Spanish West Florida
Calvit family come to Natchez
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/YAWN/1998-09/0905694353
Early Washington Parish History
Washington Parish, named in honor of George Washington, is one of several parishes known as the “Florida Parishes.” The Florida Parishes were so named because they originally were part of “West Florida,” an area east of the Mississippi River, south of the 31st latitude, and north of New Orleans. The Florida Parishes include East Baton Rouge, the Felicianas, St. Helena, Livingston, Tangipahoa, Washington, and St. Tammany. The area was originally under French rule, but was donated to the British by treaty on February 10, 1763. Sixteen years later, Spain seized possession of West Florida by conquest.
Although the Louisiana Purchase took place in 1803, West Florida was not specifically included in the transfer. The U.S. made a feeble claim to the territory, but Spain was not willing to relinquish control. It was not until the Rebellion of West Florida in 1810, that the U.S. was able to take control of the region. Louisiana became a state in 1812, but West Florida was not made a part of it until several months later..
During the sixteen years of British West Florida’s existence, patriots who had fought for the British in the French and Indian War were offered land grants in the area for their military service. Many Anglo-Saxon families moved into the region from Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Carolinas. Some of them later fought enthusiastically against the British with General Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans in 1814. General Jackson marched his soldiers through Washington Parish on what was known as the “Military Road.”.
The parishes of Washington, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Livingston were all originally part of St. Helena Parish. In 1810, St. Helena was split to form St. Tammany Parish. Then in 1819, St. Tammany Parish was split to form Washington Parish. The preamble of the legislative act that authorized the split stated that the division was needed because some of the inhabitants lived to far away from the St. Tammany Parish seat to reach it conveniently. In 1832, St. Helena Parish was again divided to form Livingston Parish. The final division came in 1869 when Tangipahoa Parish was carved from portions of Livingston, Washington and St. Tammany Parishes..
Franklinton, located in west central Washington Parish, became the parish seat by legislative act on February 10, 1821. At that time, Franklinton was known as Franklin. The name was changed to avoid conflict with another town of Franklin, located in St. Mary Parish. The town was actually situated five miles south of present-day Franklinton. In 1819, John Bickham, Sr., donated 30 acres of land to be used as a parish seat. Apparently, Mr. Bickham anticipated the forthcoming division of St. Tammany Parish. He stipulated that the 30 acres were to be surveyed into blocks with the center block reserved for the courthouse and jail. The remaining blocks were to be sold to benefit the parish..
The courthouse burned twice, first in 1854, then again in 1897. The fires resulted in a loss of nearly 68 years worth of records. Records from the 1820-1830 decade were kept on file in the state land office and escaped the fire. Some of the records from the second fire were salvaged and others were brought in to be re-recorded. So, only the records from the 1840-1860 period are completely lost..
As of 1992, Bogalusa was the only city in Washington Parish. It was founded in 1906 by the Goodyears of Buffalo, New York. In 1908, the world’s largest yellow pine sawmill, which brought Bogalusa into existence, began operations. In just a few months, the city’s population surged to 8,000. Today, Gaylord Container Corporation exists on that site. .
Washington Parish, Louisiana
Historical Information
* 1811-1812 Tax List for St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
This is a list of “headrights” granted to settlers in Washington
Parish by an Act of Congress in 1820. Most of them had taken up land
before 1810, and not later than 1815.
Angie Vicinity Bogalusa Vicinity
* John and Robert Mitchell * Steve Stafford
* William and Thomas C. Hunt * Simon Williams
* John and Elias Ford * George Adams
* Thomas Ard, Sr. * John Richardson
* Thomas Ard, Jr. * Benjamen Richardson
Varnado Vicinity Along the Bogue Chitto River
* Uriah Smith * Cornelius Cooper
* Tom Wallis * Benjamin Parker
* Reubin Mayfield * John Talley (II)
* John Holden * William Magee
* Aaron Adams * Ebenezer Ford
* Thomas C. Warner * Jonathan Taylor
* John Thigpen * John Galloway
* Sherod Adams * Charles Galloway
* Joseph Adams * William Galloway
* William Bickham
* Phillip Magee
Along the Bogue Lusa Creek
Between Enon and Franklinton
* William Williams
* Jacob Miller * Amos Duncan
* John Williams * William Simmons
* John Mizell * Isaac Roberts
* David Mizell * John Simmons
* Fanny (widow of Hardy) * C. Roberts
Richardson * Thomas Roberts
* James Thomas
The West Side of the Bogue Chitto River North of
Bogue Chitto River Franklinton
* Delany Bird * James Gwin
* James Gay * Isaac and William Roberts
* Sara Slocum * Jacob Alford
* Elisha Roberts * Elisha Roberts
* Richard Graves * Woody Jones
* Henry Hill * Tom Bickham
* Henry (John) Burch * Edmund Hunt
* John Irwin * Jonathan Magee
- Edwin Fussell * William Carter
Lee’s Creek and
Pool’s Bluff Vicinity Pine Vicinity
* William Pool * William Morris
* John Edwards * Dennis Crane (Crain)
* Jesse, William and James P. * S. Blackwell
Lea * Moses Childs
Along Silver Creek
The East Side of the
* Jacob & Lewis Bankston Bogue Chitto River
* Enon James and Franklinton
* John Smith
* Isaac Dykes * Robert Simmons
* Evan Magee * John Bickham
* Joseph Spell * George Ellis
* Wiley Jones * Gideon Yarborough
* W. D. Smith * James Hays
* Eliza Self * Joseph Erwin
* H. K. Goff * Jesse Day
* Andrew Smith * John Miller
* William Busby * Abner Bickham
* R. and J. Burch * William Henry
* Richard Burch * James Hayes
* John Roberts
* Bradford Kemp
(purchase from Wm. Wheat)
North Along Hayes Creek Along the Tchefuncte River
* Thomas and William Magee * Jim Lea
* Lesley Bankston
- William F. Dyson
Enon Vicinity
Ward One Vicinity
* William Fussell
* John B. Stewart * Ezekial Brumfield
* Benjamin Toney * William Brumfield
* George Ellis * William Cooper
* James Miller * Ridley Brumfield
* H. Jarrell * The Gormans
* John Kennedy * Aaron Miller
* William Bickham
* Issac Irwin
* Benjamin Bickham
1811-1812 Tax List For St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
If an 1810 census of the Florida Parishes ever existed, it has been
lost. Therefore, this tax is list important, as it enumerates property
owners from Washington, St. Tammany, and the eastern portion of Tangipahoa
Parishes. It is derived from the tax list shown in the Memorandum of Tax
Money Collected by James Gaines in the Parish of St. Tammany in the years
1811 and 1812.
