George E. Arndt 

George E. Arndt (1857-1945) was a native of Rodney, Jefferson County, Mississippi.  His parents, George E. Arndt (1827-1882) and Caroline Russi (1832-1880), were German immigrants from Alsace-Lorraine and Heidelberg respectively.  They arrived at Rodney in 1852, probably coming up river from New Orleans. The Arndts’ other children were:  Mary K. Arndt O'Brien (1854-1906), Magalene “Lena” Arndt Engbarth (1856-1938), Michael A. Arndt (1859-1887), Henry Arndt (b. 1863), Emma Arndt Meyer (1864-1938+), and Bettie Arndt Brook (b. 1865). (Ruth Barrett, October 29, 2002) 
 

George E. Arndt came to Ocean Springs on May 17, 1881, from Rodney, Mississippi to be with his sister, Lena Engbarth.  At Rodney, Mr. Arndt had been in the confectionery business since the age of sixteen.  The Engbarths had arrived at Ocean Springs in February 1881, from Rodney.  They were there in Jefferson County, Mississippi for the 1880 US Federal Census. (History of JXCO, Ms., 1989, p. 111, Along The Gulf, 1895 and The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, February 4, 1881, p. 3) 

Lena Arndt’s spouse, Emile Engbarth (1855-ca 1905), was the postmaster at Ocean Springs from 1885 to 1889.  As Emile and Lena A. Engbarth were again residents of Rodney in 1900, it seems they must have moved back to Jefferson County after April 1889, when Emile's position as postmaster terminated.  The Pascagoula Democrat-Star of August 31, 1900, announced that well-known Republican, Emile Engbarth, is in Ocean Springs and rumored to be the new postmaster.  This did not come to fruition as Thomas I. Keys (1861-1931), a local Black merchant, remained at this post until March 1911.  In September 1900, Emile Engbarth applied for the position of postmaster at Pascagoula.  It appears that he was unsuccessful in attaining this opportunity, as the local journal reported that “Mr. E. Engbarth… returned to Rodney, Miss”. (The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, October 5, 1900, p. 3)

Paragon Saloon 
 

Shortly after his arrival in Ocean Springs, George E. Arndt leased a building and opened a saloon, which became renown in our local history.  He called it the Paragon Saloon.  Before Arndt relocated the Paragon Saloon business to the southwest corner of Washington Avenue and Robinson in April 1896, it existed at another location in town, probably also on Washington Avenue and Robinson Street.  Several reports in the Pascagoula journal related Arndt’s move as follows:

“The Paragon Saloon, Geo. E. Arndt, proprietor will be removed to the Franco building sometime next month”.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, February 21, 1896, p. 3)

“Geo. E. Arndt, proprietor of the Paragon Saloon, will move to the Franco Building on April 1st.  He has already fitted up his new stand in a beautiful manner, in fact it is embellished to an extent that will compare in elegance with any on the coast”.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, March 27, 1896, p. 3)

Charles L. Dyer, a travel writer for the L&N Railroad, had this to say about businessman Arndt in 1895:  “There is only one saloon at Ocean Springs.  This is no doubt owing to the present high license, for previous to 1892, there were three saloons.  Two of these dropped out of business when the high license went into effect, leaving a clear field for Mr. George E. Arndt, who has his place of business on Washington Avenue, a stone’s throw from the railroad station of the L&N……..In 1881 he came to Ocean Springs and finding there a building just suited to his needs, he leased the place and opened up a saloon for the dispensing of liquid refreshments.  It is safe to say that the Paragon Saloon is one of the best conducted enterprises of its kind on the entire gulf coast.  Only the finest brands of liquors, cordials, etc.  Consequently he enjoys the patronage of the better class.  Since locating at this place Mr. Arndt has invested quite heavily in real estate."

Franco’s Saloon 
After April 1886, Arndt’s Paragon Saloon was situated on the southwest corner of Robinson and Washington Avenue.  Circa 1880, Thomas A. Cochran (1852-1883), a son-in-law of Antonio Franco (1834-1891), erected a Greek Revival cottage at present day 900 Robinson Avenue, often referred to as the Cochran-Cassanova House, and now in the possession of Pamela Aimee-Baudoin and Douglas Letoha.  A two-story, frame structure was also erected on the Cochran tract.  It was situated on the southwest corner of Washington and Robinson and was known as Franco’s Saloon.  In a forced heir ship case, heard by the JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court, in February 1896, a portion of the Cochran tract was described as “being the same lot or parcel of land, which stands the two-story frame building formerly occupied by A. Franco, now deceased, as a barroom or saloon”. (JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 675, “Mrs. Charlotte F. Cochran v. Thomas A. Cochran et al”) 
    

In March 1897, Commissioner Frank H. Lewis sold the Cochran saloon lot (120 by 80 feet) to George E. Arndt for $1250. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 18, pp. 140-141) 
    

As early as March 1883, G.E. Arndt had operated a barroom opposite the L&N Depot on Robertson Street, in the White House, with his brother-in-law, Emile Engbarth (1855-ca 1905).  At the time of Arndt’s proprietorship, the White House was owned by Antonio Marie (1829-1885), Antonio Franco’s brother-in-law. (JXCO, Ms. Board of Supervisors Minute Bk. 1, p. 358) 
     

For many years, Clement Bellande (1850-1918), the son of Joseph H. Bellande (1813-1907) and Roseline LaFauce (1821-1893), the granddaughter of the Catherine Bourgeois LaFontaine, the Widow LaFontaine, worked for Mr. Arndt as bartender of the Paragon Saloon, which also had a billiard room, and drugstore.  In March 1896, G.E. Arndt took Bellande and spouse to New Orleans in order for him to be attended to by a physician.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, March 27, 1896, p. 3) 
     

Clem Bellande expired at New Orleans, in May 1918.  His obituary stated: “Although he handled great quantities of liquor he did not touch it himself and like Mr. Arndt, his employer, followed out closely the intent and purpose of the liquor laws in the conduct of the Paragon bar.  Honest and upright in dealing with his fellowmen his death is regretted by all.(The Jackson County Times, May 25, 1918, p. 5)

                                                                                    Sign damaged 
In December 1904, Mr. Arndt advertised in The Progress:  $25.00 REWARD!  Will be paid by the undersigned for sufficient evidence to convict the malicious party who shot in the Paragon Saloon Sign.  GEO. E.  ARNDT.(December 31, 1904, p. 4)                                                                                                       

Farmers and Merchants State Bank 
     In January 1913, George E. Arndt sold his Washington Avenue lot to the fledging Farmers and Merchants State Bank.  As a bank edifice was to be erected, his Paragon Saloon building was moved to the west where it operated as such until the commencement of the Prohibition era in 1919.  Later, the old Paragon Saloon structure served as a boarding house managed by Ona May Seeman Westbrook (1886-1967), the wife of John Westbrook (1886- 1922).    She rented rooms and prepared meals for itinerant railroad workers.  The American Legion Hall occupied the structure prior to 1925.  The building was demolished by Charles Braun during the Depression years, and the vacant lot was used by mechanic, Claude Engbarth (1894-1967), to park cars on. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 39, p. 65 and G.E. Arndt Jr., November 1993) 
     The formal organization of the Farmers and Merchants Bank State Bank occurred in February 1913.  It was the third bank to be established in the town of Ocean Springs. The original bank officers were:  president, Charles E. Pabst (1851-1920), vice-President, George E. Arndt (1857-1945), and cashier, Edwin R. Glascock (1857).  The board of 
directors was composed of Charles E. Pabst, E.S. Davis (1859-1925), George E. Arndt, Ira W. Simmons (1867-1919), William E. Wilson (1873-1926), George E. McEwen (1865-1961), and Edwin R. Glasscock.  Circa 1915, Antonio J. Catchot (1864-1954) joined the board.

Arndt Cottage 
Prior to erecting his family home at present day 523 Jackson Avenue in 1895, George E. Arndt in October 1894, purchased the property at present day 822 Porter for $600, from the Alfred E. Lewis (1862-1933), the Artesian Prince. The tract was described as:

 A portion of Lot 8 in Block 31 beginning at the NW corner of said Lot No. 8 running east along Porter Avenue 81 feet; then south 50 feet; then west 81 feet; then north 50 feet to the place of beginning.  Bounded on north by Porter, on west by O'Keefe, on south by Margaret Eylewert, and on east by land of herein grantor. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 16, p. 65) 
  
After Mr. Arndt moved to his new home on Jackson Avenue, the Arndt Cottage on Porter was used exclusively as a rental property.  Examples of his early rentals were mentioned briefly in The Pascagoula Democrat-Star as follows:

The Arndt Cottage on Porter Avenue is being prepared for Mr. Robert J. McIlrah and Family of Harrisburg, Illinois who are expected here on the 15th. (December 4, 1896, p. 3) 
Professor Q.D. Sauls is occupying the Arndt Cottage. (December 3, 1897, p. 3)

From 1953 to 1958, the Arndt Cottage was utilized by Dr. James H. Waddell (b. 1925), as his medical office.  Marie Arndt Alexander (1905-1994), a daughter of G.E. Arndt, conveyed this structure and lot to Ray L. Bellande (b. 1943), in May 1990. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 958, p. 744)

                                                                    Arndt family domicile 
 In 1895, when bachelor, George E. Arndt, decided to build for himself a cottage in Ocean Springs, there were other homes of note also being erected.  Colonel Thomas A.E. Holcomb (1831-1897) of Chicago was constructing “Hollywood”, a large residence on the northeast corner of Porter and Rayburn, a site now occupied by the Dale Cottages.  Major H.H. Richardson, also of Chicago was building at present day 605 Porter, the familiarly known VanCleave Cottage, now owned by Marvin A. Ornstein. Dr. E.J. Vaughan (1808-1897) was putting up a splendid home at present day 1112 Bowen, the former domicile of Estelle Cook Hire (1915-1998), a schoolteacher, and now the residence of the L.D. Platt family.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, January 31, 1896, p. 3) 
    

The George E. Arndt (1857-1945) familial home was erected in the fall and winter of 1895 at present day 523 Jackson Avenue.  Mr. Arndt acquired the property for his new home, described as Lot 9 of Block 31 of the Culmseig Map of 1854, in November 1890, from Marie-Artemise Rodriguez Marie (1840-1912), the widow of Antonio Marie (1832-1885), a Spanish, émigré mariner and pioneer settler of Bayou Puerto.  The consideration for the 100-foot by 200- foot lot was $300.  Marie-Artemise Rodriguez was the daughter of Spanish immigrant, Juan Antonio Rodriguez (1812-1867), and Marie-Martha Ryan.  Senor Rodriguez had received a patent on Lot 5 of Section 13, T7S-R9W from the U.S. Government in 1848.  Lot 5 comprises about 140 acres, bounded on the west and south by Bayou Puerto and Old Fort Bayou respectively and situated on the western perimeter of the modern Gulf Hill’s development.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, November 1, 1895, p. 3 and December 12, 1895, p. 3 and JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 11, p. 220) 
 

Antonio Marie had acquired Lot 9-Block 31 for $100 in October 1880, from E.P. and Bridget Bredt who were residents of Galveston, Texas at the time of the sale.  Mrs. Marie bought the property in February 1890, from her children, Esperanza Marie LaPorte (1862-1937) and Gertrude Marie Anglada Lauro (1860-1891). (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 6, pp. 21-22 and Bk.11, pp. 10-12)

Other real estate 
Before the turn of the 20th Century, George E. Arndt had acquired real estate with the town of Ocean Springs and in the countryside to the north and east.  Some of these land holdings in T7S-R8W were: Section 8-N/2 of the NE/4; Section 19-House and part of lot south side L&N RR on the Ames Tract; Section 20-Lots 13,14,15,and 16 and 2 ½ acres.

20th Century rentals 
 Early in the 20th Century, Mr. Arndt continued to enlarge his rental properties inventory in Ocean springs.  Some of his well-known, extant local homes were as follows:

E.E. Clements-E.S. Jacobs House 
In April 1907, G.E. Arndt acquired for $1800, the home of Ernest E. Clement (1861-1922) at present day at 604 Porter Avenue, formerly “The Porter House Restaurant”, of E. Stephen Jacobs.  It is situated on Lot 6 of the Jerome Ryan Tract.  Mr. Clement listed his occupation as a "traveling man" when he registered to vote at Ocean Springs on November 15, 1894.  He was born at Michigan in February 1861.  His parents were natives of New York.  In 1892, shortly before his arrival at Ocean Springs, E.E. Clement married Elizabeth (Betsy) Clement (1876-1900+), also a Michigan native.  Their two children, Elizabeth (Lissie) C. Heald (1893-1923+) and Belle C. McPherson (1896-1923+), were born here.  Mr. Clement's mother, Melissa L. Clement (1833-1903), resided with the family.  Upon departing Ocean Springs, the Clement family relocated to Asheville, North Carolina.

W.J. Engbarth-N.M. VanCourt House 
 The Engbarth-VanCourt  House is located at present day 516 Martin Avenue.  William J. Engbarth (1882-1957), called Willie, was Mr. Arndt’s first cousin.  Arndt financed the home for the Engbarths. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Trust Bk. 2, pp. 272-273 and p. 281) 
 

In April 1915, Willie Engbarth was legated the Clark-Reinike House at present day Martin Avenue, when Ellen Chambers Clark (1843-1915), the spouse of Newcomb Clark (1863-1913), a retired Union Army officer, passed on.  During the Civil War, Clark commanded the 102nd U.S.C.T., the only African-American unit from Michigan. (JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Will Bk. 2, pp. 253-254) 
 

In February 1922, Joseph R. Webber (1840-1925+), the father of Marshal Arthur D. Webber (1879-1941), acquired the Willie Engbarth home at present day 516 Martin Avenue from George E. Arndt for $700. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 51, pp. 216-217) 
     Nellie McElroy VanCourt bought this property from her mother in October 1942, after it had been owned by the Edward C. Brou family since October 1925. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 81, pp. 196-197) 
  
M.W. Austin-Walter H. Winklejohn House 
     This fine edifice is situated at 418 Martin Avenue and has the distinction of being the last property in Ocean Springs, owned by the family of Dr. William Glover Austin (1814-1894), the founder of the Ocean Springs Hotel in 1853.  G.E. Arndt acquired this lot and home from his business partner, B.F. Parkinson (1859-1930), in September 1924, for $1000.  In August 1959, he conveyed this property to Walter H. Winklejohn and Marjorie Yerger Winklejohn (1921-2002). (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 54, pp. 229-230 and Bk. 190, pp. 568-570).

Family 
     In November 1899, George E. Arndt married Adele Mary Robarts (1875-1945) of Columbus, Georgia.  Their nuptials were held at Columbus.  In 1898, Arndt had met Miss Robarts, the sister-in-law of J.B. Lemon (1862-1919), the son of Englishman, Dr. James J. Lemon (1825-1915), of Biloxi.  Miss Robarts had come from Georgia for a visit with her sister and Arndt had first seen her at the L&N Depot at Biloxi.  It was love at first sight.  Correspondence was followed by several visits to Miss Robarts in the Peach State, which led to their engagement and nuptial vows.(The Biloxi Daily Herald, November 30, 1899, p. 8 and The History of JXCO, Ms., 1989, p. 111) 
     The Lemons were in the pharmacy business at Biloxi.  Their drugstore was situated on Lameuse Street and Howard Avenue.  In March 1918, druggist J.B. Lemon opened a pharmacy in the south half of the Farmers and Merchants Bank Building on Washington and Robinson where Mr. Arndt’s Paragon Saloon had once stood.  After Lemon's demise, a New Orleanian, Matt Huber, opened a drugstore in the bank building and remained there until about 1930 when he moved to the southeast corner of Washington and Bowen. 
    Three children were born to George E. Arndt and Adele Mary Robarts Arndt: Elise Arndt (1901-1903); Marie A. Alexander (1905-1994); and George Edward Arndt Jr. (1909-1994).  They were reared on Jackson Avenue. 
  
Episcopal Church 
     George E. Arndt was a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church where he served as a vestryman.  In 1906, Mr. Arndt donated the bell for the Rayburn Avenue sanctuary.  Before its new sound pealed into the community, a bolt from the blue issued from a July thunderstorm, striking the church steeple.  The resulting force rocked the sanctuary, broke windows, and damaged electrical light fixtures.  The church sustained damages amounting to $400.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, July 13, 1906, p. 3 )

Politics 
     When the town of Ocean Springs commenced incorporation in the early 1890s, George E. Arndt was a player.  He was appointed to the town’s first election commission and had the local newspaper print 200 ballots for the inaugural elections, which were held December 13, 1893.  Mr. Arndt entered the local political scene as was elected Alderman-at-Large in 1895, a position he held continuously for eight years.  There was a hiatus of twenty-eight years when he was elected as Alderman of Ward 4 in 1931.  Arndt served but one term retiring from local politics. (Ellison, 1991, p. 6 and Schmidt, 1972, p. 133 and p. 135)

Insurance 
     By 1914, George E. Arndt and Benjamin Franklin Parkinson (1859-1930), called Frank, were partnered in the insurance business at Ocean Springs.  Their company was called Arndt & Parkinson-Fire and Tornado Insurance.(The Ocean Springs News, February 7, 1914) 
     B.F. Parkinson 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.  B.F. Parkinson nor his siblings married.  He was also 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, now the home of Thomas Crozat at     Lovrs Lane.  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) 
     After Parkinson’s demise, George E. Arndt continued in the insurance business as:

GEORGE E. ARNDT INSURANCE AGENCY 
Representing The Following Companies 
Royal Insurance Co.  Bankers & Shippers 
Ins. Co. of North America Pennsylvania Fire Ins. Co. 
Aetna Insurance Co. Maryland Casualty Co. 

FIRE, TORNADO, THEFT, LIABILITY and PROPERTY DAMAGE 
Reliable, Dependable, and Prompt Service 
Will appreciate local patronage, 
George E. Arndt, agent. 
(The Jackson County Times, July 27, 1935)

1945 
The year 1945 brought joy to the world as Word War II came to a close, but Ocean Springs and the survivors of the Arndt family of Jackson Avenue were deeply saddened by the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. George E. Arndt.  Mr. Arndt expired on February 24, 1945, while Adele Mary Robarts Arndt passed on in late August 1945.  Their corporal remains are at rest in the family burial lot in Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou.(The Jackson County Times, March 3, 1945, p. 1 and September 1, 1945, p. 1)

                                                                  

CHILDREN OF G.E. ARNDT 
Elise Arndt 
     Elise Arndt (1901-1903) was born at Ocean Springs, Mississippi on September 11, 1901.  She expired here on June 20, 1903.  She was interred in the Arndt family plot at Evergreen Cemetery.  No further information.

Marie Arndt Alexander 
     Marie A. Alexander (1905-1994) was a native of Ocean Springs, Mississippi arriving here August 15, 1905.  She may have attended All Saints Academy in Vicksburg.  Circa 1923, Marie matriculated to Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge after her high school graduation.  Post-graduation, Marie lectured in the Junior High School English Department at the new Ocean Springs Public School on Government Street in 1929 and 1930. 
In June 1930, Marie married Harry David Alexander (1905-1984), the son of William H. Alexander and Katherine Rosenblum, at New Orleans.  Harry was a construction engineer and also a graduate of LSU.(The Daily Herald, July 23, 1930) 
     The Alexanders retired to Ocean Springs and acquired the family residence on Jackson Avenue in April 1977, from Mrs. Alexander’s brother, George E. Arndt Jr.  She also bought the Arndt family rental cottage at 822 Porter from George. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 608 , p. 374 and p. 375) 
 

Harry Alexander expired on January 8, 1984.  Marie lived another decade passing on February 11, 1994.  She died intestate and without children.  Her brother, George E. Arndt Jr., was her sole heir-at-law. (JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 94-0483)

George E. Arndt Jr. 
George Edward Arndt Jr. (1909-1994) was born at Ocean Springs, Mississippi on June 26, 1909.  He attended local schools but went to Biloxi for his high school education, graduating with the Biloxi High Class of 1927.  Among those from Ocean Springs who were in this class were: Morris McClure Baker (1907-1994), Lellen Davis Kennady (1907-1993), Louis Lundy, Ursula McEwen (1909-1994), and Helen Newcomb (1907-1967), who married Sherman L. Wright (1908-1982).  Baker and Lundy were outstanding athletes who led the 1927 Biloxi Indians to State Championships in football, baseball, and track and field. 
Others with Ocean Springs connections in Arndt’s class were: Alice Tee Weir (1908-2001), who would marry Albert Austin (1876-1951) and Absalom  Jackson IV (1909-1976), the grandson of  Dr. Absalom Jackson II (1842-1925), who operated the Ocean Springs Hotel on Jackson Avenue from 1894-1898. 
 

After completing his studies in Biloxi, young George E. Arndt Jr. matriculated to the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University, where he studied Mechanical Engineering.  Graduating from Auburn during the Depression, G.E. Arndt Jr. was fortunate to find employment with the W.P.A., as a project engineer.  In December 1941, he became associated with Ingalls Shipbuilding at Pascagoula, as head of the Weight Department.  The salient task of Mr. Arndt’s group was to careful weigh the materials utilized in the construction of US Naval vessels at the shipyard. (The Daily Herald, April 18, 1938, p. 6,  The Jackson County Times, July 10, 1943, p. 1, and The Sun Herald, April 26, 1994, p. A-2) 
  
Shadowlawn 
Prior to his employment at Ingalls, George E. Arndt Jr. on April 16, 1938, married Dorothy “Dot” Dickey (1915-1975), the daughter of John Leo Dickey (1880-1938) and Jennie Woodford Dickey (1879-1969), natives of Niles, Michigan.  Their nuptial vows took place at Shadowlawn, the Dickey Estate, at present day 112-A Shearwater Drive, now the residence and bed and breakfast inn of Bill and Nancy White Wilson, the granddaughter of Mrs. Jennie W. Dickey.  Reverend J.T. Thompson of St. Paul’s Methodist Church officiated at the Arndt-Dickey wedding.(The Daily Herald, April 18, 1938, p. 6 and JXCO, MRB 104, p. 424) 

    

Mr. Dickey was educated at the University of Michigan as a Civil Engineer.  After marriage in 1902, the young couple moved to Plaquemine, Louisiana, where he was employed with the U.S. Civil Engineering Corps.  In 1908, the Dickeys relocated to New Orleans where he went into the construction business with Lester Alexander.  They specialized in river work engineering projects such as, building jetties, locks, etc.  Mr. Dickey was often called to Central America for consultations.  The Dickeys had four children, John Edwin Dickey who died as an infant, and three daughters, Eleanor Joy Dickey (1908-1916), Ruth Dickey White Scharr (1913-2000), and Dorothy Dickey Arndt (1915-1975). 
    

The Dickeys discovered Ocean Springs while searching for a place for his business partner, Lester Alexander, to recover from a lengthy malady.  From 1922 until 1933, the Dickey family spent their holiday and vacation time at Shadowlawn, the former estate of William Gray Kendall (1812-1872), which they acquired in June 1922, from Magdalena Grob (1845-1929), the widow of Christian Hanson (1845-1914).  In the fall of 1933, the Dickey family became permanent residents of the Ocean Springs community. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 51, pp. 544-545 and The History of Jackson County, Mississippi-1989, p. 190) 
  
112 Shearwater Drive 
     George and Dot Arndt lived on the Dickey Estate on Shearwater Drive in what was the old Kendall Schoolhouse, which they referred to as the “octagon house” because o fits unusual geometric shape.  After Mrs. Dickey conveyed the east half of her estate to Dot in December 1954, the Arndts had their novel home moved to the east onto their property and refurbished it as their permanent residence.  When George Arndt had their present home built in the 1950s, the “octagon house” was moved further east.  It was inundated by Camille in August 1969, and destroyed. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 145, pp. 142-145 and Ruth Dickey Scharr-1998)

New career 
     After the death of his father in February 1945, George E. Arndt Jr. left Ingalls and continued the family insurance and real estate business that his father had built.  He had become familiar with his father’s enterprises after G.E. Arndt Sr. had become ill.  G.E. Arndt Jr. was thoroughly prepared to embark on his new career as his business successes have shown.(The Jackson County Times, March 10, 1945, p. 1) 
  
Arndt Building 
     In November 1952, G.E. Arndt Jr. erected a small tile building at present day 913 Washington Avenue to house his Gulf Insurance Agency and real estate business.  This structure is now the local realty office of Fair Winds Inc., the developers of Bayou Sauvolle Subdivision.  G. Dickey Arndt of Friendswood, Texas and the son of George E. Arndt Jr., is the proprietor of both the building and Fair Winds Inc.  Margaret Hollingsworth Anderson is the office manager for G. Dickey Arndt, as she was for his father.

New spouse 
     Some five years after the death of his spouse, G.E. Arndt Jr. in October 1980, married Mary Griffin Furlow (1922-1994), the daughter of Walter T. Griffin III and Nell E. Williams Griffin.  She was a native of Manhattan, Kansas and had attended Kansas State University.  At Ocean Springs, Mary was active in the DAR, Gulf Coast Symphony Guild, and Ocean Springs Garden Club.  She had been president of the General Federation of Women’s Club-Mississippi Chapter and president of the Ocean Springs Women’s Club and Ocean Springs Friends of the Library. (JXCO, Ms. MRB 140, p. 176 and The Sun Herald, April 26, 1994, p. A-2)

Cruel day in April 1994 
     In late April 1994, George and Mary Arndt were traveling to Natchez, Mississippi and were killed on US Interstate 55, as the result of an automobile accident, which occurred near Hammond, Louisiana.  Their corporal remains were cremated.(The Sun Herald, April 26, 1994, p. A-2 and The Ocean Springs Record, April 28, 1994, p. 1)

CHILDREN OF G.E. ARNDT JR.

George Dickey Arndt 
     George Dickey Arndt (b. 1938), called Dickey, attended Ocean Springs Public Schools graduating in 1957.  He matriculated to Mississippi State University obtaining a Bachelor and Master Degree in electrical engineering. 
In July 1964, Dickey Arndt married Sherod Marye “Sherrie” Raum (b. 1944), a native of Washington, D.C., in the First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs, with the Reverend Merlin Usner in attendance.  Her parents were Major Ralph J. Raum (1921-2002) and Lois Marye Robertson Raum (1926-1967).  After their wedding ceremony, Dickey and Sherrie Arndt commenced their lives together at Austin, Texas where Dickey was a doctoral candidate in Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas.  They later settled in Friendswood, Texas and had a son, Scott Dickey Arndt. (The Ocean Springs News, July 23, 1964, p. 4,  JXCO, MRB 104, p. 424, and The Sun Herald, April 26, 1994, p. A-2) 
The Raums, natives of Virginia, came to Ocean Springs in 1960, with the USAF from Fairbanks, Alaska.  In 1964, after his military career ended, Major Raum elected to retire on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He acquired the Farmers and Merchants Bank Building in 1965 from Glen Lyle Swetman.   Before his retirement, Lois Raum and Pam Smith of Pascagoula opened a gift shop in Ocean Springs, which they called Salmagundi. (Ralph J. Raum, January 5, 1994)

Nancy Ruth Arndt 
      Nancy Ruth Arndt  9-26-1939 to 5-14-1942.  No further information.

                                                                    

EMMA ARNDT MEYER 
     George E. Arndt Sr. also had a sister, Emma Arndt Meyer (1866-1938+), who came to Ocean Springs from Pass Christian, Mississippi in the 1890s.  It is known with certitude that Emma Meyer bought the VanCleave Hotel in December 1891, from Robert A. VanCleave (1840-1908) for $3300.  The sale excepted the furniture, beds, bedding, dining room furniture, and kitchen furniture. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 13, p. 157) 
     Mrs. Meyer renamed VanCleave’s hostel, the Meyer Hotel.  It was located on the southeast corner of Washington Avenue and Robinson across from the L&N Depot.  Peter Meyer (1834-1899), her husband, died at the hotel in November 1899, leaving her with four children to rear: Victoria Meyer (b. 1889), Vivian Meyer (b. 1891), Llewellyn Meyer (b. 1894), and Ethel Meyer (b. 1897). (The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, November 10, 1899, p. 3) 
     Dr. O.L. Bailey (1870-1938) bought Mrs. Meyer's hotel in November 1905, for $3000.  It is believed that Mrs. Meyer moved to New Orleans.  She was residing in Los Angeles in 1938. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 30, p. 301)

REFERENCES:

Charles L. Dyer, Along The Gulf, "Ocean Springs", (Republished by The Women of the Trinity Episcopal Church: Pass Christian-1971).  (Originally published circa 1895).

The History of Jackson County, Mississippi, “George Edward Arndt”, (The Jackson County Genealogical Society: Pascagoula, Mississippi-1989)

                                                                        Chancery Court Cases 
Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 9208, “The Estate of George E. Arndt”, March 1945. 
Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 9337, “The Estate of Adele M.  Arndt”, August 1945. 
Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 94-0483, “The Estate of Marie Arndt Alexander”, 1994. 
Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 94-1197, “The Will of Mary Griffin Arndt”, 1994. 
Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 94-1198, “The Will of George E. Arndt Jr.”, 1994.

                                                                                     Journals 
The Biloxi Daily Herald, “Local and Personal”, November 30, 1899. 
The Daily Herald, “Ocean Springs News”, July 23, 1930. 
The Daily Herald, “Arndt-Dickey”, April 18, 1938. 
The Daily Herald,  “George E. Arndt”, February 24, 1945. 
The Gulf Coast Times, “Tribute To A Local Citizen”, December 16, 1949. 
The Gulf Coast Times, “Arndt To Construct New Building Here”, November 6, 1952. 
The Jackson County Times, "Clement Bellande Obit", May 20, 1918, p. 5, c. 5. 
The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, January 10, 1925. 
The Jackson County Times, “George E. Arndt Insurance Agency”, July 27, 1935. 
The Jackson County Times, “Arndt-Dickey”, April 1938. 
The Jackson County Times, July 10, 1943, p. 1 
The Jackson County Times, “George E. Arndt”, March 3, 1945. 
The Jackson County Times, “George E. Arndt Jr. To Carry On Real Estate Business”, March 10, 1945. 
The Jackson County Times, “Mrs. Mary Arndt”, September 1, 1945. 
The Ocean Springs News, “Miss Raum and George Arndt Recite Vows”, July 12, 1964. 
The Ocean Springs Record, "Ocean Springs couple killed in I-55 accident", April 28, 1994.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Local and Personal”, November 19, 1889. 
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, November 1, 1895. 
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, December 6, 1895. 
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, January 31, 1896. 
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, November 10, 1899. 
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, July 13, 1906. 
The Progress, “$25.00 Reward!”, December 31, 1904. 
The Sun Herald, “George E. Arndt”, April 26, 1994. 
The Sun Herald, “Mrs. Mary G. Arndt”, April 26, 1994.

THEODORE 'THEO' BECHTEL

Theodore "Theo" Bechtel (1863-1931), the progenitor of the Bechtel family of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, was born at Staunton, Illinois, the son of Ernest A. Bechtel, a German immigrant, and Mary Louise Gildemeister. His siblings were: August Robert Bechtel (1857-1930), Henry C. Bechtel, and a sister. August R. Bechtel was born at Georgetown, Maryland and came to Ocean Springs in 1920. He expired here in May 1930, and his remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery. Henry C. Bechtel resided at Evansville, Indiana. (Bradford-O’Keefe Burial Book 18, p. 118 and The Daily Herald, January 19, 1931, p. 1)

At Illinois, Theo Bechtel, an arborist-horticulturist, developed and owned a fruit orchard where he raised apples and pears. Here, he and his brother, August R. Bechtel (1850-1930), developed the "Bechtels' Double Flowering Crab Apple" which was introduced at the World's Fair at Chicago in 1898. Theo Bechtel sold his Illinois orchards after settling at Ocean Springs. (The Daily Herald, March 27, 1958)

Colligan place-Maurepas Landing

Theo Bechtel came to Ocean Springs in 1899, from Edwardsville, Illinois to work for Dr. Homer L. Stewart (1835-1907) and his spouse, Fannie Brewer Stewart (1838-1929) on the old Colligan place, now the site of the Maurepas Landing Subdivision, another misnamed development and discredit to our local history. The Stewarts were natives of Kalamazoo, Michigan and Danville, New York respectively. They came to Ocean Springs in December 1891, to grow celery on the Colligan place. (The Biloxi Herald, December 19, 1891, p. 1)

The Colligan place was the ancestral home of Henry Colligan (1823-1887), an Irish immigrant, who had obtained a land patent on eighty-acres, the SW/4 of the NW/4 and the NW/4 of the SW/4 of Section 20, T7S-R8W, in March 1854. Dr. Stewart purchased this tract in early December 1891, for $2000 from the Heirs of Henry Colligan: James R. Colligan (1855-1905), Mary Colligan (1832-1904), and John D. Colligan (1859-1893). (JXCO Land Deed Bk. 13, p. 176 and Bk. 12, pp. 545-547)

Dr. Stewart is believed to have been killed in the riots at Goldfield, Nevada in 1907. ( The Ocean Springs News, January 23, 1909, p. 1)

The H.L. Stewart orchard evolved through several ownerships, including the Maine based Southern Nut Company, becoming what most septuagenarians and octogenarians today would remember as the John C. "Jack" Wright pecan orchards and Fort Bayou Dairy. The operation of Jack Wright (1879-1941) was partnered with his brother-in-law, Haroldson Lafayette "H.L." Hunt (1889-1974), the founder of Hunt Oil, Placid Oil, Penrod Drilling Company, Panola Pipeline, and others. Today, the one hundred plus acre, "Hunt Oil" property, as it became known, is now the Maurepas Landing Subdivision, which began infrastructure development in the winter of 1996, by Lovelace & Hamilton. The first home here was completed at 122 Surgeres (sic) Place in March 1998.

The Holcombs

With the waning of Dr. Homer L. Stewart’s personal fortune and his later demise, Theo Bechtel was hired by recently widowed, Martha Lyon Holcomb (1833-1906) to care for her orchards east of town. Here he toiled grafting pecan and fruit trees for Mrs. Holcomb.

Martha L. "Mattie" Holcomb, a native of Vermont, was the widow of Thomas Addis Emmet Holcomb (1831-1897), the former proprietor of the Central Pharmacy at Kensington, Cook County, Illinois. Mr. Holcomb was born on April 9, 1831, at Westport, New York. He received his primary education there. Holcomb matriculated to Knox College at Galesburg, Illinois where he studied the Classics. He married Martha A. Lyon in 1857. Mrs. Holcomb could have been related to Mrs. Alice Lyon Weed (1853-1928), also a Vermont native, and the wife of Frederick Mason Weed (1850-1926), L&N station agent and third mayor of Ocean Springs. The Holcombs traveled to Europe after his graduation. In 1859, they spent a year in Sweden where he translated "Fridthjof's Saga" into the English language. Holcomb received national acclaim for this literary contribution. At Ocean Springs he was president of the "King Fishers", a prominent social organization. (The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, August 27, 1897)

Shortly before his death in August 1897, Mr. Holcomb went fishing with Captain Tiblier for red snapper. He may have been an early victim of the 1897 Yellow Fever epidemic, which struck Ocean Springs in the late summer and fall of that year. Matilda Endt (b. 1874) assisted Mrs. Holcomb after the demise of her husband. (The Pascagoula-Democrat Star, August 6, 1897)

"Hollywood"

The Holcombs settled permanently at Ocean Springs in 1894. They bought property on Porter at Rayburn in three parcels between 1887 and 1890. Probably in 1893, on the built northeast corner of Porter and Rayburn, their magnificent edifice called "Hollywood" was built. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 9, p. 78, Bk. 11, pp. 178-180, and Bk. 12, p. 415)

Arlene Muzzy White (1907-2000), a niece of Mrs. Theodore Bechtel, who born and worked in Chicago, but spent many years at Ocean Springs as a child and adult, the last twenty-fives years plus as a resident of the Villa Maria, remembered that the Bechtels had the only tennis court in town, which they had built in their Porter Avenue yard. John L. Dickey (1880-1938) built one later at their beachfront estate, "Shadowlawn", east of the Shearwater Pottery. Mr. Dickey’s daughter, Ruth Dickey White Scharr (, would later marry Eugene L. "Shorty" White (1913-1945), Arlene’s brother. (Arlene M. White, June 1995 and The Sun Herald, December 8, 2000, p. A-7)

Orchards

Mr. and Mrs. Holcomb also accumulated land east of Ocean Springs, primarily in Section 29, T7S-R8W. They purchased over two hundred-fifty acres in this section from Chauncey S. Bell (1842-1925), Silas Weeks (1823-1901), and William A. Evans between 1897 and 1904. They developed orchards in the area bounded by present day Bechtel and Holcomb Boulevards south of County Road (Government). Mrs. Holcomb had Holcomb Boulevard completed to East Beach in January 1898. (The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, January 28, 1898, p. 3)

In 1901, Mrs. Holcomb leased thirty acres on Holcomb Boulevard to Theo Bechtel for his pecan nursery. She sold it to him in January 1904. (The Progress, January 30, 1904, p. 4)

Before Mrs. Mattie Holcomb died on November 29, 1906, at Ocean Springs, she legated her home on Porter and other properties to her foster son, Theodore Bechtel (1863-1931). She also gave the City of Ocean Springs $200 to start a Public Library. Mrs. Holcomb’s corporal remains were sent to Cobden, Illinois for burial. (JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 1578-August 1906)

Jessica White and family

Circa 1906, Theo Bechtel married Jessica White (1868-1946), a native of Indianapolis, Indiana. She was born on December 30, 1868, the eldest daughter of the fifteen children of Charles Mason White (1838-1924) and Emily Elizabeth Field White (1840-1933), both Illinois natives who married in November 1864. Jessica was an acquaintance of Mrs. Holcomb whom she had met in Chicago. She was well educated and employed in the publishing field at Chicago, before moving to Ocean Springs. Theo and Jessica had a son, Theodore Bechtel Jr. (1909-2003). The Bechtels also reared Jessica’s nephew, Eugene L. "Shorty" White (1913-1945), and niece, Arlene M. White (1907-2000). Jessica W. Bechtel expired on March 14, 1946, near Jackson, Mississippi. Her corporal remains were brought to the Evergreen Cemetery for burial. Four brothers survived her: H.B. White, Kenneth G. White, Carl F. White, and R.L. White, all of Chicago. Her surviving sisters were: Mrs. Raymond Johnson (Santa Fe, New Mexico), Mrs. Lansing Millis and Mrs. George Kiefer (both of Berkeley, California). ( The Jackson County Times, June 14, 1924 and The Daily Herald, March 15, 1946, p. 3)

There is a high degree of certitude that the Holcombs and Whites had met at Knox College as Charles and Emily White had both attended this institution. Charles M. White was born at Lockport, Illinois. He was educated at Galesburg and graduated from Knox College at Galesburg in 1861. He was well known in the insurance circles of the Midwest. (The Jackson County Times, June 14, 1924)

Emily Elizabeth Field White (1840 –1933) was born in Illinois on November 17, 1840. In 1858, she graduated from Knox College at Galesburg, Illinois. Mrs. White was an educator and resided at Wichita, Kansas and Chicago, before moving to Ocean Springs in 1917. (The Daily Herald, January 21, 1933, p. 2) Charles M. White and Emily Field White are at eternal rest in the Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort bayou.

Commanche Junior

 Mr. and Mrs. White resided on Holcomb Boulevard the east side of Ocean Springs. They referred to their place as "Comanche Junior", as they had a ranch in Michigan, which was the site of their original, "Comanche". On July 4, 1917, the Whites flew an American flag from Chicago at their Holcomb Boulevard residence. (The Jackson County Times, July 14, 1917, p. 5) 

In their advanced years, the Whites came to live at "Hollywood" on Porter with the Bechtels.

Success Dairy

Theo Bechtel for a short time was engaged as a dairy farmer east of Ocean Springs. One of his innovations was to place his milk in bottles prior to sales to consumers. Previously milk was delivered to homes in pails. The Success Dairy was vended to George Rehage (1878-1937) in February 1914. (Theo Bechtel Jr. July 1995 and The Ocean Springs News,February 7, 1914)

Musical interests

In May 1909, Theo Bechtel was lauded by the Ocean Springs Brass Band for his generous financial support of their efforts. A band spokesman said that if more citizens showed the interest of Theo Bechtel, Ocean Springs would have the finest band in Mississippi. The Bechtels also were members of the Dixie Musical Club. (The Ocean Springs News, May 1, 1909, p. 5)

Marshall Park

 Both Mr. and Mrs. Theo Bechtel were proactive in the political and cultural affairs of Ocean Springs. They were charter members of the Ocean Springs Civic Federation, which was instrumental in improving the physical appearance of the town with its construction of Marshall Park in 1911. Mrs. Bechtel was chosen as the secretary-treasurer of the Ocean Springs Civic Federation, by its membership.

On September 9, 1911, Marshall Park was praised by A.E. Lee (1874-1936), editor of The Ocean Springs News. In his journal, Mr. Lee wrote:"a very pretty spot and a credit to the town, the Civic Federation and the Park Committee, Messrs. H.B. Powell, Theo Bechtel, and J.H. Behrens. It should be the desire and determination of every loyal citizen to make it still prettier and a place all can point to with pride."

The Success Pecan

Theo Bechtel's knowledge of plants, his Germanic work ethic, and personal integrity soon propelled him among the leaders of Ocean Springs’ commercial orchardist. He was active developing a pecan nursery, farm, and house on the west side of Holcomb Boulevard, south of County Road (Government), and north of present day Hudson Road on about thirty acres. This tract was acquired from Mrs. Mattie Holcomb in January 1904, for $650, and Mr. Bechtel called it "The Bechtel Pecan Nurseries". (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 27, pp. 462-463)

Theo Bechtel created the "Success" paper shell nut from a pecan seedling found on the old W.B. Schmidt place, which was located on Front Beach west of Martin Avenue. He also developed a more efficient top grafting wax, which was necessary for this climate, by hardening it with rosin, and was the first on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to introduce a chemical spray to combat pecan scab. (The Daily Herald, March 27, 1958)

In November 1915, Mr. Bechtel shipped fifteen hundred pounds of pecans to Chicago by fast freight. The demand for Ocean Springs' pecans was very great at this time and the grower sold them for $.50 per pound. Also in 1915, one of his Van Deman pecan trees, which was planted in 1900, set a world’s record by yielding 183 pounds of pecans. It had grown to 54 inches in diameter by this time. (The Ocean Springs News, November 18, 1915, p. 3 and Dabney, 1915, p. 27)

In the late 1920s, Bechtel sent pecans to Chicago and other areas through the London Grocery Company of Hattiesburg. He received about $30 per bag before the Depression and $12 per bag for his pecans during the early years of that economic downturn. A pecan bag was usually an old burlap coffee sack and could hold between 90 and 100 pounds of nuts. (JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 5324-February 1931)

At one time, Theo Bechtel shipped so many 5 and 10 pound pecan packages that this activity caused the rating of the Ocean Springs Post Office to grade higher than expected for a town with its population.

Pecan thieves

Mr. Theo Bechtel was a seeker of justice. In late 1923 and early 1924, he filed lawsuits in the Chancery Court of Jackson County against juveniles from Ocean Springs who had stolen over seventy pounds of pecans from his orchard. Bechtel wanted them sent to the Mississippi Industrial & Training School, a reform school. (JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Causes No. 4395-4398).

Pecan leader

 Theo Bechtel’s knowledge and experience in the pecan industry was well known and respected throughout the American agricultural industry. This fact led him to the leadership of national and regional organization associated with pecan culture. Among his many honors were: In October 1910, Theodore Bechtel, J.H. Behrens, and George E. McEwen organized the Jackson County Growers and Shipper Association at Ocean Springs. This co-op consisted of truck farmers, fruit and nut growers of the region. They planned to operate warehouses, make bulk purchases, and merchandise farm and orchard produce. (The Ocean Springs News, October 29, 1910, p. 1)

In April 1914, at Mobile, Alabama Theo Bechtel was chosen as president of the Gulf Coast Nurserymen’s Association. (The Ocean Springs News, April 25, 1914, p. 5) 

In December 1916, Governor Theodore Bilbo and son came to the Bechtel nurseries and orchards on Holcomb Boulevard to consult with Mr. Bechtel about pecan stock for his farm at Poplarville, Mississippi. Bilbo was impressed with the quality of Bechtel’s plants and acquired young pecan trees for his Pearl River, County plantation.(The Daily Herald, January 1917, p. 3) 

In August 1930, Theo Bechtel was chosen as president of the local affiliate of the National Pecan Marketing Association. Gulfport was headquarters for the group, whose membership resided and farmed in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. (The Daily Herald, August 16, 1930, p. 1) 

Ames Cottage

Jessica White Bechtel owned the Ames Cottage at present day 1204 Iberville Drive, the residence of local artist, Roy B. Logan III. It was constructed in July 1910, by the firm of Burr & Bradford for Miss Eliza Ames (1845-1917). Burr & Bradford was composed of John Burr (1875-1916) and Frederick S. Bradford (1878-1951). In September 1936, Theo Bechtel conveyed this property to I.F. Pritchard. It has been in the Logan family since May 1966. (The Ocean Springs News, July 4, 1910 and JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 69, pp. 308-309)

Demise

At the time of his demise on January 17, 1931, Theodore Bechtel's nursery had over 13,000 young pecan trees, 947 satsuma trees, 940 tung oil trees, 150 peach trees, 128 palms, 51 mulberry trees, 32 lemon trees, and 17 plum trees. His remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou. Bechtel's brother, August R. Bechtel, came to live at the Bechtels' home, "Hollywood", in 1920. He died at Ocean Springs on May 18, 1930, and was also buried in the Evergreen Cemetery. (JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 5324-February 1931 and The Daily Herald, January 19, 1931, p. 1)

"Hollywood" burns

."Hollywood", the Holcomb-Bechtel home on the northeast corner of Rayburn and Porter burned on January 14, 1939. Mrs. Charlotte Franco Cochran (1864-1939) died at her home opposite Marshall Park on the southeast corner of Robinson and Church Street while watching the Bechtel conflagration. Mrs. Jessica W. Bechtel was rescued from the second story by using a ladder provided by her son, Theo Bechtel Jr. A boarder, Mrs. Gutierrez, also escaped injury. The edifice was uninsured and declared a total loss. The Bechtels had valuable antiques along with their personal possessions destroyed in the blaze, which was estimated to have caused more than $5000 in damage. (The Daily Herald, January 14, 1939, p. 1)

In August 1941, Theo Bechtel, Jr. and his mother, Jessica, sold their Porter Avenue property to Oscar E. Heffner (1893-1988), a native of Chesapeake, Ohio, and his wife Ruth H. Brewster Heffner (1894-1972), originally from Howell County, Missouri. The Bechtels had moved to their Holcomb Boulevard property after the 1939 fire, which severely damaged their Porter Avenue residence. It was here on the former site of "Hollywood" that in 1941, the Heffners built the present day Dale Cottages on Porter. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 259, p. 366)

Theodore Bechtel Jr

Theodore "Ted" Bechtel Jr. (1908-2003)was born at Ocean Springs on October 10, 1908. He attended the public schools here and graduated from the inaugural class of the 1927 Ocean Springs Public School, now the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center. Others to receive diplomas in his May 31, 1928 graduation class were: Frank C. Beuhler (1909-1985), Seth McEwen (1909-1986), Sarah Stewart, and Leroy White. (The Jackson County Times, June 2, 1928, p. 3, c. 3)

Although two others students in the 1928 graduation class had the same scholastic average as Frank C. Beuhler, he was named Valedictorian of the class since he had a better attendance record. Local jeweler, Phil N. Kreutz (1869-1934), donated two gold medals to the public school. One was awarded to Beuhler as Valedictorian and the other to Catherine Carver, a third grader, for her perfect attendance record. Ted Bechtel received a gold medal from the Inter-State Trust and Banking Company of New Orleans for his essay: "Is Flood Control an Immediate Necessity and a National Responsibility?" was also (The Jackson County Times, May 26, 1928, p. 2)

In April 1928, several members of the Senior Class had distinguished themselves at the Literary Field Meet in Biloxi. Theo Bechtel Jr. won second place in Biology and Frank Beuhler was awarded fourth place in English and Rhetoric. Ocean Springs High School placed third among the competing educational institutions of the Gulf Coast. Lower classmen, Francesca Spencer (1912-1963) and Schuyler Poitevent Jr. (1911-1978), won gold medals for their knowledge of American History and Current History. (The Jackson County Times, April 28, 1928, p. 2)

Here, Theo Bechtel, Jr. carried on his father's work and was employed at Ingalls Shipyard at Pascagoula, until called into the military service during WWII. He served with the US Navy’s 5th Amphibious Force in the South Pacific seeing action at Tarawa, Saipan, and the Philippines. His sea duties also brought Bechtel to the Aleutian Islands.(Theo Bechtel Jr., July 10, 1995)

In June 1942, Ted Bechtel had married Florence Otis Ogden (1919-1997), the daughter of Norbert E. Ogden and Florence L. Simon. Their children were: Dolores L. "Dolly" Bechtel Sturtevant Cervi (b. 1945), Herbert Theodore Bechtel (b. 1950), and Simon Henri Bechtel (b. 1957). (JXCO, Ms. MRB 35, p. 533)

Bechtel Subdivisions

In July 1950, Ted Bechtel platted in Section 29, T7S-R8W, the Bechtel No. 1 and Bechtel No. 2 Subdivisions, consisting of 35 lots, on the west side of Bechtel Boulevard commencing at Government Street and going south about 2900 feet. This tract was approximately 42.4 acres in area. (JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Surveyors Record Bk. 1, pp. 247-248)

In the late 1960s, three smaller subdivisions were created within the Bechtel Subdivisons-Arbor Vista, Elliott Place, and Sun Haven. In December 1993, the Bechtel Place Subdivision of Hamilton and Loveless was platted in the north portion of the original Bechtel Subdivison. Le Moyne et Associe’ created the Bechtel Heights Subdivisions in 1968. Pot Luck Nursery After WWII, Ted Bechtel operated his Pot Luck Nursery on Hanley Road. He sold it in 1962 and moved to Simmons Bayou Road. Today, Mr. Bechtel resides in Stone County, Mississippi, west of Wiggins with his daughter, Dorothy 'Dolly' B. Cervi. Florence O. Bechtel expired at Ocean Springs on May 20,1997. Her corporal remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery in Ocean Springs. (Simon H. Bechtel, April 2003 and The Ocean Springs Record, May 20, 1997, p. 5)

REFERENCES:

Bradford-O’Keefe Burial Book No. 18, "August Robert Bechtel", (Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home: Biloxi, Mississippi-1930)

Thomas E. Dabney, Ocean Springs: The Land Where Dreams Come True (c. 1915), (reprinted by Lewis Printing Services: Pascagoula, Mississippi-1974).

Chancery Court Cases

Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 1578, "Estate of Martha A. Holcomb", August 18, 1906.

Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 5324, "Estate of Theodore Bechtel", 1931.

Journals

The Biloxi Herald, "Ocean Springs", December 19, 1891.

The Daily Herald, "Bilbo’s Pecan Farm", January 2, 1917. 

The Daily Herald, "Bechtel Heads Pecan Growers", August 16, 1930.

The Daily Herald, "Theo. Bechtel Funeral Held This Morning", January 19, 1931.

The Daily Herald, "Woman Dies As Residence Burns", January 14, 1939.

The Daily Herald, "Mrs. Bechtel Dies", March 15, 1946.

The Daily Herald, "Know Your Coast"-"The ‘Success Story’ Of Ocean Springs", March 27, 1958.

The Jackson County Times, "Flag Raising on the Boulevard", July 14, 1917.

The Jackson County Times, "Death of Charles M. White", June 14, 1924.

The Jackson County Times, "How To Save Storm Blown Pecans", October 2, 1926.

The Jackson County Times, "Ocean Springs Wins Third Place In Literary Meet", April 28, 1928.

The Jackson County Times, "Public School Pupils Receive Gold Medals", May 26, 1928.The Jackson County Times, "Graduation Of Five Ends High School Term", June 2, 1928.

The Jackson County Times, "Bechtel Home Destroyed By Fire", January 21, 1939.

The Jackson County Times,

The Jackson County Times,

The Ocean Springs News, "Dr. H.L. Stuart (sic) Cannot Be Found", January 23, 1909.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", May 1, 1909. 

The Ocean Springs News, "Local Corporation Creates Interest", October 29,1910.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", September 9, 1911.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", February 7, 1914.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", April 25, 1914.

The Ocean Springs News, "Pecans Are Being Sold Faster This Year Than Last Year", November 18, 1915, p. 3.

