A trip that took time and patience in 1816
MOVING WEST TO MISSISSIPPI TOOK
TIME AND PATIENCE IN 1819
(headline from The Clarion-Ledger/Jackson Daily News Sunday, July
20, 1986, pg 6F, by Carl McIntire Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer)
Reprinted with permission of the Clarion Ledger, Jackson, MS,
all rights reserved.
Found and contributed by Sue B. Moore.
Many Mississippians can trace their lineage back to hardy
pioneers who blazed trails through Indian country and uncharted
forests, across untamed rivers. How hard was this journey? How long
did it take? What did it cost? Some of those answers are given in a
diary kept by one of those pioneers.
James Campbell might
not have been the greatest speller in the district, nor the greatest
grammarian. He might not have known a whole lot about punctuation,
but he has given us one of the best and most complete records of a
family's trek from North Carolina to Amite County and on to Natchez.
We are indebted to Jack W Pepper of Jackson, who obtained the
diary and other Campbell information from Nina Pepper of Louise, and
copied the diary for this column. Pepper and I have added a few
words in Parenthesis to help the reader, especially in regard to
place names. As Pepper notes, it is interesting to see how many
place names have remained the same.
Campbell and his
companions left Fayetteville, in Cumberland County, NC on April 1,
1819. Campbell, who was born May 21, 1789, wrote that the others in
the party were Duncan Steward, Charles Steward, Bythal Haynes,
Dugald McLaughlin, Alexander McFatter, Archibald Sellars, Mrs White,
Charles McAlester, Daniel McAlester Edward Currie, William Shaw, Mrs
Long, Robert Henry, Daniel Cook and James Torie.
"The first day we left home we got to Mr. Thompson's, six miles
above Lumberton, we paid three quarters of a dollar; the second day
we got to Cozen (Cousin) Archilbeald's and it rained all day, the
third day we got to grand-aunts and it rained all day, the fourth
day we started from grand-aunts and we went five miles to the other
side of Casheyaway (Cashaway's) ferry and we paid one dollar and a
half and we paid two shillings at Cashaways Ferry (on the Peedee
River).
The fifth day we got to Mr Nickle's and we paid one
dollar and the sixth day we got to David Davis's. We paid 13
shilligs and 6D (pence) and then we paid nothing until we got to
Columbia. On day seven we got to Mr Rowel's (on the Congeree River)
On the eighth day we camped out, the ninth day we got to Augustia
(Augusta,GA) The 10th day we got to the Beet water iron works. The
11th day we got to Lewises, the 12th day we got to the Niven
McBrides, the 13th day we got Jane Lesley's (Milledgeville, Ga) the
14th day we stayed there and the 15th and 16th days we left Jane
Lesley's.
The 17th day we got Mr Stevens' the 18th and 19th
we stayed there in Monticillia (Monticello, Ga) The 20th and 21st we
started from Monticelah and we got to Mr. Mallets, two dollars and a
quarter. On day 22 we got to Flint River and we camped in woods. The
23rd day we camped in the woods, the 24th day we camped in the woods
and the 25th day we camped in the woods.
On April 22 we go
into the endian (Indian) nation. The 27th day we stayed at Manacks
(probably somewhere near where Montgomery, Ala) and the 28th day we
camped in the woods.
At this point, beginning the third page
of his diary, Campbell apparently made notes about some previous
portions of the trip: "The ferry we crossed was Harley, from thence
to Cashways, from thence to Macanicvill (Mechanicsville, Ga) from
thence to Darlington, from thence to Linches (Lynch's) creek, from
thence to Camden, from thence to the water, from thence to the
Congeree (River) and Columbia, from thence to Savannah river and
Augustia and there we paid four dollars and a quarter. From thence
to the Oconia River and Milliagvill and from Millagvill to
Monticilla, 40 miles, from Monticilla two miles to Clinton, from
Clinton to the garrison 14 miles, from the garrison to the Oakmulgia
(River) one mile, from the Oakmulgia to Flint river, 32 miles from
Clint river to Catahootchia, 62 miles.
He resumes the
day-by-day account on the fourth page: "the 29th day we camped in
the woods, the 30th day we camped in the woods, the first day of May
we camped in the Alabama Swamp. The second day (of May) we crossed
the Alabama (River) about sunrise and we got to the pine flat. The
third day of May) we crossed the Bexkby (Tombigbee River) about
sunrise and we stayed in Sent Stevens (Fort St. Stephens). The
fourth day (of May) we camped in the woods, the fifth day we camped
in the woods and the sixth day we camped in the woods and the
seventh day we camped in the woods. The eighth day we camped in the
woods and the ninthe day we got to the Pearl River and we stayed at
Mr Ford's (Rev John Ford's at Sandy Hook, South of Columbia) and the
10th day we went to meeting and we stayed at Ford's . The 11th day
we left Ford's and we camped in the woods. The 12 day we crossed
Boogcheto (boague Chitto) and the Little Tancipiho (Little
Tangipahoa) and we stayed at Henry Goalman's The 13th day we crossed
the Amit (Amite River) and we stayed at Henry Simonses and the 14th
day we stayed there.
The 15th day we left Simmonses and we
stayed at one Smileys. The 16th day we got to Haines and we stayed
there and the 17th and 18th day I left there. The 19th day I got to
the Natchez"
The final page tells of the mileage. "distance
from Lumberton to Harleys Bridge, 25 miles; from harleys Bridge to
Cashways ferry, 18 miles from Cashways Ferry to Linches Creek, 34
miles and from Linches Creek toCamden 24 miles and from Camden to
Columbia 40 miles...and on and on.
It adds up to 939 miles.
In the latter paragraphs he speaks of being at Liberty, Amite and
other places in South Mississippi, where he apparently settled after
a short visit to Natchez. He noted that he found work early in his
stay, receiving something less than $1 a day for labor.