Jackson County MsArchives Biographies.....Caldwell, Author 1885 - 1979 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ms/msfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Kim Dunaway thedunaways@bellsouth.net June 29, 2009, 7:01 pm Author: Kim Dunaway Source: Kim Dunaway, Ocean Springs, MS I have information in reference to the Bosarge Cemetery located in Jackson County, MS and some additional history on my family which I've carefully traced back to 1834. My great uncle, Arthur Caldwell was 93 when he passed away in 1979 and we had many long conversations with him prior to his passing (5/15/1885 - 11/1979). He grew up on the property where the Bosarge Cemetery is located in Jackson County MS and recalled rowing across the bay to attend school. According to Uncle Arthur, the Bosarge Cemetery was named after a little girl, last name Bosarge, who died. Her family was poor and did not have a place to bury her body. Uncle Arthur's father allowed them to bury her on his property. The property owned by the Caldwell family extended from what is now Porteaux Bay through Gulf Hills. The house where Uncle Arthur grew up was located on what is now the Porteaux Bay Golf Course. It is rumored the that family allowed the Gulf Hills portion to go for taxes because the land "wasn't good for growing cotton." The bayou west of the cemetery is today called Caldwell Bayou. Uncle Arthur's father, my great-great grandfather, was Madison "Matt" Caldwell and his mother was Olivia Ramsey. Olivia and Matt met prior to the civil war. Matt and his brother George joined the Biloxi Rifles and served during the war together. While Matt was away at war, Olivia became very ill and lost her eye-sight. Uncle Arthur spoke highly of his mother and how even though she was completely blind she cooked, sewed, and cared for the children. Unfortunately, my great-grandfather George, reared by a blind woman, had a bad habit of feeling for things without looking and it is rumored, got his hand caught in a mouse trap as a result. Matt's father and mother were Dr. John Caldwell and Mrs. Martha Jane Cooper. They were married on July 22, 1834 in Lawrence Co. They were living in Hancock Co. in 1841 according to a census (Mircrofilm #546 taken in January 1841 by George W. Robinson, Assessor.) Dr. Caldwell was from Scotland and according to records obtained from the Biloxi City Hall prior to Hurricane Katrina, we believe both he and "Mrs. Caldwell" are buried in the old portion of the Biloxi Cemetery. It is rumored that Martha was a nurse and she died during the plague that struck the coast during the early 1850's. We found her last will & testament in Jackson, MS. She left her four children, George Anderson, Isaac Madison "Matt", Ann Victoria and Mary Virginia to Dr. Beaumont. At the time of her death, she was living with a man, last name, Henry. John Caldwell's whereabouts during that time are a mystery, but we do know he was still alive and have heard he wasn't a very pleasant man to be around. Uncle Arthur's only memory of his grandfather was attending his funeral. Uncle Arthur was a very young boy, but recalled standing next to his father viewing his grandfather's body and noticing all his front teeth were broke. He asked his father what happened to his teeth. Matt told him that as a young man his father had been in a dual. The man he was fighting stuck a knife in his mouth and broke them off, but his father had killed the man. In our search to find where John Caldwell was living in 1850, we found a census showing several men with local last names staying in a hotel in Baltimore, MD. They were J. Caldwell, Jas. Drury, and Wm Johnston. We cannot be sure these were local men or what they were doing in Baltimore. We do know there was a lot of activity between coastal Mississippi and Baltimore during this era. Biloxi purchased the lighthouse from Baltimore and a man named Lopez traveled to there to collect information on canning and seafood operations. Lopez implemented what he learned thus kicking off the seafood industry boom. The Caldwell connection to Drury is vague. In 1860, Victoria Caldwell was living in a boarding house in Bay St. Louis, MS as was a printer by the name of Drury. According to Uncle Arthur, Matt was a printer by trade. After the Civil War he became heavily involved in the oyster industry and obtained permits and planted oyster beds on the north side of the bay. The Caldwell connection to Johnston is very clear. According to my Aunt Hazel Caldwell Rimanich (5/9/1910 - 10/4/1998), Virginia became pregnant out of wedlock and committed suicide. Victoria took her sister's name. Victoria Virginia married George Washington Johnson on May 18, 1868 (Catholic Church Records, Diocese of Biloxi, MS, Vol. 3, 1992). In 1880, George Johnston was the sheriff of Hancock County (US Census, 1880). Aunt Hazel Rimanich told us Uncle George's his nickname was "Noosie" because he was notorious for hanging folks. Victoria Virginia "V.V." and George Johnston are buried in Cedar Rest Cemetery in Bay St Louis. George died on Apr 30, 1899 at the age of 59. We found Victoria's obituary in the Sea Coast Echo, Friday, Nov 20, 1936. She passed away at home on 241 St. Charles St, Bay St Louis on Nov 12, 1936 at 11:20. The house on St. Charles is one of the few still left standing and is owned by a lady named Carrie White. I met Carrie prior to Katrina and afterwards, she called to let me know the house was still there and that the historical society had been in touch. Matt's brother George Anderson Caldwell is also buried in Bay St. Louis. He died on Mar 16, 1889 at the age of 47. I have met George's grandson, John D. Caldwell. He currently lives in Georgia and has conducted extensive research on the Caldwell family. Madison "Matt" Caldwell died on Jan 3, 1901 (Pascagoula Dem Star, Pg 3). Prior to his death he was appointed to the democratic executive committee of Jackson Co. and was a founding organizer of a Confederate Veterans Camp (Biloxi Herald Newspaper, 1888-1891). Mrs. Matt Caldwell, formerly Olivia Ramsey died on a Saturday afternoon in 1902 (Daily Herald, Apr 8, 1902, Pg. 8, Col. 2). Madison "Matt" Caldwell and Olivia Ramsey are buried in the Bosarge Cemetery along with my Great Grandfather George Madison Caldwell (2/22/1877 - 4/1/1965) and his wife Mary Eliza Albritton (12/2/1884 - 10/15/1958) and many, many other relatives. Uncle Arthur Caldwell is buried in the Biloxi cemetery. The last three boys from the Matt Caldwell line still live in Jackson County. Kim Dunaway Ocean Springs, MS thedunaways@bellsouth.net File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ms/jackson/bios/caldwell10gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/msfiles/ File size: 7.0 Kb