DOCTORS-MAYORS-ALDERMEN-POSTMASTERS-MARSHALS

of

OCEAN SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI

MEDICINE MEN OF OCEAN SPRINGS

            The first "physician" to arrive at Ocean Springs came in the winter of 1700, with Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (1661-1706).  With discovery of the mineral springs along the south bank of Fort Bayou in the 1840s, doctors at New Orleans began to take a look at this area, then called East Biloxi, as a possible spa.  As today, the curative power of mineral laden water was very attractive as an elixir for various ailments.  Disorders such as dyspepsia, indigestion, and insomnia were treated with the local spring waters, which contained small amounts of iron, sulphur, and magnesia.

            After Dr. William Glover Austin (1814-1894) built the Ocean Springs Hotel in 1852-1853, the village adopted the name, Ocean Springs, from his hotel.  As the population grew, the demand for medical care increased.  With all the doctors in town today, it is difficult to imagine that for the most part, Ocean Springs, through it long history had no more than three doctors in town at one time until the 1950s.  The completion of the Ocean Springs Hospital in 1967, and steady population growth through the decades has brought the number of practicing physicians at Ocean Springs to over thirty today.  Many other doctors reside here, but practice medicine at other coast cities.

            The chronology of medicine is fascinating.  In its course through time, medicine has evolved from a primitive art to a high technology art.  In the coming weeks, I will present brief biographical sketches of our medicine men with some anecdotal information where relevant.  A brief history of the medicine men who made an impact on the history of Ocean Springs from the time of Iberville until the 1950s follows.  Please enjoy.

PIERRE CAVE (ca1670-1700+)

            In January 1700, Pierre Cave (ca 1670-1700+) came to the Mississippi Gulf Coast with the second expeditionary force of Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d' Iberville (1661-1706) as Surgeon-Major aboard the French frigate, Renommee.  When Iberville returned to France in May 1700, he left Surgeon-Major Cave at Fort Maurepas.  His salary was thirty livres (francs) per month.  In 1748, at Canada, a chicken sold for slightly less than a franc while one could but a two hundred pound hog for fifteen francs.

            In the early 18th Century, surgery was beginning to disassociate it self from the ancient trade of barbering.  The fact that Pierre Cave was listed as a staff officer of Le Moyne indicates that he had achieved some social status. Surgeon-Major Cave may have performed the first surgical procedure in the Louisiana Colony as Iberville reported on March 1, 1700, that one of his soldiers had been wounded in the arm and severely injured.  About the arm, Iberville wrote, "was amputated by my surgeon with a saw made from a knife".

            When Bienville abandoned Fort Maurepas in January 1702, Pierre Cave does not appear to have been among those who relocated to Massacre Island (now Dauphin).  He probably died at Fort Maurepas in 1701.

CLAYTON TIFFIN (ca 1788-1859)

            Dr. Clayton Tiffin (ca 1788-1859) may have never practiced medicine at Ocean Springs, but his family played a role in the areas early development.  Tiffin was probably born in Ohio.  He distinguished himself as a surgeon at Fort Erie during the War of 1812.  Dr. Tiffin married Bellila "Belle" Miller Conklin (1824-1900) of Columbus, Ohio.  They moved to New Orleans in 1850.  Here Dr. Tiffin became a prominent physician.

            Before 1860, Mrs. Belle Tiffin purchased a tract of land on the Bay of Biloxi at Ocean Springs, which we know today as the Shearwater Pottery.  It cannot be determined with any degree of certitude who built the Greek Revival vernacular cottage which rests here today.  Its erection date has been estimated by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to have been circa 1850.  Deed records indicate that Hanson Alsbury (c. 1805-1851+) may have been the first white inhabitant of Shearwater as he acquired the tract in February 1837.

            The Tiffins had two daughters: Hortense Delavallade (1841-1870+) and Alice Rousseau (1854-1900+).  Their French son-in-law, Jean M. Delavallade, who was a druggist at Plaquemine in Iberville Parish, Louisiana held several deeds of trust on the property from Mrs. Tiffin.

            In June 1885, Mrs. Tiffin sold her estate to Joseph Bowling (1827-1894) of New Orleans.  She died in the Crescent City on June 11, 1900.

JOSEPH FIELD (1802-1860+)

     Joseph Field (1802-1860+) was born in Mississippi.  His wife was named Julia Joseph (b. 1815).  She taught school.  The Fields resided at Ocean Springs in 1860.  No further information.

DAVID M. DUNLAP (1803-1880+)

Dr. David M. Dunlap (1803-1880+) was born at South Carolina.  His wife, Mary T. Dunlap (1830-1880+) was a native of Georgia.  Their children all born in Mississippi were: James (1858-1880+), Mary or Matty (1864-1880+), and Edward (1868-1880+).  The Dunlaps probably arrived at Ocean Springs in the late 1860s.  They purchased over three acres of land bounded by Washington Avenue and Jackson Avenue between Porter and Desoto (Lots 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8 of Block 27- Culmseig Map of 1854).  Here they built a large home near the present day Lovelace Drugstore. 

Drowning

In the spring of 1870, Dr. Benjamin Sorsby Davis (1837-1870) came from Clarke County, Alabama to reside with the Dunlap family.  He had served in the Civil War and attended medical school after the conflict.  Dr. Davis was engaged to be married.  On August 24, 1870 he expired by drowning at Ocean Springs.(Joe Davis, Bay Minette, Alabama, February 19, 2004)

Benjamin Sorsby Davis, M.D., was born October 14, 1837, in Clarke County, AL, and drowned August 24, 1870, in Ocean Springs.  The Davis family moved from NC to AL at the end of 1836, and Ben was born the next October in 1837.  His wealthy Uncle Norphlet Davis died in 1839 leaving Ben 1/4 of his estate.  Ben began medical school at the Alabama School of Medicine in Mobile, but the Civil War began and the school closed.  Ben joined the Army and was wounded several times, at least once in the leg--perhaps the reason for his drowning.  The school re-opened in 1869 and Ben completed his degree in March of 1870 and then moved to Ocean Springs to work before drowning in August.  There were several years between the time Ben left the Army and the Medical School re-opened.  I don't know what happened to Ben during those years.  The old Plantation in Clarke County had been sold.  His dad died before the War, and all his brothers were killed in the War except for one, and he had lost one leg.  So, the plantation was sold during the War and shortly before Ben's mother died; the remaining family moved into Mobile.  Most likely, Ben's family brought his body back to Mobile and buried him with his family in the Jones Cemetery at Choctaw Bluff in Clarke County.  The cemetery basically has been abandoned for years and has suffered many vandals.  Many headstones are broken or missing, and many graves have been dug into. So, there is no headstone to find; no one could afford elaborate headstones after the Civil War. The family brought back personal effects of Ben, including the trunk and medical degree that I have. I wish someone had recorded how he died and where he was buried.

