History of St. Martin | Ocean Springs Archive (2023)

AN EARLY HISTORY of ST. MARTIN COMMUNITY

Jackson County, Mississippi

St. Martin, an unincorporated community, appears to have fuzzy boundaries but can be broadly defined as that area of ​​West Jackson County, Mississippi, bordered on the west by the Harrison County town of D'Iberville and on the south by Back Bay is bounded by Biloxi and Fort Bayou, east by Eglin Road and north by Interstate Highway 10. This story will focus primarily on the families who settled west of Mississippi State Highway 609 (North Washington Avenue).

Postulated by local historian Dale Greenwell, the name St Martin is said to come from a French military officer, Raymond St Martin de Jorquiboey, who may have lived in the area for a short time in the mid-17th century. (Greenwell, 1968, p. 131)

The original St. Martin parish developed on the Point St. Martin Peninsula in Jackson County's Jean-Baptise Ladner Confirmation Claim Section 16 and Section 22, T7S-R9W. The St. Martin Peninsula is bounded by St. Martin Bayou to the north and northeast, the Back Bay of Biloxi to the east and south, and the city of D'Iberville to the west. Two prominent topographical features of the area are Avery Point (formerly Point Joli and Lopez Point) and Langley Point (formerly Point St. Martin and Tracy Point). Avery Point is named after W.G. Avery, who settled here in October 1941. Langley Point was named for Victor C. Langley and his family, who owned the point for approximately thirty years beginning in the 1920s.

This area of ​​Jackson County was originally settled by Jean-Baptiste Ladner (1783-1840+). He received a Spanish land grant here in 1800 when the area was part of Spanish West Florida. The Ladner tract known as Claim #158 was later confirmed by an act of Congress in March 1819 when the area was part of the United States. The December 1828 survey map shows claim #158 at 609.32 acres.

Jean-Baptiste Ladner was the son of Nicolas Ladner (c. 1727-1798) and Marianne Paquet (d. 1809). He bequeathed much of his land at Point St. Martin to Joseph Ladner (c. 1770-c. 1855), his elder brother, and his children.

Jean-Baptise Ladner married Julienne LaFontaine (1795-1846+), daughter of Auguste LaFontaine and Catherine Bourgeois, LaFontaine's widow. The LaFontaines are believed to be the first Ocean Springs family to settle here in about 1803. Upon the death of LaFontaine's widow circa 1847, Jean Baptise Ladner inherited Lot #3, a 720-foot stretch of Biloxi Bay in Ocean Springs. It was between Jackson Avenue and Washington Avenue. Ladner immediately sold the land to Robert B. Kendall.

In October 1840, Jean-Baptiste Ladner bequeathed land at St. Martin Point to his children: Julienne L. Fountain (1815-c. 1876), wife of Francois Fountain (c. 1798-c. 1885); Louise L. Beaugez (1820-1897), wife of Stanislaus Beaugez (1813-1889); Eloise L. Groue (1821-1890), wife of Louis Groue (1814-1887); Marie Arcinta L. LaForce, wife of Victor LaForce; Marie Palmire L. Ryan, wife of Victor Ryan; and Alfred Ladner (b.c. 1825), husband of Caroline Ryan (1824-1915).

These areas are located in what is now the Point St. Martin area, which is roughly between Langley Drive and Gulf Stream. By 1880, Joseph F. Dick (1837–1875), Louis Groue, and Laurent Tiblier (1847–1897) had acquired the interests of widows Arsine LaForce, Stanislaus Beaugez, and Alfred Ladner, respectively. At Point St. Martin the lands of Joseph Ladner, which lie west of Jean Baptise Ladner's heirs, were bequeathed to his children, who married into the Ryan, Bosarge, Moran, Rousseau and Bernard families.

Around the same time, 1840-1860, the region east of Point St. Martin was the center of settlement for immigrants, mainly from the Iberian Peninsula and Denmark. Here near and along Fort Bayou and Bayou Porteaux, men who were mainly seamen, John Rodriguez (Rodrigues) (1812-1860+), Joseph Diaz (1803-1860+), Ramon Cannette (1824-1880+), Antonio Marie (1832-1885), Antonio Franco (1834-1891), Captain Noye (1827-1860+), Joseph Basque (1804-1860) and Thomas Hanson (1810-1900) settled. She and her children intermarried into some of the local families already living in the area such as: Ryan, Ladner, Bosarge, Seymour and Cuevas (Quave).

Emmanuel Raymond (1833-1925), also of Spanish descent, immigrated in 1855. He married Mary Cruthirds (1844-1923) and probably settled in the parish of Latimer.

These Spanish and Portuguese settlers were recent immigrants and not descendants of Spanish colonizers anecdotally associated with the Spanish encampment of Fort Point Peninsula in Ocean Springs. Antonio Franco and Antonio Marie, who married Artemese (1840–1912) and Jane Rodrigues (1844–1915), daughters of John Rodrigues and Marie-Martha Ryan, later owned property in Ocean Springs.

In November 1881, Marie purchased from the Schmidt family the White House, a small inn and bar on Robinson across from the L&N Depot. When he died intestate at Ocean Springs in December 1885, his estate consisted primarily of four shore schooners: Sea Witch, Esperanza, Hortence, and Maud.

Antonio Franco settled on the south shore of Fort Bayou, where he operated a ferry at the north end of Washington Avenue. The ferry connected Ocean Springs to the community of St. Martin and Back Bay (now D'Iberville) to the west.

Some families of Italian origin such as Capillo and Fugassa (Fergonis) also settled here along the Bayou Porteaux. In the early history of this area, few Americans like William C. Seaman (1801-1844) and Joseph R. Plummer (1804-1860+) stayed here.

Other families who later settled in the western part of the parish of St. Martin were: Fountain, Tracy, Fayard, Cannette, Boney, Curry, Bullock, Borries, Moore, Batia, Anderson, Rodrigues, Reynoir, Lepoma, Raymond, Terretta, Giametta, Seymour, Trochessett, Arnold, Balthrope, Simpson, Peacock, Boldt, Cook, Labash, Birdsell, Attenhofer, Letort,Langley, Lauffer, Hanneman, Toups, and Diaz.

The area east of St. Martin was later settled by these families: Suarez, Desporte, Caldwell, Tiblier, Manuel, Borries, Reno, Raymond, Gustafson, Peterson, and Morris.

These early coastal families of St. Martin made their living from the sea and the land. At that time the coves and bayous were rich in fish, oysters and shrimp. Vegetable gardens, chickens, cattle and game provided additional food for the table. Additional income was generated by selling fresh pork, potatoes, eggs, chicken, and other farm produce at Biloxi Market, especially after the opening of the Back Bay and Fort Bayou bridges in 1901. Some families burned wood to make charcoal for establish the New Orleans market while others raised cattle for milk, hides, and meat. Sheep farming provided wool and mutton.

The Back Bay Ferry and Roads

Intermittently from 1843 to 1901, a steam ferry ran from the south shore of Biloxi Bay near Lameuse Street to a dock on the north shore of present-day D'Iberville, west of the I-110 bridge. The rate of ferries at this time was set by the Harrison County Police Department. TOILET. Seaman (1801-1844), a New Yorker, was granted the rights to operate the first ferry. He was allowed to ask for the following sentences:

Overwater, the Coastal Schooner, Catboat, Skiff, Back Bay Ferry to Biloxi, Morris, Wells, and Lamey Ferries across the Tchoutacabouffa River, Popp's Ferry, which connects the upper reaches of Back Bay, and the Franco Earle Ferry, which crossed Fort Bayou at Ocean Springs, was the only way to enter or leave the St. Martin region, except for the land routes from the Northeast. These were Bluff Creek Road and Big Ridge Road. The piers for the ferries were generally accessed via wagon tracks and some "gravel and dirt tracks" maintained by road wardens employed by the Board of Police (now Board of Supervisors) of the respected counties in which they are situated.

It seems that before December 1912, when H.E. Latimer (1855-1941) & Sons were commissioned to build a $3,000 road from Bayou Puerto to the Harrison County Line, where there was only one wagon lane.Die Jackson County Timesdated February 24, 1917, the following remark about the road:If Biloxi wants to encourage motor traffic between Ocean Springs and this town, the people over there should get behind their supervisors and make sure the road from the county line to the bridge is in decent condition. This stretch of road is in frightening condition and a disgrace to Harrison County. Ocean Springs and the surrounding country have built a number of magnificent roads here, one of which leads to the Harrison County border, where it continues into the city of Biloxi. From the county line to the bridge, the square has more bumps than an old-fashioned corduroy road. Motorists certainly get their bumps when they reach this stretch of road. (The Jackson County Times, February 24, 1917, p. 5)

This route became known as Biloxi-Ocean Springs Road (now Le Moyne Boulevard) after a new concrete bridge over Back Bay replacing the 1901 wooden bridge and this concrete road were completed in January 1927. The Moore Construction Company with FH McGowen of Ocean Springs as consulting engineer were commended for their great efforts in building the Biloxi-Ocean Springs Road. HE. Latimer & Sons had completed the road from the north end of the Fort Bayou bridge to the west gate of Rose Farm in January 1913. These two thoroughfares connected the community of St. Martin to Ocean Springs.

At that time J.K. Lemon (1870-1929) was the Jackson County Beat Four supervisor and a strong advocate and motivator for this project and the "Million Dollar" Highway that connected Ocean Springs to the Alabama state line in 1926. Supervisor Lemon also aggressively campaigned for The War Memorial Bridge across Biloxi Bay from Biloxi to Ocean Springs, which was dedicated in June 1930. This new route removed the "Old Spanish Trail" designation from the St. Martin area. It now ran straight from Biloxi to Ocean Springs and east toward St. Augustine, Florida.

