Natchez Court and Land Records, 1767-1805

The Natchez court records 1767-1805

The Natchez Court Records and the Written Evidence of Land Claims are presented in two main sections: the court records from 1781 to 1798, and the written evidence of land claims from 1767 to 1805. Notes and full name index are included at the end of the volume. This comprehensive documentation provides a crucial historical resource for understanding the legal and territorial evolution of the Natchez District during the transition from British to Spanish to American control.

Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Mississippi

Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Mississippi

This survey of Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Mississippi, was completed in 1956 by Mr. Gordon M. Wells and published by Joyce Bridges the same year. It contains the cemetery readings Mr. Wells was able to obtain at that date. It is highly likely that not all of the gravestones had survived up to that point, and it is even more likely that a large portion of interred individuals never had a gravestone.

The Occupation Of Alabama And Mississippi By The English

History of Alabama and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period

In the mid-18th century, France ceded its North American territories to Spain and Britain, dividing the land along the Mississippi River and beyond. The secret treaty gave Spain the western side, including New Orleans and other regions up to the river’s sources, while Britain received Canadian lands, Mobile, and east of the Mississippi, forming East and West Florida. West Florida’s northern boundary was later extended to include parts of present-day Alabama and Mississippi, with the Illinois province encompassing the Northern regions. British rule brought organizational changes, with the establishment of English law, encouragement of migration from Britain and the American colonies, and various governors ruling the territory, with Peter Chester being notably esteemed. The French population endured, avoiding the excessive lifestyle of the English that led to a health crisis in Mobile in 1765. West Florida faced natural disasters, like hurricanes, and political issues, culminating in resistance to a three-year legislative term, resulting in a lack of representation. Pensacola thrived architecturally, and nearby Georgia saw land treaties with indigenous tribes to settle debts, though they led to conflict and resettlements. Britain’s southern colonies remained heavily militarized, with slavery ongoing, and the introduction of new crops and trading practices.

Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrants

Civil War Cannon

This article helps you access the Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrants for free. Following two simple steps, one to search, and the other to browse the actual microfilms, you can quickly find your ancestors Revolutionary War pension record, or Bounty-Land record and download the images. During 1800-1900 the United States issued more than 80,000 pensions and bounty-land-warrants to soldiers of the Revolutionary War, their spouse, or their children. Was your ancestor one of them?

1912-1943 Mississippi Death Index

1912-1943 Mississippi Death Index Sample page

Christopher Smothers, a college student, and professional genealogist who specializes in Deep South research, always wondered to himself why the Mississippi Death index for 1912-1943 was hidden at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History in Jackson Mississippi. Why wasn’t this more widely available? Fast forward a few years, and multiple conversations, and the cog wheels at the archives have finally relented to allow these weathered and cracked microfilms to be digitally re-scanned and released to the public. Props to Christopher for making this happen! With assistance from Reclaim the Records, who fronted the cost for the microfilm, and from … Read more

Early Mississippi Marriages 1800-1900

Marriage Intention

The following database represents a collection of 151,208 early Mississippi marriage records. The earliest occurs in 1800, the latest in 1900. The counties represented in the database: Adams, Amite, Carroll, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin, Harrison, Hinds, Itawamba, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lowndes, Madison, Marshall, Monroe, Noubee, Noxubee, Pontotoc, Rankin, Sunflower, Tippah, Tishomingo, Warren, Wilkinson, Winston, Yalobusha, and Yazoo.

1st Mississippi Light Artillery

Aka Withers’ Light Artillery Company A — Ridley’s Battery, aka Jackson Light Artillery (raised in Hinds & Madison Counties, MS) Company B — Herrod’s Battery, aka Vaughan Rebels (raised in Yazoo County, MS) Company C — Turner’s Battery (raised in Choctaw County, MS) Company D — Wofford’s Battery (raised in Holmes County, MS) Company E — Carroll Light Artillery (raised in Carroll County, MS) Company F — Bradford’s Battery (raised in Lawrence County, MS) Company G — Cowan’s Battery (raised in Warren County, MS) Company H — Connor Battery (raised in Adams County, MS) Company I — Bowman’s Battery (raised … Read more

United States Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1800-c. 1955

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3,907 land management tract books containing official records of the land status and transactions involving surveyed public lands arranged by state and then by township and range. These books indicate who obtained the land, and include a physical description of the tract and where the land is located. The type of transaction is also recorded such as cash entry, credit entry, homesteads, patents (deeds) granted by the Federal Government, and other conveyances of title such as Indian allotments, internal improvement grants (to states), military bounty land warrants, private land claims, railroad grants, school grants, and swamp grants. Additional items of information included in the tract books are as follows: number of acres, date of sale, purchase price, land office, entry number, final Certificate of Purchase number, and notes on relinquishments and conversions.

Chronicling America Historical Newspapers

Winchester Star

Chronicling America is a Website providing access to information about historic newspapers and select digitized newspaper pages, and is produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). NDNP, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress (LC), is a long-term effort to develop an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers with descriptive information and select digitization of historic pages. Supported by NEH, this rich digital resource will be developed and permanently maintained at the Library of Congress. An NEH award program will fund the contribution of content from, eventually, all U.S. states and territories.

