Copied from the History of Lawrence and Jefferson Davis County, by Eddie Mikell, all rights reserved. Now available on CD and hard copy. E-mail mikell@virginia.edu for purchasing information. You can also bid for this cd on e-bay! (Eddie Note - all, it has been sometime - I think about 4 years - since I released parts from the book, and the mailing list has changed to so many different people, that I can starting the series again from the beginning. Please excuse the duplication to all those who have been faithful over the last 7 years!) INTRODUCTION FROM EDDIE MIKELL Welcome! My name is Eddie Mikell and I am your host for this Jefferson Davis/Lawrence County history book. I started this project in 1996, when I took over as administrator for the Jefferson Davis County section for the USGENWEB project. Since the page lacked much history, I started looking for information to fill out the rather pitiful looking web site (and on a more selfish nature, find out more about the MIKELL's since they settled in the area in 1805). Here it is, 7 years and almost 1000 pages later. If you have access to a computer, go to the Jefferson Davis USGENWEB project at WWW.USGENWEB.COM and click on the state and county that you are interested in, and you can find more pictures and information. You can also post queries to find out about the people that interest you. If you are interested in periodic e-mails of history that I send out, then you can subscribe to the mailing list. To subscribe, send a note to MSJEFFDAVIS-L-request@rootsweb.com. Put nothing in the subject line. In the body of the note put Subscribe. Turn off all sig files. To send a message to everyone, e-mail to MSJEFFDAVIS-L@rootsweb.com If you are interested in a copy of the book, please e-mail me at MIKELL@VIRGINIA.EDU, or send me a note at the address at the end of this section. I hope you find someone that you know in here, and will use this as a "jumping off" point on searching for your relatives. I am also interested in your stories, pictures, clippings, etc., and if you send me a copy, I'll include it in the next publication of the book. Cheers! Eddie Mikell 1720 Goldentree Place Charlottesville, VA 22911 Mikell@virginia.edu Introduction By Joseph Dale, Editor, Lawrence County Press "This writer feels highly honored in being selected to write an introductory chapter for the History of Lawrence County, which has been so well prepared by the local and state workers on the WPA Historical Research Project. I have been unable to review this material to the extent that it merits, being placed in the position of the average country editor, whose time is consumed almost entirely in the strenuous task of making a living for himself and family. However, I have always been intensely interested in a work of this nature, and during the nearly forty-nine years that have marked my editorial control of the Lawrence County Press, it has been my constant endeavor from week to week to make such contributions to its columns as will stimulate the patriotic interest of those historically minded, and stand as a permanent and enduring record of the county's progress. It has been a joyous privilege to load the files of the Press to the local research workers, and I am happy to note that these files have been used quite generously in the preparation of this volume. Figure 1 Joseph Dale, Founnder of Lawrence County Press As a matter of historic fact, it is worthy of deep interest, and also of pardonable pride to her native citizenry, at home as well as abroad, to know that Lawrence is one of the richest counties in this grand old state of Mississippi in point of historic lore. For a period of twenty-four hours, Monticello had at least, the distinction of being the capital of the state. The Legislature, then in session at Columbia, located the capital at Monticello, but the following day this action was reconsidered, and Jackson won the honor. However, the State Supreme Court did meet in Monticello at one time, and during its session here the illustrious Sargent S. Prentiss, then a young man, entirely unknown to fame, was granted license to practice law. Lawrence County boasts of the fact of having furnished the state with three governors - Hiram G. Runnels, James D. Lynch, and Andrew H. Longino, the latter still living as an honored citizen of Jackson. In addition to these, Judge Wiley P. Harris lived in Monticello when elected to Congress, and several other state officers have claimed Lawrence County as their home, among the number being the lamented Sylvester Gwin, state auditor, and George W. Carlisle, state treasurer. Monticello, in the early thirties of the last century, was the second largest town in the state, having a population of something like 2,500 persons. Up and down Pearl River, in the territory embraced in Lawrence County, lived some of the wealthiest and most highly cultured families in the entire South. Stephen A. Douglas, unsuccessful candidate for president of the United States against Abraham Lincoln, once owned and operated a large river plantation in Lawrence County. A careful review of the material embraced in this volume will prove of great interest to those inclined to acquaint themselves with historical facts hitherto little known or forgotten."