The road connecting Back Bay and St. Martin to Popp's Ferry Road was an extension of the road already heading east from the ferry terminal. People living west of Back Bay had to cross other peoples' lands to get to the village. In many cases the land was fenced and only a waterway was practicable. In May 1914, the Harrison County Board of Directors, led by FW Elmer, planned the route to connect the two roads and give the people of Back Bay a land route to Pass Christian Road west of Biloxi.

The Mims and later Morris Ferry provided transportation across the Tchoutacabouffa River near Cedar Lake until an iron bridge was completed here in April 1909.

The "Corso Bridge" near the old Wells ferry dock across the Tchoutacabouffa River on Highway 55 was completed in February 1949.

Lamey's bridge

Annie Hosli Lamey (born 1869) and Phillip Lamey (born 1874) sold land to Harrison County in October 1911 to build a bridge over the Tchoutacabouffa River at the old Lamey ferry crossing at Section 33, T6S-9W. A contract was awarded to the Austin Brothers by the Harrison County Board of Supervisors in November 1913. By April 1914 Lamey's Bridge was operational with the following one-way tolls:

Before all these feats of engineering were accomplished, adventurous travelers would visit the immediate area or see the tiny enclave of Back Bay-St. Martin from the end of the 18th century. In 1784, Thomas Hutchins, Surveyor General of the United States, while exploring the Mississippi coast, made the following observation:There are still a few residents in Biloxi, some of whom are descendants of the original settlers. Their main occupation is the raising of cattle and livestock and the manufacture of pitch and tar: but the natives(Inder)are annoying to them.

Benjamin L.C.'s report Wailes (1797-1862), viewing the village of Back Bay from the south shore near Biloxi on August 27, 1852, relates:In the morning, after a phone call from Judge Smith, I rode to Back Bay 2 miles which is an extension of the Bay of Baluxi (sic). Found a steam ferry passing over what appears to be a mile wide. Mr. Kendall's extensive brick works, where bricks are made on a very large scale from dry, compressed earth by steam power, could be seen on the opposite side, about two miles away. There were several small boats in the bay and several along the shore were being repaired. Also in sight were several steam mills that exist on the bay for sawing pine wood.

Back Bay was described inThe Biloxi Heraldof November 21, 1891 as follows:A twenty-minute walk from the depot takes you to one of the loveliest spots on the Biloxi side of Back Bay, Reynoir Place, near which the little passenger tug Jennie docks. A ten-minute walk on this beautiful body of water brings you to the quaint village of Back Bay (now D'Iberville), scattered about two miles along the coast, sheltering nearly two hundred and fifty residents and boasting a Roman Catholic church house, a schoolhouse, several Shops and a shipyard for shipbuilding. The houses are mostly small cottages nestled in clumps of trees on a knoll that can hardly be described as a hill or ridge, rising straight up from the water in some places and resembling the terraced slopes of the Ocean Springs frontage, in others between the knoll and the water lies a narrow sandy beach or a swamp. The schoolhouse is very conveniently located; The waters of the bay, half veiled by a grove of trees, shimmer in the distance ahead and the forest to the rear is a perfect delight with its mix of deciduous and evergreen trees creating enchanting views and shady corners. Gum, oak, sycamore and maple bear the imprint of autumn's glorious reign in vivid, fiery strokes of its heart, while the autumn pines wave their feathered tops as they breathe a faint, strange requiem for the beautiful, passionate, summer gone. (p. 4)

The Daily Picayune24 July 1892 tells the voyage of Catherine Cole, who traveled from Ocean Springs to Back Bay via St. Martin. She vividly described part of that journey as follows:An hour goes by and, still under the feather pines, we have come to beautiful Back Bay, famous for its oysters, baths, scenery and shoots. This is the main suburb of Biloxi, just as Biloxi is the lakefront capital.(S. 12)

"Le joi de vivre" was indelibly rooted in the indigenous people of St. Martin. Their southern Mediterranean genes created a passionate people who loved their God, family, work, and pastimes, including gambling, music, and dancing. It seems that horse racing was a popular pastime for the residents of St. Martin. Races were held on Sunday and attracted local residents, riders and players from the area. They came on foot, in cartloads, or on horseback. There were two racetracks in the general area, and the Race Track Road opened about 1892 from Point St. Martin to Quave's Ferry in Back Bay. It became a public road in June 1912. Dale Greenwell answeredThe North Biloxiandated December 11, 1975, description of the circuit:The track was a long dirt track, part of an old wagon track from St. Martin to D'Iberville. It was flanked by homes behind picket fences, wooded areas, and picnic lawns.

Two Harvey brothers, Casimir Harvey (1845-1905) and Phillip Harvey (1851-1918), the sons of Pierre Harvey (1810-1883) and Celestine Moran (1811-1883), were known as horse racers and dealers.The Biloxi Heraldof March 1, 1890 the following:Casmere Harvey is proud to own one of the nimblest horses on the Coast, and Clara P., for symmetry and beauty of proportion in limbs and length are hard to beat.

In the horse trade, Mr. Phillip Harvey has no rival. No equine beauty passes his critical eye without command; and he invariably gets there, like the notorious Eli.

Again on March 29, 1890,The Biloxi Heraldthe Harvey brothers noted:

Casmere Harvey has sold his acclaimed hit Cannon Ball.

Phil Harvey had a good trip of over 35 miles in the country earlier in the week after a runaway horse. He got his stray animal and at the same time ran a lucrative horse trade. Nothing slow about Phil.

The Harvey family lived on the "west end" of the small community of Back Bay (now D'Iberville). St. Martin Point was nicknamed the "East End" by locals. Casimir Harvey made his living as a ship's carpenter, building some of the finest schooners on the coast. In March 1891, Phil Harvey bought a 1/2 arpent by 1 arpent property in Point St. Martin from Edward Cannette (1866-1948). Here Phil Harvey built a house which was blessed by Father Blanc in May 1892. He also set up a shop and was doing good business here in February 1892. As well as the Harvey shop, Pierre Cannette and later Armand Fayard (1870-1953) ran small shops south of Race Track Road on opposite corners of Reynoir (now Brittany). Phil Harvey also served the people of Point St. Martin as Deputy Constable. He had a reputation for bringing peace to his neighborhood.

There have been occasional incursions into the Point St. Martin area by "crooks" and a "scrap" between neighbors. One such tussle occurred in February 1892, when Henry Fayard and William Ladnier broke the monotony of the Peninsular community. Ladnier was defeated without serious injury. Phil Harvey sold his property to Frank Perez in January 1902 and moved to Biloxi.

It is widely believed that horse racing at the "east end" ended in December 1902 when Joseph Randolph Quave (1888–1902), son of Raymond J. Quave (1851–1908), was killed while riding his father's mount trained. Little Nellie. "Little Nellie" was scheduled to compete against Gulfport's "Sleepy Tom" for $100 in prize money. Tony Terretta (1907-1996+) says friendly races continued until about 1915.

LAUFFERS' DANCE ROOM

St. Martin had a popular dance hall called Lauffer's Hall. It was located on the Ocean Springs-Biloxi Road in the north half of Lot 1 of Section 15, T7S-R9W. Today this location would be between present-day Mescalero and Cheyenne Drives on the south side of Le Moyne Boulevard. The forty acres surrounding the dance club were part of the pecan orchard of Mrs. Lauffer's grandfather, George Rossman (1832-1920+), a German immigrant from whom she boughtthe property in October 1920.

The dance hall was owned by George G. Lauffer (1878-1942), known as Jack Lauffer. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky and in February 1915 married Dorothy Haneman (1879-1956), a native of Davenport, Iowa. They lived on the old Smith Farm just north of the company. In addition to running his club, Lauffer served the residents of St. Martin as their rural postman (a Tucei before him). In the 1920s all post boxes were at Point St Martin on the north west corner of Race Track Road and Reynoir (now Brittany) next to the estate of Nunzio Terretta (1868-1954).(The Daily Herald, 9. Februar 1915, S. 2)

Jack Lauffer appears to have been in the dance hall business as early as 1916.Die Jackson County Timesof March 31, 1917 announced the following:The Times has been asked to state that there will be a big dance in aid of the Back Bay Catholic Church at Jack Lauffer's transition home on Saturday night after Easter(Holy Heart). All cordially invited.

Regina Fountain Seymour (1905-2000) remembers going to Lauffer's with her cousins ​​when she was fifteen. They were accompanied by an elderly aunt. Admission to the ballroom was fifteen or twenty cents, and the patron was given a ribbon to wear to show he or she had paid. No alcohol was tolerated in the club. Bands by Biloxi-Joe Fallo or John Bertucci played frequently. Boys on horseback would come from Woolmarket. Elderly people also took part in the dances, many of which were for charity.

Popular local musicians played at the club including John J. Bertucci (1875-1961) of Biloxi, who played the trumpet, and his Imperial Jazz Band, a five piece combo. The Lauffers appear to have exited the entertainment business when they sold the property to David J. Venus (1877-1932) in January 1926 for $2,500. It is possible that the structure is burned.

Other dance halls in the area frequented by St Martin's residents were those of Ramon Fournier (1876-1949) and Alphonse Seymour (1888-1962). They were in Harrison County in what is now D'Iberville at the west end of Race Track Road.

Musician

Well-known musicians from the immediate area are: Peter J. Lepre (1899-1990) and the indirectly world-famous clarinetist Peter D. Fountain Jr. (b. 1930). Known as "Fiddling Pete," Lepre entertained the people of the Mississippi coast for decades with his music and storytelling. Fiddler's Place, a small housing development, is under construction on the northwest corner of Race Track Road and Pringle.