The Ocean Springs NewsThe Ocean Springs Record, "Florence Ogden Bechtel", May 20, 1997, p. 5.

The Pascagoula-Democrat Star, "Ocean Springs Locals", August 6, 1897.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Thomas A.E. Holcomb Obit", August 27, 1897.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Ocean Springs Locals", January 28, 1898.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Ocean Springs Locals", February 10, 1899.

The Progress, "Local News Items", January 30, 1904.

The Sun Herald, "Arlene Muzzy White", December 8, 2000.

Personal Communication:
Arlene M. White-June 1995.

Theo Bechtel, Jr.-July 1995.

Simon H. Bechtel-April 2003.

 

John H. Behrens (1848-1918) was born in Germany in 1848. He immigrated to America in 1872, and settled at Chicago. Here he became very successful and made a fortune in the engraving and printing business. For many years, Mr. Behrens was president of the Franklin Engraving and Electrotyping Company and the Chicago Colortype Company.(The Jackson County Times, July 27, 1918, p. 5)

Circa 1875, Mr. Behrens married another German immigrant who expired before 1900. She bore him five children: Frieda B. Hollweg, wife of William Hollweg; Louise Behrens (1878-1918+); George A. Behrens (1882-1935+); Clara B. Boyd (1884-1918+), wife of William T. Boyd; and Martha B. Quin (1890-1918+), wife of George Robert Quin. In 1900, Mr. Behrens was a widower and resided with four of his children on Malden Street in Ward 25 of Chicago.(1900 Federal Census-Cook Co., Ill., T623-275, Bo. 2, p. 80)

Between 1900 and 1909, J.H. Behrens married Agnes Sievers (1860-1920).

Fort Bayou Fruit Company-Behrens Pecan Orchards, Inc.

The Fort Bayou Fruit Company was founded by John H. Behrens (1848-1918), Parker A. Jenks, and John Vennema of Chicago in 1909, with the intent to raise and sell nuts, fruits, trees, grains and other crops in Mississippi.(The Ocean Springs News, December 18, 1909, p. 8)

In February 1910, The Fort Bayou Fruit Company began to acquire acreage south of Vancleve in Section 31, T6S-R7W. Here 100 acres were purchased southwest of the A.L. Orrell place on Highway 59, now Highway 57, from Mary Witt Richardson (1849-1927) for $1000.(JXCO Land Deed Book 35, pp. 369-370).

On these cut-over timberlands abounding with tree stumps, Behrens with his strong Teutonic work ethic, converted the pine barrens to a money-making, agricultural venture. Pecans, oranges, grape fruit, persimmon, and fig along with corn, Irish potatoes, cowpeas, cabbage, tomatoes, melons, and cantaloupes were planted. In regards to pecans and citrus, J.H. Behrens cultivated 750 pecans of the best varieties, 2250 satsuma oranges, 350 grapefruit, and over 350 Japanese persimmons. Frank Flowers (1872-1911+), a Kentucky native, was the working farm manager.(The Ocean Springs News, May 27, 1911, p. 1, c. 7)

The Behren’s farm won first prize at the Gulfport Fair in October 1910, for their white corn. Their fields yielded 80 bushels per acre of uniform, quality corn.(The Ocean Springs News, October 1910)

In December 1913, J.H. Behrens of the Fort Bayou Fruit Company bought additional acreage for $600, the NW/4 of the SW/4 of Section 32, T6S-R7W, from Isabella Johnson of Mobile County.(JXCO Land Deed Bk. 39, pp. 634-635)

In July 1915, a windmill and pumping outlet were added to the Behrens’s farm to provide a steady supply of water for their livestock.(The Ocean Springs News, July 1, 1915)

 

With the Fort Bayou Fruit Company established south of Vancleve, John H. Behrens sought a winter residence in Ocean Springs. In April 1910, with the aid of local realtor, George E. Arndt (1857-1945), himself of German parentage, Mr. Behrens made a bid for the Austin place on Martin Avenue with the owner, Miss Mattie M. Austin (1842-1916), the daughter of Dr. William G. Austin (1814-1891) and Martha E. Porter (1818-1898) of formerly of New Orleans. Dr. Austin had erected the Ocean Springs Hotel in 1853, from which Ocean Springs derived its name in 1854. The Austin deal was finalized in May 1910. At the time, Miss Austin was a temporary residen tof West Brighton, Richmond County, New York.(JXCO Land Deed Book 35, pp. 508-509)

After spending the summer at Chicago, J.H. Behren and spouse returned to Ocean Springs in September 1910. They established fall and winter quarters at the Shanahan House on Washington and Calhoun. From here, the Behrens planned to extensively refurbish the Mattie Austin place on Martin Avenue and oversee the Fort Bayou Fruit Farm where 60-acres of pecans and 30-acres of fruit trees were to be planted.(The Ocean Springs News, September 3, 1910, p. 5 and September 17, 1910, p. 5)

By December 1910, Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Behrens had completed the work to the Austin place and were now domiciled on Martin Avenue. Their efforts were lauded as follows:

 

"The Behrens property……to look at it now is to see a far different place. Mr. Behrens has spent considerable money in improvements and he now has one of the most comfortable homes in Ocean Springs."(The Ocean Springs News, December 24, 1910, p. 5)

Mr. Behrens named his improved residence at present day 414 Martin Avenue, Terrace Hill. It is now the domicile of Mrs. Robert L. Hoomes.

Ocean Springs Civic Federation-Marshall Park

At Ocean Springs, John H. Behrens became a progressive citizen. He was the driving force in the building of Marshall Park in 1911. Without his energy, the Ocean Springs Civic Federation, the organization, which was founded for local civic improvements, would have floundered.(The Jackson County Times, July 27, 1918, p. 5)

At a meeting of the Civic Federation on May 18, 1911, J.H. Behrens proposed that the new park be called "Fountain Park". His suggestion was tabled and Mrs. Behrens, president of the civic group, announced that she would be pleased to accept additional ideas at their next meeting.(The Ocean Springs News, May 20, 1911)

When the Ocean Springs Civic Federation met on May 25, 1911, they chose the name "Marshall Park", which had been suggested by Albert E. Lee (1874-1936), the editor of The Ocean Springs News. Charles Marshall (1848-1928) was the very honorable Superintendent of the New Orleans & Mobile Division of the L&N Railroad from September 1886, until his retirement on August 1, 1917.(The Ocean Springs News, May 27, 1911)

Fort Bayou Telephone Company

John H. Behrens also founded the Fort Bayou Telephone Company. His application for this utility was presented to the JXCO Board of Supervisors in November 1911. The company initially had ten rural subscribers. Its telephone line ran along the Vancleave road to the Alfred E. Lewis place. Another line was planned for Fontainebleau. The Fort Bayou Telephone Company was still in business as late as May 1928, when it was modernizing its service.(The Pascagoula Chronicle, November 11, 1911, p. 1, The Ocean Springs News, December 12, 1911 and The Jackson County Times, May 5, 1928, p. 3)

Demise

Mr. Behrens passed on at Chicago on July 18, 1918. His spouse, Mrs. Agnes Sievers Behren (1860-1920) expired on January 27, 1920. Their remains lie at rest in the Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. Their only son, George A. Behrens, took over the Jackson County agricultural operations.

Behren Pecan Orchards, Inc.

Several years after the demise of John H. Behrens, the name of the Fort Bayou Fruit Company was changed to the Behrens Pecan Orchards, Inc. with his son, George A. Behrens, president and John Vennema, secretary. In May 1924 and April 1926, George A. Behrens personally acquired 80 acres, the SW/4 of the NW/4 of Section 32, T6S-R7W and the NW/4 of the SW/4 of Section 32, T6S-R7W, from Tony Mallette (1894-1957) and the Behrens Pecan Orchards, Inc., respectively.(JXCO Land Deed Bk. 54, p. 49 and JXCO Land Deed Bk. 60, p. 626)

George A. Behrens called his south Vancleave farm, Twin Pines Ranch. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George A. Behrens, Katheryn Jane Behrens, married Ulmer Wilson of Vancleave on August 14, 1935. They resided initially on the Behrens’s farm.(The Jackson County Times, August 17, 1935)

REFERENCES:

Chancery Court CasesJXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 3811, "The Last Will of John H. Behrens", August 1918.

JournalsThe Ocean Springs News, "Local News", April 23, 1910.The Ocean Springs News, Local News", September 3, 1910.The Ocean Springs News, Local News", April 17, 1910.The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", April 1, 1911.The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", December 24, 1910.The Ocean Springs News,"Remarkable Land Development", May 27, 1911.The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", December 12, 1911.The Ocean Springs News, "Local and Personal", February 18, 1915.The Jackson County Times, "Ocean Springs Mourns Death of J.H. Behrens", July 27, 1918. The Jackson County Times, "Local and Personal", May 5, 1928.The Jackson County Times, "Local and Personal", August 17, 1935.The Ocean Springs Record, December 24, 1998. The Pascagoula Chronicle-Star, "Rural Telephone Service", November 11, 1911.

Federal Census

1900-Cook County, Illinois, T623-275.

Prologue

 In the October 2001, Felicia Bellman Tucker of Pensacola and Nancy Bellman McMillan of Mobile, granddaughters of Joseph Ralph Bellman (1870-1952), a native of Ocean Springs, and Elizabeth Missouri New Bellman (1876-1949), crossed the Atlantic in search of their Bellmann* roots. They spent two weeks in the northern Germany cities of Plön, Kiel, Schleswig, and Hamburg.  Here the sisters met with German genealogists and historians who led them to their long desired dream of finding the parents and birthplace of Charles F.N. Bellman (1806-1868), progenitor of their Bellman family in America, and a pioneer settler of Biloxi. Their very successful journey and results are to be lauded and appreciated by all who seek knowledge of our romantic, but often-elusive past.

 

*The original spelling of the family name in Germany, which is now spelled Bellman in America. 

                                                                      Felicia Bellman Tucker
The following is a brief description of the journey to Germany by Felicia B. Tucker and Nancy B. McMillan.  Felicia B. Tucker wrote it for this article.

We arrived in Hamburg and were met by my genealogical advisor, Kay-Uwe Gottorf and his wife.  We were driven to Plön where we stayed in a quaint hotel on a lake.  Plön is the town where Kay-Uwe Gottorf lives and he was going to be the one to help us get around Germany while we were there.   The next morning he and his wife picked us up at the hotel and we drove to Schleswig where we were greeted by Mr. Thorsten Dahl, the spokesman for the Mayor.  Mr. Thorsten Dahl was elected Mayor a few days after we left.  Also Dr. Antje Wendt, the Doctor of History for Schleswig, told us all about our Bellmann ancestors, how they came to be in Schleswig to bring musical culture to that part of Germany by playing at the theatre for the opera.  Dr. Wendt took us on a tour of the old part of Schleswig, which was originally a fishing village.   We walked down the narrow cobblestone street to the St. Johannas Kloster where Carl Gottlieb Bellmann, Charles F.N. Bellman's father played the organ and wrote the anthem, "The Song of Schlewig-Holstein", with the help of a lawyer, M. F. Chimnitz.  They arranged for a gentleman from the great church there to play on the same organ that Carl Gottlieb Bellmann had played the anthem that he wrote.  The organ had been refurbished a few years before we went there. There is a statue to Carl Gottlieb Bellmann and Mr. Chimnitz in the park where they have a music festival every year.  The song they wrote was written to prompt the citizens to rebel against Denmark so this part of the country could return again to Germany. We saw the house where Carl Gottlieb Bellmann and his wife lived and the house where Charles F.N. Bellman, our direct ancestor, was born.  We traveled to Kiel via train to do some sight seeing and were shown around by a student that I had become acquainted with through my genealogical research.  Kiel is where Charles F.N. Bellman's brother and sister taught music and had been proprietors of a music store. I could go on and on about our fascinating journey but I won't.   I also have some really good photographs of the organ, statue, etc.  It was a very eventful trip and so special.   The German people went out of their way to tell us everything they could about our Bellmann family.    They did not know that their famous musician, Carl Gottlieb Bellmann, had any descendants, as his other children never had any offspring. 

    

In addition to the knowledge that Felicia Bellman Tucker and Nancy Bellman McMillan have provided for Bellman family genealogists, the author would be severely remiss for not lauding the exhaustive research and publications of Nap L. Cassibry II (1918-2002).  Cassibry's Magnus opus, The Ladner Odyssey (1988), and Early Land Settlers and Land Grants at Biloxi (1986) are pregnant with detailed historical and genealogical data of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  The latter work was particularly utilized in this essay.  

                                                                    Charles F.N. Bellman 
The progenitor of the Bellman family of Biloxi and Ocean Springs was Charles F.N. Bellman (1806-1868), an immigrant from Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.  The name was spelled "Bellmann" in Germany.  At least two other Ocean Springs families, Pabst and von Rosambeau, had their origins in this northern province of Germany, whose borders were often disputed with neighboring Denmark.  

Courtesy of Felicia Bellman Tucker 
Charles F.N. Bellman (1806-1868)

Charles F.N. Bellman was born at Kiel, Germany on May 30, 1806, as Carl Friedrich Nicolai Bellmann, the son of Carl Gottilieb Bellmann (1772-1859+) and Friederica Christina Krause (1775-1860), the daughter of Otto Wilhelm Krause of Kiel.  His birth was recorded in the Lutheran Church on June 7, 1806, at Schleswig-Friedrichberg. Carl G. Bellmann was a musician and composer from Muskau, in Saxony, now in eastern Germany.  He was the composer of  "The Song of Schlewig- olstein".  Carl G. Bellmann and Miss Krause were married on December 9, 1800, in Schleswig-Friedrichberg.  In addition to Charles F.N. Bellman, their other children were: Carl Adolph Eduard Bellmann, born November 10, 1801; Friederika Henriette Adolphine Bellmann, born May 25, 1803; and Carl Friedrich Fedor Bellmann, born December 29, 1811 and died May 29, 1874 in Kiel, Germany. (research of Felicia Bellman Tucker, March 14, 2002)  Charles F.N. Bellman (1806-1868) was a pioneer settler of Biloxi, Mississippi.  He arrived at Biloxi in 1835, and circa 1836, married Pauline Ryan (1815-1899), the daughter of Jacques Ryan (d. 1849) and Elizabeth LaForce (LaFauce).  At Biloxi, Charles Bellman made his livelihood as a boarding house proprietor, druggist, and doctor. Bellman Avenue, which strikes north-south from East Beach Boulevard to  Howard Avenue, in Biloxi is named for Charles F.N. Bellman. 

                                                                       Bellman children

Charles F.N. Bellman and Pauline Ryan Bellman brought nine children into the 19th Century world:  Theodora Bellman (1838-1901), married Louis L. "Toon" Ryan; Adolphine Bellman (1838-1893), married Moses Seymour (1838-1893); Charles W. Bellman (1841-1885), married Louisa Wilhemena Egan (1851-1881); Edwardine Bellman (1843-1921), married Benjamin F. Noel (1841-1910+); Harro Bellman (1847-1920) married Euphrosine "Frazine" Ryan (1852-1904); Bertha Bellman (1851-1932) married Ernest M. Beaugez (1862-1903); Ada Regina "Lida" Bellman (1854-1870+); Ralph Charles Bellman (1855-1899); and Pauline Josephine Bellman (1857-1933) married George W. McCary (1848-1925). 

 

Jacques Ryan's Biloxi settlement

Charles F.N. Bellman's father-in-law, Jacques Ryan, had settled at Biloxi in the early 19th Century and in July 1822, he acquired a large tract of land on the Pass of Biloxi from Jean-Baptiste Carco (d. 1823), the son of Nicolas Carco II and Catherine Ladner.  Carco had been awarded a land grant of ten arpents, or approximately 160 acres, on the Biloxi peninsula from the King of Spain in 1790.  The Carco land donation at Biloxi, preceded that of the Ladners, Fayards, and Dorsette Richard. (The American State Papers, 1994, p. 38)

     

In present day terms, the Carco land donation was bounded on the west by  Lameuse Street and on the east by a line, which ran north 90 feet of Bellman Avenue.  The Back Bay of Biloxi was the northern boundary of the Jean-Baptiste Carco land claim. (Cassibry II, 1986, p. 1 and p. 124) The Jacques Ryan tract on the Biloxi Channel opposite Deer Island, consisted of about forty-acres.  It had a front on the Biloxi Channel of  2 and ¼ arpents, or about 432 feet, and ran north 30-40 arpents, or about 5760 feet to 7680 feet, to the Bay of Biloxi.  Peter Dubuys was on the east and John Nixon claimed the western perimeter of the Jacques Ryan land at Biloxi. (HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 1, pp. 342-343)

    

The Charles F.N. Bellman family also resided on the shore of Biloxi Channel on a small plot of land, which Jacques Ryan had provided for them.  The Bellman piece of land measured 100 feet in width by 120 feet in depth.  From detailed maps drawn and dated by Charles F.N. Bellman and utilized in litigation in the Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court, it can be seen that many buildings occupied this small tract. Among these structures were:  the Bellman home (1837), kitchen (1837), necrojars (1837), chicken house (1838), horse stable (1838), boarding house (1841), and ten pin alley (1843). (Cassibry II, 1986, pp. 129-131)

 

Failure

 In 1846, Charles F.N. Bellman's business failed.  He was sued in 1848, for unpaid merchandise received from Curtius & Company, a New Orleans firm owned by George Lewis Curtius and F.W. Frendenthal.  This litigation went against Bellman and as a result, he lost his land on the Biloxi Channel to these men to pay his debts. (Cassibry II, 1986, p. 126)  

                                                                        Schooner Pauline
In 1853, C.F.N. Bellman and the Heirs of Jacques Ryan counter sued F.W. Frendenthal and the Estate of G.L. Curtius to have his land title at Biloxi returned and to be paid for the destruction and loss of his schooner, Pauline.  Disclosure in this litigation revealed that Charles F.N. Bellman had leased this vessel to Hanson Alsbury for the shipment of slaves from Biloxi to the Balize on the Gulf outlet of the Mississippi River.   Instead of depositing the slaves at the Balize, the Pauline continued to the port of Galveston, Republic of Texas.  Here, the Pauline was taken into local custody and sold because she did not have registry to trade in a foreign port. (Cassibry II, 1986, p. 127)

    

It is interesting to note that Hanson Alsbury (ca 1805-1851+) was a resident of Ocean Springs, where he made his livelihood as a solicitor and land speculator.  On February 2, 1837, he was issued a Federal land patent on Lot 4 of Section 30, T7S-R8W.  Lot 4 runs from the Bay of Biloxi north 1320 feet and comprises approximately thirty-four acres. It includes the entire Biloxi Bay front from Weeks Bayou northwest to the mouth of the Ocean Springs Inner Harbor.  There is some probability that Hanson Alsbury built the Anderson-Ashley structure on the present day Shearwater Pottery tract. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 63, pp. 35-36)  

    

In addition, Hanson Alsbury possessed Lots 2, 3, and 5 of the Widow LaFontaine Claim, Section 37, T7S-R8W.  He also owned large tracts of land at present day Biloxi (Section 20, T7S-R9W) and D' Iberville.  In the early 1840s, at Back Bay, now D' Iberville, Alsbury operated a large brickyard with Colin McRae.  This operation would later become the property of William G. Kendall (1812-1872), the Kentucky born lawyer and U.S. Postmaster of New Orleans, who bought land at Ocean Springs east of Alsbury in 1846.  The Kendall property is now owned primarily by the descendants of the Dickey-White-Scharr family and the Estate of G.E. Arndt Jr. 
 

Judicial reversal 

In 1853, it was adjudicated in litigation titled, Charles Bellman, et al v. F.W. Frendenthal, Executor of the Estate of George Lewis Curtius, et al, in the Chancery Court of Harrison County, Mississippi that Charles F.N. Bellman's Biloxi tract did not have proper title, as Jacques Ryan, his father-in-law, had issued no warranty deed to him. Bellman's efforts to recover his investment in the schooner, Pauline, was dismissed.  A personal judgment was assessed against Mr. Bellman in favor of the defendants for past due accounts owed to the firm of Curtius & Company, a New Orleans business owned by George Lewis Curtius and F.W. Frendenthal.  This judgment applied only to Bellman and not the land and improvements, as they were deemed the property of the Heirs of Jacques Ryan. (Cassibry II, 1986, pp. 126-136)  Apothecary As mentioned Charles F.N. Bellman was a druggist. 

 

He advertised in The Ocean Springs Gazette of March 24, 1855, as follows: 

                                        C. Bellman & Co. Apothecaries & Druggists

Recommend to the public their choice assortment of Drugs, Medicines, Lancets, Syringes, Watch Crystals, Perfumeries, and a chemical preparation called C. Bellman Healing Rock for the cure of all sores, wounds, and scratches on horses and mules. Doctor's receipts will, as usual be made up with all possible precision, neatness and dispatch.  Medical advice can always be obtained at the East end of the Plank Walk.  Biloxi, Miss.

 

Divorce

 The sacred union between Charles F.N. Bellman and Pauline Ryan ended in a civil divorce on May 29, 1860, in the Chancery Court of Harrison County, Mississippi.  Pauline Ryan Bellman had sought a divorce from Charles F.N. Bellman because of his alleged extreme cruelty.   Some of her testimony in this case revealed the following:   Charles Bellman and I were married by a Catholic priest in Biloxi, circa 1836.  The following children born of the marriage are alive: Theodora, a daughter, born in 1837; Adolphine, a daughter, born in 1839; Charles, a son, born in 1840; Edwardine, a daughter, born n 1842; Harro, a son, born in 1849; Bertha, a daughter, born in 1850; Lida, a daughter, born in 1851; Ralph, a son, born in1853; and Pauline, a daughter, born in 1858.  In 1846, Charles Bellman was running a boarding house and drug store, but in that year of 1846, he went broke.  The boarding house was torn down in 1846, and he continues at this time to run the drug store from our residence on a very small scale. (Cassibry II, 1986, pp. 137-138)   

 

In the depositions of daughters, Theodora Bellman and Adolphine Bellman, the following was related: 

 

Theodora

 I am the oldest child and daughter of Charles and Pauline Bellman, and I teach school during the winter months.  Some of the controversy here being adjudicated has to do with the treatment of me by my father.  I am now going with and considering marriage with Mr. Gauthier, a widower with four children.  My sister, Adolphine, is considering marriage with a Mr. Roose of New Orleans.  My father, on every occasion, discouraged and was most insulting to every man that came to our home to call on the daughters. (Cassibry, 1986, pp. 138-139) 

 

Adolphine  

My father has forbidden me to go to parties and balls with Emile Ladner, called "Noon Gatto", because Emile has been in a "scrape" with Irish Jane, also known as "Red headed Jane". (Cassibry, 1986, p. 137)   

    

In his defense of cruelty charges against his spouse, Charles F.N. Bellman stated the following:   

    

His wife for the most part communicates in the French language, which he does not speak or understand.  She also impeded his efforts to teach his children.  I came to Biloxi in 1835 and Pauline and I were married in Biloxi in 1837.  We have nine children.  I once ran a boarding house and mercantile establishment, but lost them in two long and costly lawsuits.  I deny that I ever failed in business.  I now run a small apothecary and drug store and I have been a medical practitioner.  I have insisted that our children be educated by the best people available in Biloxi at the time.  I, myself, have instructed them, purchased books, paper, and all the supplies necessary to continue their education.  I instructed them every night and all are literate and well educated as compared with the people and times here. 

 

                                                                         Ocean Springs
Prior to 1870, Pauline Ryan Bellman had left Biloxi and relocated to Ocean Springs.  In the 1870 Federal Census of Jackson County, Mississippi, she was a housewife and head of household.  Harro Bellman, Bertha Bellman, Ada Bellman, and Pauline Bellman were domiciled with her.  Two of Mrs. Pauline Bellman's married children, Theodora Bellman Ryan (1838-1901), the wife of sailor, Louis L. "Toon" Ryan (1837-1909), and Charles W. Bellman (1841-1885), a laborer and the spouse of Almina Bellman (1851-1881), a native of Hanover, Germany, resided on each side of her. 

 

                                                                  Bellman-Schmidt Cottage

The Bellman-Schmidt Cottage is situated at present day 505 Jackson Avenue and now in the possession of Patrick Mitchell.  It apparently once belonged to Pauline Ryan Bellman and the original land deed was destroyed in the last conflagration, March 1875, of the Jackson County Courthouse at Pascagoula. C.E. "Uncle Ernie" Schmidt (1904-1988), in his Ocean Springs French Beachhead (1972) states that:  It is known that the Widow Bellman took in a few pupils at the old house still standing at the northwest corner of Jackson and Cleveland.  One of her pupils, Laura Coyle, remembered years later that Mrs. Bellman excused the class so they could go to the railroad to see the first official train go through.  That happened on October 29, 1870. (p. 67)  Laura Coyle (1857-1931) was the daughter of Franco Coyle (1813-1891) and Magalene Ougatte Pons (1813-1904).  In 1874, she married Charles Ernest Schmidt (1851-1886), commonly called, "Handsome Charlie", a native of New Orleans and of German ancestry.  Laura C. Schmidt was the grandmother of local historian, C.E. "Uncle Ernie" Schmidt.  

                             THEODORA  BELLMAN RYAN

Theodora Bellman (1837-1901) was born February 8, 1837 at Biloxi, the eldest child of Charles F.N. Bellman and Pauline Ryan.  On December 24, 1874, she married Louis L. "Toon" Ryan (1837-1909), a local sailor and fisherman, and the son of Jerome Ryan (1793-1870+) and Marie Euphrosine LaFontaine (1802-ca. 1846), at the St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Ocean Springs. (Lepre, 1991, p. 286) The children of Louis L. "Toon" Ryan and Theodora Bellman were: Theodora Genett Ryan (b. 1870) married Frank Thomas: Cora Ryan  (1873-1934) married Robert J. Woodcock (1882-1919); Mabel Pauline Ryan (1874-1874); Lilly Ida Ryan (b. 1877) married Anthony Boyes; and Louis Ralph "Boy" Ryan (1880-1960) married Eva Peterson (1887-1964).  As previously mentioned, Theodora taught school at Biloxi, during the winter months, before she married Toon Ryan.  Her corporal remains and those of her husband lie in rest in the Bellande Cemetery in Ocean Springs.  No further information. (Krohn, 1995, p. 1, p. 4, and p. 13) 

 

ADOLPHINE  BELLMAN SEYMOUR

Adolphine Bellman (1839-1920) was born at Biloxi on August 15, 1839. She married Moses Seymour (1838-1893), the son of Jean-Baptiste Seymour (1811-1887) and Marie Fournier (1817-1890), who were the progenitors of the large Seymour family at Ocean Springs.  Adolphine and Moses were the parents of:  Edwin McLan Seymour (b. 1864); Isabella Seymour (1866-1928+) married Richard White (1849-1891); Norman A. Seymour (1868-1920+); Robert F. Seymour (1870-1939); Ernest Adolph Seymour (1875-1877), and Mamie Seymour (1883-1920+) married Frank Bourgh (Busch). (Lepre, 2001, pp 81-82)  Jean- aptiste Seymour tract Moses Seymour was the first sibling of the family to acquire land in the J.B. Seymour tract at Ocean Springs from his parents.  The J.B. Seymour tract was established on September 15, 1849, when Jean-Baptiste Seymour purchased a 13-acre parcel of land at Ocean Springs from Dr. Andrew B. Dodd (1806-1850+), a Kentucky born physician.  The J.B. Seymour tract ran from Government Street to LaFontaine Avenue and was only 150 feet wide, except on its southern termination near present day LaFontaine Avenue, where it widened to 165 feet.  Its western perimeter began 200 feet east of Dewey Avenue.  The Jean-Baptise Seymour tract was originally a part of Andre Fournier's three arpent tract on the Bay of Biloxi and Bayou Bauzage (Inner Harbor) in Claim Section 37, T7S-R8W, the Widow LaFontaine claim.  J.B. Seymour paid Dr. Dodd $11.54 per acre for this land. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 10, pp. 286-287)

    

In September 1877, Jean-Baptiste and Marie Fournier Seymour for $25, conveyed to Moses and his wife, Adolphine Bellman (1838-1920), a 300-foot deep lot on the south side of Porter Avenue near present day Minor Lane.  It appears that the homestead of Jean- aptiste Seymour and Marie Fournier was also located on this tract.  In July 1890, when Delmas Seymour sold a house for $35 to his brother, Moses, the deed concerning this structure read, "a certain house built by me in Ocean Springs for the use of my mother during her life on the said Moses Seymour lot south of his residence on Porter Avenue".  Moses' demise From his obituary, it relates that Moses Seymour was a resident of Scranton (Pascagoula) at the time of his passing.  In early January 1893, he expired suddenly, probably from a heart attack, at the L&N Depot in New Orleans as he waited for a train to return home.  Moses was a well-known and financial successful, butcher.  His body was sent to Ocean Springs for burial in the Bellande Cemetery.  Adolphine lived until January 1920.  Her corporal remains also lie in Ocean Springs on Dewey Avenue. (The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, January 13, 1893, p. 3) 

 

Pascagoula Seymours

Since Moses and Adolphine Bellman Seymour lived in the Scranton community, it was only natural for their children to do the same.  In November 1891, in the Roman Catholic Church at Ocean Springs, their daughter, Isabella Seymour, married Richard L. White (1871-1928), a native of Ocean Springs, and the son of Englishman, Richard White (1849-1891), and Selena Sherman Hill White (1854- 919). (Lepre, 1991, p. 360)   In 1900, Richard L. White made his living as a butcher.  He and Isabella S. White were residing at Scranton with his son, Louis R. White (b. 1892), from a prior nuptial.  Upon his death in late February 1928, Mr. White was survived by: five children; three brothers-John White, Frank White, and Harry Hill (1866-1915); three sisters-Mrs. Ralph Green, Mrs. Walter Weber, and Mrs. Lotta W. Catchot (1874-1954), the spouse of Francis "Frank" Catchot (1871-1943), the son of Arnaud Catchot (1834-1910) and Adele Ryan (b. 1844). (The Jackson County Times, March 3, 1928, p. 3)  

    

At Pascagoula, Norman A. Seymour married and later divorced Condalaura Flechas (1872-1935), the daughter of Captain Joseph Flechas (1824-1883) and Condalaura Villar (1842-1908).  Like his father, Moses, he made his livelihood as a butcher.  Their family was composed of:  Hilda Seymour Buffett (1897-1989), Mildred Seymour Pelham (1899-1961), Lois Seymour Tew (1901-1965), Hulbert Seymour (1903-1971), Norman Seymour (1905-1971), Blanche Seymour Spavin (b. 1908), and Bernard Seymour (b. 1910). (Lepre, 2001, pp 81-82) Robert F. Seymour also appears to have settled at Pascagoula.  In 1900, he made his livelihood as a stevedore on the East Pascagoula waterfront.  With Laura Tousell (1869- 909), a Louisiana lady of French parentage, he had five children:  Edward M. Seymour (b. 1896), Martin Van Buren Seymour (1897-1897), Eugenie B. Seymour (b. 1898), Leo R. Seymour (1902-1934), and Clifton Seymour (b. 1903).  Members of both these Seymour families are buried in the Greenwood Cemetery at Pascagoula. (Lepre, 2001, p. 82)  

                                                             CHARLES WHITEALL BELLMAN

Charles W. Bellman (1841-1885), as previously mentioned, made the short relocation from Biloxi to Ocean Springs with his family, mother, and siblings.  Even after the July 1860 Federal Census of Harrison County, Mississippi, the family of Charles F.N. Bellman were residing on the shore of the Biloxi Channel near present day Bellman Street.  Here at Ocean Springs, near the end of its "Steamboat Days", the Bellmans settled on Jackson Avenue near Cleveland.  Charles W. Bellman made his livelihood as a laborer and carpenter. (Cook, 1982, p. 27)

    

Circa 1866, C.W. Bellman had married Almina Eagan (1851- 881), a native of Hanover, Germany.  Their children were: Louise Eva Arguelles (1867-1958), the wife of Joseph P. Arguelles (1866-1944); Joseph Ralph Bellman (1870-1952) married Elizabeth M. New (1876-1949); Philip M. Bellman (1872-1927) married Alice V. Seymour (1880-1957); and Michael Charles Bellman (1874-1956) married Nellie George Clausen (1892- 1976). ( research of Felicia B. Tucker and Nancy B. McMillan ) 

                                                                            Louise Eva Bellman
Louise E. Bellman (1867-1958), called Lou, was born at Biloxi on December 29, 1867.  In early February 1891, at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, she married Joseph Peter Arguelles (1866-1944), the son of Francisco Arguelles (1817-1880+), a native of Spain and Bridget McNerney (1857-1917), an Irish immigrant.  Their children were: Albert Joseph Arguelles (1892-1943); Warren Arguelles (1893-1973); Frank Arguelles (1894-1943); George Henry Arguelles (1896-1934); Ethel Arguelles (1897-1938); Florence Arguelles (1899-1979); Lillian M. Arguelles (1902-2000), Bernerdine W. Arguelles (1904- 989); Donald Arguelles (1907-1969); Cecile Arguelles (1908-1994) married George Pavlov (1910-1963); and Louise Arguelles (1910-1983).  Lou Bellman Arguelles expired on February 11, 1958. (The Biloxi Herald, February 7, 1891, p. 1)  Joseph Ralph Bellman  Joseph R. Bellman (1870-1952) was born at Ocean Springs on February 24, 1870.  At Mobile on February 12,1901, he married Elizabeth Missouri New (1876-1949), a native of Cottage Hill, Alabama, and the daughter of John Samuel new and Louisa Thompson.  Their children were: Joseph Henry Bellman (1901-1902); Carrie Edna Bellman Russell Lewis (1903-1957) married Thad Russell and William Lewis; Charles John Bellman (1907-1982) married Evelyn Florence Culbreth; and Cecile Louise Bellman (1913-1970) married Bernard Tucker.  Joseph R. Bellman passed on February 5, 1952, while Elizabeth New Bellman followed him in death on December 17, 1949. Their corporal remains are at rest in the Pinecrest Cemetery at Mobile. (Lepre, 1991, p. 20 and research of Felicia B. Tucker and Nancy B. McMillan)  

                                                              Philip Marcellus Bellman
 Philip M. Bellman (1872-1927) was born at Ocean Springs on June 23, 1872.  He married Alice V. Seymour (1880-1957), the daughter of Narcisse Seymour (1849-1931) and Caroline V. Krohn (1847-1895).  Their children were: Bertridge B. Brou (1900-1992) married Edward Brou (1896-1949); Phyllis B. Burke (1902-1970) married Edward Burke; Inez B. McClain (1906-2004) married Arthur R. McClain (1900-1974); Carrie B. Dellinger Emerson (1909-1964) married Earl J. Dellinger (1901-1951) and Milton Emerson; Bernice B. Cascio (1912-1971) married Charles Cascio 1909-1968); Philip A. Bellman (1915-1964); Edward Joseph 'Eddie' Bellman (1920-2009) married Mabel Beatrice "Patty" Kennedy Urson; and Robert E. Bellman (b. 1927) married Thelma Rita DeGeorge. (Lepre, 2001, pp. 102-103)  

courtesy of Robert E. "Bob" Bellman
Philip M. Bellman (1872-1927)

 Eagle Point Oyster Company Philip Bellman made his livelihood at Ocean Springs as a butcher prior to his employment with his father-in-law's organization, Narcisse Seymour & Sons, pioneer oyster packers and shippers.  In late 1915, he became associated with Anton P. "Tony" Kotzum (1871-1916), the son of Joseph Kotzum (1842-1915) and Josephine Kotzum (1845-1920), and the proprietor of the Eagle Point Oyster Company. In November 1915, Tony Kotzum had entered into a five-year lease agreement with Clara Tillman Seymour (1889-1952), the widow of Hugh C. Seymour (1876-1913), on the oyster beds and grounds and house located at Marsh Point.  This was the property that Hugh Seymour had purchased from F.A. "Dolph" Schrieber (1871-1944).  In 1904, Mr. Schrieber and his brother, Joseph L. "Dode" Schrieber (1873-1951), had built the "Black Diamond", a house over the water at Marsh Point.  Dolph Schrieber lived here intermittently to protect his oysters from poachers. Anton P. Kotzum agreed to pay the widow Seymour  $250 per year and "carefully cultivate and attend the oyster beds and grounds so manage the beds that they will be in good physical condition at the expiration of this lease as they are at present and to return all shells removed from the grounds properly spread or their equivalent in steam shells". (The Progress, July 9, 1904, p. 4 and JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 3616-October 1917)  

The Eagle Point Oyster Company advertised their product as, "our oysters are unsurpassed for flavor and excellence, being grown from original stock, on grounds long noted for their superior qualities".(The Ocean Springs News, November 24, 1915, p. 12)      

Tony Kotzum died in September 1916.  He was also a fine musician and directed the Ocean Springs Concert Band, an outgrowth of the Ocean Springs Brass Band led by T.J. Ames (1876-1927).  Kotzum once crusaded for more benches in Marshall Park, as he felt that the spectacle of a hundred or more ladies standing during his concert was a poor advertisement of civic pride. In September 1916, Frank Kuppersmith (c. 1850-1920) came to Ocean Springs from Mobile, Alabama and took a lease on the Eagle Point Oyster Company building on Front Beach. (The Jackson County Times, September 23, 1916)  

                                                         Ocean Springs Fish & Oyster Company
In March 1916, Philip Bellman created the Ocean Springs Fish & Oyster Company.  His packinghouse was situated on the front beach between Jackson and Washington Avenue, on the former site of the Hugh Charles Seymour (1876-1913) oyster shop.  Mr. Bellman was noted for his affable humor and relaxed attitude. (The Ocean Springs News, March 23, 1916, p. 6 and Margaret Seymour Norman, June 1995)

     Philip M. Bellman's inventory for his seafood business included:  a one-ton Ford truck; the Leo D, a motor vessel; fifteen skiffs; the Clara Seymour oyster lease, oyster shop, and wharf privileges; and oyster leases from the Ramsay Estate and Bouslog. (JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause 4648-February 1925)  

     Mr. Bellman advertised his new business in The Ocean Springs News of March 30, 1916, as follows: 

 

Ocean Springs Fish & Oyster Company

Philip Bellman, Manager

Located on Beach Between Washington and Jackson Avenues

Small or Large Orders Promptly Delivered Anywhere in Town

East Beach and Eagle Point Oysters a Specialty

We Solicit a Share of Your Patronage

We Also Take Out Boating Parties

For Prompt Service-Ring Phone 55 

 

     In mid-December 1916, two of Bellman's fishermen, Alphonse Cox and Emile Beaugez (1901-1967), took his vessel, Kentucky, in search of shrimp outside of Dog Key.  The motor quit and they rigged a crude sail to get home.  The resourceful seamen reached Belle Fontaine Beach and walked ten miles back to Ocean Spring having been without food for nearly two days. (The Daily Herald, December 19, 1916, p. 1) 

 

                                                                                  Sale

In August 1923, Philip M. Bellman sold a two-thirds interest in the Ocean Springs Fish and Oyster Company to C.L. Martin and S.J. DeBleau who planned to continue the business at the same site and under the same lease terms from Mrs. Hugh C. Seymour.  Bellman vended his business to Martin and DeBleau for $600. (The Jackson County Times, September 15, 1923, p. 5 ) By early1925, Philip M. Bellman was in serious litigation with Martin and DeBleau.  He alleged that they still owed him $385 from the sale of his interest to them in the Ocean Springs Fish & Oyster Company.  In their response, Martin and DeBleau declared that: Bellman owed them $2800; the Ocean Springs Fish & Oyster Company lease with Mrs. H.C. Seymour had expired and that they were required to pay her $120 to retain their oyster beds and utilize the oyster shop; Bellman had represented the number of merchantable oysters on the Seymour lease as 5000 barrels, when in reality there were less than 1000 barrels of oysters; and the one-ton Ford truck was their property and not that of Philip M. Bellman.  The litigation between Bellman and Martin-DeBleau was adjudicated in December 1926, in favor of Bellman.  The defendants were ordered to pay him $310 and placed a lien in favor of Bellman on the truck, motor boat, and fifteen skiffs owned by the Ocean Springs Fish & Oyster Company. (JXCO, Ms. JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause 4648-February 1925)  

                                                                            Biloxi
The Philip M. Bellman family moved to Biloxi in 1923, and resided at 612 Reynoir Street.  Phillip Bellman made his livelihood as a carpenter until he passed away on March 3, 1927, at Biloxi. (The Daily Herald, March 4, 1927, p. 2) Bertridge Bellman Brou Bertridge "Bert" E. Bellman (1900-1992) was the only child of Philip M. Bellman and Alice V. Seymour (1880-1957) to settle in Ocean Springs. At Ocean Springs in June 1920, she married a New Orleans man, Edward Crawford Brou (1896- 1949), the son of Joseph E. "Buck" Brou (1869-1934) and Ellenora Knox.  Bert and E.C. Brou were the parents of four children: Edward J. Brou (1921-2004), Margaret M. Brou (b. 1922), Philip E. Brou (1923-1958), and Claire E. Brou (b. 1928). (JXCO, Ms. MRB 13, p. 366)  

    

Buck Brou had two sisters, Marie Adele Brou (1875-1937) and Marie Odette Brou Bryan (1879-1957), the wife of Frank Bryan (1879-1936), who owned property at Ocean Springs on Jackson Avenue.  In May 1910, Mrs. Odette B. Bryan and her husband built a fine Queen Anne cottage at present day 406 Jackson Avenue.  Joseph A. Weider (1877-1960) was the building contractor.  In December 1917, Odette B. Bryan acquired from the von Rosambeau family, 410 Jackson Avenue, the residence north of her home.  She moved here and reared two sons, Thad Bryan (1907-1994) and Frank H. Bryan, Jr. (1914-1999). (The Ocean Springs News, May 14, 191 and  JXCO, Ms. Land  Deed  Bk. 45, pp. 252-253)

    

In May 1910, Adle Brou acquired Lot 7-Block 3 of the Ocean Springs Hotel Tract, which is situated on the west side of Jackson Avenue, from F.J. Lundy (1863-1912).  Here, Miss Brou erected a cottage.  In May 1937, she sold it to her Edward C. Brou, her brother.  The Brou cottage was destroyed by Hurricane Camille in August 1969.  Today, the descendants of Joseph E. Brou continue to be prominent landowners on Jackson Avenue (The Ocean Springs News, May 28, 1910, JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 35 , p. 620 and Bk. 70, pp. 130-131)

    

At Ocean Springs, Edward C. Brou (1896-1949) made his livelihood as a brakeman and conductor for the L&N Railroad.  In 1946, shortly after WW II, he and brother-in-law, Edward "Eddie" Bellman (1920-2009), with son, Edward J. Brou, founded a sporting goods store at Biloxi called Bel-Bru.  Today, known as The Bel-Bru Marine Mart, the Biloxi based business is operated by Edward J. Brou and his son, E. Joseph Brou Jr.  Edward C. Brou passed on December 20, 1949, at his Jackson Avenue residence.   is corporal remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou. (The Daily Herald, December 20, 1949, p. 1) 

 

                                                                           Brou children

Bert B. Brou in addition to rearing her children was involved in scouting and swimming.  While all of her children were excellent, competitive amateur swimmers, Edward J. Brou and Margaret M. Brou, went on to win regional swimming championships.  In September 1936, Edward J. Brou set a record at the Southern AAU swim meet in New Orleans, when he swam the mile in 25 minutes and 59 seconds.  Young Brou placed second in the two-mile event.  At Baton Rouge in August 1939, Margaret M. Brou was the Southern AAU junior relay champion. (The Jackson County Times, September 5, 1936, p. 1 and August 12, 1939, p. In recent years, Claire E. Brou, a retired Navy-Air Force veteran, has distinguished herself in the National Veterans Wheelchair games.  In 1997, she won five gold medals in San Diego at the veterans games for her skill in air rifle shooting, bowling, swimming, table tennis, and motorized wheel chair rallying. (The Sun Herald, July 18, 1997, p. D-1)        

Mrs. Brou's other son, Philip E. Brou (1923-1958), distinguished himself as a carrier based naval aviator in the South Pacific Theater during WW II.  He was an engineering graduate of Tulane University and was employed in the air conditioning business at New Orleans.  While on naval reserve duty, Lt. Commander Philip E. Brou was killed when his helicopter crashed near New Orleans in the fall of 1958. (The Ocean Springs News, October 2, 1958, p. 4 and The Ocean Springs Record, March 19, 1987, p. 5) 

 

Spanish American War  

 Like his father, Charles W. Bellman (1841- 885), Philip M. Bellman volunteered for military duty.  The elder Bellman in 1861, had enlisted as a private in Company E, the "Biloxi Rifles", of the Third Mississippi Infantry C.S.A.  During the 1898 Spanish American War, Phillip M. Bellman was also enrolled as a private by Captain DuMont at Scranton on April 27, 1898.  He was a bugler and appointed company musician on July 5, 1898.  Bugler Bellman was mustered out at Columbia, Tennessee on December 20, 1898, by Captain W.B. Homer, 6th Artillery. (Spanish-American War Service Record Extracts 1898-1899, No. 204). 

 

Demise

Philip M. Bellman passed on at Biloxi on March 3, 1927.  His corporal remains were interred in the Bellande Cemetery at Ocean Springs.  Mrs. Alice Seymour Bellman lived until January 26, 1957.  Her remains also rest on Dewey Avenue in Ocean Springs besides those of her husband.  Michael Charles Bellman  Michael Charles Bellman was born June 3, 1874 at Ocean Springs.  He was called Charles. In February 1896, C.M. Bellman found employment with The Cottage-by- he Sea, a hostel situated in Pascagoula.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, February 17, 1896, p. 3)

   

During the Spanish American War, M. Charles Bellman served with Company B of the Miss. Volunteers, 2nd Infantry Regiment.   He was enrolled for military service by Captain Woods at Ocean Springs on June 4, 1898. Bellman was mustered in by Lt. Lockwood at Jackson, Mississippi on June 7, 1898.  Private Bellman was mustered out of the volunteer army on December 20, 1898 at Columbia, Tennessee by Captain W.B. Homer. (Spanish-American War Service Record Extracts 1898-1899- p. 204).

     After the Spanish American War, M. Charles Bellman moved to Mobile where he made his livelihood as a conductor for the Gulf Mobile & Ohio Railroad.  M. Charles Bellman married Nellie George Clausen (1892-1976), the daughter of Charles Henry Clausen and Nellie Morris.  Their children were: George M. Bellman (1914-1999); Erna B. McKnight (b. 1916); and Charles H. Bellman (b. 1924).  Mr. Bellman expired at Mobile on September 26, 1956.  Nellie Clausen Bellman died on July 30, 1976.  Both were interred in the Catholic Cemetery at Mobile, Alabama. (The Daily Herald, September 26, 1956, p. 2 and research of Felicia Bellman Tucker, Pensacola, Florida  and Nancy Bellman McMillan, Mobile, Alabama ) 

                                                          EDWARDINE BELLMAN NOEL

Edwardine Bellman (1843-1921) was born at Biloxi on November 17, 1843. Circa 1863, she married Benjamin J. Noel (1841-1910+), a native of Alabama, probably Mobile.  His parents were from New York and Alabama, respectively.  By 1910, Edwardine B. Noel had birthed eleven children in Mobile County, Alabama.  Nine were extant.  Of her progeny only the following are known presently to this writer: Edmund Noel (1869-1910+), Benjamin J. Noel Jr. (1870-1942); Eugene Noel (1875-1910+); Walter C. Noel (1884-1910+); and Blanche Noel (1887-1910+).  In 1910, Benjamin Noel was making his livelihood as a truck farmer and residing in Ward 9 of the city of Mobile. (1910 Federal Census-Mobile Co., Ala., T624R27, pt. 2, p. 260A)  Nancy Bellman McMillan of Mobile relates that there is a small Noel Family cemetery on Cottage Hill Road in Mobile.  She says that the Noel family lived at Cottage Hill which at one time was a village on the west side of Mobile. (Nancy B. McMillan, e-mail, May 26, 2003) 

                                                                 Benjamin F. Noel Jr.
Circa 1897, Benjamin F. Noel Jr. (1870-1942), a native of Coden, Alabama, married Marie Ryan (1879-1956), the daughter of Calvin Ryan and Odile Miller (b. 1853).  In 1910, they were residing in Precinct 13, Wheelerville, Mobile County, Alabama with their five children: Edwina Noel (1897-1985) married William Mathieu; Ester Noel (1902-1992) married Mose H. Beaugez (1891-1973); Herman E. Noel (1903-1967) married Sara Mary "Sadie Mae" Esfeller (1906-1990); Winson Paul Noel (1906-1946) married Audrey V. Webb (1914-1991); Percy B. Noel (1908-1977) married Ruby Williams (1915- 993), the daughter of William Eugene "Nub" Williams (1890-1966) and Lorena Devereaux (1896-1978); and Calvin C. Noel (1915-1938).  Another Noel child had expired prior to 1910.  Ben F. Noel Jr. died on April 21, 1942.  Mrs. Noel passed on January 14, 1956. Their corporal remains were interred in the Bellande Cemetery on Dewey Avenue with children: Calvin Charles Noel, and Winson P. Noel. (The Jackson County Times, April 25, 1942, p. 1 and 1910 Federal Census-Mobile Co., Ala., T624R26, pt. 2, p. 83B)  Some of the male children of Benjamin F. Noel Jr. (1870-1942) and Marie Ryan Noel  (1879-1956) who resided in the Ocean Springs area are as follows:  
    

Herman E. Noel  Herman

Edward Noel (1903-1967) married Sara Mary Esfeller (1906-1990). They were the parents of: Dorothy "Dot" N. Ross (b. 1926) married John Baptist Ross (b. 1927); Bette N. Ortega (1929-1988) married Ben M. Ortega (1927-1990); Mildred N. Cvitanovich (1932-1990) married Sam Cvitanovich; June N. Butler (1936-1996) married James Walter "Curley" Butler (b. 1934); and Joseph H. Noel (b. 1949) married Sandra A. Miller.

 

                                                                           Winson P. Noel

Winson Paul Noel (1906-1946) made his livelihood on the water as a fisherman.  In October 1928, he married Audrey V. Webb (1914-1991), the daughter of Walter And Josephine Webb.  They were the parents of Maude "Betty" N. Lemon Dennison DeSilvey (1930-1977).  The Noels divorced and in June 1934, Audrey married Claude Engbarth (1893-1967). (JXCO, Ms. MRB 18, p. 420 and Bk. 22, p. 331) Betty Noel "Engbarth" married Kirk S. Lemon (1924-1944) at New Orleans in October 1944.  He was killed in a motorcycle accident in Louisiana on October 19, 1944.  Mrs. Lemon later wedded James Dennison.  They had a son, Freddie Dennison.  Betty divorced Dennison and married Ralph H. DeSilvey (1925-1983) of Biloxi.  They had two children: Ralph E. DeSilvey (1947-1970) and Audrey L. DeSilvey (1954-1977).  They were domiciled at 715 Forest Hills Drive in Ocean Springs. In late January 1946, Winson Noel was accidentally shot by Gloria M. Mathieu, his niece.  The shooting took place in Ocean Springs. (The Jackson County Times, January 26, 1946, p. 1)         

 

Percy B. Noel

Percy Bernard Noel (1908-1977) was born at Cottage Hill, Mobile County, Alabama.  He resided at 609 Ward Avenue and made his livelihood as a painter and shrimper.  Percy married Ruby Williams (1915-1993), the daughter of William Eugene "Nub" Williams (1890-1966) and Lorena Devereaux (1896-1978).  They were the parents of Vallee N. Atkinson and Charles Noel. (The Daily Herald, March 17, 1977) 

 

Calvin C. Noel

     Calvin Charles Noel (1915-1938) drowned off the shore of East Beach in early December 1938.  He and Wesley Ryan had gone to tong for oysters near Eagle Point.  They were quite successful, but a rogue storm developed and the subsequent wave action caused their overloaded skiff to sink rapidly.  Noel tried to swim to shore, but failed to survive. Ryan was rescued from the cold water by Dr. William Richards, an East Beach resident. (The Daily Herald, December 9, 1938, p. 1)  

                                                             HARRO ANTHONY BELLMAN

 Harro A. Bellman (1847-1920) was born at Biloxi, on June 16, 1847. During the War of the Rebellion (1861-1865), Harro enlisted in the Army of the Confederate States of America serving in Company I of the 1st Louisiana Infantry.  In August 1876, he married Euphrazine "Frazine" Ryan Bellande (1852-1904), the daughter of Jerome Alfred Ryan and Dora Stephens. Frazine was the widow of Honore Bellande (1845-1871), the son of Joseph H. Bellande and Rosaline LaFauce (LaForce).  Before Bellande's early demise, she had one son, Adolph Bellande (1870-1916). Harro and Frazine Bellman were the parents of: Pauline Josephine Bellman (1876-1899) married T.A. Jackson and Joseph P. Scheib (1952-1899); Jerome Frederick Bellman (1883-pre 1900); Edwardine M. Bellman (1886-1900+); Noah Arthur Bellman (1889-1941) married Williamina Catchot (1898-1990), the daughter of Arnold "Boy" Catchot (1869-1939) and Anna Laura Ryan (1872-1930); and Irene Anna Bellman (1893-1960).  Harro A. Bellman made his livelihood as a gardener.  He worked for the Ocean Springs Hotel before it was destroyed in a large conflagration in late May 1905.  In his retirement, Harro moved to Mobile to live with his daughter.  He died there on November 16, 1920.  Harro Bellman's corporal remains were sent from Mobile to the home of Mrs. Edmond Mon in Ocean Springs for waking.  Internment was in the Bellande Cemetery. (The Jackson County Times, November 20, 1920)      
 

Courtesy of Randy Randazzo
Harro A. Bellman (1847-1920) and family

It is interesting to note that the six sons of Noah A. Bellman and Williamina Catchot Bellman remained in the Ocean Springs area and had large families.  They were: Ralph F. Bellman (1918-1999); Noah A. Bellman Jr. (1920-1999); Charles Arnold Bellman (1927-2000); James A. Bellman; Joseph Harro Bellman (1931-2000); and Thomas J. Bellman (1935-2007). 

