AMERICAN REVOLUTION ALONG MISSISSIPPI RIVER UNFAMILIAR TO MOST
(Please be aware this post was written in 2004 and published at that time in the Houston Chronicle (Houston, Texas) newspaper. Some of the news in this post, therefore, may not be current. Current and future posts on this blog may revisit and update news on this and other posts on this blog. If you have questions and/or suggestions, please send Mic a note using the comment page -Don’t forget to use the orange “subscribe” button to receive new posts-Thanks, Mic)
Until recent years history books only discussed the Revolutionary War in the original thirteen American colonies. Most Americans today have either never heard of or heard little of the Revolution as it was fought along the Lower Mississippi River Valley. For the most part the battles in that area were small and insignificant. The implications, however, were broad and international.
An online book, Special History Report, The Colbert Raid, Arkansas Post National Memorial, written by Edwin C. Bearss in 1974 and published by the National Park Service can be found at
http://www.nps.gov/arpo/colbert/ . The book offers an excellent historical overview of the international struggle for control of the Mississippi Gulf Coast region.
The book describes how the Spanish after declaring war on Britain in 1779 consummated swift victories over the weakly fortified British forts at Manchac, Baton Rouge, Natchez and later Mobile and Pensacola. Urged on by British agents a group of former British subjects at Natchez staged a rebellion in 1780 which was quickly put down by the Spanish. The fugitive rebels, other British countrymen and their Indian allies continued to harass the Spanish throughout the former British colony of West Florida for the duration of the war.
Another book, which has recently been republished, begins at the time of the Natchez rebellion and contains a treasure trove of extracts of everyday legal documents as maintained by the Spanish governor in that district. Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805 by May Wilson McBee begins with decrees and records of the confiscation of property belonging to some of the rebels involved in the rebellion of 1780 against Spanish domination. In addition it contains the sureties, bills of sale for land and slaves, as well as, wills and inventories of Natchez District citizens through 1805.
The second part of Natchez Court Records deals with British land grants, land claims from 1767 through 1805 and confirmation of area land ownership by the United States. The Natchez Court Records is available for $52.50 from Clearfield Publishers, 200 E. Eager Street Baltimore, Maryland 21202 or on their website at http://www.genealogical.com/
While the Natchez Court Records contains approximately 10,000 references in it’s name index Richard S. Lackey, a prominent Mississippi genealogist and historian compiled a 42 page list of Corrections and Supplemental Index to McBee’s Natchez Court Records 1767-1805. The latter title has just been released in a limited edition and is available for $17.50, postpaid, from Provincial Press, 1067 Rock Pitt Road, Ville Platte, LA 70586.
While dating several years later than the Revolution Adams County, MS Genealogical and Historical Research has posted the names of citizens of Natchez as listed in the 1792 Spanish Census of the Natchez District. This census may be viewed online at
SCHWEITZER AND BOCKSTRUCK TEAM UP IN DALLAS
Known for their excellent workshops and seminars the Dallas Genealogical Society will host the 2004 DGS Summer Institute 12-15 August at the J. Erik Jonsson Dallas Public Library in Downtown Dallas. The institute will feature two nationally renown genealogical lecturers Dr. George K. Schweitzer of Knoxville, Tennessee and Lloyd D. Bockstruck of Dallas.
Colonial Research in the Original Colonies will consist of three and a half days of comprehensive lectures about colonial records, laws, religion, migration and social life.
The institute is limited to 120 persons and is usually filled to capacity. For information regarding registration, price, hotel, class schedules and bus shuttle visit the DGS website at http://www.dallasgenealogy.org/institute/institute.htm . For other information contact DGS’s voice mail at 469-948-1106 or email them at info@dallasgenealogy.org .
