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Ocean Springs
neighborhoods
HENRY L. GIROT and CHEROKEE
GLEN
Cherokee Glen is a unique Ocean Springs neighborhood
encompassing sixty wooded and well-drained, acres. It is situated
in the very western part of the city on the Fort Point Peninsula,
which combines areas familiarly called “Lover’s Lane”, “Seapointe”,
and “Davidson Hills”. The northern portion of the Cherokee Glen
land subdivision fronts on Old Fort Bayou. Legally Cherokee Glen is
described as a part of U.S. Government Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W.
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Henry L. Girot, founder of Cherokee Glen
Cherokee Glen owes its name and founding to Leopold H. Girot
Jr.(1886-1953), who called himself, Henry L. Girot. Mr. Girot, a
retired tailor, from New Orleans envisioned himself a gentleman
farmer and aspired to make his livelihood here growing pecans and
raising poultry on these sixty-acres when he acquired Lot 5, Section
24, T7S-R9W, less twenty acres from Benjamin F. Parkinson Jr.
(1859-1930) in March 1923. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 52, p. 558)
Immediately Mr. Girot began to make improvements to his property.
In order to gain access to his land, dynamite was utilized to clear
an impenetrable barrier of thickly, overgrown, foliage consisting
primarily of the Cherokee rose vines. It was thusly, the Cherokee
rose, which gave its name to Cherokee Glen.(Beryl Girot Riviere,
March 14, 2002)
Joseph R. Plummer, the Connecticut Yankee
The Federal patent to U.S.
Government Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W, an eighty-acre parcel of
land, which encompasses about one-half the land mass of the Fort
Point Peninsula, was granted to Arthur Bryant of Illinois, in
September 1846.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 59, p. 444-445)
Since the land deed records in the Chancery Court of Jackson County,
Mississippi, have been destroyed by fire several times since 1812,
the last conflagration occurring in March 1875, it is practically
impossible to abstract early land titles, unless the deeds were
rerecorded. With this in mind, one can deduce from the present
Jackson County land deed records with some confidence, that Joseph
R. Plummer (1804-1870+) was probably the first 19th
Century Caucasian inhabitant of the Fort Point Peninsula. He owned
about 16 acres in the southeast corner of U.S. Government Lot No. 4,
Section 24, T7S-R9W.(History of JXCO, Ms., 1989, p. 12)
Mr. Plummer was born in Connecticut, and was in Jackson County for
the Federal Census of 1840. It is believed that J.R. Plummer
married Mary G. Porter (1808-1878), the sister of Martha Porter
Austin (1818-1898). He made his livelihood as a farmer and land
speculator. Mrs. Austin was the wife of Dr. William Glover Austin
(1814-1891), a New Orleans physician who built the Ocean Springs
Hotel in 1853. The Porter family had also settled at Ocean Springs
in the 1840s. They were originally from Giles County, Tennessee and
were merchants at Ocean Springs. Porter Street or is it Porter
Avenue? was named for this pioneer family.
U.S. Government Lot 4, Section 24,
T7S-R9W was also the locale for
Fort Maurepas, the French
beachhead, established by Pierre Le Moyne (1671-1706), Sieur d’
Iberville in April 1699 and the Biloxy settlement of 1719, when the
French colonists move the capital of La Louisiane from the Mobile
area back to the original Biloxi Bay site. Both of these French
Colonial settlements were situated on a prominent topographic
feature, a NNW striking ridge, which runs from the southeast corner
of U.S. Government Lot 4 for approximately 3500 feet where it
terminates in a marsh. This ridge reaches an elevation over twenty
feet above mean sea level. This area became known as Vieux Biloxey,
when Nouveau Biloxey (present day Biloxi) was founded about 1720.
This historical fact gives Biloxi an excellent opportunity to
revisit “their Tercentennial” again in 2020. Standby you party
people!
Plummer’s “Brick House”
J.R. Plummer built a brick home overlooking Biloxi Bay on his
sixteen-acre parcel in the southeast corner of U.S. Government Lot
4, Section 24, T7S-R9W. His residence in time became known as the
Plummer Brick House. It may have been built with local brick
produced by Kentuckian, William Gray Kendall (1812-1872), U.S.
Postmaster at New Orleans in 1854, and a summer resident of Ocean
Springs. In January 1846, Kendall established a fifty-acre estate
in Section 30, T7S-R8W with 800 feet fronting on the Bay of Biloxi.
On this beautiful, high ground facing Deer Island to the south, he
built a residence, icehouse, and school. Today this property is
divided and owned by the heirs of Ruth Dickey White Scharr
(1913-2000) and George E. Arndt II (1909-1995). It lies between the
Shearwater Pottery and the Blossman Estate and is the site of “Shadowlawn”,
the former Hanson-Dickey House, and our premier bed and breakfast
inn.
J.R. Plummer sold this place on Biloxi Bay to Issac Randolph
(1812-1884) of New Orleans in September 1859, and moved to the Gulf
Hills area where he established Oak Lawn Plantation. Mrs.
Joseph R. Plummer began acquiring land in this region as early as
November 1849, when she bought about 160 acres, the NW/4 of the SW/4
of Section 17, T7S-R8W, the NE/4 of the SE/4 and the SW/4 of the
SW/4 of Section 18, T7S-R8W, and the S/2 of US Lot 2, Section 13,
T7S-R9W for $160.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 3, pp. 354-356)
Joseph R. Plummer passed on before
1877, as his wife married Albert G. Bufford of Water Valley,
Mississippi. In the summer of 1878, Mrs. Mary P. Bufford while
visiting Ocean Springs to check on her property at present day Gulf
Hills from her home in North Mississippi, was a victim of the 1878
yellow fever epidemic, which was fatal to many here.(The Buford
Letters, August 2, 1878 to September 15, 1878, Wallace
Northway, Jackson, Mississippi)
Mrs. Joseph R. Plummer began acquiring land in the Bayou Puerto area
as early as November 1849, when she bought about 160 acres, the NW/4
of the SW/4 of Section 17, T7S-R8W, the NE/4 of the SE/4 and the
SW/4 of the SW/4 of Section 18, T7S-R8W, and the S/2 of US Lot 2,
Section 13, T7S-R9W for $160.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 3, pp.
354-356)
Holmcliffe
Holmcliffe, the Spanish Colonial Revival residence of
Robert Hays Holmes (1869-1949) and Mary Colquahoun Holmes (d. 1969),
was commenced in November 1929, by Joseph A. Wieder (1877-1960). The
Holmes lived at Holmhaven, near the Edgewater Hotel in West
Biloxi at the time.(The Jackson County Times, November 30, 1929)
J.K. Lemon (1914-1998) was told by Mr. Wieder that when the
foundation for Holmcliffe was dug, they discovered that an
old brick foundation was found on the same site. There is a high
degree of certitude that this was the remains of “Plummer’s
Brick House”.(J.K. Lemon-1998)
Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W
With this introduction of Joseph R. Plummer completed, the history
of the parcel that in March 1923, would become Girot’s Cherokee Glen
commenced in August 1863, with Mr. Plummer’s conveyance for $1600,
to Sarah Armstrong of his sixty-acres in Lot 5, Section 24,
T7S-R9W.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 32, p. 461)
In May 1863, J.R. Plummer and spouse had sold twenty of the eighty
acres in Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W, to Julia Smith, a native of
County Limerick, Ireland, and the widow of John Hayes, (JXCO, Ms.
Land Deed Bk. 12, p. 355)
Sarah A. Armstrong
Sarah Affleck Armstrong (1796-1882) was a Scottish lady who resided
at New Orleans. Her daughter, Elizabeth Jane Armstrong (1822-1901),
was a native of Liverpool, England and had immigrated to America
with her parents when she was small child. She married Arthur
Ambrose Maginnis (1815-1877), a wealthy New Orleans cottonseed oil
manufacturer.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, November 15, 1901, p.
3 and John Hobson Maginnis,1997)
In January 1882, Mrs. Armstrong sold her daughter, Elizabeth Jane A.
Maginnis, the widow of Arthur Ambrose Maginnis, her sixty-acres in
Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W. The consideration was $100.(JXCO, Ms.
Land Deed Bk. 5, pp. 579-580)
Elizabeth Jane Armstrong Maginnis
The Maginnis family at New Orleans was synonymous with cottonseed
oil and cotton mills. Arthur A. Maginnis Sr. (1815-1877), a native
of Maryland, was the pioneer in the making of cottonseed oil in the
Crescent City, when in1856, he commenced the A.A. Maginnis' Cotton
Seed Oil & Soap Works, and later Maginnis' Oil & Soap Works. His
sons, John H. Maginnis (1845-1889) and Arthur A. Maginnis Jr.