 

ADA REGINA BELLMAN WARD

Ada R. "Lida" Bellman (1853-1892) was born at Biloxi, Mississippi on July 28, 1853.  She married Edward "Eddie" Ward and was a resident of Slidell, Louisiana.  Lida expired in Louisiana in March 1892.  Her corporal remains were sent to Ocean Springs for internment, probably in the Bellande Cemetery.  No further information. (The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, March 25, 1892, p. 2)  

                                                                  RALPH CHARLES BELLMAN 
     Ralph Charles Bellman (1855-1899) was born at Biloxi, Mississippi on June 9, 1855.  He expired at Ocean Springs, on October 16, 1899.  In 1870, he was a resident of Ocean Springs living with William? Bang (b. 1848). (1870 Federal Census- JXCO, Ms.) Ralph C. Bellman's funeral was held in the Episcopal Church with the Reverend E. Thompson of Biloxi in attendance.  He was eulogized in The Pascagoula Democrat-Star shortly after his demise, as follows:  "for many years a resident of Ocean Springs, he was numbered among the best citizens, and was honored and respected by all who knew him.  He was the loving tender son of his mother, caring for her in her old age, cheering and sustaining her until stricken with this fatal illness,"(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, October 20, 1899, p. 3)  No further information.  

                                                         PAULINE JOSEPHINE BELLMAN McCARY

Pauline Josephine Bellman (1857-1933) was born at Biloxi, Mississippi on November 4, 1857.  She married George Wythe McCary (1845-1925).  Their children were: George Charles Theodore McCary (1879-1963), Lelia May M. Helmer (1882- 970), and Pearl M. Brown (1888-1912).  George and Pauline Bellman McCary's corporal remains are at rest in the Magnolia Cemetery at Mobile. (Research of Felicia B. Tucker and Nancy B. McMillan)  
 

                                                            BERTHA BELLMAN BEAUGEZ 
Bertha Bellman (1859-1932) was born in Biloxi on August 19, 1859, and moved to Ocean Springs circa 1862.  She married Ernest M. Beaugez (1862-1903), the son of Stanislaus Beaugez (1813-1889) and Louise Ladner (1820-1897), on February 24, 1883, in the St. Alphonsus Catholic Church.  They were the parents of three children: ? Beaugez, Ernest Edward Beaugez (1883-1907) and Ralph M. Beaugez (1889-1900+).  Mr. Beaugez was the proprietor of a small grocery store on Government Street.  He expired in January 1903, while Bertha B. Beaugez passed on December 20, 1932.  Both were interred in the Bellande Cemetery in Ocean Springs. (The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, February 2, 1900, The Daily Herald, December 21, 1932, p. 2 and Lepre, 1991, pp. 17-18)

     

In February 1904, Ernest E. Beaugez  (1883-1907) married Ellen T. Crivellari of Mobile.  At the time he was an employee of The Progress, the local journal.  Mr. Beaugez commenced working here in 1899.  He was described by his employer as, "an honest, industrious and reliable young man in every respect."(The Progress, February 20, 1904)

     

By 1904, the health of Albert  E. Lee (1874-1936), the owner and editor of The Progress,  began to fail and he sold his newspaper to his printer, Ernest E. Beaugez .  Mr. Lee left Ocean Springs for New Orleans and was there when a conflagration destroyed the printing plant of Mr. Beaugez on March 4, 1905.  Returning here after the fire in order to review his business interests, A.E. Lee was met by enthusiastic supporters who were desirous of him to commence a new publishing venture at Ocean Springs.  Thusly, The Ocean Springs News was born on March 15, 1906, from a two hundred dollar loan to A.E. Lee for the initial payment on a small printing plant.  The Ocean Springs News was a success from the initial issue. (The Biloxi Herald, March 31, 1906, p. 8)   Young Ernest E. Beaugez died untimely at Ocean Springs in August 1907.  His corporal remains were interred in the Bellande Cemetery.  No further information.(The Daily Herald, August 22, 1907, p. 1)  
 

REFERENCES:


The American State Papers, Volume III 1815-1824 Public Lands, (reprint Southern Historical Press: Greenville, South Carolina-1994).  
Nap L. Cassibry II, Early Settlers and Land Grants at Biloxi, Volume II, Special Issue No. 5, (Mississippi Coast Historical & Genealogical Society: Biloxi, Mississippi-1986).
Darlene Jones Krohn, The Descendants of Jerome Ryan, (Krohn:  Latimer, Mississippi-1995).
Jerome Lepre, Catholic Church Records Diocese of Biloxi, Mississippi, Volume I, (Catholic Dioceses of Biloxi: Biloxi, Mississippi-1991).
Jerome Lepre, Gulf Coast Genealogy-The Seymour Family, (Lepre: 2001-New Orleans, Louisiana).
C.E. Schmidt, Ocean Springs French Beachhead, (Lewis Printing Company: Pascagoula, Mississippi-1972).
Tim Wallis, Ross-Allen Families, (Wallis: Biloxi, Mississippi-1992). 

Chancery Court Cases
 

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 20, 
Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 30, "Pauline Bellman v. Charles Bellman", August 1858.
Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 3616, "H.F.Russell, administrator of the Estate of A.P. Kotzum v. Mrs. H.C.Seymour, et al", October 1917.
Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 3936, "Estate of A.P. Kotzum", November 1917.
Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 4648, "Philip M. Bellman v. C.P. Martin and S.J. DeBlaeau operating The Ocean Springs Fish & Oyster Company", February 1925.

Journals
 

The Biloxi Herald, "Ocean Springs", February 7, 1891. The Biloxi Herald, "City Paragraphs", March 31, 1906.
The Daily Herald, "City News", August 22, 1907.
The Daily Herald, "Ocean Springs men return to homes", December 19, 1916, p. 1.
The Daily Herald, "Phillip Bellman Dies", March 4, 1927.
The Daily Herald, "Mrs. Beaugez Dies", December 21, 1932.
The Daily Herald, "Ocean Springs Man Drowns As Boat Sinks", December 9, 1938.
The Daily Herald, "Mrs. Marie Noel", January 16, 1956.
The Daily Herald, "Herman E. Noel", September 15, 1967.
The Daily Herald, "Percy Bernard Noel", March 17, 1977.
The Daily Herald, "Charles Bellman", September 26, 1956.
The Jackson County Times, "Local News Items", September 23, 1916.
The Jackson County Times, "Local News Interest", November 20, 1920.
The Jackson County Times, "Local and Personal", September 15, 1923.
The Jackson County Times, "R.L. White", March 3, 1928.
The Jackson County Times, "Joseph Edmund Brou", November 17, 1934.
The Jackson County Times, "Local and Personal", September 5, 1936.
The Jackson County Times, "The Column", August 12, 1939.
The Jackson County Times, "B.J. Noel Dies", April 25, 1942.
The Jackson County Times, "Gloria Mathieu Fatally Shoots Winson Noel", January 26, 1946.
The Ocean Springs New, "Local News", May 14, 1910.
The Ocean Springs News, "Eagle Point Oyster Company advertisement", November 24, 1915, p. 12.
The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", March 23, 1916.
The Ocean Springs News, "Ocean Springs Fish & Oyster Co.", March 30,1916.
The Ocean Springs News, "Lt. Cmdr. Brou Funeral Is held; Victim of Crash", October 2, 1958.
The Ocean Springs Record, "Phyliss Bellman Burke", September 27, 1970.
The Ocean Springs Record, "Open House Guests", August 22, 1985.
The Ocean Springs Record, "Birthday celebration", March 19, 1987.
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Died", March 25, 1892.
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Ocean Springs News", March 25, 1892.
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Sudden Death of Moses Seymour", January 13, 1893.
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Ocean Springs Locals", February 17, 1896.
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Ocean Springs Locals", October 10, 1899.
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Ocean Springs Locals", February 2, 1900.
The Progress, "Local News Interest", February 20, 1904.
The Sun Herald, "Brou stays agile, wins five medals at Games", July 18, 1997.
The Sun Herald, "Inez Virginia Bellman McLain", October 8, 2004, p. A-7.
The Sun Herald, "Thomas J. Bellman", November 18, 2007, p. A-14.
The Sun Herald, "Mr. Edward J. 'Eddie' Bellman", November 8, 2009, p. A-12.

The Sun Herald, "Bellman kept Elvis alive on the Coast", November 8, 2009, p. A-13.

 

     Charles Peter Boes (1859-1928) and Sarah Lahr (1859-1936), his spouse and the daughter of Godfrey and Elizabeth Lahr, were born in New York, probably Westchester County, of Germany parents. They married in New York circa 1881. The Boes family arrived in Ocean Springs circa 1893, probably from New Orleans where circa 1889, they may have relocated to from New York. At Ocean Springs, Mr. Boes made his livelihood as a railroad carpenter and later sold soft drinks and tobacco products. Their children were: Charles P. Boes Jr. (1884-1968) married Leola ? and Mary Posmedi; Frederick Boes (1886-1935) married Helene Gertrud Bucholz; Marguerite L. Boes (1889-1965) married Dudley J. McEvoy (1868-1936); John Morris Boes (1891-1940); Lena Boes (1894-1981) married Robert McGee; Annie Boes (1897-1985) married Jerry Monoghan; Emma Boes (1899-1985) married Charles Catanese; and Joseph Boes (1902-1910+). (1910 Federal Census-Jackson County, Ms., T624R744, pt. 1, p. 7A and Patricia Boes-Parenteau, June 17, 2003)

Boes home
     In April 1905, Charles P. Boes acquired a portion of Lot 12-Block 37 of the 1854 Culmseig Map of Ocean Springs from Dr. O.L. Bailey (1870-1938). Here on the northwest corner of Calhoun and VanCleave, the Boes family resided until their departure for New Orleans sometimes before February 1919. They were residents of New Orleans, when their home on Calhoun was acquired by Noah A. Bellman (1889-1941) and spouse, Williamina Catchot Bellman (1898-1990), in February 1919, for $500. The old Boes cottage is known today as the Bellman House and situated at 1401 Calhoun. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 29, p. 536 and Bk. 46, pp. 359-360)

     In 1910, Mr. Boes paid a total of $6.30 state and county tax on his Ocean Springs lot and improvements. Two dollars of this amount was poll tax. (JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court 1910 Tax Receipt No. 3754)

     By 1915, Charles P. Boes was the proprietor of a small confectionary in the former Paragon Saloon owned by George E. Arndt (1857-1945), himself a first generation German-American. At this time, the Paragon Saloon had been moved just north of its former site on the southwest corner of Washington Avenue and Robinson. This relocation was necessary when in 1913, the Farmers and Merchants Bank Building was erected here. This fine edifice is extant and utilized today as a commercial rental by its proprietors, William and Wynn Seeman, former residents of Gulf Hills.

In early July 1915, Mr. Boes advertised his business in The Ocean Springs News follows:

Greenwood Cemetery

     The following members of the Boes family lie in eternal rest in their family burial plot at the Greenwood Cemetery in New Orleans: Charles Peter Boes, Sarah Lahr Boes, John Morris Boes, Lena Boes McGee, and Marguerite Boes McEvoy.

The following information is known about three of the Boes children:

Charles P. Boes Jr.
     Circa 1904, Charles Peter Boes Jr. (1884-1968) was born in Westchester County, New York. He married Leola ? Boes (1878-1910+), a native of Mississippi. They lived in East Slidell, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. Mr. Boes was employed in the Slidell area as a millwright for a lumber company. They had had a child which did not survive. (1910-Federal Census, St. Tammany, Parish, Louisiana, T624R531, pt. 3, p. 218B)

     During WW I, Charles P Boes Jr. served in the US Navy. In 1920, he was stationed in Constantinople, Turkey aboard the USS Scorpion. Charles P. Boes Jr. later married Mary Posmedi. They were the parents of three sons: Charles Peter Boes III, John Boes, and George Boes. They family resided at Vallejo, California for about forty years. He expired here on May 1,1968. (Patricia Boes-Parenteau, June 17, 2003)

Frederick Boes
     Frederick Boes (1886-1935) was born in Westchester County, New York. In May 1912, he married Helene Gertrud Bucholz of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the Methodist Church at Ocean Springs with the Reverend Lowndes A. Darsey (1849-1929) in attendance. (JXCO, Ms. MRB 9, p. 413)

     They were the parents of six children: Meta Eve Boes (1914-1983); Fred Boes Jr. (b. 1917); Immanual H. Boes (1920-1983); Marguerite Boes (1922-1991); Edward K. Boes (1925-1999); and Richard Boes (1926-1991). Frederick and Helene B. Boes left Ocean Springs circa 1917, for San Francisco. Meta Eve was born in Biloxi while the remainder of the Boes children experienced their nativity in the Golden State. Frederick Boes made his livelihood working in a hospital. He expired at San Francisco on February 11, 1935 from tuberculosis. (Patricia Boes-Parenteau, June 17, 2003)

     Many thousand thanks to Patricia Boes-Parenteau of Vacaville, California for her sharing her knowledge of her Boes family with us.

REFERENCES:
The Ocean Springs News, "C.P. Boes <advertisement>", July 8, 1915.

Personal Communication:
Patricia Boes-Parenteau-Vacaville, California, June 17, 2003.

 

 

Buehler Cottage (circa 1913)

(situated on Beuhler Street-north of CSX RR. and west of Cox Avenue)

(l-r: Louise E. H. C. Beuhler (1879-1965), Margaret Hoffman Filligim (1916-1966), and Hattie C. Hoffman (1889-1958)

    

The progenitors of the Buehler family at Ocean Springs were Andrew Buehler (1823-1906) a native of Germany and his wife, Rosine Biesk, also German born. Their children were: Andrew Buehler II (1859-1939) and Christian Buehler (1865-1936). Buehler is enunciated as "bee-ler".

    

Andrew Buehler II

Andrew Buehler II (1859-1939) was born at New Orleans. He married Mary Buehler (1865-1891). They were the parents of Annie Buehler (1885-1910+), Andrew Buehler III (b. 1887), John Buehler (1889-1910+), and Rosa Buehler (1892-1910+).

 

In 1894, after the death of his spouse, Andrew Buehler II married Pearl Fayard (1872-1906). She was the daughter of Leonard J. Fayard (1847-1923) and Martha Jane Westbrook (1851-1918). Their children were: Otto G. Buehler (1895-1969); Ambrose Buehler (1898-1899); Walter Clifford Buehler (1900-1960); Philip Conrad Buehler (1904-1986) married Viola May Bauer (1904-1991); and Rose Buehler (b. ca 1906) married Lawrence Rafferty and Richard White. In 1910, Andrew Buehler toiled as a painter for the L&N Railroad.

    

Christian Buehler

Christian Buehler (1865-1936) was a native of New Orleans. Circa 1905, he married Louise Emma Hoffman Costley (1879-1965). She was born on December 17, 1879, at Galveston, Texas the daughter of John F. Hoffman Jr. (1852-1906) and Mary Pauline Schmidt, both New Orleans natives. Prior to her betrothal to Christian Buehler, Louise had married Mr. Costley, a waiter in a New Orleans restaurant. They had a daughter, Anne Costley Verner (1901-1990). Louise and Christian Buehler were the parents of Frank Christian Buehler (1909-1985). (Walterene V. Redding, April 4, 2002)

 

Christian Buehler made his livelihood as a painter, carpenter, and boilermaker. The family resided on "Buehler Avenue", which no longer exists but was once situated on the north side of the L&N Railroad, now CSX Railroad, and west of Cox Avenue, in the rear of Sonic Drive-In and the office of Ellis Branch, realtor. (Walterene V. Redding, June 10, 2003)

 

In his later life, Christian’s health slowly failed and he made a subsistence livelihood vending sandwiches and pies on the streets and at the L&N Depot. He suffered a severe stroke on March 1, 1936, at Gulf Hills, the day after his son’s wedding and expired on the same day at his home. Chris Buehler’s corporal remains were interred in the Bellande Cemetery under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church. (The Jackson County Times, March 7, 1936, p. 3 and Walterene V. Redding, June 10, 2003)

    

Louise Emma Hoffman Costley Buehler (1879-1965)

(courtesy of Walterine 'Sis' Verner Redding (1923-2005)

 

Louise Emma H.C. Buehler expired on April 28, 1965 at Biloxi. She resided at 102 Sherwood Circle in Ocean Springs, the home of her daughter, at the time of her demise. Mrs. Buehler rests eternally by her husband in the Bellande Cemetery on Dewey Avenue at Ocean Springs. (The Daily Herald, April 29, 1965, p. 2)

 

 

 

 

BUEHLER BROS. Dealers in STOVE and FIREPLACE WOOD And CHARCOAL (The Ocean Springs News, November 4, 1915, p. 3)

 

Anne Costley Verner

Anne C. Verner was born on November 4, 1901, at Galveston, Texas. She married Thomas Eugene Verner (1898-1989), of Memphis, Tennessee. Thomas had come to the Gulf Coast as his brother resided in Biloxi. He found work in Ocean Springs driving a taxi from the L&N Depot for J.J. "Ben" O’Keefe (1894-1954). They were the parents of: Laurie Louise Verner (1922-1960); Walterene "Sis" Verner Redding (1923-2005), the spouse of Oliver Osborn Redding (1904-1982); Eugene J. Verner (1924-1924); and Frank L. Verner (1927-2010) husband of Jewel Ash. Mrs. Verner managed United Poultry Producers after the retirement of Henry L. Girot Jr. (1886-1953) and also was employed at the Gus Stevens Restaurant in Biloxi. She worshiped at the First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs, and was a member of the Eastern Star and Kings Daughters charity organization. Mrs. Verner expired on May 5, 1990 and her corporal remains were interred in the Bellande Cemetery. (The Sun Herald, May 6, 1990, p. B-2 and Walterene V. Redding, June 10, 2003)

 

Frank C. Buehler

Frank C. Buehler (1909-1985) was in the first graduation class of the 1927 Ocean Springs Public School, which received their diplomas on May 31, 1928. Although two others students in the 1928 graduation class had the same scholastic average as Frank C. Buehler, he was named Valedictorian of the class since he had a better attendance record. Local jeweler, Phil N. Kreutz (1869-1934), donated two gold medals to the public school. One was awarded to Beuhler as Valedictorian and the other to Catherine Carver, a third grader, for her perfect attendance record. Buehler went on to Perkinston Junior College to further his formal education. (The Jackson County Times, May 26, 1928, p. 2 and March 7, 1936, p. 3)

 

On February 29, 1936, Frank married Naomi Earle Watson (1915-1980), a native of Wade, Mississippi. She was the daughter of Mrs. and Mrs. Henry C. Watson, of Tallahassee, Florida. Naomi was a graduate of the Florida State College for Women. Their nuptial ceremony was held in the Buehler home on Cox Avenue, with the Reverend A.B. Barry of the Methodist Church in attendance. (The Daily Herald, March 3, 1936, p. 3 and The Jackson County Times, March 7, 1936, p. 3)

 

During WW II, Frank C. Buehler served in the European Theater being honorably discharged in 1945, as a Captain. He served in the local Army National Guard as well. Naomi Earle Watson Buehler was also a WW II veteran having been a Naval pharmacist’s mate third class. The Buehlers had a jewelry store on Washington Avenue for about thirty years. They worshiped at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. Naomi expired in Ocean Springs on May 14, 1980. Frank married Ethel Marion Buehler after her demise. He died on June 25, 1985. Frank and Naomi W. Buehler’s remains were laid to rest in the Bellande Cemetery on Dewey Avenue. (The Daily Herald, May 15, 1980, p. A-2 and June 27, 1985, p. A-2)

 

Buehler’s Watch and Jewelry Shop In mid-November 1950, Frank and Naomi Buehler commenced their watch repair and jewelry business at 116 Washington Avenue, now 626 Washington Avenue. He offered a wide range of services: clock and watch repair; watch band and bracelet repair; restringing of beads and pearls; ring sizing; diamond and jewelry cleaning; and evaluation of the condition of mounted settings. In preparation for this career, Mr. Buehler attended the Scientific School of Watch Making at Glendale, California for two years, graduating in January 1950. Simultaneously, Mrs. Buehler enrolled in the Glendale Secretarial College, where she studied stenography and salesmanship. Her responsibility in their enterprise was giftware and wrapping. (The Gulf Coast Times, November 17, 1950, p. 1)

 

As the business was a success, Frank C. Buehler and spouse acquired the lot and building that they been renting from Mrs. M.L. Rutherford in August 1952. The parcel had a front of thirty-five feet on Washington and ran 200 feet deep. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 126, pp. 313-314)

 

Ocean Springs Bakery In January 1953, Frank C. Buehler began vending fresh rolls, donuts, cookies, pastries, pies, cakes, and bread from his Washington Avenue business. The bakery goods were made by the Quality Bakery in North Biloxi, now D’Iberville. (The Gulf Coast Times, January 29, 1953, p. 1)

 

At post-retirement age and with his life partner gone, Frank C. Buehler sold his building on Washington Avenue to Frank L. Verner and spouse. The small structure today is owned by the Moran family and has housed many small businesses this decade. Among them: Moo-licious; Hot-doggin’ It, the predecessor of Salvetti’s; The Orient Express; Dee Ann’s Delight; The Very Thing; and presently Salon Boudreau. . (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 740, p. 660 )

 

In 1972, Mr. Buehler sold his jewelry business to William Paul Shelton (1910-2001), a native of Flat, Texas, who commenced in the pawn and jewelry business in Biloxi in 1945, after his military career had ended. (The Ocean Springs Record-Independent, March 1, 2001, p. 3)

 

REFERENCES:

 

C.E. Schmidt, Ocean Springs French Beachhead, (Lewis Printing Services: Pascagoula, Mississippi-1972)
 

Journals

The Biloxi Daily Herald, "Mississippi", February 14, 1906.
The Daily Herald, "Christian Buehler Dies", March 2, 1936.
The Daily Herald, "Buehler-Watson", March 3, 1936.
The Daily Herald, "Ocean Springs News Paragraphs", August 19, 1948.
The Daily Herald, Mrs. Fayard Dies", December 17, 1951.
The Daily Herald, "John Alex Fayard", September 15, 1958.
The Daily Herald, "Ocean Springs Nurse Dies of Gunshot Wounds", February 26, 1960. 
The Daily Herald, "Mrs. Louise Buehler", April 29, 1965.
The Daily Herald, "Naomie W. Buehler", May 15, 1980.
The Daily Herald, "Frank Buehler", June 27, 1985.
The Gulf Coast Times, "Watch Shop Opened By Frank C. Buehler", November 17, 1950.
The Gulf Coast Times, "Frank Buehler Opens New Bakery Here", January 29, 1953.
The Jackson County Times, "Williams-Hoffman", October 19, 1932.
The Jackson County Times, "Christian Buehler", March 7, 1936.
The Jackson County Times, "Buehler-Watson", March 7, 1936.
The Sun Herald, "Walterene "Sis" V. Redding, September 25, 2005, p. A27.

The Sun Herald, "Frank L. Verner, June 9, 2010, p. A4.

 

Herman C. Buttner 
Herman C. Buttner (1859-1912+) was born at New Orleans in July 1859.  Family lore relates that he studied Classical music in Austria when it was characterized by emotional expression.  Buttner’s grand piano had an inlaid mother-of-pearl, key lid inlaid, which was positioned in the drawing room.  Herman was a troubled man and during his spells with emotional stress would often play his piano hysterically!(Walterine V. Redding, June 2002  par Louise Emma Buehler) 
In December 1891, Herman C. Buttner commenced a grocery business on Iberville Drive, in the rear of the family home.  Miss Midge Towne, a resident of Belle Fontaine, was employed by Mr. Buttner to clerk in November 1895. (The Biloxi Herald, December 19, 1891, p. 1 and The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, November 1, 1895, p. 3) 
In the 1898 Ocean Springs Business Directory, Frederick Buttner and Herman C. Buttner advertised as follows: 
 

F. Buttner & Sondealer in Groceries, hardware, crockery, etc.LOW PRICES-GOOD GOODSAlso fine domestic wines of Concord, Herbermont, ScuppernongGrapes by the gallon-unrivaled for beauty, age, and bouquet.Shipments made to all pointsCorrespondence Solicited * Wholesale and Retail Dealers in IceFree Delivery

On April 17, 1906, Herman C. Butter was adjudicated insane by a jury composed of six free-holders in Jackson County, Mississippi.  He was committed to the East Mississippi Insane Hospital at Meridian, Mississippi.  No further information.(JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 1512-April 1906)

Buttner home-Church of Christ 
 In September 1891, Frederick Buttner erected a two-story home on the southeast corner of Washington Avenue and Iberville.  It had a large brick cellar to store and age his wine.  Buttner’s fruitful vineyard had allowed his wine production to increase each year.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, September 18, 1891, p. 2) 
 The Buttners home was situated on the southeast corner of Washington Avenue and Iberville.  It was sold to Louis A. Lundy (1876-1941) in May 1913, by Commissioner Fred Taylor after the litigation, John Hoffman et al v. Herman Buttner, was adjudicated in the Chancery Court of Jackson County, Mississippi.(JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 3185, November 1912 and JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 39, pp. 249-250) ) 
Mrs. Alberta Mae Lundy (1885-1962), the widow of L.A. Lundy, sold her property to Hunter H. Kimball in March 1947.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 96, pp. 395-396) 
In June 1956, Roy P. Childers, Hugh B. Henry, Charles O. Calton, and Joyce J. Mitchell, Trustees of the Washington Avenue Church of Christ, acquired the Buttner-Lundy property for $12,500, from Hunter H. Kimball (1893-1972), a Jackson realtor, who later settled at Gulfport.  Mr. Kimball had converted the structure into an apartment rental.  The congregation of the Church of Christ refurbished and reconfigured the old home to their requirements for worship services.  It was anticipated that the church would be open for services in mid-1958.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 96, pp. 395-396 and The Ocean Springs Record, March 27, 1958) 
The Buttner-Lundy house was demolished circa 1960, to erect a new sanctuary for the Church of Christ.

Wine and grapes 
Winemaking at Ocean Springs for the most part was a folk art, but during Reconstruction and later, some of the local scuppernong grapes provided the basis for a cash crop as well as for manufacturing a sweet, indigenous wine.  In August 1880, merchants paid local boys $.25 per bushel for collecting the scuppernong fruit.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, August 20, 1880, p. 1) 
Although the old Dane, Christian Hanson (1810-1900), had been making wine at his Bayou Puerto home for decades, it was the arrival of Parker Earle (1831-1917) and Frederick Buttner to Ocean Springs, that energized the cultivation of grapes for the fruit as well as commercial wine making.  John J. Riehm (1846-1936), another German immigrant, sold fruits, vegetables, and fine scuppernong wine at Ocean Springs in the late 1890s. 
In September 1892, Frederick Buttner related in a journal interview the following about his career as a vintner:

I was the first to introduce in Louisiana the grape with the view of producing wine.  I was stigmatized as a lunatic, but within three years from the planting of the fruit, and that is now some fifty years ago, I have gathered between six and seven hundred pounds, the next year over 4,000 pounds and the year after I made over 500 gallons of wine. At once everybody wanted to plant grape vines.  I used nothing then but the Hebermont and still pin my faith on that variety, although this year I have been most successful with the Concord and have produced a wine from this variety that on opening a bottle the bouquet from such permeates the room and which is of a most delicious fragrance seldom met with in the general run of so-called varieties. 
An experience of years not only on the coast of Mississippi has demonstrated to me that the varieties that are sure and natural to this section are the Hebermont, then the Concord and Cartly, and the native scuppernong.  With assiduous attention and a perfect knowledge of vintage you are bound to produce wines that no other section of the world can begin to equal for perfect bouquet, taste and exquisite flavor.  Remember this is predicated on an experience in Europe as well as America, and an absolute experience of near half a century.  Much of our production is shipped abroad, but that is a mistake.  The entire product should be made into wines.(The Biloxi Herald, September 3, 1892, p. 1)

In 1894, Fred Buttner began vending his wine in Biloxi.  He was described by a local journalist as “the pioneer wine maker of the coast”.  Buttner’s  three-year old scuppernong wine was described as “of a superior quality and possesses a rare bouquet seldom met with in a wine made from the native grape of this coast”.  Much of Buttner’s wine production was sold to people in the North and West.(The Biloxi Herald, May26, 1894, p. 8 and June 30, 1894, p. 8) 
After the 1897 grape harvest, which Mr. Buttner declared a vintage year, he planned to make Champagne next year.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, November 19, 1897, p. 3) 
 Fred Buttner expired at Ocean Springs on January 28, 1903.  He was survived by his spouse, Marie Louise M. H. Buttner, and son Herman C. Buttner.  Buttner’s corporal remains were sent to the Evergreen Cemetery at Ocean Springs for interment.

Buttner estate 
In July 1911, Marie Louise Munsch Buttner legated that her estate, real and personal be divided equally among her heirs-at-law: Herman Buttner, a son; Louise Hoffman Costley Buehler (1879-1965), a granddaughter; Marie E. Hoffman Fayard (1884-1951), a granddaughter; John F. Hoffman III (1886-1967), a grandson; Charles W. Hoffman (1889-1972), a grandson; and Loretta Litolff (1898-1980), a great granddaughter.  F.M. Dick (1857-1922), was appointed as executor of her estate.(JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 3131-July 1912) 
  Mrs. Buttner passed on July 19, 1912 at Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  Although no record exists for her burial, it is assumed that her corporal remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery adjacent to her late husband, Frederick Buttner (1826-1903), and son John F. Hoffman (1852-1906), who preceded her in death, and have tombstones there. 

Emile Domning (1850-1918), the progenitor of the Domning family of Ocean Springs, was born in Germany on August 1, 1850.  He immigrated to America in 1869 and in October 1878, became an American citizen at New Orleans.  Domning served in the US Navy enlisting in 1873.  In September 1880, he married Christina E. Sieckman (1848-1933), a native of Bielefeld, Germany, and the widow of John Wendel (1848-1874), in the Lutheran church in New Orleans.  Christina was the daughter of Henry Conrad Sieckman and Anna Marie Ruter.  In September 1867, she with two siblings, Johanna F. Sieckman who would marry Henry Wendel, and Christina Augusta Sieckman (d. 1875), immigrated to America settling with Ivan Sieckman, an uncle, residing at New Orleans.(The History of JXCO, Ms., 1989, p. 194)

 

 

Emile Domning (1850-1918)

In 1890, Emile Domning and family relocated from New Orleans to Ocean Springs.  Here he made his livelihood as a shoemaker until his demise in November 1918.  At Ocean Springs, Mr. Domning was active in the civic and social aspects of the community.  He served Ocean Springs as marshal (sic), constable, and deputy sheriff.(The Jackson County Times, November 9, 1918, p. 5) 
  
 

Acting Marshall

In March 1904, the Marshal elect of Ocean Springs resigned his post and Emile Domning acted as Marshal until a special election was held.  During his short tenure as lawman of Ocean Springs, Mr. Domning met with a most embarrassing incident, which prevented him from seeking the office permanently.  A rowdy group of young men were imbibing alcohol in the vicinity of the L&N Depot.  Domning arrested one of the men and escorted him to the local calaboose with his mates in tow.  Reaching the jail, Domning opened the door and entered the cell before his prisoner.  Bam! Click! The jail door was slammed and sealed by the unruly crowd and left Marshal Domning as the incarceratee!!  His prisoner and amigos escaped.  Red-faced and angry, Emile Domning was later able to free himself.(The Progress, April 30, 1904, p. 4)

 

Domning children

Emile Domning and Christina Sieckman Domning were the parents of four children who were all natives of New Orleans: Augusta Domning Fayard (1881-1946), Benjamine F. Domning (1882-1915), Caroline M. Domning Seymour (1886-1969)and Amelia F. Domning Ryan (1889-1954).

 

  
Christina E. Sieckman Wendel Domning (1848-1933)

 

Bowen Avenue-a Domning neighborhood 
 

It was several years after settling in Ocean Springs, that cobbler, Emile Domning, and spouse began to acquire land.  In August 1892, Christina S. Domning acquired for $275, their homestead tract at present day 1314 Bowen Avenue.  Situated on the south side of Bowen, it was described as Lot 5-Block 32 and purchased from Martha E. Ryan, John B. Ryan (1856-1920) and Ralph C. Bellman (1856-1899).  A quitclaim deed was issued to the Domnings on this parcel by Samuel H. Dickin in July 1894. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk.14, p. 28 and Bk. 15, p. 588) 
    

 

Emile Domning Home-Bowen Avenue (circa 1910)

[l-r: Ethel S. Endt Dale (1900-1978), Christina S. Domning (1848-1933), Johanna W. Endt ? (1873-1931), and Emile Domning (1850-1918)

 

By July 1918, several months before his demise in November 1918, Emile Domning possessed five houses on Bowen Avenue between Russell Avenue and General Pershing described as being in parts of Lot 3; all of Lot 4; Lot 7; and Lot 12 all in Block 32 of the 1854 Culmseig Map of Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  He declared in his last will and testament that Christina, his spouse of thirty-eight years, would inherit his real property.(JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 4433-April 1924) 
   

 

In April 1924, Christina S. Domning conveyed to her daughter, Amelia D. Ryan, “my homestead”.  Amelia had married Fredrick J. Ryan (1886-1969) in January 1911.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 53, pp. 624-625) 
   

 

In 1934, on the south side of Bowen Avenue in the front of their house Fred J. Ryan and Henry J. Endt (1910-1989) opened a neighborhood bar on Bowen Avenue.  It was called the F & H Bar for their first names, Fred and Henry.  This establishment soon evolved into a seafood restaurant and dancehall, which in June 1941 gained national notoriety when Mr. and Mrs. Ryan hosted William Meyers Colmer (1890-1980), Mississippi’s US Representative and Henry A. Wallace (1888-1965), vice-president of the United States.  Their entourage included several leading Senators and Representatives from North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Rhode Island, Virginia, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.  (The Jackson County Times, May 5, 1934 and The Jackson County Times, June 8, 1941, p. 4) 
   

 

The Fred Ryan home and businesses were demolished in the 1960s by their daughter, Esther Ryan Lyons Bradford (1919-1973), to build a new home.  Her son, Fred R. Bradford, resides here today.

 

Emile Domning dies 

Emile Domning expired at his Bowen Avenue residence on November 1, 1918,  after an illness of several months.  His corporal remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery.  In early November 1918, The Jackson County Timeseulogized him as follows:  The passing of E. Domning removes from our midst another of the old guard, who for years was prominently identified with Ocean Springs Fire Company No. 1.  He was one of the few remaining veterans who in former years built up the fire company and worked year in and year out to keep the organization in a flourishing condition.  He served many years as secretary of the company and was a faithful officer. (Ibid., November 9, 1918, p. 5)

                                                                   

Mrs. Domning passes 
 

In early August 1933, Christina S. Domning passed on in her Bowen Avenue residence.  Her funeral services were held at St. John’s Episcopal Church prior to internment in Evergreen Cemetery.  Mrs. Domning was carried to her grave by six grandsons: Oscar Seymour and Bennie Seymour, Henry and Albert Endt, Emile Domning, and Ambrose Fayard.(The Daily Herald, August 5, 1933, p. 2)

 

A brief history of the children of Emile Doming and Christina Sieckman Domning follows: 
 

Augusta C. Domning 

 

Augusta Christina Doming (1881-1946) was born at New Orleans on August 10, 1881.  She married Leonard J. Fayard Jr. (1881-1958), the son of Leonard Fayard (1847-1923) and Martha Jane Westbrook, (1851-1918), the daughter of John Westbrook (d. ca 1870) and Caroline Mathieu (1830-1895).  Their children were: Ambrose Roch Fayard (1906-1998) married Lilly Mae VanCourt (1911-1998); Christine Fayard (b. ca 1910) married Clarence Hamilton (1902-1992); Lucille Fayard (b. ca 1916 married Oscar Heffner (b. 1923); and Beryl Fayard (1919-1972) married Willard J. Odenbeck (1918-1995) and Bernell S. Seymour (1922-1991). 
  
 

The Fayard home-1302 Bowen Avenue 

 

In March 1916, Emile Domning conveyed a part of Lot 3-Block 32 to his daughter, Augusta D. Fayard.  This parcel on the southeast corner of Bowen Avenue and Russell had seventy-five feet fronting on Bowen Avenue and was one hundred fifty feet deep on Russell.  The consideration was $75.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 42, p. 263)      

Prior to residing here, the Fayards had lived on Bowen Avenue on Lot 7-Block 32.  She acquired this parcel from her mother in June 1905, and sold it to her father in March 1916, for $75.  Lot 7 was acquired by Johanna W. Endt (1873-1931) in April 1924, from her mother, Mrs. Emile Domning.  The Endt-Hire cottage is situated at present day 1410 Bowen and owned by Theresa Hire.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 30, p. 53, Bk. 42, p. 380, and Bk. 53, p. 624) 
    

Johanna W. Endt (1873-1931) was the daughter of John Wendel (1848-1874) and Chrisitine Sieckman Wendel Domning (1848-1933).  She married Anthony J. Endt (1870-1948) in October 1896 at St. Alphonsus.(Lepre, 1991, p. 103) 
     

In June 1960, after the deaths of Augusta D. Fayard and her spouse, Leonard J. Fayard Jr. in December 1946 and April 1958 respectively, three of their heirs conveyed the Fayard-Latch cottage to Bernell S. Seymour (1922-1991) and Beryl F. Odenbeck Seymour (1919-1972), a sibling and heir.  After the death of Mr. Seymour in April 1991, his daughter, Suzanne Seymour Andrews of Titusville, Florida sold the old Fayard home place to Rickey L. Latch in late 1991.(JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. P-3197-1991 and JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 985, p. 951 and Bk. 986, p. 130). 

 

 

Benjamine Frederick Domning 
 

Benjamine F. “Ben” Domning (1882-1915) was born at New Orleans in 1882.  Circa 1904, he married Alphonsine Beaugez (1882-1965), the daughter of Alphonse Beaugez (1860-1942) and Caroline Seymour (1858-1933), in the St. Alphonsus Catholic Church at Ocean Springs.  Their children were: Frederick Emile “Rip” Domning (1907-2005) married Maud M. Mugnier (1905-1998); Carrie Domning (1908-2000) who became Sister Mary Constance of the Pallotine Sisters, a Roman Catholic Holy Order; Bernard A. Domning (1912-1991) married Rita McGinnes (b. 1914); and Alice Domning Burnham (b. 1913) married Lawrence V. Burnham (1910-1988).   Mr. Domning made his livelihood with the L&N Railroad.(Daryl P. Domning and Alice D. Burnham, July 7-8, 2003)

 

Domning cottage on Porter 
 

It would appear that Ben and Alphonsine B. Domning initially made their home at Ocean Springs.  They acquired Lot 12-Block 32 in early December 1904, from W.C. Parragin.  This parcel fronted on East Porter near VanCleave and was due south of his parents’ home, which was situated at present day 1314 Bowen Avenue.  Circa 1912, Ben was transferred to Mobile by the L&N.  In December 1912, he sold his Porter Avenue real estate to his father.  Two of the Domning children, Bernard and Alice, were born in Mobile.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 29, pp. 250-251 and Bk. 38, pp. 617-618 and Alice Domning Burnham, July 8, 2003) 
  
 

Domning Cottage on VanCleave 

 

Also in December 1912, Ben Domning acquired Lot 13-Block 33 (Culmseig Map-1854) on the east side of VanCleave Avenue from his father, Emile Domning.  This lot had 100 feet on VanCleave and ran east for 190 feet.  Here in 1913, he had a home erected which is extant at present day 504 VanCleave.  Mr. Emile Domning had acquired Lot 13-Block 33 from Ellen L. Rapp in January 1912.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 37, p. 574)

 

Ben Domnings untimely demise 
 

B.F. Domning was employed as a brakeman for the L&N Railroad in its New Orleans-Mobile Division.  On March 18, 1915, while at work, he apparently fell from freight train No. 72 at Lake Catherine, which is situated about thirty miles east of New Orleans.  B.F. Domning’s presence was missed when the fast freight reached Long Beach, Mississippi.  His badly mangled corpse was found on the railroad tracks at Lake Catherine by the crew L&N train No. 88, which had embarked the Crescent City shortly after train No. 72.  Mr. Domning’s corporal remains were brought to his parents’ home on Bowen Avenue before internment in the Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou.  He had been associated with several fraternal organizations: Woodmen of the World, Moose, and Firemen.(The Daily Herald, March 19, 1915, p. 1 and The Jackson County Times, March 25, 1915, p. 1) 
    

On December 5, 1915, the Woodmen of the World unveiled a monument to B.F. Domning in the Evergreen Cemetery.  Sixty-five members from Maple Camp No. 5 came from Mobile   Several hundred people from Ocean Springs attended the ceremony.(The Ocean Springs News, December 9, 1915, p. 1) 
    

Domning family members in Ocean Springs always believed that B.F. Domning was pushed from his L&N freight train by a hobo who was riding the rails to Mobile.(Clarence Hamilton Jr., June 25, 2003)

 

Settlement 
    

In November 1915, the L&N Railroad paid the widow, Alphonsine B. Domning, and her four minor children $500 for the accidental death of her late husband.  Contemporaneously, she was named legal guardian of her four children by the Chancery Court of Jackson County, Mississippi.(Jackson County, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 3475-November 1915)

 

Additional railroad accidents and deaths 
    

Shortly after the demise of B.F. Domning, The Ocean Springs News reminded its readership that in addition to Mr. Domning, five other young men from Ocean Springs were seriously injured or killed in accidents on the L&N line.  Among them were: Bennie Seymour, Elliot Westbrook, George Richards, Willie Westbrook, and Tom Eglin.(The Ocean Springs News, March 25, 1915, p. 2) 
 

A brief review of these railroad incidents follows:

 

Benjamin Seymour 
     Benjamin “Benny” Benny Seymour (1882-1904), son of Narcisse Seymour (1849-1931) and Caroline V. Krohn (1847-1895), lost both legs below the knee at Bay St. Louis on December 17, 1904.  Seymour was a flagman for the L&N Railroad.  He died at Charity Hospital in New Orleans on December 18, 1904.  Narcisse Seymour sued the L&N Railroad for $20,000 in a wrongful death suit and was awarded $5000 in damages by a jury in 1908.  Judge Niles ordered the case retried and Seymour lost the suit in Federal court at Biloxi on February 16, 1909.(The Progress, December 24, 1904, p. 4 and The Ocean Springs News, February 20, 1909)

Elliot Westbrook 
     Elliot Westbrook (1883-1927), called Skinny, was the son of Lucian Westbrook (1842-1896) and Cecelia Kendall (1848-1913). Elliot was employed by the L&N at Mobile as a switchman.  On October 24, 1910, he fell while attempting to make a switch of some cars in the L&N rail yard at Mobile.  A car rolled over his right arm severing it near the shoulder.  Westbrook resided at 459 Eslava Street, with his spouse.(The Ocean Springs News, October 29, 1910, p. 1)

George Richards 
    George Richards was employed by the L&N at Mobile.  He worked as a switchman.  On October 21, 1910, the bulkheads of two rail cars crushed his foot.  The foot was amputated above the ankle by Dr. S.S. Peterson on October 25, 1910, when it did not heal properly.(The Ocean Springs News, October 29, 1910, p. 1)

William J. Westbrook 
     William J. “Willie” Westbrook (1886-1913) was killed in a railroad accident at Grand Bay, Alabama on February 23, 1913.  While attempting to catch the caboose of a freight train, he lost his footing and fell beneath the rolling wheels of a freight car.  Westbrook was the L&N station agent at the time of his demise.  Willie Westbrook was the son of Edward M. Westbrook (1858-1913) and Harriet “Hattie” Clark (1857-1927).  He probably had three children born in Alabama:  W.J. Westbrook, Jr., Leroy Westbrook (b. 1908- pre 1980) and Lillian Westbrook (b. 1911).  The two younger children lived at Ocean Springs with their grandmother, Hattie Westbrook, in 1920.(The Daily Herald, February 24, 1913, p. 1) 
  
Thomas A. Eglin 
     Thomas A. Eglin (1887-1914) was the son of Albert M. Eglin (1852-1891) and Amelia S. Krohn (1855-1916).  He was a flagman on L&N Train No. 38, better known as the New York Limited.  Tom Eglin killed by bandits who robbed the conductor and baggage man for less than $20 on July 17, 1914.  The armed robbery took place on the eastern outskirts of New Orleans.  Eglin’s corporal remains were interred in the Bellande Cemetery at Ocean Springs.(The Ocean Springs News, July 18, 1914, p. 1)

Move to Mobile 
     In July 1925, Alphonsine B. Domning and her family relocated to Mobile, when her son, F. Emile “Rip” Domning (b. 1907), took a position with the L&N Railroad.  The Domnings settled at 258 Jackson Street near Conception.  In 1933, Carrie Domning joined the Pallotine Sisters at their convent in Huntington, West Virginia.  The order had come from Germany in 1912, and in 1924, founded a hospital, which today is the St. Mary’s Medical Center, the 13th largest private employer in West Virginia.  Bernard A. Domning became an electrician and married Rita McGinnes at Mobile circa 1935 and Alice Domning married Lawrence V. Burnham in August 1934, also at Mobile.(Alice D. Burnham, July 8, 2003)

Ocean Springs rentals 
      Alphonsine Domning maintained her properties on VanCleave while residing in Alabama.  She rented the Domning cottage at 504 VanCleave until her demise in March 1965.  Mrs. Domning’s corporal remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery. 
     In April 1933, during the Great Depression, Mrs. Domning lost her Ocean Springs home and lot for taxes to the State of Mississippi.  She redeemed her property in February 1936, by paying $51.70 to the Land Commissioner of the State.  A forfeited tax land patent was issued to her in September 1940 to clear the title.(St. Tax Land Sale Bk. 3, p. 142 and JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 77, p. 157) 
     In January 1974, Alphonsine B. Domning’s heirs, Emile, Carrie-Sister Mary Constance, and Bernard A. Domning Sr. sold her VanCleave Avenue properties to their sister, Alice D. Burnham and husband, Lawrence V. Burnham.  A Chancery Court order was issued in March 1989, which adjudicated that all the real estate of Alphonsine B. Domning be assigned to her children.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 491, p. 574 and Jackson County, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. P-2152, March 1989) 
      Today, Alice Domning Burnham of Mobile still possesses the old Ben Domning properties at 504, 506, and 508 VanCleave. 

 

Reminiscences of Ocean Springs 
by Emile F. Domning 
 

Emile Frederick “Rip” Domning (1907-2005), a native son, was born in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, on January 20, 1907, the eldest of the four children of B. F. Domning (1882-1915) and Alphonsine Frances Beaugez (1882-1965).  Emile married Maud Marie Louise Mugnier (1905-1998), a native of New Orleans, but Biloxi resident on May 10, 1941, after which date they lived in Biloxi continuously except for Emile's World War II military service. Their only child, Daryl Paul Domning, was born in Biloxi on March 14, 1947.  Rip Domning expired on May 21, 2005 at Burtonville, Maryland.(The Sun Herald, June 3, 2005, p. A7)

 

Emile F. “Rip” Domning (1907-2005)

    

Through his interest in Domning family lore and his father’s adventurous life before and during WW II, Daryl P. Domning who has resided in Silver Springs, Maryland since 1978, began to record Emile’s “reminiscences” on audiotape commencing in 1976.  His present transcription of his father’s oral histories includes material recorded from the years 1984, 1987, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2002. 

 

Thank you Daryl for your contribution to our local chronology through this preservation effort.  Daryl P. Domning, a Biloxian, who has made significant contributions in higher education and especially in the field of marine vertebrate paleontology, is a graduate of Notre Dame High School.  Since 1978, after completing his formal education at Tulane and UC Berkeley, Dr. Domning has been an instructor in human anatomy in the medical college at Howard University in Washington D.C.  He is a world authority on fossil sea cows, and his scientific investigation of these ancient marine vertebrate mammals has taken him to many parts of the planet.   Daryl is well-published having authored or co-authored hundreds of papers and articles on the Order Sirenia. 

  
School Days 
 

When I was big enough to start school, we were living in Mobile; they used to bring me to school and come get me in the evening. I don't remember an awful lot about it, except that, like all kids, I didn't like it. But then, I didn't find the situation too tough; I was able to grasp the studies. When I started school I was about six or seven, and I was eight when my father got killed, so I didn't get very far. My mother decided to move back to Ocean Springs. The only thing I remember about my school days in Mobile was my teacher's name:  Miss Young. She was just a girl teaching; it was probably the primer or something like that, just the beginning. We had coloring books, the usual things to start with. Of course, when we moved to Ocean Springs, that put me in a different school and I had to start all over again. 

  
St. Alphonsus School 
 

My mother was very much a churchwoman - she believed in her religion - and I hadn't been going to school long before a Catholic school opened up, and right away she pulled us out of public school and put us in Catholic school: now another start-over! So I wasn't getting anywhere. I think I was in about second grade at the Catholic school; but the congregation wasn't wealthy enough to support a school. There were a lot of people like my mother - hardly able to pay any tuition. Of course the school wasn't making it a big issue. My grandmother Domning, Christina S. Domning (1848-1933), had said they would buy my books and whatever was necessary, or pay whatever tuition was necessary, if I went to public school, because they were not Catholic. They were Lutheran, and my grandmother was very much against the Catholic Church. But my mother insisted that all her children be raised Catholic, and there was nothing my grandmother could do about it. She even proposed that the boys be raised in one church and the girls in the other, but my mother refused that too. So she and my grandmother didn't get along very well.  But my mother said, "They are going to the Catholic school." So that was that; we went to Catholic school, and I don't regret that at all. They had three sisters that were teaching; they had a little old three-room house, and each one had a grade. How those poor sisters got along I'll never know, because the congregation just wasn't wealthy enough to support the school. So we went along like that and I had probably made about fifth or sixth grade, when the bishop or whoever was at the head of it closed the school down - they just couldn't afford it. 
     So now I'm out of school again, and going back to the public school! I was always in a brand-new school, so it never did take very well. Then, when I got to the eighth grade, on the first go-around the whole class, solid, failed. Now that's got to be the teacher's fault. I never heard of a whole class failing before. There was one boy, who we considered the teacher's pet, who did pass; the rest of the class failed. On the second go-around, another year, I was still in the eighth grade. I did pass; but that finished my schooling. I tried to take a couple of correspondence courses, but I still didn't have enough elementary education, enough foundation, to go ahead strictly on my own, with no teachers. By then, I was still fishing with my uncles, Henry Beaugez (1889-1963), Herbert Beaugez (1895-1954), and Mose Beaugez (1891-1973), not making anything, and I had quit the job; and by the time the school opened again in 1922 or 1923, I was carrying lumber as an employee of the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Company at the Rigolets east of New Orleans.  We were building a railroad bridge for the L&N and I was clearing $17.50 a week plus room and board.

 

1900 public school 
    

At the Ocean Springs public school*, we had a three-story school, but the third story wasn't used. It had four rooms, as I remember: two on the ground floor and two above. They were big rooms. At the time I started there, we didn't have any fire escapes. Later on, the powers that be said we had to have fire escapes. Actually, all the fire escape was a big old slide inside of a tube, like you see in any playground. They put these chutes up there, and we thought that was a great idea: we got a chance to go down the slide from upstairs all the way out! We used it anytime we could, until they put a door on it and could shut the door. 
    

