Cherokee Glen is a unique Ocean Springs neighborhood encompassing sixty wooded and well-drained, acres.  It is situated in the very western part of the city on the Fort Point Peninsula, which combines areas familiarly called “Lover’s Lane”, “Seapointe”, and “Davidson Hills”.  The northern portion of the Cherokee Glen land subdivision fronts on Old Fort Bayou.  Legally Cherokee Glen is described as a part of U.S. Government Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W. 

 

Henry L. Girot, founder of Cherokee Glen

 

Cherokee Glen owes its name and founding to Leopold H. Girot Jr.(1886-1953), who called himself, Henry L. Girot.  Mr. Girot, a retired tailor, from New Orleans envisioned himself a gentleman farmer and aspired to make his livelihood here growing pecans and raising poultry on these sixty-acres when he acquired Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W, less twenty acres from Benjamin F. Parkinson Jr. (1859-1930) in March 1923. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 52, p. 558)

 

Immediately Mr. Girot began to make improvements to his property.  In order to gain access to his land, dynamite was utilized to clear an impenetrable barrier of thickly, overgrown, foliage consisting primarily of the Cherokee rose vines.  It was thusly, the Cherokee rose, which gave its name to Cherokee Glen.(Beryl Girot Riviere, March 14, 2002)

 

Joseph R. Plummer, the Connecticut Yankee

The Federal patent to U.S. Government Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W, an eighty-acre parcel of land, which encompasses about one-half the land mass of the Fort Point Peninsula, was granted to Arthur Bryant of Illinois, in September 1846.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 59, p. 444-445)

Since the land deed records in the Chancery Court of Jackson County, Mississippi, have been destroyed by fire several times since 1812, the last conflagration occurring in March 1875, it is practically impossible to abstract early land titles, unless the deeds were rerecorded.  With this in mind, one can deduce from the present Jackson County land deed records with some confidence, that Joseph R. Plummer (1804-1870+) was probably the first 19^th Century Caucasian inhabitant of the Fort Point Peninsula.  He owned about 16 acres in the southeast corner of U.S. Government Lot No. 4, Section 24, T7S-R9W.(History of JXCO, Ms., 1989, p. 12) 

 

Mr. Plummer was born in Connecticut, and was in Jackson County for the Federal Census of 1840.  It is believed that J.R. Plummer married Mary G. Porter (1808-1878), the sister of Martha Porter Austin (1818-1898).  He made his livelihood as a farmer and land speculator.  Mrs. Austin was the wife of Dr. William Glover Austin (1814-1891), a New Orleans physician who built the Ocean Springs Hotel in 1853.  The Porter family had also settled at Ocean Springs in the 1840s.  They were originally from Giles County, Tennessee and were merchants at Ocean Springs.  Porter Street or is it Porter Avenue? was named for this pioneer family.

 

U.S. Government Lot 4, Section 24, T7S-R9W was also the locale for Fort Maurepas, the French beachhead, established by Pierre Le Moyne (1671-1706), Sieur d’ Iberville in April 1699 and the Biloxy settlement of 1719, when the French colonists move the capital of La Louisiane from the Mobile area back to the original Biloxi Bay site.  Both of these French Colonial settlements were situated on a prominent topographic feature, a NNW striking ridge, which runs from the southeast corner of U.S. Government Lot 4 for approximately 3500 feet where it terminates in a marsh.  This ridge reaches an elevation over twenty feet above mean sea level.  This area became known as Vieux Biloxey, when Nouveau Biloxey (present day Biloxi) was founded about 1720.  This historical fact gives Biloxi an excellent opportunity to revisit “their Tercentennial” again in 2020.  Standby you party people!

 

Plummer’s “Brick House”

J.R. Plummer built a brick home overlooking Biloxi Bay on his sixteen-acre parcel in the southeast corner of U.S. Government Lot 4, Section 24, T7S-R9W.  His residence in time became known as the Plummer Brick House.  It may have been built with local brick produced by Kentuckian, William Gray Kendall (1812-1872), U.S. Postmaster at New Orleans in 1854, and a summer resident of Ocean Springs.  In January 1846, Kendall established a fifty-acre estate in Section 30, T7S-R8W with 800 feet fronting on the Bay of Biloxi.  On this beautiful, high ground facing Deer Island to the south, he built a residence, icehouse, and school.  Today this property is divided and owned by the heirs of Ruth Dickey White Scharr (1913-2000) and George E. Arndt II (1909-1995).  It lies between the Shearwater Pottery and the Blossman Estate and is the site of “Shadowlawn”, the former Hanson-Dickey House, and our premier bed and breakfast inn.

 

J.R. Plummer sold this place on Biloxi Bay to Issac Randolph (1812-1884) of New Orleans in September 1859, and moved to the Gulf Hills area where he established Oak Lawn Plantation.  Mrs. Joseph R. Plummer began acquiring land in this region as early as November 1849, when she bought about 160 acres, the NW/4 of the SW/4 of Section 17, T7S-R8W, the NE/4 of the SE/4 and the SW/4 of the SW/4 of Section 18, T7S-R8W, and the S/2 of US Lot 2, Section 13, T7S-R9W for $160.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 3, pp. 354-356)      

 

Joseph R. Plummer passed on before 1877, as his wife married Albert G. Bufford of Water Valley, Mississippi.  In the summer of 1878, Mrs. Mary P. Bufford while visiting Ocean Springs to check on her property at present day Gulf Hills from her home in North Mississippi, was a victim of the 1878 yellow fever epidemic, which was fatal to many here.(The Buford Letters, August 2, 1878 to September 15, 1878, Wallace Northway, Jackson, Mississippi)

 

Mrs. Joseph R. Plummer began acquiring land in the Bayou Puerto area as early as November 1849, when she bought about 160 acres, the NW/4 of the SW/4 of Section 17, T7S-R8W, the NE/4 of the SE/4 and the SW/4 of the SW/4 of Section 18, T7S-R8W, and the S/2 of US Lot 2, Section 13, T7S-R9W for $160.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 3, pp. 354-356) 

 

Holmcliffe

Holmcliffe, the Spanish Colonial Revival residence of Robert Hays Holmes (1869-1949) and Mary Colquahoun Holmes (d. 1969), was commenced in November 1929, by Joseph A. Wieder (1877-1960). The Holmes lived atHolmhaven, near the Edgewater Hotel in West Biloxi at the time.(The Jackson County Times, November 30, 1929)

 

J.K. Lemon (1914-1998) was told by Mr. Wieder that when the foundation for Holmcliffe was dug, they discovered that an old brick foundation was found on the same site.  There is a high degree of certitude that this was the remains of  “Plummer’s Brick House”.(J.K. Lemon-1998)      

 

Lot 5-Section 24, T7S-R9W

With this introduction of Joseph R. Plummer completed, the history of the parcel that in March 1923, would become Girot’s Cherokee Glen commenced in August 1863, with Mr. Plummer’s conveyance for $1600, to Sarah Armstrong of his sixty-acres in Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 32, p. 461)

 

In May 1863, J.R. Plummer and spouse had sold twenty of the eighty acres in Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W, to Julia Smith, a native of County Limerick, Ireland, and the widow of John Hayes, (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 12, p. 355)

 

Sarah A. Armstrong

Sarah Affleck Armstrong (1796-1882) was a Scottish lady who resided at New Orleans.  Her daughter, Elizabeth Jane Armstrong (1822-1901), was a native of Liverpool, England and had immigrated to America with her parents when she was small child.  She married Arthur Ambrose Maginnis (1815-1877), a wealthy New Orleans cottonseed oil manufacturer.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, November 15, 1901, p. 3 and John Hobson Maginnis,1997)

 

In January 1882, Mrs. Armstrong sold her daughter, Elizabeth Jane A. Maginnis, the widow of Arthur Ambrose Maginnis, her sixty-acres in Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W.  The consideration was $100.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 5, pp. 579-580)

 

Elizabeth Jane Armstrong Maginnis

 

The Maginnis family at New Orleans was synonymous with cottonseed oil and cotton mills.  Arthur A. Maginnis Sr. (1815-1877), a native of Maryland, was the pioneer in the making of cottonseed oil in the Crescent City, when in1856, he commenced the A.A. Maginnis' Cotton Seed Oil & Soap Works, and later Maginnis' Oil & Soap Works.  His sons, John H. Maginnis (1845-1889) and Arthur A. Maginnis Jr. (1846-1901) founded A.A. Maginnis' Sons, who in 1882, promoted the Maginnis' Cotton Mills.  The Maginnis' Cotton Mills were bounded by Calliope, Poeyfarre, Annunciation, and Constance Streets.  The mills were considered models of their kind and employed nine hundred people.  Their workers operated 12,000 looms and 41,000 spindles to produce over 21,000,000 yards of cotton sheeting, shirting, osnaburg, yarn, bating, and duck cloth from over 12,000 bales of cotton.(Progressive New Orleans, 1895, p. 41) 

 

It is interesting to note that Pres Kabacoff of Historic Restoration Inc. of New Orleans was a partner in the 1996 restoration of the Maginnis Cotton Mill property in New Orleans.  The old derelict structure was renovated into a 286-unit apartment building costing $26 million.  In the early 1990s, Mr. Kabacoff and family rented the 1877 Poitevent-Mavar house at 309 Lover’s Lane.(The Times Picayune, January 6, 1996)

 

Elizabeth Jane A. Maginnis and Arthur Ambrose Maginnis reared a large family at New Orleans.  Their children were: Sarah Eugenia M. Nolan (1841-1894), John Henry Maginnis (1845-1889), Arthur Ambrose Maginnis Jr. (1846-1901), Emma Isabel M. Gilmore (1854-1901+), Charles Benjamin Maginnis (1856-1909), Margaret Cecelia M. Pescud (1857-1905+), William D. Maginnis (1862-1938), Laura Elizabeth M. Penrose (1863-1905+), and Albert Baldwin Maginnis (1864-1917). 

