Foreword

FOREWORD

When we began this series in 1990, our main goal was to have a central location to deposit our FEATHERSTON(E) research material, and use FEATHERSTON FINDINGS as a means of publishing and sharing this information. It was hoped that this method would save us all countless hours of research, as well as many hours of one-on-one sharing of the same materials over and over again.
Information that you have submitted has been a tremendous help in my own ancestor hunting. I hope that these pages have done the same for each of you.
If you still have FEATHERSTON(E) data not yet submitted for publication, please do so. If you have submitted material and not yet seen it in our pages, have patience, we will get to it sooner or later.
Thanks so much for the many kind and complimentary remarks regarding FEATHERSTON FINDINGS. These are encouraging words that help keep us going.
Thank you all for your continued support.
Joyce Featherston Hawkins
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Index

 FEATHERSTON FINDINGS
Volume 16
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 

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Page 01

 The following article was taken from a 1959 or 1960 Vicksburg, Mississipi newspaper

Hidden Stone is Reminder of Yellow Fever Epidemic
by John Barbour, State Times Correspondent

VICKSBURG, Miss. - Rain drips from the trees. Leaves crackle underfoot. One dodges puddles of water as he makes his way up a slight rise which was once a logging road. Then, two large stones, yellowed by weather, mark the site of the old Featherstun Chapel, established by a Methodist layman. A sharp turn to the right through a heavily-wooded area and the pitiful sight of the Featherstun monument is encountered.
It's not easy to find and unless one has a competent guide, such as Mrs. Harold Bragg who knows more cemeteries in Warren County than most undertakers, he'll never find the old graveyard. The story met is one of tragedy.
In 1878, the year the yellow fever epidemic struck in Vicksburg, residents fled the city and many encamped in the hills near Oak Ridge. In many cases, those who had left the town were already infected with the disease and were "carriers." Naturally, mosquitos would spread the infection even farther. It struck the Featherstun family.
And the monument in the old graveyard testified to the fact. It's a simple monument, a single shaft of stone that has become slightly tilted by weather. The inscription starts:
"In memory of my entire family. . ."
; Then below and on each of its four sides are a long list of names.
"Mary E. Featherstun, wife of Rev. P.M. Featherstun. died Oct. 13. 1878, aged 48 years;
"Mrs. A.A. Rundell, died Oct. 10, 1878. age 36 years.
"Will B. Cleland, died Oct. 13, 1878, age 27 years.
"Irene Cleland, died Oct. 13, 1878. age 1 month.
"L.W., died Oct. 12, 1878, age 12 years.
"G.W.. died Sept. 22, 1878. age 19 years.
"Abbie. died Oct. 8, 1878, age 15 years.
"Laura, died Oct. 11, 1878, age 10 years.
"R.H.. died July 25. 1872, age 11 years.
"Burwell Featherstun, died Dec. 19, 1874, aged 93 years."
The first nine people who are listed on the stone died in September and October of 1878 - the year the scourge of yellow fever took so many lives in Warren County - and all were related.
The graveyard lies off the old Beechland Road near the homes where the Chamberlain, Blanchard, Trible and Billingslea families once lived. Two of the Tribles and Mrs. Sarah Billingslea also died in the yellow fever epidemic.
Interestingly, the territory near where the graveyard lies was also occupied by the Bowie family, relatives of the famed Jim Bowie, who is accredited with the making of the Bowie knife. The Bowie family, originally from Maryland, moved South with Jim's father stopping in Tennessee while the remainder of the family came to Mississippi. Jim, referred to in most cases as a Louisianian, was actually born in Tennessee, cont.

 

Page 02

1959 or 1960 Vicksburg, Mississipi newspaper (cont.)

Relatives of the famous knife-carrier live in Vicksburg. They are Mrs. L.D. Hilton and Miss Frances Bowie. Descendants of the Featherstuns who recall their mother's stories of the yellow fever's death march into the hills near Bovina now live in Jackson.

