize that not all of these are regiments, but I think it is important to keep yourself open to the idea that your source could be partially incorrect. Also, tt's possible that there are additional military units with a "Harper" moniker. A better idea of where your ancestor was located prior to and directly after the Civil War would help. Bible records, the Census (both Federal and State), and pension applications will provide you with more details. Please feel free to contact the Mississippi Library Commission Reference Department again if you have further questions!

Dupuy, Trevor N., et al. Dictionary of Military Terms. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 2003. Print.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Confederate-artillery.jpg
Rowland, Dunbar. Military History of Mississippi, 1803-1898. Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, Publishers, 1978. Print.

A Picture Can Lead to One Thousand Words

Lillie Mae Walkup 1904

A few days ago, one of our Twitter followers asked if we could track down people.  Why, of course we can! Well, we can sure try. The young lady in question is a Miss L. M. Walkup from Florida. After seeing her in a class graduation picture--the only female to graduate from the Atlanta College of Pharmacy in 1904--our patron's curiosity was peaked. Mine was, too. How much is it possible to learn about someone from 100 years ago? Someone, that is, to whom my patron and I have no connection and therefore no way to gain any useful family anecdotes? Peruse the following and watch a snapshot form, all from census, military, and death records.

Pre-1885

Miss L. M. Walkup's father was Henry C. Walkup. He was born in December of 1842. When he was 17, in May of 1861, he enlisted in Company B of the North Carolina 26th Infantry Regiment. Mr. Henry would've seen action in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and most horrifically, Pennsylvania. After seeing the atrocities of war at Gettysburg, Private Walkup was mustered out in December of 1863 due to an injury.

In the 1870 census, Henry is living in Sharon, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina with his wife Nannie, their five month old son, Robert, and their servant, Nancy Johnson. Henry has already become Dr. Walkup. (I suppose he was busy studying between 1863 and 1870.)

By 1880, Henry and Nannie have moved to Pineville in Mecklenburg County. Robert is no longer with the family (poor baby), but there are three other little boys and a girl all under the age of ten. Luckily, Henry's mother Dorcas and unmarried sister Julia are living with them. One hopes they helped Nannie with the children!

1885

Little Miss Lillie Mae Walkup first appears with her twin sister Rosa L. on the Florida State Census in 1885. They are three years old and the youngest in a still growing family then consisting of their father the physician, their mother, and their sister and four brothers. The family lived in the small community of McIntosh, located south of Gainesville on Orange Lake. The family moved to there from North Carolina between 1880 and 1882.

At some point between 1888 and 1893, Mrs. Nannie T. Walkup went to her great reward. Her husband, Dr. Henry C. Walkup, remarried in 1893 to a woman named Ida H. (With absolutely no reason other than the fact that I like the name, I have decided "H" stands for "Hortense." What do you think?)

1900

By the 1900 U.S. Census, sixteen-year-olds Lillie Mae and her twin Rosa were the oldest children in the household. Their younger siblings, Adam and Mary, went to school with them. Their father Henry worked as a druggist and physician and their step-mother Ida took care of the family. Miss Lillie Mae attended Atlanta College Pharmacy for two years and graduated in 1904. She was the class secretary and treasurer. After this, she returned to her family in McIntosh, Florida. Unfortunately, this was the last time I ran across her twin sister. (She has become my new obsession; I wonder what happened to her.)

1910

By 1910, Lillie Mae's father Henry is presumably deceased. Her step-mother is living off her "own income" but several of her step-children are living with her. Lillie is a practicing druggist and her brother Adam is a physician. (Chips off the old block!) John and Samuel are merchants at a general store. Mary lives with them, too, but is unemployed.

1920

By 1920, brother Samuel has left home, married, and started his own family. (They still live in McIntosh, though.) John is married and living in North Carolina; he runs a shoe store. Lillie and Adam are still practicing in their respective chosen fields and Mary is training to be a nurse. These three youngest "children" still live at home with Momma. According to draft registration cards, Samuel had blue eyes, black hair, and was of medium build and height. I wonder if they all had the same coloring.

1930

By 1930, John has moved back to McIntosh with his wife Lucy. They have four children. Samuel still lives there with his wife Elizabeth and their four children. Adam was married in 1921 to a woman from Kentucky named Edna. He works as a physician on the railroad and also does some private practice. The couple lives in St. Augustine, St. John's County, Florida and has no children. Adam is also listed as a WWI veteran. (Samuel and John did not serve. I suppose they were too old and/or had too many children.)

The two unmarried sisters, Mary and Lillie Mae have moved to (guess where) St. Augustine, Florida!  Mary is an RN on private duty and Lillie Mae is a pharmacist at a retail drug store. They share a home on the same street as their brother. Step-Momma Walkup passed away in 1922 in St. John's County. It seems as if she must have moved there to be with her step-children.