 

After Elizabeth Jane Maginnis expired in 1901, her succession revealed that her heirs were: William Daniel Maginnis, Margaret C.M. Pescud, Elizabeth M. Nolan Becnel, Emma I. M. Gilmore, A.B. Maginnis, Emma Nolan Maurin, Martha N. Gilmore, Charles B. Maginnis, Laura M. Penrose, John T. Nolan, and Samuel L. Gilmore.  At Ocean Springs, they were legated the sixty-acre parcel in Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W, as well as Mrs. Maginnis’ other family property here, which included the Maginnis Estate on Front Beach Drive. 

 

Maginnis Estate

Here on a high bluff, near the present day Ocean Springs Yacht Club, with over six-hundred feet of water front acreage, between present day Hillendale and McNamee, the Maginnis family had erected a large mansion and several outbuildings.  C.E. Schmidt (1904-1988) in his Ocean Springs French Beachhead (1972), describes the Maginnis Estate as "along the Bay front East of Hillendale, and back to Porter Street…(in addition to the main house)….There was also a smaller house on the front, and servant cottages on Porter".(Schmidt, 1972, pp. 121-122)

 

John Henry Maginnis lost his life at Ocean Springs on July 4, 1889, when struck by lightning.  He was preparing to dive into the bay in front of the Maginnis home.  There is a stained-glass window dedicated to his memory in the Trinity Church at New Orleans.(The Trinity Record, November 1924, p. 6)

 

In June 1905, the heirs of Elizabeth Jane Armstrong Maginnis conveyed their rights title and interest in her Ocean Springs lands and improvements to A.A. Maginnis Land Company of New Orleans, W.D. Maginnis, vice president.  The consideration was $2000.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 30, pp. 285-286)

 

A.A. Maginnis Land Company

In June 1907, the A.A. Maginnis Land Co. of New Orleans sold their sixty acres in Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W to B.F. Parkinson for $2000.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 32, p. 462)

 

Benjamin F. Parkinson and family

Benjamin Franklin Parkinson (1859-1930), called Frank, was the son of Franklin B. Parkinson (1823-1896) and Eugenia Bodley Parkinson (1831-1898) and a native of New Orleans. Parkinson’s father was born in Ohio.  In 1857, he married Eugenia Bodley, a native of Baltimore, Maryland.  She had a brother, Thomas B. Bodley who lived in Jackson, Mississippi with his wife, Charlotte G. Coleman Bodley.  When the Civil War commenced, Franklin B. Parkinson and family were domiciled in the 11^th Ward of New Orleans.  He joined the Confederate ranks with A.D. Parkinson, who may have been a relative.(1860 Federal Census, Orleans Parish, La., p. 871 and The Jackson County Times, September 29, 1934, p. 4)

 

Civil War military service records indicate Franklin B. Parkinson enlisted in Company B, Orleans Guards, Louisiana Military Regiment on March 8, 1862.  He was immediately transferred by Governor T.O. Moore to a unit for the local defense of the City of New Orleans, commanded by Major General Mansfield Lovell, CSA.(Booth, 1984, p. 73).

 

In June 1875, the F.B. Parkinson family of New Orleans acquired for $4000, the 6.41-acre estate of Mary B. Allison, also a resident of the Crescent City, and the widow of Andrew Allison (1818-1873).  Andrew Allison was a native of Ayershire, Scotland and had lived in the South since 1852.  At New Orleans, the Allisons were at home on Baronne Street.  This exceptionally fine summer retreat was situated on Biloxi Bay in Lot 4, Section 24, T7S-R9W at present day 335 Lovers Lane.(JXCO Land Deed Bk. 1, pp. 479-482 and The Times Picayune, January 11, 1873, p. 4)

 

In the summer of 1895, the family of William Woodward, an art professor at Tulane University in New Orleans, took a long holiday at the Parkinson place.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, August 23, 1895, p. 3)

 

In 1900, B.F. Parkinson was a resident of Peter’s Avenue, Ward 14 of New Orleans.  In his home were his siblings, Mary Eugenia “Mollie” Parkinson (1862-1902) and Robert Parkinson (1864-1925), as well as their servant, Ellen Perry (1850-1900+).  Both of the Parkinson men were employed in the insurance business.(1900 Federal Census, Orleans Parish, La., Roll 575, Bk. 2, p. 3)

 

After the demise of their parents, the Parkinson children owned their Ocean Springs estate.  In August 1902, several years after the demise of his mother, B.F. Parkinson acquired the one-third interest of his brother.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 25, pp. 492-495)

B.F. Parkinson nor his siblings married.  He was in the insurance business at New Orleans. Mr. Parkinson after many years with the Home Insurance Company founded the Fire Insurance Patrol circa 1920.  He was president and secretary of this organization at the time of his demise on April 24, 1930.  In New Orleans, Parkinson was once active in the St. John Rowing Club.  At Ocean Springs, he raised prize-winning chickens as a hobby on his Bay front estate.  Parkinson was buried in the family tomb at the Lafayette No. 1 Cemetery on Washington Avenue in New Orleans.(The Times Picayune, April 25, 1930, p. 2, c. 6)

 

Ocean Springs Poultry Farm

At Ocean Springs, B.F. Parkinson called his avocation, the Ocean Springs Poultry Farm.  In January 1906, the Ocean Springs Poultry Farm was under the management of Mr. Winslow.  Mr. Parkinson’s chickens won several awards at the Mobile poultry breeders exhibition in January 1906.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, January 12, 1906, p. 3)

In May 1906, a fire destroyed the barn on the Parkinson place.  The loss was estimated at approximately $1,000 and uninsured.  Destroyed in the conflagration were: grain, exhibition chicken coops, tools and implements, but fortunately only four prize chickens.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, May 18, 1906, p. 3)

In 1910, B.F. Parkinson was living at Ocean Springs with his cook, Bell Riley (1887-1910+), and yardman, Solomon Carter (1881-1910+) and his wife, Fannie Carter (1886-1910+).  He was not here for the 1920 or 1930 Federal Census.

In June 1875, the F.B. Parkinson family of New Orleans acquired for $4000, the 6.41-acre estate of Mary B. Allison, also a resident of the Crescent City, and the widow of Andrew Allison (1818-1873).  Andrew Allison was a native of Ayershire, Scotland and had lived in the South since 1852.  At New Orleans, the Allisons were at home on Baronne Street.  This exceptionally fine summer retreat was situated on Biloxi Bay in Lot 4, Section 24, T7S-R9W at present day 335 Lovers Lane.(JXCO Land Deed Bk. 1, pp. 479-482 and The Times Picayune, January 11, 1873, p. 4)

In the summer of 1895, the family of William Woodward, an art professor at Tulane University in New Orleans, took a long holiday at the Parkinson place.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, August 23, 1895, p. 3)

In 1900, B.F. Parkinson was a resident of Peter’s Avenue, Ward 14 of New Orleans.  In his home were his siblings, Mary Eugenia “Mollie” Parkinson (1862-1902) and Robert Parkinson (1864-1925), as well as their servant, Ellen Perry (1850-1900+).  Both of the Parkinson men were employed in the insurance business.(1900 Federal Census, Orleans Parish, La., Roll 575, Bo. 2, p. 3)

After the demise of their parents, the Parkinson children owned their Ocean Springs estate.  In August 1902, several years after the demise of his mother, B.F. Parkinson acquired the one-third interest of his brother.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 25, pp. 492-495)

B.F. Parkinson nor his siblings married.  He was in the insurance business at New Orleans. Mr. Parkinson after many years with the Home Insurance Company founded the Fire Insurance Patrol circa 1920.  He was president and secretary of this organization at the time of his demise on April 24, 1930.  In New Orleans, Parkinson was once active in the St. John Rowing Club.  At Ocean Springs, he raised prize-winning chickens as a hobby on his Bay front estate.  Parkinson was buried in the family tomb at the Lafayette No. 1 Cemetery on Washington Avenue in New Orleans.(The Times Picayune, April 25, 1930, p. 2, c. 6)

 

Plummer Avenue

On April 9, 1913, B.F. Parkinson requested of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of Ocean Springs at their public meeting that Plummer Avenue (now Lovers Lane) be open from Old Fort Bayou to the L&N Railroad right-of way. He presented copies of recorded warranty deeds to the Board demonstrating that reservations had been made in prior land conveyances for Plummer Avenue to be a public thoroughfare of 60 feet in width.  Alderman J.D. Minor (1863-1920) motioned and the Board passed his recommendation, that the Plummer Avenue situation be reviewed with attorney J.S. Ford for his legal advise.(TOS, Minute Bk. Dec. 3, 1907 to Jan. 14, 1915, pp. 259-260)

On May 6, 1913, Mayor W.T. Ames (1880-1969) reported to his Board of Alderman, that the honorable J.S. Ford had reviewed the matter of the opening of Plummer Avenue from Old Fort Bayou to the L&N Railroad right-of-way.  He rendered his legal opinion in writing, which said that Ocean Springs had the legal right to open the road under certain conditions.  Alderman W.S. VanCleave (1871-1938) motioned that the action be sent to the Street Committee with the petition of the landowners on Plummer Avenue relative to the road opening. (TOS, Minute Bk. Dec. 3, 1907 to Jan. 14, 1915, p. 263)