THE CLARION-LEDGER - JACKSON (MS) DAILY NEWS
Sunday, February 17, 1980

The Weekender - Family marker tells of fever's destruction
By Carl Mclntire - SUNDAY Feature Writer
Yellow fever carved a path through Misissippi in 1878 that was marked by tombstones that still dot the graveyards from one end of the state to the other.
None of the markers, however, is probably so complete a family history as the one to be found in an old, abandoned, almost lost cemetery near Vicksburg, at a place once known as Beechland. A lone memorial, a tall spire with engravings all around the square base, tells how a father buried his entire family in 22 days. There are names of eight persons inscribed thereon.
The Rev. P.M. Featherstun was pastor of a small Methodist Church at Beechland when tragedy struck. After he buried his dead. it is said he left and never returned.
Vicksburg was gloating over the healthy conditions of the community when, on August 15, 1878, the city's newspaper called it "the healthiest city in the South."
That very evening, the town health officer reported two cases of yellow fever.
From then on, for two months, the obituary columns were jammed with names of the dead. On Aug. 21, the paper listed 10 deaths and three days later said there were 100 new cases. Within less than a month, it is said that one third of the population had been stricken. Death tolls were high. Nearby, at Beechland, the Featherstun family seemed safe out in the country. Then it hit.
The monument shows that on Sept. 22, G.W., aged 19, died, on Oct. 8, Abbie aged 15, died. Will B. Cleland (considered as probably a son-in-law) died, on Oct. 9 at the age of 27. Miss A.A. Rundell, a teacher who resided with the family, died Oct. 10 at the age of 36. Laura, aged 10, died Oct. 11. L.W., aged 12 died Oct. 12. Irene died Oct. 12 at the age of one month and on Oct. 13 Mrs. Mary E., wife of Rev. P.M. Featherstun, died at the age of 48.
As the newspaper in Vicksburg continued to tell of the deaths, the editor implored, "May God have mercy on us all."
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Page 03

 THE VICKSBURG EVENING POST, Vicksburg, Miss.
Thursday, September 8, 1983

Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1800s Took Its Toll on Featherstun Family
By Leon Pantenburg - Evening Post Staff Writer
(note by JFH: A few words in the first and second paragraph and a portion of the third paragraph of the following article are missing, due to misplacement on a copying machine. Those missing words or letters are shown by __.)
" __ heart must be stirred to its depths at the sorrow __ befallen the house of Rev. F.M. Featherstun in the __hood of Beechland," read the Oct. 18, 1878 issue of __burg Weekly Herald. __ Featherstun's plight attracted notice was in itself __. Vicksburg was in the midst of the worst yellow __ epidemic to ever hit the city.
Thousands were __ with the disease and hardly a family was spared __ of personal tragedy. __st victim, Thurston J. Thompson, died Aug. 10 __ many others were soon ill. By Aug. 24, an epi- __ __s raging and the Herald reported "The shadow __ woe hangs over our devoted city. The number suffering from the pestilence is fearful. Yesterday we saw corpses hurried to the grave without attendant, and God only knows the ghastly sights and scenes of pain transpiring in Vicksburg tonight..." Those who could, left the city until the epidemic was over. Featherstun moved his large family to Beechland, a now extinct community approximately eight miles northeast of Vicksburg. He hoped the distance from town would protect his family from catching the disease. A Safe Distance The Oct. 18, 1878 Herald editorialized why areas away from the city could be healthier; "The reasons are perfectly well known now. These cities are regular yellow fever nests, because they have no decent sewerage, and because the filth in which the yellow fever seeds germinate and bear the deadliest fruit is permitted to accumulate and serve as a hotbed for disease.
"...we have great fears that the same indifference and lack of public spirit which have prepared the way for the yellow fever this year will lead to a like neglect in regard to its return...There is no alternative course, except to vacate the present pest holes of the South."
Mysterious Illness
Nobody back then knew what caused the illness and various methods of combatting it were used. It was thought the fever was caused by mysterious vapors and different methods were used to "clean" the air.
Barrels of tar were burned on street corners to put up a smudge, and firing a cannon was thought to be helpful because of the smoke and sulpher released into the air.
Treatment for a fever victim included calomel, mustard baths and spongebaths with cold water and whiskey. Once the fever subsided a diet of rice, milk and lime water, or chicken broth was taken for nine or 10 days.
Absolute quiet and stillness were required. cont.

 

Page 04

THE VICKSBURG EVENING POST, Vicksburg, Miss. (cont.)

