Mississippi has the reputation of being one of the most racist, backward states in the United States. I can't help but wonder if my Brown family had their spirit broken by Mississippi. Did they endure one last straw? Both of my mother's paternal grandparents were born in Mississippi; as were both of their parents.
My mother's paternal grandfather, Samuel Brown, was born about April 1864 in Simpson County, Mississippi. His birth date is listed on the 1900 federal census from Beat 3, Simpson, Mississippi. He is the head of his family that includes his wife Mary (Stamps) Brown and their children: Luella, Ida, Fannie, Whit, Simon, Willie, Sam, and an Infant son.
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| Year: 1900; Census Place: Beat 3, Simpson, Mississippi; Roll: T623_827; Page: 16B; Enumeration District: 97. |
It's also recorded on the 1900 census that Samuel Brown is a farmer and the owner of his farm.
According to the U.S. Land Office Records, 1796-1907, he was granted a parcel of land through the Homestead Act. The issue date was June 7, 1897.
The Homestead Act of 1862 was signed by Abraham Lincoln to open up land ownership and settlement in the West. It was the expanded Southern Homestead Act of 1866 signed on June 21st by President Andrew Johnson that granted the opportunity for African Americans to purchase land in five southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/1134
The Southern Homestead Act of 1866 was an effort to curb the cycle of sharecropping and poverty among southern farmers, both Black and white. While land was sold at lower prices, many still could not afford land purchases.
My great grandfather was one of about 1,000 freed Blacks who received a property certificate; there were approximately 6,500 claims.
Gates, Paul Wallace. “Federal Land Policy in the South 1866-1888.” The Journal of Southern History, vol. 6, no. 3, 1940, pp. 303–330. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2192139.
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| U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 |
The Homestead Act of 1862 was signed by Abraham Lincoln to open up land ownership and settlement in the West. It was the expanded Southern Homestead Act of 1866 signed on June 21st by President Andrew Johnson that granted the opportunity for African Americans to purchase land in five southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/1134
The Southern Homestead Act of 1866 was an effort to curb the cycle of sharecropping and poverty among southern farmers, both Black and white. While land was sold at lower prices, many still could not afford land purchases.
My great grandfather was one of about 1,000 freed Blacks who received a property certificate; there were approximately 6,500 claims.
Gates, Paul Wallace. “Federal Land Policy in the South 1866-1888.” The Journal of Southern History, vol. 6, no. 3, 1940, pp. 303–330. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2192139.
In the 1910 federal census (Beat 3, Simpson County, Mississippi (Pinola and Stonewall Rd) my great-grandmother, Mary Stamps Brown was a widow, listed as owner of the farm that she and her children lived on (Ida, Whittie, Simon, Will, Sam, Noah, Elizabeth). My great-grandmother had given birth to ten children of which nine were alive -- the infant from the 1900 census was the one who had died. The two additional children in the 1910 census are my grandfather, Noah, who was born in 1902 and my great-aunt Elizabeth who was born in 1905.
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| Year: 1910; Census Place: Beat 3, Simpson, Mississippi; Roll: ; Page: ; Enumeration District: ; Image: .(Sheet 22B) |
By the 1920 federal census my great-grandmother had moved to Cuyahoga County, Ohio with four of her children in her household: William, 23; Samuel, 21; Noah, 19; and Elizabeth, 14. At age 42, she is a servant for a private family.
At various times, Mary Stamps Brown and her children had moved to Ohio. Why? Did all the children moved to Ohio? What happened to the patriarch, Samuel Brown? What happened to the farm?
Daughter Fannie married Horace McCall on August 21, 1919 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.
Cuyahoga County Archive; Cleveland, Ohio; Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records, 1810-1973; Volume: Vol 112-113; Page: 281; Year Range: 1919 Apr - 1919 Sep
Daughter Luella was married to Ezra Berry in 1910; they were married for five years at that time and they lived near her mother on Pinola and Stonewall Rd,, Beat 3, Simpson County, Mississippi. (Sheet 24A)
Year: 1910; Census Place: Beat 3, Simpson, Mississippi; Roll: T624_758; Page: 24A; Enumeration District: 0125; FHL microfilm: 1374771
At some point she moved to Ohio where she died on August 17, 1928 and is buried. Ohio Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2002
I know my Aunt Ida died (1964) and is buried in Buffalo NY. I remember her passing and that I wasn't allowed to go to her funeral because I was "too young" -- I was nine years old. Where did Aunt Ida live when her other siblings and their mother lived in Ohio? Rumor has it that she never married, is that true?
Simon Brown worked in Erie PA (when?); died (1968) and is buried in Indianapolis IN according to a death notice I found in my grandmother's Bible.
I'm inclined to believe that this is Whit (Whittie). According to this document Whittie was born in Westville MS -- Whit's brother, William was born in Westville MS (U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942). In this document Whittie was born April 23, 1893 -- Whit was born April 1892 (1900 census record).
Here's to the state of Mississippi,
For Underheath her borders, the devil draws no lines,
If you drag her muddy river, nameless bodies you will find.
whoa the fat trees of the forest have hid a thousand crimes,
the calender is lyin' when it reads the present time.
Whoa here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of!
Daughter Fannie married Horace McCall on August 21, 1919 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.
Cuyahoga County Archive; Cleveland, Ohio; Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records, 1810-1973; Volume: Vol 112-113; Page: 281; Year Range: 1919 Apr - 1919 Sep
Daughter Luella was married to Ezra Berry in 1910; they were married for five years at that time and they lived near her mother on Pinola and Stonewall Rd,, Beat 3, Simpson County, Mississippi. (Sheet 24A)
Year: 1910; Census Place: Beat 3, Simpson, Mississippi; Roll: T624_758; Page: 24A; Enumeration District: 0125; FHL microfilm: 1374771
At some point she moved to Ohio where she died on August 17, 1928 and is buried. Ohio Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2002
I know my Aunt Ida died (1964) and is buried in Buffalo NY. I remember her passing and that I wasn't allowed to go to her funeral because I was "too young" -- I was nine years old. Where did Aunt Ida live when her other siblings and their mother lived in Ohio? Rumor has it that she never married, is that true?
Simon Brown worked in Erie PA (when?); died (1968) and is buried in Indianapolis IN according to a death notice I found in my grandmother's Bible.
I'm inclined to believe that this is Whit (Whittie). According to this document Whittie was born in Westville MS -- Whit's brother, William was born in Westville MS (U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942). In this document Whittie was born April 23, 1893 -- Whit was born April 1892 (1900 census record).Here's to the state of Mississippi,
For Underheath her borders, the devil draws no lines,
If you drag her muddy river, nameless bodies you will find.
whoa the fat trees of the forest have hid a thousand crimes,
the calender is lyin' when it reads the present time.
Whoa here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of!
Songwriters: Phil Ochs
Here's to the State of Mississippi lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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