New Construction

504 East Beach Drive [built 2013]

HISTORIC BILOXI HOMES

________________________________________________________

HISTORY OF THE OOMA TRACT

East Beach

LIVE OAK”: Three Centuries on the Pass of Biloxi, Mississippi

Section 33, T7S-R9W, Harrison County, Mississippi.

Abstract

“Live Oak” is the 19^th Century name appropriately attached to a three-acre tract of live oak, graced landscape fronting Deer Island on the Pass of Biloxi. Today this ancient arbor is alive with engineers, contractors and laborers who are toiling diligently in the long shadows of its stately oaks, erecting The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum, a 21^st Century creation of internationally acclaimed architect, Frank Gehry. George E. Ohr and Frank O. Gehry are well-matched, as Ohr, a 19^th Century, avant-garde, art potter is regarded by art historians as totally unique, while Gehry is the unrivaled master designer of bold, imaginative, futuristic structures.

Previous archeological investigations indicate that “Live Oak” was once the pre-historic local of Native American culture. By the late 19^th Century, it became the scene of large, gracious summer homes of affluent businessmen and professional people, primarily from New Orleans. From the land deed records, it appears that only one Biloxi native has ever possessed a portion of

“Live Oak"

The recorded chronology of “Live Oak” begin with an 1807 Spanish land grant to a Louisiana native of Acadian heritage, Valentine Docette Richard (1776-1868), better known as Dorsette Richards. By 1835, Richards had vended or bartered his 443-acre donation claim. George Holley (1800-1883) was the primary recipient of his acreage.

In 1888, the parcel known as “Live Oak” was created when Joseph Kuhn (1819-1903), a Hungarian immigrant and local lumber merchant, sold a 3-acre tract from his large land holdings in the Dorsette Richards land claim on the Biloxi peninsula, to Edward Langevin of St. Paul, Minnesota. After Langevin’s demise circa 1891, the lot became possessed by George H. Dunbar (1844-1917), a seafood processing magnate from New Orleans. In 1892, Mr. Dunbar split “Live Oak” into two lots of equal area. His brother, Francis B. Dunbar (ca 1848-1908), acquired the western tract.

The Dunbar’s had the quarters on their East Beach lot demolished in February 1892. In September 1892, they contracted with Charles Dudley, an architect and builder from Jackson, Mississippi, to erect two edifices for them at a cost of $11,000.

From 1917 until 1946, the E/2 of “Live Oak” was owned by the New Orleans families of E.B. Johnson, Ernest L. Jahnke, and Cyprian A. Sporl. C.A. Sporl (1880-1936) was the owner of a large marine insurance business at New Orleans. He also operated the Hotel New Orleans. Sporl’s avocation was yachting. In 1946, an affluent California attorney, Lynden Bowring (1889-1980), and Wilda Lopez (1899-1977), his Biloxi wife, acquired the lot from Mr. Sporl’s heirs. Hurricane Camille in August 1969, destroyed the Bowring home. They relocated to Ocean Springs. Bowring legated his East Beach Biloxi land to Patricia Tarr Leavant, his niece-in-law. It was sold in June? 2000, to the City of Biloxi by real estate developers who had acquired and option on it from Mrs. Leavitt, in 1993.

The W/2 of “Live Oak” was vended in February 1914, by Anna Tourne’ Dunbar (1845-1919), the widow of Francis B. Dunbar, to Ora Nelmes Logan, the wife of George W. Logan of New Orleans. She conveyed it to Mary Byrne McGee of Laurel, Mississippi in May 1915. Mrs. McGhee defaulted on her mortgage and the property was repossessed. In April 1917, Mrs. Nelms conveyed her estate to Lucinda Davis Stamps Farrar (d. 1946). Lucinda S. Farrar was the spouse of Judge Edgar H. Farrar (1849-1922) of New Orleans. He was a lawyer, linguist, and ethnologist. E.H. Farrar was the CEO of Farrar, Goldberger, & Dufour, a prominent legal firm of the Crescent City.

In June 1924, Mrs. Lucinda S. Farrar subdivided the W/2 of “Live Oak” into three lots, designated Lot A, Lot B, and Lot C. She sold Lot A to George E. Williams of New Orleans at this time. In August 1944, Mr. Williams vended Lot A to Sam Mitchell of Biloxi. In a prior agreement with Louis W. Harvey (1904-1970), Mr. Mitchell traded Lot A for cash and a Harvey parcel elsewhere in Biloxi.

Lot B was conveyed in March 1968, to Wilda Lopez Bowring by the Heirs of Lucinda Stamps Farrar: Mrs. Ralph (Jane) B. Wood (Harrison Co., Ms.), Mrs. Richard Goldsborough (Wayne Co, NY), Edgar H. Farrar III (Bell Co. Texas), Stamps Farrar II (San Francisco Co., Calf.), Maud Ellen Farrer (Orleans, Parish, La.), B.H. Goldberger (District of Columbia), Joseph H. Goldberger (Canadian Co., Oklahoma), Mrs. Michael Warnock (Bonneville Co. Idaho), and Bruce Sharp, Robert Sharp, and Donald Sharp, all of Orleans Parish, Louisiana.

Lot C was sold in August 1924, by Lucinda Stamps Farrar, the widow of Edgar H. Farrar, a resident of Hancock County, Mississippi to Stamps Farrar, her son. In May 1947, Stamps Farrar to Lucille G. Minor. In December 1956, Lucille G. Minor to Lynden Bowring “Live Oak” Lot which he had acquired in July 1946, from the Sporl family of New Orleans.

Colonial Biloxi

When the French Colonial government abandoned its post at Biloxi in the 1720s, for New Orleans on the Mississippi River, some of the recent immigrants from Western Europe and French Canada remained on the Mississippi coast. They made their livelihood as sailors, fishermen, and subsistence farmers. Cattle and tar production provided barter and cash items with the larger settlements of Mobile and New Orleans.

During the Spanish Colonial occupation of the area, land donations on the Biloxi peninsula were granted by the Spanish representative at Mobile. From present day Point Cadet on the east, to the present day Biloxi City Cemetery on the west, these grantees were Jacques Mathurin (Ladner), Dorsette Richards, Jean-Baptiste Carquote (Carco), Angelique Fasiar (Fayard), and Louis Fasiar (Fayard).

Valentine Docette Richard

Valentine Docette Richard (1776-1868) was the original claimant of the land upon which “Live Oak” was erected. He is referred to in legal documents as Dorsette Richards, and this nomenclature will be used throughout this essay. Richards was born at St. Gabriel, Louisiana, the son of expelled Acadians, Amant Richard and Marie Braux. His first wife, Susanne Marque, expired shortly after birthing their son in 1798. In 1800, Dorsette Richards wedded Marguerite Babin (1770-1829), a native of Belle Isle en Mer, France. Her parents were also exiled Acadians, who immigrated to Louisiana post-1777.(Cassibry, 1986, p. 77)

Dorsette Richard Claim-Section 33, T7S-R9W

The Dorsette Richards family settled at Biloxi in 1807. He received a Spanish land grant on the Biloxi peninsula at this time.(American State Papers, Vol. III, p. 38) His donation was designated by the Federal government as Claim No. 146 in the District East of the Pearl River. It was confirmed in 1819, by the Federal government. In 1824, his land was surveyed and was shown to consist of 443.38 acres and designated as Section 33, T7S-R9W.(HARCO, Ms. Tract Bk. 1, p. 36)

A land patent for Section 33, T7S-R9W was issued to Dorsette Richards by the Federal government on October 1, 1840.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 2, pp. 290-292)

George L. Holley

In June 1835, Dorsette Richards traded all of his merchantable land in Section 33 T7S-R9W to George L. Holley for Lot 1 of Section 23, T7S-R10W, which contains 110.68 acres.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 1, pp. 143-144).

George L. Holley (1800-1883) came to the Mississippi coast from New York in the late 1820s, with his family. It appears from Federal census data that there were six children, all born in New York: George Holley (1800-1883), Benjamin Holley (1802-1860+), William Holley (1803-1850+), Charles Holley (1805-1857), Rebecca H. Norberg (1809-1880+), and Nicholas Holley (1810-1860+). Their mother, Rebecca Holley (1783-1860+), was born at New York. Their father was a native of Rhode Island, and appears to have died before 1850.

George L. Holley made his livelihood as carpenter and probate judge. In July 1859, he married Jane Elizabeth Rand, an English lady. Married Sarah M. Bounds in July 1877??

New Orleans Summer Resort

Affluent people of New Orleans used Biloxi and over villages of the Mississippi Gulf Coast as summer retreats. Escaped the heat and Yellow Fever. In 1893, George Dunbar, F.T. Howard, H.T. Howard, E. Bell, L. Valle, J. Vandorf, August Bohne, J.B. Blakemore, and Judge Tisso were among the wealthy Crescent City gentlemen maintaining elegant summer homes at Biloxi.(T.H. Glenn, 1893, p. 59)

Joseph Kuhn

In August 1865, Joseph Kuhn bought about 125 acres in the Dorsette Richard Claim from George Holley for $1000.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 4, pp. 578-581) Does not appear to be “Live Oak”.

Joseph Kuhn (1819-1903) was a native of Budapest, Hungary. He arrived in America in 1840, and Biloxi, Mississippi in 1864. At Harrison County, in October 1868, he married Sarah Drake (1839-1921), a native of Ohio. Their children were: Christian Kuhn (1871-pre 1900); Elizabeth Kuhn (1873-1929); Sophia Kuhn (1875-1927+) m. Ulysses Desporte (1861-1927); Rosa Kuhn (1878-1942) m. A. J. Bourdon (1873-1912) and May Adele Kuhn (1881-1930). Kuhn made his livelihood as a lumber merchant. At the time of his demise, the Kuhn family resided on the corner of Holley Street and Beach Boulevard.

In February 1878, Joseph Kuhn conveyed to his wife, Sarah Kuhn, all of his real property in Harrison County, Mississippi, for $2000. Kuhn stated that “he owed no debts to anyone and further the transfer of his property to Sarah Kuhn was not for the purpose of defrauding anyone but to secure to her a support in case of his death”.

Included in this transaction was a piece of property described as follows: a lot having a front, four hundred feet on the front bay of Biloxi, running back due North between two parallel lines to the back Bay of Biloxi bounded West by a street and on the East by estate of Toledano.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 16, pp.47-48)

Edward Langevin

In April 1888, Joseph Kuhn and Sarah Kuhn conveyed to Edward Langevin of St. Paul, Minnesota for $4,000 a parcel of land described as: bounded on the south by the Gulf of Mexico or pass between Deer Island and the main shore; east by Toledano Estate; north by Langevin Street; and west by Kuhn Street. The lot measured 432 feet on the Gulf and 321 feet north-south. The terms of the sale were $1000 cash and $3000 to be paid on April18, 1891, with 6% interest per annum.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 23, p. 75)

In April 1888, Edward Langevin also acquired Lots 1 and 2 of the Samuel Friedlander Estate from W.I. Hodgson, an auctioneer at New Orleans, for $2375.(3) The conveyance included the brick residence, outbuildings, and dependencies. Lot 1 had 85 feet on the Gulf, 281 feet on Magnolia, 81 feet with Lot 2, and 281 feet (east).(3)

In November 1891, Eleanor Langevin of St. Paul, Minnesota, the widow of Edward Langevin, conveyed Lots 1 and 2 of the Friedlander Estate to Frederick William Elmer for $2700.(4) Her daughters, Mary Michand and Emma Flanagan, and their husbands, Achille Michand and Thomas J. Flanagan, signed the warranty deed. Charles and Mary E. Michand of St. Paul gave Elmer a quitclaim deed on the property in April 1892.(5)

On January 19, 1892, Joseph Kuhn and Sarah Kuhn acknowledged that the Langevin mortgage of $3045 on a parcel of land known as “The Oaks” had been paid.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 27, pp. 310-311)

George H. Dunbar

In December 1891, the Heirs of Edward Langevin, Mary Michaud, Achille Michaud, Emma Flanagan, Thomas J. Flanagan, and Eleanor Langevin, conveyed their Beach front lot to George H. Dunbar for $5500. (HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 27, pp. 308-309). Same description as above. Emma Flanagan signed at Quebec, Canada. Mary Michaud wife of Charles Michaud, Achille Michaud, T.J. Flanagan, and Eleanora Langevin signed at Ramsay County, Minnesota.

George H. Dunbar (1844-1917) was born at New Orleans, the son of George W. Dunbar (1816-1878) of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and Charlotte Z. Hacker (1822-1910). Siblings: He was educated at Georgetown University and almost immediately after graduation, he enlisted in the Confederate States of America Army and served as an aide-de-camp on the staff of General Buisson. Post-Bellum, Dunbar returned to his native New Orleans and entered business.(The Daily Herald, October 19, 1917, p. 1)

G.H. Dunbar was married three times. His final spouse was Susan Foucher. Children: F. Foucher Dunbar; George W. Dunbar (Guinnes, Havana, Cuba); Mrs. Stephen Voorhies (5527 Prytania, NOLA); Mrs. Alcee J. Gelpi (124 S. Cortez, NOLA; and Mrs. Auguste Capdeville (2453 Esplanande, NOLA).

Mrs. Foucher Dunbar was the daughter of E.C. Fenner. Lived on Lee Street.(The Daily Herald, April 19, 1912, p. 8)

Inventor

Public Life

Buried St. Louis No. 3.

Lopez, Dunbar’s Sons & Co.

The Lopez, Dunbar’s Sons & Company was commenced in 1884, when Lazaro Lopez (1850-1903) and W.K.M. Dukate (1852-1916) resigned from the Biloxi Canning Company. The Biloxi Canning Company was located in Section 27, T7S-R9W, in the city of Biloxi, Mississippi on the Back Bay of Biloxi, at the head of Reynoir Street. It was originally called The Lopez, Elmer and Company. This company was organized in 1881, with a capital stock of $8,000 by Lazaro Lopez, F. William Elmer (1847-1926), W.K.M. Dukate, William Gorenflo (1844-1932), and James Maycock (1826-1892).(1)

Lopez, Dunbar’s & Sons was situated on East Beach in Biloxi. In 1895, it was the second largest oyster canning plant in the United States. The factory utilized the Norton Brothers machinery to pack its shrimp with the patented muslin bag insuring a good product. Its shrimp were marketed under the “Dunbar Standard”, “Deer head”, “Lion Head”, and “Pelicans” labels.(see The Biloxi Herald, “Biloxi Chief Industry”, September 12, 1892, p. 4)

Lot Division

In February 1892, the Dunbars had the families residing on their East Beach tract vacate their quarters. Immediate demolition was ordered for all buildings on their scenic home site.(The Biloxi Herald, February 6, 1892, p. 4)

On March 31, 1892, George H. Dunbar divided “The Oaks” lot into two equal parts, which he conveyed to his wife, Susie Foucher Dunbar (1858-1920) and brother, Francis B. “Frank” Dunbar (ca 1848-1908). Mrs. George H. Dunbar received the east half and Francis B. Dunbar, the west half. The dimensions of each lot were 217 feet by 417 feet. Francis B. Dunbar paid his brother $2250 while his spouse paid only $1.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 27, pp. 444-445)

Immediately thereafter on the same day, Francis B. Dunbar conveyed his western lot to his wife, Anna Therese Tourne’ Dunbar (1845-1919), for $1.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 27, pp.445-446)

Two Homes

In late September 1892, the Dunbar brothers contracted with Charles Dudley, an architect and builder, formerly of Jackson, Mississippi, but now established in Biloxi, to erect two homes. Their completed cost was approximated at $11,000.(The Biloxi Herald, September 28, 1892, p. 4)

Cost of building materials in Biloxi at this time: rough lumber-$7-$10 per thousand board feet at the sawmill; dressed lumber-$8-$17 per thousand board feet; brick-$8-$12 per thousand; cypress shingles-$2-$3 75 per thousand.(The Biloxi Herald, April 29, 1893, p. 8)

Francis B. Dunbar resided at 2326 Esplanade Avenue in New Orleans. Two sons, F.B. Dunbar and James V. Dunbar (622 Canal Commercial Bank & Bldg.); and a daughter, Mrs. Emile Christ (705 Calhoun, NOLA). Expired in New Orleans at his home. Head of Dunbar Cannery interests at the time.(The Biloxi Daily Herald, January 31, 1908, p. 1)

Mr. and Mrs. Francis Dunbar and Miss Alice Dunbar of New Orleans are now occupying their summer residence here.(The Biloxi Herald, June 10, 1893, p. 8)

In late June, the family left Biloxi for Chicago where they planned to remain for several weeks.(The Biloxi Herald, July 1, 1893, p. 8)

Mrs. Dunbar expired in May 1919, at New Orleans. She resided at No. 3 Everett Place at the time.(The Daily Herald, May 31, 1919, p. 3)

West Half of “Live Oak”

Ora Nelms Logan

In February 1914, Anna T. Tourne’ Dunbar of New Orleans, the widow of Francis B. Dunbar, conveyed her home and lot in Biloxi to Ora Nelmes Logan for $8000. $6500 was financed for three years at 6% interest by Mrs. Logan. Included in the sale were all buildings and improvements, a ½ interest in an artesian water well and all furniture and personal property contained in the house, except boats and some family portraits. Mrs. Logan was required to carry insurance of not less than $6000 on the buildings.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 107, pp. 91-92)

In mid-February 1914, The Daily Herald announced that Miss Jessie A. Smyly’s agency had arranged the sale from Mrs. Dunbar to G.W. Logan of New Orleans. Her home was lauded as “one of the most beautiful and attractive homes in Biloxi or anywhere on the Coast”.(The Daily Herald, February 12, 1914, p. 1)

Lien cancelled by Mrs. Anna Tourne’ Dunbar on May 3, 1915.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 111, pp. 405-406)

Mary Byrne McGee, et al

In May 1915, Ora Nelms Logan, the spouse of George W. Logan of New Orleans, sold to Mary Byrne McGhee, Addison F. McGee Jr. and Marie Jones McGee, wife of Addison F. McGee Jr. of Laurel, Mississippi, for $8000, the W/2 of “The Oaks”. The sale included all buildings and improvements, a ½ interest in an artesian water well, all furniture and personal property in the house, except all religious pictures, a large quantity of galvanized roofing material, pulleys and ropes, and the gas machine. Financed and had to carry $6000 of insurance on the buildings.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 111, pp.407-408)

Ora Nelms Logan

In February and March 1916, Mary Byrne McGee of Laurel, Marie Jones McGee, wife of Addison F. McGee, and a resident of Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, and Addison F. McGee of West Point, Troup County, Georgia, defaulted on their promissory notes and returned their property to Ora Nelms Logan of New Orleans.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 115, pp.71-74)

Lucinda Stamps Farrar

909 East Beach Drive

In April 1917, Ora Nelms Logan of Hancock County, Mississippi conveyed to Lucinda Davis Stamps Farrar (1857-1946) of New Orleans for $7750. Included all buildings and improvements, ½ interest in artesian water well, all furniture and fixtures in and personal property in buildings, bathhouse, pier, and riparian rights. At this time, the former Frank Dunbar home was described as having fourteen rooms and a large beautiful lawn. The Jessie A. Smyly real estate agency handled the transaction.(The Daily Herald, April 9, 1917, p. 4 and HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 118, p.430)

Lucinda S. Farrar was the wife of Judge Edgar Howard Farrar (1849-1922). He was born in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, the son of Thomas Prince Farrar and Anna Mary Girault. Young Farrar was educated at the University of Louisiana and in 1871, received his Masters degree from the University of Virginia. He married Lucinda Davis Stamps at New Orleans in June 1878. Lucinda was the daughter of Captain Issac Davis Stamps and Mary Humphreys. Their children were: Edgar Howard Farrar Jr. (1879-1911) m. May Clara Spearing; Mary Humphreys Farrar (1881-1969) m. Dr. Joseph Goldberger (1875-1929); Lucinda Farrar (1881-1910); Anna Girault Farrar (1882-1970) m. Richard F. Goldsborough (b. 1871); Edith Barnes Farrar (1884-1959); Mildred Maury Farrar (1887-1967); Jane Kempe Farrar (1889-1982) m. Ralph Bouligny Wood (1884-1967); Issac Davis Stamps Farrar, called Stamps (1894-1950) m. Maude Tobin White, the daughter of Albert Sidney Johnson White (1866-1934) and Ellen Tobin; and Thomas Prince Farrar (1901-1951) m. Beatrice Howard (1886-1933+).(The Daily Herald, January 7, 1922, p. 1 and 1900 Orleans Parish, Louisiana Federal Census T623_574, p. 11A, ED 102)

Although Judge Farrar and family had a residence at New Orleans, they planned to stay at Biloxi for sometime, especially the summer season.(The Daily Herald, April 9, 1917, p. 4)

Lucinda Stamps Farrar expired at 909 East Beach on November 1946. Her funeral service was held at the Church of the Redeemer with the Reverend E.A. DeMiller attending. Mrs. Farrar's corporal remains were sent to NOLA for burial in the Metairie Cemetery.(The Daily Herald, November 13, 1946, p. 5)

FARRAR CHILDREN

Edgar Howard Farrar Jr.

Edgar H. Farrar Jr. (1879-1911) like his father was a New Orleans attorney. He also matriculated to the University of Virginia. Young Farrar was shot to death by two thieves in early November on the corner of Peniston and Magnolia Streets in the Crescent City. He was the nephew of Mrs. E.M.D. Anderson of 210 West Water Street in Biloxi.(The Daily Herald, November 2, 1911, p. 8 and November 3, 1911, p 8.)

Stamps Farrar

Stamps Farrar was an attorney with his father’s law firm.

Anna F. Goldsborough

Anna Girault Farrar (1882-1970) married Richard F. Goldsborough (b. 1871), a Maryland native and New York attorney, on January 31, 1904 at NOLA. She was living at Biloxi in 1922. In May 1930, she and her daughter, Ellen Goldsborough, were at Biloxi were involved in interior decoration as their wall panels were sent to a new country club at Birmingham, Alabama. Anna had a son, Frances Goldsborough, who graduated from Biloxi High School and went to New York to work a branch of the Hibernia Bank situated in NYC. He was appointed assistant manger of the bank in May 1930.(The Daily Herald, May 27, 1930, p. 2)

Anna Farrar Goldsborough passed on December 1970.

Mary F. Goldberger

Living in Washington in 1922.

Mildred M. Farrar

Mildred Maury Faurer (1887-1967) was a native of New Orleans. She resided at 909 East Beach in Biloxi since 1927. She was an Episcopalian and interred in the Metairie Cemetery.(The Daily Herald, February 2, 1967, p. 2)

Jane K. Farrar Wood

Jane Kempe Farrar (1889-1982) married Ralph Bouligny Wood (1884-1967) of New Orleans at the Church of the Redeemer in Biloxi, on September 12, 1916. The young couple honeymooned at Asheville, North Carolina, before traveling to their home in Cuba, where Mr. Wood was employed with the Cuban-American Sugar Company.(The Daily Herald, September 13, 1916, p. 3)

In retirement, the Wood family lived in the Hermann House at 523 East Beach in Biloxi. Ralph B. Wood retired as the executive vice president of the Cuban American Sugar Company. A daughter, Mrs. James Pringle of Long Beach. Both interred at the Southern Memorial Park Cemetery in Biloxi.(The Daily Herald, October 26, 1967, p. 2)

Jane died on May 12, 1982. A daughter, Mrs. Leo Seal.