Early Land Ownership and Township Plats, 1785-1898

Land Ownership and Township Plat

These township plat maps began with the Public Lands Survey in the United States initiated by the Land Ordinance Act of 1785, and this collection includes maps for all or parts of Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. Maps were prepared from survey field notes taken by deputy surveyors and can include physical details and man-made improvements. They also indicate township and section lines, section numbers, acreage of holdings, and sometimes names of landholders.

Small Town Newspapers

Winchester Star

Small Town Papers gives you free access to the people, places and events recorded in real time over the decades or even centuries! Browse and search the scanned newspaper archive from 1846 up to the current edition! Their archives contain millions of names of ancestors not found anywhere else. Enhance your Ancestry research with their high resolution scanned newspaper archive. Find distant relatives and discover your ethnic heritage by reading the articles about family and friends written back in the day.

Biography of Gov. Charles S. Morehead

As a lawyer, legislator and Governor of the Commonwealth Mr. Morehead was alike popular. He was born in Nelson County (this State) July 7, 1802. His education was begun in the schools of his county, but completed at Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky, from which he graduated with honors. Upon the completion of his education, he located in Christian County, and commenced the practice of law in Hopkinsville. He was elected to the Legislature in 1828, and re-elected in 1829. In his first election, he received the almost unanimous support of the county, although his youth rendered him scarcely eligible to … Read more

North America Indian Names of Places in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana

The Indians all over this continent had names, traditions, religions, ceremonies, feasts, prayers, songs, dances all, more or less, with symbolism and allegory, adapted to circumstances, just as all other races of mankind. But the world has become so familiar with the continued and ridiculous publications in regard to everything touching upon that race of people that a universal doubt has long since been created and established as to the possibility of refinement of thought and nobleness of action ever having existed among the North American Indian race, ancient or modern; and so little of truth has also been learned … Read more

Mayhew, Brainard, Elliot, and Monroe Missions

From 1822, to the time they were dispossessed of every foot of their ancient domains, and driven away to a then wilderness, the schools increased in numbers, and the ordinances of religion were augmented, and a deeper interest manifested every where over their country never witnessed before; as they, previous to that time, had had intercourse with the debased of the White Race, by whom they had been taught in the school of vice, and nothing but vice: therefore the North American Indians have been accused, from first to last, of having no conception of an over-ruling providence the Creator … Read more

Missionaries Among the Choctaw

In 1832, at Hebron, the home of the missionary, Calvin Cushman and his family, was the place appointed for the assembling of all the Choctaws in that district preparatory to their exodus from their ancient domains to a place they knew not where; but toward the setting sun as arbitrary power had decreed. Sad and mournful indeed was their gathering together helpless and hopeless under the hand of a human power that knew no justice or mercy. I was an eyewitness to that scene of despairing woe and heard their sad refrain. I frequently visited their encampment and strolled from one … Read more

Ball Play amongst the Choctaws

Tul-lock-chísh-ko, Choctaw Ball Player. George Catlin, 1834

To the ancient Choctaw warrior and hunter, excitement of some kind was indispensable to relieve the tedium of the nothing-to-do in which a great part of his life was spent. Hence the intervals between war and hunting were filled up by various amusements, ball plays, dances, foot and horse races, trials of strength and activity in wrestling and jumping, all of which being regulated by rules and regulations of a complicated etiquette.

Choctaw Hunting Practices

Adair (p. 89) says; “the Choctaws, in an early day, practiced the custom of flattening the heads of their infants by compression, and were first known to the whites by the name of Flat Heads.” Be that as it may, the custom had long ceased to be practiced, when later known. Wherever they went, distant or otherwise, many or few, they always traveled in a straight line, one behind the other. (They needed no broad roads, nor had they any; hence, they dispensed with the necessity of that expense, road-working, so grudgingly bestowed by all white men. Paths alone, plain … Read more

Choctaw Traditions – The Council Fire, The Nahullo

The faces of the Choctaw and Chickasaw men of sixty years ago were as smooth as a woman’s, in fact they had no beard. Sometimes there might be seen a few tine hairs (if hairs they might be called) here and there upon the face, but they were few and far between, and extracted with a pair of small tweezers whenever discovered. Oft have I seen a Choctaw warrior standing before a mirror seeking with untiring perseverance and unwearied eyes, as he turned his face at different angles to the glass, if by chance a hair could be found lurking … Read more

The Natchez

On February 11th, 1700, De Iberville, Bienville, Perricaul and Tonti ascended the Mississippi River as far west as the present city of Natchez. They were kindly received (so states the journalist) by the great chief, or sun, as he was termed, surrounded by six hundred of his warriors, who, according to their own account, had formerly been a great nation. On the 13th the party left Natchez and visited the villages of the Taensas, the customs and habits of who were the same as the Natchez, being evidently a branch of the latter. During their stay the sacred temple of … Read more