Located in the geographical center of Mississippi, Leake County was often a stopping place for Mississippi travelers and those from other states. Whether they just passed through, stayed a few years, or stayed for the rest of their lives, the names of people who came to Leake County often found their way into the local weekly newspaper, The Carthaginian. Established in the county seat of Carthage in 1872, The Carthaginian has chronicled happenings in Central Mississippi since that time. This book consists of chronological abstracts of genealogical value gleaned from the earliest existing issues to the turn-of-the-century. The author cites more than births, deaths, and marriages. Among the types of items appearing in the book are: social notes on visiting relatives, or Leake Countians traveling to visit kin in other places; notes on illnesses, accidents, fires, and other disasters; comments by the editors or the correspondents referring to the character of individuals; articles on new homes, businesses, change of occupation, or people moving into or out of the area; advertisements of local businesses and products; elections, poll workers and public officials; school events and honor students; club meetings, church events and veterans reunions; court cases, court notices and homestead notices. Although the abstracts do not start until the early 1870s, references to the early years of Leake County are found in the letters to the editor, death notices, and other items. With the references in the homestead notices, the researcher may obtain land patent documents through the National Archives. Also valuable are items showing the movement of people from place to place in the late 1800s. These give clues to their whereabouts between the censuses and often give hints or reasons of why they moved. People from many other locations are mentioned in the book, since the newspaper copied items from other weeklies about happenings in the neighboring counties of Neshoba, Scott, Attala, Holmes, and other parts of the state. An introduction, giving a brief history of newspapers in Leake County, samples of the court and land notices, and a surname index complement the abstracts.
Regina Hines Ellison
(1993), 2011, 5.5" x 8.5", paper, index, 276 pp.
ISBN: 9781556138812
101-E0881