Thomas P. Farrar

Thomas Prince Farrar (1901-1951) was born at New Orleans and practiced architect there. He lived at Biloxi where he did scenic painting and costume designs. In June 1933, he married Beatrice Howard (1886-1933+), formerly Mrs. Robert C. Ocher, of New York. Mr. Farrar relocated to New York City and worked in theatre design until his death there in June 1951. His corporal remains were interred in the Metairie Cemetery at NOLA.(The Daily Herald, June 1, 1933, p. 2 and The Times Picayune, June 12, 1951, p. 3)

Edith B. Farrar

Edith Barnes Farrar lived at Chicago in 1922.

West Half-Lot A (Harvey House)

In June 1924, Lucinda Stamps Farrar subdivided her W/2 lot into three lots, which were designated as Lot A, Lot B, and Lot C. The three lots were surveyed by J.D. Ferguson in July 1923. Mrs. Farrar conveyed Lot A to George E. Williams of New Orleans for $14,000. Right of ingress-egress granted as an easement across the south end of Lot B, but not to be carried when Williams sells Lot A.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 141, pp. 585-587)

George E. Williams

George Elliot Williams (1886-1944+) married Adele Monroe (1889-1944+) in Orleans Parish, Louisiana on June 7, 1911.(Orleans Parish Marriage Record Bk. Volume 33, p. 320) In December 1929, George Elliot Williams (1886-1944+) of NOLA to Adele Monroe Williams (1889-1944+) of New Orleans, Lot A, for $14,000. Included all household fixtures and furniture located in the dwelling house.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 184, pp.246-247)

In August 1944, George E. Williams and Adele Monroe Williams to Sam Mitchell and Mae Pringle Mitchell for $15,000. Royse R. Aiken had an unrecorded lease dated September 16, 1943. A notice was sent to Aiken to cancel his lease.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 267, p. 288)

Sam Mitchell

In July 1944, Sam Mitchell (1903-1984), native of Hancock County, Mississippi, entered into an agreement with Louis H. Harvey, Mrs. Louis H. Harvey and Miss Irma E. Harvey. The Harvey’s owned a lot on the northwest corner of Beach Boulevard and Fayard Street. Mitchell agreed to buy the G.E. Williams lot and then trade it for the Harvey property and also give $5000 to the Harveys. It was also agreed that in the event that the houses on each lot were destroyed by fire or damaged to make them unfit for habitation, before the contract was consummated, the contract would be voided. Sam Mitchell owned “The Bungalow” on West Beach Boulevard.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 266, pp. 126-129) Sold in August 1944.(Bk. 267, pp. 303-304)

In August 1944, Sam Mitchell conveyed Lot A to Irma E. Harvey and Louis W. Harvey.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 267, pp. 301-302).

Louis W. Harvey

Louis Wachenfeld Harvey (1904-1970) was the son of Louis H. Harvey (1874-1913) and Christina Wachenfeld (1872-1931). He married Mary L. Barnes (1910-1999) of Handsboro, Mississippi. Children: Louis W. Harvey (1934-1996), Philip I. Harvey (b. 1941), and Kenneth Karl Harvey (1951-1990).(The Sun Herald, November 14, 1999, p. A-11)

ROW

In September 1954, ROW easement granted to Mississippi State Highway Commission by Louis H. Harvey.(Bk. 387, pp. 390-391).

West Half-Lot B (909 East Beach)

In January 1943, Lucinda Davis Stamps Farrar drafted her will. In this instrument she devised and bequeathed to her daughters, Edith Barnes Farrar of Chicago, Illinois, and Mildred Maury Farrar (1887-1967) of Biloxi, Mississippi, her home situated on the corner of Kuhn and Beach Street at Biloxi, Mississippi, for the period of their natural lives. Mrs. Farrar included all furniture, fixtures, and contents of her house. She excepted from this donation all appurtenances that had been designated for other family members. In addition, her spinster daughters were provided an annual income from a trust fund created from cash, stocks, and bonds owned by their mother. A.S. Gorenflo was the trustee. After her daughters demise, her remaining assets to be divided by her living heirs.(HARCO, Ms. Chancery Court Will Bk. 9, pp. 241-243)

The other heirs at law of Lucinda Davis Stamps Farrar were: Mary Farrar Goldberger, Anna Farrar Goldberger, Jane Farrar Wood, Thomas Prince Farrar, Issac D.S. Farrar Jr. and Maud Ellen Farrer.(HARCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 53,890, Mrs. Jane Farrar Wood v. The Unknown Heirs of Edgar Howard Farrar and Lucinda Davis Stamps-May 1967).

Lucinda Davis Stamps Farrar died on November 22, 1946. She lived at BiloxI, but was a legal resident of Louisiana. Mildred M. Farrar resided in her home at 909 East Beach until her death on February 8, 1967. She was a native of New Orleans and had lived at Biloxi since 1927. Funeral services at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer. Her remains interred in the Metairie Cemetery.(The Daily Herald, February 8, 1967, p. 2)

After Miss Mildred M. Farrar’s demise, her home became the property of her mother’s living heirs. These were determined by the probate court to be: Anna Farrar Goldsborough, a daughter; Jane Farrar Wood, a daughter; Edgar Howard Farrar III, only child of a son now dead; Dr. Joseph Goldberger, Mrs. Mary G. Sharp, and Mr. Benjamin Goldberger, children of Mildred Maury Farrar; Miss Maud Ellen Farrar and Mr. Stamps Farrar II. (HARCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 53,890-May 1967-Mrs. Jane Farrar Wood v. The Unknown Heirs of Edgar Howard Farrar and Lucinda Davis Stamps-May 1967).

Fifteen shares of stock in the Borgnemouth Realty Company, a Louisiana Corporation.(Bk. 589, pp. 152-154)

In March 1968, Mrs. Ralph (Jane) B. Wood (Harrison Co., Ms.), Mrs. Richard Goldsborough (Wayne Co, NY), Edgar H. Farrar III (Bell Co. Texas), Stamps Farrar II (San Francisco Co., Calf.), Maud Ellen Farrer (Orleans, Parish, La.), B.H. Goldberger (District of Columbia), Joseph H. Goldberger (Canadian Co., Oklahoma), Mrs. Michael Warnock (Bonneville Co. Idaho), and Bruce Sharp, Robert Sharp, and Donald Sharp, all of Orleans Parish, Louisiana conveyed to Wilda Lopez Bowring, the following: That certain lot or parcel of land situated on the northeast corner of East Beach Boulevard and Kuhn Street having a frontage on the Gulf of Mexico of 84 feet and extending back in a northerly direction for a distance of 230 feet, more or less, being bounded on the South by the Gulf of Mexico, East by the property of Williams now of Harvey, North by the property of Bowring, west by Kuhn Street in the City of Biloxi.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 610, pp. 340-344)

West Half-Lot C-909A East Beach

In August 1924, Lucinda Stamps Farrar, the widow of Edgar H. Farrar, a resident of Hancock County, Mississippi sold Lot C to Stamps Farrar, her son.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 142, pp. 484-485)

Stamps Farrar

In October 1938, Stamps Farrar opened his home for the weekend of the Laurence Moore Barkley and Malcolm Tullis wedding, which was held at the Church of the Redeemer. Their guests for the Barkley-Tullis nuptials were Mrs. Farrar’s mother, Mrs. Albert Sidney White, and Ellene White, her sister. Mrs. Lillian Lewis and Hampden Lewis also of New Orleans stayed at the Farrar summer home on East Beach.(The Daily Herald,October 9, 1938, p. 3)

Lucille Gillis Minor

In May 1947, Stamps Farrar to Lucille G. Minor for $6000.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 298, pp. 338-339) Lucille Gillis Minor (1889-1954) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 6, 1889, the daughter of Alfred Barr Gillis and Lucille Bohn (living in 1956). She married John Duncan Minor (1876-1937), a native of Southdown Plantation, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. They were the parents of Lucille M. Minor, the spouse of Hastings Mortimer, and Joan Minor (1915-1956).

John D. Minor was the son of Henry C. Minor (d. 1898) of Houma and Anna Louise Butler, the daughter of Judge Thomas Butler of West Feliciana Parish. Both families were Southern aristocratic. His grandfather, William J. Minor (d. 1869), was the founder of Southdown Plantation near Houma, Louisiana. His sister was Mrs. David Pipes Jr., of Southdown. Young J.D. Minor attended Tulane University where he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega social fraternity. He returned immediately to manage the business operations at Southdown upon the passing of his father in 1898. Mr. Minor retired from the sugar business in 1912. (The Daily Herald, August 9, 1937, p. 8)

Southdown Plantation

It would be remiss without providing some chronology of the Southdown Plantation situated at Houma, Louisiana. Here in the 1820s, on a former Spanish land grant, William J. Minor, the son of Stephen Minor, a resident of the Natchez District and friend of Manuel Luis Gayoso de Lemos, who administered the government of Spanish Louisiana from 1797-1799, began to cultivate indigo. By 1830, he was growing sugarcane and by 1846, a sugar mill had been erected at Southdown. In 1859, a one-story Greek Revival, brick edifice was erected for the Minor family. After W.J. Minor’s demise in 1869, his seven children inherited Southdown. Soon, Henry C. Minor and sister, Katherine Lintot Minor, acquired the interest of their siblings and ran the plantation for many years. In 1893, a second floor and round turrets were integrated into the former Greek Revival building metamorphosing the structure to the Queen Anne architectural style. After Miss Kate L. Minor passed in 1923, the sugarcane plantation survived until the 1930s, when it was sold to commercial entities. In the 1970s through the efforts of Esther B. McCollam of Ellendale Plantation and the Terrebonne Parish Historical & Cultural Society, Southdown was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In July 1975, Valhi Inc., the corporate owner, donated Southdown, its servant’s outbuildings and about 5 acres to the local historical society. The former Minor plantation was open for public touring in 1986 and today remains an integral part of the history of Houma and Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.(Antiques Gazette, June 1993, p. 7)

In August 1915, John Duncan Minor acquired for $5500 from Oscar G. Keller, Lot 3, being share No. 3, in the partition of the Estate of John H. Keller at Biloxi, Mississippi.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 112, pp. 346-347)

Here at 543 East Beach, eighty-feet west of Lee Street, the Minor family made their home until August 1930, when Mr. and Mrs. Minor sold their estate to Winifred C. Green for $9900.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 187, p. 166)

John D. Minor’s aunt, Katherine Lintot Minor (1849-1923), the daughter of Captain William J. Minor and Rebecca Ann Gustine , passed at New Orleans, in late 1923. She resided at Houma, Louisiana, but was prominent in the ladies auxiliary at the Touro Infirmary in the Crescent City.(The Daily Herald, December 4, 1923, p. 3)

John Duncan Minor expired at his home at 3211 Prytania Street where he had resided since 1932. He had been active in the social circles of the Crescent City in regards the Mardi Gras and its carnival organizations. Minor’s corporal remains were interred in the Magnolia Cemetery at Houma, Louisiana.(The Daily Herald, August 9, 1937, p. 8)

Lucille G. Minor passed on June 25, 1954 at her home at 909A East Beach in Biloxi. Her daughter, Joan Desmond Minor resided here until she became ill in

Mrs. Lucille Minor Mortimer inherited. In 1925, she was living at Biloxi and attending school in the North. Visited Mr. and Mrs. Edward Caffery, her relatives, at Havana, Cuba in the summer of 1925.(The Daily Herald, August 27, 1925, p. 3)

In late August 1928. Miss Joan Minor returned to Biloxi after a two-month stay at Camp Allegheny in West Virginia. Guests at the Minor home compliments of Miss Lucille Minor were: Miss Maud Werner, Hastings Mortimer, Miss Mildred Brown, and John Stafford all of NOLA.(The Daily Herald, September 1, 1928, p. 2)

In December 1956, Lucille G. Minor Mortimer conveyed to Lynden Bowring (1980) for $6000.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 416, p. 343) Title cleared in November 1961, when Lucille G. Mortimer ? (HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 487, pp. 491-492)

Sister, Joan Minor expired in Louisiana on May 29, 1956.

Lynden Bowring also owned the East Half of the “Live Oak”, which he had acquired in July 1946, from the Sporl family of New Orleans.

East Half of “Live Oak” Lot

In July 1917, Mrs. George H. Dunbar of New Orleans to Edwin B. Johnson for $1 cash in hand.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 119, pp. 310-311)

Edwin B. Johnson

Edwin B. Johnson (1862-1930+) was born in Mississippi during the Civil War. Circa 1889, he married Martha Moss (1864-1930+), a Tennessee native. Their only child was born before 1900, but did not survive. In 1900, the Johnsons were domiciled at Clarksdale, Coahoma Co., Mississippi where he was a merchant.(1900 Coahoma Co., Mississippi Federal Census T623_805, p. 11A, ED 25)

In December 1924, E.B. Johnson and Mattie Moss Johnson sold their residence at 941 East Beach to Cora Stanton Jahncke (1885-1970), the wife of Ernest Lee Jahncke (1877-1960) of NOLA, for $15,000. The Johnson family planned to return to their home at Clarksdale, Mississippi. The Johnsons lived here for some time and always had the welfare and civic improvement at heart. Mr. Jahnke will use the home as a summer residence. When the Jahnckes bought the house, they borrowed the money from Cyprian A. Sporl. By 1930, the Johnsons were domicled on John Street living in their own home valued at $10,000. Mr. Johnson's occupation was 'rental property collector'. No further information.(The Daily Herald, December 18, 1924, p. 3, HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 143, p. 412 and 1930 Coahoma Co., Mississippi Federal Census R1142, p. 9A, ED 13)

Commodore Ernest Lee Jahncke

Commodore Ernest L. Jahncke was a native of New Orleans. He was a speedboat driver-racer and owner of the several fast watercraft. At the 13^th Annual Regatta of the Biloxi Yacht Club held in July 1912, Captain Jahncke introduced the Humpty Dumpty, a most unusual hydroplaning vessel. In outline, she appeared to be the integration of a boat and rocking chair. Humpty Dumpty was constructed of mahogany and finished with a high luster varnish. On the water, she had a top speed approaching thirty miles per hour. Much interest had developed at the July regatta, as there were innuendos that the Bella L., the very fast motorboat of Julius M. Lopez (1886-1958) would meet in a match race. Unfortunately neither Captains Jahncke nor Lopez could agree on a racing rules format for a match race in Biloxi at the July summer regatta. No future contest was planned.(The Daily Herald, July 12, 1912, p. 1)

July 1916 Storm

Following his actions during and post July 1916 tempest, Comodore Ernest Lee Jahncke of the Southern Yacht Club, was dubbed “the hero of the recent storm”. He spent $2000 of his own finances in assisting Biloxians by taking mail to New Orleans on the Clarabelle, as the train and telegraph were inoperative. Commodore Jahncke sent a tug boat to the Coast to take vessels to deep water and tow the pile driver working at the Biloxi Yacht Club to safety, as well as assist boats during and after the hurricane.(The Daily Herald, July 10, 1916, p. 2)

In early August 1919, Captain Jahncke moored the Aunt Dinah, his expansive houseboat, at Biloxi with his spouse and family aboard. As usual, the Jahnckes planned to spend some vacation time in Biloxi. In May 1923, The Daily Herald related that “this boat has been coming to Biloxi for the summer season for a number of years and its presence adds much to the pleasure of the summer colony of visitors who come to spend the season.(The Daily Herald, August 4, 1919, p. 4 and The Daily Herald, May 28, 1923, p. 3)

While a resident of Biloxi, Jahncke built an eye-catching fence on the south elevation. The fence was replicated from that of an old English estate of renown. The fence pillars were constructed of brick.(The Daily Herald, November 5, 1964)

Adele Townsend Jahncke

In 1926, the Jahncke’s daughter, Adele Townsend Jahncke (1909-1993), was a student at Sophie Newcomb College in New Orleans. She was captain of the freshman basketball team and was considered one of the best competitive sailors along the Gulf Coast. After graduating from Newcomb, Adelle made her debut at New Orleans and Washington D.C. In 1933, Miss Jahncke married Charles W. Dotson (1898-1974), an attorney at Farmer City, Illinois. He was a graduate of the University of Illinois. One son?, Charles W. Dotson Jr. (1936-1998).(The Daily Herald, December 10, 1926, p. 4 and October 13, 1933, p. 2)

In May 1928, Lee Jahncke was lauded for the fine improvements made to his East Beach home.(The Daily Herald, May 24, 1928, p. 2)

Captain Ernest Lee Jahncke defaulted on his mortgage payment to Sporl and in December 1932, Hanun Gardner, trustee, sold the Jahncke home to Cyprian A. Sporl for $6500.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 196, pp. 342-343)

Cyprian A. Sporl

Purchased by Cyprian A. Sporl (1880-1936) on December 10, 1932, from Hanun Gardner, Trustee, for $6500.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 196, pp. 342-343) C.A. “Many” Sporl was the son of Cyprian A. Sporl and Louise Soule (d. August 1930) of New Orleans and Bay St. Louis. He had two brothers, Edward F. Sproul (18-1956+) and Walter Sproul, and four sisters, Alice Sproul (1956+)l, Elsie Sproul (1956+), Hilda Sproul, and Laura Sporl Killeen (d. March 1956), the spouse of Joseph L. Kileen (.(The Daily Herald, August 28, 1930, p. 5 and The Daily Herald, March 6, 1956, p. 2)

At New Orleans, Many Sproul resided at 6550 Oakland Drive with his wife, Adrienne de Lappe, and children, Harold D. Sporl and Cyprian A. Sporl II (1905-1999). He was a member of the Southern Yacht Club and owned a fifty-five foot motor vessel, Wendy. In early July 1913, Sporl participated in the nearly three hundred mile, New Orleans to Pensacola motor boat race. His watercraft was propelled by a 40 hp Murray & Tregurtha engine.(The Daily Herald, July 3, 1913, p. 4)

Cyprian A. Sporl II (1905-1999) donated Cocheco, his $30,000, 76-foot disel yacht, to the USCG in April 1941. He also enlisted in the USCG at this time. The Cocheco was to be used for patrol duty.(The Daily Herald, April 21, 1941, p. 5)

In September 1936, the Sporl property was adjudicated by the Harrison County Chancery Court to Adrienne de Lappe Sporl, C.A. Sporl II, and H.D. Sporl.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 212, p. 253)

WWII

During WWII, the Sporl family of NOLA allowed their home to be used by the Women’s U.S.O. for a small rental.(The Daily, Herald, November 5, 1964)

Lynden Bowring (1889-1980)

“LYNOAKS”-Lynden Bowring

In July 1946, for $30,000 the Sporl family conveyed their Biloxi home to Lynden Bowring.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 288, pp. 517-518) Mr. Bowring called his mansion,Lynoaks. In later years, lived on 1^st floor and rented the 2^nd and 3^rd floors.(Clara L. D’Aquilla, October 23, 2000)

Lynden Bowring (1889-1980) was born in Los Angeles, California. Made his livelihood as an attorney and rumored to have made money in the movies business in Hollywood. Described as a loner and eccentric.(Bache Whitlock, October 19, 2000)

During his life, Bowring was married three times. He had two children with his first wife, but they as well as his spouse, preceded him in death. His second nuptial ended in divorce. Lynden married Wilda Lopez (1899-1977), the daughter of Lazro Lopez II (1877-1918) and Eurilda Seal (1879-1966).

Miss Wilda Lopez was the valedictorian of the 1915 Class of Biloxi High School and delivered an appropriate speech to her nine classmates and audience. She went on to study at Randolph Macon College at Lynchburg, Virginia. Wilda’s other siblings were: Clara Lopez Tarr Froede (1902-1936), Beverly Lopez Berggren (1904-1991), Florian Seal Lopez (1911-1957), John Beverly Lopez (1915-1970).(The Daily Herald, May 29, 1915, p. 1)

Prior to her marriage to Lynden Bowring, Wilda Lopez had married Dr. James Edward Wallace (1877-1942) in the Roman Catholic Church at Biloxi, Mississippi on January 9, 1920.(HARCO, Ms. MRB 31, p. 493) Dr. Wallace was a native of Natchitoches, Louisiana. He came to Biloxi in 1914, and was affiliated with Dr. Hyman M. Folkes (1871-1926), the husband of Teresa Lopez (1873-1951). Mrs. Folkes was Wilda’s aunt.

Bowring affiliated with C.T. Bowring and Co. Ltd. of London, England, a shipping firm. Owned a one-half interest in the Carlton Apartments on Union Drive in Los Angeles.

Owned the Rum Runner, a large motor yacht (65 feet in length) and a relict of the Prohibition era. Moored in front of the East Beach home. Built boat house and slip for it in Ocean Springs. Boat never utilized, but full-time employee maintained the craft.(Bache Whitlock, October 19, 2000)

Ocean Springs

In August 1969, Hurricane Camille destroyed the Bowrings’ Biloxi home. In 1970?, The Bowrings relocated to Ocean Springs. Bruce Duckett remember Mr. Bowring as an elderly gentleman approcahing him to buy his home on Helmers Lane. Lynden wanted a site on the Inner harbor at Ocean Springs for the Wilda B (aka Rum Runner). He convinced ? a golfer to relocate to Gulf Hills and bought his home and land at 207 General Pershing Avenue.(Bruce Duckett, October 10, 2000)

In July 1970, Wilda Lopez Bowring acquired from Lester B. Larson and Jennie C. Larson the following property in Ocean Springs. Their residence address was 207 General Pershing Avenue.

Commencing at the southwest corner of Hellmers Lane and General Pershing Avenue: Go south 92.5 feet to the POB. Thence south 331.5 feet along the west margin of General Pershing Avenue to the waters edge of the OS small craft harbor, thence N 70 degrees 20’ W 200 feet along the waters edge of the small craft harbor to the fence line dividing the Larson and Howell property; thence N 19 degrees 20’E 257 feet along an old fence line; thence S84 degrees 20’E 128 feet along an old fence line to the point of beginning. Said land lying in Section 37, T7S-R8W.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 381, pp. 587-588)

In May 1971, Mrs. Bowring acquired from Earl W. Paul and Ilsedore Paul, the following: Commencing at the southwest corner of Hellmers Lane and General Pershing Avenue: Go south 92.5 feet; thence N84 degrees 20’W 128 feet along a wire fence; thence north 66.3 feet along a wire fence to the south margin of Hellmers Lane; thence N84 degreesE127 feet along the south margin of Hellmers Lane to the POB.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 401, pp.338-339)

Their residence address was 207 General Pershing Avenue. There was a rental house on one of the lots. House fire caused by lightening destroyed most of their home September 13, 1977. Mr. Bowring was led out of the burning house by Alice Duckett. Mrs. Wilda L. Bowring suffered burns and smoke inhalation and died in late October as a result of injuries from the conflagration. She was a member of the Colonial Dames, Daughters of the American Revolution, Les Masques carnival club, and the Biloxi Yacht Club. Member of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. Buried at the Biloxi Cemetery.(The Ocean Springs Record, September 15, 1977, pp. 1-2 and The Daily Herald, October 27, 1977, p. A-2)

Mrs. Wilda Bowring left an estate valued at approximately $300,000. Her principal beneficiaries were: Patricia T. Leavitt of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Barbara T. Kroningen of Downers Grove, Illinois, (JXCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 33566)

In June 1978, Lynden Bowring, executor of the Estate of Wilda Lopez Bowring, sold to Charles E. Carr and Joy R. Carr, the two parcels above.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 621, p. 501). In 1996, Dr. William Pontius built a large home, “Lattiude”, at Hellmers Lane on the former site of Bowring’s boathouse.

