Stella Mayes Alexander Family

Father Lee Harris came from North Carolina to Mississippi in the 1800s and worked on a plantation in Lafayette County as a sharecropper, married Stella Porter Alexander in 1900, bought a small farm in Woodson Ridge community. Lee Harvey Alexander and Stella Porter Alexander begat 3 children: Stella Mayes, Johnny Mayes, and Thomas Mayes. Children attended Old Liberty Hill, a rural school in Lafayette County. Mother Stella's hobby was sewing and fishing. -- Author Unknown

Daniel Avant Sr.

Grandfather Daniel Avant Sr. was married to Louise Fox, the sister of George Washington Fox who was brought to Lafayette County MS from Virginia in 1863. Daniel and his wife Louise Fox Avant begat five children: Alice married Joe Talor had 4 children; George and wife Della Nicks had no children; Daniel Jr. and wife Pearl Roberson had no children; Maggie Avant had one son, Mose Jones; Allen and wife, Angeline Tales begat 10 children; Essie B. Mitchell the oldest has no children; Conwell, the preacher, migrated North and wife Evelyn has 10 children; Oscar Samuel Avant married Nellie Knicks had 5 children and their eldest child, Louise Jackson has no children. Louise writes of the incidence found in the family Bible stating that Grandfather Daniel Avant Sr. was drowned in 1889. When crossing the Jefferson Davis Bridge on the way to Sardis in Panola County, MS he stopped to let his horse drink water, the horse slipped and both he and the horse were drowned. As of July 1996, there were about eight or nine generations of Daniel Avant Senior. -- Louise Jackson and S. Marshall

Boles Family

The Boles family owned one of the first African-American businesses in Oxford. In 1893, W. R. (Robert) opened his shop on the Oxford Square, and by 1910, Boles and his wife, Jessie Orange Boles, owned a building on the northwest side of the Square that housed his shoe shop, along with the Threlked Barbershop and a cafe named Pete's Place. Boles helped the African-American community with loans for taxes and other needs. He owned rental housing and was a member of the Burns United Methodist Church. -- Author Unknown

Reverend Jessie Brown Family

• The Brown Family, c. 1950. Photographer Unknown

Jessie E. Brown, the son of the late Alice Brown and Phillip Dunn was born Sept. 3, 1888, married Timmie Martin, daughter of the late Commodore Martin and Katherine Martin. Both were born in Lafayette County Taylor community. With the permission of parents their marriage vow was pledged to each other before God in 1909. They lived with their parents and worked in the field, attended school and cared for the chickens, cattle and other chores they were assigned to do by their parents. One of their main outings during the weeknight they went to Bible Studies and attended Sunday school on Sundays at North Hopewell B.M. Church. They struggled through renting and sharecropping. During the struggle the family began to increase, with a child being born every other year. One child died at birth but all others lived to maturity. They were named Elmira, Claud, George Pitman, Jessie Ann, George Hoover, Ruthie M. Jones, Katherleen, Tarentha, Earl, Lois and Philip. When the children were old enough they shared with the chores of cooking, churning, feeding hogs mules and horses, and working on the farm.

In 1927 they purchased the 145 acre farm. In later years, Jessie owned a sorghum mill. He was noted for making sorghum molasses. He sold the molasses to neighbors and others in the Taylor Community and in Oxford to help support the family. Timmy’s sideline was working her garden and tending the orchard; canning apples, peaches, pears, apricots and plums. She delighted in peddling vegetables to people living in the city. That was her way of helping to finance the needs of the family.