We used to have regular fire drills, and they would time us to see how long it would take us to empty a schoolroom. We were doing pretty good; they were praising us for always doing it just in the time we were supposed to. But one day they ran in a surprise drill on us, and we cut the time in half!  We thought it was a real fire. Instead of being praised for it, we got chewed out about it, because we were pushing the persons ahead of us down and out of the chute. 
    

For heat, each one of the schoolrooms got a pot-bellied stove. During the afternoon, they would let the fires go out, so they could set the fires [for the next day] with paper, kindling wood, and coal. All the janitor had to do [the next morning] was light the paper; then he'd take off for the next room. One day, after he had started his rounds setting the fires to warm it up for us kids, the whole building was enveloped with smoke. They decided that the building was on fire, and that was fine with us - we got the day off. But finally, when they investigated, they found out that some smart aleck had reached through the door on the stove and pushed a sack up in the stovepipe! 
    

We had a fellow whose last name was Lemon**. He was sitting right close to the stove, so he could do this without being observed. He had a piece of iron rod that he could stick in the stove to get it hot, and then touch it to the floor to gradually burn a hole through the floor, to where you could look through the hole and see the pupils in the schoolroom below us. Me and a couple of my friends, we decided, well, now we got a hole in the floor; what are we going to do with it? We decided that when we would go out for recess sometime, we'd get a bottle and get some water and we'd smuggle the bottle in, and after things got settled down, we'd pour it through the hole. Well, the teacher of the class down below us sent word up to the teacher in our room that the water that we were using in the flowerpots was leaking onto the children downstairs. When she looked around the room, we didn't have any flowers! So they plugged the hole up!! 
    

Our teacher's name was Miss Mabel Tardy (1897-1956+), who became Mrs. Mabel T. Johnson.  She was sister to one of the smart alecks that I was running around with, Don Tardy (1907-1972). We were smarter than she was at least in our opinion.  Miss Tardy might have been the teacher, but that didn't mean nothing. We knew all the best fishing holes.  We knew everything we needed to know about hunting and things like that. Why would we want to go to school? The black kids didn't have any school; we thought they were luckier than we were. 
  
 

Bell tower 

 

Above the two floors that had the schoolrooms, they had a bell tower, and we had a big old bell with a rope hanging all the way down to the main floor to right behind the main door. You could pull that rope and ring the bell. You could hear the bell all over town, just about. We went up and looked the bell over one time, and we found out that the rope was tied about halfway around the bell, so that when you pulled it you would put the bell in motion. We found out that if you turned the bell upside down, the rope would be hanging straight, and you could yank on the rope all you wanted and you weren't going to do no good. Well, that didn't work for very long; they could send somebody up and push the bell over and get it in the right position and ring it. So then after some thought, we found out that you could wrap some sacks or anything around the clapper on the bell, and when it hit the side of the bell it wouldn't ring no how.

* Mr. Domning is describing the 1900 Ocean Springs Public School, which was situated on the southwest corner of Porter and Dewey.  The large, wooden edifice was designed by D. Anderson Dickey of New Orleans and built by local contractor Frank De Bourg (1876-1954+).  The school bell was donated in January 1900, by Herman John Nill (1863-1904), a native of New Orleans, who came to Ocean Springs in the late 1880s, with his family and opened a pharmacy on the northwest corner of Porter and Washington.  With five children to educate, Mr. Nill had a vested interest in the quality of the local public school system.

 

An Ocean Springs Christmas 
     

Ocean Springs was a very small town, and everybody knew each other. They told me that the only reason why anybody ever bothered to read the paper was to see who got caught!   There were other things too to be considered, like Christmas. My Domning grandparents used to make eggnog. I don't know where they ever got that big bowl or whatever it was, but it would hold a good bit of eggnog. Nobody in town ever got any invitation or anything like that; but before the whole thing was over with, just about the whole town had been there anyway: they knew they were invited. I never did know the recipe for making this eggnog, but it was good stuff; it was powerful. Anybody who showed up around there usually got shook down - if they had any whiskey, it got confiscated and it got poured into the eggnog. Usually somebody would show up with a guitar, and they would get to drinking the eggnog and singing songs. Most of them were German; one - I can't remember the words to sing it - was "O Tannenbaum". Another was "Ach Du Lieber Augustin".  That would go on and on and on until we ran out of eggnog; and everybody had all they could hold anyway before the party was actually over. 

  
NOLA kinfolk 
 

We used to have a lot of kinfolks in New Orleans. Back in those days the telephone communications between New Orleans and the surrounding towns were not very good, and I don't know why they didn't try writing; but along about the middle of the week, say on Wednesday, a keg of beer would show up. So that meant get the keg of beer on home, get it set up, start doing whatever cooking or making whatever other arrangements were necessary for the rest of that bunch of Germans to get over from New Orleans on the weekend. It was a good time; everybody had a good time. When they had the keg of beer set up, and it was ready to go, they used to have a little bucket or dish or something that they would set on the floor under the spout. We kids - myself, some of my first cousins - used to watch that, because when everybody came along to get them a little beer, some would drip down into this bowl or whatever they had down there, and when it got a little of the drippings in there, one of us kids would snitch it. That was our share! 
  
The local fire company 
     We had a fire engine in Ocean Springs; they said they used to use it to hurry and get down to the fire so they'd have a place to sit down and watch the fire burn! Actually they had one, which was a hook-and-ladder deal. They had to tell me all this because I wasn't big enough to get in on any of this part of it; but all they had on it was a couple of long ladders. There was no such thing as a water system. So you'd get to a house that was burning, put the ladders up against it, and what were you going to do now? They had a bunch of buckets on there, but nobody had swimming pools in those days; actually the only water supply that they had were shallow wells that they had dug, and a few feet of water would seep into them, which was nothing but ground water. Then you had to get buckets with ropes on them. Then they got this pump, and could put a suction hose down in the well and then you could pump it out. With the first pump they had, they tell me (this is all hearsay), people would get on the side and pump up and down and pump the water. But the hook-and-ladder got burnt up in a fire. One of these wells that I knew of was right by the school, and I think they had two more somewhere else in town, but that was the only water supply for the firefighters, which was nothing. We used to have a big old barrel - the water would run off the house and into the barrel; and that barrel of water was in case the house caught fire. That was what you had to put it out with; that was your fire protection. Fortunately we never had to use it. 
      One Hallowe'en we went and stole the fire engine and hid it in an old stable, and then went and rang the fire bell. That was the only alarm they had, and that didn't tell you where the fire was. The engine was supposed to be pulled with horses, but they didn't have any horses either. It had big high wheels on it, so a bunch of us - Stanley Armstrong (1907-1979), Leroy Westbrook (1907-1989), I can't think of all of them - went and hid it and rang the fire bell. Of course everybody took off for the fire hall to get the engine. They got there and there wasn't any engine, so they figured somebody got there ahead of them and took it to the fire, and they were running all around everywhere trying to find the fire and there wasn't any fire. Finally somebody discovered the facts, and they swore and be damned that if they ever found out who did it they were going to hang them, but we kept our mouths shut! 
  
Dances 
     We used to go to dances at the fire hall. The fire engine was kept in a long, narrow hall that opened on one side into the hall where they had the dances.  To get rid of our hats, we'd hang them on the fire engine - we didn't have any place to check them, after all. Those hats were what we called a straw katy; that was just a cheap straw hat that everybody wore in the summer. It was only good for the summertime. If you wore them past a certain date, anybody that came along and knew anything about it would grab the brim and pull it down, and you'd be looking through the top of it! That's all it was good for, was that summer. The next summer you'd have to buy a new katy - they cost about a dollar or fifty cents, I don't know; they were very cheap. 
      One night, about the middle of a dance, somebody rang the fire bell, and the fire engine took off with all our hats, and they were scattered all over - we never did get our hats back. None of us had straw katies the rest of the summer; because they would get them in, you see, you'd buy them, and once they were sold out, they didn't get no more; that's all there was. So we didn't have no more fun pulling them down on people's ears. But we had a lot of fun at the dance. 
 That dance hall provided about the only public social gatherings we had. Sometimes boys would come over from Biloxi to go to the dance; maybe they had met some girls and wanted to meet them again. And then we'd always have a fight, and we'd run them back across the bridge. Now, when we went to Biloxi and went to a dance, we got run back across the bridge. There was nothing but the railroad bridge; there was no highway bridge like today.

The Big Fire 
     They did have one real bad fire in Ocean Springs. The wind was blowing strong and the fire was about to burn the whole town up. They even had to go as far away as Mobile to get engines to come in and try to help fight the fire. They ran a train out of Mobile with some of the old equipment on there, and from all around - Biloxi, Pascagoula, and everywhere - they were bringing in firefighting equipment, because that was a bad fire; it burned up a whole bunch of the town.* 
  
Illings Theatre 
     Me and Don Tardy and Joe Green (who had lived in one of our houses one time) used to knock around together, and on the corner where the Baptist church is now, I think, Old Man Illing** had a theater - the town picture show. He had this big building right flat on the corner, which was like a house. But in the summertime it was too hot; people wouldn't go sit in there and watch the pictures. So he had a lot next door that he built a high board fence around, and called it the Airdome. There was no roof on it, just benches in there for when the weather was good. He had a son by the name of Bunny Illing***. Bunny used to run the projector. Me and Don Tardy and a couple others, we didn't have any money, and on Saturday evening when we wanted to go watch a Western show we'd go climb up in the oak trees and look over the top. Donald Tardy's father was the town marshal - he was the police force. He was sort of crippled in one leg. I don't believe he even had a pistol; if he did he wouldn't have known what to do with it. They'd start the picture - we didn't have any money to buy a ticket, even though I think the tickets were only about a nickel or a dime to get in. We'd get up in the tree, and Old Man Ed Tardy (1863-1943) - that was his name - he'd come along and he'd shine his flashlight up in the trees and say "Tum on down! Tum on down - I tee ya up dere" - he couldn't talk clearly - "Tum on down, I tee y'all up dere! Dona', I tee you up dere! I'm gonna beat your ass when you get home! I tee you up dere! I tee dat Domnin' boy too; I'm gonna tell his momma on him!" And that's the way it went. We wouldn't come down; we'd break little branches off and throw them at him. Because that's the only way we ever got to see the picture show; and there was nothing they could do about it. 
      But that picture show was really something. They'd get the reels in big round boxes, and put them in the projector, and then you had to turn the electricity on. The only electric wire they had in Ocean Springs was downtown, on the main street; out where we lived you used oil lamps. When you got the power on, you had to turn a crank so that you could pull the film from one reel to the other. Every now and then the tape would break - brrrrr! - and there'd be nothing on the screen. Then you had to sit there until Bunny was able to bring the two ends back together and glue them together again and go on with the picture. And that was the theater, the only one they had in town there. And that was usually the only way we got to see the pictures. I don't think it ever cost over 10 or 15 cents to get in; and sometimes maybe somebody might treat us, and we'd get to go inside on a free ticket. Oh boy, we were in high cotton now. All the boys around Ocean Springs wanted to sit in the very first row, right up against the screen. You'd be better off a few rows back, but we didn't want to fool with that; we wanted to be on the front row. After everybody got on there and somebody else would come along wanting to get on the front row too, there wasn't any room for him; so he'd get on there and push, and the other fellow on the other end would get pushed off. I imagine we were furnishing about as much amusement to the audience as anybody else.

Airdome 
     There was one thing about the theater that I guess you might say was comical. A lot of times in the summertime you'd have rain - a sudden shower would come up. While we were sitting in this Airdome that had no roof on it, so it would be cooler, a shower of rain would come up. Well, everybody would start dashing to get next door into the theater building, where it was hot. Of course, then it was up to Bunny Illing to get the projector and get it over there too and keep it dry, so all that took up time. That's when a lot of us kids would get in there too. In the rush we'd slip down out of the trees and go on in with them. Old Man Robert Rupp (1857-1930) was marshal then.  He had taken Old Man Ed Tardy's place because Old Man Ed Tardy was a little bitty old fellow and crippled and one thing and another. Just about the time they got everybody into the theater - some of them were pretty wet by that time - and they were ready to crank up and show the picture inside, the rain would quit. Now they're going to move back outside. It took till pretty late sometimes to see all the picture!

* The Big Fire occurred on November 15, 1916.  It commenced on the southeast corner of Washington and Porter where Mohler’s Service Station exists today and raced southward down Washington Avenue destroying on the east side of Washington Avenue, a store, home, and the fire hall of Ocean Springs Fire Company No.1.  The west side of Washington Avenue saw the loss of two homes and the Vahle House, a small inn, situated on the northwest corner of Washington and Calhoun.

**Mr. Domning is referring to Eugene W. Illing (1870-1947), sometimes called Judge Illing, who founded in 1909, Illings Theatre on the northeast corner of Washington and Porter, which is now the site of the First Baptist Church of Ocean Springs.

***Bunny Illing was born Alvin J. Illing (1903-1978).

One of everything 
     When I was a boy growing up in Ocean Springs they had one of everything, no matter what it was. In the days that I'm talking about, we didn't even have electricity. You had oil lamps, and you'd take your little oil can in the daytime and go down to the grocery store. The can had a screw top and a little spout, and when you got your gallon of oil in there - which was about a nickel or a dime a gallon, it was very cheap - then to keep your oil from splashing out, the grocer would put a potato on it! That's what they did - they'd stick a potato on the spout so the oil didn't come out. The only thing they had more than one of around Ocean Springs was grocery stores. A. C. Gottsche (1873-1949) had one, E. S. Davis (1859-1925) had one, and W.S. Vancleave (1871-1938)- all of them are gone now. I think the building of Gottsche* is still there. But then when a fellow like me got home with my can of oil, then it was my job to see that all the lamps around the house got filled up with oil for the night. Electricity and all that came along later, much later. When I left Ocean Springs we were still using oil lamps. Somehow or another those lamps were adequate; you were used to them. That was what you had, that was what you were used to, and that was it. 
      Everything around our house was woods**; there was nothing built up. Not only did we have no electricity, we had no gas lines - we didn't have anything like that which was good in one way - you probably couldn't pay for it anyhow. Of course, you didn't worry about that either, because you used a wood stove and you could go out in the woods all around you and get all the firewood you needed. Of course it was work, you had to work; but anybody willing to do a little work around Ocean Springs, he could eat.  You could take your net and go fishing or catch crabs. Even at a low tide you could go out there with a knife and open up some oysters and get fried oysters; I did it plenty times - go catch shrimp with my little brail net, and things like that. You could live, even though you had no money. Nobody else had any, so you weren't out of line. 
  
The baker 
     We had one baker; he used to deliver bread - that was Frank Schmidt (1877-1954). He had a horse and wagon; he baked French bread and you could get your bread delivered. Every now and then, whoever was driving the horse, the horse would run away; the driver could do nothing with him and would probably fall out of the wagon, and so would the bread he had. So the horse would go back up to the bakery, go back home. Benny Seymour (1907-1969) had that job for a while. The horse ran away with him one day, and he got all skinned up and quit. 
  
The butcher 
     My first job was with one of the Eglins who was running a butcher shop. It wasn't really that they had a monopoly on that; it was just the way it worked out - they hadn't tried to. My salary was $3 a week - and I had a horse to ride. The horse's name was Daisy. I didn't care much about the $3, but I sure did like having that horse to ride! She was a blaze-faced mare; she had a white blaze down her face. But I couldn't control old Daisy at all. I was telling Mr. Eglin about that one time, and he told me that was because I wasn't wearing a spur. Then he put a spur on my left foot - only one, I didn't have two - and every time I tried to make Daisy go ahead or do something, and she paid no attention to me, I just touched her with that spur, and that changed everything! That went on for a while, but I wasn't making enough money. But I liked having that horse to ride. I even learned how to saddle her. 
  
News boy 
    I got another job as paper boy, delivering The New Orleans States Item.  I used to go to the depot; the train would bring the papers in. Somebody else had The Picayune, but it was a morning paper. 
  
Juvenile jaunts 
     On Hallowe'en, the bunch of us kids roaming around there were going to get into some kind of devilment. Old Man Rupp was the town marshal, and it was his job to maintain order. Don Tardy and I and all the rest of us about that age, we knew he was watching us; so what we would do was, part of us would go hide where he couldn't see us, and the rest of us would sneak on off like they were going to do something, and he would be following them and we would be doing the devilment. He said afterwards that he had followed us around trying to catch us, didn't have any luck and decided to go home. He said he pulled pine logs away from his gate till he got tired, then jumped the fence to get in! 
      I don't know whether we were any worse than any other bunch of kids. Over at Vancleave's, Don Eglin (1908-1986) had a crate of chickens - they used to sell live chickens or anything like that. He busted one part of the crate and jammed it against the door so the chickens couldn't get out.  When Mr. Vancleave came the next morning to open the store, he had to pull the crate away from the door to get in, and when he did all the chickens got out! We were around there, you know, and we even helped him catch the chickens. 
     Down at the drugstore, Ocean Springs had two drugstores at this time, they used to get ice cream in metal cans, and when one was empty they'd set it outside. Matt Huber (1892-1968) had one of the drugstores***, and a bunch of us went around there one night and got a bunch of those cans and brought them around to Matt. We were getting a nickel a can for bringing them in to keep us from fooling with the cans, and he'd bring them in, he'd put them back out there, and we'd go get them and bring them back to him. Well, you know, we didn't have anything to do. 
      We went down to Fort Bayou one night and pulled a skiff out of there. A bunch of us carried that skiff all the way up into town and put it in front of an automobile repair shop, a garage**** they had there. He had a faucet outside where you could get water for your radiator, and we put his hose in the skiff, turned the faucet on, and let the skiff fill up with water. Well, he had a skiff there full of water next morning. They knew what we were doing; they were threatening us, even going to issue orders to shoot us down, but nothing like that ever happened. And that was life in Ocean Springs. 
          Of course there were other things around there. We used to go out and pick blackberries, fellows like me and Don Tardy and Sidney Woodcock (1905-1940) - that was the three of us who were in the same class in school. It was getting around Christmastime one time, and they wanted some moss to decorate the school. They picked me, Don, and Sidney to go get the moss, because we knew where the moss was! We missed pretty near the whole day of school: that was fine with us, we didn't care. We came back with sacks full of moss. They chewed us out about it and wanted to know, "What do you think we're going to do? Are we going into the mattress business or something? We just wanted a little moss to decorate the school!" But that was a good enough excuse, you know; it took a long time to get that much moss. We told them we had to go way down to East Beach to get it (of course we really didn't); that's where the most moss was.

Swimming and Old Fort Bayou 
    We used to go swimming in Fort Bayou because the water was deep -- around where we used to go, somebody said it was 20 feet deep, but I don't know how deep it was; I only know I never did hit the bottom. We'd go there because we figured the swimming was better, and the water was deep enough that we could dive. It never meant much to me; I never cared much about the diving; but there were some of them who loved to dive. Out in front of Ocean Springs, it was so shallow that we could walk around with our feet on the bottom; there was no way we were going to dive out there. 
     Every now and then, we'd have one of the fellows who would be a very poor swimmer or couldn't swim at all. We would take an empty jug, put a stopper in it, and tie it onto him so he couldn't sink. The tide created a current coming up the bayou and back out. Whenever he seemed to be getting a little bit too far away from the bunch that was swimming, we'd swim out and get him and drag him on back. But the whole time he was in the water, he had to have that jug tied on him, or we wouldn't let him in, because we weren't going to be responsible for him drowning. 
    There were times when the Fort Bayou bridge had to be opened so a larger boat could get by. The only way the bridge tender had of opening the bridge was a crossbar with a square fitting that would fit over a piece in the bridge, and this would operate a cogwheel that would open the bridge. After the boat got by, you'd walk around with the crossbar the other way and it would close the bridge. It never did happen very often, because there was not too much traffic out there then. Mostly people would use skiffs or smaller boats that could go under the bridge. So the bridge tender didn't have too much to do. 
     At one time the bridge tender was the grandfather***** of my first cousin Ambrose Fayard (1906-1986). Later on he got a job on the railroad, keeping the big water tank filled up for the engines. In those days, every train stopped in Ocean Springs, because the engine had to have water. In between trains, he had a two-cylinder gasoline pump that he used to refill the tank. 
     So it sort of went on like that; that was the general idea of juvenile life in Biloxi and Ocean Springs. Every now and then, even when I was living in Mobile, I used to run down that way and the old gang would get around there and we'd get together over at Benny Seymour's or Ambrose Fayard's house. One night we were over at the Seymour's on Dewey Avenue- that's Aunt Caroline's house.  She was Caroline Mathilda Domning (1886-1969), my father's sister, who married Frank Seymour (1884-1933)- and they were having a little party down there and were going to make some eggnog. We had some moonshine whiskey and one thing and another, but they didn't have any eggs. So they picked on me and Benny Seymour to go over to Mrs. Doucette's  - she had chickens - and to get them a dozen eggs. It was kind of chilly too, and we'd been drinking a little moonshine. It was all right as long as we were out where it was nice and cool; but as soon as we got in that house and it was hot - oh, boy. She brought a bag of eggs out and set them on the table, but neither of us was in any condition to pick the eggs up. And Mrs. Doucette****** knew Mama, and she was asking me all about Mama and I was trying to answer the questions, and Benny kept getting wobbly. Finally, he knew I wasn't going to pick up the eggs; I was waiting on Benny to pick them up. So he made a pass at the eggs, and instead of catching them he knocked them off on the floor. 
      "Oh! I'll have to get y'all some more eggs!" 
      Benny by that time had picked the bag up with the busted eggs: "No, they'll be all right like they are!" And we both took off and went on back over there, and they sort of strained the eggshells out of them and made the eggnog anyhow. 
  
*The former A.C. Gottsche store building, which was erected in 1913, is extant at 809 Washington Avenue and is the headquarters for Blossman Gas Inc.

**The B.F. Domning home was built in 1913 and is extant at present day 504 VanCleave.  The land upon which Freedom Field, which is near the old Domning home on VanCleave, was constructed in 1949 has been described by others of this era as densely wooded corroborating the statement by Rip Domning.

***The Huber Drug Store was situated in the Farmers and Merchants State Bank on the southwest corner of Washington and Robinson opposite Marshall Park.

****There is a high degree of certitude that Mr. Domning is referring to the business of Claude Engbarth (1893-1967), which opened for business on Washington Avenue in June 1922. The old Engbarth garage building was demolished by Blossman Inc. in January 1971.  Today, Miner's Toy Store is located here in a new building.

*****Rip Domning is referring to Leonard J. Fayard (1847-1923) who was appointed the first bridge tender of the Old Fort Bayou Bridge on January 1, 1902.

******Mrs. Doucette was born in New Hampshire as Clara Moore (1866-1933).  Her husband was Fred Dusette (1866-1934), a native of New Haven, Michigan, a small hamlet near Detroit.  At Ocean Springs, the Dusettes raised chickens and sold eggs and pecans from their farm on the old Pabst place which is extant on the south side of Calhoun Avenue.  This cottage and land today are probably in the Estate of Cecelia Buechler Fink (1909-1999).

Hunting 
We used to like to go hunting; and one of the principal things we would hunt was wild ducks. I always claimed that I am the only duck hunter in the whole world who's batting a thousand: I went duck hunting once in my life, I shot twice, I killed two ducks, and I ain't been back! I've never done anything to upset that record. 
     The way it all happened was, I borrowed a double-barreled shotgun from one of my uncles and we went duck hunting one morning at the duck ponds on Horn Island. It was drizzling rain, sleeting - the weather was terrible. I was out in this marsh, bogged up to my knees, with a pair of hip boots on, wondering What in the hell am I doing out here in this marsh, in this mud, on a morning like this, getting all wet ...? As I looked up, I saw two ducks circling around, and I figured they were going to come light on this pond I was looking into. I stooped down, and when I did I sat down in the mud. Sure enough, here comes one of them in there, and I shot him; and this other duck came following in behind him. I shot the second time and I killed the second duck. They fell into the pond, and I took a long stick and pulled them in. I picked them up, took my shotgun, and went out on the beach. 
     The rest of the gang that I had been with had gone on down further where there were some more ponds - I could hear them shooting down there. I was all wet and mad and one thing and another. I had a little bottle of moonshine with me. Because it was drizzling rain and sleeting, it was hard to get a fire started. I used most of that bottle to get my fire started; I had picked up some driftwood on the beach. I drank what was left in the bottle (which wasn't much); after I got the fire going, I needed the rest to warm me up. 
     The rest of the gang came on back, and they had armloads of ducks - it had been a good hunt. They looked at me and they said, "You only got two ducks?"  I said, "Yeah, and the empty shells are still in the gun." As far as I was concerned, my duck-hunting days were over. 
  
Fishing 
     I was quite young, only eight years old, when my father was killed in a railroad accident in March 1915. We were living in Mobile, Alabama, when the accident happened. The only thing I knew about it was they found him on the railroad tracks near Lake Catherine, Louisiana after his train was gone on by and he wasn't even missed yet. They got on the line - of course there was no such thing as radio in those days, but they had telegraph operators all the way, and they just telegraphed ahead of the train that was on its way to New Orleans to tell them they were short a crew member. He was a brakeman. It was the train that was coming along behind them that actually found his body on the track, and that began the whole thing. 
     As I said, we were living in Mobile at the time, but then we moved to Ocean Springs because my father was building a home for us there; but it wasn't quite finished. But it was finished enough to be able to be lived in, and that's why we came back, because our income would be considerably reduced - well, maybe I should say it was eliminated. Because I was the oldest and I was only eight years old. I didn't try to go out and get a job at that time, but I doubt if anybody would have hired me anyhow. So we came back to Ocean Springs, because my mother, Alphonsine Beaugez Domning (1882-1965), was originally from Ocean Springs and she was moving back among family. She was the second of the six children of Alphonse Beaugez (1860-1942) and Caroline Seymour (1858-1933).  My grandfather Beaugez was from New Orleans and came to Ocean Springs in 1872.  All that I recall of my grandmother Beaugez is that she was very small, uneducated, and a good cook. 
     My mother had four brothers.  Alphonse Manuel “Manny” Beaugez (1887-1945) was a carpenter. Then there was Henry Beaugez (1889-1963), Mose Beaugez (1891-1973), and Herbert Beaugez (1895-1954).  I also had an aunt, Rosa Mary Beaugez (1884-1937).  She didn't go to school as far as I knew; she stayed home. My grandmother, Caroline Seymour Beaugez, was very sick - in fact, she spent most of her life that I knew anything about in bed; she was bedridden, and Rosa took care of Grandpa and Grandma Beaugez. They were very poor. 
     Henry and Mose Beaugez were the fishermen of the family. They made practically nothing. Herbert left home and went up north for a while, I think, to Akron, Ohio; then the Depression came along and he came on back to Ocean Springs and moved in with my mother. Why he came all the way from Akron, Ohio to Ocean Springs looking for a job, you figure it out. In the meantime he had gotten married and brought his wife, Lillian Pearson, too. The house we had on VanCleave had two bedrooms. That meant my mother and all of her four kids had to sleep in one bedroom, and give the other one to Herbert and Lillian. He had no job; what was he going to do in Ocean Springs? He finally wound up going to the Rigolets too. He worked there for a while; then the shipyard over in Pascagoula opened up, and he was working at the shipyard when he died.

Shrimp seining 
     When I was considered big enough I had to go fishing my uncles, Henry and Mose Beaugez,.  Whether I wanted to or not didn't make any difference. In my day we needed a four-man crew; and we could not fish in deep water, because we had to set the net out and had to get overboard to pull the net back in. So the way this was done, we had two skiffs that we were towing behind the boat. One of them had this big net, which was probably 600 feet long. We called it a seine. There would be three men in there, and one man would be left aboard the big boat; because then wherever we stopped, he would bring the big boat in place with the other empty skiff behind. And then we had a man in the bow of the skiff, one man rowing, which was usually me, and the other fellow laying up taking it easy on top of the net; and we were rowing along close ashore, maybe not too far out, until we began to find a spot of shrimp. Then we would circle around with the boat and see just how and where the spot of shrimp was and maybe how big it was. 
      Then we would get the skiff in position, and tell the man that was laying up there on top of the net to get overboard with one end of the net, on which we had a long pole which we called an arm pole. And then he would get overboard and shove one end of this pole down in the mud and hold it so he could start pulling the net off of the boat, while one man was rowing the skiff and the other one still trying with the small brail net to circle this bunch of shrimp. The seine net was nothing in the world but a wall of webbing; one end had a long rope on the top which had corks on it, and that kept that end afloat up on the top of the water. The bottom end also had a line or rope on the net, but it had lead on it so that it would sink to the bottom. Then the man that was at the end where we started getting over-sometimes it was me, so I'll say that it was me so I can describe it maybe a little bit better.  After I had pulled enough of the net out, to where I didn't have to hold it anymore, then I was supposed to pull this arm pole up and start pulling the net ashore by myself - and that was pulling a 600-foot net-of course it wasn't all out of the skiff yet. 
      But finally, when we had the whole net overboard, then there were two men on the other end, and the skiff, which was now empty, which we called the seine skiff, because that's the one that carried the big net. Then they would start working ashore, and the man that was left on the big boat would bring it and stop it and anchor right outside of where we were going to be working, right close to the net. Then he would come ashore in the other skiff to help me. That put two men on each end of the net. We dragged the two ends together up on the shore, because we weren't working in deep water. And then when we got that done, then we had one man on each side of the net, which we called the lead-line man; in other words, he had to put his foot down on that lead-line to hold it on the bottom, and he would pull this way. The other two men were pulling on the cork-line and bringing the net in; and that's the way it went on until we got that whole net pulled in to where we were. 
      This net had built into it, in about the center of the net, what they called a bag, which was like a big trawl or a big envelope or something, that the shrimp would go into as you closed the net. And so you would just keep pulling the net that way - and that was hard work; don't let nobody hand you no stuff. The lead-line man kept the bottom end of the net on the bottom so the shrimp couldn't go underneath; and the corks on the top kept the net stretched like a wall while we were bringing it in. And it came in very slowly. When it got there and we were able, by pulling the net in, to force the shrimp into the bag, then we would pull the shrimp and work them on down into the bag until we had them to where we could bring the empty skiff alongside; and then we would work the bag up and scoop the shrimp out of the bag into the empty skiff. Of course, then our work still wasn't done because we had to put the net back in the other boat. So you can see by that that it took a lot longer to do that than it's taking me to tell you, and was a lot harder work! 
      It was because of that, and the fact that there were so many of the smaller boats that were always working along in shallow water, that the shrimp were either caught up or they were moved out into the deep water where we couldn't get to them. So, over the years, that was why they developed the trawl, which they could pull in any kind of water - deep water, shallow water, anywhere - so the poor shrimp didn't have much chance. I imagine that's one reason why today there's not more shrimp than there is: because pulling the trawl behind a boat has a tendency to close the mesh up, whereas in the other net the mesh stayed open and the little shrimp were able to filter out; but in this way you caught more of the little shrimp. And that is what actually, in the final analysis, got the shrimp down to where they are today - well, that and the fact that there are an awful lot more boats out there. 
      But I never did make any money fishing; and I never did get along with my kinfolks; so the whole thing was doomed from the start. Anyway, there were two or three things to begin with that sort of led up to the final deal. One of them was that after the day’s work of fishing was done, I, being the youngest and all that, was not supposed to get tired. Everybody else was supposed to be tired, and they were going to find them a comfortable place on the boat, which had no sleeping arrangements at all; but it didn’t make any difference – you’d just sit down and go to sleep wherever you wanted. And, like I said, being the youngest I was detailed to steer the boat, to bring the boat home. Well, I could do that all right; I knew how to handle that part of it. But I was tired too. And one of my uncles, who was considered the captain on there, his spot on there to take his nap was right flat up on the bow, because that’s where you got all the breeze. And I’m down here at the wheel steering the boat, nodding off. Every now and then I’d wake up and bring her back on her course, until we were coming along the beach down by what we called Pointe-aux-Chenes, and one time when I nodded off I didn’t wake up. The next thing I knew, the boat had swung off course and headed right flat into the shore; and the next thing we knew was when she piled up on the beach – WHUMP! My uncle who was sleeping up on the bow fell off right in front of the boat; he thought he was a goner.      

     But the boat wasn’t going anywhere; it had plowed into the sand. About that time everybody was awake, so we all had to get up. The boat was an old model, and we didn’t have any clutch in it to reverse the engine; you couldn’t do that. So all we could do was stop the engine and then get overboard, get all around the boat, and push her off into deep water again, then start the engine to come on home. Well, I really caught hell about that from all concerned; and being just a kid, what could I do about it?

More water tales 
     Well, that was just one of the situations that led up to my leaving home. We used to have a bit of a job starting the boat - nobody seemed to be taking much care of the engine anyhow, and it was kind of hard to start until it got warmed up. Well, my job when we came aboard was to take the anchor aboard (we usually pulled up to a stake, dropped the anchor by the stake, and then tied the boat to the stake so that she would be secured by both the stake and the anchor) - my job was to get her loose from the stake, haul up the anchor and get it aboard, and just hold on to the stake until the engine got started. Then I was supposed to push away from the stake, and whoever was steering the boat would go ahead. That was the way we had to do it; and so I started out by getting my anchor aboard and holding on - I would never clear up the lines on the deck until we really got underway. So I was just sitting there hanging on, and they were down there cussing and fussing with the engine, trying to get it started. Finally it started, and they hollered "Shove off! Shove off!" So I shoved off from the stake, and she ran maybe a hundred feet and the engine conked out again. 
      So here we are drifting; now they've gone back to cranking the engine, and I'm sitting up there on the bow. We had run away from the stake; I didn't have [any way to stop] the boat [from] drifting. My uncle who was supposed to be the captain on the boat came up and looked around and jumped all over me, and said, "Can't you see this boat's drifting ashore?" 
      I said, "Well, what do you want me to do about it?" 
      He said, "Throw the anchor overboard! Anchor till we can get the engine started!" 
      Of course, when we went out for the day we all had our dinners in our lunch buckets. Everybody else, including me, had set our lunch buckets up on top of the cabin. But Mose Beaugez, he was the captain, had set his lunch bucket right on the bow when he came aboard; and so when he jumped all over me and cussed me out and fussed at me about throwing the anchor, I threw the damn anchor overboard and his bucket got tangled up in the anchor line and overboard goes the lunch bucket! Well, he jumped on me then with both feet. I had about all I could take then; so I just secured the anchor line onto the boat and I jumped overboard. I knew where I was, and the water wasn't all that deep where I was. Then he really got after me. 
     "Get back aboard this boat!" 
     "I'm not coming back aboard! I quit!" 
     "I'll tell your mama on you!" 
     I said, "I'll see her before you will." So I just kept on wading ashore. 
     He told me, "Well, if you're going up there, tell Rudolph Ladnier (1900-1936) to come down here and take your place!" 
     I said, "If you want him, you go get him! I'm going home." So I did; I just waded ashore. 
     Mose said, "What am I gonna do for lunch? 
     I said, "Eat mine; it's up on the cabin where yours oughta been." It was just about daylight then. We weren't very far offshore. I went on home and told my mama about what happened. I got me some breakfast and a dry pair of overalls.

A PISTOL-PACKING PRIEST 
     There was a three-room house that we were using for a school. Father Irvine, a great big Irish priest who was stationed there in Ocean Springs, taught the catechism class. He always came armed with a nice big switch; so we learned our catechism! 
     One day, one of the boys, Joe Wieder, got rather unruly, and the sisters couldn't handle him. They went and got the priest, and the priest gave him a whipping. The outcome of that was, the next day Father Irvine was over at the school; and Joe Wieder's daddy showed up and told him, "Father, I heard yesterday you gave my son a whipping. I'm down here to give you one now!" 
     The priest looked around at him, pulled his coat off, threw it aside, and said, "Well, I guess we might as well get started!" But I never heard of no fisticuffs actually ensuing. I never heard of anybody jumping on that big Irish priest, either! 
 He had a motorcycle; the Church couldn't afford him an automobile. So he used to go visit all the parishioners on his motorcycle. He was well liked. 
     Right across the street from the church lived some people by the name of Rosambeau. Leo Rosambeau had a little grocery store there, and he had some chickens that would come over into the churchyard and dig up Father Irvine's flowers; and he didn't like that. When he'd catch one of Leo's chickens digging up his flowers, he'd go inside and get his pistol, and shoot him. It wasn't a very big gun he had; probably a .32 caliber, I don't remember. 
     Well, Leo didn't like that. But when he complained, Father Irvine told him, "Those chickens have got to come all the way across that street and into my yard to dig my flowers. They ain't got no business over there; you keep 'em home! Every time I catch one, I'm gonna shoot him! And don't get in the line of fire!" 
     Well, I don't know how long that went on; I just heard about all this. But that's another war Father Irvine won, because he was right. After Father Irvine had shot about half of Leo's chickens, Leo decided he'd better keep them home. He finally found the hole in the fence where they were getting out, and 
patched it.

A DEAD WHALE* 
     One time a whale, I don't remember what kind, had been found dead somewhere south of the barrier islands out in the Gulf of Mexico, and had been brought in to the north side of Deer Island, which was the side facing Ocean Springs. I was living in Ocean Springs at the time. They had a schooner tied up on each side of the whale, so you could see him in there between the two boats. Ocean Springs wasn't that far away; not more than a mile at the most. People were wanting to go out and see the whale; whales were very rare there on the Gulf Coast. I had a chance to use a small sailboat, so I could take maybe four passengers for 25 cents apiece and sail over to where the whale was. It beat rowing a skiff, which some people did. Twenty-five cents was a pretty good price in those days. 
     That went on for a while; but the whale, being dead to start with when they found him, was beginning to "make his presence known." They didn't know what to do about the whale, but the local authorities told them they didn't care what they did, they had to get him out of there - he was creating too much "disturbance." I think one reason why the whale was left at Deer Island so long was that there was a bit of controversy as to who owned the whale. The ones that found the whale said it belonged to them; and then there were others who said no, the whale belongs to us. And so it was actually while the fussing and fighting was going on that the whale began to "make its presence known." 
     So they took the whale over from Deer Island to Horn Island. From there on, the only thing I know is that somehow or another they extracted some whale oil or something from it - I don't know what they ever did with it. In the final analysis, the remains of the whale - the backbone and the head part with the big jaws - they brought them in to what we called the Naval Reserve Park in Biloxi. In later years this park was absorbed into Keesler Field. They had taken these whale bones and put them all in a line - the head, vertebrae, and all in a line. According to the information I have, over the years these bones gradually disappeared. They say that some of those vertebrae from the whale made very good flower pots or something to plant flowers in; and I guess because of that those vertebrae dwindled and faded out of existence, and wound up in somebody's flower garden - not any one particular person, but whoever could get away with the vertebrae they wanted! 
     They tell me I don't know about this at first hand that also at the Naval Reserve Park they had a couple of animals, and one of them was a bear. Somehow or another the bear attacked the animal keeper out there and killed him. So then they had to get rid of the bear. 
  
Conclusion 
    So that gives you a general idea of growing up around there - what growing up we did - around Ocean Springs. There were people who had orange orchards and pecan orchards; we'd go sit down in the orchard under the trees and eat all the oranges we wanted. Nobody said anything, didn't bother with us. And that harbor - you know where the harbor is in Ocean Springs? Well, in those days it was nothing but a ditch; we used to call it the Mill Dam Bayou. We'd go down there, and maybe somebody had a few oysters in a skiff; we'd open them up and eat the oysters, things like that. But that's the general idea, that's the way it was; we had to do something. What schooling there was going on there, we weren't too interested in that. 
    This concludes “Reminiscences of Ocean Springs” by Emile F. “Rip” Domning who was born here in 1907.  Many thousand thanks Rip for a great journey back to the early decades of 20th Century Ocean Springs.  Your contribution to our local history is greatly appreciated by those who care and love our wonderful, oak-bound village on the bay.  Emile F. Domning (1907-2005) expired at Burtonsville, Maryland on May 21, 2005.  He was staying with Daryl Domning (b. 1947), his only child, when he fell on May 2, 2005.  His death resulted from injuries sustained in his accident.(The Sun Herald, June 3, 2005, p. A-7)

Caroline M. Seymour 
     Caroline Mathilda Domning (1886-1969) was born at New Orleans on December 15, 1886.  In October 1906, she married Francis Joseph “Frank” Seymour (1884-1933), the son of Narcisse Seymour (1848-1831) and Caroline V. Krohn (1847-1895).  Their children were: Bernard Seymour (1907-1969) married Theodora Smith (1910-1978); Amelia Seymour (1909-1964) married Vernon R. Goodwin (1905-1974); Oscar L. Seymour (1912-1964) married Lula E. Ramsay (1914-1974); and Milton J. Seymour (1917-1974) married Clara G. Roberts (1921-1972).(Lepre, 2001, pp. 102-103) 
      Frank J. Seymour made his livelihood on the waters of Biloxi Bay and environs toiling with his brothers, Hugh C. Seymour (1876-1913), John R. Seymour (1879-1938) and brother-in-law, Philip M. Bellman (1872-1927), to catch fish and shrimp and to harvest oysters and turtles, as part of the Narcisse Seymour & Sons organization.  His father was a pioneer of the seafood industry at Ocean Springs albeit it was small scale compared to the industrial scale seafood processing in Biloxi, which has been called “the Seafood Capital of the World”, but with no statistical data or other proof to substantiate the claim.  The Seymour’s oyster shop was situated at the foot of Washington Avenue.  In time Hugh C. Seymour, John R. Seymour, and Philip M. Bellman opened their open oyster shops on the front beach at Ocean Springs, while Frank continued to work for them as a fisherman.

Dewey Avenue 
    Narcisse Seymour acquired Lot 7-Block 41 from Charlotte F. Cochran in October 1902.  He sold it to his daughter-in-law, Caroline M. Domning 1887-1969), the wife of Frank J. Seymour (1884-1933), in February 1914.  Their son, Oscar Seymour (1912-1964), acquired it from his mother in 1942.  After Oscar Seymour and family moved to the Veillon-Fields Cottage at 300 Ward Avenue in 1944, he sold it back to her in January 1946.  Mrs. Seymour then conveyed the home to another son, Bernard P. Seymour (1908-1969), in August 1958.  This old Seymour residence at 212 Dewey Avenue was acquired in July 1991, by Larry and Celeste Maugh.  They did an excellent job of preserving and improving this historic property, a trend that has continued under current owner, Lynn Linenberger.

Amelia F. Ryan 
     Amelia Florence Domning (1889-1954) was born at New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Emile Domning (1850-1918) and Christina Elizabeth Seikmann (1848-1933).  She married Frederick “Fred” Joseph Ryan (1886-1969) on January 17, 1911.  Before her marriage to Fred Ryan, Amelia worked as a cook for Charles B. McVay (1845-1923), a wealthy Pennsylvanian, who resided on Lovers Lane at present day 319 Lovers Lane, which is known today as “Conamore”, with his spouse, Annie H. McVay (1850-1920+).  The McVays also had a chambermaid, Cora J. Mon (1879-1965).(1910 Federal Census-Jackson Co. Ms. T624R744, p. 1a)

City Ambassador Fred J. Ryan 
    Fred J. Ryan (1886-1969) was born January 26, 1886, the son of a local fisherman, Calvin Ryan (1850-1900+), and Odile Miller (1853-1888+), the daughter of George Barney Miller and Marie Delphine Bosarge.   His siblings were: Victor Ryan (1877-1877), John Ryan (1881-1943), Charles Richard Ryan (1883-1939), and James Camille Ryan (1888-1967).   As a young man, Fred Ryan like many of his peers worked on construction gangs for the L&N Railroad.  He learned his trade well and by the late 1920s, he was employed by Robert W. Hamill (1863-1943), a Chicago entrepreneur, and Clarence W. Gormly (1882-1957), the founder of Gulf Hills, to construct roads, bridges, and piers in the Pointe-aux-Chenes and Belle Fontaine areas of the county.  Ryan supervised a crew of fifty Black and nine White laborers.(The Ocean Springs Record, January 16, 1969, p. 14 and The Gulf Coast Times, July 22, 1949, p. 5) 
    With his construction days in the past and after a short stint in 1934, as proprietor of the F& H Bar with Henry J. Endt (1910-1989), Fred Ryan and spouse began a small seafood restaurant cum lounge and dance hall, which he built adjacent to his home at present day 1314 Bowen Avenue.  In April 1924, Christina S. Domning had conveyed to her daughter, Amelia D. Ryan, “my homestead”, which was the original Emile Domning (1850-1918) place on Bowen Avenue. .(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 53, pp. 624-625 and The Jackson County Times, May 5, 1934) 
    An account and recommendation to dine at Ryan’s Seafood Restaurant was sent by a patron of Ryan’s to Duncan Hines (1880-1959), the Kentucky food critic and Craig Claiborne (1920-2000) of his day.   The patron’s description of Ryan’s was published by Captain Ellis Handy (1891-1963) in his “Know Your Neighbors” series of The Gulf Coast Times, a most valuable contribution to the preservation of our local history.

 …..two blocks from the business center of Ocean Springs and away from the highway(Government Street at this time), is a barn like structure called “Ryan’s”.  There is a parking space in the rear for curb service or tables in side.  Fancy frills are out of place at Ryan’s.  Oil cloth tables, paper napkins, and the bill of fare on the wall.  But, oh, what food and hospitality!!!  In seasoning and cooking, both Mr. and Mrs. Ryan are stars of the first magnitude.  Ryan’s own special sauce is delicious with their seafoods, steaks, and chicken.  And prices are ridiculously low.  The stuffed crab specials, which Ryan’s are noted, are 5, 10, and 15 cents according to the amount of crab meat in the mix.  Three of the five cent stuffed crabs with a cup of coffee or bottle of beer, is far more satisfying than a dollar dinner elsewhere.  On a good day Ryan’s serve 700 to 800 crabs, their top was 1500.(The Gulf Coast Times, July 22, 1949, p. 5)

Ryan’s highlights 
     In December 1937, the Mississippi College football team ate a Ryan’s.(The Jackson County Times, December 4, 1937, p. 1) 
    In June 1941, Ryan’s gained national notoriety when Mr. and Mrs. Ryan hosted William Meyers Colmer (1890-1980), Mississippi’s US Representative and Henry A. Wallace (1888-1965), vice-president of the United States.  Their entourage included several leading Senators and Representatives from North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Rhode Island, Virginia, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.(The Jackson County Times, June 8, 1941, p. 4)

Remembering Ryan’s 
    Although Ryan’s on Bowen Avenue has been closed for over sixty years, its memory lives on.  When asked of their first remembrance of the venerable restaurant of another era, the following responses were related:

Lurline Schrieber Hall-“Mrs. Ryan made excellent stuffed crabs in her backyard.  She had eight to ten women employed in the operation.  The stuffed crabs sold for a nickel and a Barq’s root beer was also a nickel.”

Elaine Ryan Miller-“My aunt, Elizabeth “Diddy”Ryan Hartley (1903-1982), cooked for “Uncle Fred” in a large kitchen, which was almost as big as the dining room.  She scrubbed the wooden pine floors with Clorox.  They were so clean that one could eat off of them.  She would place newspapers on the floor to keep grease from dirtying them.”

Peggy Carver Deshommes-“Mr. Fred had the best stuffed crabs.  When mother was busy and couldn’t cook she sent us over there for two stuffed crabs and a Barq’s root beer-all for 15 cents.  Mr. Ryan would throw in some crackers as lagniappe.  Later the dance hall and restaurant were dismantled and moved across the street and converted into two small rentals at 1307and 1309 Bowen respectively.”

Charles Fayard-“Ryan’s was a fun place!  Lots of people staying at Gulf Hills would cross Old Fort Bayou for the Ryan’s good food at very reasonable prices as compared to Chicago and other Midwest locals.  The Ryans were very hard working people.  Mr. Fred would catch much of the seafood that he served.”

Walterine “Sis” Verner Redding (1921-2005)-“Ryan’s always smelled good.  It was the fresh food-crabs and other  seafood cooking.  There were lots of good dancers who would come to Ryan’s dance hall-Edwin and Dan Matheny, Jack and Mac Hall, Maenell Ryan Zanca, Beryl Girot Riviere, Tony and Euta Catchot, and others.  The dance hall was on the west side.  There were tables, but people primarily drank and danced here.  Of course there was a juke box and fans-no air conditioning in those days, and you could eat in your car in the back.”

Ryan children 
    Fred and Amelia Domning Ryan had four children: Elizabeth Adelia Ryan Byrd (1914-1996), Joseph F. Ryan (1917-1928), Esther Ryan Lyons Bradford (1919-1973), and Doris E. Ryan Gilmore (1926-1991).

Elizabeth A. Ryan Byrd 
    Elizabeth Adelia “Betty” Ryan (1914-1996) was born at Ocean Springs on May 30, 1914.  She married Curry Sam Byrd (1898-1993) who was born on August 18, 1898, probably at Jackson, Mississippi, the son of Billy and Melissa Byrd.  Sam Byrd had been wedded prior to his nuptials of October 4, 1947, with Betty Ryan.  While Sam and Betty were childless, he had fathered a daughter, Carolyn Byrd Geoffrey, from his first marriage. In 1951, the Byrds were at home in Columbus, Georgia.  Prior to moving to the Coast, Sam had been employed with the Jackson Fire Department.  He worked at the Seabee Base in Gulfport as a fire inspector.  Mr. Byrd and Mrs. Byrd were Episcopalians.  He expired on December 28, 1993.  Betty died on June 25, 1996.  Both were interred at Crestlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.(The Ocean Springs Record, January 6, 1994, p. 6, The Sun Herald, June 26, 1996, p. C-2, and The Gulf Coast Times, April 19, 1951, p. 2) 

  
Joseph F. Ryan 
 

Joseph Frederick Ryan (1917-1928), the sole son of Fred and Amelia D. Ryan, was born July 23, 1917 at Ocean Springs.  He expired on June 20, 1928, from an infection caused by an oyster shell wound on his foot.  Joseph was an intelligent child and well liked by his peers and teachers in the public school.  His corporal remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou.(The Jackson County Times, June 23, 1928, p. 3)

 

Esther Ryan Lyons Bradford 
 

Esther Ryan (1919-1973) married Joseph T. Lyons (1915-1945) of Biloxi.   During WWII, Mr. Lyons was commissioned an Army officer after completing Officers Candidate School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.  Captain Lyons went overseas to serve with the 3rd Army in June 1944.  He was killed in action in Germany on February 19, 1945.(The Jackson County Times, March 10, 1945, p. 1) 
     From this union, a son, Joseph T. “Joe” Lyons Jr. (b. 1944), was born at Biloxi, Mississippi.  Joe attended local schools and graduated from Ocean Springs High School with the class of 1962.  He matriculated to Mississippi State University where he studied engineering.  Joe has been employed with the Savannah River Nuclear Plant of the Atomic Energy Commission at Aiken, South Carolina.  He is the father of Mary Elaine Lyons, Torry Esther Lyons, and Elizabeth Amelia Lyons.(Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 96-1674WM, July 1996) 
     Mrs. Esther Lyons later married Standish J. Bradford (1914-1992) and they had two sons, Frederick R. Bradford and Standish J. Bradford Jr.  Presently, Fred R. Bradford owns the former Domning-Ryan property at 1314 Bowen Avenue.  Mr. and Mrs. Bradford were also interred in the Crestlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 1015, p. 307)

Doris E. Ryan Gilmore 
     Doris E. “Dot” Ryan (1926-1991) was born in Ocean Springs on August 14, 1926.  She married William J. Gilmore (1924-1999), the son of A.D. Gilmore Sr. and Ada Gilmore (1895-1982).  They were the parents of two daughters: Kathleen G. Massarini and Mary G. Cornelius.  Mr. Gilmore made his livelihood as an engineer for the Delta Steam Ship Line.  He had served in the U.S. Merchant Marines during WWII.  The Gilmores resided at Sulphur, Louisiana in 1951.  Dot worshiped at St. John’s Episcopal Church and was a member of Kings Daughters and Sons Charity.  She passed on August 16, 1991 and Mr. Gilmore expired on January 12, 1999.  Their corporal remains rest in the Crestlawn Memorial Park Cemetery at Ocean Springs.(The Ocean Springs Record, February 4, 1999, p. 5, The Gulf Coast Times, April 19, 1951, p. 2 and The Sun Herald, August 18, 1991, p. A-2) 
 

REFERENCES: 
                                                                    Books 
The History of Jackson County, Mississippi, “Emile Domning”, (Jackson County, Mississippi Genealogical Society: Pascagoula, Missississippi-1989).