 

Local insurance agency

In 1914, at Ocean Springs, B.F. Parkinson was in the insurance business with George E. Arndt (1857-1945).  They operated as Arndt & Parkinson-Fire and Tornado Insurance.(The Ocean Springs News, February 7, 1914) 

In September 1990, J.K. Lemon (1914-1998), local historian and realtor, recalled that James A. Carter (1875-1947), also known locally as James Carco, one of the best pecan grafters in the region, had composed a little ditty about mullet, which with oysters were his primary food source in his impoverished childhood years.   Carco’s rhyme went something like this:

“I went down to the Parkinson’s wharf

I made one throw and they all ran ‘arf

And I rolled my pants up to my knee

And I chased them mullet to the Rigolets”

“I went down to the Parkinson’s wharf

I made one throw and they all ran ‘arf

And I rolled my pants up to my ass

And I chased them mullets through the Biloxi Pass”

By the late 1920s, Mr. Parkinson’s health had seriously deteriorated.  He was at Ocean Springs in late April 1930, when he had to be taken to New Orleans in an ambulance owned by the Bradford burial parlors.   He passed on in the Crescent City, on April 24, 1930.  Thorp-Southeimer, Tharp, Inc. prepared his corporal remains for internment in Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.(The Daily Herald, April 29, 1930, p. 2)

 

Parkinson Estates

M.A. Phillips from Hancock County was the administrator of the B.F. Parkinson Estate.  Mr. Parkinson’s estate was valued at $4845.  Edith Ingleharte was his cook at time of his death.  B.F. Parkinson legated $1519.50 each to Ralph Palfrey and Mrs. J.H. Palfrey.(JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 5265, June 1930)

 In September 1934, an interesting development occurred in the estate of B.F. Parkinson’s parents.  John W. Dwyer of 40 Wall Street in New York City wrote the editor of The Jackson County Times seeking their legal heirs.  He related in a letter titled, “Information Wanted”, that “the heirs of Franklin B. Parkinson and Eugenia Bodley, his wife, are entitled to about $20,000.”  The Dwyer letter also stated that F. B. Parkinson was born at Natchez, Mississippi, not Ohio, as the 1860 Federal Census indiates.(The Jackson County Times, September 29, 1934, p. 4)

 

Palfrey Place

In May 1931, M.A. Phillips sold the B.F. Parkinson place and improvements on the Back Bay of Biloxi Bay toRalph Palfrey (1898-1972), a printer from New Orleans and his mother, Mrs. Herbert A. Palfrey (1870-1966), neeJessie Handy and wife of Herbert A. Palfrey (1866-1921), for $4700.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 64, pp. 318-319) 

In January 1980, Miss Gertrude Palfrey sold the Parkinson-Palfrey place on Lovers Lane to Thomas P. Crozat, the son of her sister, Leila Palfrey Crozat (1902-1967).(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 670, p. 34)

 

The Joseph Catchot Place

Another episode relating to ones knowledge of the pre-history of the Cherokee Glen neighborhood at Ocean Springs is the residence and farm of Joseph Catchot and family, which consisted of the twenty acres, more or less, comprising the remainder of Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W.  In May 1863, Joseph R. Plummer and Mary G. Plummer conveyed to Julia Smith (1823-1903), the widow of John Hayes, and a native of Limerick County, Ireland for $400, a twenty-acre parcel in the northwest corner of Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W.  This tract had a frontage of about 400 feet on Old Fort Bayou and ran south for approximately 1950 feet.  As previously mentioned the Plummers sold the remaining sixty acres in Lot 5, which would become Cherokee Glen, to Sarah Affleck Armstrong (1796-1882) in August 1863.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk.12, p. 355 and Bk.    32, p. 461)

Julia Smith had immigrated to America in 1847.  After the death of John Hayes, she married Jose’ (Joseph) Catchot (1824-1900), an 1842 immigrant from the island of Minorca, a Spanish possession in the western Mediterranean Sea.  Senor Catchot was the son of Jose' Catchot and Eulalia Derany.  Joseph Catchot and Julia Smith had a son, Antonio John “A.J.” Catchot (1864-1954), born at Ocean Springs.   In his mature years, A.J. Catchot carried the appellation “Captain”.

Schuyler Poitevent (1875-1936), the first historian of Ocean Springs, who once resided at present day 309 Lovers Lane, wrote the following about the Joseph Catchot Place, in his unpublished book, Broken Pot, which relates the French Colonial history of this region.

“Born and reared just across the narrow branch from Old Magnolia Springs and almost, therefore, within a pine-knots throw of the site of Old Fort Maurepas, Mayor A.J. Catchot, of Ocean Springs, told me the other day that the old home where he was born in 1863, and where he had spent his boyhood days had been the site of an old Indian village.”

In February 1932, Mr. Poitevent recorded these words of A.J. Catchot: “When I was a young man, my father, Captain (Joseph) Catchot, used to own a small twenty acre farm bordering on Old Fort Bayou and Plummers acres.  When plowing our field, I often came across old Indian relics such as a large blue china bead about the size of a buckshot.  Also flint arrow heads & Indian tomahawks of flint.  Also small cannon balls about 4” diameter and some small 2 ½”.  Also lots of clam and oyster shell. Those shells had pieces of broken china dishes some white & others colored blue.  Also several pieces of clay pottery and bottoms of broken jars.  There seem to be a row of wigwams, which had a reddish-yellow, clay floor.  Shell relics were found in the wigwams.  The location of this Indian village was on what is now called the old Dr. Dabney Place.”  (A.J. Catchot-February 12, 1932) 

 

Antonio J. Catchot

In April 1891, Mrs. Julia Catchot sold her son, A.J. Catchot, a lot on the south end of her twenty-acre tract in Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W.  This 2.3-acre parcel ran 260 feet north and south and 384 feet east to west.  In January 1887, A.J. Catchot had married Florence Victoria Clark (1862-1933), the daughter of William Clark and Elizabeth Cochran of Mobile, Alabama. They were the parents of five children: Edward C. Catchot (1888-1946), Matthew W. Catchot (1890-1891), Mary Julia Catchot (1892-ca 1892), Eula C. Simpson Gill (1893-1982), and Sadie C. Hodges (1894-1973).  After his wife died in 1933, Catchot married Mrs. Georgia Gordon (1894-1983) at Pass Christian in May 1934.  Mrs. Gordon had three children: Emmett Gordon (1920-1976), Mary Lou Gordon, and Christy Gordon.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk.12, p. 356 and The Jackson County Times, May 21, 1934)

In 1880, Captain Junius Poitevent (1837-1919), a neighbor of the Catchots and father of Schuyler Poitevent, brought young Tony Catchot to St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana to work on the East Louisiana Railroad, a narrow-gauge logging road, which was being constructed in the Honey Island swamp area.  An elderly Quaker gentleman from Philadelphia, who was his foreman, taught Catchot to use the T-square.  Soon he was framing bridge timbers like a veteran.(The Gulf Coast Times, July 29, 1949, p. 5)

On October 1, 1882, Tony Catchot joined the L&N Railroad.  His first job was unloading coal cars for 90 cents per car.  Catchot soon joined the bridge and building department on the Mobile and New Orleans Division of the L&N.  He spent most of his sixty-four years with that railroad building and maintaining the bridges and trestles on the 140-miles of track between New Orleans and Mobile.  Catchot had to contend with the teredo worm, hurricanes, rivers and swamps, and the "prairie tremblante", that unstable, silty, organic clay which underlies coastal marshes.  Catchot served the railroad as its bridge and building superintendent for thirty-six years.  His skill as a construction engineer was so impressive that between 1894 and 1902, the L&N Railroad “loaned” him to several large companies and the US Navy for wharf, piers, and dock projects in Florida at Pensacola, Warrington, and Dry Tortugas.  In Mississippi, Catchot built piers at Gulfport in 1901, for the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad.  He was aboard the first ship piloted into the new harbor at Gulfport.(The Jackson County Times, January 11, 1947, p.1)

In 1894, A.J. Catchot moved his young family from their farm in Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W, northwest of present day Cherokee Glen, to a new cottage on Porter.  The Catchot domicile was situated at today’s 703 Porter.  It burned to the ground on December 18, 1914, killing Elizabeth Clark Nolan (1839-1914), A.J. Catchot's mother-in-law.  The inferno was sourced from an exploding oil heater in her room.  The Catchot-Kendall home was rebuilt in January 1915, and is owned today by John and Sherry Kendall.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, July 13, 1894, p. 3 and The Ocean Springs News, December 24, 1914, p. 1)

Tony Catchot returned to the L&N Railroad in 1902, and was promoted to Superintendent of the Bridge and Building Department of the New Orleans-Mobile Division in 1907.  He remained at this prestigious post until 1943.  Catchot retired from the L&N Railroad in January 1947 with over sixty-four years of loyal and meritorious service to that organization.(The Jackson County Times, January 11, 1947, p. 1)

In 1911, Tony Catchot began his long political service for the citizens of Ocean Springs in 1911, when he was chosen Alderman-at-large.  He officiated in this office until 1917, when he began sixteen years of continuous service as Mayor.  Morris McClure (1884-1940) replaced Catchot in 1933.  The "new" Ocean Springs Public School was erected on Government in 1927, during the Catchot mayoral reign.  His son-in-law, Calvin Dickson Hodges (1893-1958), was a member of the school board at this time.

