Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1902-02-08
]. and Old Times,

scenes and faces OF Olu lIleuue /" AVA"
bee come crowding upon my memory
any nv heart throbs with emotions OF
Measure and sadness alternately as they
fit by. In recalling the incidents and
scenes Of half century fud that men,
orv is like a summer sky, Aecked by
feeting clouds. which darken part OF
it and leaves the other unclouded and
brilliant. The sorrows that cast their
shadows over our hearts cover only a
mart of our lives and as the clouds are
dispelled by the MONDAY sun, SO DO our
sorrows vanish before the warmth OF
NATURES sunny way and leave our
hearts full Of love and hope and JOY 1t
was so benefcent and kind in our great
Creator TO endow us with capacity to
throw off trouble, There are great
many more bright days than cloudy ones
and if we will think it over there are
great many more pleasures in life than
griefs-more successes than failures and
a thousand times more to laugh at than
to cry oyer. As for you and l, Phil
we have little to complain of and ought
to be thankful that we are living
l have been thinking about the grand
old people who lived in Noxubee before
the war, who they were, what they
were, and how they lived. am DIS
posed to write about them so as to let a
heap of poor folks know something about
their rich ancestors. Poverty is hard
lot to bear butthe trouble Of it is some-
what assuaged by the reflection that it
comes to one by accident and not by in
heritance. If it hadn't been for old
Abe Lincoln many of the poor folks of
Noxubee would now be rich enough to
buv out Rockefeller and all the Wander
bits and Goulds whose fortunes were
stolen from the poor folks of the coun-
through the aid Of the republican party,
There are choppers. in Noxubee
today whose fathers were rich men, with
their hundreds Of niggers aud their
thousands of acres of land, And as
time rolls on the number Of these will
increase unless.a great change comes
over the system of economics now pur'
sued by them. 1t is sad to contemplate
but is true, nevertheless.
took the census Of Noxubee county
in 1860. Alex McCaskill was my assis'
and Jas. S. Shelton Transcribed our
memorandums and made up my report,
Alex and | made a house to house can
yass Of the county and were at work for
weeks on job. The county was then at
its heighth Of prosperity. The lands
were fresh and Yielded full crops, The
negroes were slaves and had to work.
Then they supported the white people,
now the white people support them,
One "nigger" then was worth thous-
and "cullud pursons" now, and mig.
ger fiddler Of those days had more of
the grace Of God in his finger tips as he
ierked out the notes Of an old "Virgin-
nv reel than whole A. NJ, E, confer
ence can dig out of its entire member
ship during a weeks session. There
were very few poor folks in the county
and they were not poor from necessity
but from preference. The opportuni
ties in those days to gain a competency
were so great that almost every man
who gained a foothold became indepen-
dent. People couldn't help getting
rich.
The largest Shareholder in the county
in 1860 was Col. Tyre J. Spann. The
next largest was Col, Russell K. Spann,
Of Fox Trap. Col, Tom Bush was the
wealthiest man in the county, but his
property was not all in Mississippi,
Byrd Ivy, DR., W. V. Stewart, DR.. G
S. DaYie, Maj, Joseph Roger, Maj
Thos. G.. Blewett, Estate of Andrew
Conner, George Bierne, W. L, Turner
John Patton, Chas, McLaurin, Mrs,
Ballard, Larry Walker, Sr., eacl
owned from one hundred and fifty tt
two hundred and fifty negroes. Eacl
of these owned thousands Of acres o
rich prairie land, which was valued a
thirty-fve to fifty dollars per acre. l
was difficult to buy and rarely eve
changed hands. The rapid increase o
the negroes kept up the demand for it
j. J, May, Sr,, was the largest Ian
owner in the county, but his holding
were not so valuable as others on &C
count Of their quality. Maj, Jas, Gil
mer, of Grow Shot bag, Elisha Num-
ST., Of Ghoson, and Capt, N. Manor
ner, eacn owned thousands Of acres {
land and devoted a large part of thet
means to stock raising, at which the
were successful The tendency was
the direction Of large plantations. I'll
men who owned but a few hundre
acres were being crowded out and in
few years more would have been bougl
out.
The wealthiest family in the county
taking in all its collateral, branche
were the Connors This was becau
of their number and ramifcations. III
Spann's came next. Col. Tyre Spar
was worth $500. 900. Col. Russo
Spann was worth $3.50, 900. The Bash
Brooks, Augustus. Hunters Stewart
Deuprees, TateS, Barnetts and Boyki
followed in about the order named.
The finest residence in the couu
was that of Col. Tyre Spann at Chfto
vile. 1t was built in 1858, by Jol
Connolly and is said to have cost $50
coo. 1t was a palatial structure a
beautifully situated, 1t is now in c
lumbus. the property of Gen. S, D. LIE
who owns the plantation on which
was located. The residences of M'
Jas. Gilmer, Robert Holman and MI
Ballard were magnsficent specimens
the style of the architecture then
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