The History of Jackson County, Mississippi, “Emile Domning and Christina Elizabeth Seikmann”, (Jackson County Genealogical Society: Pascagoula, Mississippi-1989).

Jerome Lepre, The Seymour Family, (Lepre: Biloxi, Mississippi-2001).

                                                                 Chancery Court 
Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court, Cause No. 3475, “Emile Domning, et al Guardianship”, November 1915.
Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 4433, “The Last Will and Testament of Emile Domning”, April 1924. 
Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. P-2152, “The Estate of Alphonsine Domning”, March 1989.

                                                         Journals 
The Daily Herald, "Killed by Train at Grand Bay", February 24, 1913, p. 1, c. 7. 
The Daily Herald, “Brakeman Meets Death Beneath L&N Train”, March 19, 1915. 
The Daily Herald, “Immense Whale Being Divided”, May 11,1923. 
The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Domning Buried”, August 5, 1933. 
The Daily Herald, “A. Beaugez, 82 Dies at Ocean Springs”, February 13,1942. 
The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Augusta Fayard Dies”, December 2, 1946. 
The Daily Herald, “Domning Retires After 29 Years At Post Office”, December 28, 1968. 
The Gulf Coast Times, “Know Your Neighbor”, July 22, 1949. 
The Gulf Coast Times, “Local News”, April 19, 1951. 
The Jackson County Times, “E. Domning Passed Away Last Saturday”, November 9, 1918. 
The Jackson County Times, “Death Of Joseph Ryan”, June 23, 1928. 
The Jackson County Times, “The F. & H. Bar (advertisement)”, May 5, 1934. 
The Jackson County Times, “Mississippi College Football Squad Eats at Ryans”, December 4, 1937. 
The Ocean Springs News, "N. Seymour Loses Suit Against Railroad", February 20, 1909. 
The Ocean Springs News, "Ocean Springs Boys Injured", October 29, 1910. 
The Ocean Springs News, "Tom Eglin Killed By Bandits Who Hold Up Train", July 18, 1914. 
The Ocean Springs News, “B.F. Domning Killed on Railroad”, March 25, 1915. 
The Ocean Springs News, “Domning 7th RY. Victim From here In Past Few Years”, March 25, 1915. 
The Ocean Springs News, "Woodmen Unveil Monument (for B.F. Domning) Here", 
December 9, 1915. 
The Ocean Springs Record, “Obituaries”, January 16, 1969. 
The Ocean Springs Record, “C. Sam Byrd”, January 6, 1994. 
The Ocean Springs Record, William J. Gilmore”, February 4, 1999. 
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, April 10, 1903, p. 3, 
The Progress, April 9, 1904. 
The Progress, "Benny Seymour Obit", December 24, 1904, p. 4, c. 5. 
The Progress, “Local News”, April 30, 1904. 
The Sun Herald, “Mrs. Doris Gilmore”, August 18, 1991. 
The Sun Herald, “Elizabeth ‘Betty’ R. Byrd”, June 26, 1996. 
The Sun Herald, “Maud M. Domning”, May 8, 1998.

The Sun Herald, "Emile Frederick "Rip" Domning", June 3, 2005, p. A-7.

Personal Communication:

Lurline Schrieber Hall- at Letohatchie, Alabama per telephone on January 19, 2002 
Clarence Hamilton Jr.-Ocean Springs per telephone on June 25, 2003. 
Emile F. Domning-at Ocean Springs on July 7, 2003. 
Daryl P. Domning, Ph.D.- at Ocean Springs on July 7, 2003. 
Alice Domning Burnham-Mobile, Alabama per telephone on July 8, 2003 
Charles A. Fayard-Ocean Springs per telephone on August 19, 2003. 
Peggy Carver Deshommes- Ocean Springs per telephone on August 19, 2003. 
Walterine Verner Redding- Ocean Springs per telephone on August 19, 2003 
Elaine Ryan Miller- Ocean Springs per telephone on August 19, 2003.

Albert Minrat Eglin (1852-1891) a French-speaking immigrant from Alsace in northeastern France settled at Ocean Springs circa 1870. Albert M. Eglin married Amelia Solitelle Krohn (1855-1916) on October 30, 1873. She was the daughter of John Henry Krohn (1831-1912), the son of Henry A. Krohn (1802-1853) and Marie Solitelle Cuevas (1808-1861), and Zeolide Seymour (1836-1898), the daughter of Jean-Baptise Seymour (1812-1887) and Marie Fournier (1817-1890). Here on Washington Avenue in the heart of Ocean Springs, the Eglins reared their eight children: Albert M. Eglin Jr. (1874-1904), Eugenia Z. Eglin Armstrong (1877-1962), John R. Eglin (1879-1946), Annie O. Eglin (1881-1963), Charles W. Eglin (1883-1966), Marie Eulalie "Lillie" Eglin Busbee (1885-1971), Verna O. Eglin (1886-1886), Thomas A. Eglin (1887-1914), and Magdalen "Lena" G. Eglin Wilbert (1890-1928).

The Albert M. Eglin Family (1887)

(top: Eugenia Eglin Armstrong (1877-1962) and Albert M. Eglin Jr. (1874-1904); middle: Albert M. Eglin (1852-1891), Amelia Krohn Eglin (1855-1916), and John R. Eglin (1879-1946); bottom: Charles W. Eglin (1883-1966), Marie Eulalie "Lillie" Eglin Busbee (1885-1971), Annie O. Eglin (1881-1963), and Thomas A. Eglin (1887-1914). Other family members were: Verna O. Eglin (1886-1886) and Magdalen G. "Lena" Eglin Gilbert (1890-1928).

 

Amelia Krohn Eglin (1855-1916)

               [Courtesy of Linda Shephard Olson-Pensacola, Florida]                      

Eglin lands

 In September 1873, Albert M. Eglin purchased for $400, Lot 9 of Block 27 from Ferdinand William Illing (1838-1884), himself a recent immigrant and native of Regansburg, Bavaria, Germany. The lot had a front of 105 feet on Washington Avenue. It and was 200 feet deep, and faced Bowen Avenue to the east. Amelia Krohn Eglin acquired from her father in September 1887, Lot 10 of Block 27, which was south of and contiguous to their homestead on Washington Avenue from her father. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 2, pp. 153-154 and JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 8, p. 722)

    

These two lots on the west side of Washington Avenue between Porter and Government Street were occupied or possessed in whole or parts as the homestead and business locale for various members of the Eglin family of Ocean Springs for almost a century.

 

The Slaughter House lot

Between September 1888 and March 1891, Albert M. Eglin acquired about 11 acres of land along County Road, now Government Street, in the SW/4 of Section 20, T7S-R8W. The vendors were local, successful businessmen like: H.F. Russell (1858-1940), John Duncan Minor (1863-1920), George W. Davis (1842-1914), Elias S. Davis (1859-1925), F.M. Weed (1850-1926), and E.N. Ramsay (1832-1916). Today we could identify this eleven-acre tract as being on the north side of Government Street between Pine Drive and Bills Avenue south of the CSX Railroad right-of-way. Here on County Road, Mr. Eglin and his sons maintained a large pasture were they grazed and fed their cattle before they were made into beef at their slaughterhouse. The beef was further butchered and sold in the Eglin meat market on Washington Avenue. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 9, p. 443, Bk. 10, p. 413, Bk. 12, p. 20, and Bk. 12, p. 271) In April 1924, the Heirs of Amelia Krohn Eglin sold the "Slaughterhouse Lot" to Georgia Sarah McIntosh Lemon (1884-1939) for $1600. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 53, pp. 634-635).

                                                                           Eglin family

Albert M. Eglin made his livelihood as a butcher, a trade, which was followed by his son, Charles Eglin. After his death in September 1891, Mrs. Eglin and young sons, Charles and John Eglin, continued the meat market on Washington Avenue. In the 1894 Ocean Springs Directory, Mrs. Eglin ran the following advertisement:

 

 

Mrs. A. Eglin(Widow) CITY MARKET Fresh Beef, Mutton, Veal, Pork, etc., etc.Free DeliveryAlways ready to buy desirable market stock

 

1903 fire
The year 1904 commenced on a sad note as a fire had destroyed three buildings on the Eglin tract on Washington Avenue in December1903. The Eglins were very hard working people. Almost immediately after the 1903 fire, Mrs. Amelia Eglin began rebuilding. She added on to her restaurant, and was considering a new store building to replace the one destroyed by the conflagration. ( The Progress, January 16, 1904, p. 4)

 

Eglin House [circa 1935]

In the early morning hours of September 22, 1964, a fire commenced in the roof of the building.  Fire fighters from Ocean Springs and Biloxi responded to the alarm.  With a valiant effort, they kept the fire contained to the second floor.  Several residents on the upper level were stranded and had to be rescued by ladder.  Unfortunately one elderly resident, Mr. James E. Farley (1880-1964), lost his life in the conflagration.  The upper level of the Eglin House was completely destroyed by the fire.  The first floor suffered heat and water ruin.  The loss to the Eglin heirs was estimated at $50,000.  Clarence Galle (1912-1986) tore down the old structure in January 1968.  Thusly, closed the final chapter in the fifty plus year life of one of Washington Avenues most historic architectural treasures. 

[Courtesy of Dorothy 'Dot' Eglin Dees McKinnon]

 

                                                                         The Eglin House
The 1909 Sanborn Insurance Map of Ocean Springs indicates that the Eglins had built a large two-story house on Lot 9,which would become their rooming and boarding house. There is a good possibility that it was in operation as early as 1909. In the 1910 Census, Amelia K. Eglin lists her occupation as boarding house proprietor.

In 1916, the following advertisement appeared in a pamphlet on Ocean Springs:

 

THE EGLIN HOUSE

FURNISHED ROOMS

By the Day, Week or Month Rates Reasonable 
FIRST CLASS RESTAURANT IN CONNECTION THE EGLIN HOUSE is operated by Mrs. A. Eglin. who provides first-class accommodations for winter tourists. Her rooms are comfortably furnished, and adjoining her home is a first-class restaurant. Mrs. Eglin has been identified with Ocean Springs for forty-one years. She is the proprietor of Eglin's meat market, which has been established all of these years. She owns considerable real estate and takes an active interest in the building of Ocean Springs. (reprinted in the The Ocean Springs News, January 6, 1966, p. 2)

    

Through the years, the Eglin family was deeply involved in the commerce along the west side of Washington Avenue. At various times, an Eglin was involved in such businesses as: feed store, pool hall, meat market, grocery store, lunch room, restaurant, mercantile store, dry cleaning, and rooming house. A good example of Eglin entrepreneurial spirit was exhibited in March 1927, as reported by The Jackson County Times:  The grocery store owned by John R. Eglin and meat market owned by Charles Eglin will soon be under one roof. Contractor Frank Galle, Sr. is now remodeling the building and putting a new roof over both. A partition will separate the two businesses, but there will be an inside connecting door. The alteration will give the grocery store a much larger space to display goods.

 

                                                                         German lands? 
In 1895, Amelia K. Eglin filed a cause in the Chancery Court of Jackson County, Mississippi in a legal maneuver to collect alleged money and property in Germany from the estate of her late husband, Albert M. Eglin, who had passed on September 25, 1891. After investigating, she could not locate any real estate in Germany possessed of her late spouse. She averred that the only property owned by Albert M. Eglin was the real estate that they occupied and jointly used in Jackson County, Mississippi. (JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court cause No. 624-April 1895). After ailing for some time, Amelia K. Eglin died at Ocean Springs on May 28, 1916. Her corporal remains were passed through the Catholic Church before internment in the Bellande Cemetery to rest beside her late husband and baby daughter, Verna O. Eglin (1886-1886), who passed on October 1,1886. (The Daily Herald, May 30, 1916, p. 7) 
 

EGLIN CHILDREN

A brief biography of the children of Albert M. Eglin and Amelia K. Eglin follows:
 

Albert M. Eglin Jr.
                          [Courtesy of Linda Shephard Olson-Pensacola, Florida]                                                                   

 

                                                                        Albert M. Eglin Jr.
Albert Minrat Eglin Jr. (1874-1904) was born at Ocean Springs on August 3, 1874. In November 1894, he married Julie Annie Thomas (1878-1960+), the daughter of George Washington Thomas (1854-1932) and Laura Lavinia Sutton (1853-ca 1887). The Eglins had two children, Martha Lavinia "Myrtle" Eglin Foehl (1896-1960+) and Clair Alberta Eglin Boddy (1903-1997). Mr. Eglin expired at his home in Ocean Springs on January 19,1904. He had been very ill for several days before his demise. His corporal remains were interred in the Bellande Cemetery on Dewey Avenue. (Lepre, 1989, p. 46, History of JXCO, Ms., 1989, p. 367, and The Biloxi Daily Herald, January 19, 1904, p. 1)

    

Family lore passed down from Clair Eglin Boddy to Linda Olson , her granddaughter, relates that Albert M. Eglin Jr. died from heat stroke, due to fighting the January 1904 fire in the Eglin buildings on Washington Ave.  Albert went into the fire several times trying to help and was overcome by the heat.  Before he expired, Albert requested that his wife, Julia Thomas Eglin, place Clair Eglin, his baby girl by his side.  He died shortly thereafter.(Linda Olson, Pensacola, Florida August 2, 2007) 

    

In February 1904, Amelia K. Eglin was appointed guardian of Myrtle and Clair Eglin, her granddaughters, as well as her own minor children, Lillie Eglin, Thomas A. Eglin, and Lena Eglin. Myrtle and Clair were awarded a 1/27^th share in the estate of their grandfather, Albert M. Eglin, and his children received a 1/9^th share. (JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 1257-February 1904)

    

In September 1916, over a decade after the demise of her husband, Annie Thomas Eglin married John Joseph Donovan of Mobile in the home of Walter G. Armstrong (1878-1945). Father W.S. Irwin, the pastor in residence at St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church presided over the nuptial ceremony. The Donovans planned to make their future residence in Mobile. (The Jackson County Times, September 16, 1916 and JXCO, Ms. MRB 11, p. 249)

 

Julie A. Thomas Eglin Donovan [1878-1960+]

[Courtesy of Linda Shephard Olson-Pensacola, Florida]

 

George Washington Thomas [1852-1932]

[Courtesy of Linda Shephard Olson-Pensacola, Florida]

 

George W. Thomas was the father of Julie Annie Thomas Eglin Donovan (1878-1960+).  Anecdotal history relates that he had planted the oak trees along Washington Avenue, which today make Ocean Springs so unique and beautiful. George W. Thomas (1854-1932) was a native of Jasper County, Mississippi.  He resided most of his life at Ocean Springs were he farmed, worked for the L&N Railroad, was a teamster, and in later life was considered an expert gardener.  Geroge W.Thomas had two families.  With his first wife, Laura Sutton (1853-1887), an Alabama native, Thomas fathered:  Julie Annie Thomas Eglin (1878-1960+), Charles L. Thomas (b. 1878), James Acey Thomas (1882-1919), and Edith T. Armstrong (1886-1967).  After Laura died , George W. Thomas married Evelyn Woodcock (1867-1904) of Ocean Springs.  They were married in 1889 and had the following children: Mary Jane (Mollie) Penton (1890-1978), Georgia LeBatard (1893-1976), Jessie William Thomas (1894-1906), Harold Thomas (b. 1896), Aline T. (b. 1899), and Lee J. Thomas (1902-1958).  Another child died in infancy.(Hines, 1979, p. 75 and The History of Jackson County, Ms., 1989, p. 367)

 

Children of Albert M. Eglin Jr. and Julie A. Thomas Eglin

 

Martha L. Eglin Foehl [1896-1960+]

[L-R: Martha Eglin Foehl and unknown.  Courtesy of Linda Shephard Olson-Pensacola, Florida)]

 

                                                                           Martha L. Eglin Foehl

Martha Lavinia Eglin Foehl (1896-1960+) was born at Ocean Springs, Mississippi on February 20, 1896.  Circa 1915, she married William Foehl (1888-1930+), a native of Muskingum County, Ohio.   His parents, Adam John Foehl (1856-1910+) and Pauline Foehl (1861-1910+), were 1881 and 1884 German immigrants from Wurtemberg. In Ohio, Adam J. Foehl was a farmer.(1900 T623 1310, Muskingum, Co., Ohio, Federal Census T623 1310, p. 15A, ED 46)  

 

Martha and William Foehl made their home at Mobile, Alabama where William worked for the L&N Railroad as a brakeman and conductor.  Here, on Conception Street they reared four children: William C. Foehl (1917-1979), Dorothy Foehl (1921-1930+), Myrtice Foehl (1924-1930+), and Gloria Foehl (b. 1930).  No further information.

 

 

    

Clair Alberta Eglin Boddy [1903-1997]

[first image made 1926.  All images courtesy of Linda Shephard Olson-Pensacola, Florida]

   

                                                                           Clair A. Eglin Boddy

Clair Alberta Eglin Boddy (1903-1997), called 'Dodie' was born at Ocean Springs on November 1, 1903.  Circa 1923, she married Edward Stratton Boddy (1895-1976), a native of Baldwin County, Alabama, and one of the eight children of  Edward Boddy (1865-1920+) and Emily Boddy (1873-1920+).  In 1900,  Edward Boddy, a native of New York of Canadian parents, and his Alabama born spouse were domiciled at Battles Wharf, Baldwin County, Alabama.  Here he made his livelihood as a potter.(1900 Baldwin Co., Alabama Federal CensusT623 1, p. 2B, ED 6)

    

By 1910, the Edward Boddy family had settled at Mobile where he was employed unloading ships at the Port of Mobile.(1910 Mobile Co., Alabama Federal Census )

    

In 1920, Edward S. Boddy toiled as a baker in Mobile and lived with his parents.(1920 Mobile Co., Alabama Federal Census T625_35, p. 11B, ED 114)

    

Edward Stratton Boddy Family [circa 1938]

[L-R: Mildred Clair Boddy Shepard (1926-2003); Edward S. Boddy Jr. (b. 1935); and Clair A. Eglin Boddy (1903-1997.  Courtesy of Linda Shephard Olson-Pensacola, Florida)

 

By 1930, Claire Eglin Boddy and Edward S. Boddy had lived in Florida, probably Pensacola, where their first child,Mildred Clair Boddy (1926-2003) who married Louis Shephard (b. 1925), was born in September 1926.  In 1930, they had relocated to Bay Minette, Baldwin County where he worked as a baker.  Eventually, Edward S. Boddy and family returned to Pensacola, Florida where Mr. Boddy joined Smith's Bakery and eventually became a company supervisor.  Edward S. Boddy Jr. (b. 1935) was born at Pensacola.  Edward Stratton Boddy expired at Pensacola in 1976.  Clair Eglin Boddy lived until October 26, 1997.  Her corporal remains were interred in the Magnolia Cemetery at Mobile, Alabama.(1930 Baldwin Co., Alabama Federal Census R2, p. 11A, ED 4 and Linda Shephard Olson, Pensacola, Florida August 2, 2007)

 

                                                              Eugenia Z. Eglin Armstrong

Eugenia Zeolide "Gallie" Eglin (1877-1962) was born July 8, 1877. She married Henry L. Armstrong (1874-1945), on September 18, 1900, in Jackson County, Mississippi. (Lepre, 1989, p. 101 and JXCO, Ms. MRB 7, p. 74)

    

Henry L. Armstrong was a native of Woolmarket, Harrison Couty, Mississippi. He was the son of George Armstrong (b. 1846), an Alabaman, and Matilda Parker (b. 1840). In Harrison County, George Armstrong worked in the lumber industry as a sawmill worker. He married Matilda Parker in 1869. The Armstrongs reared their seven children in the piney woods of southern Harrison County: Emily Armstrong (b. 1869), James Armstrong (1871-1944), Julia Armstrong Seymour (1872-1945+), Henry L. Armstrong (1874-1945), Mary Armstrong Ryan (1876-1945+), Walter G. Armstrong (1878-1945), and Ida Armstrong (b. 1880). 

Henry L. Armstrong (1874-1975)

Postman Armstrong joined the US Postal System in 1919 and retired August 1, 1939.  He is seen here posting mail on Bowen Avenue just east of Kotzum.

 

Henry L. Armstrong arrived in ocean Springs in 1896 and initially made his living as a farmer. At Ocean Springs, he joined the L&N Railroad and was with that transportation organization for eighteen years. After a few years at the shipyard in Pascagoula, Armstrong went to work on December 1, 1919, for the United States Postal Service as a rural mail carrier. His daily mail route encompassed about fifteen miles, which he traversed on foot six days each week with the exception of Sunday and during his thirty-day annual vacation. It was estimated that Armstrong walked about 4500 miles each year to post the mail.  Henry L. Armstrong is also remembered for the pony cart in which he delivered the mail until his retirement due to failing health in August 1939. Clem Spencer of Biloxi replaced him.(The Daily Herald, December 6, 1922, p. 2, August 3, 1939, p. 2, October 11, 1945, p. 8, and J.K. Lemon-April 1993) )

      

Mr. Armstrong served as Alderman from Ward One from 1943-1945. He was also active in the business and social aspects of the community serving as president of the Hook and Ladder Fire Company, Superintendent of the Ocean Springs Water Works Department, Director of the Farmers and Merchants State Bank, Member of the Woodmen of the World, and McLeod Masonic Lodge No. 424, and an founder of the Mississippi Coast Baseball League. Base ball was Armstrong’s hobby. (The Daily Herald, October 11, 1945, p. 8)

 

1112 Bowen Avenue [built 1895]

In June 1895, Joseph Pol (1866-1942), a ship carpenter from Pascagoula and native of Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain, was selected to erect this Italianate-styled cottage at present day 1112 Bowen Avenue for Henry .A. Vaughan of Louisville, Kentucky.  The foundation for this fine edifice was laid in early June 1895.  It is interesting to note that Joseph Pol had completed a new racing yacht prior to commencing construction of the Vaughan-Platt cottage.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, May 24, 1895)(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, May 24, 1895, June 14, 1985 and July 19, 1895) 

 

1112 Bowen Avenue

The Armstrong family resided at present day 1112 Bowen Avenue from September 1912 until March 1948. They acquired the Vaughan-Platt Cottage, a fine example of the blending of Queen Anne and Italianate architecture, from local contractor, Frank Bourgh. In March 1948, the widow Armstrong and children conveyed their home of thirty-six years to Alceide A. Veillon (1862-1949) and spouse, Antoinette Haas Veillon (1869-1953). (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 38, p. 462 and Book 100, pp. 418-419)

 

Armstrong children

At Ocean Springs, the Armstrongs reared their two children: Rollin Stanley Armstrong (1907-1979), andBernadette A. Cavanah (1909-1962+).

 

Major Rollin Stanley Armstrong (1907-1979)

(from The Jackson County Times, February 12, 1944, p. 1)

 

                                                                    Rollin S. "Polly" Armstrong
Rollin S. Armstrong (1907-1979), called Stanley and "Polly", worked at the post office as a young man. He graduated from Biloxi High School and studied engineering at Mississippi A&M. graduating in 1930.  At Biloxi High, Polly excelled in baseball and basketball and was deemed an average football player. In his freshman year at Mississippi A&M, he made both the basketball and baseball teams and was expected to play varsity basketball his sophomore season. Armstrong played hard ball on the Mississippi coast with the L&N team during the 1927 summer season of the Biloxi Baseball League. (The Jackson County Times, June 8, 1927, p. 3)

 

Polly Armstrong was a fine baseball player and manned first base for the Ocean Springs Cubs in 1929 and 1935, when they were pennant winners of the Mississippi Amateur Coast League. The 1935 team, which was sponsored by Henry Johnson Terry (1890-1975), was also the State Champion. (The Jackson County Times, September 7, 1929, p. 3, January 29, 1944, p. 1, and The Ocean Springs Record, December 14, 1972)

 

Polly Armstrong was employed in the local post office until he moved to Jackson, Mississippi in March 1936, to work for the Mississippi State Highway Department. In 1932, Armstrong had enlisted in the Army National Guard.  He was a Lieutenant at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in December 1936.  Armstrong went into WWII, with his U.S. Army unit in 1941. He served as a Major in the North African campaign and in Italy. In early January 1944, his left knee was fractured by enemy shrapnel from a shell burst at Cassino, Italy, a German salient in the Gustav Line defending the route to Rome. After three and one half months of fierce combat, Cassino fell to the Allies on May 17, 1944.  Major Armstrong was sent to the Kennedy General Hospital at Memphis, Tennessee to recuperate from his injuries and receive the "Purple Heart" military decoration. (The Jackson County Times, March 7, 1936, p. 3, December 26, 1936, p. 4,January 29, 1944, p. 1, April 24, 1944, p. 1, and Webster’s New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p. 226)

    

In 1937, Polly Armstrong had joined Mississippi Power and Light as a commercial salesman in Vicksburg, Mississippi.  Previously he had worked in St. Louis for Century Electric.  Armstrong was promoted rapidly by Mississippi Power and Light until he was made manager at Natchez, Mississippi in June 1939.  The Armstrongs made their home at 1010 Melrose Avenue at Natchez.(The Jackson County Times, June 24, 1939, p. 1)

       

Prior to WWII, Stanley Armstrong had married a Tupelo native, Rebecca Pou.  The Armstrongs had two sons, Rollin S. Armstrong Jr. (1943-1947), Scott Armstrong (adopted), and David Armstrong (b. 1951). David Armstrong lived at Gulfport from 1993-1994. He was the assistant executive director of the Harrison County Tourist Commission before relocating to Jackson. David served the city of Natchez as its Mayor elect from 1988 to 1992. David Armstrong is well educated having attained a Master’s degree in Political Science from Mississippi State University and a law degree from Ole Miss. (The Sun Herald, October 1, 1993, p. C-6)

 

                                                          Bernadette Armstrong Cavanah 
In November 1929, Bernadette Armstrong (1909-1962+) married Ernest Cavanah (1901-1986), the son of S.N. Cavanah of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. They resided initially at Marietta, Georgia, where Mr. Cavanah was employed with the telephone company. In November 1931, they were domiciled at Crofton, Kentucky. (The Jackson County Times, November 16, 1929 and The Jackson County Times, November 1931)

    

In June 1937, the Cavanahs acquired a Queen Anne cottage from Charles F. Rehage at present day 524 Jackson Avenue. Ernest worked in Biloxi for the Home Milk Products Company while Bernadette was employed with Ellzey's Hardware in the same city. Mr. Cavanah sold his domicile to E. Wilfred Ross (b. 1935) and spouse in June 1963, after the death of his mother-in-law, Eugenia Eglin Armstrong, and wife, Bernadette A. Cavanah. He returned to his native Hopkinsville, Kentucky where he passed in July 1986. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 70, p. 88 and Book 243, p. 63)

                                           

                                                                  Georgia Pearl Cavanah
On January 22, 1940, at the Methodist parsonage in Ocean Springs, Georgia Pearl Cavanah, the sister of Ernest Cavanah, married Raymond W. Jackson (b. 1919), the son of Warren Jackson (1886-1972) and Ruth Walker Jackson. The groom was born in Washington, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Ocean Springs High School in 1938, and attended Mississippi State College. In 1939, Miss Cavanah resided at 524 Jackson Avenue with her brother and sister-in-law, Ernest Cavanah and Bernadette Armstrong Cavanah, while attending the Ocean Springs High School. Mr. Jackson was employed at the Jackson County Woolen Mills at Pascagoula. (The Jackson County Times, November 18, 1939, p. 4 and January 27, 1940, p. 1)    

At the time of his death on October 10, 1945, Henry L. Armstrong was survived by his immediate family and his brother, Walter G. Armstrong (1878-1945) of Ocean Springs, and three sisters: Mrs. Henry Seymour (Julia), Mrs. Cyril Ryan (Mary) and Mrs. George Bennett. (The Daily Herald, October 11, 1945 p. 8) Eugenia Eglin Armstrong lived until August 4, 1962. She was residing at 524 Jackson Avenue with her daughter and son-in-law, when she met her demise. Her corporal remains were interred in the family burial plot in the Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou. She rests here with her husband and grandson, Rollin S. Armstrong Jr. (The Daily Herald, August 6, 1962, p. 2)

 

                                                                               John R. Eglin 
John Reynaut Eglin (1879-1946) was born May 8, 1879. He never married and worked in the Eglin family mercantile and livestock business. In March 1927, the grocery store of John Eglin and the meat market of Charles Eglin, his brother, were united under a single, new roof, when local contractor, Frank Galle, remodeled their respective structures. A partition wall separated the two stores, but an interior door allowed customer access to both. The grocery store benefited as additional floor space was gained in the refurbishment. ( Lepre, 1991, p. 101 and The Jackson County Times, March 27, 1927) 

                                                                     East Ocean Springs residence
John R. Eglin owned and resided on a 20-acre tract of land in the old Shannondale Farm area, of eastern Ocean Springs, which the Fort Bayou Estates Subdivision is now situated. He acquired this parcel in the SW/4 of Section 21, T7S-R8W in November 1917, from A.C. Fraser. In March 1946, H.H. Hayden acquired the Eglin place from C.Z. Dickson. ( JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 45, p. 115 and Bk. 93, pp. 4-5)

    

Harry H. Hayden (1881-1954) was a native of New Harmony, Indiana. He married Nell Jones (1880-1945), also from New Harmony, and the daughter of Douglas Jones and Katharine Hurgate. They were the parents of two sons, John Douglas Hayden (1918-1998) of Ocean Springs and Henry Vincent Hayden (1904-1969) of Savannah, Georgia, and a daughter, Mrs. A.F. Green of Brooksville, Mississippi. In 1940, Mr. Hayden had come to Ocean Springs from northern Mississippi probably Noxubee County. He made his livelihood at Ocean Springs in real estate and banking. The Haydens also raised chickens. (The Daily Herald, December 20, 1954, p. 16 and Earl Taylor, May 2002)

 

The old Eglin place is now owned by James B. Martin who acquired the Hayden’s property in August 1977. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 608, p. 270)

 

John R. Eglin expired at the country home of his brother, Charles W. Eglin, on August 4, 1946. His funeral was held from the Bowen Avenue domicile of Eugenia Z. "Mallie" Eglin Armstrong (1877-1962), his sister. Internment was in the Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou. (The Jackson County Times, August 10, 1946, p. 1)

 

                                                                         Annie O. Eglin
Annie Olivia Eglin (1881-1963) was born March 26, 1881. She was educated in local schools and upon completion of her studies became employed in August 1900, at the telephone exchange above Nill's Drugstore, which was situated on the northwest corner of Washington and Porter. By 1902, Miss Eglin had taken a position as a schoolteacher at the Dogwood Point School in the Larue Community north of Ocean Springs. She boarded with Jessie L. McDaniels (1865-1951) and Ansteen Hanson McDaniels (1870-1960) who resided at the Hanson place in present day Gulf Hills. Mr. McDaniels had come from Cobden, Illinois to work on the Earle Farm (later Rose Farm). In September 1904, Annie went to Pascagoula to take teachers’ examination. She passed and planned to teach the winter term. (Lepre, 1991, p. 101, The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, May 23, 1902, The Progress, September 3, 1904, p. 5)

 

                                                                                 Banking
In 1909, Annie O. Eglin departed Ocean Springs to attend a business college in Mobile. After a few years with a local drugstore, she began a career circa 1911 in commercial banking with the Ocean Springs State Bank. By 1920, Annie Eglin was the assistant cashier of the bank and would serve as cashier for many decades retiring as vice-president in 1954, when the Pascagoula-Moss Point Bank bought out the Ocean Springs State Bank. (The Ocean Springs News,February 6, 1909 and March 7, 1963, p. 1)

 

                                                                        The Eglin House
In June 1917, Annie O. Eglin purchased the Eglin House on Washington Avenue from the Heirs of Amelia Eglin who had died in May 1916. During her many years as proprietor of the Eglin House, Annie Eglin always resided here. It had a "homey" atmosphere and was very comfortable in the winter with its steam heat. There was a porch swing and rocking chairs. Several of the older, widowed, ladies lived here and would enjoy their time in idle conversation on the large gallery. In addition to the seven "tourist" rooms as they were called, there were also five apartments. Permanent guests resided in the apartments. Some of these long-term boarders were: Chester McPhearson (1883-1969), M. Catherine Hale Sousley (1891-1975), James and Marie I. Farley (1903-1977), Erica Carson and Mrs. Riley. Several single schoolteachers also lived at the Eglin House throughout the years. Elsie Seymour Ryan (1905-1989) worked for Miss Eglin as a cook and housekeeper from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 43, p. 608,The Daily Herald, September 22, 1964, p. 1, Dot Eglin Dees McKinnon, and Elaine Ryan Miller-September 1993,

 

Eulogy

Annie Olivia Eglin expired at her tourist home at 635 Washington Avenue in early March 1963.
Kay Casson (1916-1988) writer for The Ocean Springs News, eulogized Miss Eglin as follows: 

Miss Annie was one of our first contacts when we started coming down here during vacation periods the past ten years. We always engaged a room there. Nice and quite….beautiful period furniture and a charming, witty hostess, who took a keen interest in the area. Her interest in people never reached the stage where it could be termed "gossip" for Miss Annie wasn’t put together that way. She loved people for what they were. She never had time to search for the gossip side of the fence. She never married but she loved children. We used to look at Annie and wonder how she looked as a young lady. Have always been fascinated by "old maids" for they present a challenge for the average male. No doubt she was very beautiful. They say she had one real romance got engaged but it never materialized into matrimony. Apparently the scars were not too deep for she led a full life and will be remembered as one of the "doers" in the history of the town. The fact that she kept her daily routine close to the deep-rooted live oaks that faced her doorway for 82 years was in itself a remarkable event in a town where high transient living is the order of the day. Miss Annie has passed from the daily scene on Washington Avenue but the live oaks fronting the comfortable old home will remain as sentinels-a reminder of a quiet little lady who played a very important part in this town we call Ocean Springs. (The Ocean Springs News, March 7, 1963, p. 1) 

                                                                                   The Fire
After Miss Annie Eglin's demise in 1963, the Eglin House was struck by catastrophe. In the early morning hours of September 22, 1964, a fire commenced in the roof of the building. Fire fighters from Ocean Springs and Biloxi responded to the alarm. With a valiant effort, they kept the fire contained to the second floor. Several residents on the upper level were stranded and had to be rescued by ladder. Unfortunately one elderly resident, Mr. James E. Farley (1880-1964), lost his life in the conflagration. The upper level of the Eglin House was completely destroyed by the fire. The first floor suffered heat and water damage. The loss to the Eglin heirs was estimated at $50,000. (The Ocean Springs News, October 1, 1964, p. 1 and The Ocean Springs News, October 1, 1964, p. 1)

 

                                                                          Demolition-Villa Maria
After the fire, Clarence Galle (1912-1986) remodeled the Eglin House removing the upper story and reconfiguring the ground floor space for commercial rentals. Mr. Gallet demolished the old structure in January 1968. Thusly, closing the final chapter in the fifty plus year life of one of Washington Avenues most historic and architectural treasures. Realtor, J.K. Lemon (1914-1998), purchased the vacant lot from Don Y. Eglin and the other Eglin heirs in April 1968. Mr. Lemon then sold the property to the Catholic Charities Housing Association of Biloxi in February 1970. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 333, p. 23 and JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 371, p. 502 and Lex Eglin, September 16, 2003)

    

The Roman Catholic Church built the Villa Maria retirement home on a portion of the former Eglin House site in 1970-1971. The dedication ceremonies for the $3.5 million structure were held November 28, 1971. (The Ocean Springs Record, December 2, 1971, p. 1)
                                                                       Charles W. Eglin
Charles William Eglin (1883-1966) was born October 26, 1882. He made his livelihood as a butcher and market proprietor. Mr. Eglin married Susan Carco (1884-1921), the daughter of Eugene Carco (1830-1900) and Anna Carter (1860-1927) on February 6, 1906. (Lepre, 1991, p. 101 and JXCO, Ms. MRB 8, p. 15)

    

 

[L-R: Jimmy Edwards, Dot Eglin (1919-2014), Robert Lynn Maxwell, Ellie Maxwell Kline, and Mike Mitchell (1918-2003)]

[image made on Washington Avenue circa 1937, probably in front of the Charles W. Eglin home.  Courtesy of Dorothy 'Dot' Eglin Dees McKinnon]

    

Charles W. Eglin and Susan Carco Eglin were the parents of: Alma Eglin Hosey Garlick (1907-1996) who married W.H. "Duke" Hosey in February 1927 and Nicholas Garlick (1915-1986) in 1943; Don Y. Eglin (1908-1986) who married Alma Louise Ryan (1910-1998); Charles W. Eglin Jr. (1917-2002) married Irene?; and Dorothy Eglin Dees McKinnon (1919-2014) who married Joseph P. Dees (1910-1946) and Joseph M. McKinnon (1915-1980). (The Daily Herald, February 22, 1927, p. 2 and JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 6766-November 1942)

 

1917 Charles W. Eglin Bungalow

[Located on the west side of Washington Avenue between Bowen and Porter.  Demolished circa 1966.  Courtesy of Dorothy 'Dot' Eglin Dees McKinnon]

 

                                                                            Eglin bungalow 
In late October 1917, the Eglin family began a transformation of their Washington Avenue property. The Eglin meat market was demolished in order that a new residence could be built for Charles Eglin and family. The Eglin restaurant was converted to a meat market and moved to the Knights of Pythias lot, which was about 65 feet south from its original location. G.N. Tillman (1872-1925) then commenced a craftsman bungalow for Charles Eglin, which was completed around Thanksgiving 1917. (The Jackson County Times, October 27, 1917 and November 24, 1917)

    

The Charles Eglin bungalow was used as a rental when Mr. Eglin moved in the 1940s, to the Fort Bayou Community, now misnamed St. Martin by uniformed politicians and County officials. It was demolished circa 1966, by Clarence Galle (1912-1986). (Larry Galle and Lex Eglin, September 16, 2003)

                                            Eglin country home
In August 1925, Charles W. Eglin began acquiring land in the Fort Bayou Community in the NE/4 of Section 9, T7S-R8W, when Raymond Garlotte sold him five acres. A large parcel of sixty-acres was bought in January 1932 from H.F. Russell (1858-1940), which was also situated in the NE/4 of Section 9, T7S-R8W. Mr. Eglin extended his Fort Bayou acreage into the NW/4 of Section 10, T7S-R8W in September 1940, with a10-acre acquisition from, Everett Byrd. The consideration was $500. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 57, pp. 522-523; Bk. 88, pp. 476-477; and Bk. 66, pp. 466-467)     

 

Here in the SW/4 of the NW/4 of Section 10, T7S-R8W, Mr. Eglin built a simple country home where he raised cattle, sheep, and other common farm animals. Before he retired permanently to the Fort Bayou Community, Mr. Eglin would leave his Washington Avenue meat market each evening a drive to his "farm", which was situated on the east side of Eglin Road, named for him, which runs north-south on the section line between Section 9 and Section 10 of T7S-R8W. Several years after Mr. Eglin’s death, his son, Lex Eglin, demolished the place. (Dot Eglin D. McKinnon, September 16, 2003)

 

Gertrude Galle and Charles W. Eglin with grandchildren

[L-R: Gertrude "Gertie" Galle (1899-1951) and Charles W. Eglin (1883-1966).  Grandchildren: Jeffrey W. Dees (1942-2009) and Sandra Ann Dees Halat (b. 1944), children of Dorothy Eglin Dees McKinnon (b. 1919) who married Joseph P. Dees (1910-1946) and Joseph M. McKinnon (1915-1980).  Courtesy of Charles Lawrence 'Larry' Galle.]

 

 

                                                                               

                                                                             CHARLES WILLIAM EGLIN III

	Birth Jun. 2, 1947, Ocean Springs, Mississippi
	Death Feb. 15, 1968, Vietnam
Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps On 14 February 1968, Lance Corporal Charles William Eglin III was serving with B Battery, MACG – 18, 1st MAW, in 2nd LAAM Battalion, III Marine Amphibious Force, Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam.  On that day, Lance Corporal Eglin was killed by intentional homicide. He was declared dead on 15 February 1968. His body was recovered. Medals National Defense Service Medal Vietnam Service Medal Vietnam Campaign Medal Honors The name Charles W Eglin III is located on Panel 39E Line 49 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. LCpl Charles W. Eglin III has Honoree Record 10551 at MilitaryHallofHonor.com.

 

Gertie Galle

After the untimely death of his wife, in January 1921, Charles W. Eglin married Gertrude "Gertie" Galle (1899-1951), in October 1925. Miss Galle was the daughter of Frank E. Galle (1877-1934) and Jesse Bird (1880-1942). They had two sons, Thomas Albert Eglin (1926-1942) and Alexis H. Eglin (b. 1929). Alexis H. Eglin married Treva Bauman (b. 1934), the daughter of Manuel Bauman (1904-1973) and Emma Mae King (1906-1988). (JXCO, Ms. MRB 17, p. 57)

    

Thomas A. Eglin was killed in an accident at the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation boatyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi in late October 1942, while employed as an inventory and control clerk, or steel checker, for an operating crane. He had been employed here for only five months. The Eglin family received $8000 for his accidental death from the corporation. (The Jackson County Times, October 31, 1942, p. 1 and JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 6924-August 1943)

     

Mrs. Gertie Eglin died at Biloxi on May 14, 1951. Her corporal remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery. Circa 1941, Charles W. Eglin retired to his farm north of Old Fort Bayou on Eglin Road, south of Fort Bayou Road. He lived here until late June 1966, when he met death in Howard Memorial Hospital in Biloxi. (The Daily Herald, May 14, 1951, p. 3 and The Daily Herald, June 24, 1966, p. 2)

 

                                                                              Eglin Cleaners
In the late 1940s, Charles W. Eglin Jr. (1917-2002) opened a dry cleaning service on the east side of Jackson Avenue between Porter and Desoto. He advertised his enterprise with this slogan-"Work called for and Delivered-Prompt Service".  Circa 1948, Mr. Eglin and his spouse leased the business to Clarence Galle (1912-1986) and relocated to New York, her natal State. After their careers had ended, the Eglins retired to Florida.  Clarence Galle left the cleaners in January 1951and leased the business to Malcolm F. "Bud" Hodges (b. 1928).  Mr. Hodges instituted a complete service with pick up and delivery service for his clients.  In 1966, Clarence Galle returned again to operate the Jackson Avenue cleaners.  Henry Burkhardt, a Black man, worked in the business for Mr. Galle.  The building that housed the Eglin-Galle-Hodges cleaners was probably demolished to build the Villa Maria and/or Samaritan House.(The Jackson County Times, May 24, 1947, p. 8 and The Gulf Coast Times, January 5, 1951, p. 1 and Dorothy Eglin Dees McKinnon, September 16, 2003 and C. Lawrence Galle, October 2009)

 

                                                                     Eulalie M. Busbee 
Eulalie Marie "Lillie" Eglin (1885-1971) was born January 8, 1885. She married James Busbee of Mobile, Alabama on November 12, 1907. They had three sons born in Alabama: Wilbur J. Busbee (1909-1991); Carl F. Busbee (1910-1987); and Everett Eglin or Elkin Busbee (1912-1987) married five times: married Gladys McGinty, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B.S. McGinty on July 21, 1951; married about 1961, Rena C. Broussard (1924-1997), who was born at Youngsville, Louisiana. Worked at the Post Office and retired. Mrs. Busbee expired in early November 1971. Her remains were interred at Fort Worth, Texas. No further information. (Lepre, 1991, p. 101, JXCO, Ms. MRB 8, p. 428 and The Ocean Springs Record, November 18, 1971, p. 3 and The Daily Herald, July 23, 1951, p. 2)

     

                                                                                  Children

Carl F. Busbee (1910-1987) married Naomi Lacey (1914-2007), a native of New Orleans, on August 3, 1938 at New Orleans.  Naomi Lacey was the daughter of Dennis Lacey and Elizabeth Larsen.  Carl and Naomi were the parents of:  Sandra Wade and husband, Jerry of Granbury, Texas; sons, Carl Busbee and wife, Bonnie of Conroe, Texas and Jerry Busbee and wife, Mary of Hurst, Texas; daughter, Sherry Busbee and husband, Warren Schroeder of New York.  Naomi Lacey Busbee expired at Hurst, Tarrant County, Texas on October 10, 2007.(The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 29, 2007 and Linda S. Olson)

 

                                                                                  Verna O. Eglin
Verna Orelia Eglin (1886-1886) was born February 19, 1886. She died on October 1, 1886. (Lepre, 1989, p. 47 and Lepre, 1991, p. 102)

                                                                                  

                                                                                 Thomas A. Eglin

Thomas Anthony Eglin (1887-1914) was born December 19, 1887. He was employed as a flagman on L&N Train No. 38, better known as the New York Limited. He was killed by bandits who robbed the conductor and baggage man for less than $20 on July 17, 1914. The armed robbery took place on the eastern outskirts of New Orleans. Mr. Eglin’s corporal remains were interred in the Bellande Cemetery at Ocean Springs. Thomas A. Eglin was a bachelor. (Lepre, 1991, p. 102 and The Ocean Springs News, July 18, 1914, p. 1)

 

                                                                           Magdalen G. Wilbert
Magdalen "Lena" Geneva Eglin (1890-1928) was born at Ocean Springs on February 2, 1890. She married A. J. "Joseph" Wilbert and resided in Mobile. They had a son, A.J. "Joe" Wilbert Jr. (1920-1941), who died following an appendectomy while a student at Auburn Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University. He was to receive his mechanical engineering degree in June 1941. Joe was a graduate of McGill Institute in Mobile and had the highest grade point average of his Auburn graduating class. (The Jackson County Times, June 7, 1941, p. 1 and Dot Eglin D. McKinnon)

    

Lena Eglin Wilbert expired on February 11, 1928, at Mobile from typhoid fever. Her corporal remains were sent to Ocean Springs for internment in the Bellande Cemetery, after services at the Eglin home and St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. The Wilberts were childless. (The Jackson County Times, February 11, 1928, p. 3 and Dot Eglin D. McKinnon)

 

REFERENCES: 

                                                                                  

Books

Regina Hines, Ocean Springs, 1892, 2^nd Edition, (Lewis Printing Services: Pascagoula, Mississippi-1979).
 

The History of Jackson County, Mississippi, "George Washington Thomas", (Jackson County Genealogical Society: Pascagoula, Mississippi-1989).

 

Jerome Lepre, The Krohn Family, (Lepre: New Orleans-1989).

 

Jerome Lepre, Catholic Church Records Diocese of Biloxi, Mississippi (1843-1900), Volume I, (Catholic Diocese of Biloxi: Biloxi, Mississippi-1991).

 

Marriages-Harrison County, Mississippi (1841-1899), compiled by Grace Husly and Minnie Atkins, p. 23.

 

Chancery Court Cases

Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 624, "The Estate of Albert Eglin", April 1895.

Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 1257, "The Guardianship of Lillie Eglin, et al", February 1904.

Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 6766, "Alma Eglin Hosey v. William H. Hosey", November 1942.

Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 6924, "The Guardianship of Alexis H. Eglin", August 1943.

 

Journals

The Biloxi Daily Herald, "City News", January 19, 1904.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, "Ocean Springs", March 1, 1906.

The Daily Herald, "Tom Eglin, Murdered in L&N Holdup", July 25, 1914.

The Daily Herald, "Mrs. Eglin Dead", May 30, 1916.

The Daily Herald, "Walking Mail Carrier", December 26, 1922.

The Daily Herald, "Ocean Springs", February 22, 1927.

The Daily Herald, "Ocean Springs", August 3, 1939.

The Daily Herald, "Mrs. Eglin Dies", May 14, 1951.

The Daily Herald, "Busbee-McGinty", July 23, 1951.

The Daily Herald, "Mrs. Eugenia Armstrong", August 6, 1962.

The Daily Herald, "Man Dies In Fire At Ocean Springs Apartment House", September 22, 1964.

The Daily Herald, "Charles W. Eglin", June 24, 1966.

The Daily Herald, "[Charles Eglin III] Eglin dies in Vietnam", February 19, 1968.

The Gulf Coast Times, "Donna Eglin Is Ocean Springs Miss Hospitality", June 25, 1953.

The Jackson County Times, "Local News Items", September 16, 1916.

The Jackson County Times, "Local News Interests", October 27, 1917.

The Jackson County Times, "Local News Interests", November 24, 1917.

The Jackson County Times, "Death of Mrs. Chas. Eglin", January 8, 1921.

The Jackson County Times, "Local and Personal", March 26, 1927.

The Jackson County Times, "Local and Personal", June 8, 1927.

The Jackson County Times, "Death of Mrs. Lena Wilbert", February 11, 1928.

The Jackson County Times, "Local and Personal", November 16, 1929.

The Jackson County Times, "Local and Personal", March 7, 1936.

The Jackson County Times, "Local and Personal", December 26, 1936.

The Jackson County Times, "'Polly' Armstrong is made manager of Light Company office", June 24, 1939.

The Jackson County Times, "Announcement", November 18, 1939.

The Jackson County Times, "Jackson-Cavanaugh", January 27, 1940.

The Jackson County Times, "Jos. Wilbert Dies Suddenly At Auburn", June 7, 1941.

The Jackson County Times, "Struck by crane, Young Tom Eglin dies Tuesday A.M.", October 31, 1942.The Jackson County Times, "John R. Eglin Dies", August 10, 1946.

The Jackson County Times, "Eglin’s Dry Cleaning" ( an advertisement), May 24, 1947.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", February 6, 1909.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", June 17, 1911.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", February 26, 1910.

The Ocean Springs News, "Tom Eglin Killed By Bandits Who Hold Up Train", July 18, 1914.

The Ocean Springs News, "Mrs. Amelia Eglin Passes Away", June 1, 1916.The Ocean Springs News, "Annie O. Eglin", March 7, 1963.

The Ocean Springs News, "Ramblings", March 7, 1963.

The Ocean Springs News, "Ramblings", October 1, 1964.

The Ocean Springs News, "Landmark Makes Way For Progress", January 10, 1968.

The Ocean Springs Record, "Ms. Lillian E. Busbee", November 18, 1971.

The Ocean Springs Record, "Ribbon Cutting For Villa Maria", December 2, 1971.

The Ocean Springs Record, "Everett E. Busbee", February 12, 1987.

The Ocean Springs Record, "Donna Eglin Burch", August 10, 2006.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Ocean Springs Locals", August 24, 1900.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Ocean Springs Locals", May 23, 1902.

The Progress, "Local News Items", January 16, 1904.

The Progress, "Local News Items", September 3, 1904.

The Sun Herald, "Ex-Mayor of Natchez joins Harrison Tourism Commission", October 1, 1993.

The Sun Herald, "Alma Eglin, former merchant and longtime civic leader, dies", November 20, 1998.

The Sun Herald, "Donna Eglin Burch", August 8, 2006.

The Sun Herald, "Dorothy Eglin Dees McKinnon", December 31, 2014.

Maps

Sanborn Map Company (New York), "Ocean Springs, Mississippi" (1909)- Sheet 2, and (1925)- Sheet 4.

 

Personal Communication:

 

Alma Eglin Garlick - August 1993

J.K. Lemon - August 1993

Dorothy Eglin Dees McKinnon - August 1993

Robin Ann McKinnon - August 1993

Elaine Ryan Miller - September 1993

Linda Shephard Olson-August 3, 2007

ENDT FAMILY

The progenitor of the Endt family of Ocean Springs was Michel Endt (1823-1880), a native of Baden, Germany. At New Orleans, he married Theresa Herman (1839-1914), an 1866 immigrant from Rheishoff, Alsace, France. In 1880, Michel Endt made his living at Ocean Springs as a gardener. He and Theresa had five children: Anthony J. Endt (1870-1948), Rosalie Endt Catchot (1872-1959) married Joseph A. Catchot (1861-1927), Maria Matilda "Tillie" Endt Wieder (1873-1964) married Joseph A. Wieder (1877-1960); Sophie Endt (1875-1882); and Helena Marie "Ella" Endt Thomas (1877-1957) married Charles R. Thomas (1888-1949).