(1846-1901) founded A.A. Maginnis' Sons, who in 1882, promoted the
Maginnis' Cotton Mills. The Maginnis' Cotton Mills were bounded by
Calliope, Poeyfarre, Annunciation, and Constance Streets. The mills
were considered models of their kind and employed nine hundred
people. Their workers operated 12,000 looms and 41,000 spindles to
produce over 21,000,000 yards of cotton sheeting, shirting, osnaburg,
yarn, bating, and duck cloth from over 12,000 bales of
cotton.(Progressive New Orleans, 1895, p. 41)
It is interesting to note that
Pres Kabacoff of Historic Restoration Inc. of New Orleans was a
partner in the 1996 restoration of the Maginnis Cotton Mill property
in New Orleans. The old derelict structure was renovated into a
286-unit apartment building costing $26 million. In the early
1990s, Mr. Kabacoff and family rented the 1877 Poitevent-Mavar house
at 309 Lover’s Lane.(The Times Picayune, January 6, 1996)
Elizabeth Jane A. Maginnis and Arthur Ambrose Maginnis reared a
large family at New Orleans. Their children were: Sarah Eugenia M.
Nolan (1841-1894), John Henry Maginnis (1845-1889), Arthur Ambrose
Maginnis Jr. (1846-1901), Emma Isabel M. Gilmore (1854-1901+),
Charles Benjamin Maginnis (1856-1909), Margaret Cecelia M. Pescud
(1857-1905+), William D. Maginnis (1862-1938), Laura Elizabeth M.
Penrose (1863-1905+), and Albert Baldwin Maginnis (1864-1917).
After Elizabeth Jane Maginnis
expired in 1901, her succession revealed that her heirs were:
William Daniel Maginnis, Margaret C.M. Pescud, Elizabeth M. Nolan
Becnel, Emma I. M. Gilmore, A.B. Maginnis, Emma Nolan Maurin, Martha
N. Gilmore, Charles B. Maginnis, Laura M. Penrose, John T. Nolan,
and Samuel L. Gilmore. At Ocean Springs, they were legated the
sixty-acre parcel in Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W, as well as Mrs.
Maginnis’ other family property here, which included the Maginnis
Estate on Front Beach Drive.
Maginnis Estate
Here on a high bluff, near the present day Ocean Springs Yacht Club,
with over six-hundred feet of water front acreage, between present
day Hillendale and McNamee, the Maginnis family had erected a large
mansion and several outbuildings. C.E. Schmidt (1904-1988) in his
Ocean Springs French Beachhead (1972), describes the Maginnis
Estate as "along the Bay front East of Hillendale, and back to
Porter Street…(in addition to the main house)…. There was
also a smaller house on the front, and servant cottages on Porter".(Schmidt,
1972, pp. 121-122)
John Henry Maginnis lost his life at Ocean Springs on July 4, 1889,
when struck by lightning. He was preparing to dive into the bay in
front of the Maginnis home. There is a stained-glass window
dedicated to his memory in the Trinity Church at New Orleans.(The
Trinity Record, November 1924, p. 6)
In June 1905, the heirs of
Elizabeth Jane Armstrong Maginnis conveyed their rights title and
interest in her Ocean Springs lands and improvements to A.A.
Maginnis Land Company of New Orleans, W.D. Maginnis, vice
president. The consideration was $2000.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 30,
pp. 285-286)
A.A. Maginnis Land Company
In June 1907, the A.A. Maginnis Land Co. of New Orleans sold their
sixty acres in Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W to B.F. Parkinson for
$2000.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 32, p. 462)
Benjamin F. Parkinson and
family
Benjamin Franklin Parkinson
(1859-1930), called Frank, was the son of Franklin B. Parkinson
(1823-1896) and Eugenia Bodley Parkinson (1831-1898) and a native of
New Orleans. Parkinson’s father was born in Ohio. In 1857, he
married Eugenia Bodley, a native of Baltimore, Maryland. She had a
brother, Thomas B. Bodley who lived in Jackson, Mississippi with his
wife, Charlotte G. Coleman Bodley. When the Civil War commenced,
Franklin B. Parkinson and family were domiciled in the 11th
Ward of New Orleans. He joined the Confederate ranks with A.D.
Parkinson, who may have been a relative.(1860 Federal Census,
Orleans Parish, La., p. 871 and The Jackson County Times,
September 29, 1934, p. 4)
Civil War military service records indicate Franklin B.
Parkinson enlisted in Company B, Orleans Guards, Louisiana Military
Regiment on March 8, 1862. He was immediately transferred by
Governor T.O. Moore to a unit for the local defense of the City of
New Orleans, commanded by Major General Mansfield Lovell, CSA.(Booth,
1984, p. 73).
In June 1875, the F.B. Parkinson family of New Orleans acquired for
$4000, the 6.41-acre estate of Mary B. Allison, also a resident of
the Crescent City, and the widow of Andrew Allison (1818-1873).
Andrew Allison was a native of Ayershire, Scotland and had lived in
the South since 1852. At New Orleans, the Allisons were at home on
Baronne Street. This exceptionally fine summer retreat was situated
on Biloxi Bay in Lot 4, Section 24, T7S-R9W at present day 335
Lovers Lane.(JXCO Land Deed Bk. 1, pp. 479-482 and The Times
Picayune, January 11, 1873, p. 4)
In the summer of 1895, the family of William Woodward, an art
professor at Tulane University in New Orleans, took a long holiday
at the Parkinson place.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, August 23,
1895, p. 3)
In 1900, B.F. Parkinson was a resident of Peter’s Avenue, Ward 14 of
New Orleans. In his home were his siblings, Mary Eugenia “Mollie”
Parkinson (1862-1902) and Robert Parkinson (1864-1925), as well as
their servant, Ellen Perry (1850-1900+). Both of the Parkinson men
were employed in the insurance business.(1900 Federal Census,
Orleans Parish, La., Roll 575, Bo. 2, p. 3)
After the demise of their parents, the Parkinson children owned
their Ocean Springs estate. In August 1902, several years after the
demise of his mother, B.F. Parkinson acquired the one-third interest
of his brother.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 25, pp. 492-495)
B.F. Parkinson nor his siblings married. He was in the insurance
business at New Orleans. Mr. Parkinson after many years with the
Home Insurance Company founded the Fire Insurance Patrol circa
1920. He was president and secretary of this organization at the
time of his demise on April 24, 1930. In New Orleans, Parkinson was
once active in the St. John Rowing Club. At Ocean Springs, he
raised prize-winning chickens as a hobby on his Bay front estate.
Parkinson was buried in the family tomb at the Lafayette No. 1
Cemetery on Washington Avenue in New Orleans.(The Times Picayune,
April 25, 1930, p. 2, c. 6)
Ocean Springs Poultry
Farm
At Ocean Springs, B.F. Parkinson called his avocation, the Ocean
Springs Poultry Farm. In January 1906, the Ocean Springs Poultry
Farm was under the management of Mr. Winslow. Mr. Parkinson’s
chickens won several awards at the Mobile poultry breeders
exhibition in January 1906.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, January
12, 1906, p. 3)
In May 1906, a fire destroyed the barn on the Parkinson place. The
loss was estimated at approximately $1,000 and uninsured. Destroyed
in the conflagration were: grain, exhibition chicken coops, tools
and implements, but fortunately only four prize chickens.(The
Pascagoula Democrat-Star, May 18, 1906, p. 3)
In 1910, B.F. Parkinson was living at Ocean Springs with his cook,
Bell Riley (1887-1910+), and yardman, Solomon Carter (1881-1910+)
and his wife, Fannie Carter (1886-1910+). He was not here for the
1920 or 1930 Federal Census.
In June 1875, the F.B. Parkinson family of New Orleans acquired for
$4000, the 6.41-acre estate of Mary B. Allison, also a resident of
the Crescent City, and the widow of Andrew Allison (1818-1873).