Peter Dewey Fountain (1902-1979), called Dewey, the father of Pete Fountain, was also a talented musician. He was born in St Martin to Raymond Fountain (1874-1938) and Adonia Groue (1876-1962). Dewey met and married Madeleine Letort of New Orleans. They lived in the Crescent City after their marriage there in 1926. Pete Foutain was born on July 3, 1930 in New Orleans and spent summers in the East End with his family in St. Martin.Fountain-LeTort's many uncles, aunts, and cousins ​​who resided there. As a young man, Pete Fountain played music at the St. Martin Community Center, the neighborhood's social center and another place where community dances were held.

The original St. Martin Community Center, a wooden structure, may have been built as a WPA project during the Great Depression. A writ in Jackson County Chancery Court shows that in July 1941 B.H. Shannon sold a plot of land (100 feet by 184 feet) on the east side of Fountain Road (now St Martin Road) to the St Martin Community Club, a local community fee-paying organization. Here the people of St. Martin celebrated weddings, danced and met with their social and civic organizations. After the old building burned down in the late 1960s, a new concrete block building was erected. Bands like Gulfport's Pee Wee Maddux and the Rocking Rebels, which featured locals Doty and Ray Fournier, often performed here.

civil war

During the Civil War (1861-1865) several young men from the St. Martin area, particularly from the families of Francois Fountain (1798-1885) and Pierre Ryan (1790-1878), enlisted with Company A, "The Live OAK". Rifles" of the 3rd Mississippi Regiment and went to war. The Live Oak Rifles had been sworn into government service on September 18, 1861 on the plantation of Sardin G. Ramsay (1837-1920). The large Ramsay farm was about seven miles north-east of Ocean Springs, whose young men formed a considerable part of the firm W. G. Bullock (1840-1919) of Georgia, who married Adele Seymour (1842-1913), also served in this conflict. Bullock was the ancestor of a large family living near the Bosarge, Letort, and Seymour clans in the area about half a mile northeast of Bayou St. Martin and south of the Ocean Springs-Biloxi Road (N/2 of Los 1 , Section 15, T7S-R9W).

From Reconstruction (1865-1877) to the turn of the century, the descendants and spouses of the old Ladner families maintained the status quo, earning their living simply from sea and land. The Fountains, Groues, Ladners, Beaugezs, Fergones, Bosarge, Rodriguez, Cannettes, Letorts, Tibliers, Fayards, Rousseau and Boneys were the seamen and oystercatchers. Families such as the Bullock, Trochesset, Basque, Raymond, Seymour, Caldwell and Latimer were more apt to engage in farming and ranching. Lumberjacks and coal burners tended to come from the Bosarge, Ryan, Desporte, Borries and Seymour families.

black families

The few black families in the community of St. Martin, the Bayards, Houses, Thompsons, Harveys, Franklins, and Weldys lived in the Gulf Hills area, where they made their living as charcoal burners and lumberjacks. Prior to 1900, Martin Ryan (1842-1913), Jacob Elmer (1812-1894), Theo Borries, Joseph Basque (1804-1860), and William Seymour (1837-1908) held positions of large tracts in the eastern area of ​​the St. Martin Community.

SHOP

At the "east end" there were very few indigenous businessmen. With the exception of Martin Fountain (1857–1938), a ship's carpenter, and later the Hypolite Borries family (1861–1920+) and Van Eaton Seymour (1885–1953), who were butchers and sold meat and milk, most the people of St. Martin lived from the fruits of their labor. Some of the Cannettes and Fayards had small shops along Race Track Road selling basic groceries.

Manuel post office

Louis George Manuel (1848-1903), husband of Mary Theodora Desporte (1848-1903), was the only postmaster at St Martin. He ran a small post office called "Manuel" in 1898. It was probably in the Bayou Porteaux area off the Biloxi-Ocean Springs Road. Manuel also served as a state representative for West Jackson County residents in the late 1890s. The early North Biloxi traders were largely the Quaves, Harveys, Santa Cruzs, Brodies, Mulhollands, Morans and Seymours who now lived and operated in the "West End" near the ferry dock and later the wooden bridge in D'Iberville.

outsider

After the turn of the 20th century, foreign faces from Italy and Croatia increasingly appeared in the municipality of St. Martin. Before this small southern European influx between 1900 and 1920, there were some arrivals from Europe in the late 19th century and some "outsiders" who came to St.Martin.

Among the "outsiders" were Arthur Reynoir (1832-1897), a land speculator living in New Orleans and Biloxi, and Professor Samuel M. Tracy (1847-1920) of Vermont, who settled on what later became Treasure Point became known or Tracy Point (now Langley Point). Edgar S. Balthorpe (1873-1939) also came to the area via New Orleans. He was born in Saerton, Missouri near Hannibal, the childhood home of Mark Twain (1835-1910). Balthorpe was involved in food retailing, sawmilling and tree nurseries until his retirement in 1933.

CI Simpson (1855-1910+) of New York and Parker Earle (1831-1917) of Vermont were farmhands. Simpson farmed the area northwest of St. Martin School.

Parker Earle

Parker Earle settled in Ocean Springs in 1887. He was a successful orchardist in southern Illinois, where he invented the refrigerator truck. Earle and his sons Franklin S. Earle (1856-1929) and Charles T. Earle (1861-1901) established Earle Farm north of Fort Bayou. This commercial farming enterprise in the eastern parish of St. Martin later became known as Rose Farm, which existed until 1910. The HD The Money family of Holmes County, Mississippi, was the last to operate the "Rose Farm," where they grew citrus and pecans for many decades.

Between 1866 and 1873, Frenchmen such as Aristide Letort (1849-1924), Fritz E. Bonjour (1840-1911), and Jean V. Trochesset (1848-1903) came to the United States. Joseph Suarez (1840-1912) from the Canary Islands also arrived before 1900. Letort and Suarez were oyster farmers working in the coves and bayous for the succulent mollusks. Both men have many descendants along the Mississippi coast. Mayor AJ Holloway of Biloxi, who has strong ties to Ocean Springs, is a direct descendant of Aristide Letort.

F.E. Bonjour, born in Switzerland, became a licensed pharmacist in March 1893 and worked in Ocean Springs for Dr. OIL. Bailey (1870-1938). An eccentric, Bonjour lived alone in the upper reaches of Bayou Porteaux and owned land on Ocean Springs-Biloxi Road (Le Moyne Boulevard) that became part of the estate of German immigrant farmer Charles W. Dundolph (1844-1920+). . Bonjour later worked for the Phoenix drugstore in Biloxi. dr Bailey faithfully served the medical needs of St. Martin from his office in Ocean Springs.

Jean V. Trochesset and his family moved to the area on a schooner from Louisiana in 1893. Initially he was a farmer, but his male children were boat builders, carpenters and fishermen. Trochesset built a large beachfront home just south of Race Track Road on a 11-acre lot he bought from Celestine Ladner in 1893. He served as a trustee for Back Bay Public School and owned several schooners including the fast racer,american girl, built by Martin Fountain.

After the death of J.V. Trochesset married Trochesset's widow, Marie Mathieu (1860-1942), Baptiste Moran (1862-1927). When she and her daughters Felicie T. Thompson (1895-1980) and Reseda T. Beyer (1900-1991) subdivided Trochesset land in July 1922, it became the first plated subdivision at St. Martin Point. The Trochesset tract was subdivided into ten lots on the east side of what is now M&L Road. The nine sons of Jean Victor Trochesset: Louis (1878-1933), Phillip (1879-1979), Jules Pierre (1880-1971), Joseph (1882-1963), Charles (1883-1970), Paul (1885–1968), Laurence (1888–1974), Octave (1890–1955) and Albert (1891–1963), received one each. The Trochesset house was sold to Edward Brady and Fergus Bohn in April 1925.

Arthur Reynoir

It appears that Arthur Reynoir (1832-1897), a native of the West Indies, probably Haiti, was the first to speculate on land at St. Martin Point. Reynoir and his wife Rosa Dorsey (1842-1917) lived in New Orleans and Biloxi. Their Biloxi home was at the top of what is now Reynoir Street, which takes their name from them. After Reconstruction, the Reynoirs summered in Biloxi until acquiring permanent residence there around 1892. In New Orleans, Mr. Reynoir was well known in business circles, while his wife owned a fashion store on Chartres Street. Mrs. Reynoir, once described as one of the most forward-thinking milliners in New Orleans, would travel to the New York City market and buy the latest hats, caps and trimmings. She was a major merchant of Berlia Zephyr, a fine, soft, light cloth.

Arthur Reynoir began acquiring land in St Martin in June 1887 when he bought a 40 Arpent strip of Bay Bay from the heirs of Francis Moran and Catherine Fournier. This became known as the Reynoir Strip and was bounded by the Renoir Road (now Brittany) to the west and the Rousseau Strip to the east. Hans Hirsch and Edward W. Kuss of New Orleans purchased part of the Reynoir estate in the early 1900s. Others from "outside" are buying Reynoir properties in this area, where Charles E. Moore (1866-1933), William Curry (b. 1891), George Norton (b. 1893) and Joseph Schmid.

By December 1882 there had been a major change in local ownership of Point St. Martin when Martin Fountain (1857-1938), youngest son of Francois Fountain and Julienne Ladner (1815-1876), bought 50 acres from Joseph Rousseau ( 1838-1900+) and Daniel Rousseau (born 1842). This tract ran east along Biloxi Bay from the Harrison County line about 300 feet. This is where Martin Fountain lived with his family and built boats until he sold his land to H.M. Tracy (1847-1920) in August 1905 and moved to Biloxi. Tracy's involvement in Point St. Martin is discussed later.

