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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:
|
Dr. D.M. Dunlap’s Great Remedy
The Balm of Gilead
Is a certain and
speedy cure for Neuralgia, Toothache, Sick Headache, Rheumatism,
Chilblains, Colds, Coughs, Chills and fever, Inflammation of the
Kidneys, Burns, Sprains, Scalds, Cholera, Morbus, Colic, fresh
cuts, and snake bites, etc.
The evidences of
the carative qualities of this new remedy are overwhelming, and
they are constantly increasing.
D.M. Dunlap
Sole Proprietor
Ocean Springs, Mississippi
April 15, 1872 |
|
The Handsboro Democrat, October 5, 1872 |
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. E.R. Bragg
Biloxi, Mississippi
Residence corner Main St. & Beach
Telephone 55
Office 2nd floor Dukate's Theater
Howard Avenue
Telephone 11
|
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)
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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.
|
Ross A. Switzer
Artist & Photographer
Copying and enlarging a specialty
|
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.
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