When Lynden Bowring expired on April 8, 1980, he was living at his apartment house at 414 East Howard Avenue in Biloxi. He willed his real estate at 900 East Beach Biloxi to Beverly Lopez Berggren, his sister-in-law, and Patricia Tarr Leavitt, his niece-in-law.(HARCO, Ms. 2^nd JD Chancery Court Cause No. 9853)

Cause No. 9853-Estate of Lynden Bowring-1980

Patricia Tarr Leavitt, executrix of Lynden Bowing's estate. Bowring was married three times. His first wife died and he divorced his second spouse. Two children born of first marriage, but children died. Wife preceded him in death. No children. Left property at 900 East Beach Biloxi to Beverly Lopez Berggren, his sister-in-law, and Patricia Tarr Leavitt, his niece-in-law. Mr. Bowring was affiliated with C.T. Bowring and Co. Ltd. of London, England. He owned a one-half interest in the Carlton Apartments on Union Drive in Los Angeles. Lynden Bowring died on April 8, 1980.

Berggren-Leavitt

Beverly Lopez Berggren (1904-1991), called Bee and Lillie, was the daughter of Lazaro Lopez II and Eurilda Seal. She was educated at the Sacred Heart Academy and Mississippi Southern College. Miss Lopez married Captain Oscar E. Berggren (1893-1964). No children. They resided on Suter Street at Biloxi. She was a charter member of Les Masques carnival club. Passed on at Biloxi on October 26, 1991.(The Sun Herald, October 29, 1991)

Captain Oscar E. Berggren was a native of Fjallbacka, Sweden. He made his livelihood on the sea. During his forty-six year naval career, Captain Berggren had worked for the Waterman and Morgan steamship lines. During WWII, he sailed on merchant vessels from Canada to Europe facing the relentless pursuit of German U-Boats. He was fortunate as on several occasions, his ship had close encounters with German torpedoes. Captain Berggren was a member of the Masters, Mates, and Pilots Association.(The Daily Herald, January 6, 1964, p. 2)

Mrs. Beverly Lopez Berggren legated her interest in Live Oak to Patricia T. Leavitt. Clara Lopez Campbell D’Aquilla (b. 1936) was her executrix. Mrs. D’Aquilla was legated Mrs. Berggren’s home at 1092 West Beach Blvd. in Biloxi.(HARCO, Ms. 2^nd JD Chancery Court Cause No. P-2077B)

Patricia Tarr Leavitt (b. 1919) was the daughter of Leslie R. Tarr (1897-1972) and Clara Lopez (1902-1936). Leslie R. Tarr met Miss Lopez during WWI, when he was a sailor posted at the Gulfport Naval Station. They eloped and were married at Ocean Springs, Mississippi on December 8, 1918, by Judge O.D. Davidson (1872-1938). Mr. Tarr resided at Glendale, California where he was employed as a newspaperman in Los Angeles. Miss Lopez was a student at Newcomb College in New Orleans, at the time of her nuptials. (The Daily Herald September 6, 1919, p. 4 and JXCO, Ms. MRB 11, p. 573)

The Tarrs had another daughter, Barbara Tarr Kroninger (1921-1983), who was born at Biloxi, Mississippi on February 15, 1921. Her mother had come here from California for a visit with her family and Barbara was born here. Barbara Tarr was a stewardess for Delta Airlines and during WWII had been a Navy nurse. She married Lt. (j.g.) Nolan Kroninger, USN, a native of Cowden, Illinois, on September 26, 1946. He was aboard the USS Lexington when it was sunk by Japanese aircraf in 1942. The Kronigers eventually settled at Downers Grove, Illinois.(The Daily Herald, February 18, 1921, p. 3, October 7, 1946, p. 6 and Clara L. D’Aquilla, October 23, 2000)

Clara L. Tarr divorced Leslie R. Tarr in California. He was a resident of Santa Barbara, California in 1941, and passed on at Newport Beach, California in July 1972. Clara then married Paul O. Froede (1896-1968) in New York on May 28, 1929. Mr. Froede was a native of Brooklyn and had been a regular visitor to Biloxi. The newly weds planned a six-weeks honeymoon trip through New England and Canada before returning to Biloxi.(The Daily Herald, June 5, 1929, p. 2)

Patricia Jeanne Tarr married Clyde M. Leavitt (b. 1910), a naval architect, from Syracuse, New York. He was the son of Clyde Leavitt and Patricia McGowen. Miss Tarr was a student at the University of Mississippi when they met. Mr. Leavitt was employed at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation in Pascagoula at the time. They married in Jackson County, Mississippi on June 7, 1941. Two daughters were born from this union.(Clara L. D’ Aquilla and JXCO, Ms. MRB 33, p. 550)

In April 1974, the Leavitts bought Lots 1 and 2 of Block 50 Gulf Hills on 13901 Puerto Drive from W.H. Mecom Jr.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 495, p. 549) Sold Gulf Hills home in November 1994 to Phillip L. Severson Jr. The Leavitts moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, where they reside presently.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 1053, p. 156) Mrs. Leavitt suffered a stroke recently and is recovering.(Claire L. D’Aquilla, October 18, 2000)

Phillip D. Ward

In March 1984, Mary L. Harvey sold her lot to Phillip D. Ward.(Bk. 142, p. 585)

In March 1984, Bergrren-Leavitt sold their lot to Phillip D. Ward.(Bk. 142, p. 587)

Robert E. Hebert

In April 1987, Robert E. Hebert took a Deed of Trust from Phillip D. Ward on the property. He defaulted on his payments to Hebert. In April 1988, James B. Person, Substitute Trustee, sold the lot to Hebert.(Bk. 200, pp. 68-69)

When Hebert defaulted on his performance, conditions, and provisions of his deed of trust with Harvey and Leavitt-Bergreen, Larry C. Corban Jr., Trustee, sold on July 3, 1989, to Mary L. Harvey for $83,656.14.(Bk. 211, pp. 208-210) Corban sold the other lot to Berggren-Leavitt for $153,537.75.(Bk. 211, pp. 212-214)

Mrs. Berggren Dies

When Mrs. Beverly Lopez Berggren passed, she legated her interest in Live Oak to Patricia T. Leavitt. Mrs. Berggren was known as Bee and Lillie. Clara Lopez Campbell D’Aquilla (b. 1936) was her executrix. Mrs. D’Aquilla was legated Mrs. Berggren’s home at 1092 West Beach Blvd. in Biloxi. .(HARCO, Ms. 2^nd JD Chancery Court Cause No. P-2077B-March 1993)

Frederick J. Burmont

In March 1993, for $5000, Patricia T. Leavitt and Mary L. Harvey (1910-1999) sold an option to purchase the site to Frederick J. Burmont in March 1993. If option selected, the selling price would be $800,000.(HARCO, Ms. 2^nd JD, Land Deed Bk. 53, p. 417)

In October 1993, Patricia T. Leavitt and Mary L. Harvey sold “Live Oak” to the Oak Place Development Company, a Mississippi corporation.(HARCO, Ms. 2^nd JD, Land Deed Bk. 262, pp. 84-85)

Oak Place Development Company led by Frederick J. Burmont and headquartered at Daytona Beach, Florida. In May 1994, the stockholders voted to sell their Biloxi land to Ronald W. Blacklidge for $1,700,000. Sold in June 1994, to Blacklidge with Oaks at Tullis, Inc. of Gulfport.(HARCO, Ms. 2^nd JD Land Deed Bk. 271, pp.421-434)

Oaks at Tullis

Oaks at Tullis, Inc. to City of Biloxi, Mississippi.(HARCO, Ms. 2^nd JD Land Deed Bk. 358, pp. 78-86)

REFERENCES:

Chancery Court Causes

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 14868, “Ex Parte: Mrs. Adrienne De Lappe Sporl, et al”, September 1936.

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 24,334, “The Estate of Lucinda Davis Stamps”, December 1946.(Will Book 9, pp. 241-243)

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 37,904, “The Estate of Joan Minor”, October 1961.

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 53,890, “Mrs. Jane Farrar Wood v. The Unknown Heirs of Edgar Howard Farrar and Lucinda Davis Stamps”, May 1967.

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court 2^nd Judicial District, Cause No. 9853, “The Estate of Lynden Bowring, 1980.

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court 2^nd Judicial District Cause No. P-2077B, The Estate of Beverly Lopez Berggren”, March 1993.

Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Mildred Farrar, Mrs. Ralph B. Wood, Edith Barnes Farrar, Mrs. Joseph Goldsberger, Mrs. Richard F. Goldsborough, Maude Ellen Farrar, Stamps Farrar, and Edward H. Farrar. Cause No. 12,936, (HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 399, pp. 44-45)

Cause No. 27,220 Clara M. Campbell

Jackson County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 33,566, “The Estate of Wilda Lopez Bowring”, January 1979.

Books

American State Papers, Volume III, Public Lands (1815-1824), (The Southern Historical Press, Inc.: Greenville, South Carolina-1994)

Nap L. Cassibry II, Early Settlers and Land Grants At Biloxi, Volume 1 and Volume II, Special Issue No. 5, (Mississippi Coast Historical & Genealogical Society: Biloxi, Mississippi-1986).

Charles H. Dyer, Along The Gulf, (Women of the Trinity Episcopal Church: Pass Christian, Mississippi-1971)

T.H. Glenn, The Mexican Gulf Coast Illustrated, (Graham & Delchamps: Mobile, Alabama-1893)

Magazines

Antiques Gazette, “Southdown Plantation Now Historic House and Museum”, June 1993.

Journals

The Biloxi Herald, “Local Happenings”, February 6, 1892.

The Biloxi Herald, “Biloxi Chief Industry”, September 12, 1892.

The Biloxi Herald, “Local Happenings”, September 28, 1892.

The Biloxi Herald, “Local Happenings”, April 29, 1893.

The Biloxi Herald, “Local Happenings”, June 10, 1893.

The Biloxi Herald, “Local Happenings”, July 1, 1893.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “Kuhn-Desporte”, May 1, 1903, p 5.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “Joseph Kuhn”, November 25, 1903.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “Necrology-Frank Dunbar”, January 31, 1908.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “Kuhn-Bourdon”, December 20, 1909, p. 8.

The Daily Herald, “New Orleans Man Killed by Robbers”, November 2, 1911.

The Daily Herald, “Biloxi News”, November 3, 1911.

The Daily Herald, Humpty Dumpty, Speed Marvel, Is Sensation of Biloxi Motor Races”, July 13, 1912, p. 1.

The Daily Herald, “Will Be No Race Between Speeders”, July 12, 1912.

The Daily Herald, “Speed Boats Off on Long Cruise”, July 3, 1913.

The Daily Herald, “Dunbar Property on East Beach Has Been Sold to New Orleanian”, February 12, 1914.

The Daily Herald, “Thieves Ransack The Dunbar Home”, June 22, 1914.

The Daily Herald, “Ten graduates are given diplomas at closing exercises”, May 29, 1915.

The Daily Herald, “Jahncke is hero of recent “Blow”, July, 10, 1916.

The Daily Herald, “Wood-Farrar”, September 12, 1916.

The Daily Herald, “Wood-Farrar”, September 13, 1916.

The Daily Herald, “Judge Farrar To Come To Biloxi”, April 9, 1917.

The Daily Herald, “Geo. H. Dunbar Dies In New Orleans”, October 19, 1917.

The Daily Herald, “Prominent Man Dies In New Orleans”, October 24, 1918.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Frank Dunbar Dead”, May 31, 1919.

The Daily Herald, “Ernest Lee Jancke Here”, August 4, 1919.

The Daily Herald, “Girl of Southern Noted Family Joins Husband in Los Angeles”, September 6, 1919.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Dunbar Dead”, February 9, 1920, August 27, 1925.

The Daily Herald, “Biloxi News Paragraphs”, February 18, 1921.

The Daily Herald, “Prominent Biloxian (Sarah Kuhn) Dead”, April 26, 1921.

The Daily Herald, “Death Claims Prominent Biloxi Resident in Judge E.H. Farrar”, January 7, 1922.

The Daily Herald, “Farrar Remains Buried”, January 9, 1922.

The Daily Herald, “Edgar H. Farrar”, January 9, 1922.

The Daily Herald, “Miss Kate Minor Dead”, December 4, 1923.

The Daily Herald, “Aunt Dinah in Local Port”, May 28, 1923.

The Daily Herald, “Biloxi News (Lucille Minor)”, August 27, 1925

The Daily Herald, “Miss Jahncke Captain”, December 10, 1926.

The Daily Herald, “Improving Williams Home”, May 24, 1928.

The Daily Herald, “Biloxi News”, September 1, 1928.

The Daily Herald, “Elizabeth Kuhn Dies”, June 17, 1929, p. 2.

The Daily Herald, “Froede-Tarr Nuptials”, June 5, 1929.

The Daily Herald, “Goldsborough Bank Head”, May 27, 1930.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. C.A. Sporl Dies”, August 28, 1930.

The Daily Herald, “May Adele Kuhn Dies”, December 3, 1930, p. 2.

The Daily Herald, “Farrar-Howard”, June 1, 1933.

The Daily Herald, “Miss Jahncke To Marry”, October 13, 1933.

The Daily Herald, “C.A. Sporl Dies”, January 27, 1936.

The Daily Herald, “Attend Sporl Funeral”, January 29, 1936.

The Daily Herald, “C.A. Sporl Dies”, January 31, 1936.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Paul Froede Dies”, September 24, 1936.

The Daily Herald, “John Duncan Minor Dies”, August 9, 1937.

The Daily Herald, “Barkley-Tullis Wedding”, October 9, 1938.

The Daily Herald, "Sporl gives yacht to Coast Guard", April 21, 1941.

The Daily Herald, “Dr. James Wallace World War Captain Dies at Biloxi”, October 28, 1942.

The Daily Herald, “Kroninger-Tarr”, October 7, 1946.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Farrar dies: Burial in New Orleans”, November 13, 1946.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Laura Sporl Kileen”, March 6, 1956.

The Daily Herald, “Know Your Coast”, “The Biloxi House With The English Fence”, 1956.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Joan Minor”, May 29, 1956.

The Daily Herald, “Minor Rites”, May 31, 1956.

The Daily Herald, “Capt. Berggren Taken By Death”, January 6. 1964.

The Daily Herald, “Know Your Coast”, “The Biloxi House With The English Fence”, November 5, 1964.

The Daily Herald, “Miss Mildred Farrar”, February 8, 1967.

The Daily Herald, “R.B. Wood”, October 26, 1967.

The Daily Herald,“Widow [Mary H. Farrar] of Dr. Goldberger dies in Biloxi home", September 12, 1969.

The Daily Herald, “Louis W. Harvey”, January 20, 1970.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Wilda Lopez Bowring”, October 27, 1977.

The Ocean Springs Record, “Saved From Fire”, September 15, 1977.

The Sun Herald, “Mrs. Beverly Berggren”, October 29, 1991.

The Sun Herald, “Mary L. Harvey”, November 14, 1999.

The Times-Picayune, "Married [Anna G. Farrar and Richard F. Goldsborough]", January 1, 1905.

The Times-Picayune, "Miss Lucy Farrar's brilliant career ends sadly in Paris", October 28, 1910.

The Times-Picayune, "Dr. Goldberger pellagra's foe dies for science", January 18, 1929.

The Times-Picayune, "Jahncke named to special duty with Navy here", May 19, 1941.

The Times-Picayune, "Mrs. Farrar, 89 expires at Biloxi", November 213, 1946.

The Times-Picayune, "Stamps Farrar last rites held", May 4, 1950.

The Times-Picayune, "Stamps Farrar", May 5, 1950.

The Times-Picayune, "Thomas P. Farrar dies in New York", June 12, 1951.

The Times-Picayune, "Deaths [Edith Barnes Farrar]", February 21, 1959.

The Times-Picayune, "[Ernest Lee] Jahncke rites planned today", November 17, 1960.

The Times-Picayune, "Mrs. Jahncke rites planned", March 20, 1970.

The Times-Picayune, "Deaths [Anna Farrar Goldsborough]", December 12, 1970.

The Times-Picayune, "[Anna Farrar Goldsborough] Ex-cartoonist's rites are held", February 2, 1971.

Personal Communication:

A. Bruce Duckett-telephone conversation on October 10, 2000, at Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Bache Whitlock-telephone conversation on October 19, 2000, at Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Clara L. D’Aquilla-telephone conversation on October 18, 2000 at Biloxi, Mississippi.

Clara L. D’Aquilla-interview at 1092 Beach Blvd. on October 23, 2000, at Biloxi, Ms.

Cause No. 9853-Estate of Lynden Bowring-1980

Patricia Tarr Leavitt, executrix of his estate. Married three times. First wife died, divorced second. Two children born of first marriage, but children died. Wife preceded him in death. No children. Left property at 900 East Beach Biloxi to Beverly Lopez Berggren, his sister-in-law, and Patricia Tarr Leavitt, his niece-in-law. Bowring affiliated with C.T. Bowring and Co. Ltd. of London, England. Owned a one-half interest in the Carlton Apartments on Union Drive in Los Angeles. Bowring died April 8, 1980.

______________________________________________________________

BALDWIN WOOD–VANCE-BOHN-GILLIS HOUSE: an outstanding example of historic preservation at Biloxi, Mississippi [501 East Beach and 806 West Beach]

In June 1912, Albert Baldwin Wood (1879-1956), called Baldwin Wood, acquired a frame house and lot on East Beach at Biloxi, Mississippi from Alvin T. [sic] Howard (1889-1937)*. The transaction was reported in The Daily Herald as follows: Alvin T. [sic] Howard of New Orleans to A.B. Wood of New Orleans one lot in Biloxi with a frontage on the Gulf of Mexico of 136 feet and running back to Howard Avenue. Said lot is bounded on the east by Keller’s Addition and on the west by land acquired by Frank T. Howard; also that certain lot which has a frontage on the Gulf of ½ arpent and running back to property formerly belonging to Thomas Lonez and bounded on the west by Bellman Alley; also one lot bounded on the north by the property of Christopher Gardner and on the west by Bellman Alley; also one lot on the Pass Christian Road and bounded on the east by lands belonging to Pierre DeBuys and on the west by land belonging to Jacques Ryan. Terms $4500 cash and for the balance vendee executed four promissory notes each for $3375.

The Baldwin Wood tract was described in June 1912 in the Harrison County Chancery Court as follows: 223 feet on the Mexican Gulf and ran north between parallel lines to Howard Avenue. It was bounded on the west by Bellman Street; on the north by Howard Avenue; on the east by the Keller Addition subdivision; and on the south by the Gulf. Wood had sold three lots from this parcel to Comisky, Elliott and Sharway.(Harrison Co., Mississippi Land Deed Bk. 99, p. 381)

*Alvin Pike Howard was a son of Frank Turner Howard (1855-1911) and Emma Cora Pike (1850-1898). He was vending the family home at Biloxi to Mr. Wood.

Baldwin Wood

Baldwin Wood (1879-1956) was born at New Orleans to John S. Wood (1841-1912), a native of Maryland, and Octavie Bouligny (1852-1928) of New Orleans, the daughter of Gustave Bouligny and Octavie Fortier. The Bouligny family was decedent from Francisco Bouligny (1736-1800), the first Spanish military governor of Louisiana and the founder of New Iberia, Louisiana in 1779. Alcee Fortier (1856-1914), noted Louisiana historian, author, and Professor of Romance Languages at Tulane University, was a cousin.

Baldwin was reared at 5026 Prytania Street with siblings: John Fox Wood (1875-1944) m. Leona Moore (1882-1959) and May Clara Spearing, the widow of Edgar Howard Farrar Jr. (1879-1911); and Ralph Bouligny Wood (1884-1967) m. Jane Kempe Farrar (18-1982). The Farrar family of New Orleans had a summer residence in Biloxi at 909 East Beach Drive, now part of the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art campus.

Albert Baldwin

Baldwin Woodwas named Albert Baldwin Wood for his uncle, Albert Baldwin (1834-1912). Uncle Albert was born at Watertown, Massachusetts on April 7, 1834. As a young man he discovered that he had a keen, mathematical mind, and it was logical for Baldwin to find employment as a bookkeeper-accountant. At Boston, he was employed with Beebee, Morgan & Company, replacing his brother, Henry Fay Baldwin, who had relocated to New Orleans. Among his fellow accountants in that Massachusetts firm were Levi P. Morton (1824-1920), Cornelius Bliss, and Marshall Field (1834-1906).(The Daily Picayune, April 22, 1912, p. 1)

In 1858, Albert Baldwin left Boston for New Orleans to join his brother. In the Crescent City, he was employed with Burnside & Company, a prominent dry goods merchandiser.

In 1862, Albert Baldwin (1834-1912) married Arthemise Bouligny (1840-1911). They were the parents of six children: Henry Fay Baldwin; Albert Baldwin, Jr. (1866-1915); David Gilmore Baldwin (d. 1912) of El Paso County, Texas; Alice B. Vairin; Gustave B. Baldwin; and Mrs. William Ottman (died pre-1912) of New York.

After the Civil War, Baldwin joined C.H. Slocomb & Co. Circa 1870, the firm became Slocomb, Baldwin, & Co., which evolved into the extensivehardware house of A. Baldwin & Co., Ltd. Albert Baldwin was an entrepreneur. He was president of the New Orleans National Bank, vice president of The Times-Democrat Publishing Company, and actively associated with the Union Ferry Company, American Brewing Company, the National Rice Milling Company, and the Gullet Gin Company. A. Baldwin & Company Ltd., hardware wholesaler and retailer; New Orleans National Bank, president; The Times-Democrat Publishing Company, vice-president; board of director of the following: Union Ferry Company; American Brewing Company; National Rice Milling Company; Gullett Gin Company; New Orleans Waterworks Company; New Orleans Street Railroad Company; Sun Life Insurance Company; and the Standard Guano Chemical Manufacturing Company.

Socially, Mr. Baldwin was a member of the Boston Club, founding member of the New Orleans Carnival Association and ruled the city as Rex during Mardi Gras and was a, founding member of the Southern Yacht Club. In mid-April 1912, Albert Baldwin expired from a stroke at his Hancock County, Mississippi camp called Baldwin Lodge. His remains were brought to his home at Esplanade and North Derbigny. He was laid to rest in the Metairie Cemetery after his minister of the Grace Episcopal Church performed funeral rites.

Career of Baldwin Wood

Baldwin Wood graduated in electrical engineering from Tulane University in 1899. He won the Glendy Burke award in mathematics. Baldwin took a position with the Red River Steam Lines to maintain their electrical equipment. He went to work for the Safety Electric Company then commenced working for the Drainage Commission of New Orleans as assistant manager under Alfred Raymond (1864-1920). In 1907, Baldwin was promoted to mechanical engineer for the Sewage and Water Board.

After the demise of Alfred Raymond in January 1920, Baldwin Wood headed the drainage operations for the City of New Orleans. In 1914, he had designed and a new pumping system with 12-foot screw pumps that had the ability to efficiently lift large volumes of water against a load head. The large pumps were constructed at Milwaukee, Wisconsin and transported to the Crescent City via the Illinois Central Railroad.(The Times-Picayune, January 16, 1920, p. 5 and The Daily Picayune, July 2, 1914, p. 5)

In late April 1915, Mayor Behrman, New Orleans city officials and engineers and officials of the Sewage and Water Board, witnessed the effectiveness of the Baldwin Wood’s designed pump at Pump Station No. 2 on Broad Street and Melpomene. The giant pump moved water down the Metairie relief canal at the rate of 13,500,000 gallons per hour.(The Times-Picayune, April 28, 1915, p. 9)

International Consultant

Baldwin Wood became an engineering consultant while maintaining his working relationship with the Sewer and Water Board at New Orleans. His pumps were vended in foreign countries as well as Utah, California, Florida and Louisiana. In Holland, Wood advised the Dutch in draining the Zuider Zee, formerly a large inlet connected to the North Sea. Today more than 400,000 denizens inhabit this area now called the province of Flevoland. In the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, he also installed pumps and at Chicago, he reconfigured the Chicago drainage system and added additional pumping capacity. During his lifetime, Mr. Wood developed 38 patents of which 6-8 were very successful.

