Echoes From The Attic and Poems, JOHN JOINER HOME, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Submitted to the USGenWeb Archives by Don Johnson, Feb. 2001 Typed by Belford Carver Written by by Edna F. Campbell Copyrighted by Edna F. Campbell With special thanks to her family for permission to use her works. ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ TANGIPAHOA PARISH LANDMARK HOME STEEPED IN HISTORY Marking the site of grounds obtained from the government through a state land grant is the 100 year old house known as the old John Joiner home. The landmark is doomed for demolition in the next several days causing this rugged old structure to be the focal point in conversations. This is thought by many to be the oldest standing house in the parish. Living a short distance from the house is Mrs. Frances Tycer Evans, whose great grandmother, Mrs. Jane Hill, was one of the early owners. Another interested person is Bert Joiner whose father bought the property in 1904 and sold it in 1934. In their possession is the copy of the original land grant issued by Gov. Thomas O. Moore Oct. 11, 1860. The grant was issued to J. J. Watts and was described as the west half of south west quarter of section 25 in township 5, south of range 7 east in the Greensburg Land District containing 83 acres. This was recorded in Livingston Parish as Tangipahoa Parish was not formed at this time. Watts built a house on the grounds and in 1867 he sold the property to Mrs. Jane Hill, a natives of Ireland and who hailded from Cincinnati, Ohio. She lived there until her death in 1878. She was buried on the east side of the land but 29 years later her remains were moved to the Stevens Cemetery. Mrs. Hill's son, John, was married to Azariah Steven's daughter Minerva. Their daughter, Ann, became the wife of Henry Tycer and their daughters are Ann Frances and Norma. Mrs. Evans regrets not having kept notes of history of incidents described by her mother relating to her forebears. She does recall tales of the impression the Hills made as they came from Ohio to the deep south. The fact that Mr. Hill fought in the Union Navy during the Civil War was difficult to live down, she said. Reserved in memory are the sayings about her grandmother, a native of Ireland, being an accomplished knitter, and of her fascination of gathering wood on the homesite. John Joiner bought the land in 1904 from the Genessee Lumber Company and sold it in 1934. Bert Joiner told of the division of his father's land and that his part had included the old house. In 1936 he soldout to Mrs. Florence Bankston who in about a year sold to William Sanders who kept it for the same length of time, and Same Accardo was the next proprietor. Upon returning south following retirement with the Pontiac company in Michigan, he decided to buy two acres of his childhood home land. He has answered many queries about the landmark home. He has in his recollections the story of a Civil War veteran born in 1837, who frequently passed the Joiner home and remarked that it was the only house build in this section. (From ECHOES FROM THE ATTIC, V, 1970, by Edna Campbell) (Pic of old home) (The property description above would place it east of Tickfaw, LA, somewhere near highways 442 and 1065. The cemetery mentioned in the article is Stevens-Robertson, also known as Tycer, and is located on Tycer Road, northeast of Section 25. Tycer Road intersects both of the above mentioned highways. John Hill is buried in this cemetery: John Hill, Ohio, ACT ENS US NAVY, Jul 30, 1834 - May 29, 1907. No listing for Mrs. Jane Hill. Azariah Stevens, Minerva Stevens Hill, Henry Tycer, Ann Hill Tycer, Norma Tycer, and Frances Tycer Evans are buried in Row 8 of Mt. Stevens (or Red Hill) Cemetery north of Section 25 on Hwy 1065. BEC 1/31/01)