Andrew Allison was a native of Ayershire, Scotland and had lived in
the South since 1852. At New Orleans, the Allisons were at home on
Baronne Street. This exceptionally fine summer retreat was situated
on Biloxi Bay in Lot 4, Section 24, T7S-R9W at present day 335
Lovers Lane.(JXCO Land Deed Bk. 1, pp. 479-482 and The Times
Picayune, January 11, 1873, p. 4)
In the summer of 1895, the family of William Woodward, an art
professor at Tulane University in New Orleans, took a long holiday
at the Parkinson place.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, August 23,
1895, p. 3)
In 1900, B.F. Parkinson was a resident of Peter’s Avenue, Ward 14 of
New Orleans. In his home were his siblings, Mary Eugenia “Mollie”
Parkinson (1862-1902) and Robert Parkinson (1864-1925), as well as
their servant, Ellen Perry (1850-1900+). Both of the Parkinson men
were employed in the insurance business.(1900 Federal Census,
Orleans Parish, La., Roll 575, Bo. 2, p. 3)
After the demise of their parents, the Parkinson children owned
their Ocean Springs estate. In August 1902, several years after the
demise of his mother, B.F. Parkinson acquired the one-third interest
of his brother.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 25, pp. 492-495)
B.F. Parkinson nor his siblings married. He was in the insurance
business at New Orleans. Mr. Parkinson after many years with the
Home Insurance Company founded the Fire Insurance Patrol circa
1920. He was president and secretary of this organization at the
time of his demise on April 24, 1930. In New Orleans, Parkinson was
once active in the St. John Rowing Club. At Ocean Springs, he
raised prize-winning chickens as a hobby on his Bay front estate.
Parkinson was buried in the family tomb at the Lafayette No. 1
Cemetery on Washington Avenue in New Orleans.(The Times Picayune,
April 25, 1930, p. 2, c. 6)
Plummer Avenue
On April 9, 1913, B.F. Parkinson requested of the Mayor and Board of
Aldermen of Ocean Springs at their public meeting that Plummer
Avenue (now Lovers Lane) be open from Old Fort Bayou to the L&N
Railroad right-of way. He presented copies of recorded warranty
deeds to the Board demonstrating that reservations had been made in
prior land conveyances for Plummer Avenue to be a public
thoroughfare of 60 feet in width. Alderman J.D. Minor (1863-1920)
motioned and the Board passed his recommendation, that the Plummer
Avenue situation be reviewed with attorney J.S. Ford for his legal
advise.(TOS, Minute Bk. Dec. 3, 1907 to Jan. 14, 1915, pp. 259-260)
On May 6, 1913, Mayor W.T. Ames (1880-1969) reported to his Board of
Alderman, that the honorable J.S. Ford had reviewed the matter of
the opening of Plummer Avenue from Old Fort Bayou to the L&N
Railroad right-of-way. He rendered his legal opinion in writing,
which said that Ocean Springs had the legal right to open the road
under certain conditions. Alderman W.S. VanCleave (1871-1938)
motioned that the action be sent to the Street Committee with the
petition of the landowners on Plummer Avenue relative to the road
opening. (TOS, Minute Bk. Dec. 3, 1907 to Jan. 14, 1915, p. 263)
Local insurance agency
In 1914, at Ocean Springs, B.F. Parkinson was in the insurance
business with George E. Arndt (1857-1945). They operated as Arndt &
Parkinson-Fire and Tornado Insurance.(The Ocean Springs News,
February 7, 1914)
In September 1990, J.K. Lemon (1914-1998), local
historian and realtor, recalled that James A. Carter (1875-1947),
also known locally as James Carco, one of the best pecan grafters in
the region, had composed a little ditty about mullet, which with
oysters were his primary food source in his impoverished childhood
years. Carco’s rhyme went something like this:
“I went down to the Parkinson’s wharf
I made one throw and they all ran ‘arf
And I rolled my pants up to my knee
And I chased them mullet to the Rigolets”
“I went down to the Parkinson’s wharf
I made one throw and they all ran ‘arf
And I rolled my pants up to my ass
And I chased them mullets through the Biloxi Pass”
By the late 1920s, Mr. Parkinson’s health had seriously
deteriorated. He was at Ocean Springs in late April 1930, when he
had to be taken to New Orleans in an ambulance owned by the Bradford
burial parlors. He passed on in the Crescent City, on April 24,
1930. Thorp-Southeimer, Tharp, Inc. prepared his corporal remains
for internment in Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.(The Daily Herald,
April 29, 1930, p. 2)
Parkinson Estates
M.A. Phillips from Hancock County was the administrator of the B.F.
Parkinson Estate. Mr. Parkinson’s estate was valued at $4845.
Edith Ingleharte was his cook at time of his death. B.F. Parkinson
legated $1519.50 each to Ralph Palfrey and Mrs. J.H. Palfrey.(JXCO,
Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 5265, June 1930)
In September 1934, an interesting development occurred in the
estate of B.F. Parkinson’s parents. John W. Dwyer of 40 Wall Street
in New York City wrote the editor of The Jackson County Times
seeking their legal heirs. He related in a letter titled,
“Information Wanted”, that “the heirs of Franklin B. Parkinson
and Eugenia Bodley, his wife, are entitled to about $20,000.”
The Dwyer letter also stated that F. B. Parkinson was born at
Natchez, Mississippi, not Ohio, as the 1860 Federal Census indiates.(The
Jackson County Times, September 29, 1934, p. 4)
Palfrey Place
In May 1931, M.A. Phillips sold the B.F. Parkinson place and
improvements on the Back Bay of Biloxi Bay to Ralph Palfrey
(1898-1972), a printer from New Orleans and his mother, Mrs.
Herbert A. Palfrey (1870-1966), nee Jessie Handy and wife of
Herbert A. Palfrey (1866-1921), for $4700.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed
Bk. 64, pp. 318-319)
In January 1980, Miss Gertrude Palfrey sold the Parkinson-Palfrey
place on Lovers Lane to Thomas P. Crozat, the son of her
sister, Leila Palfrey Crozat (1902-1967).(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed
Bk. 670, p. 34)
The
Joseph Catchot Place
Another episode relating to ones knowledge of the pre-history of the
Cherokee Glen neighborhood at Ocean Springs is the residence and
farm of Joseph Catchot and family, which consisted of the twenty
acres, more or less, comprising the remainder of Lot 5, Section 24,
T7S-R9W. In May 1863, Joseph R. Plummer and Mary G. Plummer
conveyed to Julia Smith (1823-1903), the widow of John
Hayes, and a native of Limerick County, Ireland for $400, a
twenty-acre parcel in the northwest corner of Lot 5, Section 24,
T7S-R9W. This tract had a frontage of about 400 feet on Old Fort
Bayou and ran south for approximately 1950 feet. As previously
mentioned the Plummers sold the remaining sixty acres in Lot 5,
which would become Cherokee Glen, to Sarah Affleck Armstrong
(1796-1882) in August 1863.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk.12, p. 355 and
Bk. 32, p. 461)
Julia Smith had immigrated to America in 1847. After the death of
John Hayes, she married Jose’ (Joseph) Catchot (1824-1900), an 1842
immigrant from the island of Minorca, a Spanish possession in the
western Mediterranean Sea. Senor Catchot was the son of Jose'
Catchot and Eulalia Derany. Joseph Catchot and Julia Smith had a
son, Antonio John “A.J.” Catchot (1864-1954), born at Ocean
Springs. In his mature years, A.J. Catchot carried the appellation
“Captain”.
Schuyler Poitevent (1875-1936), the first historian of Ocean
Springs, who once resided at present day 309 Lovers Lane, wrote the
following about the Joseph Catchot Place, in his unpublished book,
Broken Pot, which relates the French Colonial history
of this region.
“Born and reared just across the narrow branch from Old
Magnolia Springs and almost, therefore, within a pine-knots throw of
the site of Old Fort Maurepas, Mayor A.J. Catchot, of Ocean Springs,
told me the other day that the old home where he was born in 1863,
and where he had spent his boyhood days had been the site of an old
Indian village.”
In February 1932, Mr. Poitevent recorded these words of A.J. Catchot:
“When I was a young man, my father, Captain (Joseph) Catchot,
used to own a small twenty acre farm bordering on Old Fort Bayou and
Plummers acres. When plowing our field, I often came across old
Indian relics such as a large blue china bead about the size of a
buckshot. Also flint arrow heads & Indian tomahawks of flint. Also
small cannon balls about 4” diameter and some small 2 ½”. Also lots
of clam and oyster shell. Those shells had pieces of broken china
dishes some white & others colored blue. Also several pieces of
clay pottery and bottoms of broken jars. There seem to be a row of
wigwams, which had a reddish-yellow, clay floor. Shell relics were
found in the wigwams. The location of this Indian village was on
what is now called the old Dr. Dabney Place.” (A.J.
