More Photos from the Genealogy on the Road Trip

While on my trip, I took several photos of historical records and locations that I just couldn't seem to fit into my blog postings. So some of the more interesting ones I'm posting about now. Enjoy the photos and the story behind them!


Port Hudson, Louisiana This is the post where my great-great grandfather Benjamin Thompson served while in the Army with the 10th Regiment Infantry Corp de Afriq, which later was changed to the 82nd United States Colored Troops. They were organized on 1 September 1863. To learn a brief history of all the Union colored troops visit http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/deafriq.htm


Ormonde Plantation, Mississippi This is the Ormonde Plantation I believe to have been owned by Dr. William Mercer and his wife where Charity Rounds and her family were enslaved for decades. Quick note this is less than a mile away from the Rounds Plantation which Charles and Charity Rounds purchased. These days the Ormonde Plantation is mainly used for hunting.


Mammy's Cupboard Resturant I'd seen this place as a child during our summer vacations to Mississippi. Even as late as the early 1980's 'Mammy' was pitch black. After some political rumblings a compromise was apparently made and Mammy was given a skin bleaching and miraculously overnight she became light brown. She didn't trade in her headscarf for a nicely done hairstyle, nor did she trade in that slave era outfit or that god awful name "Mammy". Its 2009 and this place still gets quite a bit of business. Sigh.


Welcome to Natchez, Mississippi Hwy 61 This is the sign that welcomes visitors into Natchez city limits. Or Natchez proper as it would be called if it were in the Northeast. This is a fairly new marker, added in the late 1990's. Its just a couple miles up from Mammy's Cupboard.


Marriage Bond of Edmund Brown and Harriet Bewitt dated March 1866, Woodville, Wilkinson County, MS This Marriage Bond was in the same book as many of my ancestors. This bond stood out immediately. The first thing I noted was that Mr. Brown signed his own Bond in cursive. The second thing I noted was the year 1866. This record is obviously a Freedman's record. What I also find amazing is the possibility that Mr. Brown learned how to sign his name either during his enslavement or shortly thereafter when teachers from the North came down to Mississippi to teach the former slaves how to read and write. Either way this makes for an interesting record. Again I have to give kudos to the Wilkinson County Clerks for maintaining such pristine and organized records! Thank you for making my research that much easier.

I will definitely have more stories and photos to come about my Mississippi family later this year. I'll also be getting into my Callins and Lanier families of Alabama in much greater detail. Thanks for reading!