 

Endt Homestead

After the death of her husband in 1880, Theresa H. Endt began to acquire property on Porter west of Martin Avenue, which at the time would have been considered “out of town”.   In November 1880, she purchased for $50, from George A. Cox, agent for Edward W. Clark of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a lot fronting 100 feet on Porter and 150 feet on First Avenue in the Plummer Tract.  Mrs. Endt extended her Porter tract to the north in October 1882, when again from Mr. Clark of Philadelphia through his local agent, George A. Cox, she paid $35 for 350 feet north to the L&N right-of-way.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 38, pp. 540-541 and Book 38, pp. 551-552)

 

Prior to her death on June 12, 1914, Theresa H. Endt legated her home on Porter to her daughter, Ella E. Thomas.  In the probate of her estate, Anthony J. Endt received $300 while Mrs. Endt’s other daughters were given $150 each.(JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 3434-1916)

            

 

Anthony J. "Tony" Endt (1870-1948)

Anthony J. "Tony" Endt (1870-1948) and his spouse Johanna Friedericka Wendel (1873-1931) were natives of New Orleans. Johanna was the daughter of John Wendel (1848-1874) and Christina Sieckman Wendel Domning (1848-1933). Her parents were also German immigrants. They married October 29, 1896 at St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church. (Lepre, 1991, p. 103 and JXCO, Ms. MRB 6, p. 70)

 

Tony Endt made his livelihood as a carpenter employed with the L&N Railroad at their creosote plant in Gautier. He had the capacity to read and interpret blueprints, which with his native intelligence aided in his promotion to foreman of the operation. Mr. Endt retired from the L&N in 1936. (The Jackson County Times, July 16, 1948, p. 1)

    

In January 1892, Tony Endt had been appointed overseer of the road from O’Keefe’s Corner to Earle’s Gate. Today, we would translate this route to run westerly from the intersection of Jackson Avenue and Porter to the entrance of the Seapointe Subdivision on Lovers Lane. The overseer’s duties were to make reports to the Board of Supervisors concerning repairs and maintenance of the thoroughfare under their purview. (JXCO, Ms. Board of Supervisor’s Minute Bk. 2, p. 189)

    

Tony and Johanna W. Endt had a large family, which they reared on Russell Avenue. Their children were: Theresa Endt Davidson (1897-1978), Ethel Endt Dale (1900-1978), Albert A. Endt (1902-1982), Leona Endt Clark (1905-1981), Amelia Endt Pearson (1906-1989+), Dorothy Endt Cherry (1908-1990), and Henry J. Endt (1910-1989).

 

 

Theresa C. Endt

Theresa Christina Endt (1897-1978) was born October 25, 1897. She worked in the bakery sales shop, now Le Croissant, for Frank E. Schmidt (1877-1954), the local baker. Theresa married Walter S. "Dave" Davidson (1888-1950), a native of Hull England. Mr. Davidson found his way to Ocean Springs from Mobile where he had made the acquaintance of William Kuppersmith (1875-1920+). Mr. Kuppersmith operated a large retail business in crabs, oysters, and fish on the beach at the foot of Jackson Avenue. After his marriage to Theresa Endt circa 1918, Davidson continued working for the Kuppersmiths until they returned to Mobile in the mid-1920s. When Gulf Hills commenced operations in 1926, he found employment there as a night watchman. He later opened a bar business called Dave’s Place on Washington Avenue. At the time of his demise in late November 1950, Mr. Davidson was the proprietor of Dave’s Feed Store on Bowen Avenue. (Lepre, 1991, p. 103, Alice D. Hire, December 3, 2002, and The Gulf Coast Times, December 1, 1950, p. 1)

 

Mr. and Mrs. Davidson were the parents of Anthony W. "Boots" Davidson (1920-1990) and Alice "Deets" Davidson Hire (1921-2004). Mrs. Deets Hire remembers when Bowen Avenue was still a dirt road and most of the neighborhood was kin. The three daughters of Emile Domning and Christina S. Wendel Domning, Augusta Domning (1881-1946), Caroline M. Domning (1886-1969), and Amelia F. Domning (1889-1954), had married into the local Fayard, Seymour, and Ryan clans respectively, while their son, B.F. Domning (1882-1915) married a Beaugez, another very large local family. In addition, the Carver and Bradford children were also in the environs. Life was relatively simple. You played outdoors, usually shooting marbles or jumping hopscotch. The marbles were composed of agate or clay and occasionally a "steely" or ball bearing was obtained from Shanteau’s Garage on Kotzum and Government Street. Broken glass made good markers for hopscotch players. The there was always Uncle Fred Ryan’s neighborhood bar-grill and dance hall for food and diversion. Were else in Ocean Springs could one get a soft shell crabs, potato salad, and a Barq’s root beer for less than $.25? 

 

Davidson home

In April 1924, Johanna W. Endt acquired from her mother, Christina Domning, the single story, frame shotgun house at present day 1410 Bowen Avenue, situated on the E/2 of Lot 7-Block 32. This early 20^th Century house is an integral part of the Bowen Avenue Historic District and one of Ocean Springs finest architectural treasures. After Johanna died in 1931, Tony Endt sold his home to his daughter, Theresa Endt Davidson. This conveyance occurred in October 1938. Upon Mrs. Davidson death in 1978, her daughter, Alice Davidson Hire, inherited the home. Mrs. Hire resides in her family home with her daughter, Theresa Christina Hire. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 53, p. 624, Bk. 69, pp. 404-406, Bk. 71, p. 461, and Bk. 642, p. 187)

 

Ethel Sophia Endt

Ethel Sophia Endt (1900-1978) married William Frederick Dale (1899-1990) on January 12,1920. He was known in the community as Willy Dale. Willy’s parents were George William Dale (1872-1931) and Harriette Seymour (1879-1956), the daughter of Narcisse Seymour (1849-1931) and Carolyn V. Krohn (1847-1895). The Endt-Dale nuptial took place at St. Alphonsus and was officiated by Reverend J.H. Chauvin. Shortly after the wedding, Mr. Dale moved to Oklahoma. His wife joined him later. (The Jackson County Times, January 17, 1920)

 

Dale home

From the sacred union of Ethel and Willy Dale two children, Thelma Dale Bradford Christopherson (b. 1921) and William F. Dale Jr. (1926-1979), were born in Ocean Springs. The Dales resided at present day 1406 Porter Avenue. In March 1920, Mrs. Dale acquired the property which was described as, Lot 5-Block 33 (Culmseig Map 1854), from Elijah Brown of Washington D.C. The Dale home was sold to Ronald A. Marion, Jr. in November 1989, by Thelma D. Christopherson. Andrew Marion's father acquired it from him in March 1996. (Jackson County, Miss. Land Deed Book 48, p. 43, Book 949, p. 31, and Book 1084, p. 660)

 

Mechanical genius     

As a young man Willy Dale learned to repair automobiles. In May 1926, he went into business as the Dale Motor Company. He opened a 3500 square-foot garage on West Porter. It was of the most modern on the entire coast. Dale's machines and tools were mostly electrically powered, state of the art for the period. Among his inventory of apparatuses were: the electrical valve resurfacing and reseating tool; electrical riveting; counter-sinking machine for relining brakes; cylinder hones; aligning gauges for front wheels; acetylene welding and cutting torch; weaver wrecker for hauling in disabled vehicles; air pump; Weaver tire change stand; Humpy-Cooper rebabbitting machines and other appurtenances applicable to automobile repair. At this time Willy Dale was the local Chevrolet dealer. He also sold gasoline, oil, and greases and his Porter Street auto service business. (The Jackson County Times, June 12, 1926)

 

In addition to his mechanical skills, Mr. Dale successfully raced speed boats along the Mississippi coast; acquired the J.J. O’Keefe (1860-1911) family home on Porter and Jackson in December 1939, for $3850, which he metamorphosed into a restaurant-lounge and other uses; operated and owned an automobile dealership in Gulfport; ran a filling station; operated the Greyhound Bus franchise in Ocean Springs; and owned the pleasure craft, Dolphin.

 

Albert A. Endt

Albert A. "Peasel" Endt (1902-1982) married Maude Rebecca Crysell (1908-2000), a native of Butler County, Alabama. She was the daughter of Robert C. Crysell (1874-1934) and Lula Ovens Crysell (1876-1961). Mr. Crysell was killed in a railroad accident east of New Orleans in April 1934. Albert and Maude were the parents of three children: Albert A. Endt Jr. (1928-1928), Robert H. Endt (b. 1929), and Alvin Endt (1933-2016). Albert A. Endt Jr. was born August 6, 1928, but expired shortly after birth on August 8, 1928. His corporal remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou. (The Jackson County Times, August 11, 1928, p. 4)

    

Albert A. Endt like his father worked for the L&N Railroad at its Gautier creosote plant. He transferred into the transportation section of the company and became a conductor. (Alvin Endt, September 22, 2003 and The Ocean Springs Record, April 8, 1982)

    

Mr. Endt was active in the local community. He was elected alderman and served his constituents of Ward 3 from 1939-1941. His son, Alvin Endt, was elected to the same post in 1965, and served two terms before being elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1983 where he was a member for sixteen years retiring in 1999. (Alvin Endt, September 22, 2003)

 

Alvin Endt (1933-2016)

 

In the quiet hours of the morning at his home, Monday, June 20, 2016, Mr. Alvin Endt heard the angels whisper, "Come and take my hand, and come with me; your work here is done."

Mr. Endt was born in Ocean Springs, Mississippi on September 28, 1933 to Albert and Maude Endt and was a lifelong resident of Ocean Springs. He was a devoted public servant, spending all of his life helping others. Mr. Endt served two terms as Alderman of Ocean Springs from 1965 to 1973. He was appointed Jackson County Supervisor in 1982 and served as District 113 State Representative from 1984 through 1999. He left a record of a life filled with kindness, reverence for God, and love for his many friends and loved ones. After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, Mr. Endt married the love of his life, Bettie Boyd and together they reared four children. His devotion and love for his family was without end. Mr. Endt taught history at St. Martin High School for many years and is fondly remembered by his students. According to many of them, his "paddlings" were infamous. He touched many young lives and was a master storyteller. Mr. Endt was a lifelong member of Ocean Springs Baptist Church and was a man of strong faith.

He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Bettie Boyd Endt, and his parents, Albert and Maude Crysell Endt.

He is survived by his children, Betsy Miller (Thomas), Rebecca Endt, Mark Endt, and Jennifer Shoemaker; grandchildren Andrew Chandler, Georgia Kate Chandler, Jamie Endt, Houston Endt, Lucas Endt, Bettie Shoemaker and Hanna Shoemaker; one great-grandchild, Aubrey Endt; brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Barbara Endt, sister-in law, Jane Beaugez and brother and sister-in-law, Bubba and Cheryl Boyd. Mr. Endt is also survived by a host of lifelong friends, nieces and nephews whom he loved and adored.

Visitation will be held at Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home in Ocean Springs on Wednesday, June 22, 2016 from 5pm until 8pm. Funeral services will be held at First Baptist Church, Ocean Springs on Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. Burial will follow at Evergreen Cemetery in Ocean Springs. [The Sun Herald, June 22, 2016]

 

Leona Endt

Leona Endt Clark (1905-1981) was working for the Merchants Bank of Mobile when she met and married William A. Clark Jr., a resident of Brooklyn, New York, on April 29, 1927 in the St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church in Ocean Springs. Christine Fayard Hamilton was Miss Endt’s made of honor and Ambrose R. Fayard (1906-1986), her best man. The newly weds left their home in Brooklyn via Savannah, Georgia where they would meet the steamship of Mr. Clark, a ship engineer. (The Daily Herald, May 3, 1927, p. 4)

     In New York, Leona E. Clark found employment with the telephone company. She returned to Ocean Springs and lived on Shearwater Drive. Mrs. Clark expired here in February 1981.

 

Amelia Endt Pearson

Amelia Endt Pearson (1906-2001) married John Pearson (1903-1969). She lived most of her life in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Mrs. Pearson was the mother of Theresa P. Mullins and Mildred P. Taylor. She expired on May 16, 2001 at Grand Junction, Colorado. (Alice D. Hire, September 30, 2003)

 

Dorothy Endt Cherry 

Dorothy Endt Cherry (1908-1990) worked for The Daily Herald as a linotype operator. In March 1929, she married Allan Hugh Cherry (1900-1977), a native of North Carolina. Contemporaneously, George Scott, a companion of Mr. Cherry, married Louise Dale (1906-1979+), the sister-in-law of her sister, Ethel Sophie Endt Dale. The newly weds departed for Houston, Texas. (The Daily Herald, March 7, 1929, p. 4)

    

Dorothy and Hugh Cherry were the parents of two children: Alan H. Cherry Jr. and Johanna Cherry. They resided in Massachusetts before settling at Baltimore, Maryland. Hugh Cherry expired there in August 1977. She died in Baltimore in July 1990. (Alice D. Hire, December 3, 2002)

 

Henry J. Endt 

Henry J. Endt (1910-1989) married Irene Nelson, the daughter of J.T. Nelson of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in November 1936. They were the parents of Patricia E. Latil and Henry J. Endt II (b. 1938). The Henry Endt family resided at 1416 Bowen Avenue. Henry had acquired this domicile from his father in November 1936. H.J. Endt later married Ruth Clark Seymour (1916-2000), the daughter of Charles E. Clark and Sarah Richards. She was widow of Mark M. Seymour (1910-1944), who was killed in western Germany while attacking the Siegfried Line during WWII.(The Jackson County Times, November 21, 1936, p. 4, The Sun Herald, September 28, 1989, p. C-2, and The Mississippi Press, May 12, 2000, p. 2-A and JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 69, p 406).

 

ROSALIE ENDT

Rosalie "Rosie" Endt (1872-1959) was born February 23, 1872. In February 1896, she married a widower, Joseph A. Catchot (1861-1927), the son of Arnaud Catchot (1836-1910) and Adele Ryan (1844-pre 1880). Their children were: Joseph E. J. Catchot (1897-1984) married Alice Perret; Charles Emmett Catchot (1899-1985) married Alma Dick (1901-1969); Angus A. Catchot (ca 1902-ca 1912); Marion Catchot (1904-1992) married Howard F. Beaugez (1906-1975); Anthony Felix "Tony" Catchot (1907-1996) married Euta A. Redding (1914-1988); and Lloyd H. Catchot (1912-1995) married Ida M. Railey (1910-1996).

    

Joseph A. Catchot made his livelihood as a bridge foreman for the L&N Railroad at New Orleans. He was born at Pascagoula and had married Ella Clark. She bore him five daughters: Florence C. O’Rourke (1881), Agnes C. Cordonia (1884), Lelina C. Conrad (1887-1960), Mary Margaret "May" C. Gebbia (b. 1890), and Virginia "Lizzie" O’Rourke (b. 1892). The family moved to Ocean Springs in 1914, from Touro Street. In 1900, Joseph and Rosa Catchot were domiciled on Frenchman Street in the Crescent City. (1900 Federal Census-Orleans Parish, La. T623R572, p. 297 and 1910 Federal Census-Orleans Parish, La. T624R521, p. 60B)

 

MARIA MATHILDA ENDT

Maria Mathilda "Tillie" Endt (1873-1964) was born in New Orleans on September 23, 1873. In December 1900, she married Joseph A. Wieder (1877-1960). He was the son of German immigrants Gregoire Wieder (1849-1899), a native of Alsace, and Dora Armbruster Wieder (1848-1924), who was born in Wurtemburg. Joseph A. Wieder made his livelihood as a carpenter and house contractor. (Lepre, 1991, p. 103 and JXCO, Ms. MRB 7, p. 128)

    

Tillie and Joe Wieder were the parents of two children: Celia W. Davis (1902-1956), the wife of postmaster, Oscar T. Davis (1894-1963), and Joseph Charles Wieder (1905-1990), who married Lelia Cox (1911-1970) of Biloxi. J.C. Wieder was a plumber and superintendent of the Ocean Springs Municipal Water Department. (The Daily Herald, September 19, 1960, p. 2 and The Ocean Springs Record, June 28, 1990, p. 3)

 

SOPHIE ENDT

Sophie Endt (1875-1882) was born July 4, 1875. She died on October 25, 1882. Her corporal remains were placed in the Bellande Cemetery on Dewey Avenue. No further information. (Lepre, 1991, p. 103)

 

HELENA MARIE ENDT

Helena Marie "Ella" Endt (1877-1957) was born September 7, 1877. As a young lady she relocated to New Orleans and took employment with the Cumberland Telephone Company as an operator. At New Orleans on December 31, 1903, Ella married Charles R. Thomas (1888-1949), the son of George Washington Thomas (1854-1932) and Laura Lavinia Sutton (1853-ca 1877). G.W. Thomas was a native of Jasper County, Mississippi and arrived in Ocean Springs circa 1876. Like his father, Charles L. Thomas worked for the L&N Railroad. (Lepre, 1991, p. 103, The Biloxi Daily Herald, January 4, 1904, p. 8, and The History of JXCO, Ms., 1989, p. 367)

   

Ella and Charles Thomas were the parents of Marie T. Hardaway (1911-1995), the spouse of Harold H. Hardaway of Detroit, Michigan. The Thomas family resided at present day 503 Porter, the original Endt family homestead, which Ella had inherited from her mother, Theresa Herman Endt (1839-1914), upon her demise. Mrs. Thomas legated her home to her daughter, Marie T. Hardaway. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 42, p. 423 and JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 14,133-July 1959)

    

In January 1967, Mrs. Hardaway, a resident of Detroit, Michigan, sold the Endt familial home to Adam "Frenchie" Bourgeois (1914-1987). The consideration was $12,500. Here Mr. Bourgeois, a native of Raceland, Louisiana, opened a restaurant, "Frenchie’s Fine Foods". The Bangkok House, a Thai restaurant, occupies this structure today. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 304, p. 7)

    

Upon death, both Mr. and Mrs. Thomas corporal remains were interred in the Thomas plot in the Bellande Cemetery on Dewey Avenue. (The Daily Herald, December 20, 1957, p. 2 and June 13, 1960, p. 2)

 

Rosalie T. Endt Catchot (1872-1959)

[courtesy of Rose Catchot Harmon]

 

ROSALIE THERESA ENDT

Rosalie "Rosie or Rosa" Endt (1872-1959) was born February 23, 1872.  At New Orleans on April 21, 1897, she married a widower, Joseph A. Catchot (1861-1927), the son of Arnaud Catchot (1836-1910) and Adele Ryan (1844-pre 1880). Their children were: Joseph E. J. Catchot (1897-1984) married Alice Perret; Charles Emmett Catchot (1899-1985) married Alma Dick (1901-1969); Angus A. Catchot (ca 1902-ca 1912); Marion Catchot (1904-1992) married Howard F. Beaugez (1906-1975); Anthony Felix "Tony" Catchot (1907-1996) married Euta A. Redding (1914-1988); and Lloyd H. Catchot (1912-1995) married Ida M. Railey (1910-1996).

    

Joseph A. Catchot made his livelihood as a bridge foreman for the L&N Railroad at New Orleans. He was born at Pascagoula and had married Ella Clark. She bore him five daughters: Florence C. O’Rourke (1881), Agnes C. Cordonia (1884), Lelina C. Conrad (1887-1960), Mary Margaret "May" C. Gebbia (b. 1890), and Virginia "Lizzie" O’Rourke (b. 1892). The family moved to Ocean Springs in 1914, from Touro Street. In 1900, Joseph and Rosa Catchot were domiciled on Frenchman Street in the Crescent City. (1900 Federal Census-Orleans Parish, La. T623R572, p. 297 and 1910 Federal Census-Orleans Parish, La. T624R521, p. 60B)

 

MARIA MATHILDA ENDT

Maria Mathilda "Tillie" Endt (1873-1964) was born in New Orleans on September 23, 1873. In December 1900, she married Joseph A. Wieder (1877-1960). He was the son of German immigrants Gregoire Wieder (1849-1899), a native of Alsace, and Dora Armbruster Wieder (1848-1924), who was born in Wurtemburg. Joseph A. Wieder made his livelihood as a carpenter and house contractor. (Lepre, 1991, p. 103 and JXCO, Ms. MRB 7, p. 128)

  

Tillie and Joe Wieder were the parents of two children: Celia W. Davis (1902-1956), the wife of postmaster, Oscar T. Davis (1894-1963), and Joseph Charles Wieder (1905-1990), who married Lelia Cox (1911-1970) of Biloxi. J.C. Wieder was a plumber and superintendent of the Ocean Springs Municipal Water Department. (The Daily Herald, September 19, 1960, p. 2 and The Ocean Springs Record, June 28, 1990, p. 3)

 

SOPHIE ENDT

Sophie Endt (1875-1882) was born July 4, 1875. She died on October 25, 1882. Her corporal remains were placed in the Bellande Cemetery on Dewey Avenue. No further information. (Lepre, 1991, p. 103)

 

HELENA MARIE ENDT

Helena Marie "Ella" Endt (1877-1957) was born September 7, 1877. As a young lady she relocated to New Orleans and took employment with the Cumberland Telephone Company as an operator. In late December1903, Ella married Charles R. Thomas (1888-1949), the son of George Washington Thomas (1854-1932) and Laura Lavinia Sutton (1853-ca 1877). G.W. Thomas was a native of Jasper County, Mississippi and arrived in Ocean Springs circa 1876. Like his father, Charles L. Thomas worked for the L&N Railroad. (Lepre, 1991, p. 103, The Biloxi Daily Herald, January 4, 1904, p. 8, and The History of JXCO, Ms., 1989, p. 367)

     

Ella and Charles Thomas were the parents of Marie T. Hardaway (1911-1995), the spouse of Harold H. Hardaway of Detroit, Michigan. The Thomas family resided at present day 503 Porter, the original Endt family homestead, which Ella had inherited from her mother, Theresa Herman Endt (1839-1914), upon her demise. Mrs. Thomas legated her home to her daughter, Marie T. Hardaway. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 42, p. 423 and JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 14,133-July 1959)

    

In January 1967, Mrs. Hardaway, a resident of Detroit, Michigan, sold the Endt familial home to Adam "Frenchie" Bourgeois (1914-1987). The consideration was $12,500. Here Mr. Bourgeois, a native of Raceland, Louisiana, opened a restaurant, "Frenchie’s Fine Foods". The Bangkok House, a Thai restaurant, occupies this structure today. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 304, p. 7)

     

Upon death, both Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were interred in the Thomas plot in the Bellande Cemetery on Dewey Avenue. (The Daily Herald, December 20, 1957, p. 2 and June 13, 1960, p. 2)

 

REFERENCES:

 

The History of Jackson County, Mississippi, "George Washington Thomas", (Jackson County Genealogical Society: Pascagoula, Mississippi-1989).
 

Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 3434, "The Last Will of Theresa Endt"-1916.
Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 14133, "The Last Will of Ella Thomas"-July 1959.

 

Journals

The Biloxi Daily Herald, "City News", January 2, 1904.
The Daily Herald,The Daily Herald, "Ocean Springs", May 3, 1927.
The Daily Herald, "Dale-Endt", March 7, 1929.
The Daily Herald, "Mrs. Endt Dies", December 26, 1931.
The Daily Herald, "Helena Endt Thomas", February 20, 1957.
The Daily Herald, "Charles L. Thomas", June 13, 1960.
The Daily Herald, "Joseph A. Wieder", September 19, 1960.
The Daily Herald, "Mrs. Mathilda Wieder", April 6, 1964.
The Daily Herald, "Mrs. Lelia Wieder", December 26, 1970.
The Gulf Coast Times, "W.S. Davidson Dies At Biloxi Hospital Wed.", December 1, 1950.
The Jackson County Times, "Local News Interests", January 17, 1920.
The Jackson County Times, "Dale Motor Has Modern Garage", June 12, 1926.
The Jackson County Times, "Local and Personal", August 11, 1928.
The Jackson County Times, "Crysell Fatally Injured in Railroad Accident on L&N", April 21, 1934.
The Jackson County Times, "Nelson-Endt", November 21, 1936.
The Jackson County Times, "Endt Services Are Held Here", July 16, 1948.
The Mississippi Press, "Ruth Clark Seymour Endt", May 12, 2000.
The Ocean Springs News, "Mrs. Theresa Endt", June 20, 1914.
The Ocean Springs News, "Alvin Endt", April 22, 1965.
The Ocean Springs Record, "Albert Anthony Endt", April 8, 1982.
The Ocean Springs Record, "Joseph Charles Wieder", June 28, 1990.
The Sun Herald, "Henry J. Endt Sr.", September 28, 1989.
The Sun Herald, "Maude Rebecca Endt", April 1, 2000.
The Sun Herald, "Bettie Boyd Endt", October 2, 1999.
The Sun Herald, "Alvin Endt", June 22, 2016.

 

Personal Communication:

Alice "Deets" Davidson Hire, February 23, 2002.

 

 

 

John R. Eglin 
John Reynaut Eglin (1879-1946) was born May 8, 1879. He never married and worked in the Eglin family mercantile and livestock business. In March 1927, the grocery store of John Eglin and the meat market of Charles Eglin, his brother, were united under a single, new roof, when local contractor, Frank Galle, remodeled their respective structures. A partition wall separated the two stores, but an interior door allowed customer access to both. The grocery store benefited as additional floor space was gained in the refurbishment. ( Lepre, 1991, p. 101 and The Jackson County Times, March 27, 1927)

 

East Ocean Springs residence
John R. Eglin owned and resided on a 20-acre tract of land in the old Shannondale Farm area, of eastern Ocean Springs, which the Fort Bayou Estates Subdivision is now situated. He acquired this parcel in the SW/4 of Section 21, T7S-R8W in November 1917, from A.C. Fraser. In March 1946, H.H. Hayden acquired the Eglin place from C.Z. Dickson. ( JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 45, p. 115 and Bk. 93, pp. 4-5)

Harry H. Hayden (1881-1954) was a native of New Harmony, Indiana. He married Nell Jones (1880-1945), also from New Harmony, and the daughter of Douglas Jones and Katharine Hurgate. They were the parents of two sons, John Douglas Hayden (1918-1998) of Ocean Springs and Henry Vincent Hayden (1904-1969) of Savannah, Georgia, and a daughter, Mrs. A.F. Green of Brooksville, Mississippi. In 1940, Mr. Hayden had come to Ocean Springs from northern Mississippi probably Noxubee County. He made his livelihood at Ocean Springs in real estate and banking. The Haydens also raised chickens. (The Daily Herald, December 20, 1954, p. 16 and Earl Taylor, May 2002)

The old Eglin place is now owned by James B. Martin who acquired the Hayden’s property in August 1977. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 608, p. 270)

John R. Eglin expired at the country home of his brother, Charles W. Eglin, on August 4, 1946. His funeral was held from the Bowen Avenue domicile of Eugenia Z. "Mallie" Eglin Armstrong (1877-1962), his sister. Internment was in the Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou. (The Jackson County Times, August 10, 1946, p. 1)

Annie O. Eglin
Annie Olivia Eglin (1881-1963) was born March 26, 1881. She was educated in local schools and upon completion of her studies became employed in August 1900, at the telephone exchange above Nill's Drugstore, which was situated on the northwest corner of Washington and Porter. By 1902, Miss Eglin had taken a position as a schoolteacher at the Dogwood Point School in the Larue Community north of Ocean Springs. She boarded with Jessie L. McDaniels (1865-1951) and Ansteen Hanson McDaniels (1870-1960) who resided at the Hanson place in present day Gulf Hills. Mr. McDaniels had come from Cobden, Illinois to work on the Earle Farm (later Rose Farm). In September 1904, Annie went to Pascagoula to take teachers’ examination. She passed and planned to teach the winter term. (Lepre, 1991, p. 101, The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, May 23, 1902, The Progress, September 3, 1904, p. 5)

 

Banking
In 1909, Annie O. Eglin departed Ocean Springs to attend a business college in Mobile. After a few years with a local drugstore, she began a career circa 1911 in commercial banking with the Ocean Springs State Bank. By 1920, Annie Eglin was the assistant cashier of the bank and would serve as cashier for many decades retiring as vice-president in 1954, when the Pascagoula-Moss Point Bank bought out the Ocean Springs State Bank. (The Ocean Springs News,February 6, 1909 and March 7, 1963, p. 1)

The Eglin House
In June 1917, Annie O. Eglin purchased the Eglin House on Washington Avenue from the Heirs of Amelia Eglin who had died in May 1916. During her many years as proprietor of the Eglin House, Annie Eglin always resided here. It had a "homey" atmosphere and was very comfortable in the winter with its steam heat. There was a porch swing and rocking chairs. Several of the older, widowed, ladies lived here and would enjoy their time in idle conversation on the large gallery. In addition to the seven "tourist" rooms as they were called, there were also five apartments. Permanent guests resided in the apartments. Some of these long-term boarders were: Chester McPhearson (1883-1969), M. Catherine Hale Sousley (1891-1975), James and Marie I. Farley (1903-1977), Erica Carson and Mrs. Riley. Several single schoolteachers also lived at the Eglin House throughout the years. Elsie Seymour Ryan (1905-1989) worked for Miss Eglin as a cook and housekeeper from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 43, p. 608,The Daily Herald, September 22, 1964, p. 1, Dot Eglin Dees McKinnon, and Elaine Ryan Miller-September 1993,

Eulogy Annie Olivia Eglin expired at her tourist home at 635 Washington Avenue in early March 1963.
Kay Casson (1916-1988) writer for The Ocean Springs News, eulogized Miss Eglin as follows:

Miss Annie was one of our first contacts when we started coming down here during vacation periods the past ten years. We always engaged a room there. Nice and quite….beautiful period furniture and a charming, witty hostess, who took a keen interest in the area. Her interest in people never reached the stage where it could be termed "gossip" for Miss Annie wasn’t put together that way. She loved people for what they were. She never had time to search for the gossip side of the fence. She never married but she loved children. We used to look at Annie and wonder how she looked as a young lady. Have always been fascinated by "old maids" for they present a challenge for the average male. No doubt she was very beautiful. They say she had one real romance got engaged but it never materialized into matrimony. Apparently the scars were not too deep for she led a full life and will be remembered as one of the "doers" in the history of the town. The fact that she kept her daily routine close to the deep-rooted live oaks that faced her doorway for 82 years was in itself a remarkable event in a town where high transient living is the order of the day. Miss Annie has passed from the daily scene on Washington Avenue but the live oaks fronting the comfortable old home will remain as sentinels-a reminder of a quiet little lady who played a very important part in this town we call Ocean Springs. (The Ocean Springs News, March 7, 1963, p. 1)

The Fire
After Miss Annie Eglin's demise in 1963, the Eglin House was struck by catastrophe. In the early morning hours of September 22, 1964, a fire commenced in the roof of the building. Fire fighters from Ocean Springs and Biloxi responded to the alarm. With a valiant effort, they kept the fire contained to the second floor. Several residents on the upper level were stranded and had to be rescued by ladder. Unfortunately one elderly resident, Mr. James E. Farley (1880-1964), lost his life in the conflagration. The upper level of the Eglin House was completely destroyed by the fire. The first floor suffered heat and water damage. The loss to the Eglin heirs was estimated at $50,000. (The Ocean Springs News, October 1, 1964, p. 1 and The Ocean Springs News, October 1, 1964, p. 1)

Demolition-Villa Maria
After the fire, Clarence Galle (1912-1986) remodeled the Eglin House removing the upper story and reconfiguring the ground floor space for commercial rentals. Mr. Gallet demolished the old structure in January 1968. Thusly, closing the final chapter in the fifty plus year life of one of Washington Avenues most historic and architectural treasures. Realtor, J.K. Lemon (1914-1998), purchased the vacant lot from Don Y. Eglin and the other Eglin heirs in April 1968. Mr. Lemon then sold the property to the Catholic Charities Housing Association of Biloxi in February 1970. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 333, p. 23 and JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 371, p. 502 and Lex Eglin, September 16, 2003)

The Roman Catholic Church built the Villa Maria retirement home on a portion of the former Eglin House site in 1970-1971. The dedication ceremonies for the $3.5 million structure were held November 28, 1971. (The Ocean Springs Record, December 2, 1971, p. 1)

Charles W. Eglin
Charles William Eglin (1883-1966) was born October 26, 1882. He made his livelihood as a butcher and market proprietor. Mr. Eglin married Susan Carco (1884-1921), the daughter of Eugene Carco (1830-1900) and Anna Carter (1860-1927) on February 6, 1906. (Lepre, 1991, p. 101 and JXCO, Ms. MRB 8, p. 15)

Charles W. Eglin and Susan C. Eglin were the parents of: Alma Eglin Hosey Garlick (1907-1996) who married W.H. "Duke" Hosey in February 1927 and Nicholas Garlick (1915-1986) in 1943; Don Y. Eglin (1908-1986) who married Alma Louise Ryan (1910-1998); Charles W. Eglin Jr. (1917-2002) married Irene?; and Dorothy Eglin Dees McKinnon (b. 1919) who married Joseph P. Dees (1910-1946) and Joseph M. McKinnon (1915-1980). (The Daily Herald, February 22, 1927, p. 2 and JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 6766-November 1942)

 

Eglin bungalow 
In late October 1917, the Eglin family began a transformation of their Washington Avenue property. The Eglin meat market was demolished in order that a new residence could be built for Charles Eglin and family. The Eglin restaurant was converted to a meat market and moved to the Knights of Pythias lot, which was about 65 feet south from its original location. G.N. Tillman (1872-1925) then commenced a craftsman bungalow for Charles Eglin, which was completed around Thanksgiving 1917. (The Jackson County Times, October 27, 1917 and November 24, 1917) The Charles Eglin bungalow was used as a rental when Mr. Eglin moved in the 1940s, to the Fort Bayou Community, now misnamed St. Martin by uniformed politicians and County officials. It was demolished circa 1966, by Clarence Galle (1912-1986). (Larry Galle and Lex Eglin, September 16, 2003)

Eglin country home
In August 1925, Charles W. Eglin began acquiring land in the Fort Bayou Community in the NE/4 of Section 9, T7S-R8W, when Raymond Garlotte sold him five acres. A large parcel of sixty-acres was bought in January 1932 from H.F. Russell (1858-1940), which was also situated in the NE/4 of Section 9, T7S-R8W. Mr. Eglin extended his Fort Bayou acreage into the NW/4 of Section 10, T7S-R8W in September 1940, with a10-acre acquisition from, Everett Byrd. The consideration was $500. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 57, pp. 522-523; Bk. 88, pp. 476-477; and Bk. 66, pp. 466-467) Here in the SW/4 of the NW/4 of Section 10, T7S-R8W, Mr. Eglin built a simple country home where he raised cattle, sheep, and other common farm animals. Before he retired permanently to the Fort Bayou Community, Mr. Eglin would leave his Washington Avenue meat market each evening a drive to his "farm", which was situated on the east side of Eglin Road, named for him, which runs north-south on the section line between Section 9 and Section 10 of T7S-R8W. Several years after Mr. Eglin’s death, his son, Lex Eglin, demolished the place. (Dot Eglin D. McKinnon, September 16, 2003)

 

Gertie Galle
After the untimely death of his wife, in January 1921, Charles W. Eglin married Gertrude "Gertie" Galle (1899-1951), in October 1925. Miss Galle was the daughter of Frank E. Galle (1877-1934) and Jesse Bird (1880-1942). They had two sons, Thomas Albert Eglin (1926-1942) and Alexis H. Eglin (b. 1929). Alexis H. Eglin married Treva Bauman (b. 1934), the daughter of Manuel Bauman (1904-1973) and Emma Mae King (1906-1988). (JXCO, Ms. MRB 17, p. 57)

Thomas A. Eglin was killed in an accident at the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation boatyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi in late October 1942, while employed as an inventory and control clerk, or steel checker, for an operating crane. He had been employed here for only five months. The Eglin family received $8000 for his accidental death from the corporation. (The Jackson County Times, October 31, 1942, p. 1 and JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 6924-August 1943)

Mrs. Gertie Eglin died at Biloxi on May 14, 1951. Her corporal remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery. Circa 1941, Charles W. Eglin retired to his farm north of Old Fort Bayou on Eglin Road, south of Fort Bayou Road. He lived here until late June 1966, when he met death in Howard Memorial Hospital in Biloxi. (The Daily Herald, May 14, 1951, p. 3 and The Daily Herald, June 24, 1966, p. 2)

Eglin Cleaners
In the late 1940s, Charles W. Eglin Jr. (1917-2002) opened a dry cleaning service on the east side of Jackson Avenue between Porter and Desoto. He advertised his enterprise with this slogan-"Work called for and Delivered-Prompt Service". After several years, Mr. Eglin and his spouse closed the business and relocated to her natal State, New York. After their careers had ended, the Eglins retired to Florida. It is believed that Malcolm F. "Bud" Hodges (b. 1928) acquired the dry cleaning business from Charles W. Eglin Jr. (The Jackson County Times, May 24, 1947, p. 8 and Dot Eglin D. McKinnon, September 16, 2003)

 

Eulalie M. Busbee 
Eulalie Marie "Lillie" Eglin (1885-1971) was born January 8, 1885. She married James Busbee of Mobile, Alabama on November 12, 1907. They had three sons born in Alabama: Wilbur J. Busbee (1909-1991); Carl Busbee (1910-1987); and Everett Eglin or Elkin Busbee (1912-1987) married five times: married Gladys McGinty, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B.S. McGinty on July 21, 1951; married about 1961, Rena C. Broussard (1924-1997), who was born at Youngsville, Louisiana. Worked at the Post Office and retired. Mrs. Busbee expired in early November 1971. Her remains were interred at Fort Worth, Texas. No further information. (Lepre, 1991, p. 101, JXCO, Ms. MRB 8, p. 428 and The Ocean Springs Record, November 8, 1971, p. 3 and The Daily Herald, July 23, 1951, p. 2)

 

Verna O. Eglin
Verna Orelia Eglin (1886-1886) was born February 19, 1886. She died on October 1, 1886. (Lepre, 1989, p. 47 and Lepre, 1991, p. 102)

 

Thomas A. Eglin
Thomas Anthony Eglin (1887-1914) was born December 19, 1887. He was employed as a flagman on L&N Train No. 38, better known as the New York Limited. He was killed by bandits who robbed the conductor and baggage man for less than $20 on July 17, 1914. The armed robbery took place on the eastern outskirts of New Orleans. Mr. Eglin’s corporal remains were interred in the Bellande Cemetery at Ocean Springs. Thomas A. Eglin was a bachelor. (Lepre, 1991, p. 102 and The Ocean Springs News, July 18, 1914, p. 1)

 

 

  Charles Augustus Forkert (1854-1928), a Prussian, was born May 11, 1854 in Germany.  He married Margaretha Roth (1844-1937), the widow of George Haas.  She had three children: Robert Haas (1866-1935), Antoinette H. Veillon (1869- 953), and George Haas (1873-1940).(The Jackson County Times, May 15, 1937) Mr. Forkert was forty-seven years of age before he began experimenting with pecan propagation at Ocean Springs.  Before arriving here from New Orleans where he was the gardener in the Horticultural Hall at the 1885 World Cotton Centennial Exposition, Forkert had roamed America from Massachusetts to Texas.(The Jackson County Times, July 28, 1928, p. 1)

Quality Trees of Select Varieties Trees grafted with wood from bearing orchard, which assures early bearing trees and guarantees genuineness of variety.

                                                                                                               Write for Price List to C. FORKERT

                                                                                                         Bay View Pecan Nursery Ocean Springs, Miss.

(The Ocean Springs News, November 4, 1915, p. 3)
 

 

 

 

 

I.H. Bass Nursery Company
     In February 1920, for $3250 and three years, Mr. Forkert leased his lands and all nursery stock, pecans, and satsuma oranges to I.H. Bass Nursery Company of Lumberton, Mississippi.  In April 1920, Bass negotiated a lease with Mrs. W.R. Stuart (1840-1925) for a one-half acre tract of land in Section 29, T7S-R8W.(JXCO Land Deed Bk. 47, p. 581 and
Bk. 48, pp. 94-95)

      I.H. Bass was one of the largest nurseries in Mississippi and had planned to have a permanent facility here.  Bass closed their operations at Ocean Springs in January 1923.  Local manager, Charles R. Maxwell (1891-1967), was transferred to Lumberton.(The Jackson County Times, February 3, 1923) 

Schluter Park
     In April 1923, several years before his demise on July 21, 1928, Charles A. Forkert sold his nursery and pecan lands to his step-daughter, Antoinette Haas Veillon, the spouse of Alceide Veillon (1862-1949).  She conveyed them to a German immigrant, Reinhold W. Schluter (1890-1966), in January 1935 for $6500.(JXCO Land Deed Bk. 53, p. 27 and Bk. 66, pp.
550-552) In 1952, Mr. Schluter platted his pecan lands along Kensington Drive as the Schluter Park Subdivision.  He established the Schluter Educational Trust to provide scholarships for selected students of Ocean Springs high schools.(Schmidt, 1972, p. 130)

Alceide Veillon
     After Charles A. Forkert died intestate in 1928, he left an estate valued at more than $15,000, primarily in bonds. It is alleged that Alceide Veillon destroyed his experimental agricultural data rather than provide it to government researchers who were interested in his work on pecans.(JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 5084 and No. 9009). Circa 1923, Mr. Veillon had married Antoinette Hass.  They built a cottage at present day 300 Ward Avenue, which sarcastically acquired the moniker, "the Veillon honeymoon cottage", since Miss Haas was believed doomed to spinsterhood by the local populous.  Alceide Veillon had come to Ocean Springs from New Orleans circa 1890.  At the time, he was married to Henrietta "Cora" Hyde (1863-1920), a native of Vermont, and relative of Mrs. F.M. Weed, a former Mayor of Ocean Springs.  They married circa 1885, probably at New Orleans.  Veillon made his livelihood as a hack driver (1900), meat market operator on Washington Avenue (1910), and later he ran a billiard hall in the old Lundy Building on the southeast corner of Washington and Government. When Charles Forkert died in 1928, it is alleged that Veillon destroyed his experimental agricultural data rather than provide it to government researchers who were interested in his work on pecans.  Alceide and Nette Veillon inherited the Forkert place which was located near Dr. Furr's residence on Kensington Avenue.  They moved to the Forkert house probably in the late 1920s. In April 1994, the Veillon Cottage on Ward Avenue was bought from Duke Sutherland by Naomi Fields, a former nurse from West Virginia.  Mrs. Fields has operated a bed and breakfast establishment here, called the Magnolia House.(JXCO, Ms. Bk.1037, p. 586)

     Alceide and Nette Veillon inherited the Forkert place, which was located near Dr. Richard Furr's residence on Warren Drive.  They moved to the Forkert house probably in the late 1920s.  In 1999, Henry H. Furr, local architect, designed and commenced the erection of his home at 1600 Warren Drive, very near the site of the remains of the old Forkert place.  It is believed that the Forkert place burned to the ground in the 1950s.  
 

 

REFERENCES:
 

                                                                                                                                            Chancery Court

JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 5084, "The Estate of Charles Forkert", August 1928.
JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 9009, "The Last Will of Margaretha Forkert",
 

 

                                                                                                                                                 Journals

The Daily Herald, "Peaches and Grapes", July 29, 1926.
The Jackson County Times, "Local and Personal", February 3, 1923.
The Jackson County Times, "Pioneer Pecan Grower Died Saturday, July 21",July 28, 1928.
The Jackson County Times, "Mrs. Margaret Forkert", May 15, 1937.
The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", February 7, 1914.
The Ocean Springs News," C. Forkert- Bay View Pecan Nursery", November 4, 1915.
The Progress, October 14, 1904.
The Progress, "C. Forkert", December 24, 1904.
 

 

 Peter Geiger (1858-1923) was a German immigrant.  He married Lillie Franco (1863-1905) in November 1887.  She was the daughter of Antonio Franco (1834-1891), a Portuguese immigrant, and Jane Rodriguez (1844-1915).  Lillie Franco was reared on the banks of Fort Bayou at Washington Avenue where her father operated a ferry service.  

     Peter Geiger came to Ocean Springs in 1876, probably from New Orleans. From 1881 until 1898, he was employed by a firm of construction contractors.  He served as Alderman of Ward 2 (1903-1904).  Geiger became employed with the L&N RR in 1906, as foreman of the bridge gang. After the demise of his wife, Peter Geiger married Zetta Williams Hamett, on June 9, 1906, in Harrison County, Mississippi.  She may have been a native of Mobile.  Geiger discovered that she was a bigamist and still the wife of Edward E. Hamett Jr. of Rochester, New York.  They separated in March 1908, and their marriage was declared null and void in the Chancery Court of Jackson County, Mississippi on September 23, 1909.(Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 1739)  

     Peter Geiger then married Philum ? (1884-1920+), a native of Alabama. Her father was Spanish and mother, French.(Federal Census 1920-Jackson County, Mississippi) 

     Mr. Geiger was employed by the railroad until his health began to fail in 1921, the result of being struck on the head by a heavy timber in prior years.  He tended the Fort Bayou bridge until his demise on February 9, 1923.(The Daily Herald, February 13, 1923) 

     Peter Geiger, Lillie Franco Geiger, and Mary Geiger (1825-1890), probably Peter's mother, are interred in the Geiger Plot at the Evergreen Cemetery.
 

REFERENCES:

Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court cause No. 1739, "Mrs. Zetta Williams Geiger v. Peter Geiger", September 1908.
.
                                                                                         Journals
The Biloxi Herald, "Ocean Springs", January 2, 1892.
The Biloxi Daily Herald, "Local News", September 2, 1898, p. 8, c. 1.
The Daily Herald, "Ocean Springs", February 13, 1923, p. 3, c. 5.
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Ocean Springs Locals", June 17, 1898.
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Ocean Springs Locals", August 27, 1897.
The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, "Ocean Springs Locals", August 19, 1898.

 

Daniel Goos
     Daniel Goss (1815-1870+), a Dane, and his Bavarian born spouse, Katharina B. Goos (1829-1870+) had come to Ocean Springs with their three children, Daniel Goos Jr. (1847-1870+), Barbara Goos (1848-1860+), and Ellen Goos (1849- 860+), after a short residency at Biloxi.  On February 27, 1850, they had acquired in Biloxi, from Louise Alexandrine Leocade Hatrel Fourchy and Alexandre Fourchy of New Orleans for $2500, the property at present day 138 Magnolia Street.  The Creole Cottage now situated here is known as Mary Mahoney's Old French House.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 5, p. 256)  In January 1851, the Goos family sold their Biloxi residence to Samuel Friedlander of New Orleans and moved to Ocean Springs.  The selling price at this time was $5000.  It would appear the Biloxi home was builtby Goos and sold to Friedlander.  Basis for this postulation is the doubling of the property value and that Kendall brick was used in its construction.  The Kendall Brickyard existed from 1849-1854 at Back Bay, now D'Iberville.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 5, pp. 480-481)

     At Ocean Springs on Washington Avenue, Daniel Goos invested his money in the mercantile business as he advertised in The Ocean Springs Gazette of March 24, 1855, as follows:  

D. Goos, Dry Goods and Produce MerchantKeep constantly on hand a large and well selected assortment of dry goods, groceries, tin ware, crockery, hardware, cutlery, medicines, boots, shoes, clothing, (several items illegible), carpenter's tools, school and blank books, saddles,  bridles, trunks,etc.  The above assortment will be sold at New Orleans prices. (March 3, 1855, p. 4)  

     Daniel Goos also owned land and probably resided in the present day Alto Park area of Ocean Springs, which is now bounded by General Pershing, Kensington, and Ward.  General Pershing Avenue was called Goos Avenue until its German sounding name came into disfavor during the years of World War I (1914-1918).  It was only logical to replace this Teutonic nomenclature with that of the American general from Missouri who led our American Expeditionary Force in Europe during the Great War, General John Joseph Pershing (1860-1948).  At Ocean Springs, three Goos children were born: Rosalie Goos (1851-1860+), Emma Goos (1853-1860+), and Fredericka Goos (1855-1860+).(1860 Federal Census-Calcasieu Parish, La. M653R409, p. 240)  

Lake Charles 

     In late 1855 or 1856, the Goos family relocated to Lake Charles, Louisiana.  Here Mr. Goos made his livelihood as a lawyer and sawmill owner.  In 1860, he had a net worth of $28,000.  Eight additional children were born to the couple in Louisiana: Georgiana Goos (1856-1870+), Christian Goos (1857-1870+), Catherine Goos (1859-1860+), Delphine Goos (1860-1870+), Frederick Goos (1863-1870+), Walter Goos (1865-1870+), Albert Goos (1867-1870+), and Marie Goos (1869-1870+).  By 1870, Mrs. Goos had delivered fourteen children into the world.  At this time, Daniel Goos' next worth had decreased to only $25,000, indicating that the family had survived the Civil War in relative good economic order.  Also Daniel Goos was employed as a machinist.(1860 Federal Census-Calcasieu Parish, La. M653R409, p. 240 and 1870 Federal Census-Calcasieu Parish, La.)  

     It is interesting to note in the Social Security Death Index that an Albert Goos (1889-1953), Walter Goos (1901-1977), and Daniel W. Goos (1930-1998) expired in Calcasieu Parish, indicating a high degree of certitude that they were descendants of Daniel and Katherine Goos.  
     No further information.

HANS  HEINRICH  GOTTSCHE

Hans H. “Henry” Gottsche (ca 1850-pre 1883) and Christina Switzer (ca 1852-pre 1896), both German immigrants, were the progenitors of the Gottsche family at Ocean Springs.  I have seen the Gottsche name spelled Goettche in local journals.  Henry and Christina were the parents of two children: Albert Cecil Gottsche (1873-1949) and Henry B. Gottsche (1875-1905).  From the birth of their children, and County land records, it appears with a high degree of certitude that the Gottsche family settled at Ocean Springs before September 1873.(The Biloxi Daily Herald, January 3, 1892, p.4)

In 1875, H.H. Gottsche owned part of Lot 14, Block 27 (Culmseig Map of 1854).  This is the year from which most land deed records for Jackson County, Mississippi are extant, as most prior land records of the county were destroyed by several conflagrations since its commencement in 1811.  The last Chancery Court record damaging fire occurred in March 1875.(The History of JXCO, Ms., 1989, p. 12)

By 1879, the Gottshe's had a house on their partial Lot 14-Block 27, which was situated on the southwest corner of Desoto and Washington Avenue.  The lot had 35 feet on Washington Avenue and was 200 feet deep along Desoto Avenue.  It would be the future site of the Albert C. Gottsche store and warehouse.  The U.S. Post Office was located here for many years when Thomas I. Keys (1861-1931), a Republican, was the postmaster and proprietor of a small store.  It appears that Mr. Keys must have had a lease from the Gottsche family as he occupied the site until the A.C. Gottsche Store was built here in 1912.  Mr. Keys relocated his business to the northeast corner of Cash Alley and Desoto.(Ocean Springs-1915, p. 48)

Cynthia 'Cinnie' Davis Maxwell (1869-1951) Gottsche and Albert C. Gottsche (1873-1949)

[Courtesy of Jack Gottsche]

Albert C. Gottsche

Albert C. Gottsche (1873-1949) was born on September 23, 1873, at Ocean Springs.  On September 30, 1896, he married Cynthia “Cinnie” Davis Maxwell, the daughter of George Washington Davis (1842-1914) and Margaret Bradford (1846-1920).  At the time, Albert C. Gottsche was a salesman in the Davis Brothers Store, mercantile business owned jointly by Cinnie’s father and uncle, Elias Samuel Davis (1859-1925).  Albert and Cinnie Davis Gottsche had one son, Albert Lynd Gottsche Sr. (1902-1974). 

A young Albert C. Gottsche had been educated in the Ocean Springs public school system.  Among his teachers were D.D. Cowan (1850-1929), who taught him bookkeeping, and Professor Q.D. Sauls (1870-1909+).  Both of these gentlemen raised the level of education here at the turn of the 19^th Century.(The Gulf Coast Times, November 4, 1949, p. 1)

Albert C. Gottsche, Cinnie Gottsche, and A. Lynd Gottsche?