Tracy sold some of the Martin Well lands to Charles M. Birdsell (1865-1924+), an Iowa native, cattle dealer in August 1919. Day Race Track Road and Beach Bayou Road as "Birdsell's Hill".

The former Martin Fountain tract became North Shore Terrace, the second subdivision of St. Martin, in November 1925 when it was overrun by members of the Corso, Tedesco, Krebs (Shankland), and Hunt families. Name changed to Beach Bayou Subdivision in July 1957.

THE ITALIANS OF ST. Martin

Between 1902 and 1905, several related families of Italian descent settled in the community of St. Martin north of Biloxi, Mississippi. They were the Terrettas, Lepomas and Giamettas. Originally they were truck builders, but these Sicilian immigrants also worked in the seafood and trading industries. Another Italian and progenitor of the Lepre family of D'Iberville and the Mississippi coast, Captain Peter Lepre (1841-1916) emigrated to the United States about 1853. He married Celina Moran (c. 1845-1870+), daughter of Edouard Moran (c. 1812-1880+) and Celestine Ladner (c. 1816-1880+) in September 1869. Peter Lepre immigrated from Palermo, Sicily and resided on Fayard Street in Biloxi at the time of his death.

LAND

Frank Terretta (1870-1917) and his wife Rosa Pria (1873-1945+) appear to have been the first Italian emigrants of the 20th century, arriving in St. Martin probably around 1902. They immigrated to the United States in 1894, from Palermo, Sicily. His brother, Alberto Nunzio Terretta (1868-1954), came to America in 1897. Before the Terretta brothers came to Jackson County, Mississippi, they lived in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents were Antonio Terretta (1837-1927) and Catherine Giaccona (1839-1930), who must have joined them in Jackson County after 1910.

Frank Terretta and Rosa Pria had an adopted son, Anthony Terretta (1913-1996+), who was born in Louisiana. Rosa married Anthony Rodriguez (1855–1928) after her husband died in June 1917. Tony Rodriguez was with Josephine Miller (1861–1914), daughter of George Barney Miller (c. 1820–1860+) and Marie Delphine Bouzage (b. 1823-1860+). Josephine was the mother of Amelia R. Fountain (1879-1949), Daniel Rodriguez (1885-1964), and Augustine R. Fountain (1887-1958). Rosa Pria survived several other husbands and died in Independence, Louisiana after World War II. Her remains were buried in Tangipahoa Township.

In July 1903, Frank Terretta purchased five acres of land near Miguel Rodriguez and Eugene Bosarge on Section 15, T7S-R9W from Louis Raymond. Anthony Lepoma (1866-1923) and Tony Terretta (1837-1927) were his partners. Included in the land trade were lots 5-7 of the Francis Well tract.(1) Lepoma was still living in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, in April 1910 when Laz Lopez (1877-1918) purchased these tracts from them.

Frank Terretta also purchased five acres of land on the east side of the old Martin Well tract from Samuel M. Tracy (1847-1920) in February 1910.(2) He planted pecan trees here, a small tree from nurseries costing about five cents. Peter Arnold later bought the orchard and harvested 4,000 pounds of pecans.

In July 1911 the Terretta brothers bought ten acres of wooded land along the west side of the Reynoir Road (now Brittany) from Jacob Husley (1863-1948).(3) Anthony Lepoma (1866-1923), who with Maria Terretta (1883-1941) , the sister of Frank and Nunzio Terretta, bought the five acres west of this property in November 1915. It was on the Race Track Road.

SCHÖN

Anthony Lepoma (1866-1923) was born in Naples, Italy. In the old country the name Lepoma may have been spelled Lipuma. Emigrated to the USA in 1890. In New York he met the Sicilian Maria Terretta (1883-1941). They lived in Michigan and Louisiana (LaPlace Kenner area), where he worked in animal husbandry. The Lepomas arrived in St. Martin around 1911.

In 1920, Tony Lepoma earned his living as a fisherman. He and Mary had a very large family: Ross Lepoma (1899-1963), Anthony Lepoma Jr. (1900-1926), Roy Lepoma (1905-1963+), Sam Lepoma, Joe Lepoma (1907-1957), Lee R. Lepoma (1909–1959), Jeanette L. Landry (1910–1978), Catherine L. Stiglets, Frances L. Monteleone, Katherine Lepoma Bellew (b. 1913), Josephine L. Vassalli (1915–1963+), Madeline L. Lanz (1917-1963+), James Lepoma (1920-1945) and Vincent Lepoma (1923-1975). The Lepoma children were born in New York, Louisiana and Mississippi. Tony Lepoma Jr. (1900-1926) ran a small shop in the front yard of his home in East Reynoir, Brittany.

Mrs. Mary Terretta Lepoma began the construction of the St. Joseph Altar in the Parish of St. Martin. This was a Sicilian custom, and on March 19 an annual festival was held in honor of St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. During the Middle Ages, a drought and then famine brought the people of Sicily to their knees and prayed to St. Joseph for relief. St. Joseph had provided bread for the Christ child and they wanted him to do the same for them. If their prayers were answered, the suffering Sicilians promised to share food with the poor. Your prayers have been answered.

The St. Joseph Altar is built by the men. The women prepare seafood, noodles, vegetables, sesame biscuits and fig cakes. Italian bread is baked in the form of crosses, staffs of St. Joseph and other symbols of this sacred occasion. On the altar, which is decorated with flowers and candles, the food that is distributed among the needy is distributed. The green field bean is also served. Dried, roasted and blessed, it turns into the "lucky bean". Tradition has it that as long as your person wears the lucky bean, you will never be broke!

After Mrs. Lepoma passed away, her daughter Catherine Stiglets continued the tradition in her home. Today, Mrs. Lepoma's granddaughter, Janice L. Fountain, and her sister-in-law, Jackie Landry, are preparing the St. Joseph altar at the home of Lee Landry in St. Martin Parish.

Alberto Nunzio Terretta (1868-1954) was married to Maria Gagliano (1868-1954), also from Italy. Their three children Catherine T. Galiano (1900-ca. 1975), Lucy T. Cannette (1903-1973) and Anthony Joseph Terretta (1907-2005) were born in Brooklyn, New York. In Brooklyn, Nunzio Terretta made a living cleaning ships' boilers. He became dissatisfied with working there and came south to New Orleans.

Anthony J. Terretta(1907-2005)

The eldest child, Catherine Terretta, married Joseph Galiano, who lived in the Vieux Carre and sold produce in the French market. Lucy Terretta married Julius Cannette (1897-1983) and they resided in St Martin. Anthony Joseph Terretta was married to Mona Louise Khayat (1909-1973) of Biloxi. Mona was the daughter of Assad A. Khayat (1875–1929) and Mona Butrous (1878–1922), both Syrian immigrants. Mona was the sister of Eddie Khayat (1911-1993), who served on the Jackson County board of directors for thirty-two years. After her death, Anthony married Lynn V. Mayo Carr (1919–2006), a widow of Clarke County, Mississippi.Mona went to Hollywood in the early 1930s and played minor roles in several motion pictures. She starred in The Life of a Bengal Lancer in 1935 with Gary Cooper.

Joseph Giamette(1857-1935)

Biloxi Cemetery-October 2012

JAMETTA

Giuseppe (Joseph) Giametta (1857-1935) and Camella Terretta (1868-1944) arrived in the United States from Canada in 1915. Mrs. Giametta was a twin sister of Nunzio Terretta. The Giamettas had immigrated to Canada in 1895. Their children Anna Borne Giametta m. Beaugez (1898-1986); Charles Giametta (1900-1970) m. Theresa DeCarlo (1901-1937); Katharina Giametta with Dauro (1904-1970+); Pauline Giametta with Dauro (1906-1970+); and Josephine Giametta m. Fountain (1907-1982) was born in Canada. Joseph Giametta purchased a small piece of land on Race Track Road east of the Trochesset Strip from Joseph Schmid in July 1915.

Karl Giametta(1900-1970)

Biloxi Friedhof (October 2012)

In 1931 Charles Giametta bought property on the east side of his father's land next to the Trochessets. He was married to Olena Cannette (1900-1920), who died of the Spanish flu pandemic. After her death, Giametta married Theresa DeCarlo (1901-1937) of New Orleans, who died in childbirth. His last wife was Josephine Chiniche. Giametta moved to Bay St. Louis around 1945 where he worked as a bridge tender for the L&N Railroad.

These Italian families worked very hard in their fields, which they had cleared of pine trees and stumps. These sons of the Mediterranean fertilized with a mulch made from decaying shrimp shells. The hulls were obtained from the fish factory dumps along the north shore of Back Bay in Biloxi. They also used horse manure collected from the stables in Biloxi and the dried droppings of farm animals that roamed the area.

These immigrant farmers grew vegetables and fruits - sweet potatoes, beets, tomatoes, okra, peppers, okra, corn, shallots, garlic, beans, squashes, cantaloupes, figs, squashes, sugarcane, etc. They bought some of their seeds from the Quave Store at the west end. They also raised livestock, especially goats, from whose rich milk they drank and made cheese.

After the crops were ripe and harvested, the Italian men loaded them onto horse-drawn wagons and headed south to Biloxi. Here they sold their fresh organic produce on the city streets. Sweet potatoes went for $1.00 a bushel basket and okra for a dozen nickels. The Terrettas had no scales to weigh their green wares.

It was common to see Mr. Nunzio Terretta, with his umbrella stripped, perched high in the seat of his carriage crossing the old wooden Back Bay Bridge. His son Anthony Terretta, who was born in 1907 and currently resides in Pascagoula, tells a story about his father and uncle Joseph Giametta:The Biloxi housewives called my dad Nunzio "Sweet Peppa." He spoke broken English and yelled "sweeta peppa" as his truck rolled down the dirt streets of Biloxi's working-class neighborhoods. His brother-in-law, Joseph Giametta, spoke very little English. His vegetable truck followed Terretta's. When Nunzio announced his presence in the neighborhood with his business card "sweeta peppa", Joe followed with "mea too ah".