Tony Catchot was elected president of the L&N Veterans Club for the New Orleans- Mobile Division in the late 1920s.  In 1929, he reigned as King d' Iberville of the Coast Mardi Gras Association.  Catchot was a charter member of the Ocean Springs Fire Company No. 1 joining in 1880, and serving as its fire chief for nearly sixty years.  Why or how Ocean Springs has not named a firehouse or bestowed some other significant honor on this man is beyond comprehension.  Captain Cathot died on August 11, 1954, at Handsboro, Mississippi.  His remains were interred at the Evergreen Cemetery on Old Fort Bayou.(The Daily Herald, The Daily Herald, August 11, 1954, p. 6)

In November 1911, A.J. Catchot sold his natal home in Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W, to Dr. Thomas S. Dabney (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 37, p. 411).

 

Dr. Thomas S. Dabney

Dr. Thomas Smith Dabney (1851-1923), who would become an authority on tropical diseases, was the seventh son of the sixteen children of Thomas Smith Gregory Dabney (1798-1885) and Sophia Hill (1810-1854+), both Virginians from King and Queen County.  Thomas was born on his father’s plantation, Burleigh, situated south of Raymond, Hinds County, Mississippi.  He married Ida Mae Ewing (1858-1900+) whose parents were from Kentucky and Louisiana respectively.  Dr. Dabney’s older sister, Susan Dabney Smedes (1840-1913), published Memorials of a Southern Planter in 1887. 

Dr. T.S. Dabney and Miss Ewing had married in 1884 and were the parents of two children, Thomas Ewing Dabney (1885-1970) and another who had expired in childhood prior to 1900.  In 1900, the Dr. Thomas S. Dabneys were residents of New Orleans and domiciled on Magazine Street. He was a member of the Orleans Parish Medical Society from 1880-1882 and 1893-1915, and was president of that organization in 1900.(1900 Orleans Parish, Louisiana Federal Census, T623, Roll 570, Bo. 1, p. 43 and Fossier, 1930, p. 16)

It seems that the arrival of the T.S. Dabney family at Ocean Springs met two salient requirements-a retirement place for Dr. Dabney and a place for his son, Thomas Ewing Dabney (1885-1970), to recuperate from a bout with the virulent yellow fever that he had contracted while Secretary of the American Legation in San Salvador.  Dr. Dabney had attended Tulane University at New Orleans.  In the 1870s, while a medical student, he left school briefly to assist in a yellow fever outbreak near Brookhaven, Mississippi.  While in the field, serendipity discovered Dabney in the guise of an herb that was being utilized by Native Americans camped in the vicinity.  From this plant, Dr. Dabney developed an efficacious treatment for dropsy.  He also achieved international acclaim when he diagnosed the first human case of anthrax.  In 1898, Dabney reported the first case of hookworm in Louisiana. 

Dr. T.S. Dabney passed on December 28, 1923, at New Orleans.  He corporal remains were sent to Raymond, Mississippi for internment.(The Daily Herald, December 29, 1923, p. 1 and Papers of Major W.J. Heimke (1847-1931), Tulane Latin American Lib., NOLA)

 

Thomas E. Dabney

In 1907, Thomas E. Dabney (1885-1970) had married an English lady, Winifred Hilda Michaels (1888-1972), of London.  They were the parents of Patricia Rose D. Bush (1912-1978), Dorothy D. Kehoe (1915-1997), David F. Dabney (b. 1917), and Natalie D. Arnold (1922-1998).  At Ocean Springs, T.E. Dabney was a dynamic entrepreneur and promoter of the town.  He ventured into dairy farming; vending Aetna Dynamite, as well as using this high explosive to clear land of tree stumps; and publishing.(The History of JXCO, Ms., 1989, p. 180 and The Daily Herald, January 10, 1913, p. 8)

Boscobel Dairy (1912-1914)

T.E. Dabney’s first venture into local capitalism was the Boscobel Dairy.  It and his pecan orchard were situated at “The Field”, the Dabney twenty-acre tract in Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W, which had been the former Catchot place.  Mr. Dabney was reputed have had one of the finest herds in the State.  He catered to the upper class families as he charged $12 per quart for his high quality milk.  Mr. Dabney advertised extensively in his local journal in 1914, as: 

 

Pure Jersey milk delivered one hour from milking time. T.E. Dabney-Boscobel Farm Phone 106.   (The Ocean Springs News, April 14, 1914, p. 5)

 

When T.E. Dabney decided to get into the newspaper business, he sold the dairy to Charles Snyder (1877-1963) in December 1914.  The deal included nine cows, cream separator, utensils, and good will.  Snyder was already in the dairy business with a herd of twelve cows.(The Ocean Springs News, December 10, 1914, p. 1)

In November 1915, Charles Snyder leased his dairy to B.J. Rhodes.  Rhodes, a New Yorker, had been a resident of Grand Isle, Louisiana.  He was wiped out by the October 1915 Hurricane there and came to Ocean Springs with his family of five girls, ages seven to eighteen years to commence a new career. (The Ocean Springs News,November 4, 1915, p. 1)

The Ocean Springs News

In November 1914, Thomas E. Dabney acquired The Ocean Springs News from Albert Enos Lee (1874-1936).  He ran a good local journal pregnant with salient information and news germane to the populace.  In mid-July 1916, Dabney suspended production of The Ocean Springs News.  He had gone to Pensacola, Florida in April and secured a position with The Pensacola Journal.  Mrs. Winifred M. Dabney, and E.T. Simpson (1884-1960) ran The Ocean Springs News in his absence.  

A.E. Lee ran a job printing establishment at Biloxi during his two year hiatus from Ocean Springs.  On July 29, 1916, Lee published the first issue of The Jackson County Times.  It was printed at his Biloxi plant until he could relocate his printing equipment to Ocean Springs.  C.E. Schmidt (1904-1988) wrote in Ocean Springs Beachhead that,"the local newspaper of greatest endurance was The Jackson County Times published by A.E. Lee. ….. The Jackson County Times continued up until the fifties, for the most part under the editorship of son Harry R. Lee".(The Daily Herald, July 25, 1916 and Schmidt, 1972, p. 126)

T.E. Dabney during his short tenure at Ocean Springs also published a promotional pamphlet, "Ocean Springs: The Land Where Dreams Come True (1915)", which emphasized the agricultural and recreational opportunity of the town and environs.  Dabney joined the staff of The Times Picayune in 1933, and had a marvelous career as an author, lecturer, adventurer, and expert on Shakespeare.  Dabney penned, Tropic Intrigue; One Hundred Great Years: The Story of The Times Picayune From Its Beginning To 1940; The Man Who Bought The Waldorf: The Life of Conrad N. Hilton; and Revolution or Jobs.(The History of JXCO, Ms.,1989, p. 180)

Another aggressive move by T.E. Dabney to promote enterprise at Ocean Springs occurred in February 1915, when he contacted the Dixie Club & Kennels.  This hunting and fishing organization was composed of some of the most affluent gentlemen of New York and Chicago.  Its manager, C.W. Grubbs, was seeking a new location for the club.  Dabney wrote to Grubbs emphasizing the wonderful attributes of Ocean Springs as a spa and outdoor recreational haven for fish and wild game.(The Ocean Springs News, February 25, 1915, p. 1)

Thomas E. Dabney expired at a nursing home in Covington, Louisiana on April 22, 1973.  His corporal remains were sent to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi for interment in Garden of Memories Cemetery.(The Times Picayune, April 23, 1970, p. 1)

 

Dabney Archives

Nearly 1200 items from Thomas Ewing Dabney in the period 1911 to 1969 are archived in the Tulane University Manuscripts Department at New Orleans.  In August 1925, Thomas E. Dabney sold “The Field” at Ocean Springs to Walter S. Lindsay and Catherine B. Lindsay.  The Lindsays kept horses on this land.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 56, pp. 293-294 and Beryl Girot Riviere, August 26, 2002)

 

Girot family origins

In the United States of America today, the largest concentration of Girot family members are situated primarily in Grundy, Will, and Massac Counties, Illinois.  Some Girots are also in California, Utah, and naturally Louisiana.

The progenitor of the Girot family of New Orleans and Ocean Springs, Mississippi was Leopold Henry Girot (1839-1911), a native of Metz, Alsace-Lorraine, France.  He was the son of Joseph Girot, a tailor, and Marie Humbert, also natives of this French industrial city on the Moselle River, about two hundred miles east-northeast of Paris.  Young Leopold followed his father into the tailor trade.  Although an accomplished cutter and designer by the age of twenty-one, he went to Paris to further hone his fashion and design skills.  In Paris, he married Juliette Remy, who expired there.  She bore him two daughters: Berthe Girot and Alphonsine G. Dubos; (Encyclopedia of Biography, ?, p. 379)

 

Louisiana and tailoring

In 1868, Leopold H. Girot left France for New Orleans.  In the Crescent City, he found employment with the clothing firm of L. Godchaux.  After three years, Leopold and Prosper Godchaux founded the tailoring company ofGirot and Godchaux.  Several years late Mr. Girot commenced L. Girot, his own tailoring organization.  Circa 1906, Leopold H. Girot Jr. joined the firm and with John Pfefferle, the three became partners, operating as L. Girot.