Catchot-February 12, 1932)
Antonio J. Catchot
In April 1891, Mrs. Julia Catchot sold her son, A.J. Catchot, a lot
on the south end of her twenty-acre tract in Lot 5, Section 24,
T7S-R9W. This 2.3-acre parcel ran 260 feet north and south and 384
feet east to west. In January 1887, A.J. Catchot had married
Florence Victoria Clark (1862-1933), the daughter of William Clark
and Elizabeth Cochran of Mobile, Alabama. They were the parents of
five children: Edward C. Catchot (1888-1946), Matthew W. Catchot
(1890-1891), Mary Julia Catchot (1892-ca 1892), Eula C. Simpson Gill
(1893-1982), and Sadie C. Hodges (1894-1973). After his wife died
in 1933, Catchot married Mrs. Georgia Gordon (1894-1983) at Pass
Christian in May 1934. Mrs. Gordon had three children: Emmett
Gordon (1920-1976), Mary Lou Gordon, and Christy Gordon.(JXCO,
Ms. Land Deed Bk.12, p. 356 and The Jackson County Times, May 21,
1934)
In 1880, Captain Junius Poitevent (1837-1919), a neighbor of the
Catchots and father of Schuyler Poitevent, brought young Tony
Catchot to St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana to work on the East
Louisiana Railroad, a narrow-gauge logging road, which was being
constructed in the Honey Island swamp area. An elderly Quaker
gentleman from Philadelphia, who was his foreman, taught Catchot to
use the T-square. Soon he was framing bridge timbers like a
veteran.(The Gulf Coast Times, July 29, 1949, p. 5)
On October 1, 1882, Tony Catchot joined the L&N
Railroad. His first job was unloading coal cars for 90 cents per
car. Catchot soon joined the bridge and building department on the
Mobile and New Orleans Division of the L&N. He spent most of his
sixty-four years with that railroad building and maintaining the
bridges and trestles on the 140-miles of track between New Orleans
and Mobile. Catchot had to contend with the teredo worm,
hurricanes, rivers and swamps, and the "prairie tremblante", that
unstable,
silty, organic clay which underlies coastal marshes. Catchot served
the railroad as its bridge and building superintendent for
thirty-six years. His skill as a construction engineer was so
impressive that between 1894 and 1902, the L&N Railroad “loaned” him
to several large companies and the US Navy for wharf, piers, and
dock projects in Florida at Pensacola, Warrington, and Dry
Tortugas. In Mississippi, Catchot built piers at Gulfport in 1901,
for the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad. He was aboard the first ship
piloted into the new harbor at Gulfport.(The Jackson County
Times, January 11, 1947, p.1)
In 1894, A.J. Catchot moved his young family from their
farm in Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W, northwest of present day
Cherokee Glen, to a new cottage on Porter. The Catchot domicile was
situated at today’s 703 Porter. It burned to the ground on December
18, 1914, killing Elizabeth Clark Nolan (1839-1914), A.J. Catchot's
mother-in-law. The inferno was sourced from an exploding oil heater
in her room. The Catchot-Kendall home was rebuilt in January 1915,
and is owned today by John and Sherry Kendall.(The Pascagoula
Democrat-Star, July 13, 1894, p. 3 and The Ocean Springs News,
December 24, 1914, p. 1)
Tony Catchot returned to the L&N Railroad in 1902, and was promoted
to Superintendent of the Bridge and Building Department of the New
Orleans-Mobile Division in 1907. He remained at this prestigious
post until 1943. Catchot retired from the L&N Railroad in January
1947 with over sixty-four years of loyal and meritorious service to
that organization.(The Jackson County Times, January 11, 1947, p.
1)
In 1911, Tony Catchot began his long political service for the
citizens of Ocean Springs in 1911, when he was chosen
Alderman-at-large. He officiated in this office until 1917, when he
began sixteen years of continuous service as Mayor. Morris McClure
(1884-1940) replaced Catchot in 1933. The "new" Ocean Springs
Public School was erected on Government in 1927, during the Catchot
mayoral reign. His son-in-law, Calvin Dickson Hodges (1893-1958),
was a member of the school board at this time.
Tony Catchot was elected president of the L&N Veterans
Club for the New Orleans- Mobile Division in the late 1920s. In
1929, he reigned as King d' Iberville of the Coast Mardi Gras
Association. Catchot was a charter member of the Ocean Springs Fire
Company No. 1 joining in 1880, and serving as its fire chief for
nearly sixty years. Why or how Ocean Springs has not named a
firehouse or bestowed some other significant honor on this man is
beyond comprehension. Captain Cathot died on August 11, 1954, at
Handsboro, Mississippi. His remains were interred at the Evergreen
Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou.(The Daily Herald, The Daily Herald,
August 11, 1954, p. 6)
In November 1911, A.J. Catchot sold his natal home in Lot 5, Section
24, T7S-R9W, to Dr. Thomas S. Dabney (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 37, p.
411).
Dr. Thomas S. Dabney
Dr. Thomas Smith Dabney (1851-1923), who
would become an authority on tropical diseases, was the seventh son
of the sixteen children of Thomas Smith Gregory Dabney (1798-1885)
and Sophia Hill (1810-1854+), both Virginians from King and Queen
County. Thomas was born on his father’s plantation, Burleigh,
situated south of Raymond, Hinds County, Mississippi. He married
Ida Mae Ewing (1858-1900+) whose parents were from Kentucky and
Louisiana respectively. Dr. Dabney’s older sister, Susan Dabney
Smedes (1840-1913), published Memorials of a Southern Planter
in 1887.
Dr. T.S. Dabney and Miss Ewing had married in 1884 and were the
parents of two children, Thomas Ewing Dabney (1885-1970) and another
who had expired in childhood prior to 1900. In 1900, the Dr. Thomas
S. Dabneys were residents of New Orleans and domiciled on Magazine
Street. He was a member of the Orleans Parish Medical Society from
1880-1882 and 1893-1915, and was president of that organization in
1900.(1900 Orleans Parish, Louisiana Federal Census, T623, Roll
570, Bo. 1, p. 43 and Fossier, 1930, p. 16)
It seems that the arrival of the T.S. Dabney family at Ocean Springs
met two salient requirements-a retirement place for Dr. Dabney and a
place for his son, Thomas Ewing Dabney (1885-1970), to recuperate
from a bout with the virulent yellow fever that he had contracted
while Secretary of the American Legation in San Salvador. Dr.
Dabney had attended Tulane University at New Orleans. In the 1870s,
while a medical student, he left school briefly to assist in a
yellow fever outbreak near Brookhaven, Mississippi. While in the
field, serendipity discovered Dabney in the guise of an herb that
was being utilized by Native Americans camped in the vicinity. From
this plant, Dr. Dabney developed an efficacious treatment for
dropsy. He also achieved international acclaim when he diagnosed
the first human case of anthrax. In 1898, Dabney reported the first
case of hookworm in Louisiana.
Dr. T.S. Dabney passed on December 28, 1923, at New Orleans. He
corporal remains were sent to Raymond, Mississippi for internment.(The
Daily Herald, December 29, 1923, p. 1 and Papers of Major W.J.
Heimke (1847-1931), Tulane Latin American Lib., NOLA)
Thomas E. Dabney
In 1907, Thomas E. Dabney (1885-1970) had married an
English lady, Winifred Hilda Michaels (1888-1972), of London. They
were the parents of Patricia Rose D. Bush (1912-1978), Dorothy D.
Kehoe (1915-1997), David F. Dabney (b. 1917), and Natalie D. Arnold
(1922-1998). At Ocean Springs, T.E. Dabney was a dynamic
entrepreneur and promoter of the town. He ventured into dairy
farming; vending Aetna Dynamite, as well as using this high
explosive to clear land of tree stumps; and publishing.(The History
of JXCO, Ms., 1989, p. 180 and The Daily Herald, January 10,
1913, p. 8)
Boscobel Dairy
(1912-1914)
T.E. Dabney’s first venture into local capitalism was the Boscobel
Dairy. It and his pecan orchard were situated at “The Field”, the
Dabney twenty-acre tract in Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W, which had
been the former Catchot place. Mr. Dabney was reputed have had one
of the finest herds in the State. He catered to the upper class
families as he charged $12 per quart for his high quality milk. Mr.
Dabney advertised extensively in his local journal in 1914, as:
|
Pure Jersey milk delivered one hour from milking time.
T.E. Dabney-Boscobel Farm
Phone 106.
(The Ocean Springs News, April 14, 1914, p. 5)
|
When T.E. Dabney decided to get into the newspaper business, he sold
the dairy to Charles Snyder (1877-1963) in December 1914. The deal
included nine cows, cream separator, utensils, and good will.
Snyder was already in the dairy business with a herd of twelve cows.(The
Ocean Springs News, December 10, 1914, p. 1)
In November 1915, Charles Snyder leased his dairy to B.J. Rhodes.
Rhodes, a New Yorker, had been a resident of Grand Isle, Louisiana.