Jessie & Timmy lived a respectful, honest and active Christian life, giving their time, knowledge and experience to help build up the community. God called Jessie to the field of ministry at age 26 to which he resisted. He continued in his trade of cutting hair on Sunday until a windstorm came and lifted his tools out of the tool box that was attached to the wall of the dog trot house porch. He got the message, humbled himself, and heeded God’s call. He served as pastor of Oak Grove and Rock Hill M. B. Churches during his ministry. He also served as moderator of the T.O.M.B. District Association and instructor of Christian Education at one time at the project church. Rev. Jessie was a member of Masonic Lodge #66. For many years he was trustee board chairman of the Taylor Vocational High School. His favorite hymn was “Father I Stretch My Hands to Thee,” Rev. Jessie E. Brown was called from labor to reward January 20, 1977. His wife Timmie also worked in the Taylor Community right along with Jessie raising funds for the school and supported the 4H Club. She was a member of the Eastern Star. The Parents always urged their children and all children to stay in school—to always treat others as you wish to be treated and to have reverence for the Holy Spirit in all you do.

Jessie & Timmy remained together until she departed this life in June 1959. Submitted by the Brown Family Survivors: Jessie A. Gilmore, Lois B. Vassar, Earl L. Brown, Philip Brown.” -- Excerpts from the 12th Brown Family Reunion

Buford Family

• Bessie Buford Blake, Elnora Buford Young, Mrs. Rosie Brown Buford, Alberta Buford Campbell and George Buford

The Buford Family originally hailed from North Carolina. Mrs. Logan’s grandparents were George and [Roxie] Brown Boyd. Her parents had five children and worked in farming and on the railroad. They owned their own property and lived in the St. John M.B. Church community. Several family members have attended schools such as St. John and West Spring Hill, Oxford Training School, Rust College and the University of Mississippi. -- History given by Mrs. Doris Logan

Coleman Family -- see Johnson Family

Nathaniel Cook Family

Nathaniel Cook, known as "Buster" Cook, his father, Shedrick, was given his slave owner's name Cook. He worked on a plantation in Panola County, Mississippi. Shedrick Cook married Malanie Gamble and had five children. Daisy married Joseph Taylor. Henry, Beatrice, Robertina married Reverend Reed. Ruddell and Audrie Martin begat 7 children. Lizzie and Collin Patton begat Bertha Ownes , Jewel Bonner begat Cassie, Earler Mae Patton married Willie Robinson and they had ten children; 2 sons, Willie, Charles, and Lee; 7 daughters, Mary Alice, Margrette, Dora, Loretta, Juanita, Sarah, and Cathryn. Lude married Thompson, begat 2 sons, Leroy and?. Fletcher married Parham. Otis and Nutie had no children. Augustus married and begat 3 children. Harriet and Anderson Buford begat Nancy, Kate, Queenie Mae, Johnny, Osie, Herman, and Marvin. 

Cook Family members own farmland in Lafayette County, Mississippi. Literacy and land ownership made African-Americans somebody in the late 19th century. -- Author Unknown

Harvey Cook Family

Correthers Family

• Mrs. A.C. Carrothers, daughter Rosie and her husband. Circa 1910. Photographer Unknown.

• Chester Carrothers, known as "Ches," a WWI veteran. Circa 1917-1918

• Rosa Lee Carrothers, circa 1930.

Kit Correthers—is the Great-Grand Father, the oldest known root of the Correthers family. Kit Correthers, was a slave and father of three sons and three daughters. Kit left Virginia and moved to Lafayette Springs, Mississippi. His wife Sylvia gave birth to his three sons and three daughters. He died in September, 1905 at Lafayette Springs, Mississippi. The sons were named: Jack, Chris, Jessie. The daughters were: Mandy, Violet, One Daughter Unknown. Mandy married Dock Henderson, and one daughter married a Hickumbottom. Violet Correthers  married Andy Ivy. To this union nine children were born. Daughters: Cordia, Mary, Julia. Sons: Fonzo, Andrew, James, William, Ben, Hugh. Jack Correthers married a young woman whose name was Sylvia. To this union two children were born. One son and one daughter. Son: Cash   Daughter: Josephine. After the death of his wife, Sylvia, Jack married Junior Patton. To this union eleven children were born. Five sons and six daughters. Sons: Talmar (Bud), Will (Bill), Jessie, Buford, Harmon. Daughters: Modena, Earlie, Pearlie, Sarah Jane, Lou Emma, Roxie. Chris Correthers married a young woman whose name was Dora. To this union four children were born. Two boys and two girls. Sons: Tomp, Jack.Daughters: Mandy, Bula (Babe).