[Courtesy of Jack Gottsche]

Cynthia D. Maxwell Gottsche

Cynthia “Cinnie” Davis (1869-1951) was born October 13, 1869 in the present day area popularly called Gulf Hills, north of Old Fort Bayou.  She grew up along Bluff Creek in Vancleave and in her senior years could reminiscence of her childhood acquaintance with the captain’s of trading schooners that loaded charcoal for New Orleans and of the families return to Ocean Springs in an ox cart with the store safe and their personal possessions.(The Gulf Coast Times, November 11, 1949, p. 7)

Cinnie Davis had married James S. Maxwell at Ocean Springs on August 4, 1887.  They had three sons: George Davis Maxwell (1888-1951), Charles Richmond Maxwell (1891-1967), and Karl Case Maxwell (1893-1958).  The Maxwell marriage ended in a divorce suit on August 16, 1895.(JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 647, July 1895)  

Gottsche Store

Albert Cecil Gottsche resigned from the Davis Brothers Store on October 1, 1910.  This is also the date that his father-in-law and senior partner of the firm, George W. Davis (1842-1914), retired.  The former Davis Brothers business continued on as E.S. Davis & Sons under the ownership of Elias S. Davis (1859-1925) in conjunction with his sons, Elliot Davis (1892-1936) and Oscar T. Davis (1894-1936).( The Ocean Springs News, September 10, 1910)

Mr. Gottsche started his own business in the A.J. Catchot Building on the southeast corner of Washington Avenue and Desoto.  It is called the Lemon Building today and is the oldest structure standing in the central business district of Old Ocean Springs having been erected in 1897.  For A.C. Gottsche, A.J. Catchot (1864-1954) improved his building in October 1910, with a new cement floor and walk.  The edifice was also painted inside and out for the new tenant.(The Ocean Springs News, October 22, 1910)

A.C. Gottsche got started with a feed and fertilizer operation.  In mid-October 1910, he received a carload of feed, and opened for business on a limited basis until the bulk of his stock arrived.  As business grew, Gottsche took a lease from the L&N Railroad and built a grain and hay warehouse on the railroad right-of-way near the stock pen.  It was completed in December 1910.(The Ocean Springs News, October 22, 1910 and The Jackson County Times, October 24, 1947)

By late October 1910, Albert Gottsche opened for business full time.  He ran the following advertisement in The Ocean Springs News of October 29, 1910:

Wholesale and retail dealer in FEED NOW OPEN  for business and respectfully solicits a share of your patronage. Try "Corno" the New Hen Feed Has Made a Hit with the Hens Telephone 56 Free Delivery

By August 1911, Mr. Gottsche had added an elegant new feature to his grocery store.  It was a refrigerator showcase.  It was believed to be the only one of its kind on the Mississippi coast.  Fruits, vegetables, and other perishables could be displayed while in cold storage.(The Ocean Springs News, August 26, 1911)

New building

The Gottsche Builing on the southwest corner of Washington and Desoto was completed in 1912, and the business moved across the street from the Catchot building.  A.C. Gottsche started with one helper, a delivery boy, and the loyal support of his wife.  From this austere start, he built a large and successful enterprise.(The Jackson County Times, November 2, 1935, p. 1)

Auto delivery

The Gottsche Store commenced delivering merchandise by motorcar in late December 1915.  Traditionally their two horse teams took an entire Saturday to complete deliveries.  The same work was accomplished by 2 p.m. utilizing the automobile.(The Ocean Springs News, January 6,1916, p. 5)

No flies

Believing that the customer desired fresh, high quality meat, Mr. Gottsche had sold meat in this venue for several years.  It proved so successful that in January 1916, he doubled the size of his meat market.  The market place was kept free of flies and other varmints.(The Ocean Springs News, January 20, 1916, p. 5)

Fire

The conflagration of November 21, 1919, was only a minor setback to Mr. Gottsche.  The firemen of Ocean Springs led by Fire Chief A.J. Catchot (1864-1954) did an outstanding job of containing the blaze.  The roof and upper floor of the structure were destroyed resulting in $4,000 in damages.  The Gottsche family lost all their household goods and furniture.  Initially, A.C. Gottsche planned to reopen for business in the old R.A. VanCleave Store building on the east side of Washington Avenue between Desoto and Robinson.  Instead, he moved took temporary quarters in the Russell Building pending insurance settlements and repairs to his structure on Washington and Desoto.(The Jackson County Times, November 22, 1919, p. 5 and November 29, 1919, p. 5)

“Thrifty Nifty”

In April 1926, A.C. Gottsche decided to change the modus operandi of his business to a self-serve or cash and carry operation.  This necessitated an addition to the existing store building.  He sponsored a community wide contest to select a new name for the operation.  The name "Thrifty Nifty" submitted by Natalie Marie Schully Benedict (1890-1975), the wife of Harry William Benedict (1889-1935), a New Orleans grain merchant, won the contest.  She was awarded a $15 gold piece for her creativity.  The old phone and delivery service was not interrupted, but continued under separate roof.  Gottsche's Thrifty Nifty opened on May 26, 1926.  Specials that week featured six bars of soap for $.25, bacon $.40 per pound, three cans of pork and beans for $.25, and butter $.47 per pound.  The Thrifty Nifty installed a Frigidaire plant in July 1926.  It did away with the necessity of icing the large meat refrigerators and will keep the meat at an even temperature.(The Jackson County Times, March 6, 1926, p. 5, April 3, 1926, p. 5, May 29, 1926,  and July 31, 1926, p. 5)

Albert Cecil Gottsche expired on March 17, 1949.  His wife, Cynthia Davis Maxwell Gottsche passed on September 18, 1951.  They both rest in eternal peace at the Evergreen Cemetery in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Karl C. Maxwell

After the demise of A.C. Gottsche, his stepson, Karl Case Maxwell (1893-1958), managed the Gottsche Store.  In the early 1920s, Mr. Maxwell and spouse, Nellie Myrtle Morris (1893-1970), had returned from New Orleans to work in the Gottsche Store.  Unfortunately, Mr. Maxwell met death accidentally on June 29, 1958, in an automobile car crash on US Highway 80, near Clinton, Mississippi.  Mrs. Dena Atkinson Talbott (1886-1958) of Ocean Springs, the mother of Mrs. Gerald Noble, of Fontainebleau, was also killed in the accident.(The Ocean Springs News, July 3, 1958, p. 1 and The Daily Herald, July 5, 1958, p. 2)

After Karl C. Maxwell’s death, the Gottsche Store remained open under the supervision of A. Lynd Gottsche.  In January 1959, Lynd Gottsche incorporated the business and became its first president.  He hired several managers, among them Jack Bosarge (1931-1999) and Claude Trahan (1920-1984).  In 1961, when the Gottsche store ceased operations, the fixtures in the building were sold to Curmis Broome (b. 1928), a former butcher in the Gottsche’s meat market, for his Broome’s new store, called Foodland, on Vermont, now M.L. King Jr.Avenue, and Government Street.(Jack Gottsche, December 17, 2002 and The Gulf Coast Times, January 15, 1959, p. 1)

 

A. Lynd Gottsche (1902-1974)

[Courtesy of John H. Gottsche]

Albert Lynd Gottsche

Albert Lynd Gottsche (1902-1974), called Lynd, was born at Ocean Springs, Mississippi on November 22, 1902.  He attended the local public school and matriculated to Mississippi A&M College where he studied electrical engineering, graduating with the Class of 1923.  In the summer of 1921, Lynd went to Fort Monroe, Virginia for six weeks of  R.O.T.C. training.(The Jackson County Times, June 18, 1921, p. 3)

 Departing Starkville, Mississippi, Lynd Gottsche was employed at Atlanta, Georgia with the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co.  He was transferred to South Bend, Indiana and came home for Christmas in 1924.  By October 1926, Lynd was at Tampa, Florida working in the organizations street lighting division.( Jack Gottsche, December 17, 2001 and The Jackson County Times, December 27, 1924, p. 3 and October 2, 1926)

John H. 'Jack' Gottsche (b. 1941) being inoculated after Hurricane Katrina

[Image by Ray L. Bellande, September 2005]

Lynd Gottsche married Mae Kettles (1907-2001), on March 31, 1928.  She was a native of Alberta Province, Canada and resident of Macon, Georgia.  Their children are: Albert Lynd Gottsche, Jr. (b. 1933) who married Patricia Field (b. 1939), the daughter of Alden W. Field (1900-1969) of Watervliet, Michigan and John H. “Jack” Gottsche (b. 1941) who married Myra Morelock (1942-2002).(The Jackson County Times, April 21, 1928 and November 11, 1933, p. 3)

Mr. Gottsche returned to Jackson County in 1932, and commenced a career in commercial banking at the Ocean Springs State Bank where he was a vice-president and cashier until July 1941.  At this time, Lynd Gottsche beacme cashier of the Frist National Bank of Biloxi.  He remained in banking at Biloxi until his retirement in late 1971.  Mr. Gottsche was inducted into the Rotary Club in November 1933, and became associated with the Ocean Springs State Bank in 1934.  In 1941, Lynd Gottsche became employed with the First National Bank of Biloxi becoming its president.  At retirement he was the executive vice president and a director of the First National Bank of Mississippi.(The Jackson County Times, November 11, 1933, p. 3, The Daily Herald, July 5, 1941, p. 7, The Ocean Springs News, April 25, 1957, p. 1 and The Daily Herald, January 22, 1974, p. 2)

Lynwood

The Lynd Gottsche family home, Lynwood, was erected in 1946, at present day 915 Ocean Avenue.  It is now owned by the Reverend Andy Wells of the First Presbyterian Church.  The floors and other wooden structural components of the house were built from salvaged materials from the H.F. Russell (1858-1940) home on Washington Avenue, which partially burned in February 1933.(J.K. Lemon, 1996)

Henry B. Gottsche (1875-1905)

Henry B. Gottsche

Henry B. Gottsche (1875-1905) was born at Ocean Springs in January 1875.  In 1900, he made his livelihood as a laborer on a bridge gang for the L&N Railroad.  Henry never married and took his own life in early February 1905 with a hand gun.  He went into the Davis Brothers Store on Washington Avenue and told Frank Bilbo, a clerk, that someone was trying to rob the store and borrowed his firearm.  Henry disappeared and was found dead in the loft of the Davis Brothers barn with a bullet hole in his right temple.  A coroner's inquest ruled that Gottsche's death was a suicide.(The Biloxi Daily Herald, February 3, 1905, p. 6)

 

REFERENCES:

The Biloxi Daily Herald, "Took the suicide route", February 3, 1905.

The Daily Herald, "Changes at State Bank", July 5, 1941.

The Gulf Coast Times, "Gottsche's-39 Years Faithful Service in Ocean Springs", November 4, 1949.

The Jackson County Times, "Local News Interests", November 22, 1918.

The Jackson County Times, "Local News Interests", November 29, 1919.

The Jackson County Times, "A.C. Gottsche Store Damaged By Fire", November 22, 1919.

The Jackson County Times, "A Card of Thanks", November 29, 1919.

The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, June 18, 1921.

The Jackson County Times, "Local News Interest", March 6, 1926, p. 5, c. 3.

The Jackson County Times, "Local News Interest", April 3, 1926.

The Jackson County Times, "Gottsche Opens New Thrifty Nifty Store", May 29, 1926.

The Jackson County Times, "Local News Interest", July 31, 1926.

The Jackson County Times, "Gottshe's Thrifty-Nifty Group Joins IGA”, June 9, 1928, p. 6, c. 4.

The Jackson County Times, “LNI”?, May 25, 1929.

The Jackson County Times, "Gottsche Store Anniversary to be Observed", May 18, 1934.

The Jackson County Times, "A.C. Gottsche in Business 25 Years", November 2, 1935, p. 1.

The Jackson County Times , "Who's Who In Ocean Spring", October 24, 1947, p. 5.

 The Ocean Springs News, “Geo. W. Davis Retires From Business Oct. 1^st.”, September 10, 1910.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", August 26, 1911.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", January 6, 1916, p. 5.

The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", January 20, 1916, p. 5.

The Ocean Springs News, “Gottsche’s Founded 1910, Celebrates 47^th Anniversary”, September 5, 1957.

The Ocean Springs News, “Ramblings”, July 2, 1964, p. 2.

The Ocean Springs Record, “Lynn Gottsche honored”, January 5, 1967, p. 1.

 

The Granitz celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary?

[Courtesy of Susan Staley Delgado-March 2011]

   The Granitz family came to Ocean Springs in the early part of the 20^th Century.  Emil A. Granitz (1882-1965) 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 Hermann Granitz (1909-1981) who made his livelihood at Keesler AFB as a Civil Service employee.  In 1929, George built an exact scale model of Charles Lindberg’s “The Spirit of St. Louis” for the National Airplane Model Contest, which was held in Detroit in June 1929.  He received an honorable mention for his excellent work.  There were over 400 entrants.(The Jackson County Times, July 13, 1929, p. 3)

   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.  With her characteristic hair in heavy braids, she often sat and knitted sweaters while observing the children playing on the school ground.(The Ocean Springs News, April 4, 1957, p. 1 and Walterine V. Redding, August 14, 2002)     

   In June 1926, Emil A. Granitz acquired the caretaker’s cottage, which was built by H.L. Girot (1886-1953) for Harold I. Illing (1897-1959) and spouse, Edith Flowers Illing (1902-1984), who oversaw the Girot place before their home at present day 400 Lovers Lane was erected in 1925.  The Granitz cottage in the Cherokee Glen Subdivision was relocated to Block C-Lot 10, at present day 1107 West Cherokee. 

   The Granitz cottage in Cherokee Glen was legated to the First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs by George H. Granitz who never married.  He was s stalwart of this church and its organist for many years.  George and John Frederick Hoffman III (1886-1967) were the industry and inspiration which kept a small struggling Presbyterian community afloat during desperate times, a fact probably not well remembered or appreciated by this affluent church today.(JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 41,784, June 1982)

 

REFERENCES:

JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 41, 784, “Estate of George Hermann Granitz”, June 1982.

The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, July 13, 1929.

The Ocean Springs News, “Granitz Couple Celebrate 50^th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday”, April 4, 1957.

The Ocean Springs Record, “Helene M. Granitz”, December 8, 1970.

 

 

Henry Hellmers (1848-1934) and Katherine Considine Hellmers (1858-1937)

[Courtesy of Ted Millet, Grove, Texas-August 2004)

     Heinrich “Henry” Hellmers (1848-1934) was born at Altenesch, Oldenburg Province near Bremen, Germany on September 13, 1848.  He became a naturalized American citizen in 1860.  In 1880, Henry Hellmers resided at New Orleans in Ward Two in the area bounded by Magazine, Julia, St. Charles, and Thalia.  He worked as a barkeeper, and roomed at a house owned by an Irish woman, Eli Vallient.(Fenerty et al, 1992, p. 122) In 1900, Henry Hellmers made his livelihood as a hotelkeeper in the Crescent City.  He had married Isabella Hellmers (1841-1908), a native of Mississippi whose parents were German immigrants, in 1892.  They had no children.  Mrs. A. Franz (1848-1900+), the sister of Mrs. Hellmers, lived with them in New Orleans.

No. 7 Calhoun
     In May 1907, at retirement age, Henry and his wife, Isabella Hellmers (1858-1908) moved to Ocean Springs and purchased for $1950, No. 7
Calhoun, now 914 Calhoun, from Severin and Sophie Schill.  Here Mr. Hellmers toiled in his garden.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 32, pp. 549-550 and Margaret Seymour Norman, August 1994). The old Hellmers house is now in the possession of Albert Bruce Duckett and Alice Pulliam Duckett who acquired it from Helen Uhalt Duckett, the widow of Albert B. Duckett (1907-1978), in December 20, 1979.  In the spring and summer of 1994, Donnie McAlister, a local contractor, and foundation guru, James T. Jacobs of Gulfport, performed an extensive refurbishment of this historic building.  The Hellmers house has been utilized as a rental by the Ducketts for over two decades.(JXCO, Ms.Land Deed Bk. 665, pp. 471-472)

New wife
     After Isabella Hellmers died in 1908, Henry Hellmers married a German woman, Hanna Geb Koegel Rycnaer (1864-1919), who had immigrated to America in 1898.  She had been his housekeeper for many years.  They married on October 10, 1909.  Hanna had a daughter, Dora Rycnaer Schneider (b. 1903), from her first marriage.  Dora attended school at St. Alphonsus across the street.  Hanna R. Hellmers died on June 25, 1919.

Pecans and boarders
     To supplement his retirement income, Henry Hellmers kept boarders and gathered and sold pecans from the trees in his yard.  In November 1918, he sold two hundred pounds of nuts at $.50 per pound netting him $200. The 1910 Federal Census indicates that the Hellmers kept lodgers at their Calhoun Avenue home.  James G. Buttes, a native of Arkansas and a commercial salesman, stayed with them at this time.(The Jackson County Times, November 23, 1918, p.5)

A third spouse
     Henry Hellmers married Katherine Considine (1858-1937), a native of New Orleans, at Ocean Springs on March 13, 1922.  Her parents, Michael and Margaret Considine, were born in Ireland.  At New Orleans, Katherine C. Hellmers had two brothers, Michael and George Considine, and several nieces, Mrs. T. Millet, Mrs. A. Lestelle, and Mrs. G.W. Richardson.(The Daily Herald, December 6, 1937, p. 6) Hellmers Lane In June 1927, Henry Hellmers donated land to the Town of Ocean Springs for the street called Hellmers Lane.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 60, p. 407)

Henry expires
     After Henry Hellmers died on October 11, 1934, and was passed through the Lutheran Church, Katie C. Hellmers inherited their Calhoun Avenue house.  Upon her demise on December 12, 1937, her niece, Kate C. Millet, inherited the Hellmers home in Ocean Springs.  In November 1944, Mrs. Millet sold the Hellmers house to Frank Theodore Habercamp (1880-1960), a native of Chicago and his spouse, Martha E. Markshell (1885-1961), who was born at East Konisberg, Germany.(Jackson County Will Book 3, p. 239-241, JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 5626, The Daily Herald, October 12, 1934, p. 3 and JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 87, p. 654) Members of the Henry Hellmers family are buried in the Evergreen Cemetery at Ocean Springs.

REFERENCES:

Patricia Ann Fenerty and Patricia White Fernandez, 1880 Census of New Orleans, Volume II, (Padraigeen Publications:  New Orleans-1992), p. 122.

                                                                                                                                  Journals
 

The Daily Herald, "Ocean Springs", March 18, 1922, p. 8, c. 6.
The Daily Herald, "Ocean Springs", September 18, 1926.
The Daily Herald, “Henry Hellmers Dies”, October 12, 1934.
The Daily Herald, "Mrs. Hellmers Dies", December 6, 1937, p. 6, c. 2.
The Jackson County Times, “Local News Interests”, November 23, 1918.
The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, September 5, 1925.
The Ocean Springs News, "Local News", October 23, 1909.
 

 

John Frederick Hoffman III (1886-1967) House (circa 1913)

(situated on Beuhler Street-north of CSX RR. and west of Cox Avenue)

(l-r: Margaret Hoffman Fillingim (1916-1966); Hattie C. Hoffman (1889-1958); and Louise E.H.C. Beuhler (1879-1965)

 

John F. Hoffman Jr.

            John Frederick Hoffman Jr. (1852-1906) was born at New Orleans, the son of John F. Hoffman and Mary Louise Munsch Hoffman Buttner (1832-1912), both German immigrants.  After the demise of his father, Mrs. Hoffman married Frederick Buttner (1826-1903), a native of Saxony, Germany. 

            John F. Hoffman Jr. (1852-1906) married Mary Pauline Schmidt at New Orleans.  Their children were: Wilhelmina “Nell” Hoffman Littolff (1878-1902), Louise Emma H. Buehler (1879-1965), Marie Elizabeth H. Fayard (1884-1951), John F. Hoffman III (1886-1967), and Charles W. Hoffman (1889-1972).

           

John Frederick Hoffman Jr. (1852-1906)

 

             John F. Hoffman Jr. acquired land at Ocean Springs as early as September 1880, when he bought a tract east of Ocean Springs known as “The Thomas Place” from Jacob Schneller and F.W. Illing for $400.  The “Thomas Place”derived its name from Barney Thomas, George Thomas, and Mrs. Soden, who once owned this parcel with a five-hundred sixty-four foot front on Government Street.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 4, pp. 596-598)  Almost immediately, he sold this tract to his mother, Marie L. Hoffman Buttner.  In the warranty deed, this land was described as being west of the “Old Delgado Place” and East of Mrs. Soden.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 4, pp. 638-639)

            The Buttner’s home was situated on the southeast corner of Washington Avenue and Iberville.  It was sold to Louis A. Lundy (1876-1941) in May 1913, by Commissioner Fred Taylor after the litigation, John Hoffman et al v. Herman Buttner, was adjudicated in the Chancery Court of Jackson County, Mississippi.(JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 3185, November 1912)  The Buttner-Lundy place stood until it was torn down to erect a sanctuary for the Church of Christ, in the early 1960s.

            John F. Hoffman expired at Ocean Springs on February 13, 1906.  He was foreman of the Ocean Springs Fire Company and a member of Eureka Camp Woodmen of the World of New Orleans.(The Biloxi Daily Herald, February 14, 1906, p. 1)

 

Lorreta M. Litolff

Loretta Marie Litolff was born October 21, 1898.  She was the only child of Wilhelmina Hoffman Litolff, who preceded her father in death.  Frederick M. Dick (1857-1922) was appointed her legal guardian and held this position until May 1916, when Leonard J. Fayard (1847-1923), was appointed.  She was given a living allowance of $12.50.( Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 1516-April 1906)

 In January 1923, Loretta married George Arenstan, probably at New Orleans.  He expired in Eldorado, Arkansas on March 5, 1923.  Mrs. Arenstan was a resident of New Orleans at the time.  She had once lived in Biloxi.(The Daily Herald, March 9, 1923, p. 3)

            There is the probability that the widow, Loretta L. Arenstan, married a Mr. Strong at New Orleans and resided there until her death in July 1980.  This hypothesis is based on information derived from the Social Security Death Index and has not been verified.  No further information.

 

Louise E. Hoffman

            Louise Emma H. Buehler was born December 17, 1879, at Galveston, Texas.  She married Mr. Costley, a waiter in a New Orleans restaurant.  They had a daughter, Anne C. Verner (1901-1990).  Circa 1905, Louise married Christian Buehler (1865-1936), the son of Andrew Buehler (1823-1906) and Rosine Bieek or Biesk.  They were the parents of Frank Christian Buehler (1909-1985).(Walterine V. Redding, April 4, 2002)   

           

Louise Emma Hoffman Costley Buehler (1879-1965)

(courtesy of Walterine 'Sis' Verner Redding (1923-2005)

 

             Christian Buehler made his livelihood as a painter and carpenter.  The family resided on Cox Avenue.  In his later life, Christian’s health slowly failed and he made a subsistence livelihood vending sandwiches and pies on the streets and at the L&N Depot.  He suffered a severe stroke on March 1, 1936, at Gulf Hills, the day after his son’s wedding and expired on the same day at his home.  Chris Buehler’s corporal remains were interred in the Bellande Cemetery under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church.(The Jackson County Times, March 7, 1936, p. 3)

            Louise Emma H.C. Buehler expired on April 28, 1965 at Biloxi.  She resided at 102 Sherwood Circle in Ocean Springs.  Mrs. Buehler rests eternally by her husband in the Bellande Cemetery on Dewey Avenue at Ocean Springs.(The Daily Herald, April 29, 1965, p. 2)

 

Anne Costley Verner

Anne C. Verner was born on November 4, 1901, at New Orleans.  She married Thomas Eugene Verner (1898-1989), of Memphis, Tennessee.  Thomas had come to the Gulf Coast as his brother resided in Biloxi.  He found work in Ocean Springs driving a taxi from the L&N Depot for J.J. “Ben” O’Keefe II (1894-1954).( Walterene V. Redding, April 4, 2002)   

  Thomas and Anne Costley Verner were the parents of: Laura Louise Verner (1922-1960), Walterene “Sis” Verner Redding (1923-2005), the spouse of Oliver Osborn Redding (1904-1982), Eugene J. Verner (1924-1924), and Frank L. Verner (b. 1927). Mrs. Verner worked as the manager of the United Poultry Producers after the retirement of Henry L. Girot (1886-1953) and at Gus Stevens Restaurant in Biloxi.  She worshiped at the First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs, and was a member of the Eastern Star and kings daughters Charity Organization.  She expired on May 5, 1990 and her corporal remains interred in the Bellande Cemetery.(The Sun Herald, May 6, 1990, p. B-2)

 

Frank C. Buehler

Frank C. Buehler (1909-1985) was in the first graduation class of the 1927 Ocean Springs Public School, which received their diplomas on May 31, 1928. Although two others students in the 1928 graduation class had the same scholastic average as Frank C. Beuhler, he was named Valedictorian of the class since he had a better attendance record.  Local jeweler, Phil N. Kreutz (1869-1934), donated two gold medals to the public school.  One was awarded to Beuhler as Valedictorian and the other to Catherine Carver, a third grader, for her perfect attendance record.  Buehler went on to Perkinston Junior College to further his formal education.(The Jackson County Times, May 26, 1928, p. 2 and March 7, 1936, p. 3)

On February 29, 1936, Frank married Naomi Earle Watson (1915-1980), a native of Wade, Mississippi.  She was the daughter of Mrs. and Mrs. Henry C. Watson, of Tallahassee, Florida.  Naomi was a graduate of the Florida State College for Women.  Their nuptial ceremony was held in the Buehler home on Cox Avenue, with the Reverend A.B. Barry of the Methodist Church in attendance.(The Daily Herald, March 3, 1936, p. 3 and The Jackson County Times, March 7, 1936, p. 3)

During WW II, Frank C. Buehler served in the European Theater being honorably discharged in 1945, as a Captain.  He served in the local Army National Guard as well.   Naomi Earle Watson Buehler was also a WW II veteran having been a Naval pharmacist’s mate third class.  The Buehlers had a jewelry store on Washington Avenue for about thirty years.  They worshiped at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.  Naomi expired in Ocean Springs on May 14, 1980.  Frank married Ethel Marion Beuhler after her demise.  He died on June 25, 1985.  Frank and Naomi W. Buehler’s remains were laid to rest in the Bellande Cemetery on Dewey Avenue.(The Daily Herald, May 15, 1980, p. A-2 and June 27, 1985, p. A-2)

 

Beuhler’s Watch and Jewelry Shop

            In mid-November 1950, Frank and Naomi Buehler commenced their watch repair and jewelry business at 116 Washington Avenue, now 626 Washington Avenue.   He offered a wide range of services: clock and watch repair; watch band and bracelet repair; restringing of beads and pearls; ring sizing; diamond and jewelry cleaning; and evaluation of the condition of mounted settings.  In preparation for this career, Mr. Buehler attended the Scientific School of Watch Making at Glendale, California for two years, graduating in January 1950.  Simultaneously, Mrs. Buehler enrolled in the Glendale Secretarial College, where she studied stenography and salesmanship.  Her responsibility in their enterprise was giftware and wrapping.(The Gulf Coast Times, November 17, 1950, p. 1)

            As the business was a success, Frank C. Buehler and spouse acquired the lot and building that they been renting from Mrs. M.L. Rutherford in August 1952.  The parcel had a front of thirty-five feet on Washington and ran 200 feet deep.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 126, pp. 313-314)

 

Ocean Springs Bakery

            In January 1953, Frank C. Buehler began vending fresh rolls, donuts, cookies, pastries, pies, cakes, and bread from his Washington Avenue business.  The bakery goods were made by the Quality Bakery in North Biloxi, now D’Iberville.(January 29, 1953, p. 1)

            At post-retirement age and with his life partner gone, Frank C. Beuhler sold his building on Washington Avenue to Frank L. Verner and spouse.  The small structure today is owned by the Moran family and has housed many small businesses this decade.  Among them have been: Moo-licious,; Hot-doggin’ It, the predecessor of Salvetti’s; The Orient Express; Dee Ann’s Delight; The Very Thing; and Salon Boudreau.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 740 , p. 660)

 

Hattie V. Colligan

On August 10, 1910, John Frederick Hoffman III (1886-1967) married Hattie V. Colligan (1889-1958), the daughter of James Colligan (1855-1905) and Ellen Bird (1860-1926), in the Episcopal Church at Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  Their children were: James F. “Boots” Hoffman (1912-1937) and Margaret H. Fillingim (1916-1966), the wife of W.E. Filligim Jr.(JXCO, Ms. MRB 9, p. 224)

 

Marie E. Hoffman

Marie Elizabeth H. Fayard was born May 12, 1884 at New Orleans.  She married John Alex Fayard (1887-1958), the son of Leonard Fayard and Martha Westbrook.  Their children were: Edna F. Rogers (1908-1937) married David S. Rogers (1908-1988), John Lawton Fayard (1911-1929), Nellie Mae F. Gavins (1912-1985) married Leonard E. Gavins (1911-2000), John Alex Fayard, Jr. (1914-1915), Gladys F. Harris (b. 1917) married James Claude “Shorty” Harris (1918-1986), Marie Louise Fayard (1920-1921), Charles Alex Fayard (b. 1925), and James L. Fayard (1926-1990).  Mrs. Fayard was a Methodist and member of the Tourist Club.(The Daily Herald, December 17, 1951, p. 8)

The Fayard family initially resided on Desoto Street near Cox Avenue, which was near Mrs. Fayard’s relatives, the Hoffmans and Beuhlers.  It was here in the family home in August 1929, that John Lawton Fayard was killed by a bolt of lightning.  Young Lawton was in the bathroom washing his hands when he was struck.  He was employed with Dale Motors, Inc.(The Jackson County Times, August 17, 1929, p. 1 and Charles Fayard, March 30. 2002)

Mrs. Fayard operated an eatery, The Ocean Springs Café, at several locations.  It was originally situated in the Schmidt building on the northeast corner of Washington and Desoto.  She moved to a location near the Eglin House on Washington, then to Government, near the Ocean Springs Public School.(Charles Fayard, March 30, 2002)

John A. Fayard resided with his family on Government Street.  He made his livelihood as a painter and interior decorator, as well as a building contractor.  His spouse preceded his in death, expiring December 17, 1951.  Mr. Fayard died on September 15, 1958.  Both were interred in the Bellande Cemetery on Dewey Avenue at Ocean Springs.(The Daily Herald, September 15, 1958, p. 2)

 

John F. Hoffman III

            John Frederick Hoffman III (1886-1967) was born at New Orleans.  After his father’s death in 1906, John Frederick Hoffman III and Charles W. Hoffman lived with their grandmother, Marie L. Buttner, on the southeast corner of Washington Avenue and Iberville.  Circa 1919, he found employment with the L&N Railroad at Biloxi as an abstract clerk.  In April 1926, Mr. Hoffman was promoted to Cashier in the Biloxi office of the L&N and eventually became the local freight agent.  John Hoffman was an active member in Ocean Springs Fire Company No. 1, the Woodmen of the World, and other fraternal organizations.(The Jackson County Times, January 12, 1918, p. 5 and April 17, 1926, p. 1)

           

Hattie V. Colligan

On August 10, 1910, John Frederick Hoffman III (1886-1967) married Hattie V. Colligan (1889-1958), the daughter of James Colligan (1855-1905) and Ellen Bird (1860-1926), in the Episcopal Church at Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  Their children were: James F. “Boots” Hoffman (1912-1937) and Margaret H. Fillingim (1916-1966), the wife of W.E. Fillingim Jr.(JXCO, Ms. MRB 9, p. 224)

Hattie C. Hoffman was an Ocean Springs native.  Her father, James R. Colligan made his living initially working as a farmer with his father and then later as a carpenter.  In 1900, he was employed on the bridge gang for the L&N Railroad.  James and Ellen Colligan's children were: James H. Colligan (1888-1951), Hattie V. Hoffman (1889-1958), Mae C. Ryan (1892-1966), Nancy C. Bertuccini (1894-1984), Ellen C. McKay (1896-1951+), Jasper Colligan (1899-1951+), and Jessie C. Illing (1903-1972).  The Colligans resided on the west side of Cox Avenue.

           

Politics

            John F. Hoffman III entered the political arena at Ocean Springs in January 1918.  He sought the position of alderman representing Ward II.  John lost the election to Theodore Bechtel (1863-1931), but was elected to that office in 1931 and 1933, serving two terms.(The Jackson County Times, January 26, 1918, p. 5 and Schmidt, 1972, pp. 135-136)

In the summer of 1948, the Hoffmans took a vacation to the eastern seaboard and Canada.  Their itinerary included New York City, Niagara Falls, Chicago, and Cincinnati.  John F. Hoffman III became ill in Canada, which necessitated their return to Ocean Springs in late August.(The Daily Herald, August 19, 1948, p. 5)

           

Charles W. Hoffman

            Charles Wesley Hoffman (1889-1972) was born at New Orleans on January 29, 1889.  On September 27, 1911, in the Buttner home on Washington Avenue, he married Patty Jessie Lightsey (1881-1982), the daughter of Richard Lightsey and Alice Pilliam (Pilham) L. Mechain (1870-1934).  The Reverend L.A. Darsey of the Methodist Church performed their nuptials.  At this time, Mr. Hoffman was employed with the construction gang of the L&N Railroad.  Prior to this, he had driven a grocery wagon for one of the town’s merchants.(JXCO, Ms. MRB 9, p. 340 and The Ocean Springs News, September 30, 1911 and 1910 Federal Census, JXCO, Ms.)

            Pattie Jessie Lightsey (1887-1982) was born at Hampton, South Carolina.  After her father passed, Alice P. Lightsey, her mother, married Adrian P. Mechain (1869-1948), a truck farmer and native of France.  Monsieur Mechain was the brother of Adelaide M. Basly (1871-1949).  Pattie’s siblings were Annie L. Duvernay (1891-1938), the spouse of Walter James Duvernay (1891-1955), and, Jack Lightsey (1891-1944).  Jack served in France during WWI, where he was wounded and gassed.  At Ocean Springs, he owned a building supply business.(The Jackson County Times, March 11, 1944, p. 1)

While with the L&N Railroad, Mr. Hoffman worked on the crew that built the Rigolets railroad bridge.  He later was a self-employed carpenter and general contractor.(Charles Fayard, March 30, 2002)

Charles and Patty L. Hoffman resided at 705 Cox Avenue.  Their two daughters were: Jessie H. Williams (1912-1989), the wife of Stanford Williams (1911-1985), and Pauline H. McCarty Cook (1914-2001), the spouse of James E. McCarty (1916-1989) and Colonel John Carter Cook (1913-1999), of Ocean Springs, and the widower of Vera A. Wulff (1906-1992).  The corporal remains of Charles and Patty Hoffman were interred at Evergreen Cemetery.(The Ocean Springs Record, April 6, 1972, p. 6)

            Jessie Hoffman married Stanford A. Williams Sr. (1911-1985).  Their children were: Jean W. Parker, Mary W. Schmedicke, Stanford A. Williams Jr., Donald Williams, and James Williams.  Stanford A. Williams Sr. was employed at Ingalls Shipbuilding.  He was a deacon of the First Baptist Church of Ocean Springs.  Stanford expired on January 13, 1985.  Jessie followed him in death and died in July 1989.  They rest in the Crestlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Ocean Springs.(The Ocean Springs Record, February 7, 1985, p. 3)

            Pauline Hoffman married James E. “Jerry” McCarty (1916-1989), a native of Stringer, Jasper County, Mississippi, was born August 22, 1916.    Jerry arrived at Ocean Springs in 1937.  He served in the US Army during WW II from 1943-1946. Mr. McCarty made his livelihood as a civilian deputy finance officer at KAFB in Biloxi.  He was active in the First Baptist Church in Ocean Springs where he was a deacon, Sunday school director, and teacher.  Jerry expired at Ocean Springs, Mississippi on November 15, 1989. (The Sun Herald, November 16, 1989, p. C-2)

During WW II, Pauline H. McCarty was employed with the USO-Travelers Aid Unit at Biloxi as secretary.  She later made her livelihood as a court reporter for the Judge Advocate’s staff at KAFB.  Pauline commenced her Civil Service career at KAFB, in

January 1947, as a clerk-steno in the office of the Staff Judge Advocate.  In March 1947, she was made a court reporter.   Mrs. McCarty received a Superior performance rating in 1970.  She retired in 1972, after twenty-five years of civil service.  After Jerry’s demise in November 1989, Pauline married John Carter Cook (1913-1999), a retired U.S. Army Colonel and the widower of Vera “Skees” Wulff Cook (1906-1992).  All were interred in the Crestlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.(The Daily Herald, July 6, 1972, p. 6 and The Sun Herald, September 7, 2001, p. A-9)

 

REFERENCES:

 

C.E. Schmidt, Ocean Springs French Beachhead, (Lewis Printing Services: Pascagoula, Mississippi-1972)

 

Chancery Court Causes

Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 3185, “John Hoffman et al v. Herman Buttner”, November 1912.

 

Journals

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “Mississippi”, February 14, 1906.

The Daily Herald, “Christian Buehler Dies”, March 2, 1936.

The Daily Herald, “Buehler-Watson”, March 3, 1936.

The Daily Herald, “Pistol Is Found In Lunch Room”, March 18, 1937.

The Daily Herald, “Ocean Springs News Paragraphs”, August 19, 1948.

The Daily Herald, Mrs. Fayard Dies”, December 17, 1951.

The Daily Herald, “John Alex Fayard”, September 15, 1958.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Hattie Hoffman”, March 12, 1958.

The Daily Herald, “Ocean Springs Nurse Dies of Gunshot Wounds”, February 26, 1960.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Louise Buehler”, April 29, 1965.

The Daily Herald, “Naomie W. Buehler”, May 15, 1980.

The Daily Herald, “Frank Buehler”, June 27, 1985.

The Gulf Coast Times, “Watch Shop Opened By Frank C. Buehler”, November 17, 1950.

The Gulf Coast Times, “Frank Buehler Opens New Bakery Here”, January 29, 1953.

The Jackson County Times, “John Hoffman Is A Candidate For Alderman”, January 26, 1918.

The Jackson County Times, “John Hoffman Receives Promotion On L&N”, April 17, 1926.

The Jackson County Times, “Williams-Hoffman”, October 19, 1932.

The Jackson County Times, “Christian Buehler”, March 7, 1936.

The Jackson County Times, “Buehler-Watson”, March 7, 1936.

The Jackson County Times, “Lawton Fayard, 18, Killed By Lightning”, August 17, 1929.

The Jackson County Times, “Jack Lightsey”, March 11, 1944.

The Ocean Springs News, “Hoffman-Lightsey”, September 30, 1911.

The Ocean Springs Record, “Charles Hoffman”, April 6, 1972.

The Ocean Springs Record, “Court Reporter Retires”, July 6, 1972.

The Ocean Springs Record, “Mrs. Patty Hoffman”, January 21, 1982.

The Ocean Springs Record, “Stanford A. Williams Sr.”, February 7, 1985.

The Ocean Springs Record, “Nellie Mae Gavins”, December 26, 1985.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, February 16, 1906.

The Sun Herald, “Mrs. Jessie Williams”, July 12, 1989.

The Sun Herald, “James ‘Jerry’ McCarty”, November 16, 1989.

The Sun Herald, “Mrs. Anne C. Verner”, May 6, 1990.

 

Personal Communication:

 

Charles Fayard, March 30, 2002.

Walterene “Sis” Redding, April 4, 2002.

 

Henry B. Hovelmeier (1888-1954) was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, the son of Joseph Hovelmeier and Louise Shrettcocke.  His siblings were: Mrs. Andrew Thompson; Annie Hovelmeier (1887-1971); Katherine Hovelmeier (1893-1975); and Gus Hovelmeier (1896-1982).(The Daily Herald, March 22, 1954, p. 13 and SSDI)

Mr. Hovelmeier married Miss Mary Wieder (1890-1986) of Ocean Springs and  the daughter of Alsacian immigrants, Gregoire Wieder (1849-1899), and Dora Armbruster (1848-1924).  Their children were: Dorothy Hovelmeier (1918-2003) who married George V. Borries (1917-1974); Frances Hovelmeier (1923-1992) who married Arthur W. Carman (1923-1990), a native of St. Maries, Idaho and the son of Frances Carman and Pearls I. Ells; and Mary Alice Hovelmeier who married Ralph D. Owen.

            Henry B. Hovelmeier was a career US Navy serviceman.  He enlisted in 1909 and was a veteran of WWI and WWII retiring as a Chief Petty Officer.  Mr. Hovelmeier settled at Ocean Springs in 1917.  He was a member of the VFW, American Legion, and worshiped at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church.  Henry B. Hovelmeier expired on March 21, 1954.  Mary Wieder Hovelmeier lived until July 23, 1986.  She and Mr. Hovelmeier rest for eternity in the Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou.(The Daily Herald, March 22, 1954, p. 13 and The Sun Herald, July 25, 1986, p. A-2)

 

Hovelmeier house

            The Hovelmeier house is situated on a tract, which measures 75 feet by 125 feet on the eastern part of Lot 16-Block 3 (Culsmeig Map of 1854) at 1007 Joseph Street, which was formerly 9 Middle Avenue.  Mary Wieder Hovelmeier acquired this structure and lot in February 1925, from the heirs of Dora Arbruster Weider, her mother: Lena Wieder Carver Carver (1875-1931), Joseph A. Wieder (1877-1960), Adolph A. Wieder (1879-1931), Frank A. Wieder (1881-1954), and Phil J. Wieder (1887-1985.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 57, pp. 482-483)

            Mary Alice H. Owen owns the old Gregoire Wieder home today, which is situated between the Walter Anderson Museum of Art (WAMA) and the Ocean Springs Police Department.

 

REFERENCES:

 

Chancery Court

Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 12511, “Last Will of H.B. Hovelmeier”-December 1954.

 

Journals

The Daily Herald, “Hovelmeier Death”, March 22, 1954.  

The Daily Herald, “George V. Borries”, December 19?, 1974.

The Sun Herald, “Mrs. Mary Hovelmeier”, July 25, 1986.

The Sun Herald, “Mrs. Dorothy Hovelmier Borries”, June 12, 2003.

ILLING

Ferdinand William Illing (1838-1884), a native of Regansburg, Bavaria, Germany, was the progenitor of the Illing family of Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  Young Illing studied botany in Europe and in 1864 came to North America to design and develop the Palace Gardens of Maximilian, the Arch Duke of Austria and Emperor of Mexico, at Mexico City.  After Maximilian was overthrown in 1866, Illing sailed to New Orleans and settled at Ocean Springs.  He purchased land on the northeast corner of Washington and Porter Avenues at Ocean Springs where he planted pecan trees and practiced horticulture.

 

In 1869, at Ocean Springs, Ferdinand Illing married Rosalie Eglin (1844-1894), a native of Oberdorf, Alsace-Loraine.  From this union four children were born: Eugene W. Illing (1870-1947), Alice Elizabeth Illing (1874-1876), Edward Ferdinand Illing (1878-1952), and Camilla Louise Illing Kiernan (1882-1960).  Acquiring land on the northeast corner of Washington Avenue and Porter, Ferdinand W. Illing utilized his horticultural expertise to develop a pecan orchard and consult in the area to those interested in citrus cultivation.(The History of JXCO, Ms., 1989, p. 243)

ILLING HOUSE

[courtesy of Adrienne Illing Finney (1925-2002)]

 

The Illing House

With the coming of the railroad to Ocean Springs in 1870, the central business district of Ocean Springs shifted from Jackson Avenue to Washington Avenue.  Mr. Illing decided to build a hotel on his Washington Avenue property to cater to the influx of tourist and salesmen  brought by the locomotive.  When completed, the Illing House was a large, L-shaped, hotel complex consisting of two main buildings, which were wood framed and two stories tall. Large expansive galleries accommodated guests on both floors. There were approximately  7700 square feet of room space and 3668 square feet of gallery area.  Additional buildings on the one-acre property consisted of a baking house, bakery and confectionery shop, lodge, outhouse, and stable.(Sanborn Map Company (New York City), "Ocean Springs, Ms", 1898-sheet 2; 1909-sheet 1; 1915-sheet 1;1925-sheet 4) 

 

A reporter for The Star of Pascagoula described the Illing House in June 1874, as follows:  Illing's House located in "the heart" of the village on the principal thoroughfare, is a favorite resort, and no wonder, for Mr. Illing is one of the most popular of landlords and he is ably assisted by an energetic and accommodating wife, and they manage to make a guest feel perfectly "at home". (The Star of Pascagoula, June 6, 1874, p. 2)

 

After Ferdinand Illing's untimely death in 1884, Rosalie Eglin Illing, and her eldest son, Eugene William Illing, continued the hostelry business with success.  When Mrs. Illing passed on in 1894, Eugene and his new bride, Emma Judlin (1869-1958), carried on the family business. Because of the responsibility of rearing her small children, Eugene William Illing, Jr. (1895-1978), Harold Ivan Illing (1897-1959), Marion Emma Illing Moran (1899-1993), and Alvin James Illing (1903-1978), the daily tasks of cooking three meals for hotel guests, supervising servants, and her husband's political career, Emma and Eugene Illing decided to get out of the hotel business.  This fact was noted in The Pascagoula Democrat-Star on August 11, 1905: The Illing House, one of the oldest landmarks of our town is being rapidly demolished to be converted into small cottages with all modern conveniences.  Judge Illing is to be complemented on his enterprise. 

 

Illing House Recalled

In 1990, nonagenarian, Marion Illing Moran (1899-1993) vividly recalled her mother's stories about the family hostelry.  Mrs. Rosalie E. Illing would tell of the summer tourists from New Orleans who would ride the Coast Train to Ocean Springs for one dollar per round trip.  When they arrived at the L&N Depot, the Joachims and O' Keefes would compete fiercely for the business of transporting them to the various hotels. Mrs. Illing said that many of the guests were very "tite".  They would eat healthy servings of her fresh seafood gumbo, fried fish, fried  chicken, vegetables, biscuits, and home made pies all for which she charged a paltry twenty-five or fifty-cents.  The frugal guests would take leftovers from the table to their rooms to eat later.(interview of October 12, 1990)

 

 A brief biography of the children of Ferdinand W. Illing and Rosalie Eglin Illing follows:                                                                                                                                               

     

E.W. Illing Sr. and Emma Judlin Illing

[courtesy of Adrienne Illing Finney (1925-2002)

 

EUGENE W. ILLING

Eugene William Illing Sr. (1870-1947) was born at Ocean Springs on June 16, 1870.  After the Illing House was closed in 1905, he pursued a career in motion picture entertainment with W.S. VanCleave (1871-1938) until about 1910 when he commenced the Photo-Play Airdome,  an outdoor theater, on the site of the demolished Illing House.  The Airdome era ended in late 1915 when E.W. Illing erected a theatre on the Illing property.  It was built by Git Tillman (1872-1925) and cost $1000.  This building was remodeled in late 1927.   E.W. Illing announced in The Jackson County Times of August 27, 1927, that "when the theatre is completed it will be one of the South's best little theatres, modern in design and structure and every respect, and an institution that the people of Ocean Springs can point to with pride". (The Ocean Springs News, September 30, 1915, p. 1 and The Jackson County Times, August 27, 1927, p. 1)

 

Illing's Theatre

Mr. Illing was also an electrical and plumbing contractor and vended real estate, wood, and coal.  Among the structures in Ocean Springs that he worked on were:  The 1899 Ocean Springs High School, “Big White School”, on Porter and Dewey which was demolished in 1927; The 1910 Ocean Springs State Bank, now the Cornerstone Group building; and the Benjamin home on Lovers Lane, which was brought down in the 1940s.(Ocean Springs 1915) In November 1894, Eugene W. Illing married Emma Judlin (1869-1958), a New Orleans native and the  daughter of John B. Judlin (1831-1890) and Elizabeth Alice Vatter (1842-1880+), who were Alsatian and German immigrants respectively. 

 

The Illing children were:  Eugene W. Illing Jr. (1895-1978), Harold I. Illing (1897-1959), Marion Illing Moran (1899-1993), and Alvin James Illing (1903-1978).

 

In 1904, E.W. Illing had been elected District Four Justice of the Peace, following the demise of former mayor, Judge Thomas W. Grayson (1825-1904), who passed in March 1904.  He was known most of his life as Judge Illing although he gave up the office in January 1916, when O.D. Davidson (1872-1938) became the Justice of the Peace.  In addition to his political activities, Mr. Illing was a Trustee of the Ocean Springs High School, and a director and the secretary of the People Waterworks Company. (The Progress, April 2, 1904 and Ocean Springs -1915)

 

In 1918, E.W. Illing succeeded W.T. Ames as the local manager of the Gulfport and Mississippi Coast Traction Company at Ocean Springs.  The agency supplied power for the electric lights here.(The Jackson County Times, January 12, 1918, p. 5)

 

Judge Illing expired at the Biloxi Hospital his home on July 16, 1947. He leased the theatre circa 1946 and retired to fish and grow dahilas and hyacinths in his backyard.

 

                                                                                      

E.W. Illing Jr. and Jessie Colligan Illing

[courtesy of Adrienne Illing Finney (1925-2002)]

 

E.W. Illing Jr.

Eugene W. Illing Jr. (1895-1978), called Gene, was born at Ocean Springs on August 31, 1895.  He and Jessie Colligan (1903-1972) were married by Father J.H. Chauvin of St. Alphonsus on January 11, 1928.  Jessie was the daughter of James R. Colligan (1855-1905) and Ellen E. Birdrow (1860-1925).  She was employed with The Jackson County Times prior to her wedding.  

After a brief honeymoon in the Crescent City, the newlyweds left for New York to board a steamship for Barbados in the British West Indies, where Mr. Illing was employed at a large sugar mill.(The Jackson County Times, January 14, 1928, p. 3) Circa 1916, Gene Illing, a college graduate, began his career as a sugar chemist.  He worked in sugar refineries in Puerto Rico, Trinidad,

 

British Guiana, Cuba, and Louisiana before his tenure with the Andrews Sugar Factory at Barbados, began in 1926.

 

 In January 1918, Mr. Illing left for employment with the Malgretoute sugar factory in Princess Town, Trinidad, B.W. I.  He left New York aboard a steamship for the Caribbean island.  Expected to be gone about four months.(The Jackson County Times, January 19, 1918, p. 5)

 

In December 1920, Illing returned from Maxwell, Louisiana where he had worked on a sugar plantation since October.  Planned to leave for the B.W.I. in the next few weeks.(The Jackson County Times, December 20, 1920, p. 5)

 

Gulf City Caning Company

In 1934, E.W. Illing, Jr. (1895-1978) took over the Lundy factory and changed the name of the business to the Gulf City Packing Company.  The plant commenced operations on September 18, 1934 with sixty people employed to pick shrimp.  It had the most modern equipment and sanitary conditions of any factory on the Mississippi coast. During the shrimp season, Illing employed about one hundred people and approximately eighty in the period of the oyster harvest.  The annual payroll amounted to about $8000, which went into the local economy.  The

 

Gulf City Packing Company was still operating in 1936.

 

By 1940, it is believed that E.W. Illing had ceased all canning activity at his installation on Biloxi Bay.  In January 1941, he leased the plant to L.G. Moore of Biloxi.  No futher information.(The Daily Herald, January 27, 1941, p. 8)

 

In 1931, Gene and Jessie Illing built a home at 417 Jackson Avenue, and alternated their time between Ocean Springs and Barbados.  In 1954, he was still with the Andrews Sugar Factory in Barbados where he was superintendent and chief chemist.(The Gulf Coast Times, January 13,1954)

 

Jessie Colligan Illing preceded her spouse in death, expiring on July 16, 1972.  Gene lived until December 31, 1978.  He legated his estate to Marion Illing Moran, his sister, and the children of Harold I. Illing. Gene and Jessie C. Illing’s corporal remains were interred in the Illing family plot in the Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou.(JXCO, Ms.Chancery Court Cause No. 35, 827,-1979.

 

Harold I. Illing (1897-1959)

Harold Ivan Illing (1897-1959) was born February 7, 1897 at Ocean Springs.  He was the projectionist at the Illing Theatre.  Later Harold made his livelihood as a mechanic at Dale's Automotive.  He was also a master carpenter and cabinetmaker.  Mr. Illing built several of the early homes at Gulf Hills.  In 1925, Harold and Joseph L. “Dode” Schrieber (1873-1951), built the American Legion-Jaycee Hut on Iberville Drive, which was demolished in September 1996.  Harold I. Illing passed on June 13, 1959.  His corporal remains were laid to rest in the Evergreen Cemetery at Ocean Springs.(The Daily Herald, July 13, 1959, p.2 and The Ocean Springs Record, September 19, 1996, p. 3)

 

In 1921, Harold I. Illing had married Edith Flowers (1902-1984).  Their children were:  Edith Illing (1921-1921), Harold Ivan Illing, Jr. (1922-1989), Adrienne I. Finnie (1925-2002), and Emagene I. Pierce (1927-1996).  Edith Flowers Illing married Howard Hymers (1886-1978) after the death of Harold I. Illing. A brief biography of the children of Harold I. Illing and Edith F. Illing, who were all natives of Ocean Springs, follows: Harold Ivan Illing Jr. was born October 2, 1922.  He married Marian Forde, a native of Southampton, England.  Their four children were: Theresa Illing (Terryanne) Fink (b. 1947), Barbara (Babette) Illing Karnicky (b. 1951), Candace Illing Eagleson (b. 1955), and Justin "Jeff" Forde Illing (b. 1957). Adrienne Marie Illing (1925-2002) was  born January 1, 1925.  She married Leslie T. Finnie Jr. (1924-2001) of Illinois.  Their children were: Susan F. Stewart, Jane F. Rutledge, Diane F. Thornhill, Kathleen F. Williams, and Bruce Finnie.(The Sun Herald, November 28, 2002, p. A-6)  Emagene Dorothy Illing was born March 5, 1927.  She married Olen W. "Mutt" Pierce.  They were the parents of five sons:  Mike Pierce, Rick Pierce, Tim Pierce, Keith Pierce,  and David Bryan Pierce (1966-1996). Emagene expired on May 20, 1996.  Her corporal remains were interred in the National Cemetery at Biloxi.(The Sun Herald, May 22, 1996, p. c-2)

 

Marion Illing Moran (1899-1993)

Marion Illing was born December 17, 1899 at Ocean Springs.  As a teen, she worked at the Illing Theatre as ticket taker.  She later worked at the Ocean Springs Lumber Company and was also a notary public.  In December 1958, Marion married A.P. "Fred" Moran (1897-1967) in the St. Alphonsus Catholic Church.  A.J. “Bunny” Illing, her brother,  escorted her to the altar while Duncan Moran was the best man.  Marion became the much loved surrogate grandmother for the children of J. Duncan Moran (1925-1995) and A. Russell Moran (1930-1981).   Marion Illing Moran died February 24, 1993.  Her corporal remains were interred in the Moran plot at the Evergreen Cemetery on  Old Fort Bayou.(The Ocean Springs News, December 18, 1958, p. 9 and The Sun Herald, February 24,1993, p. A-2)

 

Alvin J. Illing (1903-1978)

Alvin James Illing (1903-1978), called Bunny, was born at Ocean Springs on August 19, 1903.  He married Lucille Leckich (1907-1998),  the widow of Elliot "Skinny" Westbrook (1902-1932), who expired at Deming, New Mexico.  Bunny Illing made his livelihood as an electrical contractor, and later as an electrical supervisor at Ingalls Shipbuilding.  He and Lucille resided at 526 Jackson Avenue.  