Circa 1938, Baldwin Wood became Superintendent of the Sewer and Water Board. He continued in this capacity until his demise. Tulane awarded Baldwin a Doctorate in Engineering in 1939. During WWII, he became director of the Civil Defense Board.

Baldwin Wood passed on May 10, 1956 while sailing his beloved sloop, Nydia, in the Biloxi Channel just south of his home on East Beach. Louis Gorenflo, operator of a pleasure craft, rescued the Nydia and towed it to its anchorage. Baldwin’s corporal remains were interred at the Metairie Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, Nola Smith Wood, and brother, Ralph B. Wood.(The Daily Herald, May 11, 1956, p. 1)

Marriage

Baldwin Wood had married Nola Bradford Smith (1889-1974), the daughter of Henry Hyams Smith (1854-1902) and Lennoe Lee Schermerhorn (1862-1955) at New Orleans in the Christ Church chapel on April 26, 1908. Mr. Smith was the secretary of the Board of Trade at New Orleans. After his demise, Lennoe S. Smith married Socrates Drew (1853-1920+), a Wisconsin native, in Orleans Parish, Louisiana in March 1914. They relocated to Highmore, South Dakota and were living there in 1920.(The Daily Picayune, April 29, 1908, p. 18)

Nola and Baldwin Wood are known to have had only one child, Baldwin Wood (1913-1913). He died as an infant at New Orleans in December 1913.(The Daily Herald, December 18, 1913, p. 8)

Nola Bradford Smith Wood expired at Waveland, Hancock County, Mississippi on December 9, 1974.(The Times-Picayune, December 12, 1974)

Baldwin’s Siblings

John F. Wood

In August 1899, Joseph Fox Wood (1875-1944) married Leona Moore (1882-1959) at LeCompte, Rapides Parish, Louisiana. She was the daughter of James Moore, a Justice of the Peace, and local butcher. They were the parents of two children: Ruth Octavia Wood (b. 1901) m. Donald Delgray Demarest in May 1918 and Giraud von Nest Foster in New York City in May June 1932; and Robert Spearing Wood (1902-1995) m. Connie Frances Pierce (1909-1984) at Dallas, Texas in May 1958.(The Daily Picayune, August 26, 1899, p. 8)

John F. Wood filed for divorce from Leona Moore Wood in Harrison County, Mississippi in January 1914. He averred in the litigation that she had abandoned the family at New Orleans in 1910 and was a resident of Derry, Louisiana. Mr. Wood asked for custody of their two children. Leona had actually returned to LeCompte, Louisiana and was living with her family. She later married a Mr. Harrison. Leona passed on June 25, 1959 and her corporal remains interred in the LeCompte Cemetery.(The Daily Herald, January 19, 1914, p. 1 and 1910 Rapides Parish, Louisiana Federal Census T624_527, p. 6A, ED 84)

At Biloxi, John F. Wood made his livelihood as a traveling commercial hardware salesman. As a young man, he had gone to work for his Uncle Albert Baldwin’s hardware business at New Orleans. They lived at 887 East Beach Drive. On October 13, 1917 in Orleans parish, Louisiana, John married May Clara Spearing Farrar, the widow of Edgar Howard Farrar Jr. (1987-1911). She brought a son, Edgar H. Farrar III (1912-2000) into the marriage.

John Fox Wood died at the Biloxi Hospital on July 7, 1944. His corporal remains were sent to New Orleans for burial in the Metairie Cemetery.(The Daily Herald, July 7, 1944, p. 5)

909 East Beach Drive

In April 1917, for $7750, Lucinda Davis Stamps Farrar (1857-1946) of NOLA acquired the F.H. Dunbar House from Nelms Logan of Hancock County, Mississippi. Mrs. Farrar was the grandmother of Edgar H. Farrar III and would become the former mother-in-law of May Clara Spearing Farrar after she married John Fox Wood. Included in the sale were all buildings and improvements, ½ interest in artesian water well, all furniture and fixtures in and personal property in buildings, bathhouse, pier, and riparian rights. The former Frank H. Dunbar home was described as having fourteen rooms and a large beautiful lawn. The Jessie A. Smyly. Biloxi real estate agent, handled the transaction.(The Daily Herald, April 9, 1917, p. 4 and HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 118, p. 430)

Ralph B. Wood

Ralph Bouligny Wood (1884-1967) married Jane Kempe Farrar (1889-1982) at the Church of the Redeemer in Biloxi, on September 12, 1916. She was the daughter of Judge Edgar Howard Farrar (1849-1922), a native of Concordia Parish, Louisiana and Lucinda Davis Stamps Farrar (1857-1946), of New Orleans. The young couple honeymooned at Asheville, North Carolina, before traveling to their home in Cuba, where Mr. Wood was employed with the Cuban-American Sugar Company.(The Daily Herald, September 13, 1916, p. 3)

In retirement, the Ralph B. Wood family lived in the Hermann House at 523 East Beach in Biloxi. Ralph B. Wood retired as the executive vice president of the Cuban American Sugar Company. Their daughter, Jane Kempe Wood (1917-1977), married James Wallace Pringle (1914-1971) in December 1938 at the Church of the Redeemer. Jane K. Wood and James W. Pringle had a daughter Jane Susie Pringle (b. 1942) who married Leo William Seal Jr. (1924-2008), former CEO of the Hancock Bank. All members of this family that are deceased were interred in Southern Memorial Park cemetery at Biloxi, Mississippi with the exception of Leo W. Seal Jr. who was buried in the Garden of Memory Memorial Park cemetery at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.(The Daily Herald, October 26, 1967, p. 2)

The James W. Pringle family resided at 523 East Beach in Biloxi. Mr. Pringle once owned the Plymouth-DeSoto automobile agency at Gulfport. At the time of his demise, he worked in real estate at Gulfport, Mississippi. James was past commodore of the Biloxi Yacht Club and was a member of the Mithras carnival club. He was an enthusiastic hunter and fisherman and belonged to the Skeet Club.

James Wallace Pringle (1914-1971) had married Jane Kempe Wood (1917-1977) in December 1938. She was the daughter of Ralph Bouligny Wood (1884-1967) and Jane Kempe Farrar (1889-1982), both natives of New Orleans, and also residents of 523 East Beach at Biloxi. Ralph’s brother was Albert Baldwin Wood (1879-1956), who was a brilliant electrical engineer and responsible for developing the large screw pumps, which have drained the city of New Orleans since 1915. Baldwin resided at 501 East Beach at Biloxi.

James W. Pringle expired at Howard Memorial Hospital at Biloxi, Mississippi on May 31, 1971. He was survived by his spouse and two children: Ralph Wood Pringle of Pascagoula, Mississippi and Jane Pringle Hurlbert of Mississippi City; three brothers, L.V. Pringle Jr. (1902-1974) and Victor B. Pringle (1909-1977) of Biloxi and Vivian Pringle (1912-1992), the wife of Archibald Clinton Hewes (1904-1978) of Gulfport.

Will

In his will, Albert Baldwin Wood appointed Nola Smith Wood, his spouse, as executrix. His estate [Chancery Court Case No. 38670] was probated and executed in Harrison County, Mississippi in December 1960 as follows:

1) Ownership of the Wood House at Biloxi was divided as follows: Nola Smith Wood 2/3 and the Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund 1/3.

2) Nola Smith Wood received a ½ interest in the furniture, fixtures and other articles of personal property at 501 East Beach and a ½ interest in the Ford coupe. She was also bequeathed the family horse.

3) The Nydia was legated to Tulane University.

4) Ralph B. Wood was legated a ½ interest in the 11.58 acre parcel at the West End of Deer Island in Section 34, T7S-R9W.

Sale

On December 21, 1960, Nola Smith Wood, a resident of Hancock County, Mississippi, sold her 2/3 interest in 501 East Beach to the Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund for $70,800. Tulane then sold 501 East Beach to the Biloxi Port Commission.(Harrison County, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 473, p. 288 and Bk. 509, p. 308)

Lease-1963

On January 15, 1963 the Biloxi Port Commission headed by Jacinto B. Baltar executed a fifteen year lease with the City of Biloxi. The rents were on a sliding scale which commenced at $13,632 per year and would be $8861 in the terminal year 1978. The City of Biloxi also had an option to acquire the former Baldwin Wood tract with improvements for $132, 912, if purchased before January 14, 1964.(Harrison County, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 484)

House of Treasures

In August 1964, Mrs. Locke Brown restored the Baldwin Wood home to its former elegance when she opened her House of Treasures. She exhibited antique furniture of Louis XIV and Louis XV as well as Chippendale. The home was also a venue for viewing Aubusson rugs and tapestry as well as objets d’ art of many origins.(The Daily Herald, September 10, 1964, p. 3)

Camille-1969

The Baldwin Wood Home was reportedly destroyed or severely damaged by Hurricane Camille on August 17, 1969.

806 West Beach 501 East Beach

Vance-Bohn-Gillis House

The Vance-Bohn-Gillis House was situated at 806 West Beach Boulevard just west of the Buena Vista Hotel at Biloxi, Mississippi. It was described as: “very important architecturally as it represents a virtually intact transplanting of the Louisiana planation type to the Gulf Coast. There are minor differences to be found and a great number of similarities. The hip roof dormers, peripteral gallery, slender turned gallery posts, symmetrical façade, and central hall plan all being typical features found in Louisiana.”(The Buildings of Biloxi, 1976, p. 121)

The land records of Hancock and Harrison County, Mississippi record that in September 1838, Eliza M. Vance (1800-1882) acquired a large tract of land at Biloxi, Mississippi from Thomas Bassett of New Orleans, Louisiana. The sale was described as follows: “A certain tract of land having one hundred and seventy-five feet [175 feet] more or less front on the Gulf of Mexico and running back between parallel lines forty arpents to the Bay of Biloxi…….and bounded at that date on the upper side by lands belonging to James Hopkins and on the lower side by lands belonging to William Vance."

and

“ a lot or parcel of land adjoining the above and on the east side thereof and measuring one hundred seventy-nine feet [179 feet].(Harrison Co., Mississippi Land Deed Bk. 22, p

Eliza M. Vance

Eliza McNeil Vance (1800-1882)was a native of Boston, Massachusetts. At the time of her demise on July 17, 1882 at Biloxi, Mississippi, she was the widow of Gilbert Vance, who had passed before 1850, and a resident of 181 Canal Street at New Orleans. Eliza had married Gilbert Vance and they were the parents of four sons and two daughters all natives of New Orleans. In 1830 and in 1840, they owned 6 slaves and 5 slaves respectfully.(1830 Orleans Parish, Louisiana M19, R45, p. 126 and 1840 Orleans Parish, Louisiana Federal Census R132, p. 15, image 36)

By 1860, Eliza Vance was living with her two sons: Hamilton Vance (1832-1881) and Dr. William Deare Vance (1838-1881), and three grandchildren: Henry Vance (b. 1850); Lise Vance (b. 1852); and Louisa Vance (b. 1859). She had a personal estate valued at $8000 while Hamilton’s personal estate was worth $1500.(1860 Orleans Parish, Louisiana Federal Census M653_421, p. 140, image 140)

By 1870, Eliza M. Vance and family were domiciled with an English family at New Orleans. The family at this time consisted of: Eliza Vance (b. 1796); William Vance (b. 1825); E. Vance [female] (b. 1840); Lizzie Vance (b. 1864); Luckett Vance (b. 1867); H. [Henry]Vance (b. 1848); Mary Vance (b. 1842); William Vance (b. 1844); and B. [Byrne] Vance (b. 1868).(1870 Orleans Parish, Louisiana Federal Census M593_521, p. 853B, image 255)

The Will of Eliza Vance

On June 12, 1879, Eliza Vance, although bodily ill but of sound mind, in the presence of Edward Pilsbury, Ernest B. Kruttsschmitt, Enslow Holt, James I. Day, George W. Lee, Leonard M. Finley and Walter S. Keplinger, all competent witnesses above the age of twenty-one and residents of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, presented her will closed and sealed. It read as follows:

June 11, 1879

I the undersigned Widow Eliza Vance, do hereby declare this my last will and testament. After my debts are paid, and the amount reserved by law to my forced heirs is deducted and distributed according to the law, I make the following disposition of the remainder of my property:

Item I. I give and bequeath toMrs. Lizzie Vance*, widow of my deceased son Hamilton Vance, the sum of Five Thousand Dollars.

*Lizzie was born Lizzie Luckett (1840-1919), probably in Rapides Parish, Louisiana.

Item II. I give and bequeath to Lizzie Vance, Luckett Vance, and Byrne Vance, all children of my deceased son, Hamilton Vance, by his marriage to said Mrs. Lizzie Vance, the sum of Three Thousand Dollars each, to be invested for their benefit by my executors, at the discretion of my said executors and the annual income to be paid to their mother for their use during their minority.

Item III. I give and bequeath toWillie Vance andMary Vance, two of the children of my said deceased son by his first wife, the sum of Three Thousand [Dollars] each.

Item IV. I give and bequeath to Mrs. Caroline Zacharie the sum of Five Hundred Dollars.

Item V. I give and bequeath toJames O’ Donohoe* the sum of Five Hundred Dollars.

*James O’ Donohoe (1819-1900) was born at County Carlow, Ireland and came to Biloxi in 1867 from New Orleans. He worked for Mrs. Vance as caretaker of her Biloxi property. O’Donohoe was paid $40 per month for his duties which included taking care of her pier. He was elected to the Biloxi City Council and served as a councilman in 1893. Mr. O’Donohoe passed at Biloxi on May 21, 1900.(The Biloxi Herald, January 14, 1893, p. 8, and May 22, 1900, p. 8)

Item VI. I give and bequeath the sum of Three Hundred Dollars to each of the following charitable institutions, all of the City of New Orleans: The Little Sisters of the Poor; The Home of the Aged and Infirmed; The Louisiana Retreat; and The Insane Asylum.

Item VII. I give and bequeath toMiss Sarah Hill or Hull?, to James I. Day and toEdward Pilsbury, all of the City of New Orleans,the sum of Five Hundred Dollars each.

Item VIII. Any residue of my estate after paying the above legacies is to be divided equally, share and share alike between thesaidLizzie Vance, Luckett Vance, Byrne Vance, Willie Vance, andMary Vance, children of my deceased sonHamilton Vance, and said four charitable institutions aforesaid.

Item IX. I hereby appoint and constitute James I. Day and Edward Pilsbury of the City of New Orleans to be the testamentary executors with full seizure of my estate and succession and without bond.

Item X. I hereby cancel and revoke any and all other prior testaments made by me. Thus done and signed by me at the City of New Orleans the date above designated ……

Commissioner’s Sale

In the March 1884 term of the Chancery Court of Harrison County, Mississippi litigation to partition the lands of the deceased, Eliza M. Vance, at Biloxi, Mississippi was adjudicated in Chancery Court Case No. 269- Luckett Vance, Byrne Vance, minors by James I. Day their next friend, and Mary Flower vs. Lizzie Vance, a minor, by William A. Champlin, her Guardian ad litem, and others. F.S. Hewes, Commissioner, sold for cash to the highest bidder at Biloxi, Mississippi on May 23, 1884 in front of the residence of Mrs. Vance, the following lands:

I. A certain piece of land having 175 feet more or less fron on the Gulf of Mexico, running back from said Gulf to the Back Bay of Biloxi between parallel lines forty arpents more or less, which was acquired on the 15^th of September, 1838, from Thomas Bassett, and bounded on the upper or west side by lands of James Hopkins, and on the lower or east side by lands of William Vance and afterwards by Major John Mountford* [sic], south by said Gulf, north by the Back Bay. The following described parcel of land sold by Mrs. Eliza Vance to James O’Donohoe on the 15^th day of January, 1878, is excepted from this sale: That certain tract of land fronting on the New Orleans & Chattanooga Railroad, measuring 172 feet front and running back north between parallel lines 400 feet, bounded on the south by the right of way of said railroad, west by the McNeal property, north by the property of Mrs. Eliza Vance, and east by an alley of 20 feet in width. Together with all the tenements and hereditaments to said before said lots of land belonging or in any was appertaining.

II. A lot of land adjoining the first land on the east side, and measuring 179 feet, more or less, on the Gulf of Mexico, acquired by Mrs. Vance from the heirs of John Montfort on the 17^th day of November 1875, which conveying was duly recorded and is referred to for a more perfect description; said lot being bounded on the north by the Back Bay of Biloxi, south by the Gulf of Mexico, west by the property of Eliza Vance, and east by that of Callavet [sic]. Both of said parcels or tracts of land being subject to the right of way, granted to the New Orleans and Chattanooga Railroad.

*John Montford (1795-1875), like Eliza McNeil Vance, was a native of Massachusetts. In 1850, he was a resident of Biloxi, Mississippi and stated that the value of his real estate was $150,000.(Julia C. Guice, 1850 Census of Harrison County, Mississippi, p. 46 )

In the Commissioner’s Sale held at Biloxi on September 8, 1884, Jean-Jacques Robert Loeliger (1846-1923), a Swiss immigrant, domiciled at New Orleans, acquired the lands of Eliza M. Vance for $5250. In December 1884, Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Judge S. Evans, after deducting $446.96 in expenses involved in executing his adjudication , i.e. clerk costs; printer’s billing; Commissioner’s fee; Sheriff’s fee; witness fees; allowance for Guardian ad litem; and allowance for solicitors complaints, awarded each of the heirs of Eliza M. Vance: Luckett Vance, Byrne Vance, Mary Vance Flower, and Lizzie Vance, one-quarter of the sale proceeds after expenses or $1200.76 each.(Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Case No. 269-May 1884)

Of the heirs of Mrs. Eliza E. Vance, the author could only determine with a high degree of certitude that Lizzie Luckett Vance (b. September 1865) was married on December 27, 1887 to Charles Hansford Shields of Louisville, Kentucky in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. The ceremony was at the home of the bride’s mother. After the ceremony, the newlyweds left the Crescent City to make their home at Louisville.(The Daily Picayune, November 6, 1887, p. 9 and January 1, 1888, p. 9)

Lizzie Luckett Vance (1840-1919), the mother of Lizzie L. Vance Shields, died at Louisville, Kentucky in February 1919. J. Byrne Vance (1868-1919+) , her son, was living in Rapides Parish, Louisiana at the time of her demise.(The New Orleans State, February 12, 1919, p. 13)

US Highway No. I-110 and the Vance-Bohn-Gillis House

In 1972-1973, the Mississippi Highway Department, now MDOT, began acquiring by purchase and eminent domain, parcels and partial tracts of land from denizens west of the New Buena Vista Hotel. The purpose of this expenditure was to acquire a corridor to erect an elevated highway called US Highway No. I-110, which connected to US Highway No. I-10 in North Biloxi, later called D’Iberville, south and across the Back Bay of Biloxi to US Highway No. 90, a major east-west highway that parallels the Mississippi Sound from Biloxi west to Pass Christian, Mississippi. This thoroughfare was completed and opened for trafficin February 1988.(The Sun Herald, February 20, 1988, p. A3)

The Vance-Bohn-Gillis House, located 218 feet east of Hopkins Boulevard and west of the New Buena Vista Hotel in the 800 block of West Beach Boulevard, was situated in the direct path of US Highway No. I-110. The New Buena Vista Hotel acquired the Gillis tract for $125,000 in October 1958 from the Estate of Lucille Bohn Gillis (1864-1957). Her heirs were: Marcel Gillis; Daphne Gillis Caffery; Lucille Gillis Minor Mortimer, wife of Frank Hastings Mortimer; Joan Mortimer Williams; and Louise Boykin.(Harrison County, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 441, p. 246 and Harrison Co., Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 38245-August 1958 )

History

Augustus Bohn(1830-1897), a native of Neuchatel, Switzerland arrived at New Orleans in his youth and with his industry and desire toiled as a lowly, carriage driver to become a very wealthy and successful cotton merchant. Augustus married Lucille W. Hills (1838-1927), a native of Tennessee, at New Orleans. They resided at 91 Esplanade where they reared eight children. Five of their progeny survived into the 20^th Century: Nita Bohn (1859-1928) m. G. Otto Weber (1847-1901); Leila Bohn (1849-1944) m. Edward A. Ferguson; Lucille W. Bohn (1864-1957) m. Alfred Barre Gillis (1855-1914); Augustus Bohn II (1866-1896); Dr. H. Roberson Bohn (1869-1901) m. Louise McNeil Kennedy (1854-1920), the widow of Thomas S. Kennedy; Ulrich Bohn (1870-1873); Sue Hill Bohn (1872-1874); and Fergus Bohn (1878-1928).

Biloxi

Augustus Bohn began acquiring land at Biloxi in April 1888, when he acquired for $5300 from Jean-Jacques Robert Loeliger (1846-1923), a Swiss immigrant born at Arlesheim and resident of 1215 Napoleon at New Orleans, the former Eliza M. Vance tract. This parcel was described in Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Case No. 269- Luckett Vance, Byrne Vance, minors by James I. Day their next friend, and Mary Flower vs. Lizzie Vance, a minor, by William A. Champlin, her Guardian ad litem, and others.(Harrison Co., Mississippi Land Deed Bk. 23, p. 222 and The Times-Picayune, August 31, 1923, p. 2)

Augustus Bohn died at Biloxi, Mississippi on March 3, 1897. Lucille W. Hills Bohn lived at Biloxi until her death on April 14, 1927. Their corporal remains were interred in the Metairie Cemetery.(The Daily Picayune, March 9, 1897, p. 3 and The Times-Picayune, April 15, 1927, p. 2)

Lucille G. Gillis and Fergus Bohn came into possession of the Vance-Bohn-Gillis House in 1928, following the demise of their older sister, Nita Bohn Weber (1859-1928), who passed on February 23, 1928. Mrs. Weber left an estate valued at $101, 392. A portion of her legacy was a ¼ interest in the Trianon Theatre at 814 Canal Street. At the time, it was leased to the Saenger Theatre for $13,000 annually.(The Times-Picayune, May 25, 1928, p. 3 and Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Case No. No. 10393-December 1923)

With the demise of Fergus Bohn (1878-1928) on November 5, 1928, Lucille Bohn Gillis became the sole owner of their West Beach Biloxi home. In his will, Fergus named her as: “sole beneficiary of my estate and she inherit all property, real and personal.” (Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Case No. 10799-1928)

Fergus Bohn remained a bachelor during his life and lived at Biloxi where he was an insurance clerk and a director of the First National Bank of Biloxi. He resided with his mother on West Beach. Fergus was a sportsman enjoying fishing in the Mexican Gulf and playing golf at the Biloxi Golf Club. He was also a yachtsman and enthusiastic member of the Biloxi Yacht Club. In July 1912, he went to Mobile to coax a US Revenue cutter to participate in the BYC Regatta. Fergus was elected vice commodore of the BYC in December 1917 to serve with John J. Kennedy, commodore elect. He served on many of the BYC committees.(The Daily Herald, July 6, 1912, p. 1 and The Times-Picayune, December 30, 1917, p. 3)

Fergus Bohn won a 72-hole, medal play, golf tournament at the Biloxi Golf Club in the spring of 1919. He took 312 strokes for the four rounds which averages to a respectable score of 78 strokes for each round of golf.(The Daily Herald, March 21, 1919, p. 6)

Lucille Bohn Gillis

Lucille Bohn Gillis was born at New Orleans in 1864. She married Alfred Barre Gillis (1855-1914), the son of Marcelin Gillis (1824-1896) and Carolina Nancy Griffin (1836-1909) in Orleans Parish, Louisiana on April 12, 1888. Alfred B. Gillis made his livelihood as secretary of the Board of Trade at New Orleans. They were the parents of: Lucille M. Gillis (1889-1954) m. John Duncan Minor (1876-1937); Marcel Alfred Gillis (1892-1971) m. Marie Caffery (1893-1991) and Daphne W. Gillis (1895-1973) m. Ambassador Edward Caffery (1889-1982).