In October 1872, Dr. D.M. Dunlap advertised an efficacious balm:

In January 1882, Dr. Dunlap sold the property to Thomas W. Grayson (1825-1904) of Harrison County.  Grayson would move to Ocean Springs and become a Justice of the Peace, and the fourth Mayor of Ocean Springs (1897-1898).

            In 1878, Dr. Dunlap also owned two acres on the northwest corner of Washington and Ocean.  He sold it to Mary Ann Drabble Wing (1823-1894) of New Orleans in 1883.  A portion of this tract would become the site of the First Presbyterian Church, which was built in 1886.  It appears the Dunlaps departed Ocean Springs in 1882.

DANIEL STANFORD (1805-1850+)

            Daniel Stanford was born in Georgia.  His wife was Mary Ann Stanford (b. 1807).  They were at Ocean Springs in 1850.  No further information.

ANDREW B. DODD (1806-1850+)

            Andrew B. Dodd and his wife, Lucy B. Dodd (b. 1812), were from Kentucky.  At Ocean Springs, the Dodds probably resided on the front beach on the Andre Fournier tract west of Bayou Bouzage (now Inner Harbor).  They were in the area before 1850.

            In addition to his duties as a physician, Dodd was involved in real estate and manufacturing.  He conveyed a large tract of land east of present day Dewey Avenue to Jean Baptiste Seymour in September 1849.  Also in 1849, Dr. Dodd was active in the brickyard at Back Bay (D'Iberville) with fellow Kentuckian and neighbor, William G. Kendall (1812-1872), and others.

            Dr. Dodd was a contemporary of another Kentucky born physician, William H. Tegarden (1797-1870+).  Tegarden built the Tegarden Hotel at Mississippi City, which featured a lighthouse and a 2400-foot wharf.

            The Dodds appear to have left the Ocean Springs area before 1860.

WILLIAM GLOVER AUSTIN (1814-1894)

Dr. William Glover Austin (1814-1894) was born at Somerset County, Maryland.  His father was Dr. John Austin of Loudon County, Virginia, a man who had achieved notoriety in the sciences. Young William G. Austin did his undergraduate work at Kenyon College in Ohio, and received his medical degree from the Washington University of Baltimore in 1836.  After his academic education was completed, he moved to Yazoo County, Mississippi to practice medicine.

            In 1839, at Mississippi, Dr. Austin met and married Martha E. Porter (1818-1898), a young lady from a notable Giles County, Tennessee family.  They reared a family consisting of at least six children:  John E. Austin (1840-1878), Martha Austin (1842-1910+), Louisa Austin (b. 1846), William M. Austin (b. 1849), Willie (Willamena?) Porter (b. 1854), and Thomas Austin (1855-1855).  Circa 1850, the Austins moved to New Orleans from Yazoo County.  Here Dr. Austin established himself as an authority on epidemic diseases, especially yellow fever.

            In the 1840s, Mrs. Austin began acquiring property at Ocean Springs.  Her brother, William L. Porter (b. 1811), was a merchant here while her uncle, Thomas C. Porter, was tax collector for the port of New Orleans from 1853-1857.  The Porters owned much land on the beach at Ocean Springs acquiring Lots Two and Three of the Widow LaFontaine tract from Robert B. Kendall in 1850.  Porter Avenue is named for this Tennessee family.

            The Austins owned the "Many Oaks" property from 1853-1854.  The Ocean Springs Hotel, which gave its name to the small village on the Bay of Biloxi, called Lynchburg Springs at the time, was built by Dr. Austin in 1853.  When New Orleans fell to Federal forces in 1862, Dr. Austin was superintendent of the Charity Hospital.  He went to the front lines and saw active service.  In the post-war years, Austin was appointed to the Board of Health by Governor Nicholls.  He received license No. 1456 in June 1882, to practice medicine in Jackson County, Mississippi.  In 1889, Governor Nicholls appointed Dr. Austin resident physician at the Mississippi Quarantine Station.

            In his latter years, Dr. Austin was described as a witty and clever talker and a type of the old school gentleman.  He was mentally and physically active into the last years of his life.  Dr. Austin passed on at New Orleans.

DON CARLOS CASE (1819-1886)

Dr. Don Carlos Case (1819-1886) was born at Albany, New York on December 27, 1819.  He attended the University of Missouri Medical College at St. Louis.  Case was issued a license (No. 1425) to practice medicine at Jackson County, Mississippi on June 8, 1882.  He began practicing medicine probably at Missouri in 1847.

Dr. Case married Martha A. Thomas (1823-1902) who was born at Bouie County, Kentucky.  Her father was a native of Virginia while her mother was also a Kentuckian.

The Cases had three children: May Jane Case Emery (b. 1860), Francis "Fanny" Shiloh Case Leftwich (1863-1947), and Charles T. Case (1867-1896).  The girls were born at New Madrid, Missouri.  It is believed that the Case family left New Madrid for New Orleans during the Civil War.  Charles T. Case was born in the Crescent City.

May Jane Case

May Jane Case married the Reverend Charles F. Emery (1855-1943) on July 24, 1878.  He was a graduate of Duke University.  Circa 1890, Case became an ordained minister.  He served as the pastor of the Methodist churches at Columbia, Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Brandon, Meridian, Vicksburg, Natchez, Hattiesburg, Waynesboro, Tylertown, and Fayette.  They had at least two sons: Charles Franklin Emery (1879-1950) and Don Carlos Emery (1880-1907).

Charles Franklin Emery practiced law.  He died at Corpus Christi, Texas on February 13, 1950.  Don Carlos Emery named for his grandfather, Don Carlos Case, died at Brandon, Mississippi.  Both are buried in the Evergreen Cemetery at Ocean Springs in the Case Family plot.

Fanny S. Case

In 1881, at Ocean Springs, Fanny Shiloh Case married Jesse Bion Leftwich (1857-1923), a native of Florence, Alabama.  Leftwich was the son of Jessie George Washington Leftwich (1823-1906) and Agnes Pollock Leftwich (1831-1915).  They were natives of Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee and Ohio respectively.  In May 1877, Agnes Leftwich purchased the John H. Brown house on Fort Bayou (now 810 Iberville) from George A. Cox (1811-1887).  Here J.G. Leftwich made his livelihood as a sugar planter.  In September 1887, the Leftwich family sold their Ocean Springs property and moved to Mobile. 