He was wiped out by the October 1915 Hurricane there and came to
Ocean Springs with his family of five girls, ages seven to eighteen
years to commence a new career. (The Ocean Springs News,
November 4, 1915, p. 1)
The Ocean Springs News
In November 1914, Thomas E. Dabney acquired The Ocean Springs
News from Albert Enos Lee (1874-1936). He ran a good local
journal pregnant with salient information and news germane to the
populace. In mid-July 1916, Dabney suspended production of The
Ocean Springs News. He had gone to Pensacola, Florida in April
and secured a position with The Pensacola Journal. Mrs. Winifred M.
Dabney, and E.T. Simpson (1884-1960) ran The Ocean Springs News
in his absence.
A.E. Lee ran a job printing establishment at Biloxi during his two
year hiatus from Ocean Springs. On July 29, 1916, Lee published the
first issue of The Jackson County Times. It was printed at his
Biloxi plant until he could relocate his printing equipment to Ocean
Springs. C.E. Schmidt (1904-1988) wrote in
Ocean
Springs Beachhead
that, "the local newspaper of greatest endurance was The
Jackson County Times published by A.E. Lee. ….. The Jackson County
Times continued up until the fifties, for the most part under the
editorship of son Harry R. Lee".
(The Daily Herald, July 25, 1916 and
Schmidt, 1972, p. 126)
T.E. Dabney during his short tenure at Ocean Springs also published
a promotional pamphlet, "Ocean
Springs: The Land Where Dreams Come True
(1915)", which emphasized the agricultural and recreational
opportunity of the town and environs. Dabney joined the staff of
The Times Picayune in 1933, and had a marvelous career as an
author, lecturer, adventurer, and expert on Shakespeare. Dabney
penned,
Tropic
Intrigue;
One
Hundred Great Years: The Story of The Times Picayune From Its
Beginning To 1940;
The
Man Who Bought The Waldorf: The Life of Conrad N. Hilton;
and
Revolution or Jobs.(The
History of JXCO, Ms.,1989, p. 180)
Another aggressive move by T.E. Dabney to promote
enterprise at Ocean Springs occurred in February 1915, when he
contacted the Dixie Club & Kennels. This hunting and fishing
organization was composed of some of the most affluent gentlemen of
New York and Chicago. Its manager, C.W. Grubbs, was seeking a new
location for the club. Dabney wrote to Grubbs emphasizing the
wonderful attributes of Ocean Springs as a spa and outdoor
recreational haven for fish and wild game.(The Ocean Springs
News, February 25, 1915, p. 1)
Thomas E. Dabney expired at a nursing home in Covington,
Louisiana on April 22, 1973. His corporal remains were sent to Bay
St. Louis, Mississippi for interment in Garden of Memories Cemetery.(The
Times Picayune, April 23, 1970, p. 1)
Dabney Archives
Nearly 1200 items from Thomas Ewing Dabney in the period
1911 to 1969 are archived in the Tulane University Manuscripts
Department at New Orleans.
In August 1925, Thomas E. Dabney sold “The Field” at Ocean Springs
to Walter S. Lindsay and Catherine B. Lindsay. The Lindsays kept
horses on this land.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 56, pp. 293-294 and
Beryl Girot Riviere, August 26, 2002)
Girot family origins
In the United States of America today, the largest
concentration of Girot family members are situated primarily in
Grundy, Will, and Massac Counties, Illinois. Some Girots are also
in California, Utah, and naturally Louisiana.
The progenitor of the Girot family of New Orleans and Ocean Springs,
Mississippi was Leopold Henry Girot (1839-1911), a native of Metz,
Alsace-Lorraine, France. He was the son of Joseph Girot, a tailor,
and Marie Humbert, also natives of this French industrial city on
the Moselle River, about two hundred miles east-northeast of Paris.
Young Leopold followed his father into the tailor trade. Although
an accomplished cutter and designer by the age of twenty-one, he
went to Paris to further hone his fashion and design skills. In
Paris, he married Juliette Remy, who expired there. She bore him
two daughters: Berthe Girot and Alphonsine G. Dubos; (Encyclopedia
of Biography, ?, p. 379)
Louisiana and tailoring
In 1868, Leopold H. Girot left France for New Orleans. In the
Crescent City, he found employment with the clothing firm of
L. Godchaux. After three years, Leopold and Prosper
Godchaux founded the tailoring company of Girot and Godchaux.
Several years late Mr. Girot commenced L. Girot, his
own tailoring organization. Circa 1906, Leopold H. Girot Jr. joined
the firm and with John Pfefferle, the three became partners,
operating as L. Girot.
Months prior to his father’s demise, in 1911, L. Henry
Girot Jr. became president of L. Girot. Rene Girot
(1896-1981) the youngest son, took the reigns of the Girot
sartorial enterprises in 1921, when L. Henry Girot sought a career
change which brought his family to Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
Girot family of New Orleans
On July 2, 1884, at the age of forty-five,
Leopold H. Girot married Marie Claverie (ca 1864-1933+), the
daughter of French immigrant, Dominick Claverie, and Marie Masquere,
of New Orleans. Their progeny were: Blanche G. Gondolf (1885-1969)
married Victor Gondolf; Leopold H. Girot Jr. (1886-1953)
married Mabel E. Judlin (1890-1956); Jeanne G. Redmann (1888-1976)
married Stephen Redmann; Rose G. Meyers married Herbert Meyers;
Zelie Girot; and Rene Girot (1896-1981).(Ibid., p. )
Leopold Henry Girot Jr.
Leopold H. Girot Jr.(1886-1953), called himself, Henry L.Girot, was
born on December 12, 1886, at New Orleans, the son of Leopold H.
Girot and Marie Claverie Girot. His early education was at
McDonough No. 10 and Loyola University, the Jesuit College. In
1906, he began his career in his father’s clothing store as a
tailor. Young Girot had been sent to New York City to study
tailoring, cutting, and design.(The Gulf Coast Times, July 15,
1949)
In July 1910, Henry L. Girot married Mabel E. Judlin (1890-1956),
the daughter of Peter Judlin (1864-1917) and Henriette Monteverde.
Their children were: Judlin H. Girot (1912-1970), Myrle “Sally” G.
Williams Staley (1913-1961), Beryl G. Riviere (b.1916), and Georgine
“George” G. Nicholson (1918-1998).
In 1911, Henry L. Girot assumed the leadership role of L. Girot
with the passing of his father. Although a skilled tailor, Henry L.
Girot did have passion for his art. He grew to dislike the
sartorial business and it began to affect him emotionally and
physically. Upon the advice of his physician, Mr. Girot decided
upon a career change. At the age of thirty-five, he decided to
become a gentleman farmer which led the family to remove itself from
the bustle of the Crescent City to the quite shores of Biloxi Bay at
Ocean Springs, Mississippi.(Beryl G. Riviere, March 14, 2002)
Ocean Springs
Although a young man, Henry L. Girot’s emotional health dictated a
change of place and life style. In February 1923, he moved his
spouse and young family to Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Mabel E.
Girot had family at Ocean Springs as her aunt, Emma Judlin
(1869-1958), had married a prominent businessman and judge, Eugene
W. Illing (1870-1947). The Illings were once in the hostelry
business, but at the time of the Girots arrival, they were owners of
a movie house, the Illing’s Theatre, which was situated on the
northeast corner of Washington Avenue and Porter, the former site of
Illing’s Hotel and now the location of the First Baptist Church of
Ocean Springs.
Cherokee Glen Farm
At Ocean Springs, Mississippi Henry L. Girot became a gentleman
farmer. His primary crops were pecans and poultry. In March 1923,
on the western perimeter of the town, Mr. Girot acquired 60 acres in
US Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W from Benjamin F. Parkinson Jr.
(1859-1930).(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 52, p. 558)
Immediately Mr. Girot began to make improvements to his property.
In order to gain access to his land, dynamite was utilized to clear
an impenetrable barrier of thickly, overgrown, foliage consisting
primarily of Cherokee rose vines. It was thusly, the Cherokee rose,
which gave its name to Cherokee Glen. While the land was being
cleared for cultivation, the Girot family rented a home initially on
the northwest corner of Dewey and LaFontaine, very likely the
Roseale A. Bellande Reus (1854-1923) cottage. Later, they moved to
East Porter and let a cottage from Judge E.W. Illing.(Beryl G.
Riviere, March 14, 2002)
Poultry
Prior to erecting a permanent home in 1925, which is extant at
present day 400 Lovers Lane, H.L. Girot erected outbuildings, a
large barn, machinery house, and chicken plant, which included three
incubators. He also acquired Rhode Island Red brood stock for his
chicken farm from the Sunbrier Farm at Laurel, Mississippi. By June
1923, he had approximately five-hundred young chickens.(The Daily
Herald, June 6, 1923, p. 5)
Although a newcomer to the region, by 1925, Henry L.
Girot was exhibiting the energy and leadership that would be
characteristic of his long and productive tenure at Ocean Springs.