Vance-Bohn-Gillis House relocated

In February 1977, the Mississippi State Highway Commission authorized the City of Biloxi to advertise for the removal of the Bohn-Gillis House from West Beach Boulevard to the vacant Baldwin Wood tract at 501 East Beach. On July 25, 1977, a $98,385 contract for Phase I of the restoration of the relocated structure was signed with J.O. Collins Inc. of Biloxi, as contractor and Nicholas H. Holmes Jr., architect, who was located at 257 N. Conception Street in Mobile, Alabama. The work to be performed was for the exterior of the house and it was completed in late March 1978. (City of Biloxi, Mississippi Minute Bk. 47, p. 28 and Bk. 48, p. 76 and e-mail from Charles ‘Chuck’ Collins-July 29, 2013)

Larry Cosper, a former Biloxi businessman, relates that J.O. Collins Inc. was hired by the City of Biloxi to dismantle and relocate the old structure. He remembers that it was cut into two segments before moving.(Larry Cosper-telephone conversation July 27, 2013)

Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Elbert Hilliard of the Mississippi Department of History declared the Bohn-Gillis House to be a State Archeological Landmark on December 6, 1978 and a Mississippi Landmark on December 6, 1985.(Harrison Ms. 2^nd JD Land Deed Bk. 89, p. 195-200 and Bk. 170, p. 298)

City of Biloxi-1982

The Biloxi Port Commission on April 13, 1982 conveyed the Bohn-Gillis House to the City of Biloxi, Mississippi. Bobby G. O’Barr was president and Neville J. Broussard the secretary of the Biloxi Port Commission at this time. The tract was described as having 223 feet on the Gulf.(Harrison County, Ms. 2^nd JD Land Deed Bk. 119, p. 372)

Joseph R. Thornton III-1983

The City of Biloxi on August 3, 1983 vended the former Baldwin Wood tract on East Beach and Bellman Street to Joseph ‘Joe’ Robert Thornton III (b. 1933). Joe R. Thornton III was the son of Captain Joseph R. Thornton Jr. (1910-1990) and Rosa Lee Latimer (b. 1911). Captain Thornton was a commercial fisherman and was employed in the local seafood industry. Joe was reared at 1720 East Howard Avenue with siblings Patsy Ann Thornton (b. 1937) m. Jerry W. Bell, and Linda Sue Thornton (b. 1939) m. James Carroll Corso Sr. (1935-1990).(1940 Harrison Co., Mississippi Federal Census T627_2024, p. 12A, ED 24-5)

Joe R. Thornton III married Shirley Ann Mickoul, the daughter of Mickey Mickoul and Young Mickoul in Harrison County, Mississippi in August 1953. They were the parents of: Jo Love Thornton m. Derel J. Broussard; Robert M. Thornton (1955-2004) m. Marianne Tauzin (1954-1995) and Linda Sue Douglas (1952-2002); and Gregory M. Thornton m. Leslie Drake (1954-2004).(Harrison Co., Mississippi Circuit Court MRB 95, p. 64)

Episcopal Church of the Redeemer-1990

Joseph R. Thornton III and Shirley A. Thornton conveyed the Bohn-Gillis House to the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer on December 14, 1990. The church used the Bohn-Gillis House as a manse for its rector. Father Jackson C. Biggers resided here in the early 1990s before returning to his missionary work in Malawi.(Harrison County, Ms. 2^nd JD Land Deed Bk. 227, p. 117)

Hurricane Katrina-2005

The Bohn-Gillis house was reportedly a victim of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.

Evergreen Century Company LLC-2010

On September 3, 2010, the Church of the Redeemer sold the Baldwin Wood tract to the Evergreen Century Company LLC of Henderson, Nevada. Duc V. Nguyen is the manager at Henderson, Nevada. The company can be reached by mail at PO Box 8155 Gulfport, Mississippi 39506-8155.(Harrison County, Ms. Land Deed Instrument No. 2217 DJ2)

REFERENCES:

The Buildings of Biloxi an Architectural Survey, (City of Biloxi, Mississippi-1976).

Julia C. Guice, 1850 Census of Harrison County, Mississippi, (City of Biloxi, Mississippi:)

Chancery Court Cases

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 269-Luckett Vance et al v. Lizzie L. Vance et al-1884.

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 350-Estate of Mrs. Eliza Vance –June 1893.

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 10393-The Estate of Nita Bohn Weber-December 1923.

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 10799-The Estate of Fergus Bohn-June 1928.

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 38245-The Estate Lucille Bohn Gillis-August 1958.

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 38670-The Estate of Albert Baldwin Wood-December 1960.

Orleans Parish, Louisiana Civil District Court Cause No. 6484-Successio of Eliza Vance-July 1882.

Journals

The Biloxi Herald,“Water Sport”, May 8, 1897.

The Biloxi Herald,“The Old and the New”, January 14, 1893.

The Biloxi Herald,“Death of Auguste Bohn”, March 13, 1897.

The Biloxi Herald,“Water Sport [Nydia]”, May 8, 1897.

The Biloxi Herald,“Local City News”, August 7, 1897.

The Biloxi Daily Herald,“James O’ Donohoe”, May 22, 1900.

The Biloxi Daily Herald,“H.R. Bohn [Dr. H.R. Bohn’s obituary],”, November 9, 1901.

The Biloxi Daily Herald,“City News [Dr. H.R. Bohn’s obituary]”, November 10, 1901.

The Coast Beacon, “Commissioner’s Sale”, April 19, 1884.

The Daily Herald,“This week list a lengthy one”, June 14, 1912.

The Daily Herald,“Woods Baby dead”, December 18, 1913.

The Daily Herald,“Biloxi man [John F. Woods]wants divorce”, January 19, 1914.

The Biloxi Herald,“Well known man [Alfred B. Gillis]dies in Biloxi”, July 15, 1914.

The Daily Herald,“Wood-Farrar”, September 13, 1916.

The Daily Herald,“Will endeavor to get Cutter”, July 6, 1912.

The Daily Herald,“Miss Smith to wed Mr. Ogden”, November 7, 1914.

The Daily Herald,“Biloxi Yacht Club elects”, December 30, 1917.

The Daily Herald,“First National elects”, January 16, 1919.

The Daily Herald, “Biloxian win in golf tournament”, March 21, 1919.

The Daily Herald, “Former Biloxi resident [Louise McNeil Bohn]dead”, July 31, 1920.

The Daily Herald,“Orleanians in Biloxi”, July 30, 1932.

The Daily Herald,“Miss [Jane]Wood complimented”, December 29, 1932.

The Daily Herald,“John F. Wood dies”, July 7, 1944.

The Daily Herald, “Baldwin Wood home [House of Treasures]”, September 10, 1964.

The Daily Herald,“R.B. Wood”, October 26, 1967.

The Daily Herald,“James W. Pringle”, May 31, 1971.

The Daily Picayune,“Notice”, July 29, 1857.

The Daily Picayune,“Bank Notice”, January 30, 1874.

The Daily Picayune,“Society”, November 16, 1887.

The Daily Picayune,“Society”, January 1, 1888.

The Daily Picayune,“Auguste Bohn”, Marc 9, 1897.

The Daily Picayune,“Southern States Items of Interest”, August 26, 1899.

The Daily Picayune,“Secretary Smith’s body brought home for burial”, December 1, 1902.

The Daily Picayune,“Society”, April 26, 1908.

The Daily Picayune,“Mrs. Albert Baldwin”, August 4, 1911.

The Daily Picayune, “Albert Baldwin Dies at Lakeside Lodge”, April 22, 1912.

The Daily Picayune,“Howard Home sold”, June 11, 1912.

The Daily Picayune,“Nydia is stolen from moorings”, November 7, 1912.

The Daily Picayune,“Nydia is recovered by Baldwin Wood”, November 9, 1912.

The Daily Picayune,“Big pumps to come from Milwaukee”, July 2, 1914.

The New Orleans Item,“Funeral of Alfred Raymond held at residence”, January 16, 1920.

The New Orleans State,“Mrs. L.L. Vance”, February 12, 1919.

The Times-Picayune,“Officials watch Big Pumps work”, April 28, 1915.

The Times-Picayune,“Kennedy elected head of Biloxi Yacht Club”, December 30, 1917.

The Times-Picayune,“Alfred Raymond at rest”, January 16, 1920.

The Times-Picayune,“Loeliger”, August 26, 1923.

The Times-Picayune,“Died [Lucille W. Hills Bohn]”, April 15, 1927.

The Times-Picayune,“Died-Weber”, February 24, 1928.

The Times-Picayune,“Weber heirs seek recognition in city”, May 25, 1928.

The Times-Picayune,“[Fergus]Bohn”, November 6, 1928.

The Times-Picayune,“Society [Mortimer-Minor]”, November 3, 1931.

The Times-Picayune, “Mrs. Ferguson, 83, expires in Chicago”, December 22, 1944.

The Times-Picayune, “[Lennoe L. Schermerhorn Smith] Drew”, October 18, 1955.

The Times-Picayune,“Baldwin Wood found dead as boat drifts”, May 11, 1956.

The Times-Picayune,“Baldwin Wood’s devotion to Sloop Nydia depicted”, June 20, 1956.

The Times-Picayune,“Love for boat lives after owner”, February 5, 1961.

The Times-Picayune,“[Nola B.]Wood”, December 12, 1974.

The Times-Picayune,“A.B. Wood’s beloved Sloop is enshrined at Tulane Center”, July 6, 1975.

The Times-Picayune,“Officials watch Big Pumps work”, April 28, 1915.

_______________________________________________________________

THE PLEASANT REED HOUSE: 1892-2008

306 Elmer Street

[image made May 2001 by Ray L. Bellande]

The Pleasant Reed House was situated at 987 Elmer Street in Biloxi, Mississippi in Section 28, T7S-R9W. It was built by Pleasant Reed (1861-1936), who was born into slavery at Perry County, Mississippi. In 1892, he erected a Victorian cottage on the eastside of Grand Jack Alley, now called Elmer Street. Mr. Reed made his livelihood as a day laborer and sawmill worker. It is very likely that Pleasant Reed was employed by the H.W. Latimer Sawmill, which was situated at Back Bay and Lameuse Street.

Pleasant Reed

Pleasant Reed was born in Perry County, Mississippi in January 1861. He was the son of . Came to Biloxi circa 1876. Married Georgia Harris on January 23, 1884 in Harrison County, Mississippi. Their children were: Emanual Reed (1887-1973), Victoria Reed (1889-1910+), Percy Reed (1891-1930), Theresa Reed (1894-1988), and Paul Reed (1898-1910+). (1900 Federal Census Harco, Ms., p. 67A and 1910 Federal Census Harco, Ms., p. 209B)

Pleasant Reed house

On January 11, 1892, Pleasant Reed acquired a small lot from Jacob Elmer for $50. Its metes and bounds description in the land deed records was as follows: 50 feet fronting on Grand Jack Alley and running east 184 feet and bounded on the north by Mrs. Lizzie Simon; on the east by the Estate of Charles Holley; on the south by Babe Morris; and on the west by Grand Jack Alley.(Harco, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 27, p. 298)

Area

The Pleasant Read domicile has a total area of 1680 square-feet. Gallery= 90 square-feet. Shot-gun living area= 630 square-feet. Two-story living area=960 square-feet.(Sanborn Map, Biloxi, February 1925, Sheet 19)

1905 City Directory

In 1905, Pleasant Reed and family were residing at 928 Elmer Street.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Alumni

In September 1978, the Pleasant Reed home was sold by Theresa Reed who was also know as Teresa Read to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.(HARCO 2^nd JD Land Deed Bk. 86, p. 497)

Address changed to 306 Elmer Street in the 1980s, when the 911 Emergency telephone systems were installed in Biloxi.

REED CHILDREN

Emanual Reed

Emanual Reed (1887-1973) was born at Biloxi on November 5, 1887. In 1905, he was residing

Married Catherine Gandy Smith (1920-1988) circa ? She was the widow of Noel Smith and the mother of Eugene Smith and Noel Smith Jr. She and Emanual Reed had two children: Virta R. Cherry, Olivia R. Rhetta,

Expired at Biloxi in late January 1973. Residing at 521 Jefferson Street. Survived by his spouse, Catherine Gandy Smith Reed, and eight children: Emanuel Smith, Clifton Smith, Noel Smith, Willie Smith, Emanual Reed II, and Pleasant Reed, Mrs. Virta Cherry, and Olivia C. Reed. One sister, Theresa Reed.(The Daily Herald, January 28, 1973, p. A-2)

Theresa Reed

Theresa Reed (1894-1988) was born at Biloxi on September 7, 1894. She expired at New Orleans on April 20, 1988.

Reed Family

Benjamin Reed was born 1830 in Georgia. Married to Charlotte ? Living at 823 Elmer Street in 1905 with Charlotte Reed. Benjamin Reed died at the age of ninety-four and one-half years. He lived at Biloxi since 1868. His home was on Main Street near Division Street.(The Biloxi Daily Herald, January 27, 1908, p. 1)

Reed family from land deed records

Ben Reed, Ben Reed Jr., George Reed, James Reed, Pleasant Reed (1854-1936), Charlotte Reed, Ellen R. Cross, Hattie R. Coleman, Johanna R. Chaney, Lula R. Huff Weeb, Martha R. Baldwin Rankin,

Move to Tricenntenial Park

The Pleasant Reed home move from Elmer Street by Fauvre? Moving Company of Mobile, Alabama. Arrived at Centennial Park on or about April 17^th, 2002. First phase of restoration celebrated on April 22, 2002. Members of Delta Sigma Theta sorority in attendance.(The Bay Press, April 26, 2002, p. 1 and p. 3)

May 2003

On May 15, 2003, the Pleasant Reed House was open to the general public. Originally, this day was to be an exclusive opening for Board members and invited guests, but Margie Gowdy said that “due to the high interest in this event” it would be open for the public on Thursday, not Friday as planned.

Katrina

The Pleasant Reed House was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.

Replica

[image made September 2009 by Ray L. Bellande]

The Pleasant Reed House was re-opened to the public on September 29, 2008.

REFERENCES:

Charles L. Dyer, Along The Gulf

Biloxi City Directory (1905), (The Biloxi Daily Herald Printing Co.: Biloxi, Mississippi-1905).

Journals

The Bay Press, “Pleasant Reed moves to Tricentennial Park”, April 26, 2002.

The Bay Press, “Time Traveler-'Pleasant Reed House'”, September 15, 2006.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “City News”, January 27, 1908.

The Daily Herald, “Colored Death”, February 5, 1936, p. 5.

The Daily Herald, “Emanual Reed”, January 28, 1973.

The Sun Herald, “Mrs. Catherine Reed”, March 24, 1988.

The Sun Herald, “Reed House will become part of museum”, October 12, 1998.

The Sun Herald, “Biloxi in the spotlight”, May 11, 2003, p. H-1.

The Sun Herald, “A Pleasant place to visit”, May 14, 2003, p. A-1.

The Sun Herald, “Visitors awed by Reed house”, May 15, 2003, p. A-2.

The Sun Herald, “Crowds jam ‘Day in the Park’”, May 17, 2003, p. A-3.

The Sun Herald, "A Pleasant return", September 28, 2008, p. F-1.

The Sun Herald, "Pleasant Reed opens in spirit of moving forward", September 30, 2008, p. A-2.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

W.W. SUTCLIFFE-MAVAR HOUSE: 1898-2001

1364 West Beach

William Wilson Sutcliffe (1848-1934) was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to an English father and a Scottish mother. By 1880, he was working on the Rienzi Plantation near Thibodeaux, LaFourche Parish, Louisiana as an engineer. Mr. Sutcliffe became president of the Sutcliffe Company, which owned large sugar cane planting acreage in South Louisiana. He had once resided at Cuba where he managed sugar plantations. There Mr. Sutcliffe invented a bagasse combustion furnace, which was invaluable to this island nation because of its paucity of natural energy resources.(1880 LaFourche Parish, Louisiana Federal Census, R455, p. 40, ED 131 and The Daily Herald, January 15, 1934, p. 8)

By 1900, W.W. Sutcliffe and his family were domiciled at 2712 Magazine Street in the Crescent City. Circa 1873, he had married Minnie Wetzler (1850-1916), and they were the parents of: Jeanette Mary Sutcliffe (1874-1906+) m. Clarence W. Morris (1877-1900+); Joseph Wilson Sutcliffe (1876-1900+); Laura Sutcliffe (1881-1900+) m. Franklin Scott Quiller; and William W. Sutcliffe II (1883-1954) m. Alma Fickessen (1885-1969).(1900 Orleans Parish, Federal Census T623_574, p. 11B, ED 111 and The Daily Herald, September 16, 1916, p. 3 and January 15, 1934, p. 8)

At New Orleans, Mr. Sutcliffe was a strong patron of the Methodist Episcopal Church-South. In 1895, he served on the Board of Trustees of the Sea Shore Camp Grounds at Biloxi.(Dyer, 1895)

In 1898, W.W. Sutcliffe served as president of the Board of Trustees of the Sea Shore Camp Grounds and he and his spouse were frequent visitors to the campground where they possessed a tent. He stopped here in late May 1898, on a return business trip from Baltimore.(The Biloxi Herald, May 14, 1898, p. 8 and May 28, 1898, p. 8)

BILOXI

In February 1898, W.W. Sutcliffe acquired for $1600, from fellow Crescent City businessman, John H. Keller (1830-1908), two lots, No. 19 and No. 20, in Square No. 4 of the Avondale development at Biloxi. The Sutcliffe parcel had 164 front feet on the Mississippi Sound and ran north for about 595 feet comprising approximately 2.24 acres. J.H. Keller’s covenants prohibited oyster planting and any commercial oyster business in his Avondale real estate development. The Sutcliffe lot was bounded on the east by First Street (later West First Street), now called Saint Francis, and on the north by Keller Avenue, now known as Father Ryan Avenue.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 37, pp. 429-430)

William W. Sutcliffe House (circa 1905)

1364 West Beach Boulevard

(Courtesy of Randy Randazzo)

Construction

News of W.W. Sutcliffe’s acquisition of a beach front lot was reported in The Biloxi Herald in late February 1898. The journal reported that he would let a contract shortly for the erection of a residence to cost between $4000 and $5000.(The Biloxi herald, February 26, 1898, p. 8)

In April 1898, Mr. Sutcliffe had his lot fenced and planned to have a home built on his seaside vista within the year.(The Biloxi Herald, April 2, 1898, p. 8)

In August 1898, W.W. Sutcliffe, now president of the Board of Trustees of the Sea Shore Campground, signed a building contract with John Kelley. Mr. Kelley was to erect a large structure on Sutcliffe’s Avondale lot facing the Mississippi Sound.(The Biloxi Herald, August 20, 1898, p. 8)

Contractor John P. Kelly (1853-1900+) was a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. He married Martha Jane Powell (1856-1919) and they parented ten children: Effie Kelly, Charles Kelley, Lizzie Kelly, Theresa Kelley, Eddie Kelly, Leo A. Kelly (1884-1938), Joe Kelly, Francis Kelly, Elna Kelly, and Freddie Kelly. Mr. Kelly was well respected at Biloxi for his character and quality construction.(20^th Century Coast Edition of The Biloxi Daily Herald, (ca 1902), pp. 62-63)

In early November 1898, the Sutcliffes came over from New Orleans to inspect their beautiful domicile which was under construction.(The Biloxi Herald, November 12, 1898, p. 4)

Summer 1910

In early May 1910, Mr. and Mrs. Sutcliffe arrived at their 1904 West Beach residence for the summer season. Their daughter, Mrs. Clarence W. Morris, and her two children of Corsicana, Texas planned an early June arrival on the Mississippi coast. She preferred Biloxi for their summer holiday over both western and eastern spas.(The Daily Herald, May 7, 1910, p. 8)

Sutcliffe Company

In January 1934, W.W. Sutcliffe sold his Biloxi retreat to his company, the Sutcliffe Company. The Sutcliffe Company was led by W.W. Sutcliffe, president; W.W. Sutcliffe Jr., vice president; and H.C. Eisendrath, secretary and treasurer. At Biloxi, the Sutcliffe Company owned land on Reynoir Street between Howard Avenue and the L&N Railroad. In Louisiana, it had etensive hlding in the Crescent City and in the sugar plantation region.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 200, pp. 120-121 and The Daily Herald, January 15, 1934, p. 8)

Sell Off

From October 1935 to September 1937, the Sutcliffe Company sold lots from its land holdings in Lot 19 and Lot 20 of Square Four of Avondale to: Louis O. Thompson, Bowman Broadnax, Frank E. Hall, Elizabeth Mann Trudeau, Eva S. Woolett (Lafayette County, Mississippi), and Florence B. Maxey. The W.W. Sutcliffe home was excluded from these conveyances.

W.W. Sutcliffe Jr.

In December 1937, William W. Sutcliffe Jr. acquired his father’s home at 1904 West Beach at Biloxi from the Sutcliffe Company. He had married Alma Fickessen (1885-1969) at NOLA in April 1907. Pauline Sutcliffe (1908-1984), their only child, married George Renaudin (1905-1967). W.W. Sutcliffe made his livlihood in banking in the Crescent City. In 1905, he began a long career as a banker, which ended with his death in early March 1954. W.W. Sutcliffe Jr. had risen from cashier of the Canal bank & Trust Company to vice president of the National Bank of Commerce. Alma F. Sutcliffe passed on March 5, 1969. The corporal remans of both were interred in the Metairie Cemetery.(The Times-Picayune, February 6, 1954, p. 2 and March 6, 1969, p. 19)

The lot, excluding riparian rights south of West Beach, measured.......(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 218, pp. 365-366)

In September 1942, W.W. Sutcliffe Jr. coneyed 1904 West Beach to Arthur E. Scruggs and Gertrude Kelly Scruggs for $6,650.(HARCO, Ms. Land DeedBk. 251, p. 32)

Arthur E. Scruggs

Arthur E. Scruggs (1897-1957) was the son of William Scruggs and Anna Shand and a native of Tate County, Mississippi. He was the Superintendent of Biloxi Public Schools from 1946? until 1956? At Biloxi, he oversaw the operation of the senior and junior high schools, five elementary schools, and the colored schools. Mr. Scruggs had matriculated to the University of Mississippi where he was conferred with two degrees, a B.S. and a M.S. in School Administration and History. He had also attended LSU working toward his PhD degree. A youthful A.E. Scruggs entered the teaching profession at Amory High School circa 1919, where he taught mathematics and coached. Circa 1926, Scruggs accepted the position of Principal and Coach at New Albany High School. About 1928, he relocated to Poplarville, Mississippi where he was the head of the History Department and Coach at Pearl River Jr. College for six years. Professor Scruggs arrived at Biloxi circa 1936 to serve as Biloxi Senior High School Principal. His tenure as Superintendent of Biloxi Public Schools, commenced circa 1946.(The JXCOT, December 17, 1948, p. 1)

Married to Gertrude Kelly Scruggs. Daughter, Anna Scruggs (b. ca 1941)

Both public and parochial schools in Biloxi closed half day on October 10, 1957, the day of Mr. Scruggs internment at the National Cemetery in Biloxi.(The Daily herald, October 9, 1957, p. 2)

In January 1945, Arthur E. Scruggs and wife conveyed the Sutcliffe-Mavar home to Mrs. Thomas C. Hannah (possibly Rosalee Hannah (1911-1990) of Petal, Forrest, Mississippi)

Mrs. Thomas C. Hannah

Resident of Forrest County, Mississippi.