            Jessie B. Leftwich and Fanny Case had five children:  Alma Fullton (b. 1882), Velma Lassiter (b. 1882), Beulah Norquist (b. 1884), Jessie Bion Leftwich (1890-1892), and Jess Harold Leftwich (b. 1896).  In 1902, the family resided at 811 Dauphin Street in Mobile, Alabama.

Charles T. Case married Roberta Staples (1864-1928) on July 10, 1886.  She was the daughter of L. Gordon Staples of Greensboro, North Carolina and Adeline A. Ferell (1829-1902) of Covington, Louisiana.  The Staples resided at New Orleans and owned property on Fort Point at Ocean Springs.  Roberta Case had the following sisters:  Lou Staples, May Poitevent (1847-1932), Lillian Ryan, Margaret Lewis, Volumnia H. Davis, and Stella Staples (b. 1871).  Her brother was Frederick Staples (1852-1897).

Charles and Roberta Staples Case had three sons: Carl Theodore Case (b. 1888), Gordon Staples Case (b. 1890), and Frederick Staples Case (d. pre-1924). 

            In October 1896, Charles T. Case died at Nashville, Tennessee where he worked as the private secretary of the Superintendent of the Southern Express Company. His widow, Roberta S. Case, was residing at 1109 Rokeby Place at Nashville, in 1902.  She moved to Ocean Springs before 1920, and resided on front beach with her sons, Carl T. Case and Gordon Case, a medical illustrator.  Circa 1911, Carl T. Case had married Edwina Lynd (b. 1892) of New Orleans.  Her father, Thomas B. Lynd (1862- 1915), was an affluent cotton broker.

            In March 1893, Thomas B. Lynd had purchased a 9.67 acre estate on front beach west of the present day Inner Harbor from Caroline Nill.  He called it "Lyndhurst".  When Lynd's son-in-law, Carl T. Case, resided here, it was known as "Case Villa".  The Lynd-Case home burned in 1922, when owned by the Parlin family.  Alice Austin Martin and spouse, Gay Marton, resides on the site today.

Case-Russell Home

At Ocean Springs, the Dr. Don Carlos Case family lived at the southwest corner of Porter and Washington Avenue.  In December 1880, Mrs. Case had purchased lots 9 and 10 of Block 34 (Culmseig) from Margaret Anderson of Round Island (Jackson County Land Deed Bk. 5, pp. 16-17).  The lots combined had an area of 1.36 acres.

At this excellent location, the Cases built, commencing in January 1881, a large neo-colonial style home costing $2000.  The two-story, wood frame, home had over 5000 square feet of living area and a 500 square-foot front gallery.  The small office of Dr. Case was attached to the northwest corner of the house and faced Porter Avenue.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, February 4, 1881, p. 3) 

In September 1905, the property was sold for $3300 to Ocean Springs entrepreneur, Hiram F. Russell (1858-1940), by Charles F. Emery and J.B. Leftwich, the executors of the estate of Mrs. Case (Jackson County Land Deed Bk. 30, pp. 203-204).  The Jeremiah J. O'Keefe home, which was built in 1906, on Porter Avenue was an architectural replication of the Case-Russell home.  The Russell home burned in the late 1920s.

            Descendants of the Case-Leftwich families residing in Mobile today, relate that Dr. Case treated patients afflicted with skin cancer by focusing natural sunlight (ultraviolet radiation) with two cobalt vases.  The "cobalt radiation" was directed to the cancerous tissue.

            Another tale involved one of the yellow fever epidemics, which struck the area.  Dr. Case was called to the home of a sea captain struck with the virus.  The delirious seaman told Dr. Case that he knew he was going to die and wanted to clear his conscious.  As a youth, the captain had been a pirate.  The motley crew had come ashore near Ocean Springs and buried a treasure.  The dying man gave Dr. Case exact directions to the location of the interred valuables.  Because of the man's condition, Dr. Case disregarded the tale as a dying man's hallucination.

            Several weeks later Case was near the purported treasure site and recognized some of the landmarks described by the deceased sea captain.  When he approached the exact site, Case found a gaping hole in the earth.  There was a family living nearby.  Dr. Case asked them if they knew about the hole.  "Yes", they replied.  "Several weeks ago a small ship dropped anchor in the bay.  A dinghy came ashore.  The sailors left in a jolly mood"

            Dr. Don Carlos Case died at Ocean Springs on January 7, 1885.  Martha T. Case passed on at Waynesboro, Mississippi on April 22, 1902, while at the C.F. Emery residence.  They and many of the Case-Leftwich Family members are interred at the Evergreen Cemetery at Ocean Springs.

            Many thanks to Velma Croom, Francis Danley, and Laura Lee Norquist of Mobile who generously shared their time and knowledge of the Case-Leftwich Families with me.

DANIEL NEWCOMB (1829-1908)

     Dr. Daniel Newcomb (1829-1908) was born at Fayston near Montpelier, Vermont.  His mother was Harriet Newcomb (1805-1903), and he had a brother, D.C. Newcomb, who was residing at Atchison, Kansas in 1903.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, April 3, 1903 and May 22, 1903)

 In September 1851, Dr. Daniel Newcomb married Calista Helen Smith (1830-1909), a native of Cabot, Vermont.  She was the daughter of Daniel Smith and Fanny Smith.(The Ocean Springs News, February 20, 1909)

In February 1891, Dr. Newcomb came to Ocean Springs from central Wisconsin to make preparations for moving his family here in the fall.  He was undecided as to whether he would practice medicine at Ocean Springs.(The Biloxi Herald, February 15, 1891, p. 1)

            Dr. Dan Newcomb attended the New York City College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Vermont Medical College, the Berkshire Medical College, and the Chicago Medical College.  He began the practice of medicine in 1853.  On April 13, 1892, Dr. Newcomb was issued license No. 711 to practice medicine at Jackson County, Mississippi.(Rodgers, 1990, p. 31) 

Dr. Newcomb maintained an office in the Herman Nill Building, which was situated on the northwest corner of Washington and Porter.  Dr. Newcomb was an Episcopalian and a charter member of McLeod Lodge No. 424 F&AM.  It was organized at Ocean Springs in 1892.  He was raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason in 1866 or 1867 at Palatine, Illinois.(A History of McLeod Lodge No. 424, 1995) 

Dr. Newcomb owned 100 acres of land on Heron Bayou in what is now the Magnolia Bayou Subdivision.  He probably resided here.