In October 1925, he was named superintendent of poultry and
livestock for the Jackson County Fair in Pascagoula. At the
mid-November exhibit, Mr. Girot won awards for his fine Rhode Island
Reds and White Minorcas. The Ocean Springs poultry farmers won
fifty-four ribbons and $38.50 in cash for their entries, which
consisted of one hundred four of the two hundred twenty-five birds
at the fair. In addition to Girot, other local winners were: Albert
B. Ackander (1858-1926), Theo Bechtel (1963-1931), B. Bilbo, Ed Brou
(1896-1949), Lawrence Dalgo (1894-1937), O.D. Davidson (1872-1938),
O. Fish, Gus Nelson (1896-1970), H. Olivier, Dr. H.B. Powell
(1867-1949), A.J. Riviere (1871-1954), and George Sherman.(The
Jackson County Times, October 24, 1925, p. 3 and November 21, 1925,
p. 1)
Granitz cottage
A caretaker’s cottage was also built for Harold I. Illing
(1897-1959) and spouse, Edith Flowers Illing (1902-1984), who
oversaw the Girot place before the Girot home at present day 400
Lovers Lane was erected in 1925. This structure in the Cherokee
Glen Subdivision was relocated to Block C-Lot 10, at present day
1107 West Cherokee, and sold to Emil A. Granitz (1882-1965), in June
1926, by Mr. Girot. Granitz, a German immigrant, was sponsored to
America by Miss Idelle Watson (1856-1956+). Miss Watson resided on
Lovers Lane at Oakroyd, the former home of H.H.
Germain, from 1923 until it was destroyed by fire in 1925. Mr.
Granitz worked as her man servant and gardener.(JXCO, Ms. Land
Deed Bk. 58, p. 574 and Beryl G. Riviere, March 14, 2002)
Emil A. Granitz was born in Dresden, Germany. In April 1907, he
married
Helene Meinhardt (1885-1970), the daughter of Hermann Meinhardt and
Alma L. Schuster and a native of Crimitschau, Germany. They had a
son, George H. Granitz (1909-1981) who made his livelihood at
Keesler AFB as a Civil Service employee. In addition to his
gardening, Emil A. Granitz worked for the United Poultry Producers
and retired in 1952, while Mrs. Granitz was the custodian of the
Ocean Springs Public School and also operated the cafeteria there
for fourteen years. Her food was well-prepared and delicious.(The
Ocean Springs News, April 4, 1957, p. 1 and Walterine V. Redding,
August 14, 2002)
Cherokee Glen Subdivision
One of Henry L. Girot’s first business ventures at Ocean Springs was
the development in his neighborhood of a subdivision, Cherokee
Glen. It was situated in Section 24, T7S-R9W, on the west side of
Ocean Springs. In May 1926, he received approval from the Board of
Aldermen of his sixty-acre platting, which was bounded on the north
by Old Fort Bayou, on the east by the land that was adversely
possessed by O.D. Davidson (1872-1938) and would become the Davidson
Hills Subdivision in March 1956, on the south by Porter, and on the
west by Lovers Lane.( The Jackson County Times, May
22, 1926, p. 1)
The Cherokee Glen Subdivision
consisted of Four Blocks designated from east to west as A, B, C,
and D. Block A had twenty three lots until September 1953, when J.B.
Richmond and Louis A. Gily Jr. platted Lot 23 into the Cherokee Cove
Subdivision. Richmond and Gily acquired the 5.7 acres in Lot 23,
from Clifford P. Turk for $12,500, in April 1953.(JXCO, Ms. Land
Deed Bk. 131, p. 419 and JXCO, Ms. Land Plat Bk. 2, p. 57)
Block B has thirty-two lots, which
includes the homes of Beryl G. Riviere and Ricky Riviere; Block C
has twenty-one lots, which includes the original H.L. Girot
residence; and Block D has two lots, one of which was once was the
Broadway place just east of the new and fabulous home of Walter T.
“Buzzy” and Laura E. Bolton.( JXCO, Ms. Land Plat Bk. 2, p. 57)
Today, Cherokee Glen is as quaint and charming as the Girots would
have desired. A recent grant has provided the neighborhood with
funds for an entry sign and beautification projects. Cooperation
between the City and residents has worked for their mutual benefit
in upgrading the neutral grounds of the subdivision with plantings
of flowers and trees.(The Ocean Springs Record-Independent,
October 21, 1999, p. 1)
United Poultry Producers
In 1929, with the infrastructure of Cherokee Glen in place, Henry L.
Girot became associated with the United Poultry Producers and served
this organization for twenty-one years as secretary-manager. The
United Poultry Producers was a co-operative of local chicken
farmers, which marketed high quality eggs and poultry from their
headquarters on the northeast corner of Washington and Desoto.
Social and civic life
Mr. Girot was socially and politically active during his thirty
years at Ocean Springs. He was elected alderman and represented the
citizens of Ward II in 1929-1930. Girot served on the School Board
when the 1927 Public School was erected on Government Street. He
was a charter member of the Ocean Springs Rotary Club and the Ocean
Springs Chamber of Commerce and also active in the affairs of the
St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church. His religious societies
included membership in the Knights of Columbus, Holy Name Society,
and service on the building committee for the new church.(The
Gulf Coast Times, August 4, 1950, p. 1)
Dr. Horace Conti
In May 1951, Dr. Horace Conti
(1907-1982), a pathologist at the Veterans Administration Hospital
at Biloxi, and spouse, Marjorie L. Conti (1913-1984), acquired the
H.L. Girot home on Lovers Lane from Mr. and Mrs. H.L. Girot. The
Conti family was living at Biloxi on Morrison Avenue at the time of
their purchase.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 118, p. 133-134 and The
Gulf Coast Times, May 10. 1951, p. 12)
Dr. Conti was a graduate of the
Georgetown University Medical School at Washington, D.C. He was
certified by the American Board of Pathology in clinical pathology
and pathologic anatomy. In November 1972, Dr. Conti was elected to
president of the Community Concert Association.(The Ocean Springs
Record, November 22, 1972, p. 8)
Eleanor
Victoria Conti, 1968 Gulf Coast Debutante and USM graduate in fine
arts, married John M. Bauer, a pre-Medical student in 1971.(The
Ocean Springs Record, May 20, 1971, p. 14)
In the
summer of 1970, when entrepreneur, Carroll B. Ishee (1921-1982),
began construction of homes in his ten-lot development called
Lover’s Lane Addition Subdivision
situated in US Government Lots 4 and 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W, Mrs.
Marjorie L. Conti became frustrated. She wrote a letter in December
1970, to The Ocean Springs Record complaining of several
aldermen’s apathy in enforcing city ordinances as relating to lot
line setbacks. Mrs. Conti was also unhappy with the aldermen’s lack
of proper procedure in its public meetings.(The Ocean Springs
Record, December 3, 1970, p. 4)
The Contis sold their home on
Lovers Lane to Dr. Buford A. Wilkerson in March 1977 and very
probably relocated to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Before his
departure, Dr. Conti platted the Lover’s Lane Addition-part II
Subdivision in February 1977.( (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 585, p.553
and JXCO, Ms. Plat Bk. 15, p. 32)
Two children: Eleanor and
Horace Conti II.
West Cherokee Avenue
After the sale of their large
Lovers Lane home, Henry and Mabel J. Girot and Roy and Beryl G.
Riviere, who had been living with her parents, erected homes on West
Cherokee Avenue. Refurbishment on both early 1950s homes was
commenced in 2001, by contractor, Bobby Lewis, and his construction
crew. Beryl G. Riviere currently resides at 1106 West Cherokee,
while her son, Rickey Riviere, will move to 1112 West Cherokee in
2002, when the work on his edifice is completed.
Demise
Henry L. Girot passed on while a patient in the Touro Infirmary at
New Orleans on January 26, 1953. He was survived by his spouse and
four children, as well as a brother, Rene Girot (1896-1981), and
four sisters, Miss Zeile Girot, Jeanne G. Redmann, Mrs. Herbert
Meyers, and Blanche G. Gondolf. Mr. Girot’s corporal remains were
laid to rest in the Southern Memorial Park at Biloxi, Mississippi. .(The
Gulf Coast Times, January 23, 1953, p. 1)
Mabel E. Judlin Girot (1890-1956) expired on November
23, 1956. As a baby, her father had named one of his freight
schooners, the Mabel E. Judlin, in her honor.