In October 1953, Mrs. Hannah, a widow, to William L. Clayton Sr.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 381, pp. 282-283)

William L. Clayton Sr.

In May 1954, William L. Clayton Sr. to Jules A. Barbin Sr. (HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 381, p. 458)

Jules A. Barbin Sr.

Jules A. Barbin Sr. (1919-1986), Chalmette, St. Bernard, Louisiana.

In June 1955, Jules A. Barbin Jr. sold to Leo C. and Mary Adele Simon Todaro.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 397, pp. 42-43)

Leo C. Todaro

Leo C. Todaro (1909-1994) and Mary Adele Simon Todaro (1906-1994) were both natives of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Leo was born at Gulfport, Mississippi on May 11, 1909, the son of Anthony Todaro and Domenica LaMendola. He married Mary Adele Simon, a Biloxian and daughter of Joseph Simon and Catherine Shedrary, on July 7, 1935. (HARCO, Ms. MRB 46, p. 163) This union produced five children: Charles Leo Todaro, Mary Lynn Todaro, Anthony Joseph Todaro, Michael Carl Todaro, and John Braxton Todaro.(The Sun Herald, March 4, 1994, p. A-2)

Leo C. Todaro was the proprietor of Leo’s Grocery on the northeast corner of Main Street and Division Street. His brother-in-law, Charles Simon, operated a gasoline service station across the street. In later life, Leo was an independent real estate broker. Active in the Biloxi community, Leo C. Todaro was a devout Roman Catholic and member of the Cathedral Parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where he was a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus Council No. 1244. In addition, Mr. Todaro was a past president of the Cedars of Lebanon Club, a member of the Italian American Society, member of Elks Lodge No. 606, Order of Alhambra, and a charter fundraiser for the St. Jude’s Hospital at Memphis. He expired at Biloxi on May 3, 1994 and his corporal remains were interred in the Biloxi City Cemetery besides his loving wife, Mary Adele, who had preceded his in death on March 2, 1994.(The Sun Herald, May 5, 1994, p. A-2 and March 4, 1994, p. A-2)

In March 1961, Leo C. Todaro and Mary Mary C. Todaro conveyed their home to Charles C. Goetz Jr. and Lee Garrett Goetz.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 477, p. 196)

Charles C. Goetz Jr.

Charles C. Goetz Jr. and Lee Garrett Goetz were residents of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. In December 1970, Charles C. Goetz Jr. and Lee Garrett Goetz conveyed their property at Biloxi to K.C. Davidson and Mary E. Davidson.(HARCO, Ms. 2^nd Judicial District Land Deed Bk. 14, p. 272)

Kenneth Comfort Davidson

In May 1973, Kenneth Comfort Davidson and Mary Elizabeth Davidson to Nancy Pierce Mavar.(HARCO, Ms. 2^nd Judicial District Land Deed Bk. 39, pp. 323-324)

1364 West Beach Boulevard [image made 2003]

Nancy Pierce Mavar

Nancy Pierce Mavar, a native of Vicksburg, Mississippi, is the spouse of Nicholas A. “Nick” Mavar II. Nicholas A. Mavar II (b. 1942) is the son of Nicholas A. Mavar (b. 1918) and Irma Sumerlin (1919-2001), the daughter of Doss Sumerlin and Emma Martin. Nick Mavar II’s siblings are: Thomas Martin Mavar, and Gerald Michael Mavar (b. 1946).

Katrina

The Sutcliffe-Mavar edifice was destroyed on the morning of August 29, 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.

REFERENCES:

Charles L. Dyer, Along The Gulf, “The Sea Shore Camp Grounds”, (Women of the Trinity Episcopal Church: Pass Christian-1971. Originally published 1895.

20^th Century Coast Edition of The Biloxi Daily Herald, (The Biloxi Daily Herald: Biloxi, Mississippi-ca 1902)

Journals

The Biloxi Herald, “Latest City News”, February 26, 1898.

The Biloxi Herald, “Latest City News”, April 2, 1898.

The Biloxi Herald, “Seashore Camp Ground Dots”, May 14, 1898.

The Biloxi Herald, “Camp Ground Dots”, May 28, 1898.

The Biloxi Herald, “Latest City News”, August 20, 1898.

The Biloxi Herald, “Camp Ground Dots”, November 12, 1898.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “J.H. Keller, New Orleans”, November 6, 1908.

The Daily Herald, “Biloxi News”, May 7, 1910.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Sutcliffe Dead”, September 16, 1916.

The Daily Herald, “Wm. Sutcliffe Dies At New Orleans Home”, January 15, 1934.

The Daily Herald, “Superintendent Biloxi Schools Expires At VA”, October 9, 1957.

The Daily Herald, “City Schools To Close Half Day Thursday”, October 9, 1957.

The Daily Herald, “Pierce-Mavar Nuptial Plans Revealed Today”, June 23, 1966.

The Jackson County Times, “Professor Scruggs is re-elected Superintendent of Biloxi Schools”, December 17, 1948.

The Sun Herald, “Mary Adele Simon Todaro”, March 4, 1994.

The Sun Herald, “Leo C. Todaro”, May 5, 1994.

The Sun Herald, “Irma Sumerlin Mavar”, September 5, 2001.

The Times-Picayune, “Sutcliffe, bank executive dies”, February 6, 1954.

The Times-Picayune, “Deaths”, March 6, 1969.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

BOND-GRANT HOUSE

925 West Howard Avenue

Bond-Grant House

[image made July 2008]

Location: Angelique Fasaier [Fayard] Grant, Section 27, T7S-R9W

Bond-Grant Lot

The tract on which the Bond-Grant house was erected was acquired by William K.M. Dukate in May 1900 from Cecile Craft Lyon Blakemore (1860-1937), domiciled at New Orleans. She was the widow of Joseph M. Lyon (1841-1879) and the spouse of John Davis Blakemore (1858-pre-1920). The consideration was $7000 for the parcel, which had a frontage of one hundred sixty-four feet on Howard Avenue and ran south for one thousand forty-four feet to the Mississippi Sound.(Harrison Co., Ms. Land Deed Bk. 120, p. 516)

Mrs. Blakemore was a native of New Orleans while her father was from Kentucky and mother born in Pennsylvania. She had married Joseph M. Lyon and after his demise in May 1879 became the bride of John D. Blakemore in December 1889. They had at least one child, Joseph L. Blakemore (b. 1890).(1900 Orleans Parish, Louisiana Federal Census T623 575, p. 12A, Ed 122)

Mr. Dukate immediately vended to Linda R. Dukate, his spouse,

William K.M. Dukate

William K.M. Dukate (1852-1916) was a native of Fredericksburg, Washington County, Indiana. He married Linda Rose Lienhard (1859-1939), the daughter of Peter J. Lienhard (1812-1873), a Swiss immigrant, and Malinda B. Seaman (1826-1890), in her mother’s residence at Biloxi, Mississippi on April 27, 1878. Their children were: Elbert L. Dukate (1881-1943) m. Corrine Dukate (1882-1973); Eula Dukate (1883-1894); Vera L. Dukate (1886-1977) m. Brantley A. Bond (1880-1966) and R. Hart Chinn (1888-1972); Leola May Dukate (1888-1967) m. William L. Ewing (1888-1967); Irma Dukate (1890-1974) m. Daniel J. Gorenflo (1888-1965); and Beula L. Dukate (1900-1983) m. Carl E. Matthes (1896-1972).(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, May 3, 1878, p. 3)

Seafood pioneer

In the 1870s, W.K.M. Dukate came to coastal Mississippi as a telegraph operator for the L&N Railroad. In 1881, he joined with Lazaro Lopez (1850-1903), F. William Elmer (1847-1926), William Gorenflo (1844-1932), and James Maycock (1826-1892) to form the Lopez, Elmer and Company. Their incipient cannery was situated on the Back Bay of Biloxi at the head of Reynoir Street. The initial efforts of The Lopez, Elmer and Company were crude, but ready markets were available and the organization was profitable.(1880 Harrison Co., Mississippi Federal Census T9_648, p. 8, ED 139)

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star reported on December 30, 1881, that the company was placing its canning machines in the factory. The proprietors had over one hundred, local, white men and boys on the payroll. They were employed as follows: forty-four openers, forty-five men manning fifteen boats, twenty or more canners and wharf men.(The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, December 30, 1881, p. 3)

The Lopez, Elmer and Company was dissolved in 1884, and the Biloxi Canning Company, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi was chartered on March 23, 1883. In rapid succession, after the dissolution of The Lopez, Elmer and Company, the Barataria Canning Company, William Gorenflo & Company, E.C. Joullian & Company, and J.T. Maybury were competing in the seafood packing business at Biloxi. By 1902, the factories of Biloxi ranked second to those of Baltimore, Maryland in canning American oysters.(Twentieth Century Coast Edition of The Biloxi Daily Herald, 1902, p. 20)

Brantley A. Bond

Brantley Alexander Bond (1880-1966) was born in Harrison County, Mississippi on May 4, 1880, the tenth child of Thomas Bond (1835-1880+) and Minnie E. Engmann (1848-1925), a native of New Orleans and the daughter of Peter L. Engmann (1816-1887), a Dane and U.S. Mint employee, and Wilhelmina Carolina Barkhausen (1816-ca 1853), a German immigrant. Thomas Bond and Minnie E. Engmann had married in Harrison County, Mississippi in April 1868. When Brantley Bond was born the family was domiciled in Beat 2, Harrison County, Mississippi where Thomas Bond was the Justice of the Peace. After the demise of Thomas Bond, Minnie E. Bond married in October 1887, John Arthur (1843-1900+), a mechanical engineer and native of Ireland. They had three children. The Arthur family resided on Commerce Street in Handsboro, Harrison County, Mississippi. She expired at San Antonio, Texas on July 27, 1925.

Bond-Dukate

On October 18, 1904 at the Dukate home in Biloxi, Brantley A. Bond married Vera Linda Dukate (1886-1977), the daughter of William K.M. Dukate (1852-1916) and Linda Rose Lienhard (1859-1939). Brantley A. Bond was assistance cashier at the Bank of Biloxi at the time of their nuptials. W.H. Buck was his best man. Mr. Dukate gave Vera a new home on Howard Avenue, which was under construction. Her mother and Elbert L. Dukate, her brother, bestowed on her a sizeable sum of money. Articles of silver, cut glass and art were among the wedding gifts.(The Biloxi Daily Herald, October 3, 1904 and October 18, 1904, p. 5)

Bond Home

Mrs. W.K.M. Dukate sold Vera L. Bond a lot on West Howard Avenue in early February 1910. The Bond lot had a front on West Howard Avenue of eighty-two feet and ran south three hundred thirty feet.(Harrison Co., Ms. Land Deed Bk. 91, p. 566)

Bond family

Vera L. Dukate had two daughters with Brantley A. Bond: Vera Leola Bond (1909-1989) m. Leslie Baltar Grant (1908-1986) and Whillamene Linda Bond (1911-1998) m. Mr. Eddy.

Separation and divorce

When deposed on June 8, 1918, Brantley A. Bond stated that he did not want to dissolve his marriage. Vera L. Bond had initiated the separation in late December 1915, when she abandoned him. Mr. Bond averred that her reason for leaving him was that “she did not care for me anymore and did not care to live with me.” By the spring of 1918, he realized that their union would not reunite and he took a position with the Central Trust Company in San Antonio, Texas. There divorce became final on June 18, 1918.(Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 5617-June, 1918 and WWI Draft Registration Card)

Brantley A. Bond lived the remainder of his life in banking at San Antonio, Texas. He expired there on February 6, 1966.

R. Hart Chinn

Lt. Hart Chinn married Mrs. Vera L. Dukate Bond (1886-1977) on November 11, 1918 at Camp Sherman, Ohio. She had two daughters with Brantley A. Bond: Vera Leola Bond (1909-1989) m. Leslie Baltar Grant (1908-1986) and Whillamene Linda Bond Eddy (1911-1998).(The Daily Herald, November 14, 1918)

Conveyed to Julia Elizabeth Baltar Grant (1880-1968) in December 1920.(Harrison Co., Ms. Land Deed Bk. 130, p. 91)

Julia E. Baltar Grant and W.J. Grant

William Jesse Grant (1875-1932) was born at Pascagoula, Mississippi the son of Robert B. Grant (1852-1932) and Lydia S. Landridge (1852-1909). On April 16, 1902 at New Orleans, William J. Grant married Julia Elizabeth Baltar (1880-1968), the daughter of Jacinto F. Baltar (1834-1898) and Margaretha Gondolf (1840-1932). Parents of: Marguerite B. Grant (19-1988) m. Henry Baldwin Curtis; William J. Grant II (1906-1976) m. Mary Griffin Dantzler (1988), and Leslie Baltar Grant (1908-1986) m. Vera ‘Bede’ Leola Bond (1909-1989).

Leslie B. Grant

Leslie Baltar Grant (1908-1986) was born at Biloxi, Mississippi on 1908. Leslie graduated from Biloxi High School in 1926 and matriculated to the University of Alabama. He graduated from the Alabama Law School and passed the bar examination in 1930. Mr. Grant joined the law firm of Wadlington and Corban in June 1930 and named a partner in January 1932, when the group was named Wadlington, Corban, and Grant. The law practice began at Biloxi in 1924 with Walter J. Wadlington (1898-1989), and Lawrence C. Corban (1901-1989).(The Daily Herald, January 2, 1932, p. 2)

Leslie B. Grant married Vera Leola Bond (1909-1989), the daughter of Brantley A. Bond and Vera L. Dukate on March 1, 1934. Children: Vera Elizabeth Grant m. 11-29-1952 James Guy Martin; Marguerite Bond Grant m. 6-8-1957 Ernest Lee Cox; and Linda Bond Grant m. 8-17-1963 James Madison Wells.(Harrison Vo., Mississippi Chancery Court MRB 45, p. 48, Bk. 91, p. 556, Bk. 109, p. 187, and Bk. 125, p. 144)

Before their marriage, Leslie and Vera ruled the Les Masque carnival ball at Biloxi in February 1933.(The Daily Herald, February 15, 1933, p. 2)

Judge Leslie B. Grant passed on October 1986. His spouse expired on March 21, 1989.

Elizabeth Baltar Grant conveyed her home and lot at West Howard Avenue to the First Baptist Church of Biloxi in February 1964. She retained a life estate in the home and that part of her lot described as having eighty-two feet on Howard Avenue and running south one hundred and sixty-two feet.(Harrison Co., Ms. Land Deed Bk. 530, p. 15)

Mrs. Grant expired at Biloxi on April 18, 1968.

First Baptist Church of Biloxi

In November 1921, Edward C. Gay (1882-1921+), conveyed the Julius M. Lopez lot on West Howard Avenue to J.W. Elder, Lyman Bradford, and N.V. Boddie, Trustees of The First Baptist Church of Biloxi for $2800. This tract was east of the Bond-Grant House and had a front on Howard Avenue of eighty-two feet and was six hundred twenty-nine feet deep.(Harrison Co., Ms. Land Deed Bk. 530, p. 15)

In October 1999, The First Baptist Church of Biloxi conveyed their sanctuary site on West Howard Avenue and surrounding lands including the Bond-Grant House to the Beau Rivage Resorts, Inc.(Harrison Co., Ms. 2^nd JD, Land Deed Bk. 347, p. 6)

Beau Rivage Casino

City of Biloxi

REFERENCES:

Books

The Biloxi Daily Herald, Business and Professional Men, (The Biloxi Daily Herald: Biloxi, Mississippi-1902).

The Buildings of Biloxi: An Architectural Survey, (City of Biloxi, Mississippi-2000)

Charles L. Dyer, Along The Gulf, (Women of the Trinity Episcopal Church: Pass Christian-1971. Originally published 1895).

Chancery Court Causes

Harrison County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 5617, “B.A. Bond v. Vera L. Bond”, June, 1918.

Journals

The Biloxi-D’Iberville Press, “Bond-Grant House restored”, May 8, 2008, p. A1.

The Biloxi-D’Iberville Press, “New visitors center”, July 3, 2008, p. A3.

The Biloxi Herald

The Biloxi Herald, “Mrs. Lienhard dies”, January 3, 1890.

The Biloxi Herald, “A sad death [Eula Dukate]”, November 24, 1894.

The Biloxi Daily Herald

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “Local Brevities”, August 20, 1898.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “City News”, June 19, 1900.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “City News”, October 3, 1904.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “Bond-Dukate wedding”, October 18, 1904.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “Local Brevities”, August 20, 1898.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “City News”, June 19, 1900.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “

The Daily Herald

The Daily Herald, “Find valuable broach (sic) after considerable anxiety”, November 8, 1915.

The Daily Herald, “Death claims W.K.M. Dukate, one of the Coast’s most prominent citizens”, March 29, 1916.

The Daily Herald, “Queen City Barbershop purchased”, December 4, 1916.

The Daily Herald, “The Daily Herald, “Chinn-Bond”, November 14, 1918.

The Daily Herald, “Grant Now Member Biloxi Law Firm”, January 2, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Wm. Grant dies in New Orleans”, October 3, 1932.

The Daily Herald, “Reign as King and Queen of Les Masques”, February 15, 1933.

The Daily Herald, “Widow [Vera Dukate Bond Chinn] of former Biloxi mayor dies”, June 8, 1977.

The Daily Herald,

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Dukate-Lienhard”, May 3, 1878.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star, “Local Paragraphs”, December 30, 1881.

The Sun Herald

The Sun Herald, “Mrs. Marguerite Curtis”, February 5, 1988.

The Sun Herald, “Mrs. Vera ‘Bede’ Grant”, March 22, 1989.

The Sun Herald, “Moving house may mean loss of Oaks”, February 6, 2001, p. A2.

The Sun Herald, “Biloxi Main Street honors couple for preservation”, December 5, 2006, p. B3.

The Sun Herald, “Bond-Grant House will host reception”, April 27, 2008.

The Sun Herald,

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

F.W. Elmer-L.B. Camp House

216 West Beach Boulevard

Biloxi, Mississippi

216 West Beach Boulebard

[now parking lot of Mary Mahoney's Old French House restaurant]

In Ocotber 1904, Mayor F.W. Elmer (1847-1926) contracted with J.E. Greene to build a home on Magnolia and Front Beach for between $3000 and $4000.(The Biloxi Daily Herald, October 20, 1904, p. 5)

The F.W. Elmer House was completed after the death of Mrs. F.W. Elmer, Elizabeth Carson Maycock (1850-1905), which occurred in late January 1905 and prior to June 1909.(see Sanborn Insurance Maps-Biloxi-1904 Sheet 4 and 1909 Sheet 8). The Elmers resided at No. 120 Water Street at the time of her demise on January 21, 1905.(The Biloxi Daily Herald, January 21, 1905, p. 5).

Lot Size-1.37 acres

The House-Two-story, 2500 square-feet,

Frederick William Elmer

In April 1888, W.I. Hodgson, an auctioneer at New Orleans, sold Lots 1 and 2 of the Samuel Friedlander Estate to Edward Langevin for $2375.(3) The conveyance included the brick residence, outbuildings, and dependencies. Lot 1 had 85 feet on the Gulf, 281 feet on Magnolia, 81 feet with Lot 2, and 281 feet (east).

In November 1891, Eleanor Langevin of St. Paul, Minnesota, the widow of Edward Langevin, conveyed Lots 1 and 2 of the Friedlander Estate to Frederick W. Elmer for $2700.(4) Her daughters, Mary Michand and Emma Flanagan, and their husbands, Achille Michand and Thomas J. Flanagan, signed the warranty deed. Charles and Mary E. Michand of St. Paul gave Elmer a quitclaim deed on the property in April 1892.(5)

Frederick W. Elmer (1847-1926) was born at Biloxi on January 23, 1847. He was the son of two European immigrants, Jacob Elmer (1812-1894) and Barbara Gettendorf (1823-1858). Jacob Elmer was born at Canton Glarus in Switzerland, the same area of the Hosli and Abbley family origination. Mr. Elmer came to Biloxi in 1836 and circa 1837, he married Barbara Gettendorf, a native of Winweiler, Rhein Kreis, Bavaria. In 1850, Jacob Elmer was a merchant at Biloxi worth $15,000.(HARCO Census, p. 27). His children with Barbara Gettendorf were: Helena Elmer Northrop (1838-1869+), Anna Elmer (b. 1839), Jacob Elmer (1843-1885), John P. Elmer (b. 1843), Henry M. Elmer (1844-1868), Frederick William Elmer (1847-1926), Augustus Elmer (b. 1848), Otho Elmer (1851-1926+), and Charles Elmer (1852-1926+).

After the demise of his wife in 1858, Jacob Elmer married Louisa B. Wetzel (1844-1894) in January 1863.(Guice, 1968?, p. 12). She was the daughter of German immigrant, Jacob Wetzel (1802-1860+) and ? . Her mother was dead before 1860. Their children were: Coresta E. Bachino (1866-1900+), Effee Elmer Dulion (b. 1866), Clarence Elmer (1868-1901), Percy L. Elmer (1873-1949), Edward Ross Elmer (1878-1934), and the twins, Albert (1881-1900+) and Arthur Elmer (b. 1881). Jacob Wetzel's siblings raised by Jacob Elmer were: Julia Wetzel (b. 1853), and Catherine Wetzel (b. 1855).

F.W. Elmer married Elizabeth Carson Maycock (1850-1905) in May 1871.(Guice, 1968?, p. 19). She was the daughter of Captain James Maycock (1825-1892) and Mary Emily Carson (1827-1900), born at Cape May, New Jersey. Captain Maycock was a native of Hull, Yorkshire, England and arrived at Biloxi on an English vessel in 1839.(The Biloxi Herald, March 19, 1892, p. 4)

Captain Maycock was a seafood pioneer at Biloxi. In 1881, he and Lazaro Lopez (1850-1903), F. W. Elmer (1847-1926), W.K.M. Dukate (1853-1916), and William Gorenflo (1844-1932) with a capital stock of $8,000 organized the Lopez, Elmer and Company, which became the Biloxi Canning Company. This factory was situated on the Back Bay of Biloxi, at the head of Reynoir Street.

F.W. Elmer and his spouse were the parents of ten children. Eight survived into the 20th Century. The known Elmer children are: Marie Ann Sichirich (1872-1946), Ida L. Elmer (1873-1891), Nina V. Scott (1877-1937+); Cora V. Enochs (1878-1962) married Byrd Enochs (1875-1940); F.W. Elmer II (1881-1948), James C. Elmer (1883-1920), Inez F. Ebersole (1885-1937+), Margueryte E. Cole (1887-1965), and Edward E. Elmer (1892-1900+).