Months prior to his father’s demise, in 1911, L. Henry Girot Jr. became president of L. Girot.  Rene Girot(1896-1981) the youngest son, took the reigns of the Girot sartorial enterprises in 1921, when L. Henry Girot sought a career change which brought his family to Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  

 

Girot family of New Orleans

On July 2, 1884, at the age of forty-five, Leopold H. Girot married Marie Claverie (ca 1864-1933+), the daughter of French immigrant, Dominick Claverie, and Marie Masquere, of New Orleans.  Their progeny were: Blanche G. Gondolf (1885-1969) married Victor Gondolf; Leopold H. Girot Jr. (1886-1953) married Mabel E. Judlin (1890-1956); Jeanne G. Redmann (1888-1976) married Stephen Redmann; Rose G. Meyers married Herbert Meyers; Zelie Girot; and Rene Girot (1896-1981).(Ibid., p.      ) 

 

Leopold Henry Girot Jr. Leopold H. Girot Jr.(1886-1953), called himself, Henry L.Girot, was born on December 12, 1886, at New Orleans, the son of Leopold H. Girot and Marie Claverie Girot.  His early education was at McDonough No. 10 and Loyola University, the Jesuit College.  In 1906, he began his career in his father’s clothing store as a tailor.  Young Girot had been sent to New York City to study tailoring, cutting, and design.(The Gulf Coast Times, July 15, 1949)

In July 1910, Henry L. Girot married Mabel E. Judlin (1890-1956), the daughter of Peter Judlin (1864-1917) and Henriette Monteverde.  Their children were: Judlin H. Girot (1912-1970), Myrle “Sally” G. Williams Staley (1913-1961), Beryl G. Riviere (b.1916), and Georgine “George” G. Nicholson (1918-1998).

In 1911, Henry L. Girot assumed the leadership role of L. Girot with the passing of his father.  Although a skilled tailor, Henry L. Girot did have passion for his art.  He grew to dislike the sartorial business and it began to affect him emotionally and physically.  Upon the advice of his physician, Mr. Girot decided upon a career change.  At the age of thirty-five, he decided to become a gentleman farmer which led the family to remove itself from the bustle of the Crescent City to the quite shores of Biloxi Bay at Ocean Springs, Mississippi.(Beryl G. Riviere, March 14, 2002)

 

Ocean Springs

Although a young man, Henry L. Girot’s emotional health dictated a change of place and life style.  In February 1923, he moved his spouse and young family to Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  Mabel E. Girot had family at Ocean Springs as her aunt, Emma Judlin (1869-1958), had married a prominent businessman and judge, Eugene W. Illing (1870-1947).  The Illings were once in the hostelry business, but at the time of the Girots arrival, they were owners of a movie house, the Illing’s Theatre, which was situated on the northeast corner of Washington Avenue and Porter, the former site of Illing’s Hotel and now the location of the First Baptist Church of Ocean Springs.

 

Cherokee Glen Farm

At Ocean Springs, Mississippi Henry L. Girot became a gentleman farmer.  His primary crops were pecans and poultry.  In March 1923, on the western perimeter of the town, Mr. Girot acquired 60 acres in US Lot 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W from Benjamin F. Parkinson Jr. (1859-1930).(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 52, p. 558)

Immediately Mr. Girot began to make improvements to his property.  In order to gain access to his land, dynamite was utilized to clear an impenetrable barrier of thickly, overgrown, foliage consisting primarily of Cherokee rose vines.  It was thusly, the Cherokee rose, which gave its name to Cherokee Glen.  While the land was being cleared for cultivation, the Girot family rented a home initially on the northwest corner of Dewey and LaFontaine, very likely the Roseale A. Bellande Reus (1854-1923) cottage.  Later, they moved to East Porter and let a cottage from Judge E.W. Illing.(Beryl G. Riviere, March 14, 2002)

 

Poultry

Prior to erecting a permanent home in 1925, which is extant at present day 400 Lovers Lane, H.L. Girot erected outbuildings, a large barn, machinery house, and chicken plant, which included three incubators.  He also acquired Rhode Island Red brood stock for his chicken farm from the Sunbrier Farm at Laurel, Mississippi.  By June 1923, he had approximately five-hundred young chickens.(The Daily Herald, June 6, 1923, p. 5)

Although a newcomer to the region, by 1925, Henry L. Girot was exhibiting the energy and leadership that would be characteristic of his long and productive tenure at Ocean Springs.  In October 1925, he was named superintendent of poultry and livestock for the Jackson County Fair in Pascagoula.  At the mid-November exhibit, Mr. Girot won awards for his fine Rhode Island Reds and White Minorcas.  The Ocean Springs poultry farmers won fifty-four ribbons and $38.50 in cash for their entries, which consisted of one hundred four of the two hundred twenty-five birds at the fair.  In addition to Girot, other local winners were: Albert B. Ackander (1858-1926), Theo Bechtel (1963-1931), B. Bilbo, Ed Brou (1896-1949), Lawrence Dalgo (1894-1937), O.D. Davidson (1872-1938), O. Fish, Gus Nelson (1896-1970), H. Olivier, Dr. H.B. Powell (1867-1949), A.J. Riviere (1871-1954), and George Sherman.(The Jackson County Times, October 24, 1925, p. 3 and November 21, 1925, p. 1)

 

Granitz cottage

A caretaker’s cottage was also built for Harold I. Illing (1897-1959) and spouse, Edith Flowers Illing (1902-1984), who oversaw the Girot place before the Girot home at present day 400 Lovers Lane was erected in 1925.  This structure in the Cherokee Glen Subdivision was relocated to Block C-Lot 10, at present day 1107 West Cherokee, and sold to Emil A. Granitz (1882-1965), in June 1926, by Mr. Girot.  Granitz, a German immigrant, was sponsored to America by Miss Idelle Watson (1856-1956+).  Miss Watson resided on Lovers Lane at Oakroyd, the former home of H.H. Germain, from 1923 until it was destroyed by fire in 1925.  Mr. Granitz worked as her man servant and gardener.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 58, p. 574 and Beryl G. Riviere, March 14, 2002)

Emil A. Granitz was born in Dresden, Germany.  In April 1907, he married Helene Meinhardt (1885-1970), the daughter of Hermann Meinhardt and Alma L. Schuster and a native of Crimitschau, Germany.  They had a son, George H. Granitz (1909-1981) who made his livelihood at Keesler AFB as a Civil Service employee.   In addition to his gardening, Emil A. Granitz worked for the United Poultry Producers and retired in 1952, while Mrs. Granitz was the custodian of the Ocean Springs Public School and also operated the cafeteria there for fourteen years.  Her food was well-prepared and delicious.(The Ocean Springs News, April 4, 1957, p. 1 and Walterine V. Redding, August 14, 2002)

 

Cherokee Glen Subdivision

One of Henry L. Girot’s first business ventures at Ocean Springs was the development in his neighborhood of a subdivision, Cherokee Glen.  It was situated in Section 24, T7S-R9W, on the west side of Ocean Springs.  In May 1926, he received approval from the Board of Aldermen of his sixty-acre platting, which was bounded on the north by Old Fort Bayou, on the east by the land that was adversely possessed by O.D. Davidson (1872-1938) and would become the Davidson Hills Subdivision in March 1956, on the south by Porter, and on the west by Lovers Lane.( The Jackson County Times, May 22, 1926, p. 1 and The Daily Herald, May 25, 1926, p. 3))

The Cherokee Glen Subdivision consisted of Four Blocks designated from east to west as A, B, C, and D.  Block A had twenty three lots until September 1953, when J.B. Richmond and Louis A. Gily Jr. platted Lot 23 into the Cherokee Cove Subdivision.   Richmond and Gily acquired the 5.7 acres in Lot 23, from Clifford P. Turk for $12,500, in April 1953.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 131, p. 419 and JXCO, Ms. Land Plat Bk. 2, p. 57)

Block B has thirty-two lots, which includes the homes of Beryl G. Riviere and Ricky Riviere; Block C has twenty-one lots, which includes the original H.L. Girot residence; and Block D has two lots, one of which was once was the Broadway place just east of the new and fabulous home of Walter T. “Buzzy” and Laura E. Bolton.( JXCO, Ms. Land Plat Bk. 2, p. 57)

By June 1926, Southern States Construction Company of Biloxi had began work in Cherokee Glen for Mr. Girot.  Plans called for each boulevard in the subdivision to be sixty feet wide with from 12 to 24 foot neutral grounds or medians.  The neutral grounds would be planted with palm and native shrubs and all streets were platted to reduce or eliminate the destruction of Live Oak trees.  In addition concrete sidewalks, curbs and drains, and concrete coping bordering the central neutral grounds were used.(The Biloxi News, June 6, 1926, p. 11)

Today, Cherokee Glen is as quaint and charming as the Girots would have desired.  A recent grant has provided the neighborhood with funds for an entry sign and beautification projects.  Cooperation between the City and residents has worked for their mutual benefit in upgrading the neutral grounds of the subdivision with plantings of flowers and trees.(The Ocean Springs Record-Independent, October 21, 1999, p. 1)

 

United Poultry Producers

In 1929, with the infrastructure of Cherokee Glen in place, Henry L. Girot became associated with the United Poultry Producers and served this organization for twenty-one years as secretary-manager.  The United Poultry Producers was a co-operative of local chicken farmers, which marketed high quality eggs and poultry from their headquarters on the northeast corner of Washington and Desoto.

