The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1945-02-16

sion. AS early as 1903 petitions
began to come to Congress ask
ing for a separate government and
gave as the reason the distance
from their capital, but all petit
tons were tabled.
In 1904 the Indian country to
the north was added and thus
the area of the territory was
trebled.
In 1910 West Florida staged a
revolution, gained her indepen-
dence, and was added to the
United States. The following
year, 1871, Mr.. Poindexter, the
Mississippi delegate to Congress,
introduced a bill to admit all of
the Mississippi Territory and
West Florida as one state This
bill was not pushed but it brought
from Congress the pronounce
ment that the area was too large
for n state.
In 1912, he introduced another
bill for two prospective states
with the dividing line up the
Tombigbee to its headwaters,
then across to the headWaters of
Bear Creek, and down it to the
Tennessee river. This would have
placed Mobile and st. Stephens
in Mississippi and at the same
time would have given Columbus,
Amory, and Fulton to Alabama.
This proposal did not meet with
favor, for unknown reasons.
In 1912, Louisiana was admit
ted as a state with its present
boundaries. When it was admit
ted the part of West Florida be-
tween the Pearl and Perdido
rivers was added to Mississippi.
BY 1915 population increases had
caused constant agitation for
statehood in some form. MIR. Lat
timore, who had succeeded Mr..
Poindexter, introduced a bill to
admit all of what is now Ala
bama and Mississippi as one
state. This passed the lower
house of Congress but the Senate
turned it down. Mr.. baltimore
asked the Senate committee what
division would suit them. One
member drew with his finger on
a map a line just vest of the Tom
bigbee from Tennessee to the
Gulf. This would have given
Jackson county practically all of
its original area.
Convention Called
About this time the people at
home decided to take a hand in
the proceedings in Washington.
Somehow a convention was call
ed to meet at John Ford's on
Pearl river. This meeting has
gone down in history as the Pearl
River Convention, but how it was
called we do not know, and not
until recently have we had COM
plete records of its proceedings.
Many of the counties along the
Mississippi did not send delegates
but the eastern counties did.
Jackson sent the aggressive Sterl-
ing Dupree and Mobile county
sent William Crawford who had
represented Mobile and Jackson
counties in the legislature for the
two preceding years. How these
men were selected we do not
know, but the minutes of the con-
vention state that they presented
their credentials and were seated.
The convention went on record
overwhelmingly for the admission
of the whole territory as one
state and raised $500 to send a
delegate to Washington to fight
for this decision. Judge Harry
Toulmin was selected to make
the trip.
The judge. fastened to Wash
ington and had some success with
the House, but found the Senate
adamant in its determination to
divide the territory into two
states, Then he shifted his at
tack to get the division line run
in such a way that the Pasca-
goula and Chickasawhay settle /
ments would not be separated
from the Tombigbee and Mobile
settlements. He tried first to get
the line run up the Tombigbee
or east of il and when he failed
IN this he next suggested a line
from the mouth of Bear Creek
to the northwest corner of Wayne
county and thence down the
western boundaries of Wayne,
Greene, and Jackson counties to
the Gulf" Since Wayne at that
time included much of the area
now in Jones county, this would
have given a great slice of what
is now Mississippi to Alabama.
All Judge Toulmin's efforts
failed and a line was prescribed
in the enabling act which nobody
representing Mississippi wanted.
1t ran from the mouth of Bear