On his return to St. Martin, Nunzio Terretta would kindly stop and pick up grateful schoolchildren heading home from their classes in his hopefully empty boxcar.

The Italian families were independent. They baked their own bread, dried tomatoes to make tomato sauce, made pear and blackberry wine, and brewed a root beer. Occasionally they rode the tour train to New Orleans to fetch local provisions. Olive oil, dried figs and five-pound cases of spaghetti were bought at the Quality Grocery Store on Decatur Street. Christmas was often celebrated with an undecorated fir tree. Her children received apples and oranges as gifts. In good times, a small wooden toy may appear under the tree. Mrs. Terretta made small cakes in the shape of crab and shrimp stuffed with figs.

Some of the Italian women worked in the local fish factories. They rose in the early hours to the factory whistle and walked miles from their homes on Race Track Road to their jobs in Back Bay. Some worked at the Quave factory in North Biloxi.

Descendants of all three families still live in the parish of St. Martin, with the Lepoma name being the most common.

Other Europeans

Another family of southern European origin who settled in St. Martin before 1920 were the Savin brothers, Antonio Savin (1881-1920+), John Savin (1885-1920+) and Marion Savin (1889-1920+). They came from the island of Molat off the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. The Savin brothers emigrated to America between 1911 and 1913. In St. Martin, Tony Savin had a truck farm, John toiled away as a shop mechanic, probably for James Ferguson (1897-1920+), and Marion fished. The town of Savin was north of St. Martin Bayou between the lands of Van Eaton Seymour and Charles Dundolph and also south of the Ocean Springs-Biloxi Road (now Le Moyne). In April 1922, John Savin married Elizabeth Latimer. She was the daughter of Judge J.A. Latimer (1859-1922) and Jane Seymour. Judge Latimer may have been the first person to own a car in the eastern parish of St. Martin.

Other non-Indigenous families who settled on the beach before 1920 and acquired land from the Ladner heirs and their descendants were: Edward Boldt, Charles M. Birdsell, Aristide G. Toups, and later John S. Attenhoffer.

Edward Boldt (1856-1923) was a German immigrant who arrived in America in 1875. He settled in Iowa, where he married and started a family. After the death of his wife, Boldt moved his young family to De Beque, Colorado, where he established a successful horse and cattle ranch. After the turn of the century, Boldt and his daughter Eva Boldt (1880-1924+) lived in Salt Lake City, several Southern California cities, and in Panama City in the Canal Zone before arriving in Point St. Martin in the fall of 1914. Here they settled in Point Joli (now Avery Point) down. Eva Boldt bought a Ford car in 1923 and was believed to be one of the first to own a car in the community with some members of the Beaugez and Fountain families.

Others

Charles M. Birdsell (1865-1923+) was from Iowa. He raised cattle in the St. Martin area and owned the old Martin Fountain house, which was on a rise east of Beach Bayou Road and north of Race Track Road. Birdsell bought the house from Professor S.M. Tracy in August 1919. Mr. Birdsell was married to Leila F. ? (1861-1923), who was born in Rockford, Illinois. Mrs. Birdsell, although a Presbyterian, was actively involved in the founding of the Methodist Mission Church on Race Track Road. The Birdsells later moved to Biloxi, where he was active in the Biloxi Tourist Club.

Aristide G. Toups (1871-1924) was from Louisiana. He bought property from Sam Boney near the Fayards and Tibliers, just west of Professor Tracy at St. Martin's Point, in April 1915. James Gibboney and Mrs. Maude Fabacher later lived in this area. Mrs. Naomi Toups (1880-1924+) made clothing for the local people while her daughter Blanche Toups (1901-1924+) taught at Bayou Poito School. The Toups moved to New Orleans after Mr. Toups' health began to fail in the early 1920s.

The Attenhoffers lived on the beach in the Rousseau Strip west of the Trochesset family. No more information.

Although the residents of St. Martin were mostly self-employed as oyster farmers and fishermen in the fishing industry, as farmers tilled the soil or burned charcoal, there were other businesses. Tourism, boat building, seafood processing, retail stores, and turpentine were some of these industries that provided additional jobs in the area.

The St. Charles Hotel

One of the first commercial ventures in Point St. Martin was the St. Charles Hotel. It was erected in March 1890 by Professor Samuel M. Tracy (1847-1920) at the eastern end of the peninsula. Colonel B. Fisher was the architect. Some carpenters of the Tracy Public House project were: W.G. Bullock (1840-1919) and L. McDonald.The Biloxi Heraldof March 8, 1890 proclaimed:The St. Charles Hotel is thriving. The new summer residence, to be opened as a boarding house or hotel, will be pushed forward as soon as skill and help can be secured at Point St. Martin, once completed.

Tracy-Langley Point

Samuel M. Tracy was born in Sherman, Vermont. Professor Tracy, educated at Michigan State and Harvard, taught botany and agriculture at the University of Missouri from 1877 to 1887. In 1887 he became director of the Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station in Starkville. Tracy remained in that position until 1897, when he was a member of the US Department of Agriculture.

Professor Tracy was married to Martha A. Terry (1846-1904) from New York. She was a graduate of Elmira College (N.Y.). Mrs. Tracy was a respected author and was a frequent contributor to The News Spy magazineThe Commercial Appeal(Memphis) Writing articles on domestic life and domestic affairs. The Tracys were parents to three children: Edward Tracy (1875-1920+), Alice T. Welch (1879-1920+) and Elinor T. Clarke (1882-1920+).

Professor Tracy began acquiring land at Point St. Martin for his residence and commercial enterprise in April and September 1889. He bought about ten acres from Louis Fountain and the heirs of Joseph F. Dick.Baumwollanbau (vglThe Biloxi Herald, 12. September 1903, p. 8)

Samuel M. Tracy moved to Laurel, Mississippi a few years before his death. In December 1920, Elinor Tracy Clarke sold Tracy Point, as it became known during their tenure, to Isabelle Shaw Langley (1886-1950). She was the wife of Victor C. Langley (1868-1935), a native of Manchester, Wisconsin. The Tracy family was acquainted with the Langleys in Laurel, where their daughter Alice E. Welch lived with her husband, attorney Walter S. Welch.

Victor Langley owned the Wausau and Marathon Lumber Companies in Jones County. He grew up logging in Greenlake, Wisconsin before moving south where he was considered one of the top timber estimates in the entire region. Langley visited Tracy at Tracy Point (also called Treasure Point) for fishing trips to Horn Island.

bay harbour

When the old Tracy house burned down in 1933, Mr. Langley was very depressed. He died two years after the fire. On the death of Mrs. Langley at Laurel in May 1950, her heirs sold the property to Ione Brush. It was published in April 1961 by H.V. Watkins, President of Hanging Moss Corporation as Langley Point Subdivision. The low-lying area was severely devastated during Hurricane Camille in August 1969.

Martin fountain

Probably one of the Mississippi Coast's most renowned boat builders, Martin Fountain (1856-1938) began at Point St. Martin. He was born in the area, the last child of Francois Fountain (c. 1798-c. 1885) and Julienne Ladner (1815-c. 1876). 1882,The Biloxi Heraldof May 7, 1892 announced that "Martin Fountain and S. Ladnier of Jackson County are building a fine shipyard for their own use, although outsiders may also be accommodated". Fountain built many Biloxi schooners. His home was on what later became known as Birdsell's Hill, after Charles M. Birdsell.

Martin Fountain moved to Biloxi around 1903 and continued his shipbuilding skills there. Other notable boat builders in the area were Willie Fountain (1882-1963), J. Henry Cannette (1887-1969), known for his catboat construction, and Herman Kelly (1881-1948), who built shrimp boats on Fountain Beach after World War II .World War.

whistle industries

With its fine waterfront and access to deep water, the Point St. Martin area was also conducive to commercial fishing activities. Two shrimp factories were located here, the Lopez Factory and the Lundy Factory, which was a subsidiary of the Ocean Springs Packing Company.

Lopez packaging company

The Lopez Packing Company was formed after Arnaud G. Lopez (1880-1948), the son of Lazaro Lopez and Julia Dulion, purchased land at what is now Lopez Point (now Avery Point) from John Fountain in January 1920. Lopez had three hundred and twenty -5 feet on Biloxi's Back Bay. John Labash (1885-1920+) was machinist in the factory which may have been run by Robert Cook (1878-1920+). Armand Cannette (1863-1948) was the night watchman. Lopez sold the facility to Mrs. R.C. Herron in November 1925 for $8,000.

[The Daily Herald, September 16, 1920, p. 4 and 1 October 1920, p. 3]

Lundy factory

The "Lundy Factory" was a branch of the Ocean Springs Packing Company owned by Louis A. Lundy (1876-1941), L. Morris McClure (1884-1940) and Joseph Zaeringer. Regina Fountain Seymour (born 1905) remembers the Lundy operation as a small shed where local women and girls could pick shrimp. There was an old black lady from Bayou Poito who worked at her own table since segregation was a way of life.The cleaned shrimp were trucked to Lundy's main plant in Ocean Springs, south of the L&N railroad bridge, which had started operations in 1914. The St. Martin "Lundy Factory" began operations after June 1923, when the Ocean Springs Packing Company leased the western half of the Francis Fountain homestead from Paul Fountain (1881-1966) and Adele Beaugez Fountain (1884-1948). The factory was 96 feet off Biloxi Bay. It is believed that Paul Fountain supervised the workers. The plant was only in operation for a few years.