Jessie Correthers married Cobe Patton the sister of Junor, the wife of his brother Jack Correthers (two brothers married two sisters). To this union ten children were born, three boys and seven girls. Sons: Jessie Lee, Clayton, Dole. Daughters: Alma, Annie V., Mammie, Bea, Betty, Lou Jennie, Autry. Jessie Correthers also married a young woman named Rosa. To this union no children were born.

Virtue Correthers.
Will (Bill) Correthers (1881-)  married Stella Williams. To this union nine children were born. Four daughters and five sons. Sons: C.B., Purven, Willie B., Earl (twin with Earlene), Son who died as a baby.Daughters: Jewel, Magnolia, Josephine, Earlene (twin with Earl).
Jessie Correthers (1882-1983) married Josie Cohen, June 22, 1909, at the home of George Cohen by Rev. Nash Smith. To this union eight children were born. Sons: Jessie Orr, Jasper Wiggins, David Lamar, Byron Winford, Dewey Norris. Daughters: Virdie Cordelia, Ruby Lee, Abb Lois. Jessie died on Easter Sunday, April 3, 1983. Josie died June 8, 1931, when Ruby Lee was 9 weeks old. Byron died at the age of 19 with polio. Jessie Correthers also married Mattie Marzette, June 19, 1932. To this union no children were born.

Buford Correthers (1885-) married Susie Dickerson. To this union no children were born. Buford Correthers also married Ida Alexander. To this union five children were born. For boys and one girl; Alvin (Pop Eye), Lee Franklin (Toncil), Andrew (Judge), Edward Jay, Zula (Deceased).

Harmon Correthers (1891-1958) married Etta Adams. To this union eight children were born. Three girls and five boys. Sons: Floyd, Grady, Spencer, Park Edward, Eugene. Daughters: Julia Mae, Bernice, Dorothy. Floyd—killed in an auto accident.Grady—killed in action (army). Spencer, Park and Dorothy- Deceased.
Modena Correthers (1878-) married Berry Listbener. To this union no children were born. Modena Correthers also married John Adams. To this union no children were born.
Earlie Correthers (1889-) married Andy Johnson. To this union four children were born, two girls and two boys. Sons: Jack, L.D. Daughters: Violet, Alma. Violet, Jack, and L.D.—Deceased.
Pearlie Correthers (1888-1975) was never married.
Sarah Jane Correthers (1892-1982) married John Judon. To this union no children were born. Sarah also married Andrew Taylor. To this union no children were born.
Lou Emma Correthers (1895-1983) married Edgar Kimmons. To this union no children were born. Lou Emma also married a man whose sir name was Johnson. To this union no children were born.
Roxie Correthers (1898-1988) married George McGlown. To this union no children were born.-- Submitted by Bernice Martin

Couch Family

• Ed Couch and Eurlene in front of car. Date and photographer unknown.

Mrs. Dixon believed that the Couch Family came to Lafayette County in the 1800s from Africa. Her grandparents were Tom Couch, Rush Couch, Ed Couch, Mae Callie Bell. Her parents raised a family of 18 children while working in farm work and construction. Her father owned property and was active in the community. They lived in the Owens, Pilgrim Rest, Etta Mississippi, Jefferson Chapel church community, and family members attended the Jefferson Pilgrim Rest School. Several family members eventually migrated away from Mississippi to other parts of the country like: Kentucky, Chicago, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Texas, and Florida. -- History given by Mrs. Bessie Couch Dixon

Della R. Davidson

Della Reed Davidson attended high school and college at Rust College. She came to Oxford in 1937 as a teacher and eventually acted as Assistant Principal of Johnson-Peterson Elementary. In 1969-1970, with the integration of the school system, Davidson became Assistant Principal of Oxford Elementary and finally the first African-American Principal of Bramlett elementary. Davidson has been active in a wide variety of organizations from church youth groups to community chorus of Tri-Hi-Y and Hi-Y. She has also been president of the Oxford Economic Development Association. -- Author Unknown

Fox Family

George Washington 'Wash' Fox was born in bondage around 1839 in Virginia. He was sold to a slave trader and brought to Mississippi during the Civil War. When the War was over, his Master read the Emancipation Proclamation to the slaves and Wash Fox was given his 'Freedom Paper' and a pen.

