Horse Gins of Attala County in the 1800s

Left: A cotton press operated by horsepower, from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, p. 61,
Published October 7, 1871

While reading through reference materials that document the early development of Attala County, I have often seen the mention of a "horse gin." As a Mississippi native, I certainly know about the "cotton gin," but I found the term "horse gin" intriguing, mainly because I did not know what it really meant. I assumed it was a type of machine that was operated by one horse, or more, but I didn't know how it was used or why it was needed. As I searched for information about the horse gin's operation, and its purpose, I found some interesting facts.

In early Britain, horse gins were used for extracting coal from below the ground's surface, and the devices were referred to as "whims." In Attala County, Mississippi, they were used to "gin" cotton. The horse gin itself was a device that "harnessed" the energy created from the "horsepower" generated by mules or horses that walked in a circle. With the aid of a horse, a man could harvest fifty times more cotton than before.

According to a "Brief History for Towns and Communities of Attala County," prepared by the Attala Historical Society, a number of horse gins were operating in the county before and after the Civil War. Used for cleaning the cotton fibers from the seeds and seedpods, the early gin was a potentially dangerous device, and its accidents involved more than an occasional one with a mule or a horse. Although the gin operation itself greatly impacted the South's cotton production, it was the leading cause of accidents involving the operation of machinery in the 1800s. Ginning in those days was a manual operation, a process that involved hand-feeding of the cotton onto a spiked machine roller. Often, the operation resulted in mangled fingers, a hand, or even an arm.

According to a manuscript entitled "The Manufacture of Cotton Gins, A Southern Industry, 1793-1860," by Dr. M.C. McMillan (deceased) Auburn University Auburn, Alabama, a factory owned by T. G. Atwood in Bluff Springs, Attala County, Mississippi, produced an average of 350 gins a day in 1860. Since the blades on the saws in the gin were made of "heart pine," the South had a monopoly on gin-manufacturing operations simply because of the abundance of pine trees. In addition to the factory in Attala County, Mississippi had another factory, Beckett and Tindell, located near Aberdeen, which produced an average of 250 gins a year. The only other factory in Mississippi made only 52 gins in 1860. In Attala County, the operation of horse gins was eventually discontinued in the two decades after the Civil War, when many of them changed over to steam engines as a source of power.

As family researchers, most of us want to know details about our ancestors, where they lived, how they lived, and how they made their living. This is all part of developing the persona of a now-deceased relative, someone we can never really know. In Attala County, Mississippi in the 1800's, farming was the primary occupation of many residents; the crops that resulted, timber, cotton, and corn, required harvesting that involved machinery. And the occupation of some of these early Attala County residents was "gin operator."

Although the list below is not comprehensive, it does show the names of some of those who owned and operated horse gins in Attala County during the early to mid 1800's. The community or town where the operation was located is also shown.

Biggs, Johnnie - East Union

Brister, Cal and his brother Si - East Union

Cade, Jim - Rocky Point

Daniel, A. F. - Sand Hill

Fancher, Henry - Bear Creek

Hanna, George - Knox

Hughes, Ed - Pleasant Ridge

Jennings, F.H.D. - Conehoma

Ray, B. F. - East Macedonia

Ross, John - Conehoma

Short, John T. - Annis

Weeks, Jabez - White's

Wheeless, Amos - Tabernacle

Male and Female Schools in Attala County During the Mid-1800s

Today, while doing some research on churches, cemeteries, and people who lived in Attala County between 1850 and 1860, I found some information that I found fascinating. During this time in history when our educational system and our economy are both struggling, I thought it might be interesting to share this information with my readers.

Before I proceed, it is important to point out that public education was not available to everyone during this particular time and in this place. By the mid-1800s, Attala County had become a place where many affluent, well-informed, and publicly-involved people lived, and there is no doubt that education of their children was of the utmost importance to Attala Countians. In fact, the Masonic Lodges in Attala County operated separate schools for males and for females as early as 1850. Although the school for females had an elementary department, the only "higher education" courses offered to its students were in music and "fancy needlework."


In 1855, however, Rev. A. W. Chambless and his brother, William E. Chambless, opened the new Kosciusko Female Institute, located on the lot now occupied by the Mid-Mississippi Library. The new school promised to offer a more extensive list of courses for their female students and advertised these monthly rates for tuition:


Primary Department - $2.00
Higher English - $3.00
Ancient Languages - $2.00
Modern Languages - $2.00
Music - piano or guitar - $5.00
Ornamental Needlework - $2.00
Drawing and Painting - $2.00
Painting in Oil - $5.00
Wax Work - $2.00 per lesson
Young men, local and from outside the immediate area, were schooled at the Male Academy, where the trustees were John Fausett, G. W. Harlow, Ozias Lewis, J. W. Scarborough, and E. M. Wells. Elementary courses available to male students were reading, writing, arithmetic, and grammar, at $10 per session. Advanced courses were taught in arithmetic, geography, grammar, philosophy, history, botany, and chemistry, at a price of $15 per session. Advanced studies in algebra, astronomy, trigonometry, Latin and Greek were available at $30 per session. Certainly, this was an impressive offering of courses for male students.
Interestingly, although not surprisingly for this time period, neither school had a dormitory, and students boarded in private homes in town. For me and for other researchers, this is an important point to keep in mind when reviewing census records, since students may have been enumerated in Attala County when their legitimate residences were in other counties.