Super Market

Small family-run grocery stores were common in the St. Martin Point community. Pierre Cannette, Armand Fayard, and Anthony Lepoma (1900-1926) were among those who owned convenience stores for canned goods and other staples. The Fournier, Lepre, Wetzell, and Rousseau families also operated similar small businesses along Race Track Road west of the Jackson County border. At the "west end", the Harvey, Santa Cruz, Seymour, Young, Moran, and Quave families ran most of the businesses in the main business district, which was on Ramsay Road (now Central Avenue) just north of the Back Bay Bridge.

Marine stores

In Jackson County, the shipping industry was run by families who had immigrated to the region to tap the resinous sap of the pine tree. They typically came from North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. By 1910, turpentine plantations were common in the area between St. Martin Point and Rose Farm. The Fort Bayou Turpentine Company, owned by J.F. Payne, had acquired about 1000 acres here. The Ocean Springs Turpentine Company owned by J.M. Memory and W.L. McWhite operated east of Rose Farm and along Fort Bayou north of Ocean Springs, where was still located.

Lloyd Bordeaux (1855-1910+), a North Carolinian living in the parish of St. Martin, may have operated a turpentine distillery in the area. He may have been an employee of the Fort Bayou Turpentine Company.

TRAINING

In the late 19th century, public education in southwestern Jackson County was provided by several small, isolated country schools. These were Point St. Martin, Big Ridge, Bayou Poito (Porteaux), Bayou Talla, and Bayou Costa Pla schools. Before the mid-1890s, children in the Point St. Martin area appear to have received their academic education at the Big Ridge School.

Big Ridge School

The Big Ridge School was located in Section 11, T7S-R9W. On November 17, 1890, Parker Earle (1831-1917), a native of Vermont who lived on the Fort Point Peninsula in Ocean Springs and established a large farm north of Fort Bayou that became known as the Rose or Money Farm, donated an acre for school. Today, the Big Ridge School's former location is on Big Ridge Road, 0.78 miles west of its intersection with North Washington Avenue.

The children of families living in sections 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 22 and 34 of T7S-R9W were eligible to attend Big Ridge School. Of the approximately 4,000 school-age children in Jackson County in the 1890s, about 54 attended the Big Ridge School. The students were from the following families: Eugene Bosarge, Borries, W. G. Bullock, M. Caldwell, Antoine Cannette, Peter Cannette, John Chrisman, George Desporte, Theodore Desporte, Julian Fayard, Fergones, Christopher Fountain, Frank Fountain, John B. Fountain , Louis Fountain, Ben Garlotte, Groue, Jacob Husley, Mrs Ladnier, Aristide Letort, Charles Miller, Mrs Moore, L.G. Manuel, W. Orsman, W.C. Parrigin, Noel Richard, Lazarus Seymour, Peter Seymour, St Cyr Seymour, Emile Tiblier, Eugene Tiblier, Joseph Scarbrough, and T Smith.

Some of the teachers at Big Ridge School were: Mary Agnes Skehan (1863-1922), Daniel C. Price, Mary Foretich, Lena Carson, Alice J. Van Fleet, and possibly Ella Krohn and M. Shaw.

The Big Ridge School closed about 1914 after the Jackson County School Board decided to consolidate some of its small schools in southwest Jackson County with those in east Harrison north of Back Bay to form the Harrison-Jackson County Line School, which was located in Seymour (now D'Iberville).

Point St. Martin School

As early as May 1892, talk was circulating in the area of ​​building a schoolhouse in the community of Point St. Martin. In May 1895, Martin Fountain (1856-1938) donated a 110 foot by 100 foot lot to the residents of West Jackson County for the Fountain Public School. It was located about 800 feet south of present-day Quave Road and west of Reynoir, Brittany on Section 16, T7S-R9W of Jackson County, Mississippi. The Fountain School property was near the north end of a 50 Arpent tract acquired by Martin Fountain from Joseph and Daniel Rousseau in December 1882. The trustees of the Fountain School were J. B. Fountain (1836-1924), Celestine Ladnier (1858-1905), and Louis Groue (1840-1917). The schoolhouse was formerly owned by Eugene Bosarge.

The school on the Martin Fountain property became known officially as the Point St. Martin School, but was informally referred to as "the little green school" by the students who attended it. Mrs. Viola "Snooks" Moore Batia (born 1914) attended Point St. Martin School in 1920. She describes the building as follows:A small, timber-framed, elevated cabin with a hipped roof. It had two classrooms separated by a partition with a door to connect the rooms. Each room had two windows and an outside door. The classroom furniture consisted of a pot-bellied stove, teacher and student desks, a blackboard, and a place for water bottles. There was a small raised porch with no roof or railings.The schoolhouse faced south towards the Terretta Lepoma houses on Race Track Road. There was a water well in the school yard. As a reward, Jeanette Lepoma Landry (1910-1978) brought hot sweet potatoes from the Lepoma home and handed them over the fence to the children. Canned meat sandwiches were the usual lunch. Occasionally, some children ate bread with a butter spread that had been laced with sugar.

Several years (1897-1912) of Point St. Martin School records are preserved at the Jackson County Archives in Pascagoula. In the period between 1897 and 1912, some of the teachers in the small schoolhouse were: D.C. Price, Allie and Ida Peebles, Margaret Starks and Maude Pope. The student body consisted of children from the following families: Anderson, Basque, Beaugez, Boney, Borries, Bosarge, Cannette, Fayard, Fountain, Fossier, Groue, Ladnier, Latimer, Moore, Loper, Raymond, Rodriguez, Seymour, Tiblier, Trochesset and Terretta . Attendance during this period ranged from ten to fifteen students in the early years to fifty to sixty students in 1912.

A note found in Maude Pope's textbook for one of her classes of 1911-1912 referred to the following:This is one of the best classes in school. They got promoted to 2nd grade about halfway through the grade. Read through Baldwin's Second Reader once. Can spell all the words in the book. You can very easily do 3rd grade next summer.

The children referred to by the educator Pope were: Bertha Raymond, Johnnie Bosarge, Bertha Groue, Jeanette Fayard, Ida Fountain, Gerson Fountain, and Ethel Fountain. She also noted that three of Mr. Henry Fayard's (1872-1915) children, Esperance, Leo and Olivia, had typhus and missed the whole of the latter part of the school year.

Harrison-Jackson County Line School

In April 1914, Harrison and Jackson County authorities decided to combine the Seymour School, the Point St. Martin School, and the Big Ridge School into one school, which became known as the Harrison-Jackson County Line School. In June 1914, the Harrison County Board of Supervisors ruled that students residing in Sections 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 17, 18 of T7S-R9W, the Spanish Land Scholarships of Joseph, Dominique, and Jean Baptiste Ladner , and LA Caillavet, and those residing in Sections 13, 14, and 23 and 24 north of Back Bay in T7S-R10W were eligible to attend the "County Line" school in Seymour.

The "little green school" continued to function until 1925 when the St. Martin Consolidated School was established on Ocean Spring-Biloxi Road (Le Moyne Boulevard), Reynoir Road (Brittany). In November 1926, the Jackson County Board of Supervisors sold the Point St. Martin School property back to Martin Fountain for one dollar.

The Harrison-Jackson County Line School, built in 1917 at a cost of $8000 (Jackson County paid $3840), was located in D'Iberville near the intersection of what is now Gorenflo Road and Church Avenue. It was replaced by the "old D'Iberville School" which may have been built in the 1920s and burned down in 1965. The "new" D'Iberville High School on Warrior Drive was built in 1966.

Pupils from the following families are known to have attended the "County Line" school: Balius, Basque, Beaugez, Bellais, Boney, Borries, Bosarge, Brasher, Bullock, Byrd, Cannette, Diaz, Entrekin, Fergonis, Fountain, Gustafson , Groue , Holloway, Hosli, Krohn, Labash, Ladnier, Latimer, Letort, Manduffie, Marchman, Moran, Moore, Norton, Pfleuckhohn, Quave, Ramsay, Raymond, Reno, Rodriguez, Roberts, Rousseau, Santa Cruz, Saujon, Seymour, Smith, Terretta, Trochesset, Wells and Williams.

Citizens from both counties served on the Board of Trustees of the County Line School. Some of them were: John P. Krohn, J.A. Latimer (1859-1922), Hypolite Borries, Clarence Borries, James E Entrekin, H H Grantham and W A Reno. Well-known teachers who taught here were: Irma Harvey (1898-1965), Mary Hutto, May Krohn, W.H. Lewis, Margaret Speir, Ethel Quave, Barbara Seymour (1896-1964) and W.A. Wellinghoff.

Small public district schools

The Bayou Poito, Bayou Talla, and Bayou Costapia public schools appear to have operated until 1925, when the Jackson County Board of Education decided to close them and all southwest Jackson County students at a new school, the St. Martin Consolidated , to summarize school. It was to be built on the Ocean Springs-Biloxi Road (Le Moyne Boulevard) in 1925.

Jackson County Board of Supervisors Minutes Book 11 shows that during his tenure in August 1925, William A. Seymour (1869-1949) purchased the Bayou Talla Schoolhouse for $15.00 and Camille Seymour (1883-1945) purchased the bayou -Costapia Building for $22.50, and Adolph Seymour purchased the Bayou Poito structure for $20.00. It is believed that these simple buildings were demolished for their timber or, in some cases, used as housing for turpentine workers.

