During the past week, I continued researching the surnames Porter and Middleton, South Carolina ancestors who settled in the early Southwest Mississippi Territory. Part of that research included reading through several books that include details about early Mississippi settlers, as I searched for references to either of the two families. One such book was Natchez on the Mississippi by Harnett T. Kane. Published by William Morrow & Company in 1947, Kane's book includes over three hundred pages of eloquent details about the history of the Natchez area. Although I did not find references to either the Porter or Middleton names, I immensely enjoyed reading Kane's vivid descriptions of over twenty antebellum mansions, the personal stories of the families that built them, and the individuals who called them home. Of interest to anyone who enjoys history is the fact that many of the individuals named in the book were among those who helped shape the state's history, and in some cases, the history of our nation. Also included in the interesting and entertaining stories in Kane's book about Natchez are two that garnered national interest in years past, the famous steamboat race between The Natchez and The Robert E. Lee, and the infamous story of Natchez's "Goat Castle." The index of Natchez on the Mississippi is a special bonus for family history researchers everywhere, since it contains an alphabetical listing of hundreds of family names mentioned in Kane's book.