Margueryte Elmer Cole

Marguerite E. Cole (1887-1965) was a single woman when she acquired the Elmer-Camp home in July 1925. The warranty deed from her father, F.W. Elmer Sr., stated, "for constant attention to me, during my sickness extending over two years, I sell and convey".(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 165, p. 526) F.W. Elmer Sr. expired on December 23, 1926.

In September 1934, W.L. Guice, Trustee, sold the F.W. Elmer House and lot to the First National Bank of Biloxi for $2000. Margueryte Elmer had defaulted on her property taxes and deeds of trust to the First National Bank of Biloxi and to Walter Nixon and Mrs. Harry Laughlin.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 203, p. 319)

Margueryte Elmer married Myron Asa Cole (1876-1957) of West Midway, Massachusetts. He made his livelihood as an investigator for Office of the Comptroller General at Washington, D.C., retiring in 1943. In 1945, the Coles relocated from Jackson, Mississippi to Biloxi, and here they resided with her sister, Cora Elmer Enochs, at 138 Magnolia Street. Mrs. Enochs was the widow of Byrd Enochs (1875-1940).(The Daily Herald, July 12, 1957, p. 2)

Cora Elmer Enochs legated her home on Magnolia Street to Margueryte Elmer Cole. After her demise in April 1962, her estate was probated in the Chancery Court of Harrison County, Mississippi.(HARCO Cause No. 45,513-Bk 381, p. 25). Margueryte Cole sold it to A. Jake Mladinich for $14,000 in July 1962.(HACO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 500, p. 110) Mlandinich to Mary C. Mahoney in .(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 514, p. 68)

Fleeta Nash Camp

In late January 1937, the First National Bank of Biloxi sold the property on the southeast corner of Magnolia Street and West Beach Boulevard in Biloxi, Mississippi to Fleeta Nash Camp (1880-1947), the spouse of Largus Bell Camp (1869-1949). The Camp place had 134 feet on West Beach Boulevard and on the east ran 556 feet north to Water Street. The parcel had a 50-foot front on Water Street. The west boundary of this tract ran north 395 feet along Magnolia Street to the Byrd Enoch's property, which is the present day site of Mary Mahoney's Old French Restaurant, an 1850s structure.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 241, pp. 258-259)

Mrs. Camp was born on August 5, 1880, in Monroe County, Mississippi, the daughter of Jessie Nash and Nancy Massingale.(Suarez, 1999, p. 18) She married Largus Bell Camp, the son of Claudius Camp, and a native of Marion County, Alabama. They were the parents of Ruby C. Herzer (1900-1991) and Fleeta C. Holley Carrington. In addition, the Camps had three adopted children: Hershel Camp (1911-1972)?, J.S. Camp, and Virginia C. Apler.

Fleeta Camp

Fleeta Camp married Homer R. Lewis in July 1930.(HARCO, Ms. MRB 42, p. 386). No further information.

Fleeta Camp then married Anson L. Holley II (1908-1975) on January 23, 1937 at Nativity BVM in Biloxi. She had attended schools at Starkville and Mississippi State Woman's College prior to the relocation of the family to Biloxi. Fleeta was employed at Biloxi with Dr. M.R. Mosley while her husband and his brother, Lionel Holley (1910-1993), operated the Triple XXX Cafe at 305 West Beach.(The Daily Herald, January 23, 1937, p. 5)

The Anson Holleys resided at 128 Magnolia Street in the rear of her parents large home. Here they reared two sons, Anson Camp "Campy" Holley (b. 1939) and Daniel Raymond Holley (b. 1942). In May 1946, Anson and Fleeta C. Holley divorced. In the property settlement, she received the Magnolia Street home and he retained his café business and a 1941 Pontiac sedan.(HARCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 23,535, Fleeta Camp Holley v. Anson L. Holley, May 1946 and HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 287, pp. 34-36)

Fleta Camp Holley married R.W. Carrington in late 1946 or 1947. She sold her home on Magnolia Street to the Felsher family in January 1947. The lot had 56-feet on Magnolia and was 80-feet deep.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 296, p. 101)

In 1933, upon his retirement from the telephone company, L.B. Camp and family relocated to Biloxi from Starkville, Mississippi. There L.B. Camp had been very active politically serving the municipal government twelve years as a city councilman and vice-mayor. He had also been the secretary-treasurer of the Starkville Chamber of Commerce and was an active participant in the Methodist Church, Lions Club, Woodmen of the World, Rotary, and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Prior to his residency at Starkville, Mr. Camp lived at Amory, Mississippi were he was a partner in that town's first electric light plant.(The Daily Herald, December 22, 1947, p. 7 and August 3, 1949, p. 2)

During WWII, there was a housing shortage at Biloxi due to the establishment of Keesler Field, a training base for the US Army Air Corps. The Camps utilized a portion of their large home for room and apartment rentals. Several cottages to let were also situated on their lot. The Camps called their real estate venture, Camp's Friendly Home.(Buddy Jones, June 8, 2001 and 1947 postal card)

In April 1946, Mrs. L.B. Camp conveyed a 1/2 interest in her property to her husband, Largus Bell Camp (1869-1949).(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 285, pp. 185-186)

The Daily Herald Office

In March 1947, the Camps sold a small lot (.15 acres) off the north end of their parcel to the Wilkes family, Eugene Pierce Wilkes (1885-1980), Loretta Voivedich Wilkes (1886-1978), and Mrs. Josephine Wilkes Reicker (1911-1977), who were the publishers of The Daily Herald.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 302, pp. 216-217) Here on Water Street, The Daily Herald had a small newspaper distribution center for their Biloxi carriers.

The Camps sold their home and remaining property to Clifford P. Turk and Ella Louise Seymour Turk for $70,000 in late November 1947.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 302, pp. 183-184)

The Turk Apartments

Clifford Percy Turk (1892-1983) was born in Alabama, the son of Joseph H. Turk and Florence Philips. He married Ella Louise Seymour Kaufman (1906-1994), the daughter of Joseph J. Seymour (1874-1952) and Ella Lamey (1877-1952), and former spouse of Lester G. Kaufman. They had a son, Lt. Elmer Otis Kaufman (1925-1951), who was killed in an automobile accident near Hanau, Germany while on active military duty with the US Army in October 1951.(The Daily Herald, October 15, 1951, p. 10)

Mr. and Mrs. Turk worked across the street at the Trailways Café, which was also the site of the Trailways bus station. He was the general agent for Trailways and an agent for Southern Bus Lines. She was an agent for Trailways.(Biloxi City Directory, 1949, p. 547)

The 1947 Hurricane

The 1947 September hurricane may have influenced their decision to leave the Biloxi waterfront. "C.P. Turk, who just bought the L.B. Camp property took another $20,000 loss from the damage to the revenue bearing properties on his new purchase".(The Daily Herald, September 24, 1947, p. 9)

Pavich Lease

In March 1953, the Turks leased a small lot (30 feet by 22 feet) in the southwest corner of parcel fronting on West Beach and Magnolia.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 427, pp. 56-57)

In August 1953, the Turks conveyed their West Beach property to M.M. Wilkinson and wife for $65,000.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 372, p. 50-51)

Notes on Turk family

Mon Cher Monsieur Bellande, Antonio Marco Basquez here with the results of my inquiry concering Louise Seymour Turk. Although my dad doesn't remember Louise's father Joseph Seymour, he does indeed remember Louise Turk. As you indicate, she operated a grocery store in St. Martin, but this was after the time that they lived in the house and property formerly owned by my grandfather Joe Basque and bought from him for 800 dollars when he was unable to make the payments. This would have been around 1940. Mr. Turk and my grandfather were the same age, but my dad doesn't remember Mr. Turk. Subsequently, my grandfather built a smaller house next door, the little green house that I remember visiting as a child. My grandfather gave a portion of this land to my father, where my parents' house stands today (and where I busted me arse cutting the grass today). Later the Turks moved to a house just across the street from the old SMHS, where, as you mention, Louise operated a grocery store. Today it's a little furniture store, although I remember it as a grocery store when I was a student there in the 60's and early 70's. My father said that Louise had a son by an earlier marriage to Kaufman. More details may emerge from the haze of time as he continues to recollect. Sincerely,-- Sr. Basquez

M.M. Wilkinson

M.M. Wilkinson. No further information.

In October 1957, M.M. Wilkinson conveyed to Richard Reed Guice Sr. for $42,500.

Guice divided the property and sold F.W. Elmer House to his son, Wade Guice. A lot fronting on West Beach Blvd and Magnolia, was sold to the Arkansas Fuel Oil Corporation for a gasoline station.

Richard Reed Guice Sr.

Richard Reed Guice Sr. (1893-1980) married Elizabeth Porter (1902-1974). They were the parents of Richard R. Guice II, William Wade Guice (1927-1996)

Wade Guice Apartments (1958-1961+)

In October 1957, R.R. Guice Sr. conveyed the F.W. Elmer House to his son, William Wade Guice (1927-1996), for $42,500. The conveyance included "all personal property of M.M. Wilkinson and Mrs. M.M. Wilkinson and used in apartments on said land."(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 427, pp. 188-189)

City of Biloxi

In September 1964, Wade Guice and Julia C. Guice to the City of Biloxi.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk.

VFW

The City of Biloxi conveyed to the Lyman C. Bradford Post No. 2434 VFW in September 1964.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 539, p. 41)

Hurricane Camille

Elmer-Camp Home destroyed by Camille in August 1969.(Buddy Jones, June 8, 2001)

Became part of the parking lot at Mary Mahoney's Old French House!

REFERENCES:

Books

1936 Biloxi City Directory, (Baldwin & Herald: Biloxi, Mississippi-1936)

1941 Biloxi City Directory, (Peerless Printing Co.: New Orleans, Lousiana-1941)

1949 Biloxi City Directory, (Mullin-Kille: Columbus, Ohio-1949)

1958 Biloxi City Directory, (Mullin-Kille:

1961 Biloxi City Directory, (Mullin-Kille: Chillicothe, Ohio-1961)

1968 Biloxi City Directory, (Mullin-Kille: Dallas, Texas-1968)

Julia Cook Guice, Marriages-Harrison County, Mississippi (1841-1899), (City of Biloxi: Biloxi, Mississippi-1968?)

Julie Broussard Suarez, Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Records, Burial Books 33 thru 42, (1945-1960), (Suarez: Biloxi, Mississippi-1999).

Court Cases

HARCO, Ms. Chancery Court Cause No. 23,535, "Fleeta Camp Holley v. Anson L. Holley", May 1946.

Journals

The Biloxi Herald, "Capitan James Maycock", March 19, 1892.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, "City News", October 20, 1904.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, Mrs. F.W. Elmer Dead", January 21, 1905.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, "Died", January 21, 1905.

The Daily Herald, "Biloxi Loses Noted Citizen", December 24, 1926.

The Daily Herald, "F.W. Elmer", December 27, 1926.

The Daily Herald, "Elmer Funeral Largely Attended", December 27, 1926.

The Daily Herald, "Holley-Camp", January 23, 1937.

The Daily Herald, "Once Busy Biloxi Beach Deep in Sand", September 24, 1947.

The Daily Herald, "Mrs. L.B. Camp Dies", December 22, 1947.

The Daily Herald, "Largus Bell Camp Dies", August 3, 1949.

The Daily Herald, "Lt. Otis Kaufman Killed in Germany", October 15, 1951.

The Daily Herald, "Myron A. Cole", July 12, 1957.

The Daily Herald, "Mrs. Marguerite Cole", August 2, 1965.

The Sun Herald, "Ella Louise Seymour Turk", July 1, 1994.

The Sun Herald, "William Wade Guice", August 20, 1996, p. B-2.

Maps

Sanborn Map-Biloxi 1893-Sheet 5

Sanborn Map- Biloxi 1898-Sheet 5

Sanborn Map-Biloxi-March 1904-Sheet 4

Sanborn Map-Biloxi-June 1909-Sheet 8

Sanborn Map-Biloxi- 1914-Sheet 9

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

THE HENRIQUES-SLAY HOUSE circa 1902

212 Reynoir Street and 128 Rue Magnolia

Ray L. Bellande

212 Reynoir Street

[from The Buildings of Biloxi an Architectural Survey, 1976, p. 101]

The Henriques-Slay House is a small cottage that was built circa 1902 on the east side of Reynoir Street, probably by John Kelly, a popular Biloxi building contractor of this period. Robert W. Heck, an architectural historian, described the Henriques-Slay House in 1986 as follows: “212 Reynoir was constructed in the mid-1980’s [sic]. It has an unusual feature for Biloxi, a bracketed gable on hip roof over a front gallery. Ornamented brackets are common in New Orleans, however, this house is one of only two remaining in the city.”(Heck, 1986, p. 100)

Possibly because this cottage was built by the Frederick C. Querens Jr. family of New Orleans, they used ornamental brackets on the Henriques-Slay House to bring some ‘architectural memory’ of the Crescent City. The Querens family had possessed the small lot on which the Henriques-Slay House was situated, as a part of a larger land parcel acquired in May 1892, when Pauline Trenchard Querens (1860-1928) bought from Leonard Adolph Trenchard (1827-1892), her father, a lot describes as having 199 feet on Reynoir Street and running 60 feet east. Mr. Trenchard had acquired the parcel in August 1871 from P.E. Dallimore and spouse for $450 and at this time the tract had 307 feet on Reynoir Street and ran east for 60 feet. Naturally, as Trenchard vended smaller lots from his original acquisition, his land holding were reduced.(Harrison Co., Mississippi Chancery Court Land Deed Bk. 28, pp. 45-46 and Bk. 12, p. 75)

The Querens family of Biloxi, Mississippi had its roots in New Orleans. Frederick Charles Querens Jr. (1858-1942) was born in the Crescent City on February 8, 1858, the son of Frederick C. Querens (1823-1901) and Louisa Dorothea Muhlenbein (1840-1913), both natives of Prussia. Frederick C. Querens Jr. married Pauline Jeanne Trenchard (1860-1928) in November 1882. She was the daughter of Leonard Adolph Trenchard (1827-1892) and Marie Antoinette Mouchon (1832-1903). The Trenchard family had deep roots in Colonial America. From this sacred union four children were born: Leah Querens (1883-1884); Irma Rosita Querens (1886-1969) m. William J. Cousins (18-1965); Frederick Charles Querens III (1889-1963) m. Marie Meunier; and Percy Leonard Querens (1891-1991)

In his youth, Frederick C. Querens Jr. took employment with Wackerbath & Joseph, the leading tobacconists, of the Crescent City. With their land holdings in Biloxi’s commercial district along Reynoir Street, both north and south of West Howard Avenue, the family began to invest in commercial buildings and rental homes. Prior to the Great Biloxi Fire of November 1900, the Querens family had erected at least two structures on Reynoir Street, as related in The Biloxi Daily Herald, as follows:

“John Kelly has the contract to erect a double tenement on the corner of Reynoir and Water Streets.”(The Biloxi Daily Herald, January 17, 1900, p. 8)

“Roderick D. Seal has relocated to one of the new Queren’s buildings on the corner of Reynoir and Jackson Streets.”(The Biloxi Daily Herald, August 2, 1901, p. 8)

As a result of the November 1900 conflagration, over ninety building were destroyed in an area from the L&N Railroad Depot south along Reynoir Street to the beach and along West Howard Avenue for several blocks. In a report of the fire’s destruction, the local journal reported that the Querens family had lost the following structures: North of Howard Avenue on Reynoir Street-an unoccupied building and a store occupied by David J. Venus; Corner of Reynoir Street and Water Street-four, double-houses and occupied; two houses corner Jackson Street and Reynoir Street, both occupied; and a house on the north side of Water Street occupied by Frank Shaffer.(The Biloxi Daily Herald, November 9, 1900, p. 1)

From the Sanborn Insurance Maps of Biloxi, July 1898, Sheet 5 and March 1904, Sheet 4, it appears that the Henriques-Slay House was erected after the November 1900 Biloxi Fire and before March 1904. The author could not locate a reference to its construction during this interval in The Biloxi Daily Herald. Therefore its construction is suggested as circa 1902.

212 Reynoir Street

In May 1942, Gertrude Bernich Henriques (1914-1988) acquired a small lot and house at 212 Reynoir Street from Dr. Percy L. Querens (1891-1991), Frederick C. Querens III (1889-1963), and Irma Q. Cousins (1886-1969). The consideration was $3360 and the lot had a front on Reynoir Street of 58 feet and ran east 55 feet on Jackson Street. (Harrison Co., Mississippi Chancery Court Land Deed Bk. 248, pp. 494-495)

Ernestine Lepre Parker(1875-1930+) and Gertrude B. Henriques (1914-1988)

[Courtesy of August H, Parker-June 2012]

Gertrude Bernich was the daughter of John Bernich (1866-1920+), a Croatian immigrant, and Mary Lepre (1874-1944), the daughter of Pierre Lepre and Celina Moran. She married Dr. Adolph De Campos Henriques (1881-1966), a divorcee, in Harrison County, Mississippi on January 9, 1933. She was living with her widowed mother at 420 Main Street at the time of her nuptials with Dr. Henriques.(The Daily Herald, January 10, 1933, p. 6, Harrison Co., Mississippi Circuit Court MRB 44, p. 182, and 1930 Harrison Co., Mississippi Federal Census R1146, p. 4B, ED 3)

Adolph D. Henriques

Adolph DeCampos Henriques (1881-1966) was born at Jefferson, Marion County, Texas on August 10, 1881 to Isaac L. Henriques (1840-1880+) and Elizabeth Calhoun Hickey (1841-1935). Jefferson, Texas is a small community in northeast Texas about 50 miles northwest of Shreveport, Louisiana. When the family was domiciled here in 1880, Mr. Henriques made his livelihood as the proprietor of a restaurant.(1880 Marion Co., Texas R1319, p. 450A, ED 91)

Isaac L. Henriques was born at Kingston, Jamaica. He had married Elizabeth C. Hickey, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when he was a Confederate soldier. She was the daughter of John Hickey (1817-1870+), a Philadelphia printer, and Presocia Sinclair Hickey (1827-1870+), a native of Washington, D.C.(1860 and 1870 Philadelphia Co., Pennsylvania Federal Census M653_1151, p. 311, Ward 1-5^th Precinct and M593_1387, p. 496A, 1^st Ward, 2^nd District and The Times-Picayune, August 7, 1935, p. 6)

The Isaac L. Henriques family returned to the South and lived in Jefferson, Texas from 1865 until 1881. The family moved to Woodville, Mississippi and came to New Orleans circa 1885. In addition to Adolph D. Henriques, their youngest child, they were the parents of four additional children: Presocia Gonzalvo Henriques (1868-1957) m. Israel Gunst (1848-1929); Ester Lee Henriques (b. 1871); Caroline ‘Carrie’ Augusta Henriques (1873-1935+) m. Levin Wales Magruder (1873-1957); and Edouard Ferdinand Henriques (1878-1966) m. Stella Dywer (1883-1912) and Lady Eleanor Stanley (1891-1979).

It is interesting to note that Levin Wales Magruder (1873-1957), the brother-in-law of Dr. Henriques, was also a physician. He practiced medicine at Woodville, Mississippi until 1919, when he relocated to New Orleans and studied radiology. Dr. Magruder expired at Long Beach, Mississippi in August 1957 and his corporal remains were sent to Woodville for internment.(The Morning Advocate, August 21, 1957, p. 25)

Mrs. Elizabeth Hickey Henriques expired on August 6, 1935, at 1119 Pine Street in New Orleans, the residence of Presoia H. Gunst, her daughter. Her corporal remains were sent to Woodville, Mississippi for internment implying that Isaac Henriques, her spouse, had passed at Woodville before the family came to New Orleans. Ironically, Katherine Hickey Blanc (1845-1935), Elizabeth’s sister, had died twelve hours earlier in Cleveland, Ohio. Elizabeth H. Henriques was survived by her children and two siblings, Artemis Shattuck Hickey (1861-1950), a brother, and Florence H. Van Zant (1864-1935+), both residents of California.(The Times-Picayune, August 7, 1935, p. 6)

Education and Early Medical Career

Prior to entering the field of medicine, Adolph D. Henriques worked as a railroad clerk at New Orleans. In 1900, he was domiciled at 627 Napoleon Avenue with his mother and Edouard F. Henriques, his brother, who was employed as a book keeper.(1900 Orleans Parish, Louisiana Federal Census R 574, p. 14B, ED 118)

In late June 1901, Adolph D. Henriques received an appointment to the US Military Academy. He had been an alternate. It appears that young Henriques did not attend West Point. His decision not to matriculate to the US Military Academy may have been influenced by the death of Oscar Booz (1879-1901), a Cadet from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, who left West Point and subsequently died. When the US Congress held hearing to investigate his demise, which had been blamed on hazing at the military academy, it received national attention. (The Daily Picayune, June 26, 1901, p. 10)

Adolph DeCampos Henriques attended the Tulane University of Louisiana and graduated on May 2, 1906 with the Tulane Medical School Class of 1906. At this time, he was serving as an interne at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. In addition to his medical degree, Dr. Henriques was awarded a degree in pharmacy.(Bulletin Tulane University-Louisiana, June 1906, p. 25 and p. 30.)

In April 1904, Adolph D. Henriques had passed a written examination which allowed him to serve as an externe at Charity Hospital. The test was given to second and third year medical students at the Tulane Medical School and their academic papers were read by the hospital staff.(The Daily Picayune, April 17, 1904, p. 13)

With the discovery of X-rays in Germany in 1895 by Wilhelm Konrad Rontgen (1845-1925), a physicist, it soon became apparent that these electromagnetic waves had a promising future in the medical field to view the internal structure of the human body. W.K. Rontgen was awarded the first Noble Prize in Physics in 1901 and later the Element Number 111 was named Roentgenium in his honor. Also the measurement of electromagnetic radiation is called a ‘roentgen’.(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Röntgen)

Dr. Adolph D. Henriques had decided early in his medical career to pursue the study of X-rays and the incipient field of Radiology. As early as the fall of 1910, he had travelled to the leading medical facilities of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore to observe and study what scientists and doctors here had done with X-rays in diagnosing tuberculosis. In early December 1910, at a meeting the Louisiana Antituberculous League in New Orleans, Dr. Henriques offered to donate his time and expertise in radiological medicine to the league to enhance their experiments in clinical work.(The Daily Picayune, December 9, 1910, p. 9)

Studies Abroad

The author can document two visits by Dr. Henriques to foreign countries to study radiological medicine. The first visit abroad occurred in July 1912 and the second in January 1926. In mid-July 1912, he embarked from the Port of New York for the Continent. His wife and two small children spent the duration of his absence at Biloxi, Mississippi. Dr. Henriques went to Vienna, Austria where he pursued post-graduate studies in the school of X-rays, radium, and electrical medical therapy. He also visited other European clinics that utilized radiology in their medical treatment and research.(The Daily Picayune, July 12, 1912, p. 15, August 9, 1912, p. 9, October 3, 1912, p. 8, and The Daily Herald, May 13, 1966, p. 2)

Dr. A.D. Henriques returned to New Orleans in early October 1912. In late September, he had boarded the SS St. Louis in Southampton, England for the Port of New York. His residence address at this time was 4726 Prytania Street in New Orleans.(The Daily Picayune, October 3, 1912, p. 8)

1926

On January 27, 1926, Dr. A.D. Henriques sailed for France on the SS Suffren from New York City. He planned to pursue research and experiments on the treatment of high blood pressure with radiological methods based on his work at the Tulane Medical School. While in New York, Dr. Henriques spent time with E.F. Henriques of NOLA, his brother. Dr. Henriques returned to America in late May 1926 aboard the SS Berengaria which had departed Cherbourg, France on May 22, 1926. His address at this time was listed as the Hibernia Building at New Orleans, Louisiana. (The Times- Picayune, January 26, 1926, p. 7)

Tulane University Medical School

Before Dr. Adolph De Campos Henriques left New Orleans permanently in the spring of 1930. he had worked in various positions at the Tulane School of Medicine. From October 1912 until June 1930, his status here was as follows: October 1912-Assistant in the Department of Physiology; April 1913-3^rd Assistant in the Department of Physiology; May 1914-3^rd Assistant in the Department of Physiology and Instructor in Clinical Medicine and Radiology; April 1922-Assistance Professor in Medicine in Radiology; May 1928-Assistant Professor of Roentgenology; June 1930-Not reappointed for the 1930-1931 session.