Near the middle of September through late October, Vicksburg attracted  worldwide attention as the disease incapacitated the area. Steamboats wouldn't stop at the town landing and trains passed through without stopping. Passengers held handkerchiefs over their faces to escape the germ-laden air, because the mosquito had not yet been diagnosed as the yellow fever carrier.
Few in the city wanted to expose themselves to the disease and normal life and businesses were brought nearly to a standstill. Evidently Featherstun carried the illness home with him. The Oct. 17 Herald recorded the result.
"This large and happy family has been totally dismembered...
Out of a family of TEN there are only TWO living this morning — the father and his widowed daughter, Mrs. Cleland, both of whom are prostrated with fever.
"The following have died, all within the past few days: Wesley Featherstun, aged 19 years; Miss Abby, 16 years; Wyche, 12 years; Laura, 10 years; Mr. W.B. Cleland and child; Mrs. Laura Featherstun and her sister Miss Abby Rundells. Though so sorely tried, the Rev. Mr. Featherstun is sweetly sustained by the hopes of the gospel and the tender sympathies of friends."
The epidemic was over by Nov. 19. The actual number of people killed as a result is not a matter of record. Approximately 3,000 people died in Mississippi and approximately a third of them were Vicksburg and Warren County residents.
A list of victims that was several pages long was published in the Jan. 5, 1879 edition of the Herald.
The Howard Association's Medical Director's Office also placed a notice in the same addition that read:
"Frost having appeared, all persons are requested to thoroughly air all household goods, and ventilate their apartments; and use disinfect in the cellars and rooms that have been closed during the epidemic. All absentees are hereby warned not to return until the appearance of a black frost, and the above orders are complied with," Signed J.R. Barnett, Medical Director. H.A. (Howard Association).
Featherstun. emotionally devastated, placed a monument in the tiny family cemetery and moved to Louisiana after he recovered from the fever. In later years he reportedly re-married and raised another family.
Today, all that remains of the community of Beechland are a few overgrown dirt traces and the abandoned Featherstun family cemetery. The plot is all but impossible to find and is seldom visited by anyone but an occasional hunter.
Two of the graves are caved in and the underbrush and lichens all but obscure the lettering on the Featherstun monument that states simply:
"In Memory of My Entire Family."
submitted by: Mrs. Dorothy J. Harz

JFH; Francis Marion Featherstun, was a son of Burwell, Jr. and Rebecca (Adams) Featherston -BRANCH #5.
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Page 05

 THE HERITAGE OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY MISSISSIPPI

pub. 1986 by The Skipwith Historical Society, Inc., Oxford, Mississippi page 11 - (JFH: excerpts from a journal, of a family group moving from Alabama, seeking a suitable location to build a new home in Mississippi. The Edward Featherston mentioned is likely the son of Charles and Lucy (Pitts) Featherston - BRANCH #3.)
...Monday, January 4, 1836 - The weather is cold and blustery but the road is relatively dry when they start toward Pontotoc; the three grown boys " on their horses, two riding ahead of the wagon and one trailing it. A few minutes from camp, John and Harris stopped their horses and watched several Indian braves on their ponies pass across the road headed north on a trail. The boys rode up the trail a 100 feet looking at the tracks. While they were looking, they noticed many shod horse tracks which indicated white riders were also using the trail.
The underbrush on each side of the trail had been cut back eight to ten feet as far as the eye could see in either direction. Soon a white rider galloped into sight. John hailed the rider, asking where he was headed. The rider said that he came from Natchez and was carrying the U.S. mail to Nashville, TN. With this exchange, the rider spurred his horse northward on the well worn trail.
Soon Hughey came up in the wagon, inquiring about the rider. While John and Hughey were talking, several Indian braves passed by on the trail. (This was the famous Natchez Trace that they had crossed about twelve miles southeast of Pontotoc.) Hughey and his party pushed on through  the sandy clay hills, camping south of the town of Pontotoc. Travellers had told Hughey to avoid the village of Pontotoc by going around it on the west side as there were many Indian villages in and near the town; that there was plenty of whiskey available to the Indians and a drunken brave was to be feared.
Tuesday, January 5 - Before starting out again, Hughey cautioned the three boys on horses to completely ignore any Indians they met. The road was still dry and the party skirted Pontotoc following the road to the west. Along the way they saw many Indians on ponies going into town. By 10 a.m. they were well west of Pontotoc when they met a traveller on horseback, Edward Featherston.
Hughey asked him, "Where does this road go?" Mr. Featherston replied, "It goes to Toccopola. a small settlement then turns north up the west side of the Tallahatchie River. I do not know how far it goes up the river. I have never used the road."
Hughey thanked Featherston for the information. They passed through Toccopola about 3 p.m. camping in a pine tree forest on a hill two miles north of the village of Toccopola. The pines were very large and very tall. All over the ground under the pines two and three inches deep were pine needles and cones. No grass grew under the trees. This was an amazing sight to Hughey and his family. The ground under the trees was so clean and free of underbrush that it looked like a park.,..
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Page 06