This well-known vessel was by Matteo Martinolich
(1861-1934), a Croatian-Italian immigrant, who had come to America
in 1883. The Mabel E Judlin was launched in late
April 1891, at Henry Lienhard’s shipyard on Bayou Bernard. The
finished vessel described as a “beauty and reflects much
credit upon her builder” had a keel length of sixty-seven
feet and was twenty-two feet at the beam. Her sails were
constructed by A. Gerdes & Brother of New Orleans. The launching
occasion had a party atmosphere with a large contingent of ladies
and gentlemen of New Orleans present at the Handsboro boatyard.(The
Biloxi Herald, May 2, 1891, p. 4)
In February
1901, ownership of the Mabel
E. Judlin
changed as
Peter Cardona of New Orleans and Kate.Thompson Lockard (1868-1954),
the wife of James E. Lockard (1863-1951), of Vancleave, Mississippi
acquired the schooner from Messrs. Judlin and Mestier. She was
listed as having a gross tonnage of 46 and net 31. John V. Lewis
was master and the Mabel E.
Judlin
was ported at New Orleans. (Permanent Certificate No. 38, BMIN,
April 18, 1904)
The Mabel E. Judlin remained in the J.E.
Lockard family from 1901 until her demise in July 1930. She sank
and was abandoned in the New Basin Canal at New Orleans, Lousiana.
Her documents were surrendered at Gulfport, Mississippi on July 31,
1933. Some of the masters who served aboard the Lockard freight
schooner were: John V. Lewis, August A. Bellais (1866-1929), Joseph
Roig, and P.A. Bayhi.( Permanent Certificate No. 4, BMI N,
July 31, 1933).
In 1934, Mayor Charles R.
Bennett (1884-1971) named Mrs. Girot to the Ocean Springs Park
Commission.(The Daily Herald, January 6, 1934, p. 2)
A short history of the
lives of Henry L. Girot and Mabel E. Judlin Girot’s family follows:
Judlin Henry Girot
Judlin Henry Girot (1912-1970) was born at New Orleans.
He graduated from Ocean Springs High School in 1930 and Tulane
University. Judlin married Vivian LaPorte (1917-2000) of New
Orleans. She was born on March 25, 1917. They were the parent of
two children, Henry Joseph Girot (b. 1936) and Joan G. Mecom Noel
(b. 1940). (The Daily Herald, July 20, 1970, p. 2)
The Judlin H. Girot family moved to Ocean Springs from
Huntsville, Alabama in November 1945, to open accounting office. He
passed the C.P.A. examination at Jackson, Mississippi in July 1948.
The Girots were at home on Ward Avenue at this time.(The Jackson
County Times, November 7, 1945, p. 1 and July 30, 1948, p. 1)
In June 1952, Vivian L. Girot was elected president of
the Ocean Springs Woman’s Club. She accepted the honor at the
annual luncheon at the Friendship House in Biloxi. Serving with
Mrs. Girot was: Mrs. Ralph Palfrey, vice-president; Mrs. Chester
Snyder, secretary; and Mrs. Frank Snyder, treasurer.(The Gulf
Coast Times, June 12, 1952, p. 1)
Acme Photo
J.H. Girot was also a partner in Acme Photo with his brother-in-law,
F.H. “Bus“ Staley (1912-1963), and William T. Dunn (1919-1990).
After his demise, his son-in-law and daughter, William H. Mecom Jr.
(b. 1939), and Joan Girot Mecom, moved to Ocean Springs. Mecom
worked for Acme Photo, which was situated at 1311 Bienville
Boulevard. He and Joan acquired a home at 219 Washington Avenue in
May 1974, from Edward W. Wood II, the heir-at-law of E. Watson Wood
(1894-1972). At the time, E.W. Wood II was a resident of Middlesex
County, Massachusetts, where he was a professor at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology at Cambridge, near Boston.(JXCO, Ms. Land
Deed Bk. 498, p. 89)
William H. Mecom Jr. was the son of W. Hardy Mecom (1909-1992) and
Lois Omega Chambers Mecom (1916-1984) of Kerrville, Texas. He and
Joan were the parents of Eric Christian Mecom (b. 1963) and Andrew
Lee Mecom (b. 1968). Joan G. Mecom divorced and married Mark Noel
of Birmingham, Alabama. They relocated to Bay St. Louis,
Mississippi in 1995.
In June 1976, the Mecoms conveyed their Ocean Springs cottage to Dr.
W.F. Pontius and relocated to Pass Christian, Mississippi where he
continued in the photo processing business.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk.
565, p. 157)
While at Ocean Springs, Judlin H. Girot was active in city
government. He was elected alderman from Ward Four and served this
political entity from 1951 thru June 1953.(Schmidt, 1972, p. 137)
New Orleans
The Girots moved to New Orleans in January 1953. They sold their
home on Cleveland Avenue to E.P. McBride of Chicago. At New
Orleans, Mr. Girot became a partner in the CPA firm of LaPorte,
Girot, Sehrt, and Romig. He was a member of the Audubon Golf
Club, Clover Club, and an Episcopalian. He was survived by his wife
and children.(The Daily Herald, January 5, 1953, p. 6 and July
20, 1970, p. 2)
Biloxi
After Judlin’s demise, Vivian left New Orleans and moved to Biloxi,
Mississippi in 1971. She married Otho E. Barron. Vivian L. Barron
expired at Biloxi, Mississippi on March 26, 2000. She had been a
parishioner at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer and the Woemn’s
Golf Club of Gulf Hills. In addition to her husband and children,
Vivian was survived by a sister, Evelyn LaPorte Judlin, of Metairie,
Louisiana. Her corporal remains were sent to Lake Lawn Park in
Metairie for internment besides those of Judlin H. Girot.(The Sun
Herald, March 28, 2000, p. A-5)
Henry Joseph Girot
Henry Joseph Girot was born February 27, 1936 at New
Orleans. In June 1957, he married Frances Ann McKie of Vicksburg,
Mississippi. They had two sons, Kenneth Gordon Girot, born at New
Orleans on November 1, 1958 and Roy McKie Girot born March 5, 1961.
On May 18, 1985, Kenneth,
called Kenny, married Melanie Lynn Castle, the daughter of Harroll
Dean Castle and Jeanette Louise Rayner, former residents of 318
Lover’s Lane. Melanie was born at Laurel, Mississippi on April 6,
1961. Their nuptials were celebrated at St. John’s Episcopal Church
at Ocean Springs on May 18, 1985. (JXCO, Ms. MRB 153, p. 275)
Roy Girot married Cynthia Wingood. They are the parents
of: Paulina Girot (b. 1992) and Nathan Girot (b. 1995). Roy and
Cynthia divorced and he now resides in Crofton, Maryland.(Roy Girot,
July 4, 2002)
Henry J. Girot and Frances A.
McKie Girot divorced. On October 19, 1974, while a resident of
Ocean Springs, he married Corine Baldridge Caruso (1939-1991), a
native of Los Angeles County, California. She was the daughter of
Robert Baldridge and Ruth Gaalken of Hemit, California. Their
wedding was held at the First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs.
While residing at Ocean Springs, Mrs. Corine Girot was employed at
the Keesler Federal Credit Union. Corine died at Fairhope, Alabama
on October 2, 1991. She had two daughters, Gianna F. Caruso Stewart
and Elena M. Caruso Rhea, from a prior marriage.(JXCO, Ms. MRB 125,
p. 269, JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. P-4403, June 1997, and
The Sun Herald, October 5, 1991, p. A-2)
Hank Girot now resides in Lake Seminole, Georgia where
he is the proprietor of the Trails End Marina and Campground
situated on a bayou that flows into beautiful Lake Seminole in
southwestern Georgia. In October 1994, Hank married Penelope
“Penny” O’ Kurin, a native of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Myrle “Sally” Girot
Myrle “Sally” Girot (1913-1961) was born at New Orleans
on September 21, 1913. Sally graduated from the Ocean Springs
Public School in 1931. On April 27, 1935, she married Sloan
Williams, in the Girot home at Ocean Springs. Sloan was born
August 15, 1907, at Birmingham, Alabama.(JXCO, Ms. MRB 23, p. 285)
They had a daughter, Sally Ann W. Freeman. Sloan and
Sally divorced and she married Fielding H. “Bus” Staley
(1912-1963). Their children were: Susan Staley Hubbell Delgado (b.
1943), and Michael T. Staley (b. 1945).
Mrs. Staley was active in a number of organizations, the
Biloxi Yacht Club, Kings Daughters, and the Carnival social clubs,
Les Masques and Billikins. While her children were young, she
participated in Cub Scout and Boy and Girl Scout activities. Sallie
expired at Biloxi, Mississippi on December 14, 1961. She had moved
there in 1957. Mrs. Staley’s corporal remains were interred in the
Southern Memorial Park at Biloxi.(The Daily Herald, December 15,
1961, p. 2)
F.H. Staley came to Biloxi in 1942, with the Army Air
Corps. He was active in the business community in photographic
developing, insurance, and real estate. Mr. Staley was a Lt.