 

Social and civic life

Mr. Girot was socially and politically active during his thirty years at Ocean Springs.  He was elected alderman and represented the citizens of Ward II in 1929-1930.  Girot served on the School Board when the 1927 Public School was erected on Government Street.  He was a charter member of the Ocean Springs Rotary Club and the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce and also active in the affairs of the St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church.  His religious societies included membership in the Knights of Columbus, Holy Name Society, and service on the building committee for the new church.(The Gulf Coast Times, August 4, 1950, p. 1)

 

Dr. Horace C. Conti

In May 1951, Dr. Horace Charles Conti (1907-1982), a pathologist at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Biloxi, and spouse, Marjorie L. Caddell Conti (1913-1984), acquired the H.L. Girot home on Lovers Lane from Mr. and Mrs. H.L. Girot.  They had two children: Horace Charles Conti II (b. 1944) and Eleanor V. Conti Bauer (b. 1949).  The Conti family had settled in Biloxi in 1949, on Morrison Avenue.  Dr. Conti had been with the U.S. Marine Hospital at Chicago coming here after his discharge from the U.S. Public Health Service.  He was an Army and Navy veteran. (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 118, p. 133-134 and The Gulf Coast Times, May 10. 1951, p. 12, and The Daily Herald, January 15, 1960, p. 13)

Dr. Conti was born at Providence, Rhode Island and a 1937 graduate of the Georgetown University Medical School at Washington, D.C.  He was certified by the American Board of Pathology in clinical pathology and pathologic anatomy.  He was very active in the Ocean Springs School Board and its long-time chairman.  In November 1972, Dr. Conti was elected to president of the Community Concert Association.(The Daily Herald, January 15, 1960, p. 13 and The Ocean Springs Record, November 22, 1972, p. 8)

Eleanor Victoria Conti, 1968 Gulf Coast Debutante and USM graduate in fine arts, married John M. Bauer, a pre-Medical student in 1971.(The Ocean Springs Record, May 20, 1971, p. 14)

In the summer of 1970, when entrepreneur, Carroll B. Ishee (1921-1982), began construction of homes in his ten-lot development called Lover’s Lane Addition Subdivision situated in US Government Lots 4 and 5, Section 24, T7S-R9W, Mrs.  Marjorie L. Conti became frustrated.  She wrote a letter in December 1970, to The Ocean Springs Record complaining of several aldermen’s apathy in enforcing city ordinances as relating to lot line setbacks.  Mrs. Conti was also unhappy with the aldermen’s lack of proper procedure in its public meetings.(The Ocean Springs Record, December 3, 1970, p. 4)

The Contis sold their home on Lovers Lane to Dr. Buford A. Wilkerson in March 1977 and very probably relocated to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  Before his departure, Dr. Conti platted the Lover’s Lane Addition-part II Subdivision in February 1977.( (JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 585, p.553 and JXCO, Ms. Plat Bk. 15, p. 32)

 

West Cherokee Avenue

After the sale of their large Lovers Lane home, Henry and Mabel J. Girot and Roy and Beryl G. Riviere, who had been living with her parents, erected homes on West Cherokee Avenue.  Refurbishment on both early 1950s homes was commenced in 2001, by contractor, Bobby Lewis, and his construction crew.  Beryl G. Riviere currently resides at 1106 West Cherokee, while her son, Rickey Riviere, will move to 1112 West Cherokee in 2002, when the work on his edifice is completed.

 

Demise          

Henry L. Girot passed on while a patient in the Touro Infirmary at New Orleans on January 26, 1953.  He was survived by his spouse and four children, as well as a brother, Rene Girot (1896-1981), and four sisters, Miss Zeile Girot, Jeanne G. Redmann, Mrs. Herbert Meyers, and Blanche G. Gondolf.  Mr. Girot’s corporal remains were laid to rest in the Southern Memorial Park at Biloxi, Mississippi. .(The Gulf Coast Times, January 23, 1953, p. 1)

Mabel E. Judlin Girot (1890-1956) expired on November 23, 1956.  As a baby, her father had named one of his freight schooners, the Mabel E. Judlin, in her honor.  This well-known vessel was by Matteo Martinolich (1861-1934), a Croatian-Italian immigrant, who had come to America in 1883.  The Mabel E Judlin was launched in late April 1891, at Henry Lienhard’s shipyard on Bayou Bernard.  The finished vessel described as a “beauty and reflects much credit upon her builder” had a keel length of sixty-seven feet and was twenty-two feet at the beam.  Her sails were constructed by A. Gerdes & Brother of New Orleans.  The launching occasion had a party atmosphere with a large contingent of ladies and gentlemen of New Orleans present at the Handsboro boatyard.(The Biloxi Herald, May 2, 1891, p. 4)

In February 1901, ownership of the Mabel E. Judlin changed as Peter Cardona of New Orleans and Kate Thompson Lockard (1868-1954), the wife of  James E. Lockard (1863-1951), of Vancleave, Mississippi acquired the schooner from Messrs. Judlin and Mestier.  She was listed as having a gross tonnage of 46 and net 31.  John V. Lewis was master and the Mabel E. Judlin was ported at New Orleans. (Permanent Certificate No. 38, BMIN, April 18, 1904)

The Mabel E. Judlin remained in the J.E. Lockard family from 1901 until her demise in July 1930.  She sank and was abandoned in the New Basin Canal at New Orleans, Lousiana.  Her documents were surrendered at Gulfport, Mississippi on July 31, 1933.  Some of the masters who served aboard the Lockard freight schooner were: John V. Lewis, August A. Bellais (1866-1929), Joseph Roig, and P.A. Bayhi.( Permanent Certificate No. 4, BMI N, July 31, 1933).

In 1934, Mayor Charles R. Bennett (1884-1971) named Mrs. Girot to the Ocean Springs Park Commission.(The Daily Herald, January 6, 1934, p. 2)

A short history of the lives of Henry L. Girot and Mabel E. Judlin Girot’s family follows:

 

Judlin Henry Girot

Judlin Henry Girot (1912-1970) was born at New Orleans.  He graduated from Ocean Springs High School in 1930 and Tulane University.  Judlin married Vivian LaPorte (1917-2000) of New Orleans.  She was born on March 25, 1917.  They were the parent of two children, Henry Joseph Girot (b. 1936) and Joan G. Mecom Noel (b. 1940). (The Daily Herald, July 20, 1970, p. 2)

The Judlin H. Girot family moved to Ocean Springs from Huntsville, Alabama in November 1945, to open accounting office.  He passed the C.P.A. examination at Jackson, Mississippi in July 1948.  The Girots were at home on Ward Avenue at this time.(The Jackson County Times, November 7, 1945, p. 1 and July 30, 1948, p. 1)

In June 1952, Vivian L. Girot was elected president of the Ocean Springs Woman’s Club.  She accepted the honor at the annual luncheon at the Friendship House in Biloxi.  Serving with Mrs. Girot was: Mrs. Ralph Palfrey, vice-president; Mrs. Chester Snyder, secretary; and Mrs. Frank Snyder, treasurer.(The Gulf Coast Times, June 12, 1952, p. 1)

 

Acme Photo

J.H. Girot was also a partner in Acme Photo with his brother-in-law, F.H. “Bus“ Staley (1912-1963), and William T. Dunn (1919-1990).  After his demise, his son-in-law and daughter, William H. Mecom Jr. (b. 1939), and Joan Girot Mecom, moved to Ocean Springs.  Mecom worked for Acme Photo, which was situated at 1311 Bienville Boulevard.  He and Joan acquired a home at 219 Washington Avenue in May 1974, from Edward W. Wood II, the heir-at-law of E. Watson Wood (1894-1972).   At the time, E.W. Wood II was a resident of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, where he was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Cambridge, near Boston.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 498, p. 89)

William H. Mecom Jr. was the son of W. Hardy Mecom (1909-1992) and Lois Omega Chambers Mecom (1916-1984) of Kerrville, Texas. He and Joan were the parents of Eric Christian Mecom (b. 1963) and Andrew Lee Mecom (b. 1968).  Joan G. Mecom divorced and married Mark Noel of Birmingham, Alabama.  They relocated to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi in 1995.