THE HERITAGE OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY MISSISSIPPI (cont.

JFH: Thomas Wiley Featherston was s/o James Wiley Featherston (s/o Wiley) and Alice or Ann Elizabeth Brandon. Branch # not yet identified in FEATHERSTON FINDINGS.
ps. 535 & 536
My great-grandfather, John Currie Richmond, was born in Caswell Co., NC,  March 27. 1803, died Oxford, MS, May 13, 1879. and was married in NC to Betsy Stephens July 31, 1821. After her early death about 1841, he moved to LaFayette County and settled in the College Hill community, where he owned a section of cotton land. Betsy Stephens, wife of John Currie Richmond, was born Oct. 25, 1805 in Caswell Co., NC, the daughter of William Stephens, a pensioned Revolutionary soldier, born ca. 1755 and died in Caswell Co. 1793. Mary Noel was the daughter of Elizabeth (__) Noel who married second, Robert Long and died in Caswell Co. 1816. Mary's father was probably Joel Noel who died 1776, with estate record 1777 in Caswell Co.
The children of John Currie and Betsy Stephens Richmond (born Caswell Co.. NC); Mary Ann born Nov. 9. 1822, died in Texas Jan. 11, 1843, married in NC April 29, 1839, to Solomon Van Hook; Francis E., born Jan. 16, 1826 died Jan. 27, 1845; Miranda C., born March 31, 1828 married first, in NC Oct. 6, 1846 to Willis M. Richmond and second, in MS, to William C. Delay, Feb. 22, 1853. After Miranda's death, July 6, 1854, her daughter, Virginia Richmond, was reared in NC by Henry Richmond, brother of Willis M. Richmond. Virginia married in Caswell Co., NC, Nov. 14, 1867 Thomas W. Featherstone; William Currie Richmond M.D., was born Feb. 8, 1830 and died in Oxford July 12, 1895.
He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in 1854 and married in Haywood Co., TN, July 24, 1854, a distant cousin, Ann Elizabeth Currie, born Caswell Co., NC, April 17, 1834 and died Oxford Jan. 18, 1903;
Sarah B. born Sep. 1, 1832, died Nov. 28, 1869, and married James M. Britton M.D. They moved to Arkansas; Matilda Margaret, born Oct. 15, 1836. died Sardis. MS, March 2, 1900, married June 1, 1857 to Hezekiah Puryear Smith, born Jan. 28, 1831, Barren Co., KY. died May 5, 1919; Joseph Armstrong, born August 5, 1838/9 died 1839.
John Currie Richmond was the son of John Richmond Jr.. and his second wife, Mary Currie. John Jr. was born ca. 1755 and served in the Revolution.
He died ca. 1841 in Caswell Co., NC. Mary Currie, wife of John Richmond Jr. was born ca. 1755 in NC and died there ca. 1830. She was the daughter of James and Mary Catherine Armstrong Currie who moved to NC from Cumberland Co., PA. Mary Catherine Armstrong was the daughter of Joseph Armstrong who died in Cumberland Co., PA, ca. 1761.
John Richmond Jr. was the son of John Richmond Sr. and his first wife, Margaret, probably a Lea. John Richmond Sr. was born about 1726 in Ayrshire, Scotland, per tradition, which states: "James Richmond, a ship builder, and John Richmond and a nephew, Scotch Jimmy, came from Aberdeen, Scotland, to Mecklenburg Co., VA, in the early 18th century." The will of John Richmond Sr., in Caswell Co., NC, 1787, names his family.
by Jessie Barry Richmond Hooper
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