           Dr. Dan Newcomb expired at Ocean Springs on July 12, 1908.  His corporal remains and those of Calista S. Newcomb are interred in the Evergreen Cemetery.

A. HARVEY SHANNON (1831-1906)

            Dr. Harvey Shannon (1831-1906) was born at Sumner County, Tennessee in January 1831.  He was a graduate of the Reform Medical College of Georgia and the New Orleans School of Medicine.  Shannon was issued license No. 307 to practice at Jackson County in April 1882, while residing at Vicksburg.  He was married to Lucy Irwin (1838-1909+) probably a native of Vicksburg.  Her parents were John L. Irwin and Lucy W. Irwin (d. 1884).  Mr. Irwin had served in the War of 1812 as a lieutenant and had received bounty land for his participation.

            The Shannon children were: A. Harry Shannon (b. 1875), Lucy Shannon (1877-1910+), Alice Shannon Warwick of Augusta, Georgia; Will P. Shannon (1878-1910) of El Centro, California and Irwin A. Shannon of New Orleans. 

Shannondale

     In November 1882, Dr. Shannon bought 340 acres in Sections 21, T7S-R8W from W.H. Gill and 240 acres in Section 22, T7S-R8W from James A. Watt.  He called his estate Shannondale.  Here Harry Shannon developed commercial orchards.  In July 1891, Parker Earle & Sons, local entrepreneurs, purchased Dr. Shannon's pear crop.  The Earles shipped the pears to northern markets.  Shannondale was sold by his widow, Lucy I. Shannon, to Wylie E. Thibodeaux of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana in July 1909.  At the time of the sale, Mrs. Shannon resided at Nashville, Tennessee.

     Shannondale became the property of George E. McEwen (1865-1961) who came to Ocean Springs from New Orleans circa 1910.  Here he had a citrus orchard composed of over three thousand grape fruit and Satsuma oranges.  The Fort Bayou Estates Subdivision is located here today.

Shannondale School

     The Shannondale School was established as early as January 1886, by Dr. Harvey Shannon.  In the spring of 1886, S.L. Boyers Jr. taught the private school.  It was attended by the nine children of Dr. A.H. Shannon (1831-1906) and his brother, Fountain E.P. Shannon (d. 1883), at Shannondale, the large stock and fruit farm of Dr. Shannon situated east of Ocean Springs, in Sections 21 and 22, T7S-R8W.  Mr. Boyers received a salary of about $20 per month.  The children attending the Shannondale School were: H.L. Shannon (b. 1869); A.H. Shannon (b. 1870); Irwin Shannon (b. 1871); Harry L. Shannon (b. 1874); W.P. Shannon (1878-1910); Lizzie M. Shannon (b. 1872); Ida L. Shannon (b. 1874); Alice Amanda Shannon (b. 1873); and Lucy I. Shannon (b. 1877).JXCO, Ms. School Records-1886, JXCO, Ms. Archives-Pascagoula, Ms.)

Will P. Shannon

     Will P. Shannon (1878-1910) left Ocean Springs for California after the turn of the 20th Century.  He expired at El Cento, California from heat prostration in July 1910.  His survivors included his mother, and sisters: Mrs. Charles H. Warwick and Miss Lucy Shannon of Nashville, Tennessee.(The Ocean Springs News, July 30, 1910)

Professor A.H. Shannon    

     Dr. Shannon's son, Professor A.H. Shannon, achieved national fame in the academic world.  He attended Milsaps College (1895-1898), Vanderbilt (1901), and did post graduate work at the University of Chicago.  Shannon taught at Hendrix College (Arkansas), Milsaps, Columbus College (Oregon), Wesleyan College (Kentucky), Mississippi A&M, and Imperial College (Japan).  He was a licensed Methodist Episcopal minister and served as chaplain of the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Jackson).  Shannon spent his retirement years on a farm north of Ocean Springs.

            In 1898, Dr. Shannon occupied the Nill Building on Washington and Porter.  No further information.

REFERENCES:

The Jackson County Times, "Shannon Tract Being Cleared For Development", May 29, 1926.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", July 30, 1910.

he Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Death of Mr. and Mrs. Shannon", August 17, 1883.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Death of Dr. H.H. Shannon", May 18, 1906, p. 3.

ERNEST A. PORTIS (1840-1903)

Dr. Ernest A. Portis (1840-1903) was born at Suggsville, Clarke County, Alabama.  He was reared in a pioneer family of the area.  The Portis family of Clarke County were merchants and lawyers.  Young Portis studied medicine at the University of Louisville and the University of Louisiana.  He moved to Jackson County circa 1881 and settled at Vancleave.  Dr. Portis was probably the first physician of that community.  He was issued license No. 1308 to practice medicine in Jackson County on June 1, 1882.

            Dr. Portis began acquiring land in the Vancleave area in 1882.  He received a land patent on the NW/4 of Section 11, T6S-R7W, and purchased 80 acres in Section 10, T6S-R7W from Edward Bang in June 1882.  Land at Vancleave sold for $.50 to $1.25/acre at this time.  The Portis homestead was probably located on Woodman Hill on the north side of Poticaw Road about 3/4 miles southeast of Highway 57.

            Although married, Dr. Portis had no children, and his wife died before 1900.  At the time of his demise on June 20, 1903, Dr. Portis owned 560 acres of land in the Vancleave area.  In his obituary reported by The Pascagoula Democrat-Star of June 26, 1903, it was related that Dr.

Portis was thought to be the oldest physician in the county, and that he was a man of considerable means.

Dr. Portis died intestate and his estate was adjudicated and assigned to Elizabeth Page (1855-1903+) and Emile Bigot (1883-1947).  Page, a cook, and Bigot, a farm hand, both

Creoles, along with Sylvester Waltman (1882-1951) lived with Dr. Portis.

            An anecdotal story concerning Dr. Portis survives to today in Requiem (Volume 3), a book about Jackson County cemeteries.  The tale is related as follows:

             Dr. Portis operated a turpentine still nearby and was supposedly buried on his property.  As time passed, the road changed and now the gravesite is a little difficult to get to.  He was never married (sic).  Dr. Portis practiced medicine in the area and made occasional trips to New Orleans.  On one of these trips he became acquainted with a young French boy named Bacot (Bigot or Bacot) about 14 years of age.  On a subsequent trip he brought the boy back to his place near Vancleave and reared him as his own.  His housekeeper was a Creole woman of this area.  The boy later married a Creole when he grew up, and continued to live with or near the old Doctor.  He cared for him until he died and he was buried near the house.  His tomb was made of brick laid on a metal base, slightly recessed into the earth and was about four or five feet high.  The coffin was placed into this tomb.  A stone marker was placed at one end and a concrete bench at the other.  The area was surrounded by a fence and a cedar planted at each corner.  The Doctor was reputed to be wealthy and his gold was said to have been entombed with him.  Some time during the past 15 years, some person or persons, removed the brick and stacked them at on end of the site, but left no other indications of the burial place, except two casket handles.  Today only the metal base remains to mark the spot and one cedar continues to live.  Even now the brick and marker are gone.