1811-1812 Tax List For St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
John Adams John Cutrer Moses Jourdan
Peter Allen Joseph Cutrer Erband Judees David Rester
Joseph Ard Amos Danily R. Singleton (Junn F. Rester
R. Baddon Jesse Day ?) Lot Rigdale
B. Baham William Day John Keating Johannan Rix
J. Baham John Lanier Charles Roberts
R. Baham Church Dixon Joseph Lawrance Isaac Roberts
J. Bartle Gid Drew William Lawrence Isaac Roberts, Jr
Z. Barrow Francois James Lea Susana Roberts
Reuben Beavers Dubuisson Luke Lea D. Robertson
James Bennett Nickelas Ducre William Lea William P. Rose
A. Berry Joseph Dunbar Franse Leomear B. Richardson
W. Berry Amos Duncan Isaac Lindsey Henry Sodon
A. Bickham Elisha Eastess Polly Loyd .J. Spell
B. Bickham Madam Edwards John Lorance S. Spell
Jon Bickham George Ellis William Lucas Thomas Spell
Thomas Bickham Joseph Erwin P. Magee John Stephenson
H. Black Zack Faircloth William Magee John Stuart
N. Blackwell Elias Ford William Magee, Sr John Talley, Sr.
A. Bonnybell S. Fuller William Mains James Tate (1)
Green Bradford John Galiway Johnson Marchbanks James Tate (2)
Martin Brown Charles Galloway R. Mayfield Thomas Taylor
William Buzbee David Glover B. McClendon William Thompson
W. Carter J. K. Goff D. McIntyre Jeremiah Thompson
Jesse Chapman James Gray Joseph Melone Ben Toney
John Chapman, Sr. James Gwin Z. Melone William Toney
John Chapman, Jr. Jon Gustavus James Miller Caleb Tyner
E. Chavers James Hayes M. Miller Jeremiah Vardiman
Joseph Chavers John Hayes G. Mitchell William Vardiman
Isham Chisohm William Hayes J. Mitchell, Sr. John Vernon
John Cloud William Hickman John Mitchell, Jr. Madam Vinsant
Daniel Coleman Henry Hill R. Mitchell Thomas Wainwright
P. Connally William Hogan D. Morand William Wallace
Henry Cooper John Holden William Morris T. C. Warner
William Cooper, Maylen Holden B. Nicha B. West
Jr. Simon Holden T. Nichols William West
J. Corkern Thomas Holden Alex. Painter B. White
Francois Cousins Leonard Hornsby Jesse Parker William Whorton
Tarrence Cousins E. D. Hunt H. Pearson Caleb Worley
Henry Cutrer Jon Jamison, Sr. John Peatt William Wright
Isaac Cutrer Jon Jamison, Jr J. Reed L. Young
Absalom Johnson
NATCHEZ DISTRICT
In 1775, when the American Revolution broke out, the Natchez District was a small isolated outpost in British West Florida. During the early stages of the rebellion, the population of the district more than doubled as hundreds of loyalists settled along the western banks of the Mississippi River between Walnut Hills (modern Vicksburg) and Manchac. Although most inhabitants were loyal to England or preferred to remain neutral during the conflict, James Willing, a young adventurer and a former resident of the district, brought the war to their doorstep in early 1778 when he led a raiding party which forced the inhabitants of Natchez to take an oath of allegiance and which plundered the property of several well-known Tories south of the town. When Willing and his men reached New Orleans, they were allowed to dispose of their plunder at public auction.
Although Willing’s Raid exposed British weakness in the Southwest, the governor of West Florida dispatched enough military assistance to regain control over the Natchez district and to prevent Willing from ascending the Mississippi River with provisions for the American army.
Spain’s entry into the war in June of 1779 upset the precarious balance in the Southwest. In a series of brilliant campaigns, Governor Bernardo de Galvez captured the British settlements along the Mississippi, then seized Mobile, and eventually forced the British to surrender Pensacola. While Pensacola was falling to a superior Spanish force, the inhabitants of Natchez momentarily regained control of the district and threw out the Spaniards. As soon as they learned of the fall of Pensacola, however, they resubmitted to Spanish rule, which proved milder than many had anticipated. The end of the American Revolution found Spain in possession of the lower Mississippi Valley.
This account is the first complete, scholarly study of what took place in the Natchez district during the American Revolution. Professor Haynes not only brings new material to light, but he also captures the drama of life in Mississippi during the period of the American Revolution.
Robert V. Haynes is Professor of History at Western Kentucky University.