Among the newly freed slaves only one in ten could read and write, and Wash Fox was one of them. He had a thirst for knowledge. No military record was found. He married a full-blooded Chickasaw woman, Matilda, in 1859. During the Reconstruction period 1867-1877 many discouraged planters sold their acreage and moved to town. After ten years of freedom only about five percent of all former slaves in the South acquired farms. Grandpa Wash Fox was one of them. It was under the Homestead Act that Wash Fox Wash Fox acquired 1,280 acres of land in the Harrisonville community, Lafayette County. With no funds available for tools, he made plow-lines from the bark of hickory trees...He died in 1896 and was buried in Clear Creek Cemetery, Burgess Community. -- Author Unknown

W. T. (William Thames) Houston Family

The son of the late Rev. William Bill Houston and...mother Emily Hawkin Houston, born November 23, 1910 the fifth of eight children...He went to school in Lafayette County East Providence Community Elementary School four or five months in the year...Rev. Wilmer T. Houston married Fostoria 'Foster' Phillips Houston who bore him two children, Odessa, who died in 1989 and William Glen 'Billye'...He shared 66 years of love and caring commitment with his wife, raised a family, built a house and home, made mistakes, but held to God's unchanging hand.

During his preaching time Rev. Houston studied...the word of truth. He believed in Christian education and encouraged his membership to do the same. In 1973, he received an honorary doctorate degree from the Tennessee Baptist School of Religion. He was the first president to serve in the Tallahatchie-Oxford Missionary Baptist Secondary School and Baptist Training Convention organized in 1954. Served as president of New Educational State Sunday School and Baptist Congress of Christian Educators. Rev. W.T. Houston preached at New Hope M.B. Church for more than 50 years...He followed in his father's footsteps preaching, teaching, and building. Rev. Wilmer Thames Houston sleeps with his father, since October 4, 1996. -- Author Unknown

Ingram Family

The North Mississippi County of Marshall which was established in 1836 has been inhabited by Ingrams' since the 1840s. It appears that the Ingrams who settled in Marshall County came from Johnson County in North Carolina.
The present land holding of Ingrams...in Marshall County was owned in 1852 by Needham Ingram, in 1864 by his sons, Joseph R. Ingram and John J. Ingram, in 1899 by Joseph's wife Helen E. Ingram and her son J.H. Ingram. In 1900 the ownership of the land was transferred to Ben E. Ingram. Though the exact relationship between Ben Ingram and the former Ingram is not known, obviously there must be some connection. It has been said that Heggar Ingram was the mother of Ben, Priscilla, Ranson, Willie and Marshall Ingram. Four family units developed from this obscure Ingram parentage: 1. Ben and Sallie Ingram, 2. Priscilla Ingram and Calvin Tyson, 3. Ranson Ingram and Elizabeth Tunstall, 4. Willie Ingram and Simpson Rogers...Many families of Ingram descent have generated in the 20th century. The Ingram families have ventured from Northern Mississippi to fifteen other states in the United States, Germany and Korea. -- Written by Yvonne Sheryl Ingram Wills

Reverend James "Blind Jim" Ivy

• Reverend "Blind Jim" Ivy in front of the Lyceum on the University of Mississippi campus. Date and Photographer Unknown.