Reference: "Kosciusko - Attala History" - published by the Attala Historical Society

Five Men from Helena, Arkansas

This photograph, as well as a call for assistance to determine my Porter family's relationship to the men in the picture, was first published in a post I wrote for the Attala County Memories blog in September 2008. The photograph, actually a "picture postcard" that I found in my grandmother's photo album, is my submission to Smile for the Camera, 9th Edition, "Who Are You - I Really Want to Know." Someone long ago wrote the names of the men in the picture on the back of the postcard, but what I really want to know is how these men fit into my Porter family tree. The five men in the photograph were identified by the note on the postcard as David Porter, Payton Porter, David Blair, Hall Hart, and John Shearfield. The card has no stamp and no postmark, so it is safe to assume it was never mailed. Written in the space intended for a mailing address is "From Ellie to Vertie, Helena, Ark." Vertie Porter was my paternal grandmother's sister, my great-aunt, and she once taught school in Arkansas. But who was Ellie? And why did Ellie send Vertie Porter a picture of these five men? It goes without saying the two Porter men must have been relatives, but were the other three men relatives, too? And finally, why would my grandmother continue to hold on to this picture long after her sister's death?

Maple Terrace Bed & Breakfast - Kosciusko, MS

On two occasions during the past year and a half, we have stayed overnight at the Maple Terrace Bed & Breakfast located at 300 N. Huntington Street in Kosciusko, Mississippi. The owners of the house are Kosciusko residents, Roxanne and Larry Routt. Its location near the square and so close to the wonderful research room at the Mid-Mississippi Library made it a perfect location for our visits. After our visit to Kosciusko and the surrounding area was complete, we were just a short distance from the entrance to the Natchez Trace Parkway that would take us down to Madison County. According to the Maple Terrace website, the house was built in 1912 and is on the Historic Register. The house itself is a blend of Colonial Revival, Arts and Crafts, and Prairie designs. Inside, the beautiful wood floors, period furniture and appointments, along with some lovely and unique stained glass made us feel as if we had been transported to another time and place. The grounds are manicured and well-kept. On our last visit, we were pleased to find information in the house that told its history, how it was built by a postmaster who served the town of Kosciusko around the turn of the twentieth century. There were even old architectural drawings included in the material. What a beautiful structure this house is, and if the walls could talk, I can only imagine the history they could tell.

New Year's Day Article in MCHerald

Yesterday, New Year's Day 2009, an article introducing The Graveyard Rabbit of Madison County to the Greater Jackson area appeared on the front page of the MCHerald, a section of the Clarion-Ledger devoted to news and events in Madison County, Mississippi. My special thanks go out to Lucy Weber, Staff Writer for the MCHerald, who wrote the very nice article that provided an overview of the Madison County blog as well as The Association of Graveyard Rabbits. The parent organization was founded by Terry Thornton, of Fulton, Mississippi, and his co-founder who writes under the name, footnoteMaven. A link to yesterday's article is provided below.

http://www.mcherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090101/NEWS/901010312/1001

Ring Out the Old, Ring in the New....

And Happy New Year to All of You!

Have you ever thought about the significance of something as simple as a bell? Not only were church bells of old used to announce the time to anyone within hearing distance, bells in general have been used since the earliest of times as a type of alarm, warning those nearby of things that were about to happen, things that were both "good" and some things that were "not so good." The tolling of a bell, even today, may serve as an announcement that a child has been born, a couple has just been married, or that a death has occurred. During medieval times, the simple ringing of a bell was believed to have kept evil spirits away, and it was a common practice to ring a bell at the bedside of the deceased prior to burial. In modern times, bells of all sizes, types and sounds have been used in churches, schools, and other public places. Even our doorbells and the bell that ding-dings in our cars when we don't buckle up have evolved from these early uses of bells as warning or announcement devices.

Today, bells are almost always used in even the simplest of our holiday traditions, both religious and secular. But neither Christmas nor a New Year's wish would be the same without bells.

Attala County Memories Receives Proximidade Award

Yesterday, Terry Thornton, of Hill Country of Monroe County, awarded Attala County Memories the Proximidade Award. I feel honored. Thank you, Terry!

Receipt of the Proximidade Award requires the recipient to pass the award on to eight bloggers who exemplify the language stated in the award itself. Each blogger to whom I am passing along the award is the author of a well-written blog that is charming indeed and shows the blogger's investment and true belief in proximity! A list of writers receiving the award is listed below, and I encourage you to visit their blogs and get to know the individuals who write them.

1. Judy at Genealogy Traces
2. Laura McQueen at The McQueen Family
3. Amy at We Tree
4. Elyse at Elyse's Genealogy Blog
5. Lisa at 100 Years in America
6. Julie at Gen Blog
7. Elizabeth at Little Bytes of Life
8. Tim at Walking the Berkshires