Colonel in the Mississippi National Guard and once commanded the 138th
Transportation Battalion before transferring to the staff of the
Adjutant General. He expired at Prairie Village, Kansas, and his
remains interred at Leavenworth, Kansas.(The Daily Herald,
January 25, 1963, p. 2)
Beryl Marie Girot
Beryl Marie Girot was born at New Orleans, Louisiana on
February 22, 1916. She married Roy Joseph Riviere (1914-2000), the
son of Adolph J. Riviere (1871-1954) and Julia Herbert Clement
(1877-1964), on March 1, 1945, at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church.
Roy was born on June 6, 1914.(JXCO, Ms. MRB 43, p. 315) Their
children were: Roy F. “Ricky” Riviere (b. 1946) and Ray P. Riviere
(1947-1981).
The Riviere family came to
Jackson County, Mississippi during WW I, from Patterson, Louisiana,
as A.J. Riviere was employed as a shipyard worker at Pascagoula.
The family lived in the Fontainebleau community, on the west side of
Hamill Farm Road in a cottage that had been built for the farm’s
laborers.(Roy Riviere, October 1996)
In addition to Roy J. Riviere, the family consisted of:
Albert T. Riviere (1906-1948), Frank P. Riviere (1909-1937), and
Edward J. Riviere (1917-1968).
Albert T. Riviere (1906-1948) perished at sea off the
Florida Keys in October 1948, while employed as chief steward aboard
the S.S. Louise, a Texaco tanker.(The Jackson County Times,
October 8, 1948, p. 1)
Eddie Riviere also went to sea. In 1948, he was a
steward aboard the Del Mar, a luxury liner in the
Delta Steamship Line fleet out of New Orleans.(The Daily Herald,
August 31, 1948, p. 4)
Roy J. Riviere made his livelihood as a linotype operator with
The Jackson County Times. In 1932, while returning home from
work, he was robbed at gunpoint near the VanCleave Store on the
northeast corner of Washington and Porter. Roy once owned the local
journal, The Gulf Coast Times, which he sold in December
1950, to Hardee King, the managing editor of The Tylertown Times,
and the Advertiser Publishing Company of Pascagoula headed up by Ira
Harkey.(The Daily Herald,May 21, 1932, p. 2 and The Gulf Coast
Times, December 22, 1950, p. 1)
Roy J. Riviere died at Ocean Springs on October 6, 2000. His
corporal remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery at Ocean
Springs. Beryl G. Riviere resides in Cherokee Glen adjacent to her
son, Rickey Riviere.
Georgine Girot
Georgine Girot (1918-1998), called George, was born
at New Orleans on July 22, 1918. In May 1943, she married
Lt. Granville T. “Terry” Nicholson (1913-1986), the son of
Mrs. R. Charles Nicholson and the late R. Charles Nicholson of St.
Louis, Missouri, at the William Mitchell Chapel, KAFB, Biloxi,
Mississippi. She was attended at her nuptial ceremony by Miss Beryl
Girot, her sister. George Girot was a graduate of Ocean Springs
High School Class of 1936 and the Class of 1940 at Sophie Newcomb
College. She taught school for one year and was then employed at
Camp Shelby, Stone County, Mississippi, before transferring to KAFB
as an instructor. Lt. and Mrs. G.T. Nicholson resided at Gulf Hills
after their wedding trip.(The Jackson County Times, May 22, 1943,
p. 4)
After WW II, the Nicholsons settled at Santa
Barbara, California where they started a family consisting of three
sons: Peter Terry Nicholson (b. 1949), David Christie Nicholson (b.
1951), and Craig Claverie Nicholson (b. 1953). Some of their known
residences were: Santa Barbara, California; St. Louis, Missouri;
Clayton, Missouri; Destin, Florida; and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Terry expired in Florida on September 7, 1986.
George moved to Ocean Springs after Terry’s demise and acquired a
home in Cherokee Glen at 1111 East Cherokee Glen. Her avocations
were reading, classical music, library volunteer, and traveling.
During their lifetime, George and Terry had visited the Caribbean,
British Isles, Europe, and Mexico.(Newcomb Alumnae Association
Questionnaire)
George G. Nicholson died at Ocean
Springs on January 14, 1998. Her immediate survivors were: Peter T.
Nicholson of St. Louis, Missouri and Craig C. Nicholson of Santa
Barbara, California. Her husband and son, David C. Nicholson,
preceded her in death.(The Ocean Springs Record, January 22,
1998, p. 5)
Development
Although the Cherokee Glen Subdivision was platted by
H.L. Girot in May 1926, its development was slow. One must realize
that this area of Ocean Springs was considered the “country”, much
like eastern St. Martin and Latimer have been until early in the
last decade. Remember that Cherokee Glen and surroundings had been
a poultry farm, a dairy, pecan orchards and a vine-tangled,
wilderness draped in the mesmerizing Cherokee Rose before the Girots
arrived here from New Orleans.
Before the Coach William H. Cole edifice, later E.A.
Rehnberg and R.A. Taylor, was erected at present day West
Cherokee in the late 1920s, the H.L. Girot homestead on Lovers Lane
and the Emil A. Granitz cottage at 1107 West Cherokee were the sole
dwellings in the subdivision. Other early Cherokee Glen domiciles
were situated on Wisteria-the 1950 Lyle Whitman place at 202
Wisteria; the military barracks moved from Keesler AFB to present
day Wisteria by Colonel B.F. Lewis; and the R.A. Broadway
place at 115 Wisteria.(Connie Whitman and Beryl G. Riviere, August
27, 2002)
Mitchell Brothers
A unique feature of Cherokee Glen is the stalwart
structures built by the Mitchell Brothers of Ocean Springs. The
Mitchell Brothers, John C. Mitchell (1915-1963), Oscar L. Mitchell
(1917-1973), Michael B. “Mike” Mitchell, and James E. Mitchell,
commenced in the construction business in 1949, utilizing a
technique called “hollow wall concrete”. John C. Mitchell had
learned this construction method from Gurnee Clifton Gardner
(1889-1954). The Mitchell’s built solid concrete inner and exterior
walls reinforced with 3/8 inch rebar. A sealed void space existed
between the two walls.(Mike Mitchell, August 27, 2002)
In the early 1950s, the Mitchell Brothers built homes for Henry L.
Girot at 1112 West Cherokee; Roy J. Riviere at 1106 West Cherokee;
and Fielding “Bus” Staley at 1015 Cherokee Boulevard. The Judlin H.
Girot home at 515 Cleveland was also erected by the Mitchells.
Gurnee Clifton Gardner built several hollow wall concrete homes in
Cherokee Glenn, including his own residence at 408 Lovers Lane.(Beryl
G. Riviere, August 26, 2002 and Mike Mitchell, August 27, 2002)
Epilogue:
Now over seventy-five years old, the Cherokee Glen
Subdivision is in a very mature state of development. In 2000, W.T.
and Laura E. Bolton built a lovely Queen Anne replica west of the
old R.A. Broadway place at 113 Wisteria. Because of the paucity of
building lots, this represented the first new construction at
Cherokee Glen in many years.
Although Mr. and Mrs. Girot have been gone for over four
decades, their daughter Beryl Girot Riviere and her son, Ricky F.
Riviere, continue to live in the neighborhood, which began as the
agricultural dream of H.L. Girot. Although never a successful
commercial farm, Mr. Girot did create a Cherokee Glen, subdivision
with a serene environment conducive for families to live and rear
their children. It is only appropriate that the entrance into
Cherokee Glen be named Girot in honor of him and his family who have
contributed to the successful growth of Ocean Springs.
caption: The Girot Girls-In March 1939, the daughters of Henry L.
Girot (1886-1953) and Mabel Judlin Girot (1890-1956) were involved
in the first Landing of Iberville celebration at Ocean Springs which
was chaired by Miss Mary C. O’Keefe (1893-1980). From left to
right: Henry Weyerstall (1913-1987), Beryl G. Riviere (b. 1916),
Sally G. Williams Staley (1913-1961), Georgine G. Nicholson
(1918-1998), Annette Saxon O’Keefe (1913-1987), Mary Handy Lackey,
and A.P. “Fred” Moran (1897-1967), in his first of many appearances
as Iberville, the French Canadian soldier of fortune.
credit: Courtesy of Beryl Girot Riviere.
REFERENCES:
Andrew
B. Booth, Records of Louisiana Confederate Soldiers and
Louisiana Confederate Commands, (The Reprint Company:
Spartanburg, |
By
Ray L. Bellande.jpg)