            Dr. Portis left a sister at New Orleans, Mrs. J.H. Lewis, and two siblings at Suggsville, Alabama, Ira D. Portis and Mary R. Portis.

LANGDON CHEVIS TEBO (1846-pre 1925)

            Dr. L. Chevis Tebo was born at Virginia.  The Tebos were probably of Huguenot decent, and the original spelling of the name may have been Tebault.  L. Chevis Tebo attended the Charity Hospital Medical College at New Orleans and was graduated from the University of Louisiana circa 1881.  Tebo commenced his career at New Orleans probably as a pharmacist.  Soards' 1876 New Orleans Directory lists Tebo as a pharmacist on St. Charles Avenue at Carrolton.  He was

married to Amelia Prague (1849-1925), a native of Louisiana.  They had at least three children:  L. Chevis Tebo, Jr. (1874-1892), Rosina Tebo (b. 1877), and Edwin B. Tebo (b. 1885).  Mrs. Tebo passed on at New Orleans on August 16, 1925, while at resident of the St. Anna Episcopal home on Prytania Street.

            On April 13, 1890, Dr. Tebo, who was a resident of Gloster, Mississippi at that time, was issued license No. 491 to practice medicine at Jackson County, Mississippi.  The Tebo family moved to the Mississippi coast from Amite County circa 1891.  They lived at Biloxi on Main Street

near the beach.  Amelia N. Tebo purchased the property from C.F. Theobald in October 1892. (Harrison County Land Deed Bk. 28, p. 291).

            In the early 1890s, Dr. Tebo operated a drugstore at Ocean Springs.  He was issued license No. 800 to sell medicines in Jackson County in March 1893.

     In January 1892, a tragedy occurred at the Tebo drugstore in Ocean Springs.  L. Chevis Tebo, Jr. (1874- 892), was found shot to death in his bed.  Young Tebo ran the pharmacy for his father who was away at New Orleans at the time.  The incident was ruled an accident as there was no foul play or suicide indicated.  The Biloxi Herald reported on March 19, 1892, that after an absence of about one year, Dr. Tebo has returned to Biloxi to practice his profession.  Tebo rented the Cooper Cottage on Reynoir Street.

     It is believed Dr. Tebo returned to the Crescent City where he expired before 1925.

JASPER J. BLAND (1850-1932)

            Dr. Jasper J. Bland (1850-1932) was born at Deasonville, Yazoo County, Mississippi. He attended the University of Tennessee and graduated with valedictory honors in 1878.  After practicing medicine at Pickens, Mississippi, Bland relocated to New Orleans.  Here he attended the University of Louisiana (Tulane), and received his Louisiana state medical license in 1882.  Dr. Bland commenced a distinguished medical record in South Louisiana initially serving the wealthy sugar planters and their households near Houma.

            In 1891, Jasper J. Bland married Agnes Elizabeth Edwards (1869-1936) of New Orleans.  She was the daughter of James Daniel Edwards (1939-1887) who owned the James D. Edwards Iron Works.  Edwards manufactured sugar machinery as well as copper, brass, and sheet iron at his South Front Street foundry.

            Dr. Bland discovered Ocean Springs in the 1890s, as he would come for visits to the Daniel Edwards House located on front beach.  Mr. Edwards purchased the house from Sarah Margaret Richardson Hansell, the widow of Henry Holcombe Hansell, for $2800.  In February 1899, Dr. Bland took a lease from the Edwards' heirs and opened a hostelry, which he appropriately named the Beach Hotel.  He bought the property in August 1899, in a forced heirship sale from Special Commissioner, Frank H. Lewis, for $5500.

            Dr. Bland maintained his medical practice at New Orleans during the early years of the hotel's operation.  In 1906, he moved his family, which by now included young daughters Agnes and Mildred to Ocean Springs.  Agnes, called "Missy", taught Latin and other higher grades at the Ocean Springs High School during the 1916-1917 school term.  Agnes Bland (1895-1979) married Urban Beh and resided at Los Angeles.  Mildred Bland (1905-1987) married Harry Lucas (1901-1951) and lived at Beaumont, Texas.

            At Ocean Springs, Dr. Bland became active in the social and political affairs of the community.  In 1909, he heartily endorsed a municipal bond issue for the benefit of the schools and improvement of streets and sidewalks.  Dr. Bland was appointed to the School Board for one term in

April 1910.  He ran for alderman from Ward 4 in 1914, losing to former mayor, John Duncan Minor (1863-1920).

            In 1916, Dr. Bland closed his New Beach Hotel.  He and the family relocated to Vinton, Louisiana.  Dr. Jasper J. Bland passed away at Beaumont, Texas on March 30, 1932.  His exemplary career as a pioneer in the field of modern medicine spanned fifty years during which his reputation as a surgeon, yellow fever, and influenza authority was lauded

in Louisiana and Texas.

WILLIAM A. PORTER (1850-1921)

Dr. William Porter (1850-1921) was born in November 1850, at Rochester, Pennsylvania.  He was a graduate of the Westminister College of Pennsylvania (1869) and the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia (1872).  In 1872-1873, Dr. Porter worked at the London Hospital and took special training at medical facilities in Berlin, Paris, and Vienna. 

            Porter commenced his medical practice at St. Louis, Missouri in 1874.  He carved an outstanding career here serving as physician and medical director on the staff of various hospitals and university staffs.  Dr. Porter became an authority on tuberculosis.  Through his efforts a sanatorium was built at Mt. Vernon, Missouri, and the Mt. St. Rose Hospital at St. Louis instituted.  Porter also specialized on the eye, ear, nose, and throat.

            William Porter was married to Pearl E. Porter (1861-1943).  In 1915, when his health began to fail as the result of years of strenuous toil, Dr. Porter retired to Ocean Springs from St. Louis.  The Porters resided on Lovers Lane in a home called "While-A-Way Lodge". 