In his obituary of May 1966, the medical career of Dr. Adolph D. Henriques was related as follows:

Dr. Henriques received his degree in pharmacy from the New Orleans College of Pharmacy in 1903. In 1906, he completed his medical studies at the Tulane University School of Medicine and served his internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. Dr. Henriques was professor of Physiology and Materia Medica at the College of Pharmacy for five years. In 1910, he was the youngest director of the board of the New Orleans College of Pharmacy. Also in 1910, Dr. Henriques presented the first use of X-rays in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in this area of the South. In 1915, he commenced his teaching career at Tulane University and for seventeen years was the assistant professor of medicine at Tulane. In addition, Dr. Henriques had been a consultant for the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital in New Orleans and a physician for the Illinois Central Railroad. He was a member of the New Orleans Parish and Louisiana State Medical Society and Phi Rho Sigma, the national medical fraternity.(The Daily Herald, May 13, 1966, p. 2)

Published Medical Studies and Research Papers by Dr. Adolph D. Henriques

Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, ‘Bone Development’, Volume XXXIV, 1917.

Journal of the American Medical Association, ‘Instruction in Roentgenolgy’, Volume LXIII-1914.

Journal of the Medical Society of New Jersey, ‘Radium Therapy’, Volume XVIII, 1921.

New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal, ‘The X-Ray in the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis’, Volume LXIII, No. 12, June 1911.

New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal, ‘Role of X-rays in progressive medicine’, Volume LXV, 1913.

New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal, ‘Radium Therapy’, Volume LXIV, 1921.

New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal, ‘Radium in treatment of Myelogenous Leukemia’, Volume LXXV, 1922.

New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal, ‘Further original observations with the X-ray upon the appendix’, Volume LXXV, 1922.

New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal, ‘Some probable functions of spleen as demonstrable by effects of radioactivity upon the organ’, Volume LXXVI, 1924.

New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal, ‘Value to general practitioner of X-Ray examination of stomach and duodenum’, Volume LXXVI, 1924

New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal, ‘Treatment of high blood pressure by new original method’, Volume LXXX, 1928.

New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal, ‘Chronic appendix; Roentgenological standpoint’, Volume LXXXIII, 1930.

Pan-American Surgical & Medical Journal, ‘Few cases to illustrate the value of Roentgen Ray examination of the stomach’, Volume XX-1915.

First Marriage and Family

On June 12, 1906, Dr. Adolph D. Henriques had married Ida Margaret Buck (1874-1956), the daughter of Charles F. Buck (1841-1918), a New Orleans attorney, and Mary Weidner Buck (1850-1937). They were both German immigrants. The wedding ceremony was officiated over by the Reverend W.E.W. Denham at St. George’s Episcopal Church in the Crescent City.(The Daily Picayune, June 17, 1906, p. 8 and Orleans Parish, Louisiana MRI, Volume 28, p. 5)

Dr. A.D. Henriques and his wife were the parents of two children: Charles Buck Henriques (1907-2003) m. Jean Wilson (1910-2003) and Margaret Ida Henriques (1910-1981) m. Herbert Grant Jahncke (1910-2002) m. Carol Saunders Harrison (1929-2008).

Ida Buck Henriques separated from Dr. Henriques in December 1919. Her reason was abandonment. The couple eventually divorced before 1930.(The Times-Picayune, December 5, 1919, p. 19)

Itinerant Physician

With his departure from the Tulane Medical School staff in 1930, Dr. Henriques by April 1930 had relocated to Greensburg, Louisiana. Here in this small, rural community in the Florida Parishes and near the Mississippi state line, he worked as a general practitioner. Greensburg is the St. Helena Parish seat of government.(1930 St. Helena Parish, Louisiana Federal Census R 819, p. 3A, ED 2)

At the time of his wedding to Gertrude Bernich of Biloxi, Mississippi in January 1933, Dr. Henriques was practicing medicine in Jackson, Mississippi. By 1940, Gertrude and Adolph D. Heriques had settled in Biloxi. At this time, they were renting a house at 1420 Lafayette Street. Dr. Henriques was involved with his private medical practice.(The Daily Herald, January 10, 1933, p. 6 and1940 Harrison Co., Mississippi Federal Census T627_2024, p. 1A, ED 24-9)

After acquiring 212 Reynoir Street in May 1942, the Henriques family relocated from 1420 Lafayette Street to their new residence near the commercial district of Biloxi. Here Dr. Henriques continued to practice general medicine and utilize the north half of their domicile as his medical office.

‘Big Six Antiseptic’

With his academic, pharmaceutical background, Dr. Adolph D. Henriques created ‘Big Six Antiseptic’ while he was domiciled at Biloxi, Mississippi. It was vended in the Grand Drug Store located in the Barq’s Building on West Howard Avenue and Reynoir Street. August H. Parker, now in his early seventies and living on the Peter Parker family property on Back Bay on which he was reared, related to the author a most remarkable tale-an incident his life that reflects the superior intelligence and medical skills of Dr. Henriques. Paraphrasing August H. Parker, his narrative follows:

In the mid-1940s, June Parker, my sister and the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Parker, was riding on the rear of my older sister’s bicycle when her foot got caught in rear wheel spokes of the bike. The accident resulted in a deep laceration which became infected. The infection continued to expand and local medical responses could not arrest this serious development. Several doctors told my parents that June would very likely lose her lower leg. We carried June to Dr. Henriques’ office on Reynoir Street and he began treating her with his ‘Big Six Antiseptic’. After the third day of his initial application on her festering wound, June’s injured limb began to show signs of improvement. We continued the treatment with Dr. Henriques’ compounded medication until her leg was completely healed.

After his demise in the Howard Memorial Hospital at Biloxi on May 12, 1966. Mrs. Henriques continued to reside in her home until her death on December 11, 1988. The Henriques’ corporal remains were interred in the Southern Memorial Park cemetery at Biloxi, Mississippi.(August H. Parker, June 30, 2012, The Daily Herald, May 13, 1966, p. 2 and The Sun Herald, December12, 1988, p. A4)

132 Reynoir Street

[from The Buildings of Biloxi an Architectural Survey, 2000, p. 102]

John O. Bernich ownership

As Gertrude Bernich Henriques died testate, 212 Reynoir Street was legated to her three heirs who were her nephews and nieces: Tericida Claire Bernich Kappel (b. 1922) m. Vernon Elmer Kappel (1921-2003); John O. Bernich (1923-1997); and Kirby A. Bernich (1927-2002). Tericida B. Kappel was the Administratrix of her aunt’s estate, which was consisted of 212 Reynoir Street and about $6000 in cash. Tericida B Kappel and Kirby A. Bernich sold and quitclaimed their interest in 212 Reynoir Street to their brother, John O. Bernich, in May and July 1990. The Estate of Gertrude B. Henriques was adjudicated closed in late June 1990.(Harrison Co., Mississippi 2^nd JD Chancery Court Land Deed Bk. 221, p. 58, Deed Bk. 222, p. 576, and Deed Bk. 223, p. 412)

John Overton Bernich was the son of John A. Bernich (1899-1979) and Lotus Anne Brill (1901-1990). He grew up at 500 Lee Street and his father made his livelihood as a car salesman. John left Biloxi after 1930 and relocated to Gretna, Louisiana where he operated a service station and later sold automobiles at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.(August H. Parker, June 30, 2012 and 1930 Harrison Co., Mississippi Federal Census R 1146, p. 4A, ED 1)

In Jefferson Parish, Louisiana John O. Bernich met and married Yvonne Schramm (1924-2002), a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the daughter of Joseph C. Schramm (1899-1976) and Haydee Fontenette (1896-1983). Mr. Schramm was a musician and vocal instructor who mentored Marguerite Piazza (b. 1926), a New Orleans native, who went on to become a renown opera soprano and entertainer. Her career brought her to New York where she performed with the New York City Opera, played Broadway, sang at the Metropolitan Opera and joined the cast of the NBC television program "Your Show of Shows," with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca from 1950 to 1954.(The Times-Picayune, March 27, 1976, p. 22, and www.

John O. Bernich and Yvonne Schramm Bernich were the parents of: John J. Bernich; Patricia Bernich Macenko; Kenneth ‘Ken’ O. Bernich; James B. Bernich; and Steven A. Bernich (1959-1999). Ken Bernich was a star linebacker at Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, Louisiana and went on to become an All-American Football player at Auburn University. He played in the 1975 Senior Bowl and was honored by the City of Gretna, Louisiana with a parade on March 1, 1975.(The Times-Picayune, March 1, 1975, p. 27)

John O. Bernich expired on February 11, 1997. He legated the Henriques-Slay House to the following: Carol Bernich; James Bryant Bernich; Kenneth Overton Bernich; Stephen Adolph Bernich; and John J. Bernich.(Harrison County, Mississippi 2^nd Judicial District Chancery Court Cause No. C-2404-97-478-July 1998).

Slay owership

In September 1997, Carol Bernich, Administratrix of the Estate of John O. Bernich and his heirs-at-law, for a consideration of $60,000 conveyed the Henriques-Slay House to William Gray Slay III, called Gray, and the husband of Leah Rae Vuyovich. Mr. Slay is a Biloxi native and a real estate broker. He remodeled 212 Reynoir Street and located his real estate business here.(Harrison Co., Mississippi 2^nd JD Chancery Court Land Deed Bk. 328, pp. 246-254)

JJD, LLC

In November 2005, after Hurricane Katrina had inundated Biloxi in late August 2005, Gray Slay and spouse, conveyed the hurricane surge, damaged Henriques-Slay House to JJD, LLC, a Mississippi Corporation. Several years after Katrina, the management of JJD, LLC through their local attorney, Michael Cavanaugh, offer the Henriques-Slay House to the City of Biloxi. It was accepted and the salvation and restoration of the cottage commened.( Harrison Co., Mississippi 2^nd JD Chancery Court Instrument 2005 6852 D J2 and Bill Raymond, Biloxi’s Historical Administrator, July 2, 2012)

128 Rue Magnolia

[Image made June 29, 2012 by Ray L. Bellande]

128 Rue Magnolia

After the City of Biloxi completed successful negotiations with JJD, LLC, a Mississippi Corporation, to relocate and preserve the Henriques-Slay House, it began action in July and August 2009 to move the derelict structure to 128 Rue Magnolia. A supporting funds grant was applied for to the National Trust Loan Fund and V&E House Moving Service was contracted to relocate the house to 128 Rue Magnolia.(City of Biloxi Minute Book 132, p. 464)

After the house was situated at 128 Rue Magnolia, refurbishment was authorized by the City of Biloxi in July 2010 to spend $200,000 to restore the Henriques-Slay House. Work commenced in August 2010 by Jim Wallis & Sons who built a new roof. David Rush Construction Company, Inc. was hired as general contractor to complete and restore the building, which was completed in March 2012. (The City of Biloxi Minute Book 134, p. 445, p. 480, and Book 138, p. 166)

Bill Raymond, Biloxi’s Historical Administrator, related that the City also utilized a grant from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and expended nearly $300,000 to relocate the Henriques-Slay House from Reynoir Street to Rue Magnolia and to restore the structure to meet commercial building codes. Both the exterior and interior of the house were refurbished. The heart pine flooring, tongue-and-groove, wooden walls and ceiling, as well as a color change to the exterior from white to a light yellow color, were realized by the general contractor. As the Henriques-Slay House had been roofless for several years post-Katrina [August 2005], one had to be constructed.(The Sun Herald, June 27, 2012, p. A1 and Bill Raymond, June 29, 2012)

Craftmen’s Guild of Mississippi

In April 2012, The City of Biloxi authorized a lease of the Henriques-Slay House to the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi. This entity is a non-profit, membership organization dedicated to preserving, promoting, marketing, educating and ensuring the highest standard of excellence in regional crafts. The Guild promotes communication between artisans and friends and sponsors’ programs. The goal of the Guild is to educate the artisan, collector, patron and its staff. It operates the Mississippi Craft Center, a permanent and year-round facility and its satellites, which Biloxi is now a member, and presents an annual indoor craft festival, the Chimneyville Crafts Festival. In 2013, the Guild will celebrate its 40th anniversary. (www.foundation-center.org/pnd/jobs/job_item.jhtml;jsessionid...?id)

On June 28, 2012, TheCraftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi had its grand opening on the Magnolia Mall at Biloxi. Potters, weavers, wood carvers and other artisans were present en plein air demonstrating their skills to the visitors of the gallery. The new venue is a welcome addition to the cultural renaissance developing along Rue Magnolia. Gallery 782, which represents the art work of local artisans, is situated in propinquity on Water Street. The recent opening of the Dusty Bonge’ Art Foundation, which is north and adjacent to the Henriques-Slay House, as well as the Mardi Gras Museum to the south, which has an anticipated Spring 2013 opening date, and innuendoes that an antique-gifts outlet cum café will open in July on the north terminus of Rue Magnolia all add to the excitement of the post-Katrina growth and economic development in downtown Biloxi. (The Sun Herald, June 27, 2012, p. A1)

The City of Biloxi is to be highly congratulated for its yeoman like efforts to conserve and preserve the Henriques-Slay House. Although it was an expensive venture, the architectural preservation of this home will pay multiple dividends in the future, not only in a commercial sense, but in a historical manner. Now practically lost forever, some of Biloxi’s rich and unique architecture will be preserved albeit in a restricted sense along corridors like Rue Magnolia and Howard Avenue. God Bless Biloxi and its leadership!

Acknowledgments

The author is indebted to Jane Shambra, History and Genealogy Librarian, and her assistant, Jenny White, at the Biloxi Public Library, as well as August H. Parker for generously sharing their research on Dr. Adolph De Campos Henriques. Mr. Parker knew Dr. Henriques and Gertrude B. Henriques very well as he and Gerturde Bernich were related. August H. Parker’s grandmother, Ernestine Lepre Parker, was Gertrude’ aunt. In addition, Dr. Henriques was the Parker family physician. Mrs. Mila Bernich, the widow of Kirby A. Bernich, has been very kind to share her knowledge of the Bernich family.

REFERENCES:

The Buildings of Biloxi an Architectural Survey, (City of Biloxi, Mississippi-1976).

The Buildings of Biloxi an Architectural Survey, (City of Biloxi, Mississippi-2000).

Bulletin of the Tulane University of Louisiana, Series 6, June 1906 No. 6.

Robert W. Heck, Biloxi Central Business District- Historic District Study, (Eskew, Vogt, Salvato and Filson Architects: New Orleans, Louisiana-July 1986)

Journal of the Mississippi State Medical Association, ‘M.S.M.A. deaths’, Volume 7, July 1966.

Twentieth Century Coast Edition of the Biloxi Daily Herald: Historical and Biographical,(George W. Wilkes & Sons: Biloxi-1902).

Lloyd Vogt, New Orleans Houses-A House-Watcher’s Guide, (Pelican Publishing: Greta, Louisiana-1992).

CHANCERY COURT CAUSES

Harrison County, Mississippi 2^nd Judicial District Chancery Court Cause No. P-1672-B, ‘The Estate of Gerturde Bernich Henriques-June 1990.

Harrison County, Mississippi 2^nd Judicial District Chancery Court Cause No. C-2404-97-478, ‘The Estate of John O. Bernich-July 1998.

JOURNALS

The Biloxi Daily Herald,“Local and Personals”, January 17, 1900.

The Biloxi Daily Herald,“Swept by flames”, November 9, 1900.

The Biloxi Daily Herald,“City News”, August 2, 1901.

The Biloxi Daily Herald,“City News”, November 5, 1902.

The Biloxi Daily Herald,“Necrological”, December 5, 1903.

The Biloxi Daily Herald,“H. Wolcott”, March 17, 1906.

The Biloxi Daily Herald,“Querens Avenue-not ‘Hard Shell Alley”, March 19, 1908.

The Biloxi Daily Herald, “Cousans-Querens”, October 19, 1908.

The Daily Herald

The Daily Herald, ‘Henriques-Bernich’, January 10, 1933.

The Daily Herald, ‘Physician at Biloxi expires’, May 13, 1966.

The Daily Herald, “Henriques rites”, May 16, 1966.

The Daily Picayune

The Daily Picayune, “Minor attention”, June 16, 1901.

The Daily Picayune, “Army and Navy of State and Nation”, June 26, 1901.

The Daily Picayune, “New Externe and Interne Charity Hospital students”, April 17, 1904.

The Daily Picayune, “Henriques-Buck”, June 17, 1906.

The Daily Picayune, “Antituberculosis Annual Meeting shows great promise during year”, December 9, 1910.

The Daily Picayune, “Society”, July 12, 1912.

The Daily Picayune, “Society”, August 9, 1912.

The Daily Picayune, “Personal and General”, October 3, 1912.

The Morning Advocate [Baton Rouge, Louisiana], “Dr. Magruder dies in Miss.; rites today”, August 21, 1957.

The Sun Herald

The Sun Herald, ‘Mrs. Gertrude Henriques’, December 12, 1988.

The Sun Herald, “Bernich remembered for Faith and dedication to Community”, March 17, 2002.

The Sun Herald, “Kirby A. Bernich”, March 19, 2002.

The Sun Herald, “State Craft Center opens first satellite office in Biloxi”, June 27, 2012.

The Times-Picayune

The Times-Picayune, “Death ends career of Charles F. Buck, foremost citizen”, January 20, 1918.

The Times-Picayune, ‘Mrs. Henriques seeks separation’, December5, 1919.

The Times-Picayune, “Athenians adopt Alaska Purchase as motif”, January 24, 1932.

The Times-Picayune, “Weddings and Engagements [Jahncke-Henriques]”, April 8, 1934.

The Times-Picayune, “Aged sisters die; each is ignorant of other’s illness”, August 7, 1935.

The Times-Picayune, “Mississippi is site of Henriques rites”, August 8, 1935.

The Times-Picayune, “[Ida Buck] Henriques”, November 15, 1956.

The Times-Picayune, ‘A.D. Henriques NO physician dies Thursday’, May 14, 1966.

The Times-Picayune, “[Edouard F.] Henriques”, July 28, 1966.

The Times-Picayune, “[Irma] Cousins”, August 16, 1969.

The Times-Picayune, “Parade for Bernich”, March 1, 1975.

The Times-Picayune, “Joseph C. Schramm”, March 27, 1976.

The Times-Picayune, “[Lady Stanley] Henriques”, August 11, 1979.

The Times-Picayune, “[Margaret Henriques]Jahncke”, December 30, 1981.

The Times-Picayune, “Steven A. Bernich”, December 17, 1999.

The Times-Picayune, “Herbert Jahncke, 92, civic leader ’66 Rex”, November 24, 2002.

The Times-Picayune, ‘Vernon E. Kappel’, February 27, 2003.

The Times-Picayune, ‘Capt. Charles B. Henriques’, June 6, 2003.

The Times-Picayune, “[Carol Saunders]Jahncke”, January 4, 2008.

The Times-Picayune, ‘Yvonne S. Bernich’, April 28, 2002.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dr. H.M. FOLKES-"Gunston Hall"-WHITE PILLARS

REFERENCES:

The Biloxi-D'Iberville Press, "Shell Roads Revisited-Before White Pillars", July 10, 2008, p. A4.

Biloxi Homes

Abstract

Colonial Biloxi

Valentine Docette Richard

Dorsette Richard Claim-Section 33, T7S-R9W

New Orleans Summer Resort

Joseph Kuhn

Edward Langevin

George H. Dunbar

Public Life

Lot Division

Two Homes

Mary Byrne McGee, et al

Ora Nelms Logan

Lucinda Stamps Farrar

Sam Mitchell

West Half-Lot B (909 East Beach)

Stamps Farrar

Lucille Gillis Minor

Southdown Plantation

East Half of “Live Oak” Lot

In July 1917, Mrs. George H. Dunbar of New Orleans to Edwin B. Johnson for $1 cash in hand.(HARCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 119, pp. 310-311)

Edwin B. Johnson

July 1916 Storm

Cyprian A. Sporl

WWII

During WWII, the Sporl family of NOLA allowed their home to be used by the Women’s U.S.O. for a small rental.(The Daily, Herald, November 5, 1964)

“LYNOAKS”-Lynden Bowring

Ocean Springs

Cause No. 9853-Estate of Lynden Bowring-1980

Berggren-Leavitt

Oaks at Tullis

Oaks at Tullis, Inc. to City of Biloxi, Mississippi.(HARCO, Ms. 2nd JD Land Deed Bk. 358, pp. 78-86)

Chancery Court Causes

Journals

The Daily Herald, “Biloxi News”, November 3, 1911.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Frank Dunbar Dead”, May 31, 1919.

The Daily Herald, “Miss Kate Minor Dead”, December 4, 1923.

The Daily Herald, “Aunt Dinah in Local Port”, May 28, 1923.

The Daily Herald, “Biloxi News (Lucille Minor)”, August 27, 1925

The Daily Herald, “Miss Jahncke Captain”, December 10, 1926.

The Daily Herald, “Improving Williams Home”, May 24, 1928.

The Daily Herald, “Biloxi News”, September 1, 1928.

The Daily Herald, “Elizabeth Kuhn Dies”, June 17, 1929, p. 2.

The Daily Herald, “Froede-Tarr Nuptials”, June 5, 1929.

The Daily Herald, “Goldsborough Bank Head”, May 27, 1930.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. C.A. Sporl Dies”, August 28, 1930.

The Daily Herald, “May Adele Kuhn Dies”, December 3, 1930, p. 2.

The Daily Herald, “Farrar-Howard”, June 1, 1933.

The Daily Herald, “Mrs. Paul Froede Dies”, September 24, 1936.

The Daily Herald, “Minor Rites”, May 31, 1956.

The Ocean Springs Record, “Saved From Fire”, September 15, 1977.

The Sun Herald, “Mrs. Beverly Berggren”, October 29, 1991.

The Sun Herald, “Mary L. Harvey”, November 14, 1999.

Cause No. 9853-Estate of Lynden Bowring-1980

Biloxi City Directory (1905), (The Biloxi Daily Herald Printing Co.: Biloxi, Mississippi-1905).

Journals

Construction

Summer 1910

Sutcliffe Company

Sell Off

Kenneth Comfort Davidson

Casinos, gambling, liquor and vice

20th Century (1901 - 1950)

Biloxi Yacht Club

21st Century: 2001-2020

aily

20th Century (1951 - 2000)

Oaks at Tullis, Inc. to City of Biloxi, Mississippi.(HARCO, Ms. 2^nd JD Land Deed Bk. 358, pp. 78-86)