Bayou Poito School

The Bayou Poito School, located on 0.90 acres on Lot 3 of Section 13, T7S-R9W. Today that location would be on Le Moyne Boulevard on Bayou Pine Drive. William Seymour Jr. donated the land to the Jackson County School Board in March 1907. Jackson County school archival records show that the Bayou Poito School in Pascagoula was formed around 1897 under the supervision of Betty Rodgers and Lois Castigliola and sent theirs

Children of this knowledge house were: Bellais, Bullock, Caldwell, Desporte, Fountain, Ladnier, Mallette, Money, Morris, Ramsay, Ryan, Sanchez, Seymour, Suarez and Webb.

Some of the Bayou Poito school trustees over the years were: Emerson Bullock, Delmas V. Ryan (1868-1946), St. Cyr Ryan, Peter Seymour, Paul Seymour Jr. (1891-1970) and Solomon Seymour (1890) . -1926). Teachers at this educational center were: Mrs. Lulu Holmes, Mrs. Mary Price, Theresa Starks, Blanche Toups, Ella Vance and Caddy Ramsay.

In August 1925, Adolph Seymour purchased the Bayou Poito structure for $20.00. It is believed that these simple buildings were demolished for their timber or, in some cases, used as housing for turpentine workers. (JXCO, Ms. Board of Supervisors Minute Book 11, p. ?)

Bayou Talla School

The Bayou Talla School appears to have been in operation from 1897 to 1925. She was in NW/4, SE/4 of Section 8, T7S-R8W.Students from the following families attended Bayou Talla School: Basque, Byrd, Davis, Firth, Fountain, Garec, Garlotte, Holmes, Jenkins, Mallette, Noble, Richard, Santa Cruz, Seymour, and Webb.Teachers here were: Amelia C. Edwards, Marie Foretich, Lulu Holmes, Ellen Scharr, Annie Sigerson, Walline Skoglund and Mary Watson. Some of the trustees were: Louis Garlotte (1866-1960), Raymond Guilotte, Ernest Seymour (1878-1963), Leon Seymour (1876-1959) and Peter Seymour.

Bayou Costapia School

The Bayou Costapia School operated from 1906 to 1925. She was in NW/4, SW/4 of Section 24, T6S-R9W. The Old Schoolhouse is on the north-west side of Jim Ramsay Road, about a mile north-east of Old Biloxi Road (Daisy Vestry Road). Students from the following families participated: Cruthirds, Deloney, Fairley, Forehand, Holland, King, Malpass, Ramsay, Scarborough, Seymour, Taylor, Tanner and Webb.

Some of Bayou Costapia's educators were: Bernadine Arguelles, Nora Seymour, Verna Berryhill, Ruby Hartzog, Ola Hembree, and Lulu Holmes. Some members of the Board of Trustees were: R.R. Cruthirds, J.E. McNamee, Oliver Schneider, Camille Seymour (1883-1945) and E.P. Seymour (1878-1963).

St. Martin Consolidated School

In May 1925, an election was held to determine whether the citizens of Beat Four would post a $15,000 bond to build the new St. Martin Consolidated School. The answer was in the affirmative. The balance was 41 yes votes and 27 no votes. The school building bonds were sold to the Pascagoula National Bank.

Land in the 1889 Francois Fountain Estate subdivision (Section 16, T7S-R9W) was purchased by Joseph Smith and Esperance Borries for the $15,000 building on Ocean Springs-Biloxi Road (Le Moyne Boulevard) on Reynoir Road (Brittany) to build. At the time, the school term was eight months (September to late April) to allow students to support their families with general farming and related farm work.

The St. Martin Consolidated School building was a single-story timber frame structure. It was endowed with a library of three hundred and twenty books. There were clubs and supervised playground activities. Pupils from outlying areas were transported to the facility by bus. After completing eight grades, students who wanted to further their education went to Ocean Springs High School. It is believed that after 1945 a high school curriculum was introduced at St. Martin Consolidated School.

(aus The Daily Herald, 27. November 1951, S. 3)

In November 1951, A new Arkansas tile,U shaped building[173 feet by 92 feet]designed by John T. Collinsand Associates of Biloxi, was awarded to Currie and Corley of Raleigh, MississippiSt. Martinschool. The $64,000 building was constructed to complement the existing wooden building. (The Daily Herald, November 27, 1951, p. 3)

The old wooden school St. Martin Consolidated School on Le Moyne Boulevard was replaced by a modern brick building from November 1958 and dedicated in June 1959. Kuyrkendall & Proffer Architects and Engineers with Brice Building Co., the general contractor. After a fire, an extension was built in 1973, designed by the architect W.R. Allen Jr. (1911-1985) of Ocean Springs. An addition of eight classrooms was completed in 1987 with Slaughter & Allred of Pascagoula as architects and King Construction Company as general contractors.

St. Martin Middle School, which operates north of what is now junior high school, was once junior high school when the high school was on Le Moyne Boulevard. If anyone knows the full chronology of St. Martin's schools, please call me immediately! In 1991 there was an extension of five classrooms. It was severely damaged by flood waters from Hurricane Katrina and demolished a few years after the August 2005 storm.

St. Martin North School, now St. Martin North Elementary, was constructed in 1976 and 1977 with an addition in 1980. St. Martin East Elementary School on Rose Farm Road was established in 1970.

In January 1982, the Jackson County Board of Supervisors assigned 232 acres in Section 16, T7S-R8W to the Jackson County School Board. A new high school, designed by Slaughter & Allred, was constructed in 1983 by the Tilley Construction Company of Gulfport just east of Old Fort Bayou Road in eastern St. Martin Parish. Arthur H. Quave was president of the school board. It replaced St. Martin High School on Le Moyne Boulevard, which had been in operation since 1939.

After Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, a new high school was built for the St. Martin community.

parish schools

In addition to public education, the people of the St. Martin community had the opportunity to send their children to several parish schools. In August 1927, a Roman Catholic school, St. Theresa's, opened on the north shore of Back Bay in North Biloxi (D'Iberville), Harrison County, east of the new bridge spanning the bay. It was designed by architect Carl Matthes and built in April 1912 by the Catholic Diocese of Natchez on land Olive Chafee bought for $3,600. Ellen McCabe McShane, widow of Thomas McShane (1874-1924), sold the land on which the school was built to the Catholic Diocese of Natchez in February 1925. McShane, a native of Belfast, Ireland, came to Biloxi about 1892. His company, McShane & Morris, made steam oyster dredges, winches, boilers and forged ironwork. There was a lot 600 x 228 in the bay going to St. Charles.

The Sisters of Mercy were responsible for the instruction of the original ninety students. Sister Zita Reynolds supervised the school. Her teachers were Sister Mary Joseph Cosgrove, Eulalia Fussner and Henrietta Berger. The school closed circa 1970 when a new school was built on Le Moyne Boulevard east of Sacred Heart Church.

These parents in the eastern portion of St. Martin's Parish were able to send their children to St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic School, now located on Jackson Avenue in Ocean Springs. It has been in operation since 1887, although not continuously.

RELIGION and CHURCHES

The people of the western parish of St. Martin were predominantly of the Roman Catholic faith. The eastern St. Martin area had some Protestants. They belonged primarily to Methodist and Baptist beliefs.

Roman Catholicism

In the spring of 1859, the Catholic bishop asked Elder Father Henri Georget, the priest of the parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Biloxi, "to look after the people of Back Bay and also to go into the country and see how many Catholics there are." ". Father Georget found that most were Catholics, and there were nearly three hundred. Most of these people were descended from the early French and Franco-Canadian colonists. In March 1860, Father Georget inspired the Catholics north of Biloxi Bay, a Mission Church to be built at what is now D'Iberville A small Catholic chapel, possibly dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, is thought to have been built by Emmanuel Sanchez (1806-1877), a Spanish immigrant, Senor Sanchez was one of the first immigrant settlers in the area when he bought land from Dominique Ladner before 1834. Here, before 1850, on the north shore of Biloxi Bay, Sanchez Boo built te at or very close to the wooden boat builder William Holland, works today in this venerable craft.

In April 1884 Charles Sanchez (1845-1893+), a black and possible former slave and probable legate of Phillipina Sanchez (1791-1879), sold much to Bishop Francis Janssen of the Diocese of Natchez. Here, on the northwest corner of what is now St. Charles and Church Avenues in D'Iberville, Sacred Heart Catholic Church was dedicated on October 22, 1884. It was expanded in 1921 when Father Patrick Carey was appointed full-time pastor.

In November 1970, Bishop Brunini dedicated the new Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Le Moyne Boulevard. The old church on St. Charles Street was demolished in 1989.

The people of the Bayou Poito area had a small Catholic church called St. Joseph's. In October 1922 a lot (50' x 125') was donated to the Catholic Diocese of Natchez by Delmas V. Ryan (1868-1946) and Olivia Tiblier Ryan (1878-1957). Here a small chapel was built south of Delmas Ryan's homestead, which was located at S/2 of the N/2 of Lot 2, Section 13, T7S-R9W. Mr. Ryan had a satsuma and pecan orchard. He also grew scupponine grapes and made wine.

Circa 1941-1942 Elvin O. Ramsay (b. 1906) purchased the church building of St. Joseph's from Father Charles Hunter or Father Joseph Holland of the parish of St. Alphonsus in Ocean Springs. He paid $150 for the structure. Ramsay, who demolished the building for its pinewood core, recalls that it was a simple structure, 35 to 40 feet long and 25 feet wide. The small chapel had a 26 gauge tin roof. Ramsays believes that G.N. Tillman (1872-1925) and a man named Levins of Ocean Springs.