            At Ocean Springs, Porter was always engaged in charitable and civic work.  He was president of the local Red Cross Chapter and was active in the Liberty Bond drives during WW I.  In the last months of his life, Porter was actively promoting the West Jackson County Fair at Van Cleave.

            The Porters were Presbyterian and worked long and hard in the church.  Mrs. Porter, affectionately called "Auntie Pearl", had a room added to the west side of the Ocean Avenue church.  It was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Porter.  She taught adult Bible class here.  Pearl Porter was very knowledgeable in that Holy Book.  Dr. William A. Porter died in November 1921.  Pearl Porter lived on until 1943.  Both are interred in the Evergreen Cemetery at Ocean Springs.

JOHN JASON HARRY (1854-1950)

EVERETTE J. FITCH (1858-1920+)

            Everette J. Fitch was born at Canada.  His mother was also Canadian while he father was from New York.  Fitch immigrated to the United States in 1879, and became a U.S. citizen in 1883.  At Ocean Springs in 1920, as a medical doctor.  No further information.

REFERENCES:

US CENSUS-1920 Jackson County, Mississippi Federal Census.

ETHAN ALLEN RIGGS: (1861-1903)

             Dr. E.A. Riggs was born at New Iberia, Louisiana.  He was educated at the University of Mississippi and graduated from the Medical Department of Tulane with distinction in 1896.  In May 1898, Riggs was licensed to practice medicine at Jackson County while he was a resident of New Orleans.  By June 1900, he had established an office in Nill's Drugstore at Ocean Springs. 

            Dr. Riggs resided on Jackson Avenue where his sister, Eleanor Riggs, the talented editor of the Outlook magazine would visit him often.  He left Ocean Springs for New Orleans probably in the Fall of 1900.  The peripatetic Dr. Riggs moved to Biloxi in January 1901 and made his office in the Hagan Building.  He remained at Biloxi until about July 1902.  When his health began to fail, the young physician went to Texas to seek a cure for his ailment.  In September 1902, Dr. Riggs returned briefly to Biloxi and resumed his medical practice.  He relocated to Covington, Louisiana before moving to New Orleans where his residence was on Carondelet Street near Upperline.(The Biloxi Daily Herald, January 4, 1901, p. 8 and September 25, 1902, p. 6)

            Dr. Riggs died at New Orleans here on May 26, 1903 of tuberculosis.  His remains were interred in the Greenwood Cemetery at New Orleans.  Dr. Rigg's cousin, Reverend Samuel Riggs of the Tchoupitoulas Methodist Mission, officiated at his service.

EDWARD RENEAU BRAGG: (1862-1916)

            Dr. Bragg was born at Newton County, Mississippi.  His parents were Dr. William David Bragg (1833-1891) and Mary Birchett (d. 1912).  Dr. W.D. Bragg was born at Alabama.  He studied medicine at the University of Louisiana.  With his wife Mary Birchett Bragg, five children were reared in the Pascagoula-Moss Point area.  His oldest daughter, Gertrude Bragg (1866-1948), married Frank H. Lewis (1865-1930), who was sheriff of Jackson County from 1888 until 1895.

            Edward Reneau Bragg studied medicine at Tulane University.  He was supervised by his father, Dr. William Daniel Bragg (1833-1891) of Moss Point.  Dr. E.R. Bragg was issued medical license No. 379 to practice medicine at Jackson County on April 8, 1889.  He resided at Moss Point at the time.

            Dr. Bragg married Emma Hyatt.  They had two children: Edward Bragg and Mary Bragg.  Edward was killed in an auto wreck in Mobile on Christmas Eve and never married.  Mary Bragg was an old maid school teacher who taught chemistry at Mobile.

            Dr. Bragg was a violinist.  Known to have played “Little Fishermaiden”, and some opera numbers.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, April 1, 1892, p. 2)

At Ocean Springs, E.R. Bragg officed in the Nill Building on Washington and Porter.  The Biloxi Herald of April 25, 1891, announced:

     Dr. E.R. Bragg has put in a magnificent silver patent revolving tumbler washer, which is a valuable addition to his soda water department.  This is the only one between New Orleans and Mobile and as a novelty is well worth seeing.

            The Braggs moved to Biloxi in the late 1890s.  Dr. E.R. Bragg ran this advertisement in The Biloxi Daily Herald on October 9, 1900:

           Dr. Edward Reneau Bragg died at Biloxi on May 12, 1916.

REFERENCES:

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs News”, April 1, 1892.

HENRY BRADFORD POWELL: (1867-1949)

Henry Bradford Powell (1867-1949)

            Dr. Henry Bradford Powell was born at Whitby, Ontario, Canada of American parentage.  He was educated at Pickering College and the University of Toronto.  Powell did post-graduate work in surgery at Berlin and Vienna in Europe.  He married Emma Rudd (1860-1936), probably the widow of Curtiss Rudd, at Chicago. 

            Like other Midwesterners, the Powells discovered Ocean Springs in the 1890s.  They owned a bay side home, "Three Oaks".  In 1901, Dr. Powell located to Ocean Springs permanently.  He set up a surgical and medical practice with dispensary in the Masonic Building.  Powell also entered into a lease agreement with F.J. Lundy (1863-1912) for the Ocean Springs Hotel the same year.  The Powells introduced the widower Lundy to Mignon Courson (1877-1957),

a charming, talented, Iowa born violinist, who they had met at Chicago.  Cupid struck and F.J. Lundy married Miss Courson.

            In 1906, opened a sanitarium on Washington Avenue at Fort Bayou called Dr. Powell's Sanitarium.  It later became a hostelry, known as the Bayou Inn, which operated until the early Depression years.  The Aunt Jenny's Catfish Restaurant occupies the old Franco-Powell edifice today.

            In addition to his medical practice and business ventures, Dr. Powell was very active in the local community.  He served on the commission, which supervised the construction of Marshall Park in 1911.  Powell, an avid golfer, was a founder of the Ocean Springs Country Club north of the Rose Farm in 1914.  He was a founder and leader of the local Lions Club, and served as deputy district governor in 1929.  Dr. Powell promoted tourism from the Midwest with his "Magnolia Route", the most direct automobile connection with Chicago.

            During WW I, Dr. H.B. Powell saw active duty in France with the US Army 139th Field Artillery.  He returned from Europe in 1919, attaining the rank of Captain.  After his wife died in 1936, Dr. Powell married Mildred Franco Theriot Petrie (1896-1969).  They resided on Government Street in the Gillespie Place.  Dr. Powell passed on in May 1949.  His remains were interred in the National Cemetery at Biloxi.