 

Mr. Illing was a member IBEW Union Local 733 (Pascagoula) and St. Alphonsus Catholic Church.  Bunny Illing expired on June 29, 1978.  His corporal remains were interred in the Biloxi City Cemetery.(The Daily Herald, June 30, 1978, p. 2)

 

EDWARD F. ILLING

Edward F. Illing (1878-1952) was born at Ocean Springs on January 16, 1878.  He left Ocean Springs circa 1899 for New Orleans.  He married Miss Maude Wagner of New Orleans and they were the parents of two sons: Oliver E. Illing (1899-1980) and Robert F. Illing (1903-1969).  They resided at 1218 North Rendon in the Crescent City.  At New Orleans, Mr. Illing was president and a partner in Walle and Company, a printing business.  He was a member of the Linn Wood Masonic Lodge No. 167 F. & A.M, the New Orleans Athletic Club, and a carnival organization.(The Times Picayune, 1952)                                                                                                      

Camilla Illing Kiernan (1882-1960)

[courtesy of Adrienne Illing Finney (1925-2002)]

                                                                                       

CAMILLA L. ILLING

Camilla Louise Illing (1882-1960) married George A. Kiernan (1874-1937), a native of New Orleans, on August 25, 1903 at Ocean Springs.  The ceremony was performed by Judge T.W. Grayson and the couple honeymooned in Mobile.(The Biloxi Daily Herald, August 27, 1903, p. 6)  

 

Mr. Kiernan's father was a native of Massachusetts and mother from Ireland. George A. Kiernan made his livelihood with the Union News Company working as the newsagent on the L&N Railroad.  He joined the organization circa 1895.  George A. Kiernan worked with Engineer Jeff Davis Holloway (1861-1938) and Conductor Andy Doyle (1871-1944) on the Coast Train operating between Ocean Springs and New Orleans.  He was called a "pie butcher".  Mr. Kiernan sold candy, newspapers, sandwiches, and pie to the passengers.  The newspapers were supplied to the train by a young man working for Irene Hopkins Engbarth (1890-1984), the spouse of Charles E. Engbarth (1885-1962), who was the local dealer. She operated from her home on Ames Avenue.  Mr. Kiernan expired at New Orleans on April 20, 1937.  His remains were sent to Ocean Springs for internment in the Evergreen Cemetery.  In addition to his family, George A. Kiernan was survived by a sister, Mrs. P.M. Crowley.(J.K. Lemon, February 1994 and  The Daily Herald, April 21, 1937, p. 7)

 

George A. Kiernan and Camilla Illing Kiernan had seven children: Rose Mamie K. Delatte (1905-1983) married Edmond Daniel Delatte (1904-1970); George A. Kiernan Jr. (1909-1988) married Carolyn J. Webb (1916-1991); Veronica K. Sandoz (1913-1983) married  Louis Sandoz (1915-1984); Ferdinand W. Kiernan (1911-1979) married Mercedes Westbrook and Lillian King (1912-1990);  Mary K. Neff Johnson (19-1988+) married Otis Neff and Stanford Johnson (1906-1987); Althea I. Seals (b. 1919) married James Willis Seals (1918-1983);  and Robert M. Kiernan (1922-1980).

 

Kiernan House

The Kiernan House is located at present day 622 Washington Avenue and is the site of Bayou Belle, Diane Lala Boyd’s upscale boutique.  This fine structure was erected on parts of Lots 23-24, Block 2 of the Clay Tract, for George A. Kiernan in November 1914.  Local building contractors, Tillman & Bradford, owned by Gideon N. Tillman (1872-1925) and Frederick S. Bradford (1878-1951), performed the work.  Local entrepreneur,  Joseph Kotzum (1842-1915), loaned the Kiernans the money for the project.(The Ocean Springs News, November 7, 1914  and Jackson County, Miss. Deed Trust Book 4. pp. 117-118)

 

In September 1976, the Estate of Camilla Illing Kiernan sold the Kiernan family home to Ferdinand W. Kiernan and others.  In October 1985, they  vended it to Ralph and Betsy Codianne who opened “The Blue House Restaurant here in late 1985.  Architect Bruce Tolar and Susan Tolar, his wife, acquired  the Kiernan House in December 1987, and sold it in October 1991, to A.P. “Fred” Moran and John D. Meyers who possess it today.

 

REFERENCES:

The History of Jackson County, Mississippi, "Eugene William Illing”,“Harold Ivan Illing" and "Harold Ivan Illing Jr." (Jackson County Genealogical Society:  Pascagoula, Mississippi-1989).

 

Chancery Court

Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. , "Estate of Camilla Illing Kiernan” –1961.

Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 35, 827, "Estate of E.W. Illing Jr."-1979.

 

Journals

The Biloxi Daily Herald, "City News", August 27, 1903.

The Daily Herald, “Ocean Springs”, June 13, 1925.

The Daily Herald, "George Kiernan Dies", April 21, 1937, p. 7.

The Daily Herald, “Spark Vignes, Merchant of Biloxi, Dies”, April 3, 1942.

The Daily Herald, “Harold Illing”, July 13, 1959.

The Daily Herald, "Alvin J. Illing", June 30, 1978, p. 2.

The Daily Herald, “Ferdinand William Kiernan”, Decemebr 6, 1979.

The Gulf Coast Times, January 13, 1954.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News Interest”, January 12, 1918.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News Interest”, January 12, 1918.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News Items”, December 20, 1919.

The Jackson County Times, "New Illing Theatre to be Handsome Modern Structure", August 27, 1927.

The Jackson County Times, "Illing-Colligan", January 14, 1928.
The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, June 15, 1929.
The Jackson County Times, "E.W. Illing, Sr. pioneer resident, died Wednesday", July 19, 1947.
The Jackson County Times, "33 years an Exhibitor "Judge Illing" is dead", July 26, 1947.

The Progress, “Local News Items”, April 2, 1904.

The Ocean Springs News, “Local News”, November 7, 1914.

The Ocean Springs News, “Miss Marion Illing and Mr. A.P. Moran United in Marriage Sunday Afternoon”, December 18, 1958.

The Sun Herald, “Mrs. Marion Moran”, February 24,1993, p. A-2.

The Sun Herald, “Emogene (sic) Illing Pierce”, May 22, 1996.

The Sun Herald, “Adrienne Finnie”, November 28, 2002.

The Times Picayune, “Printing Firm’s President Dies”,

 

Personal Communication:

Marion Illing Moran - October 12, 1990.

J.K. Lemon - February 17, 1994.

        Benjamin Franklin “Ben” Joachim (1847-1925), a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Rosa Madeline Bokenfohr (1861-1934), also a native of the Crescent City, were the progenitors of the Joachim families of Ocean Springs and Biloxi.  Ben’s parents, Peter Joachim (b. 1819) and Barbara Dauenhauer (b. 1822), were natives of Bavaria, Germany.  Rosa’s parents were William Frederick Bokenfohr (1823-1886), a German immigrant, and Madalena Garantz Markel (1823-1886+), a native of Gegenwort, Alsace, Germany.  B.F. Joachim and Rosa M. Bokenfohr married at New Orleans on February 24, 1881.  From this union five children were born: B.F. “Frank” Joachim II (1882-1970), Josephine E. Joachim Lee (1884-1927), Frederick W. Bokenfohr Joachim (1886-1887), Uriah S. “Jack” Joachim (1888-1970), and Elizabeth B. “Queenie” Joachim Potin (1891-pre-1934).(Ellison, 1991, pp. 71-73 and Laura Joachim via Ancestry.com)

New Orleans

      Ben Joachim began working at the age of nine as a messenger boy for the Quartermaster’s Corps at the Government barracks in New Orleans.  When the Civil War ended, he and his brother established the Joachim Brothers, an organization that oversaw the distribution of all daily-published newspapers in the Crescent City.  By the late 1880s, B.F. Joachim had been financial successful but his health was in shambles from years of toil and stress.  Like many others, he sought the salubrious environment of Ocean Springs to recuperate and restore his ailing physical and mental maladies.(The Jackson County Times, January 24, 1925, p. 1)

Ocean Springs-The Joachim Cottage

     In January 1887 and June 1887, Ben Joachim began acquiring land from  John M. Hollingsworth (1814-1891) and Dr. Milton Clay Vaughan (1832-1903) along LaFontaine Avenue west of the present day Ocean Springs Harbor.  Here he built a tourist home called the Joachim Cottage.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 8 , pp. 723-724 and Bk. 11, p. 88)

     Mr. Joachim advertised his enterprise in The Pascagoula Democrat-Star on August 10, 1894 as:

JOACHIM COTTAGE B.F. Joachim, Proprietor Board by the Day, Week, or Month

      In 1898, in addition to being the proprietor of a resort property, B.F. Joachim was employed by his brother-in-law, Jac Bokenfohr, as his Mississippi Gulf Coast sales representative.  Mr. Bokenfohr was a produce merchant based in New Orleans.  Ben Joachim worked seven years for the Bokenfohr firm before retiring.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, July 8, 1898, p. 3 and The Jackson County Times, January 24, 1925, p. 1)

      In June 1902, Ben Joachim vended the Joachim Cottage property on LaFontaine  to Dr. O.L. Bailey (1870-1938).(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 24, pp. 633-634)  

B.F. Joachim House [in background]

Originally, No. 13 Bowen, on the northwest corner of Bowen Avenue and Kotzum, the Joachim house was demolished in the late 1940s.  The young man in the fore ground is Earl Brumfield.

1902 B.F. Joachim house

     It appears that after selling the Joachim Cottage, Ben Joachim erected on the northwest corner of Bowen and Kotzum what was described as, “one of the most attractive homes at Ocean Springs”.  The Joachim home at 13 Bowen Avenue was a large, two-story, frame dwelling with a cross-gabled roof, which featured imbricated shingles in the gables. It had large wrap around, ballustraded galleries, which were supported by turned posts.  The B.F. Joachim lots, Lot 4 and Lot 6 of Block 1 in the Kotzum Addition, were acquired from Dr. O.L. Bailey, in June 1902.(Ocean Springs, Ms.-1915, JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk.25, pp. 17-18)

     The Joachim house was acquired by William P. Spiers (1898-1960), a native of Carriere, Mississippi, and Mary Tyress Spiers (1900-1976), his spouse, in December 1941, from the Ocean Springs State Bank.  The Spiers conveyed it to Noel C. Wells in January 1949.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 72, pp. 35-36; Bk. 104, pp. 310-311)

     Noel C. Wells (1907-1987) came to Biloxi from Harahan, Louisiana and operated the Biloxi Sewing Machine Shop at 434 Reynoir Street.  He had the old B.F. Joachim home demolished and contracted with Clarence E. Galle (1912-1986) to build a four unit apartment building.(The Gulf Coast Times, January 21, 1949, p. 5)

     Dr. Richard T. Furr, the current owner of this property, bought it from the Wells family in March 1983.  The Furr family owns a two-story, tenement house here today at Bowen Avenue.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 758, p. 263)

The Builder’s Supply Company

     The Builder’s Supply Company was incorporated in the State of Mississippi in 1905, by George W. Davis (1842-1914), E.S. Davis (1859-1925), Dr. Jasper J. Bland (1850-1932), J.L. Clark (1850-1914), Peter Geiger (1858-1923), W.H. Bell, Frank Marquez (1840-1914), George E. Arndt (1857-1945), Joseph A. Wieder (1877-1960), John Burr (1875-1916), B.F. Joachim (1847-1925), Narcisse Seymour (1849-1931) and H.C. Seymour (1876-1913).  B.F. Joachim was the manager of this local enterprise, which was situated on Old Fort Bayou, just north of Dr. Powell’s Bayou Inn, now Ronnie Hamilton’s Aunt Jenny’s Catfish Restaurant.  Here Ben Joachim sold lumber, shingles, molding, brick, and associated building products.  Two local lumber mills supplied the wood products for Mr. Joachim’s bayou lumberyard.  Some of the local extant buildings at Ocean Springs that utilized the Builder’s Supply Company materials for their construction were: The 1912 Albert C. Gottsche grocery store, now the Blossman Gas Building at 809 Washington Avenue; the 1913 Farmers and Merchants Bank Building at 929 Washington Avenue; and the 1913 Joseph E. Catchot-Sam Guagliardo residence formerly at 1109 Ames Avenue, which was demolished by Maria Mavar in 1990.(Ocean Springs, Mississippi, 1915, p. 37)     

      The land in Section 19, T7S-R8W, where the Builder’s Supply Company was located Old Fort Bayou was acquired in June and July 1905, by George W. Davis and E.S. Davis.  They bought approximately .65 acres from William Eugene Shaw and Sarah S. Shaw of Winneshiek County, Iowa.  The parcel had a frontage on Old Fort Bayou of one hundred forty-two feet and the sale included the warehouse and wharf on the Shaw tract.  This plot was once owned by Antonio Franco (1834-1891) and his spouse, Jane Rodriquez Franco (1844-1915), who conveyed it to Jesse B. Shaw in May 1890.  The Widow Franco sold Messrs. Davis a narrow tract, fifty feet by one hundred sixty-eight feet in July 1905. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 33, p. 4; Bk. 11, pp. 149-150; Bk. 33, p. 5; and Bk. 33, p. 6)

       In October 1907, the Davis Brothers conveyed these lands to the Builder’s Supply Company for $630.  In general terms, the Davis lands conveyed were described as: bounded on the north by Old Fort Bayou; east by Jane Franco and E.M. Westbrook; south by Iberville Avenue; and west by Dr. O.L. Bailey.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 33, pp. 6-7)

       In September 1915, Mrs. Emma A. Powell sold Builder’s Supply a small strip of land on their eastern boundary with her.  It measured twenty feet by sixty-six feet.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 57, pp. 568-569)

Sale

      Before his demise in January 1925, B.F. Joachim had acquired all the stock of the Builder’s Supply Company.  In June 1925, his legatees conveyed the Builder’s Supply Company to Captain Ellis Handy (1891-1963) for $5500.  The sale included: sheds, machinery, and improvements.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 55, pp. 629-630)

      In late May 1925, Captain Handy announced his purchase of the business and planned to take over the daily operations on June 15^th.  He planned to enlarge the business and trade in multiple types of building materials.(The Jackson County Times, May 30, 1925, p. 3)

     Ellis Handy advertised his business in early June 1925, as follows:

The Builders Supply Co. Will endeavor to maintain a high standard of service and expand to meet the desires and demands of the community, advancing with the progressive growth promised to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. PHONE 74 Ellis Handy                            Ocean Springs, Miss.

 

 

 

 

 

Joachim’s expire

      Rosa B. Joachim expired at Ocean Springs, on January 19, 1934.  She was survived by two sons, B.F. “Frank” Joachim Jr. of New Orleans and U.S. “Jack” Joachim of Biloxi; two sisters, Elizabeth B. Brand and Lena B. Burgunder; and two brothers, J.B. Bokenfohr, and Jack Bokenfohr.  In addition, Mrs. Joachim had thirteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren.  Her corporal remains were sent to New Orleans for burial in the Joachim family tomb in the Metairie Cemetery.  Ben Joachim had been interred here after his demise on January 13, 1925, at New Orleans, Louisiana.( The Jackson County Times, January 20, 1934, p.  , The Daily Herald, January 20, 1934, p. 2 and The Jackson County Times, January 27, 1934, p. 3)

B.F. JOACHIM II

        B.F. Joachim II (1882-1970), called Frank, was born at New Orleans, Louisiana on December 19, 1882.  He married Magdalena Schmidt (1882-1971), called Lena, who was born March 10, 1882, at Ocean Springs.  She was the daughter of Charles E. Schmidt (1851-1886) and Laura Coyle (1857-1931).  Their children were: Mark Oscar Joachim (1904-1955), B.F. Joachim III (1908-1974), and Mary Frances Joachim Milner (1916-1987).  In April 1903, a young Frank Joachim had a close call with the grim reaper at Gulfport.  While attempting to board the moving Coast Train, he fell sustaining acute contusions to his face.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, April 10, 1903, p.3)

The Riviera Livery and Transfer Company

      This transportation company was owned by Frank Joachim and was organized after his partnership in Joachim & Toler had ended.  Joachim & Toler were in business as early as May 1914, when they added a Ford touring car to their taxi fleet which had previously consisted of one Ford and a Studebaker.(The Ocean Springs News, May 23, 1914)

       Dan C. Toler (1876-1939) had been born in Alabama of North Carolina parentage.  He married Dora Ramsay (1871-1941), the daughter of Sardin G. Ramsay (1837-1920) and Lula Ramsay (1851-1886).  Mr. Toler acquired the Government Street feed store and livery stable of Calvin E. Dees (1877-1954) in February 1909.  In December 1910, Mr. Toler sold his business to Dr. O.L. Bailey (1870-1938) who turned it quickly to T.J. Ames (1876-1927).  This transaction left Ocean Springs with only two stable owners, J.J. O’Keefe (1859-1911) and T.J. Ames, which were considered adequate for the population and commerce.  By 1920, Mr. Toler and family had moved to Vancleave, Mississippi where he was a superintendent of a logging railroad.(The Ocean Springs News, February 27, 1909 and December 24, 1910)

       By 1915, Frank Joachim was operating as Joachim’s Livery and Transfer Company and advertised as follows: 

Joachim’s Livery and Transfer Company B.F. Joachim, Jr. Prop. Automobile service by the day, hour or trip Special attention given to country trips Telephone, 59      Ocean Springs, Miss. (from: Ocean Springs, Mississippi-1915)

     C.E. Schmidt (1904-1988), former Mayor and author of Ocean Springs French Beachhead (1972), related in 1967, that his father, Frank E. Schmidt (1877-1954), circa 1910, built a two-story building on the northwest corner of Washington and Desoto for Frank Joachim to house his livery operation.  Mr. Joachim remained here as the local Ford dealer post-1920.  The business here was called “Joachim’s Livery-autos, carriages, and wagons”(The Ocean Springs News, February 16, 1967, p. 3)

Ice price war

       In April 1920, Frank Joachim began vending ice on the streets of Ocean Springs.  A Biloxi dealer was his supplier. The local icehouse sold ice for $1.00 per 100 pounds of ice.  Joachim cut the price to $.70 per 100 pounds commencing an immediate price war with the Ocean Springs iceman.  Instantly, the price of ice was dropped to $.40 per 100 pounds of ice by the local ice supplier.(The Jackson County Times, April 24, 1920, p. 5)

Ford and Fordson Dealer

        In mid-1920, Frank Joachim acquired the Ford dealership at Ocean Springs.  It had previously been franchised to Helveston & Bell who operated from the Horton building on Washington Avenue.  Mr. Joachim planned to set up a Ford service center and sell automotive parts for Ford vehicles.  (The Jackson County Times, January 12, 1918, p. 5, March 6, 1920, p. 5, and December 25, 1920, p. 3)

Notice To The Public I have been appointed the authorized Ford dealer for this territory and can make prompt delivery.  A carload due this week.  Full line of Ford parts.  Ford Service Station to be installed. FRANK JOACHIM (The Jackson County Times, December 25, 1920, p. 2)

1920 Auto facts

     At this time, there were approximately 55,000 motorcars in Mississippi.  Hinds County with 2008 automobiles lead the State.  On the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Harrison County had 1300 cars; Jackson County 700; and Hancock County only 350.(The Jackson County Times, March 6, 1920, p. 5) 

    On January 1, 1920, Henry Ford of Detroit issued an $8,000,000 bonus to his 80,000 automotive workers.  Skilled employees who earned $10.80 per day and with five years tenure were given $270.  Laborers who were at the $6.00 per day pay scale received $50.  This remuneration was in addition to that earned in Mr. Ford’s profit-sharing plan.(The Jackson County Times, January 17, 1920, p. 5)

Joachim garage notes

     In April 1921, Frank Joachim sold two Fordson tractors to locals in time for springs plowing.  Gus Nelson and the Hamill Farm were the recipients of this fine machine, which could perform all tasks that its advertisements proclaimed.(The Jackson County Times, April 6, 1921, p. 3)

     In July 1921, Frank Joachim reported that he has been unable to make Ford motorcar deliveries because the national demand for Ford automobiles had created a shortage.  Mr. Joachim expected a carload of Fords within the next few days.(The Jackson County Times, July 2, 1921, p. 5)

     In January 1922, Frank Joachim advertised his auto sales inventory as follows: Touring Car $348; Regular runabout $319; Regular chassis $285; Coupe $580; Sedan $645; One-ton truck $430; and the Fordson tractor $625.  All prices f.o.b. Detroit.(The Jackson County Times, January 28, 1922, p. 5)

      In March 1922, The Jackson County Times, reported that Frank Joachim led all Ford dealers in the district in percentage of sales in February 1922, and that it appears that he will excel his previous month record.(The Jackson County Times, March 11, 1922)

     In June 1922, the Joachim Livery Stable acquired a seven passenger Buick.(The Daily Herald, June 17, 1922, p. 7)

     Early December 1922 saw Frank Joachim install a modern radio set in his Washington Avenue garage.  He invited everyone to visit in the evenings and listen to concerts broadcast from Forth Worth, Houston, Atlanta, and Jefferson City, Missouri.(The Daily Herald, December 6, 1922, p. 2)

     In May 1923, Harry R. Lee (1903-1951) joined the sales staff of the Joachim Ford agency.(The Jackson County Times, May 12, 1923, p. 5)

     In March 1924, Ford representatives rated the Joachim dealership at Ocean Springs as Class A, the highest rating possible.(The Jackson County Times, March 22, 1924, p. 5)

Joachim Building

    The Joachim building was located on the northeast corner of Washington Avenue and Desoto on the west three-quarters of Lot 6-Block 24 (Culmseig Map-1854).  Originally, the large home of R.A. VanCleave (1840-1908), pioneer entrepreneur at Ocean Springs and namesake of Vancleave, Mississippi, was situated here.  It was erected in the winter of 1891, and burned circa 1905.(The Biloxi Herald, February 7, 1891, p. 1)

     In January 1906, the VanCleave family sold their family residence property on Washington Avenue to Hannah Johnson, the spouse of William Johnson (d. 1922), an L&N conductor.  In 1904, the Johnsons had built a home at present day 306 Washington Avenue, popularly known as the Holloway house.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 30, pp. 455-456)

     Mrs. Johnson conveyed her Washington Avenue corner lot to B.F. Joachim II in March 1916, for $3250.  Here sometimes in the early 1920s, Frank Joachim erected a large two-story masonry building to house his Ford dealership.  In Late March 1931, Mr. Joachim vended his building to Frank B. Faessel (1870-1953) for $7500.  It appears that the Joachim Ford agency failed during the early years of the Depression.  The depressed economic situation during this era was reflected in July 1936, when Mr. Faessel sold the Joachim building to The United Poultry Producers, a co-op of poultry and eggs producers, he took a large capital loss as the selling price was only $3250.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 58, p. 440, Bk. 64, pp. 229-230, and Bk. 69, p. 151)

     It is believed that Frank Joachim relocated to New Orleans for many years, before returning to Ocean Springs after WWII.(Mark G. Joachim, January 6, 2004)

Texaco dealer

      Frank Joachim took over management of the local Texaco dealership in early July 1947.  This station was situated on the old J.P. VanCleave property on the SE/C of Washington and Porter.  Texaco acquired this parcel from W.S. VanCleave in June 1930.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 63, p. 479)

     Mr. Joachim advertised his new venture in the local journal as follows:

TEXACO SERVICE STATION Having taken over the management of the local Texaco Service Station as of July 1st, I shall appreciate your patronage. FRANK JOACHIM “Will You Please Give Me A Trial?  I Will Try To Please You” (The Jackson County Times, July 6, 1947, p. 8)

     In November 1948, Frank Joachim remodeled his Texaco service station.  Two new subterranean storage tanks with a 10,000-gallon storage capacity were installed.  Gasoline distribution to patrons was supplied by two new pumps, which were approached on a newly resurfaced driveway.  In addition, Mr. Joachim had two sanitary restrooms for the convenience of his customers.(The Jackson County Times, November 24, 1948, p. 1)

     Texaco sold this station to Clovis H. Barnett in March 1977.  Howard R. Barnett acquired it in November 1983 and vended it to Mohler Tidy car in December 1986.  The Robert Mohler family still manage and operate the station and will soon open a deli-diner, to compliment their mini-mart.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 586 , p. 342, Bk. 777, p. 192, and Bk. 877, p. 100)

Youkey-Joachim house

     The Frank Joachim home is extant at present day 1208 Porter Avenue.  It is situated on Lot 8 and a part of Lot 7 in Block 2 of the H.F. Russell Subdivision.  John K. Youkey (1848-1922), the builder, and family came to Ocean Springs from Cottage Hill, Florida in October 1911.  Initially they rented the Meyers’ cottage on Church Street.  The Meyer’s cottage, now owned by Laura Ederer Bolton, is more familiarly known to today’s older generation as the Scharr house.(The Ocean Springs News, October 7, 1911, p. 5) 

      In late December 1911, Mr. J.K. Youkey acquired several lots in Block 2 of the Russell Subdivision fronting on Porter Avenue from H.F. Russell.  Consideration for the parcels was $350.  It is assumed the Youkey’s erected their home here in 1912.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 37, p. 525)

      Mr. Youkey was a native of Ohio.  He married Helen M. Douglass (1856-1928), an Indiana lassie, and the daughter of Jackson Douglas and Mary Lee.  Youkey was a War of the Rebellion veteran having served with Co. H of the 135^th Indiana Infantry.(Bradford O’Keefe Burial Bk. 17, p. 39)            

     Frank Joachim acquired the Youkey house from Walter G. Armstrong (1878-1945) in May 1944.  It is believed that Mr. Joachim had been in New Orleans since the collapse of his automobile business at Ocean Springs, during the Depression.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 85, pp. 378-379)

     The Heirs of B.F. Joachim Jr. conveyed their parents’ home to Neil H. Ballard (1920-1984) in July 1971.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 410, p. 528 and JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 17286)

Joachim Farm

     In April 1925, A.E. Olsen sold his 16-acre lot, orange and pecan grove and residence at Bayou Puerto to Frank Joachim (1882-1970) and Uriah Sylvester “Jack” Joachim (1888-1977) for $8000.  This was the old homestead of Thomas N. Hanson (1810-1900), a Dane who became locally renown for his wine making.  The Olsen place was situated in Section 24, T7S-R9W in US Government Lot 3.  Here the Joachim brothers produced the “Giraffe” pecan.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 55, p. 80 and The Daily Herald, October 12, 1925, p. 1)

     The Joachim brothers turned this venture into a handsome profit when they conveyed this site to H.W. Branigar of Gulf Hills for $45,000 in November 1925.( JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 55, p. 80 and Bk. 57, pp. 88-90)

     B.F. “Frank” Joachim II expired on March 12, 1970.  Less than a year later, his wife passed on February 18, 1971.  Both were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou.

Children of Frank and Lena Schmidt Joachim

Mark O. Joachim

      Mark Oscar Joachim (1904-1955), called Oscar, made his early livelihood at Ocean Springs with his father in his Ford auto sales and service organization.  He was a graduate of the Soule Business College at New Orleans.  In 1929, Oscar Joachim was elected city clerk after the retirement of long time city clerk, James Lynch (1852-1935).  He served in this capacity until he was replaced in 1942, by Sadie Catchot Hodges (1894-1973).   At the time of his demise in July 1955, Mr. Joachim was bookkeeper for Blossman Gas.  He was also a public accountant.(Schmidt, 1972, pp. 135-136 and The Daily Herald, July 18, 1955, p. 2)

      Oscar Joachim had married Miss Mary Gough (1902-1978), the daughter of Mrs. A.E. Gough of Malvern, Arkansas, at St. Alphonsus Church in early June 1927.  Miss Gough was an alumnus of the University of Arkansas.  She was a teacher in the local grammar school.  Miss Amy Quick attended Miss Gough.(The Jackson County Times, June 11, 1927, p. 3)

      In July 1929, Mrs. L.A. Wilcox of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the sister of Mary Gough Joachim, came with her spouse and mother, for her first visit to Ocean Springs.(The Jackson County Times, July 20, 1929, p. 3)

      Mrs. Joachim ran for political office in 1965, and was elected alderman for Ward 4 defeating former mayor, Charles Ernest Schmidt (1904-1988).  She passed at Grand Bay, Alabama in late November 1978.  Mary G. Joachim had taught elementary school at Ocean Springs for thirty years as a classroom instructor and six as a substitute teacher.(The Ocean Springs Record, November 30, 1978, p. 2)

Children

      Oscar and Mary G. Joachim were the parents of: Mark Oscar Joachim II (1928-1994) and Ann Joachim Donaghey (c. 1932-c. 1986).

Oscar Joachim bungalow

      The Oscar Joachim bungalow is situated at present day 300 Washington Avenue.  This structure was built in 1917, by Carrie Johnson Garrard (1886-1968), the widow of Joseph B. Garrard (1871-1915).  Mrs. Garrard purchased the lot, which is on the northwest corner of Washington Avenue and Ocean, from Mrs. Albert G. Tebo (1853-1918) in August 1916.( JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 42, pp. 516-517)

      In 1924, Carrie Johnson Garrard (1886-1968) married Alexander Fleet Everhart (1881-1957).  According to local realtors, the house was utilized for rentals until Mark O. Joachim, Sr. (1904-1955) purchased it in 1943.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 83, pp. 275-276)

Fire

     The Oscar Joachim home burned on December 17, 1946.  Young Ann Joachim was rescued from the second story by her father.  He suffered facial burns and smoke inhalation.  The house was severely damaged, but not destroyed.(The Jackson County Times, December 21, 1946, p. 1)

First Presbyterian Church

      In December 1955, shortly after Mr. Joachim's death, his widow, Mary G. Joachim, sold the house to the First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs for $18,500.  Mrs. Joachim relocated to a smaller home on Jackson Avenue.  At this time, the Joachim home became known affectionately as "the Manse", the home of the minister.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 83, pp. 275-276)

      The Manse became embroiled in controversy in the spring of 1992, when the Ocean Springs Historic Preservation Commission denied the request of the Presbyterians to remove the old structure in order to erect a new sanctuary on the site occupied by the Joachim house.  After many months of discussion and compromise, the 1917 Garrard bungalow on Washington was saved and the new Presbyterian sanctuary was built on Ocean east of the 1887 church.  On August 20, 1995, the First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs dedicated its new sanctuary on Ocean Avenue.( The Mississippi Press, April 10, 1992, p. 4-A and The Ocean Springs Record, August 17, 1995, p. 3)

Mark Oscar Joachim II

      Mark Oscar Joachim II, called Oscar, was born at Ocean Springs on September 6, 1928.  After completing Notre Dame high school at Biloxi, where he was an outstanding quarterback, Oscar attended the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York.  In July 1947, Cadet Oscar Joachim embarked for a South American voyage aboard a United Fruit Company vessel.(The Jackson County Times, July 6, 1947, p. 8, Ann S. Joachim, January 12, 2004 and M.F. “Bud”  Hodges, January 13, 2004 )

       After completing his studies at Mississippi State University, Oscar married Catherine Ann Saucier of Pascagoula (b. 1934) on July 6, 1958.  She was the daughter of Clifton Saucier (1896-1981) and Catherine Scholtes Saucier.  They were the parents of Valerie Joachim Dedeaux.(JXCO, Ms. Circuit Court MR Bk. 97, p. 194 and Ann S. Joachim, January 12, 2004)

      Circa 1956, Oscar Joachim became a resident of Pascagoula.  Here he was employed as the County purchasing agent before becoming purchasing manager for Mississippi Chemical, where he remained for twenty-eight years.  Oscar had served his country during the Korean War and was a Roman Catholic.  He passed on November 15, 1994 at Pascagoula.  Mr. Joachim’s corporal remains rest in the Jackson County Memorial Park cemetery in Pascagoula.(The Sun Herald, November 16, 1994, p. A-2)

Ann Joachim

      Ann Joachim was a 1950 graduate of Ocean Springs High School where she was elected Miss OSHS, most popular girl, and senior class vice-president.  Ann was extremely active in all phases of her school as she was in the band, led cheers, edited the school paper and annual, and played on the basketball squad.(Hi Daze, 1950, p. 5)

     Pre- July 1955, Ann Joachim married Charles Donaghey.  They resided at Oil City, Pennsylvania before relocating to Houston, Texas.(No further information)

B.F. Joachim III

      B.F. Joachim III (1908-1974), called B.F., was the second child of B.F. “Frank” Joachim II  (1882-1970) and Magdalena “Lena” Schmidt (1882-1971).  He was born at Ocean Springs on February 17, 1908.  B.F. attended local schools until he went to Spring Hill College in Mobile for his higher education.  He graduated from the Jesuit institution’s preparatory department in June 1927.(The Jackson County Times, June 11, 1927, p. 3)

     In November 1932, B.F. Joachim shipped out of Mobile on the steamer, City of Alma, for London and other European ports.  His ship was expected back in Mobile in January 1933.  In April 1933, Joachim sailed aboard the steamship, President Harrison, owned by the Dollar Ship Line.  The eight month voyage circumnavigated the planet disembarking at twenty-two ports in fourteen countries.(The Daily Herald, November 12, 1932, p. 2 and The Jackson County Times, December 23, 1933)

     B.F. Joachim married Kathryn Elizabeth Ernst (1906-1993), the daughter of John J. Ernst and Julie Ann O’Neil of Quincy, Illinois, on May 24, 1944, at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Ocean Springs.(JXCO, Ms. Circuit Court MRB 41, p. 115)

     B.F. Joachim expired in January 1974, at Quincy, Illinois.  Mrs. Joachim died at Quincy on March 24, 1993.(No further information)

Mary Frances Joachim

      Mary Frances Joachim (1916-1987) was the last child of B.F. “Frank” Joachim II (1908-1974) and Magdalena “Lena” Schmidt (1882-1971).  She married Walter Dermy Milner (1917-1980) of Gulfport, in early June 1939, at the St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  The young couple made their home in Jackson, Mississippi.(The Jackson County Times, June 10, 1939, p. 4)

     The Milners had two children: Martha Milner, RSM, and Joseph Milner.  Mary Frances Milner expired at Biloxi on April 5, 1987.  Her remains interred in Evergreen Cemetery.(The Ocean Springs Record, April 9, 1987, p. 3)

JOSEPHINE E. JOACHIM

      Josephine Eleanora Joachim (1884-1927) was born at New Orleans, Louisiana on August 21, 1884. In 1904, she graduated from the Soule Business College in New Orleans.  Josephine married Robert Eugene Lee (1887-1927) of Vancleave, Mississippi in June 1909, at her father’s home in Ocean Springs.  Houston Martin was the best man and Miss Queenie Joachim, attended her sister.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, July 1, 1904, p. 3 and The Ocean Springs News, June 19, 1909)

       Josephine and R.E. Lee were the parents of: Rosemary Lee, Robert E. Lee Jr.,  Gretchen Lee (1917-1927), Helena Lee (b. 1921), and Jane Lee (1923-1927). 

Family tragedy

     In early November 1927, a devastating incident occurred in the Joachim family at New Orleans, when the car driven by Robert E. Lee was struck by the Sunset Limited, a fast passenger train of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  Mr. Lee, his spouse, and five children were in the motorcar when it was rammed at the grade crossing on Shrewbury Road adjacent to Jefferson Park.  Ironically, they had come to New Orleans from their suburban Southport home to place flowers on the grave of B.F. Joachim Sr. who was interred in the Metairie Cemetery.  Rosemary Lee and R.E. Lee Jr. survived the crash while Mr. Lee, Josephine Joachim Lee, Gretchen Lee, Jane Lee, and Bernard Potin Jr. (1921-1927) were killed.  Bernard Potin Jr. was the son of Queenie Joachim Potin, the sister of Josephine J. Lee.  He had taken the place of Helena Lee in the car as she stayed with her Aunt Queenie in the Potin home situated at 410 Old Homestead Avenue, Bonnabel Place, Metairie.  The Lee family members who died in the accident were all interred in a single tomb in the Metairie Cemetery.(The Jackson County Times, November 12, 1927, p. 1)

FREDERICK W. B. JOACHIM

      Frederick William Bokenfohr Joachim (1886-1887) was born at New Orleans, Louisiana on July 27, 1886.  He expired on October 10, 1887.  No further information.

URIAH S. JOACHIM

     Uriah Silvester “Jack” Joachim (1888-1977) was born on March 13, 1888 at Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  He attended Soule Business School at New Orleans graduating in 1906.  Joachim found employment as a bookkeeper for the Dantzler Commissary, a subsidiary of the L.N. Dantzler Lumber Company, at Vancleave.  Later he worked with the J. & S. Company there.  In 1908, U.S. Joachim relocated to Biloxi where he became an employee of the L. Lopez Company as a bookkeeper.(Lepre, 1991, p. 160 and The Daily Herald, January 31, 1977, p. A-2)

      On November 14, 1912, at Nativity B.V.M. in Biloxi, U.S. Joachim married Stella Angelina Gillen (1892-1963), a native of Biloxi and the daughter of Mark J. Gillen (1840-1925), from County Mayo, Ireland, and Ellen Sheehan (1854-1931), a native of New Orleans.  U.S. Joachim and Stella G. Joachim were the parents of Mark Gillen Joachim (b. 1913), Clare Joachim Maddox (b. 1915), John Schappert “Jack” Joachim (b. 1916), Harry Joseph Joachim (b. 1920), and Ruth Marylyn Joachim Janca.(1925-1989).(Mark Joachim, August 27, 1999)

      By March 1918, Mr. Joachim had been promoted manager of the L. Lopez & Company operation in Biloxi.  At this time, he resigned and joined the Combel Hardware Company as manager.  Mr. Joachim was one of the incorporators of this stock company, which evolved in 1948, into his wholly owned Combel’s Merchandise Mart.  In addition to his hardware interests, U.S. Joachim was president of First Federal Savings and Loan and the Avelez Hotel.  He was also a member of the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce, Elks Club, and Church of the Nativity of the B.V.M.  Mr. Joachim expired in late January 1977.  Stella Gillen Joachim, his wife of over fifty years, preceded him in death expiring on September 12, 1963.  They rest eternally in the Southern Memorial Park cemetery in Biloxi.(The Jackson County Times, March 20, 1918, p. 7 and The Daily Herald, January 31, 1977, p.  A-2)

Children of Uriah S. Joachim and Stella Gillen Joachim

Mark G. Joachim

       Mark Gillen Joachim (1913-2011) was born at Biloxi on November 24, 1913.  On September 3, 1939, he married Lillie Catherine 'Putta' Chinn (1917-2002), the daughter of Richard Harvey Chinn and Edwardine Cannette (1889-1968).  They were the parents of: Gary P. Joachim, Richard M. Joachim, David Joachim, and Cathy J. Bryant.(Harrison County, Mississippi Circuit Court MRB 50, p. 184)

       Mark G. Joachim graduated from Biloxi High School in 1931 and attended Draughon's Business College.  During WWII, he served his country as a Captain with the US Army Air Corps in the South Pacific.  In September 1944, he had to bail out of a military aircraft, which developed engine trouble over West Virginia.(The Sun Herald, September 14, 1999, p. C-1)

       Mr. Joachim made his livelihood in Combel's Hardware, the family hardware business in Biloxi, and in the Civil Service system at KAFB.  In this capacity, he and Catherine relocated to the Nation's Capitol from 1938-1941 when he was employed with the Federal Housing Administration.  Mark celebrated his 90^th birthday at his Windsor Porte home in mid-November 2003.  He was joined by siblings, children, and friends.(The Mississippi Press, December 31, 2003, p. 1)

Passing

       Lillie C. Joachim after rearing her children returned to college and enriched her life with the new knowledge gained from computer science, voice, piano, and drama.  In 1985, she commenced her career as a actress on local stages.  Her theater resume included more than forty plays, musical, and concerts.  In 1991, Lillie C. Joachim was awarded a Bravo Award for her best supporting actress role in the Biloxi Little Theater’s “Girls of the Garden Club”.  Lillie expired on July 5, 2002.  Her corporal remains were interred in the Southern Memorial Park cemtery in Biloxi.(The Sun Herald, July 7, 2002, p. A-9)

      Mark Gillen Joachim passed on while residing with Cathy Joachim Bryant, his daughter, at Marietta, Georgia on July 22, 2011.  He had left Ocean Springs after his home in Windsor Porte had been damaged by Hurricane Katrina.  His corporal remains were interred in the Southern Memorial Park cemtery in Biloxi.(The Sun Herald, July 26, 2011, p. A-4)

Margaret Clare Joachim

Margaret Clare Joachim

    Margaret Clare Joachim was (1915-2009) born at Biloxi on March 15, 1915.  On February 3, 1940, she married Augustus Carl Maddox Jr. (1912-1996), a native of Magnolia, Arkansas, in her family home at 115 Hopkins Boulevard in Biloxi.  Miss Joachim was very popular as a student at Biloxi High School serving as band sponsor in her junior and senior years.  In April 1933, she won the honor in competition with Lucille Gutierrez, Sarah Dickey, and Gertrude Galle.(The Daily Herald, February 3, 1940, and April 20, 1933, p. 2)

     The children of Margaret Clare and Carl Maddox were: Mike Maddox m. Mary Camille Traweek; Steve Maddox m. Faith Ohlmeyer; and Tim Maddox m. Diane Lirette.  On February 18, 1950, their third son, Timothy Scott Maddox was born at Greenwood, Mississippi.(The Daily Herald, February 20, 1950, p. 8 and The Sun Herald, November 29, 2009, p. A14)

    Margaret Clare Joachim Maddox expired on October 24, 2009 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana.(The Sun Herald, November 29, 2009, p. A14)

A. Carl Maddox

      Carl Maddox, called “Clipboard”, attended Northwestern State University at Natchitoches, Louisiana from 1932-1934, before commencing a career in athletics for the remainder of his life.  Carl successfully coached high school football in Louisiana and Mississippi before going to LSU in 1954, where he coached football for five years and was on the staff that won the 1958 NCAA National Championship under Paul Dietzel.  Mr. Maddox became Athletic Director at LSU in 1968 and served in this capacity for eleven years.  He went to Starkville and was the AD at Mississippi State from 1979-1984. 

     Carl Maddox was honored by LSU in 1975, when they named their new indoor track facility, The Carl Maddox Field House.  He also left a legacy at Mississippi State University, as that scholastic institution bestowed the name of Mr. Maddox on the running track at W.O. Spencer Stadium. 

    Another sports world honor came to Carl Maddox when the United States Sports Academy instituted The Carl Maddox Sports Management Award.  It is granted annually to an individual for his/her contribution to the growth and development of sport enterprise through effective management practices.  Vince Dooley of UGA received the Carl Maddox Sports Management Award at the presentation ceremony in conjunction with the annual meeting of the US Sports Academy's board of trustees in Daphne, Alabama on January 16, 2004.  LSU also had a Carl Maddox scholarship.

     Carl Maddox has been inducted in the Sports Hall of Fame in Louisiana, Mississippi (1989), LSU, and Mississippi State University.  He expired at Baton Rouge, Louisianan on February 16, 1996.

John S.  Joachim

            John Schappert “Jack” Joachim (1916-1999) was born at Biloxi on December 25, 1916.  On March 3, 1934, he married his high school sweetheart, Rose Navarro (1916-1999).  Rose was the daughter of Salvador N. Navarro (1869-1953) and Eusebia Cabrera-Rojas (1891-1980).  Jack and Rose Joachim were the parents of twenty children.  Eighteen of their progeny, six sons and twelve daughters, survived to adulthood.  Rose N. Joachim expired on October 31, 1999, leaving fifty-five grandchildren and twenty-six great grandchildren.  Mrs. Joachim’s corporal remains were interred in the Southern Memorial Park in Biloxi.(The Daily Herald, August 16, 1934, p. 3 and The Sun Herald, November 2, 1999, p. A-7)

Harry J. Joachim

            Harry Joseph Joachim was born at Biloxi on March 8, 1920.  After WWII, Harry and his brother, Mark G. Joachim, were in the appliance and hardware business in Biloxi. Harry married Patricia Streiff (1921-2005) of Gulfport on September 14, 1947.  She was a native of Freeport, Illinois, but came to Gulfport, Mississippi with her parents William A. Streiff and Teresa M. Streiff in 1927.  The Streiff family in America was founded by Fridolin Streiff, a Swiss immigrant, who settled in Wisconsin creating the community of New Glarus. Harry J. Joachim and Patricia S. Joachim were the parents of five children: Patricia Ann Joachim (1948-2011), Cynthia J. Trahan, Harry B. Joachim, Cheryl Joachim, and Robert Joachim.  In later life, Harry J. Joachim became synonymous with real estate on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Biloxi in particular.  He remains active in the business with daughter, Cynthia.(Harrison Co. Ms., Circuit Court MRB 75, p. 379, Mark G. Joachim, January 19, 2004, and The Sun Herald, April 5, 2005, p. A6)            .

Ruth M. Joachim

            Ruth Marylyn Joachim (1925-1989), called Marylyn, was born May 1, 1925.  On November 23, 1948, she married Frank Luke Janca (1924-1998), who was born October 18, 1924, at Yoakum, Texas.  During WW II, Frank had served aboard the U.S.S. Sequoia as Chief of the ship’s office and radioman.  Their children were: Linda Frances Janca (1950-1998+), Louis Kent Janca (1951-1993), Frank L. Janca Jr., Terrance Janca, Anton J. Janca, Keith M. Janca, William R. Janca, and Michele J. Labat Stevens. Marylyn J. Janca died on January 27, 1989.  Frank expired on May 19, 1998.   Both were interred in the Biloxi National Cemetery.(Harrison Co., Ms. Circuit Court MRB 78, p. 353, The Sun Herald January 29, 1989, p. A-4  and May 20, 1998, p. A-15)

ELIZABETH B. JOACHIM

            Elizabeth Barbara Joachim (1891-1932), called “Queenie”, was born at Ocean Springs on September 5, 1891.  She attended local schools and graduated from Ocean Springs High School in May 1909, when O.T. Harper was the principal.  Miss Joachim was Class Historian and played basketball on the 1908-1909 Gulf Coast Championship team.(Lepre, 1991, p. 160 and  The Ocean Springs News, May 15, 1909, p. 1)

            In May 1917, at Ocean Springs, Miss Joachim married Bernard Potin (1893-1981), a prominent businessman from New Orleans.  His father was born in France and Mr. Potin’s mother was a Louisiana native of German heritage.  At New Orleans, Bernard made his livelihood as a sales engineer with A.M. Lockett.(The Daily Herald, May 19, 1917, p. 3 and Gretchen P. Mortimer, January 19, 2004)

           Bernard and Queenie Joachim Potin were the parents of three children: Bernard Potin Jr. (1921-1927), Elizabeth P. “Betty” Pittenger (1918-1972), and Gretchen P. Mortimer (b. 1932).  Mrs. Potin expired in childbirth on February 9, 1932.  After her demise, Bernard married Leah Anderson (1897-1968).  They had a son, James B. Potin (1934-1996).(Gretchen P. Mortimer, January 19, 2004)

 

REFERENCES:

Books

Regina Hines Ellison, Ocean Springs 1892, 2^nd Edition, (Lewis Printing Services: Pascagoula, Mississippi-1991).

Jerome Lepre, Catholic Church Records Diocese of Biloxi, Mississippi (1843-1900), Volume I, (Catholic Diocese of Biloxi: Biloxi, Mississippi-1991).

Ocean Springs, Mississippi-1915

Journals

The Biloxi Herald, “Ocean Springs”, February 7, 1891.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “New Orleans Advertisements”, January 1, 1899.

The Daily Herald, “Potin-Joachim”, May 19, 1917, p. 3.

The Daily Herald, “Ocean Springs”, June 17, 1922.

The Daily Herald, “Ocean Springs”, November 12, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “L.A. Joachim”, December 2, 1933.

The Daily Herald, “Named Band Sponsor”, ?

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Joachim Dies”, January 20, 1934.

The Daily Herald, “Joachim-Navarro”, August 16, 1934.

The Daily Herald, “Joachim-Maddox”, February 3, 1940.

The Daily Herald, “Janca Birth”, February 20, 1950.

The Daily Herald, “Maddox Birth”, February 20, 1950.

The Daily Herald, "Oscar Joachim Fatally Stricken", July 18, 1955, p. 2

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. U.S. Joachim”, September 13, 1963, p. 2.

The Daily Herald, “U.S. Joachim”, January 31, 1977, p. A-2.

The Gulf Coast Times, “Local News”, January 21, 1949.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News Items”, January 12, 1918.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News Items”, March 20, 1918.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News Items”, January 17, 1920.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News Items”, March 6, 1920.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News Items”, December 25, 1920.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News Items”, December 25, 1920.

The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, December 2, 1922.

The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, March 22, 1924.

The Jackson County Times,                        , January 17, 1925.

The Jackson County Times, “Civic and Business Leader Is No More”, January 24, 1925.

The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, May 30, 1925.

The Jackson County Times, “Joachim-Gough”, June 11, 1927, p. 3.

The Jackson County Times, “Five Die In Collision At RY. Grade Crossing”, November 12, 1927.

The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, July 20, 1929.

The Jackson County Times, “Mrs. B.F. Joachim, Sr.”, January 27, 1934, p. 3.

The Jackson County Tim.es, “Milner-Joachim”, June 10, 1939, p. 4.

The Jackson County Times, "Joachim injured in Rescuing Daughter from Burning House", December 23, 1946, p. 1.

The Jackson County Times, “Local News”, July 6, 1947.

The Jackson County Times, “Texaco Service Station”, July 6, 1947.

The Mississippi Press, “The Ocean Springs Press”, Joachim celebrates 90^th birthday, December 31, 2003, p. 1.

The Ocean Springs Record, “Mary Joachim”, November 30, 1978, p. 2.

The Ocean Springs Record, “Mrs. Mary Milner”, April 9, 1987.

The Ocean Springs News, “Graduating Exercises a Brilliant Success”, May 15, 1909.

The Ocean Springs News, “Lee-Joachim”, June 19, 1909.

The Ocean Springs News, “Local News”, May 23, 1914.

The Ocean Springs News, “Local News”, February 18, 1911.

The Ocean Springs News, “Automotive Row”, February 16, 1967.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, July 8, 1898.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, April 10, 1903.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, July 1, 1904.

The Sun Herald, “Mrs. Ruth Janca”, January 29, 1989.

The Sun Herald, “Mark Oscar Joachim Jr.”, November 16, 1994.

The Sun Herald, “Frank Luke Janca Sr.”, May 21, 1998.

The Sun Herald, “Downed pilot ‘rescuer’ chat 55 years later”, September 14, 1999, p. C-1.

The Sun Herald, “Rose Joachim”, November 2, 1999.

The Sun Herald, “Janca painting to aid Tullis-Toledano”, March 17, 2002.

The Sun Herald, "Mrs. Patricia Streiff Joachim", April 5, 2005.

The Sun Herald, "Margaret Clare Joachim Maddox", November 29, 2009.

The Sun Herald, “Patricia Ann Joachim”, May 4, 2011.