In June 1976, the Mecoms conveyed their Ocean Springs cottage to Dr. W.F. Pontius and relocated to Pass Christian, Mississippi where he continued in the photo processing business.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 565, p. 157)

While at Ocean Springs, Judlin H. Girot was active in city government.  He was elected alderman from Ward Four and served this political entity from 1951 thru June 1953.(Schmidt, 1972, p. 137)

 

New Orleans

The Girots moved to New Orleans in January 1953.  They sold their home on Cleveland Avenue to E.P. McBride of Chicago.  At New Orleans, Mr. Girot became a partner in the CPA firm of LaPorte, Girot, Sehrt, and Romig.    He was a member of the Audubon Golf Club, Clover Club, and an Episcopalian.  He was survived by his wife and children.(The Daily Herald, January 5, 1953, p. 6 and July 20, 1970, p. 2)

 

Biloxi

After Judlin’s demise, Vivian left New Orleans and moved to Biloxi, Mississippi in 1971.  She married Otho E. Barron.  Vivian L. Barron expired at Biloxi, Mississippi on March 26, 2000.  She had been a parishioner at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer and the Woemn’s Golf Club of Gulf Hills.  In addition to her husband and children, Vivian was survived by a sister, Evelyn LaPorte Judlin, of Metairie, Louisiana.  Her corporal remains were sent to Lake Lawn Park in Metairie for internment besides those of Judlin H. Girot.(The Sun Herald, March 28, 2000, p. A-5)

 

Henry Joseph Girot

Henry Joseph "Hank" Girot was born February 27, 1936 at New Orleans.  In June 1957, he married Francis Ann McKie (1938-2014) of Vicksburg, Mississippi.  Francis was the daughter of Nathan Whitehead McKie Jr. and Laurin Linam McKie. They had two sons, Kenneth Gordon Girot, born at New Orleans on November 1, 1958 and Roy McKie Girot born March 5, 1961.[The Sun Herald, March 23, 2014, p. A-12] 

On May 18, 1985, Kenneth, called Kenny, married Melanie Lynn Castle, the daughter of Harroll Dean Castle and Jeanette Louise Rayner, former residents of 318 Lover’s Lane.  Melanie was born at Laurel, Mississippi on April 6, 1961.  Their nuptials were celebrated at St. John’s Episcopal Church at Ocean Springs on May 18, 1985. (JXCO, Ms. MRB 153, p. 275)

Roy Girot married Cynthia Wingood.  They are the parents of: Paulina Girot (b. 1992) and Nathan Girot (b. 1995).  Roy and Cynthia divorced and he now resides in Crofton, Maryland.(Roy Girot, July 4, 2002)

Henry J. Girot and Frances A. McKie Girot divorced and she married Frank Dunlap.  On October 19, 1974, while a resident of Ocean Springs, he married Corine Baldridge Caruso (1939-1991), a native of Los Angeles County, California.  She was the daughter of Robert Baldridge and Ruth Gaalken of Hemit, California.  Their wedding was held at the First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs.  While residing at Ocean Springs, Mrs. Corine Girot was employed at the Keesler Federal Credit Union.  Corine died at Fairhope, Alabama on October 2, 1991.  She had two daughters, Gianna F. Caruso Stewart and Elena M. Caruso Rhea, from a prior marriage.(JXCO, Ms. MRB 125, p. 269, JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. P-4403, June 1997, and The Sun Herald, October 5, 1991, p. A-2)

Hank Girot now resides in Lake Seminole, Georgia where he is the proprietor of the Trails End Marina and Campground situated on a bayou that flows into beautiful Lake Seminole in southwestern Georgia.   In October 1994, Hank married Penelope “Penny” O’ Kurin, a native of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Francis McKie Girot Dunlap expired at Diamondhead, Hancock County, Mississippi on March 16, 2014. A memorial service was held at the Chapel of the D.T. Williams Funeral Home at Pearl River, Louisiana.[The Sun Herald, March 23, 2014, p. A-12]

Hank J. Girot expired on May 28, 2015 at Niceville, Florida.  His corporal remains were interred in the Biloxi National Cemetery on June 26, 2015.[The Sun Herald, June 24, 2015, p. A-4]

 

Girot Girls in 1931

[L-R: Georgine Girot (1919-1998); Myrle 'Sally' Girot (1913-1961); and Beryl Girot (1916-2011)

[Courtesy of Susan Staley Delgado-March 2011]

 

Myrle “Sally” Girot

Myrle “Sally” Girot (1913-1961) was born at New Orleans on September 21, 1913.  Sally graduated from the Ocean Springs Public School in 1931.  On April 27, 1935, she married Sloan Williams, in the Girot home at Ocean Springs.  Sloan was born August 15, 1907, at Birmingham, Alabama.(JXCO, Ms. MRB 23, p. 285)

 

           

FIELDING H. STALEY FAMILY [circa 1949]

[[Courtesy of Susan Staley Delgado-March 2011]

 

Sloan and Sally had a daughter, Sally Ann W. Freeman.  After Sloan Williams and Sally divorced, she married Fielding H. “Bus” Staley (1912-1963).  Their children were: Susan Staley Hubbell Delgado (b. 1943), and Michael T. Staley (b. 1945).

Mrs. Staley was active in a number of organizations, the Biloxi Yacht Club, Kings Daughters, and the Carnival social clubs, Les Masques and Billikins.  While her children were young, she participated in Cub Scout and Boy and Girl Scout activities.  Sallie expired at Biloxi, Mississippi on December 14, 1961.  She had moved there in 1957.  Mrs. Staley’s corporal remains were interred in the Southern Memorial Park at Biloxi.(The Daily Herald, December 15, 1961, p. 2)

F.H. Staley came to Biloxi in 1942, with the Army Air Corps.  He was active in the business community in photographic developing, insurance, and real estate.  Mr. Staley was a Lt. Colonel in the Mississippi National Guard and once commanded the 138^th Transportation Battalion before transferring to the staff of the Adjutant General. He expired at Prairie Village, Kansas, and his remains interred at Leavenworth, Kansas.(The Daily Herald, January 25, 1963, p. 2)

 

Beryl Marie Girot

 

Beryl Marie Girot (1916-2011) was born at New Orleans, Louisiana on February 22, 1916.  She married Roy Joseph Riviere (1914-2000), the son of Adolph J. Riviere (1871-1954) and Julia Herbert Clement (1877-1964), on March 1, 1945, at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church.  Roy was born on June 6, 1914.(JXCO, Ms. MRB 43, p. 315)  Their children were: Roy F. “Ricky” Riviere (b. 1946) and Ray P. Riviere (1947-1981).

The Riviere family came to Jackson County, Mississippi during WW I, from Patterson, Louisiana, as A.J. Riviere was employed as a shipyard worker at Pascagoula.  The family lived in the Fontainebleau community, on the west side of Hamill Farm Road in a cottage that had been built for the farm’s laborers.(Roy Riviere, October 1996)

In addition to Roy J. Riviere, the family consisted of: Albert T. Riviere (1906-1948), Frank P. Riviere (1909-1937), and Edward J. Riviere (1917-1968).

Albert T. Riviere (1906-1948) perished at sea off the Florida Keys in October 1948, while employed as chief steward aboard the S.S. Louise, a Texaco tanker.(The Jackson County Times, October 8, 1948, p. 1)

Eddie Riviere also went to sea.  In 1948, he was a steward aboard the Del Mar, a luxury liner in the Delta Steamship Line fleet out of New Orleans.(The Daily Herald, August 31, 1948, p. 4)

Roy J. Riviere made his livelihood as a linotype operator with The Jackson County Times.  In 1932, while returning home from work, he was robbed at gunpoint near the VanCleave Store on the northeast corner of Washington and Porter.  Roy once owned the local journal, The Gulf Coast Times, which he sold in December 1950, to Hardee King, the managing editor of The Tylertown Times, and the Advertiser Publishing Company of Pascagoula headed up by Ira Harkey.(The Daily Herald,May 21, 1932, p. 2 and The Gulf Coast Times, December 22, 1950, p. 1)

Roy J. Riviere died at Ocean Springs on October 6, 2000.  His corporal remains were interred in the Evergreen Cemetery at Ocean Springs.  Beryl Girot Riviere passed on January 14, 2011 at her Cherokee Glen residence.  She lived    adjacent to her son, Roy 'Rickey' Riviere.(The Sun Herald, January 16, 2011)

 

Georgine Girot

Georgine Girot (1918-1998), called George, was born at New Orleans on July 22, 1918.  In May 1943, she married Lt. Granville T. “Terry” Nicholson (1913-1986), the son of Mrs. R. Charles Nicholson and the late R. Charles Nicholson of St. Louis, Missouri, at the William Mitchell Chapel, KAFB, Biloxi, Mississippi.  She was attended at her nuptial ceremony by Miss Beryl Girot, her sister.  George Girot was a graduate of Ocean Springs High School Class of 1936 and the Class of 1940 at Sophie Newcomb College.  She taught school for one year and was then employed at Camp Shelby, Stone County, Mississippi, before transferring to KAFB as an instructor.  Lt. and Mrs. G.T. Nicholson resided at Gulf Hills after their wedding trip.(The Jackson County Times, May 22, 1943, p. 4)

After WW II, the Nicholsons settled at Santa Barbara, California where they started a family consisting of three sons: Peter Terry Nicholson (b. 1949), David Christie Nicholson (b. 1951), and Craig Claverie Nicholson (b. 1953).  Some of their known residences were: Santa Barbara, California; St. Louis, Missouri; Clayton, Missouri; Destin, Florida; and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.  Terry expired in Florida on September 7, 1986. 

George moved to Ocean Springs after Terry’s demise and acquired a home in Cherokee Glen at 1111 East Cherokee Glen.  Her avocations were reading, classical music, library volunteer, and traveling.  During their lifetime, George and Terry had visited the Caribbean, British Isles, Europe, and Mexico.(Newcomb Alumnae Association Questionnaire)

George G. Nicholson died at Ocean Springs on January 14, 1998.  Her immediate survivors were: Peter T. Nicholson of St. Louis, Missouri and Craig C. Nicholson of Santa Barbara, California.  Her husband and son, David C. Nicholson, preceded her in death.(The Ocean Springs Record, January 22, 1998, p. 5)

 

Development

Although the Cherokee Glen Subdivision was platted by H.L. Girot in May 1926, its development was slow.  One must realize that this area of Ocean Springs was considered the “country”, much like eastern St. Martin and Latimer have been until early in the last decade.  Remember that Cherokee Glen and surroundings had been a poultry farm, a dairy, pecan orchards and a vine-tangled, wilderness draped in the mesmerizing Cherokee Rose before the Girots arrived here from New Orleans.