OSCAR LEE BAILEY: (1870-1938)

Oscar Lee Bailey (1870-1938)

Dr. Oscar L. Bailey was born at Conehatta in Newton County, Mississippi on January 12, 1870.  His parents were John B. Bailey and Josephine Day.  John B. Bailey was a Senator and leading physician at Newton County.  Dr. O.L. Bailey attended the Alabama Medical College and was a graduate of the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons (1892).

            On April 11, 1892, while residing at Conehatta, Dr. Bailey was issued license No. 648 to practice medicine at Jackson County.  In January 1895, he married Birdie Anderson (1876-1925) of Edwards in Hinds County.  The Baileys came to Ocean Springs from Lake, Scott County, in 1897.  Dr. Bailey's first office was in the Nill Drugstore on Washington Avenue and Porter.  In January 1900, he moved his office to the Catchot Building (now Lemon Building) on Washington at Desoto.  In addition to his duties as a general practitioner and family doctor, Bailey was the L&N Railroad physician for forty years, and a medical examiner for large insurance companies.

            Dr. Bailey was also active in real estate and business at Ocean Springs.  In 1905, he helped organize the Ocean Springs State Bank and was its first president, an office he held until his demise.  The Inn, a hotel built by R.A. Van Cleave (1840-1908) in 1880, on the southeast corner of Washington and Robinson Avenues, was purchased by Dr. Bailey in November 1905.  He leased it to Mary Shanahan who operated the Iberville Hotel here until March 1906.  Bailey sold the edifice in 1909, to Fred Cristina of New Orleans. 

            Dr. Bailey built a large building on Washington Avenue in 1926, called the Bailey Building.  Our first "supermarket", a Jitney Jungle, opened here in north half of the building in August 1928.  O.L. Bailey ran a drugstore, the Ocean Springs Drug Store, here with his daughter, Beryl.  We know this edifice today as the Lovelace Drugstore.

            Dr. Bailey retained many fine homes at Ocean Springs.  From 1905 to 1925, he resided at 810 Iberville, which was the home of Delores “Bobbie” Davidson Smith (1916-1997).  The Frank H. Bryan home at 406 Jackson Avenue was owned by Dr. Bailey from May 1925 until 1937, when he conveyed the residence to Thad Bryan (1907-1994) and Frank H. Bryan Jr. (1915-1999), the sons of Frank H. Bryan (1872-1936).  Dr. Bailey may have lived at 801 Iberville (now Hudek) overlooking Fort Bayou from 1926, until the time of his demise in 1938.

            Dr. O.L. Bailey was a member of Presbyterian Church, a Scottish Rite mason, and belonged to the Hamassa Shrine of Meridian.  He was a charter member of the local Rotary Club, a member of the Coast, State, and American Medical Associations.  Bailey also served as town chairman of the municipal Democratic Executive Committee.

            The Baileys reared four children at Ocean Springs:  Beryl Bailey Parker Wood (1896-1986), Bemis Bailey (1898-1969), Clothilde Bailey Campbell (1901-1995), and Salome Bailey Watkins (1902-1962).

            After the death of Mrs. Birdie Bailey in 1925, Dr. Bailey married Maude Holloway (1901-1980) of North Biloxi on February 9, 1926, at Gulfport.  They resided on west Iberville Drive.

            Dr. Oscar Lee Bailey died on June 21, 1938.  In his obituary from The Jackson County Times, Dr. Bailey was eulogized as follows:

His life as the typical country doctor and family physician with the entire population practically in that family, would certainly furnish invaluable material for a book to rank with best sellers.  Ocean Springs will miss him sorely.

After the demise of Dr. Bailey, Dr. George C. Jones (1876-1938+), a physician and surgeon and native of New York, relocated his office from Biloxi to the Ocean Springs State Bank Building.(The Jackson County Times, July 30, 1938, p. 1)    

ESTELLE BABENDREER: 1871-1958)

            Dr. Estelle Babendreer was born Estelle Turner at Mobile, Alabama on July 28, 1871.  Her father was a native of North Carolina while her mother was a French speaking Swiss national.  Estelle Babendreer attended Plute Medical College, which may have been in Kentucky.  She graduated in March 1896, after completing four courses in allopathic medicine.  Her experience as a physician was with Dr. J.E. Million of Kentucky.  She practiced in the Blue Grass State for thirteen years. 

             Estelle Babendreer was married to another physician, Charles Albert Irving Babendreer (1867-1938).  Albert Babendreer was a native of Baltimore, Maryland.  They had two children:  Eleanor Sophia Moore (1901-1984+) and Eric Babendreer (1903-1975).  The children were born at Kentucky.

            The Babendreer family is believed to have come to Ocean Springs in late 1906.  They had retired from their respective medical practices.  In January 1907, the Babendriers bought thirty acres of land in east Ocean Springs.  Here they built a large home on Pine Hills Road (now John F. Vallor at 601 Pine Hills Road).

            In July 1922, Estelle Babendreer reentered the medical field when she was granted her license to practice medicine at Jackson County.  She gained a reputation as a healer of skin disorders and allergies.  Dr. Babendreer was reputed to prepare her own medicines from plants and herbs grown locally.  Many people at Ocean Springs, were treated for poison ivy and sumac by Estelle Babendreer utilizing oral liquids, salves, and lotions.

            The Babendreers are buried on their property in a unique tomb.  It may have been built by Fred Bradford originally as a storm shelter for the good doctors, but when Albert Babendreer died in 1938, he was buried here.  Estelle Babendreer passed on in March 1958.

     DR. ROSS ADAMS SWITZER: (1875-1945)

            Ross A. Switzer was born at Rochester, New York, the son of Oren Switzer (1837-1921) and Esther Pethbridge Switzer (1841-1920+).  His parents were Canadian who immigrated to the United States in 1848 and 1867 respectively.  Oren and Esther Switzer were married in 1868 and parented four children.  Three of their progeny were extant in 1900.(1900 Jackson Co., Mississippi Federal Census, T623 812, p. 14A, ED 45)

On October 6, 1897, at the home of H.F. Russell (1858-1940), her brother-in-law, Ocean Springs, Ross A. Switzer married Ada Frances Minor (1875-1914), a native of Mississippi.  She was the daughter of Judge Harold Henry Minor (1837-1884) and Virginia Doyal (1844-1908), natives of Louisiana.  Her brother, John Duncan Minor (1863-1920), served as Sheriff of Jackson County (1902-1904) and Mayor of Ocean Springs (1911-1912).(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, October 15, 1897, p. 3)

