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From: <>
Subject: [RHEA-L] Concise History of Early Itawamba County, Miss.
Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2000 10:54:44 EST

>From the Concise History of Early Itawamba Co. Miss, are these few
paragraphs, that I thought you would like to read. The URL for this site is:
http://www.network-one.com/robfra/history.html
****
By 1850 Fulton had developed to become the center of commerce in Itawamba
County. Fulton boasted several businesses during 1850 including: Francis
Jones Carriage Maker, Abel Warren Merchantile, B.J. Morris Saddlemaker,
Zachariah Phillips Blacksmith Shop, Tannahill Merchantile, Garrett
Christopher Grocery, Joseph & Andrew Brown Grocery, James C. Wright Tailor,
John G. Kohlheim Merchantile, Joshua Barnard Brick Mason, James Basham
Shoemaker, Mayburn Allen Carpentry, Josiah Harrison Merchantile, Thomas Rhea
Merchant and Gaither Merchantile, James Duggar Shoemaker, and The Fulton
Hearald Newspaper owned by John Massinger. The bustling village also included
five attorneys: Arthur B. Bullard, Jeptha Robins, Robert O. Maupin, John W.
Downs, and Benjamin Owen. The village was served by four physicians inlcuding
John Fletcher Booth, Samuel Vernon, John Moore, and George W. Booth. Fulton
boasted two private schools, the Fulton Female Academy run by Louisa Maupin
(located at present-day corner of Beene and North Cummings St.) and the
Fulton Male Academy (located on the present-day Fulton Cemetery lot). Fulton
was served by two inns run by Reubin Wiygul (present-day corner of Wiygul and
Clifton streets) and Albert James. The mayor of Fulton during 1850 was
William Beachum who served the village's 200 citizens.

During the early 1850s to 1860, an Itawamba County planter class had
developed. During this era, more social functions were held, usually in the
town of Fulton. Socials took the form of barbecue picnics. Men in the town
would hunt in the Tombigbee bottom lands below the town for squirrel and wild
turkey. After a day of hunting they would bring their game back to the town
square where slave men and women would prepare the food for the scores of
people who attended the social.

The members of Itawamba County's planter class enjoyed much more leisure time
than other settlers in the county. Their spare time was devoted to hunting,
reading and writing. During the 1850s, fox hunts were popular in Fulton. The
head of Itawamba County's planter class was probably Malachai Crawford
Cummings. He was a self-made planter who lived about one mile north of the
Fulton town square. He had interests in farming, milling, stock raising and
trading. Cummings and his wife, Sarah, immigrated to Itawamba County during
the 1830s and in 1839 he was elected probate judge. In 1841 he was elected to
the State Legislature and was a member of the Secession Convention of 1860.
In 1861 he represented his district in the state senate. Cummings' home was a
large two-story Greek Revival mansion that featured a large gallery and an
open balcony. During Cummings' lifetime in Itawamba County, his estate grew
to include more than 10,000 acres.

Other members of Itawamba County's planter class included the Dabbs, Clifton,
Owen, Trice, Traylor, and Taylor families, among others.
This page designed and produced by Bob Franks and last updated June 1999.
************
Database: United Kingdom Telephone and Address Listings
Combined Matches: 1
Name Address City ZipCode Phone Locality County
RHEA, THOMAS D ADVENTURE HOUSE Whitby YO213QY 0194 760 5376 Newholm North
Yorkshire



Patricia L. Hall
Olathe, Ks.

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