This is how the story was told in the words of Blind Jim Ivy. The son of Matilda Ivy, James Ivy, was brought to Oxford, Lafayette County with his mother in early childhood. His mother, Matilda, was one of the eight ex-slave women who formed the nucleus of the first Colored Baptist Church, now Second Baptist in 1869. He was brought up in this church and ordained to preach the gospel. In a whirlwind courtship, he married Blind Rosa Sanders and lived across the street from Second Baptist Church. Blind Jim, as he was called, said that he was blinded while working in tar on the Tallahatchie Bridge when he was a teenager. Being a member of Second Baptist, Rev. Blind Jim would always lead the opening of the worship on Sunday a.m. eleven o'clock services by singing 'Let Heaven's Light Shine on Me.'

Blind Jim became a part of the University of Mississippi in 1896. It is said that while boiling peanuts at one of the athletic events he loudly cheered 'Hey! We're gonna beat 'em.' After that event the students honored him as mascot of the football team and also honored him as dean of the freshmen class... Blind Jim Ivy was thought of as being 'the grace of the Ole Miss campus' for 69 years before his death in 1955. His funeral services were attended at Second Baptist Church, the church which he supported spiritually and financially. -- History by Susie Marshall

Johnson Family

• Callie Coleman Johnson. Date and Photographer Unknown.

• Walter Marcarl Johnson, Sr. Date and Photographer Unknown.

Anna Augusta Coleman, daughter of Hannah Manse, migrated with her brothers and sisters from Charleston, South Carolina perhaps around the early 1840s...They left Charleston in the spring in a caravan of 8-10 covered wagons, and arrived in the fall just before the first frost. When they arrived in Lafayette County, the family settled on a plantation in College Hill.

After the Civil War, freed slaves were given the opportunity to buy 1 acre or 1/2 acre tracts of land in the part of Oxford Township known as Freemantown (7th Street/Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive). Anna Augusta Coleman and her husband William Coleman bought 1 acre, 1/2 acre deeded to Anna and 1/2 acre to William. They built a log cabin on Anna's 1/2 acre. Early in the marriage because of a court hearing that sent Native-American William to prison, William's 1/2 acre of land was lost. Anna was granted a divorce and raised a daughter Callie. Anna's mother, Hannah, an aged ex-slave midwife from College Hill, also lived with her and helped to raise Callie. Callie was one of the first children which began to enroll in the first school for the freed slave's children, which began at the Second Baptist Church after Emancipation. Rev. H.W. Bowen, Pastor, was the first black teacher. ...Callie married Walter Johnson and to that union two sons were born. Walter Jr. in 1887 and Gus Johnson in 1892. Callie died in 1893. Her husband died five years later. Anna Augusta Coleman raised her two grandsons Walter and Gus. Besides this responsibility she was instrumental in my growing up in the home.
The joy of my growing up in Oxford and from her knees to 17 years old, with Mother Coleman is a joy that's unexpressable! There were two big beds in my great-grand mother's room. She slept in one and I in the other. Sitting before the fireplace; she dipped snuff. She talked about her days of slavery. But most of all she imparted much wisdom into my life. The inspiration, hope, and love that she passed on to me has greatly enriched my life. She gave me courage, instilled within me Christian principle...She taught me to respect myself, leaders and those in authority. -- History given by Harry M. Johnson

Harry M. Johnson, Sr. -- see Johnson Family

John Wesley Johnson -- see Burl Roberson

Reverend Wayne Johnson

Wayne Johnson was raised in Oxford, attended ministerial school in Atlanta where he also became involved in the Civil Rights Movement, and then returned to his home to serve the community and the University in 1969. He worked as a mediator with the new African-American students on the Ole Miss Campus. In 1969 with the school integration, he ran a car pool for African-American children when inner-city bussing was halted. He urged African-Americans to become a part of the political process and to use their vote.

In 1971 he was instrumental in the founding of the Oxford Development Association and its many programs: a café, day care center, co-op grocery, and credit union. Some of these programs continue to serve the African-American community today. He was a member of the Oxford School Board, a member of North Mississippi Rural Legal Services, and was the president of the local chapter of the NAACP. -- Author Unknown