Oren Switzer

Oren Switzer was born April 1837 at Clarendon, Ontario Canada, the son of Mathew Switzer and Mary P. Card.  He came to the United States as a child, probably settling in Seneca County, New York. Circa 1858, he married Esther S. Pethbridge, also Canadian.  In 1870, Oren and Esther Switzer were domiciled at Syracuse, New York where he made his livelihood as a newspaper agent.  Two New York born children were in the household: Charles J. Switzer (1859-1880+) and Frances Switzer (1868-1880+).(1870 Onondaga Co., New York Federal Census, M593_1063, p. 434, Ward 7)

By 1880, The Switzer family had gone West and were farming in the the Martinsville precinct area of south central Nebraska. Two children, Fred Switzer (1872-1880+) and Ross A. Switzer (1876-1945), were born before they arrived in Nebraska.(1880 Hall Co., Nebraska Federal Census T9_749, Ed 134)

Before his move to Ocean Springs, Oren Switzer was domiciled at Pass Christian.  In March 1892, he acquired a large lot (100 feet by 223 feet) on the southeast corner of Washington Avenue and Porter, from Amelia Prague Tebo (1849-1925), the spouse of Dr. Langdon Chevis Tebo (1846-pre-1925), of New Orleans.  The consideration was $1300 cash for the land, designated as Lot 19 of Block 3, of the Culmseig Map of 1854.  Here Mr. Switzer planned to erect an edifice and photographic studio.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, March 18, 1892, p. 2 and JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 13, p. 372)

Switzer’s studio opened in late April 1892.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, May 3, 1892, p. 2)

            By November 1910, Oren Switzer was a resident of Seneca Falls, New York.  He was a minister.  In 1920, he and Esther were still at Seneca Falls, New York. Oren had retired from the ministry and spent his time as the caretaker of the church.  Oren Switzer expired at Seneca Falls, New York in 1921.(The Ocean Springs News, November 19, 1910, p. 4 and 1920 Seneca Co., New York Federal Census T625_1266, p. 15B, ED 120)

Mary Witt Richardson

It is appropriate to note that by 1911, Mary Witt Richarson, a native of Lynville, Tennessee, and the wife of William Richardson (d. ca 1888), who was postmaster at the Fort Bayou community from 1882-1888, owned over one thousand acres of land southwest of Vancleave.  Mrs. Richardson succeeded her husband as postmaster until 1891, when she was replaced by Mary Senter Hill (1827-1916), the mother of Mrs. Sardin G. Ramsay, Lula Hill Ramsay (1861-1949).(Miss. Coast History & Genealogical Society, Vol. 13, No. 1, June 1977, p. 19) 

Mrs. Richardson’s acreage was primarily in Sections 19, 30, and 31 of T6S-R7W.  In August 1877, she began procuring tracts from Napoleon Davis in this area.(JXCO Land Deed Bk. 13, p. 47)  Her only child, Minnie Clayton Richardson (1879-1952+), married Junius Poitevent Vancleave (1877-1945+) at Ocean Springs in August 1904.  He was the son of R.A. VanCleave, the gentleman for whom Vancleave was named.  Mrs. Richardson farmed her lands with the assistance of Henry Webb (1829-1900+) and probably the advice of Theo Bechtel (1863-1931), the well-known, pecan nurseryman, who resided at Ocean Springs.  Circa 1910, she moved to Ocean Springs and resided on Washington Avenue south of Porter, but later moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to be with her daughter, Mrs. J.P. VanCleave.  Mrs. Richardson expired on April 3, 1927, at Philadelphia.  Her remains were sent to the family burial ground at Lynville, Tennessee.(The Daily Herald, April 28, 1927, p. 7, c. 3)        

Porter Street cottage

In January 1898, Gregorie Wieder & Sons were building a fine cottage for the Switzers on Porter.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, January 21, 1898, p. 3)  The Ross A. Switzer lot was purchased from Oren Switzer in January 1900, for $800.  It fronted forty-five feet on Porter, just west of the new Ocean Springs Public School (now City Hall) property,(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 20, p. 603)

Dr. Switzer sold the Porter Avenue house to Oscar and Louise Carver in October 1910, for $750.  The H.F. Russell Agency handled the matter.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 36, p. 193 and The Ocean Springs News, November 19, 1910, p. 4)

In 1898, Ross A. Switzer made his livelihood as a photographer.

The 1900 Federal Census indicates that the Switzers were at Ocean Springs.  Here Mr. Switzer made his livelihood as a general merchandise salesman.  Switzer was also a musician.  He played at the "Allegro Dance Club" which operated upstairs in the Van Cleave Store on Washington Avenue. 

            Ross A. Switzer attended lectures in allopathic medicine at Atlanta College of R & S, Sewanee Medical College, and was a graduate of the Chattanooga Medical College.  He studied under Dr. Ethan Allen Riggs (1861-1903) for three and one-half years at Biloxi.  Ross Switzer was issued a license to practice medicine in Jackson County on May 22, 1902.  He was a resident of Daisy in northwest Jackson County at the time.(Clark, 1990, p. 84)

Pascagoula, Mississippi

            By April 1904, the Switzers had relocated from Daisy to Pascagoula.(The Progress, April 30, 1904)

McHenry, Mississippi

It is believed that in 1906, the Switzers moved to McHenry, Harrison County, Mississippi, which is south of Wiggins.  At this time, McHenry was led by Captain H.B. Bostwick, Mayor.  The Bacon Lumber Company was awarded a contract to provide the community with electricity and lighting.  The McHenry Improvement Company was boring an artesian well and was also planning to create a public water works system.  An ice factory and laundry were also envisioned for the growing area.(The Biloxi Herald, September 17, 1903, p. 6)

Land at Niles City (McHenry)

            In March 1906, Dr. Switzer acquired the N/2 of Lot 7 and 8 in Block 14 of the Hamilton & Hemphill Survey, in Section 12, T4S-R12W, from Mrs. C.R. Frees, the sole owner of Frees Drug Company, for $250.(Stone Co., Ms. Land Deed Bk. K, p. 41)

            In August 1908, Switzer sold the N/2 of Lots 7 and 8 in Block 14 of the Hemphill & Hamilton Survey, in Section 12, T4S-R12W, to J.D. Minor for $2000.(Stone Co., Ms. Land Deed Bk. K, p. 110 and HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 87, p. 295)

            In March 1910, J.C. Hickman conveyed to Ada Minor Switzer for $275, the N/2 of Lot 5 and Lot 6 in Block 14 of the Hamilton & Hemphill Survey, in Section 12, T4S-R12W.(Stone Co., Ms.