Before the Coach William H. Cole edifice, later E.A. Rehnberg and R.A. Taylor, was erected at present day        West Cherokee in the late 1920s, the H.L. Girot homestead on Lovers Lane and the Emil A. Granitz cottage at 1107 West Cherokee were the sole dwellings in the subdivision.  Other early Cherokee Glen domiciles were situated on Wisteria-the 1950 Lyle Whitman place at 202 Wisteria; the military barracks moved from Keesler AFB to present day          Wisteria by Colonel B.F. Lewis; and the R.A. Broadway place at 115 Wisteria.(Connie Whitman and Beryl G. Riviere, August 27, 2002)  

 

Mitchell Brothers

A unique feature of Cherokee Glen is the stalwart structures built by the Mitchell Brothers of Ocean Springs.  The Mitchell Brothers, John C. Mitchell (1915-1963), Oscar L. Mitchell (1917-1973), Michael B. “Mike” Mitchell, and James E. Mitchell, commenced in the construction business in 1949, utilizing a technique called “hollow wall concrete”.  John C. Mitchell had learned this construction method from Gurnee Clifton Gardner (1889-1954).  The Mitchell’s built solid concrete inner and exterior walls reinforced with 3/8 inch rebar.  A sealed void space existed between the two walls.(Mike Mitchell, August 27, 2002)

In the early 1950s, the Mitchell Brothers built homes for Henry L. Girot at 1112 West Cherokee; Roy J. Riviere at 1106 West Cherokee; and Fielding “Bus” Staley at 1015 Cherokee Boulevard.  The Judlin H. Girot home at 515 Cleveland was also erected by the Mitchells.  Gurnee Clifton Gardner built several hollow wall concrete homes in Cherokee Glenn, including his own residence at 408 Lovers Lane.(Beryl G. Riviere, August 26, 2002 and Mike Mitchell, August 27, 2002)

 

Epilogue:

Now over seventy-five years old, the Cherokee Glen Subdivision is in a very mature state of development.  In 2000, W.T. and Laura E. Bolton built a lovely Queen Anne replica west of the old R.A. Broadway place at 113 Wisteria.  Because of the paucity of building lots, this represented the first new construction at Cherokee Glen in many years.

Although Mr. and Mrs. Girot have been gone for over four decades, their daughter Beryl Girot Riviere and her son, Ricky F. Riviere, continue to live in the neighborhood, which began as the agricultural dream of H.L. Girot.  Although never a successful commercial farm, Mr. Girot did create a Cherokee Glen, subdivision with a serene environment conducive for families to live and rear their children.  It is only appropriate that the entrance into Cherokee Glen be named Girot in honor of him and his family who have contributed to the successful growth of Ocean Springs. 

 

 

caption: The Girot Girls-In March 1939, the daughters of Henry L. Girot (1886-1953) and Mabel Judlin Girot (1890-1956) were involved in the first Landing of Iberville celebration at Ocean Springs which was chaired by Miss Mary C. O’Keefe (1893-1980).  From left to right: Henry Weyerstall (1913-1987), Beryl G. Riviere (1916-2011), Sally G. Williams Staley (1913-1961), Georgine G. Nicholson (1918-1998), Annette Saxon O’Keefe (1913-1987), Mary Handy Lackey, and A.P. “Fred” Moran (1897-1967), in his first of many appearances as Iberville, the French Canadian soldier of fortune.

credit:  Courtesy of Beryl Girot Riviere.

 

REFERENCES:

Andrew B. Booth, Records of Louisiana Confederate Soldiers and Louisiana Confederate Commands, (The Reprint Company: Spartanburg, South Carolina-1984).

A.E. Fossier, History of The Orleans Parish Medical Society, (Fossier: New Orleans, Louisiana-1930).

L.F. Hyer, The Story of Louisiana, “Dr. T.S. Dabney (1850-1923”, (1960), p. 149.(LaR 976.3, D 24s, V.2)

The History of Jackson County, Mississippi, “Thomas Ewing Dabney”, (Jackson County Genealogical Society: Pascagoula, Mississippi-1989)

The Resources and Attractions of Progressive New Orleans, "Cotton Industries", (Young Men’s Business League:  New Orleans-1895).

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

 

Chancery Court Cases

JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 5265, “Estate of B.F. Parkinson”-June 1930.

JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 31, 153, “Martha McCrady Gardner v. Heirs-at-Law of G.C. Gardner”, September 1976.

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

JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. P-4403, “The Estate of Corine J. Girot”, June 1997.

 

Journals

The Biloxi News, "Development of Cherokee Glen is announced", June 6, 1926.

 

The Daily Herald, “Dynamite and Dynamiting”, January 10, 1913.

The Daily Herald, "Will Start Ocean Springs Weekly", July 25, 1916.

The Daily Herald, “Ocean Springs”, June 6, 1923.

The Daily Herald, “Dr. T.S. Dabney Dead”, December 29, 1923.

The Daily Herald, "Ocean Springs Progressive", May 25, 1926.

The Daily Herald, “Tourist Dies”, April 29, 1930.

The Daily Herald, “Ocean Springs News”, September 16, 1930.

The Daily Herald, “Ocean Springs Holdup”, May 5. 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Ocean Springs”, January 6, 1934.

The Daily Herald, “Ocean Springs News Paragraphs”, August 31, 1948.

The Daily Herald, “Ocean Springs News Paragraph”, January 5, 1953.

The Daily Herald, “G.C. Gardner Dies”, August 7, 1954.

The Daily Herald, "Catchot, former Mayor of Ocean Springs expires", August 11, 1954.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Mabel Girot”,  November 24, 1957.

The Daily Herald, "Reappoint Dr. Conti to O.S. School Board", January 15, 1960.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Sallie Girot Staley”, December 15, 1961.

The Daily Herald, “Fielding Staley Dies in Kansas From Gun Wound”, January 25, 1963.

The Daily Herald, “Judlin H. Girot”, July 20, 1970.

 

The Gulf Coast Times, “Know Your Neighbor”, July 15, 1949.

The Gulf Coast Times, "Know Your Neighbor", July 29, 1949.

The Gulf Coast Times, “H.L. Girot Resigns After 21 Years With Poultry Assn.”, August 4, 1950.

The Gulf Coast Times, “Tylertown Editor, County Company, Purchase Times, December 22, 1950.

The Gulf Coast Times, “Purchase Home in Cherokee Glenn (sic)”, May 10, 1951.

The Gulf Coast Times, “Mrs. Girot New President of Woman’s Club”, June 12, 1952.

The Gulf Coast Times, All City Joins in Mourning Death of Henry Girot; Funeral Held Tuesday”, January 29, 1953.

 

The Jackson County Times, “Local and Personal”, September 29, 1923.

The Jackson County Times, “Mr. Girot Urges Poultry Exhibits”, October 24, 1925.

The Jackson County Times, “Ocean Springs Leads In Poultry Display”, November 21, 1925.

The Jackson County Times, “Information Wanted”, September 29, 1934.

The Jackson County Times, “Nicholson-Girot”, May 22, 1943.

The Jackson County Times, “Judlin H. Girot to open office as accountant”, November 7, 1945.

The Jackson County Times, “Captain Catchot Retired After 64 Years With L. & N.”, January 11, 1947.

The Jackson County Times, “Judlin H. Girot Now Is Certified Accountant”, July 30, 1948.

The Jackson County Times, “Albert Reviere Presumed Lost at Sea”, October 8, 1948.

 

The Ocean Springs News, “Arndt-Parkinson (advertisement)”, February 7, 1914. 

The Ocean Springs News, "Boscobel Dairy Changes Hands", December 10, 1914.

The Ocean Springs News, "Mrs. Nolan Succumbs To Injuries Received When Residence Burns", December 24, 1914.

The Ocean Springs News, “Big Hunting Club Planned; Manager Endorses This Place”, February 25, 1915.

The Ocean Springs News, "Makes His Home In Ocean Springs", November 4, 1915, p. 1.

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

The Ocean Springs Record, “Eleanor Conti engaged”, May 20, 1971.

The Ocean Springs Record, “Dr. Conti to head association”, November 22, 1972.

The Ocean Springs Record, “Mrs. George Girot Nicholson”, January 22, 1998.

The Ocean Springs Record-Independent, “Cherokee Glen beautification project underway”, October 21, 1999.

 

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Local News”, July 13, 1894.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, January 12, 1906.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, May 18, 1906.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Ocean Springs Locals”, November 15, 1901.

 

The Sun Herald, “Mrs. Corine Baldridge Girot”, October 5, 1991.

The Sun Herald, “Vivian Barron”, March 28, 2000.

The Sun Herald, "Beryl G. Riviere", January 16, 2011.

The Sun Herald, "Henry J. Girot", June 24, 2015.

 

The Times Picayune, “Insurance Patrol Founder Is Buried”, April 25, 1930.

The Times Picayune, “Andrew Allison”, January 11, 1873.

The Times Picayune, “Illness fatal To T.E. Dabney”, April 23, 1970.

The Times Picayune, “Cotton Mill Complex Brings Latest Gleam To Developers’ Eye”, January 6, 1996.

 

Personal Communication:

 

Mary Ann T. Dunn, March 8, 2002.

J.K. Lemon, September 13, 1990.

Joan Girot Mecom Noel, March 10, 2002. (228) 463-1919

Beryl G. Riviere, March 14, 2002.

Kenneth G. Girot, July 4, 2002.

Roy M. Girot, July 4, 2002.