Beyond 1930

Lillie Mae and Mary live together until at least 1934, according to city directories. By 1945, Lillie Mae has moved to Daytona Beach in Volusia County and lives alone. She passed away in 1952, when she was about 69 years old.

I agree with our patron--Lillie Mae Walkup was a fascinating individual. In 1910, less than 25% of women were "gainfully employed." Females only made up about 5% of the professional work force in Florida then. More than 85% of those professional women in 1910 were musicians, music teachers, school teachers, and trained nurses. In that day and age, she decided to enter a profession that was nearly absent of women. She was obviously very close to her family. I wonder how much her father's experiences in the Civil War influenced his children's career goals. She must have enjoyed her profession, too. She was a pharmacist for at least thirty years. That's some serious dedication!

I hope you enjoyed learning what you can discover in easily accessible historical documents. Remember, the Mississippi Library Commission offers free access to Ancestry Library Edition in the building. Another great goodie? Once you have applied for and received your MLC library card, you are eligible to receive access to our subscription to Heritage Quest for free!


www.ancestry.com

Findley Smack and the 15,000 Pounds of Bacon.

I was doing a little Civil War research this afternoon and came across Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of Mississippi in the Civil War by Bobby Roberts and Carl Moneyhon, which is a great resource. The photographs are mostly portraits, which feature the kind of insane facial hair that was apparently fashionable, like so:



The names of some of the soldiers, though, were most interesting. If you’re writing a novel and need some inspiration for your characters’ names--or a pen name for yourself--look no further. You may want to swipe one of these names:

Bird Calhoun Carradine
Alfonso Gooch
Adoniram Farmer
Winfield Featherton
Edward Otho Cresap Ord
Lorenzo Swagerty
Metellus Calvert
Mansfield Lovell
Carnot Posey
Halmer Swift
Rufus King Clayton
Eli Peel
Ellison Capers
Findley Smack

I think Findley Smack is my favorite, although I am intrigued by Edward Otho Cresap Ord. What a tongue twister!

I also found that when the Union troops advanced to Coldwater, Mississippi railroad depot, they surprised some Confederates, who lit the bridge over the railroad on fire and fled. Since the bridge was destroyed, the Union troops could not follow and therefore decided to burn all that was left behind. In Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson’s report on June 23, 1862, he writes, “Here, upon searching the depot, we found about 15,000 pounds of bacon, a quantity of lard and forage, which we rolled out, piled up, and set on fire, and saw totally consumed” (9-10).

I don’t know about you, but I can think of a better way to “totally consume” 15,000 pounds of bacon.

United States. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I—Volume XVII—In Two Parts. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1886.

Ah Don't Know Much about the Woah.

Living in the South, many Mississippians are informal Civil War historians. We know about Pickett's Charge and the battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac. This week, I had a peculiar reference question that led me to quite a few facts that I didn't know. How about you--did you know these things?

• The state of Missouri was a split state. It contributed 17 regiments to the Confederate cause at Vicksburg and 22 to the Union (pbs.org).
• The United States Sanitary Commission was formed as a volunteer organization which provided aid to Union soldiers. At the battle of Gettysburg, it distributed (among many, many other things) 600 gallons of ale and almost 2,500 bottles of brandy and whiskey. For the teetotalling soldier, 100 pounds of tobacco and 1,000 tobacco pipes were also handed out (Fite).
• During the Civil War, the depreciation of paper money and the hoarding and melting down of coins led to a shortage of change. (Who wants to get rid of the penny now?) One solution was to actually cut the paper money into pieces to "make" change. In Hartford, CT alone, $20,000 of printed bank notes were cut in this manner. Another solution was the crafting of special brass cases that were used to encase stamps, which were then used as change (Reinfeld).
• Daniel Emmett wrote Dixie in 1859. Everyone knows that the tune was a sort of unofficial anthem for the Confederacy. However, President Lincoln also liked the song and had the White House band perform it for him (Chambers).
• There were more than 100 libraries in the United States (North and South) that contained over 10,000 volumes. Twelve were in the South; 92 were in the North. Of these 104 libraries, there were 7 public libraries, all in the northern states (Fite).
• The population of the North was less than 1% African-American. By the end of the Civil War, African-American soldiers made up 10% of the Union army (pbs.org).
• To raise money during the war, several Nevada towns auctioned off a flour sack. This wins the prize for the most expensive empty bag ever; it was sold at a price of $25,000 (Fite).

So: did you know?


Chambers II, John Whiteclay, ed. The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Oxford University Press, 1999.

Fite, Emerson D. Social and Industrial Conditions in the North during the Civil War. Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1963.
Reinfeld, Fred. The Story of Civil War Money. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1959.
http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/facts.html