Double Springs Cemetery - Oktibbeha County, Mississippi

The steps pictured here take visitors to the small plateau that is Double Springs Cemetery, located near Maben, Mississippi. Among those buried in this cemetery in Oktibbeha County are dozens of deceased members of the Fulgham, Stallings, and Turner families. Although many buried here were born during the early 1800s, the cemetery continues to be the site of burials even today. One of the oldest graves in the cemetery is that of Osborn Brewer, who was born on April 5, 1804 in Tennessee, and who died on September 11, 1876 in Choctaw County. Oktibbeha and Choctaw are both counties formed from lands acquired after The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was signed with the Choctaw Nation.

Bethsalem Cemetery, Choctaw County, MS

This very old monument marks the burial place of Andrew Y. Hanna, born September 13, 1799. Hanna died September 27, 1871, and is buried in Bethsalem Cemetery near the Bethsalem Presbyterian Church, one of the oldest churches in Choctaw County. A number of other Hanna family members who migrated to Mississippi during the early to mid-1800s are also buried in this old cemetery in the Tollison Community.



Andrew Y. Hanna
b. September 13, 1799
d. September 27, 1871

Bethsalem Presbyterian Church

Formation dates back to circa 1839

During the 1800's, the name "Hanna," reportedly Scotch-Irish, appeared in many states throughout the U.S. But the name was an uncommon one in early Mississippi. According to the U. S. Census of 1820, there were two individuals with the name "Hanna" living in Mississippi. James Hanna was enumerated in Amite County, Mississippi, and Josiah Hanna was counted in Warren County. By 1930, Hanna family members living in Mississippi numbered over 300.

Henry and Dulcenia Eddleman, Beulah Cemetery, Choctaw County MS

Henry and Dulcenia Eddleman were likely newlyweds when they were enumerated in the U. S. Census of 1850. He was 23 years old, born in North Carolina, and she was just 16, and Georgia-born. The couple was living in Attala County, on land that had been ceded by the Choctaw Nation and had been opened up for settlement less than 20 years before. According to the census, not one person living near Henry and Dulcenia Eddleman had been born in Mississippi, and their neighbors in this remote part of Attala County were born in places that ranged from Ireland to Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, and other states on the way to Mississippi. Henry was a carpenter by trade, and the couple had no children.

By 1860, the couple were living near Louisville, in Winston County, Mississippi, and Dulcenia had given birth to three children, one son, J. H., age 5, and two daughters, F. J. age 7, and N. C., age 1. Henry was now a farmer who owned real estate valued at $2,000, and his personal property was valued at $3,000. Just six years later, on July 19, 1866, the family's life changed; Henry died and left Dulcenia with three young children.

I searched census records for Dulcenia and her children for years after Henry's death. Although I did find two of the children in 1870, Dulcenia was not listed in the household. Strangely, I was unable to locate Dulcenia again on census records until 1910. At that time, she was a 77 year old widower and a "Boarder" in the household of Robert R. Hunt, his wife, Jennie, and their two young children, Robert W. and Anna M. Hunt. I also failed to locate Dulcenia on the 1920 U. S. Census taken just two years before her death.

In 1930, after Dulcenia's death, I did find John H. Eddleman, his wife, and a son named John Howard, living near Weir in Choctaw County. Based on his date of birth and the birthplaces of John H. Eddleman's parents, I am certain that he was Eddleman's son, "J.H," who was five years old in 1860. It is likely that Dulcenia's daughters were still living in the area, but without knowing their married names, I am unable to determine if this was true.

The double grave stone that marks this couple's grave in Beulah Cemetery near Weir, Choctaw County, Mississippi, must have been erected when Henry died in 1866. Its shape and ornate carvings are reminiscent of that era. Dulcenia Eddleman's date of death engraved on the tombstone indicates that she outlived her husband by almost 56 years.

Eli and Mollie Eliza Jane Edwards Snow

This large zinc double grave stone in Bethlehem Cemetery near Ackerman, Choctaw County, marks the burial place of Eli Snow and his wife, Mollie Eliza Jane Edwards Snow. Eli was born on December 31, 1843 and died February 8, 1924. His widow, born on November 9, 1869, lived slightly over 42 years before her own death. Mollie Eliza Jane Edwards Snow died on July 5, 1966, just four months short of her 97th birthday.

Col. James W. Drane of Choctaw County

When James W. Drane moved his family to newly formed Choctaw County, Mississippi in 1836, he brought his family and over 20 slaves to live with him near French Camp, Mississippi. He was first married to Matilda Shaw and later to Amelia S. Edwards. Drane was born in Columbia County, Georgia, on February 24, 1808 and died on March 8, 1869. His grave is among those of over a dozen other Drane family members who are buried in French Camp Cemetery near the location of his former home.

When Col. Drane died, the "Jackson Daily Clarion" later the "Clarion Ledger," printed this in its issue dated March 16, 1869: "His elevated character, inflexible will, integrity of purpose, and clear intellect gave him large influence, and at one time he came nigh receiving the democratic nomination for Governor of the State, when a nomination was equivalent to an election. He was a conspicuous member of the class of legislature to which Whitfield, Pettus, Oliver, and their conferes belonged, and who wielded a large influence over the destinies of the State, between the years 1850 and 1860."