Goodspeed's History of Monroe County, Mississippi (1891)


From:  Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi, Embracing an Authentic
and Comprehensive Account of the Chief Events in the History of the State and a 
Record of the Lives of Many of the Most Worthy and Illustrious Families and 
Individuals.  Vol. 1.  Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1891.

From:  Chapter XII.  Counties of the Chickasaw Cession.  pp. 247-248.

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     Monroe county, named in honor of President James Monroe, was established
February 9, 1821.  It is bounded north by Lee and Itawamba counties, east by
Alabama, south by Clay and Lowndes, and west by Clay and Chickasaw.  Aberdeen, the
county seat, has three thousand four hundred and forty-five inhabitants.  The other
towns and postoffices are Athens, Smithville, Cottongin, Central Grove, Camargo,
Muldon, Prairie, Hamilton, Amory, Barttahatchie, Beeks, Bigbee, Binford, Cooper,
Gattman, Gibson, Greenbrier, Grubb Springs, Quincy, Ree's store, Riggins, Splunge,
Strongs and Woodson.

     The watercourses of Monroe county are Tombigbee river and Town creek (navigable),
with numerous small creeks and streams.  The Mobile & Ohio railroad runs along the
western border of the county, with a branch road from Muldon to Aberdeen.  The 
Memphis, Selma & Brunswick and the Lexington & Aberdeen branch of the Illinois 
Central afford added railway facilities.  Water power is abundant on the east side
of the Tombigbee river.  there are twenty-three watermills and twenty-six steammills
in the county.  About one-third of the land is in cultivation, the balance in timber 
and prairies.  Surface of part of the county is level and the rest undulating. 
Limestone and rotten-limestone are abundant.  Fertile prairie soil and a fine black
sand soil, with clay subsoil, abound.  Cotton, corn, wheat, oats, field peas and 
sorghum are produced.  All the grasses do well, and much attention is now being paid
to sheep husbandry and improved stock, with considerable success.  The timber trees
are white, post, red and black oaks, poplar, elm, gum, walnut, cypress, etc.

     Among the early settlers were Mr. Cocke, Colonel Willis, Daniel W. Wright,
the Cravens, Sandersons, Alexanders, Fords, Branches, Jacob Loughridge, Dr.
Higginson, B. T. Reese, William Morse, Isaac Dyche, John Ross, Henry Hardy, the
Echols, John Coulter, the Hutchinsons, Ferrisses and Martins.  The population in
1830 was three thousand eight hundred and sixty-one; in 1840, nine thousand two
hundred and fifty; in 1850, twenty-one thousand one hundred and seventy-two; in
1860, twenty-one thousand two hundred and eighty-three; in 1870, twenty two 
thousand six hundred and thirty-one; in 1880, twenty-eight thousand five hundred 
and fifty-three; in 1890, thirty thousand seven hundred and thirty.  In 1860 the
county contained one thousand five hundred and thirty-four voters and twelve
thousand seven hundred and forty taxable slaves.  The colored population in 1870
was fourteen thousand; in 1880, eighteen thousand and one; in 1890, eighteen
thousand seven hundred and ninety-two.

     The board of supervisors of this county first me at the house of Henry Greer,
April 4, 1821, and was comprised as follows; Gideon Lincecum, president; Ezekiel
Nash, Stephen Hannon, Wiley Harbin and Frederick Weaver.

     The first officers of the county were Nathaniel Harbin, clerk of the county;
Bartlett Lewis, sheriff; John G. Fulks, treasurer; Silas Brown, assessor; William
L. Moore, surveyor.

     The present officials are William G. Elkin, president of the board of 
supervisors; G. W. Parham, David Crenshaw, L. D. Booth and J. H. Roberts, 
supervisors; R. E. Houston, T. A. Oliphant and J. T. Dilworth, representatives;
W. H. Kolk, chancery clerk; B. H. Gillespie, circuit clerk; J. A. Johnson,
sheriff; John C. Wicks, treasurer; George G. Tindall, surveyor; John G. Holmes,
assessor; C. C. McChandless, coroner, and E. P. Thompson superintendant of
education.

     Hamilton, now an old field, was the county seat in 1830, when Lowndes
county was made and the county seat was removed to nearer the center of the
county, and the place was called Augusta.  There the seat of justice remained
until about 1849, when it was removed to Aberdeen, and the present courthouse,
a large brick building, was erected in 1857.  Monroe is one of the wealthiest
upland counties in the state.

     Among the early newspapers of Aberdeen was the Democrat and the Sunny South
were published prior to the war, and the latter a few years after the war.  The
Aberdeen Examiner was established in 1865 by S. A. Jonas.  It was a daily for 
about a year and a half, then a tri-weekly in 1885, since which time it has been
a weekly, and one of the best in the state.  It is now edited and published by
Jonas & Dalton, the former being its founder.  In 1877 E. P. Thompson established
the People's Weekly, but about six months after changed the name to the Aberdeen
Weekly, which he still publishes, with his son, Fred S. Thompson, as business
manager, the youngest business manager of a newspaper in Mississippi.  The Phoenix
News was established in 1883 by Dr. J. W. Eckford, who still issues it.