Article from the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (October 1, 1971)
Nostalgia Of Richmond And Of "Rich Mums"
by Olivia Napoli - Journal Society Editor
Many hands will be clasped, many hugs and kisses exchanged
in the happy reunion and dinner on the ground festivities of Richmond Baptist
Church, Sunday, October 3, as the homecoming will celebrate dedication of
the completed reconstruction of Richmond's old church building.
This church celebrated a 100-year anniversary in 1945,
and it was my privilege this week to read a history written by James T. Pettigrew
of Tupelo.
As Mr. Pettigrew writes, "Richmond was embraced in Itawamba
County in its early settlement, and remained in part of Itawamba County until
1866 when Lee County was formed from Itawamba and Pontotoc."
"Section number 27, in which the Richmond Baptist Church
was located, was claimed by Chief Shim-i-o-pa, and section 22, just north,
was claimed by Chief Che-lah-cha-chubby."
"Tradition and land records show that Arch Thomason was
the first settler in Richmond. When the Civil War began the town boasted
an excellent trade center with a dozen or more places or more places of business,
with the old town located on the hill of the Lamont Posey home."
"Main Street, a half mile long street, boasted of Murphy,
of Threldkeld and Crane stores and on the East side, Stovall, Randolph and
Evans. A side street held three brick stores, one belonged to Pettigrew.
This store closed before the Civil War due to the death of its operator."
"There was Webb Shop and Woodworking establishment, a
town hotel, and reports have it that Richmond had a saloon, a dance hall,
two academies, one for boys and one for girls."
"Wagon and stage coach offered contract with travel to
the Tombigbee River and to Old Town Creek, the latter contract at the town
of Carmigo."
"With the building of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad a
gradual moving to railroad cities took place . Mr. Whitesides moved
the girl's academy to Shannon. The last storekeeper on the original
site of Richmond was Roman Thomas, who moved to Plantersville in 1883. The
first fair held in this part of the state, an annual affair later, was located
near the Baptist Church, and accounts for the title, "Fairground Church,"
often applied.
The above quotes are taken from Mr. Pettigrew's account.
William T. Pettigrew, grandfather of James Pettigrew moved to Richmond
from Alabama in 1841. His family chose the place known as the Dick
Ivey place. Material for the 100-year history of the Richmond Church
and town was gathered from fertile memories, as there was no written record
of the church before 1884, nor of the town except in deeds and grants.
The oldest addition mentioned to the Richmond Church
was Sarah Pettigrew who joined in 1856 by letter from a church in Georgia.
The next oldest entries were Julian Springer, 1865, and Elizabeth Williams,
1868, both by baptism.
Other families identified with the Church in its old
locatioin were Armstrong, Barrett, Brassfield, Blythe, Brinkley, Cook,
Coker, Dodson, Estes, Gibson, Herald, Hathcock, Hamilton, Harris, Ivey, Looney,
Mattox, Leslie, Moore, Mabry, Murphy, Pettigrew, Randolph, Stanley, Sullivan,
Springer, Scribner, Threlkeld, Tate, Thomas, Williams, Wilemon, and Webb.
Finding this rededication service of Richmond in the
coming events of this week, and having in hand the Church's history and knowing
the tremendous research done on the 100 year history of the years 1845-1945,
it doesn't surprise me that James Pettigrew has been just as tenacious with
his new hobby -- "family tracing." Mr. Pettigrew has proved his family
back to Huguenot History in France.
In 1892 when James T. Pettigrew was born to Ebernezer
N. Pettigrew and Ada Waycaster of Chesterville, the family was a far piece
from its origin in France. They came the route of France, Ireland to
America settling in Pennsylvania and gravitating through Virginia to South
Carolina with branches moving to Alabama, hence to Itawamba and to Lee County
and Richmond.
Strong Baptists through the years, the original famly
left France due to persecution of Protestants. The first known ancestor
was an officer in the army of Oliver Cromwell named James Pettigru. The
name was changed to Pettigrew when King William II granted a tract of 300
acres in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland to the family. On this
tract in 1682 "Crilly House was built and remained occupied by a Pettigrew
family until 1945 when the family became extinct."
Some of us remember that the name Pettigrew was changed
in spelling in the 20th Century by the Lyric Theater which persisted in saying
nightly as it flashed on the advertisement "Pettigrows" and indeed he did
grow as we remember thousands of mums of specimen variety shipped from the
greenhouse.
An interesting episode in the Pettigrew family and in
connection with the religious fervor is that of a family saved from an Indian
massacre because of the fact that the head of the family allowed no cooking
on Sunday. It is presumed that the Indians seeing no smoke coming from
the chimney thought the home unoccupied.
The name James ahs been used in every generation. The
James Pettigrew whom we know and of whom Richmond must be proud is well known
as a United States Post Office employee with a special assignment of Examiner
in Charge for Civil Service Examinations, also Baptists throughout this association
remember Mr. Pettigrew as a frequent delegate, a moderator and ardent supporter
of Baptist work. There are those who remember Mr. Pettigrew as a school
teacher in the Plantersville area.
Richmond Church is not the only church indebted to Mr.
Pettigrew for the First Baptist Church of Tupelo is very grateful to this
man for his gift of $500 to the Rev. and Mrs. Joe Causey who purchased the
initial books and equipment for the First Baptist Church Library February
1, 1959.
Long before your writer heard of this man, James Pettigrew,
she had heard a little song sung by her father concerning Mr. Pettigrew's
father, Ebenezer.
Some folk thing that original lyrics, fiddle playing
and such is of the 20th Century exclusively, but Eb Pettigrew played a fiddle
and wrote free lance copy which he campaigned on for office.
The little ditty which I remember my father singing went
something like this,"When you go to the polls, what ever you do, don't forget
to vote for Eb Pettigrew." There were stanzas too numerous to record,
but there were a number of local names of citizenry used in the rhyming tunes.