Elvin O. Ramsay saved the pews, floor and ceiling beams and rafters to build his home at 16204 Quave Road, St. Martin. Little Church Road in Gulf Hills takes its name from this Catholic chapel.

methodist church

The seed for the Methodist Church at St. Martin-North Biloxi was sown in the early decades of this century. The first services were held at the home of Thomas and Harriet Seale, in the presence of the Reverend Louis Fayard of Woolmarket. In December 1920 B.Z. Welch et al., representing the Main Street Methodist Episcopal Church of Biloxi, purchased a 2.12 acre property from F.E. Pringles (1872-1925). It lay on the Race Track Road between what is now Pringle Road and Fournier Road. Harvest Fellowship Church occupies this site in October 1996.

The First United Methodist Church of North Biloxi was built in 1921. The reader is referred for an informative description of the early history of this churchDie Biloxi-Nord-BiloxiPress, "The Way It Was", 11. November 1987, von O.M. Schmied, Jr.

By September 1922, the trustees of the Back Bay Methodist Episcopal Church surrendered their lot on Race Track Road to the Methodist Episcopal Church of the South in Louisville, Kentucky. The Trustees of Back Bay Church were: B.Z. Welch, J.W. Latimer, William Curry, W.T. Bolton. H.B. Rush and L.N. Dantzler.

Reverend Ray Wesson, father of Dr. Ray Wesson (1937-1980) of Ocean Springs was the 33rd pastor of that church.

In 1986, the North Biloxi Methodist congregation voted unanimously to move and build a new church. It was called the Heritage United Methodist Church and was built on Popps Ferry Road. The first services were held here on November 22, 1987, with the Reverend Bruce Little presiding. Eastside St. Martin Methodists were generally members of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Ocean Springs.

The members of St. Martin's congregation who professed Baptist doctrine are believed to have attended services at the Antioch Baptist Church in the North or at the First Baptist Church in Ocean Springs. The same is true for Presbyterians and Episcopalians, for to my knowledge neither of these denominations had early or present houses of worship in the St. Martin Community.

In February 1981, the First Baptist Church of Ocean Springs sold much to the Lemoyne Boulevard Baptist Church. The Church Trustees at this time were: Grady Roberts, L.P. Bishop, and Marion Floyd. This was possibly the first Baptist church in the parish of St. Martin.

brother Isaiah

Around 1922, the community of St. Martin experienced a remarkable event that is still remembered today. A mystic with a long white beard who called himself Brother Isaiah settled with his followers just off the Ocean Springs-Biloxi Road in the Bayou Puerto area. His real name was John Cudney (1847-1934) and he may have been Canadian. Brother Isaiah is believed to have lived in an abandoned house near the intersection of Pine Pine Road and Le Moyne Boulevard.

Brother Isaiah first rose to national prominence in New Orleans. Here he resided on a run-down houseboat that was anchored on the Mississippi. Brother Isaiah's believers believed that he had been blessed with divine power that made it possible to heal the sick, restore sight to the blind, and restore hearing to the deaf.

In the Crescent City, a special police force and set meeting times were required to house the sick, who were brought to the riverbank on cots. Thousands lined the dike to touch Isaiah's robes as he walked among the sick.

Today's octogenarians who saw Brother Isaiah as children or teenagers remember him and his followers well. Brother Isaiah preached a form of Christianity using the Bible. He had a dynamic personality, disliked mechanical devices and attracted people from all directions. Those to be healed came on crutches and in wheelchairs. When he told them they were healed, the sick left their supports and left. Isaiah had several disciples in his entourage. They wore long hair and beards. It is believed that some of these followers intermarried into the local population.

Brother Isaiah is believed to have left the St. Martin area for Florida. Isaiah settled in Oroville, California circa 1930, where he died in late July 1934, breaking the promise to his faithful cult that he would never die!

graveyards

The municipality of St. Martin has several family cemeteries. They are among our oldest burial sites. These include the Spanish Cemetery at Gulf Hills, Seymour and Basque at Bayou Talla, Martin Ryan at Bayou Puerto, the Fountain and Groue at Back Bay, and the Bosarge at St. Martin Bayou. The small cemeteries of the Delancey family and Antioch Baptist Church north of St. Martin also provide burial sites, as does the newer D'Iberville Memorial Park and Swetman Cemetery in Harrison County.

Some of the area's "lost cemeteries" are believed to be the original Bosarge Cemetery at Reno Square and the Borries Family Cemetery. These were west of Bayou Puerto.

Gulf Hills

An event that changed the history of St. Martin occurred as a result of the land boom of the mid-1920s. A group of Chicago and New York investors, attracted by the natural beauty, temperate climate and proximity to the Midwest's "snowbirds" by rail, chose an area east of St. Martin and at the mouth of the build a winter sports center out of old Fort Bayou. It was named Gulf Hills because small tributaries and intermittent streams flowing into Old Fort Bayou and Bayou Porteaux have dissected the topography in the area creating a rugged terrain. Harvey W. Braniger (1875-1953), a native of Morning Sun, Iowa and developer of Ivanhoe in Chicago, is generally credited as the founder of Gulf Hills.

A detailed history of Gulf Hills is waiting to be written, but a very adequate chronology of the resort has been published for those interestedThe Mississippi Day-Presse, "Gulf Hills Evokes Visions of Leisure, Beauty", December 19, 1988.

The Treasures of Tibliers and Pirates

Each area has its legends that further its mystique. The community of St. Martin is no exception. The tales of pirates and buried treasure in this place have been dormant for many years. Perhaps unknown to present generations, early 1900's treasure hunters probed the site of the old Tiblier property west of the mouth of Bayou Puerto.

In July and August 1888, Captain Henri Eugene Tiblier (1841-1930), aka TuTu, purchased Government Plot 8 of Section 14, T7S-R9W, from the heirs of W.C. Sailor (1801-1844). Captain Tiblier resided here on this 140-acre property on Biloxi Bay across from Bayou Porteaux, which became Gulf Hills in the mid-1920's. He earned his living in the sea and raised a large family in this place. Captain Tiblier had married Palmyra Beaugez (1846-1913) circa 1865 after the Civil War in which he served with the 3rd Mississippi Infantry, Company E, "Biloxi Rifles". He was captured at the Big Black River in May 1863 after serving at Vicksburg, Champion Hill and Jackson. The nine Tiblier children were: Henri Eugene Tiblier Jr. (1866-1936), Victorine T. Ryan (1868-1910), Albert Tiblier (1869-1953), Marie Ulalie "Eugenia" (1872-ca. 1875), Louis A Tiblier (1874-1938), Vital E. Tiblier (1876-1932), Olivia T. Ryan (1878-1957), Octavia T. Fountain (1881-1947) and Numa I. Tiblier (1886-1965).

Captain Tiblier and his family were no strangers to buried treasure, at least archaeological treasures. In 1892, Tutu's eldest son, H. Eugene Jr., had found the sunken French ship in Biloxi's Back Bay under the shallows above the family's oyster lease near the L&N Railroad Bridge. Captain Tiblier hired Joseph "Pep" Suarez (1840-1912), who owned the schooner,Maggieto assist in salvaging artifacts from the sunken ship's hold. His sons Albert and Vital dived on the oyster bed during the salvage work. According to a report byThe Pascagoula Democrat-StarOn September 23, 1892, the Tiblier family procured four cannons, swords and scabbards, some muskets, cannonballs, sheaves of wood, fireclay bricks, iron braces and rock ballast.

Very little remains of the recovered treasure, as Captain Tiblier's granddaughter, Martha Tiblier Eleuterius, recalls Captain Martin Van Buren Green (1842-1929) bringing tourists from Biloxi to the Tiblier homestead in his catboat. Tiblier gave some of the artifacts to the strangers and in time they were all gone. The four cannons oxidizing in their cement tomb in the Villa Santa Maria in Biloxi are all that remains publicly of these archaeological treasures of the French colonial era. In April 1926, Captain Eugene Tiblier was interviewed by a reporter forDie Biloxi-News. He related the following about the existence of buried treasure on his land in Bayou Poito:

I've heard these stories all my life. When I was a little boy, my mother (Elizabeth Bosarge) said that a Frenchman lived with his wife and daughter at the head of Bayou Porto. The wife and daughter are said to have had mild dementia and wandered around in the woods all day. One day they were returning from a trip into the woods, bringing with them a dirt-encrusted metal ingot, which later turned out to be a dirt-encrusted metal ingot, which later turned out to be gold. When asked where it was found, they just pointed in the direction of where the old brick factory was later built. It is probably from this incident that the report on the presence of gold on this property was started.

Legend has it that a pirate named Patrick Scott would land here every three or four months after cruising the Gulf and bury his loot somewhere on the shore of the bay. In some places here he should have buried treasure. Some young people are said to have once followed him and seen his men carrying three barrels suspended from poles on their shoulders, but the presence of the invaders was discovered, and in their escape they had no opportunity to find out their disposition from the barrels or what they contained.

The land known as the Tiblian Territory was entered by William C. Simmons(see)in 1835. Simmons(see)built a hut at that time, the foundations of which are still there, although the hut no longer stands. At a point west of the mouth of Bayou Porto, an old brickworks operated for a number of years. It started operating around 1850. Evidence of this still exists.Sometime about 42 years ago I bought the tract from the Simmons(see)Heirs and later by the state, and built a house there that still stands today. Long before we built our house, people were digging for gold all over the property.About 35 years ago(an 1890),a man named Barlow came to my house. I remember meeting him at the gate. He said, "I came here to give you a fortune," and then he told me he knew for a fact that pirates had treasure buried on my land, although he would never say how or where he got the information have. I was told to look for an oak stump and dig under it. He came all the way from Lake Ponchartrain to Biloxi in a pirogue. Later he came back in the same way and repeated his story. I was told that a few years ago millions of dollars were buried there by a murderous band of pirates from Mexico.

I've never believed much in the existence of treasure on the property, although I've dug for it a little from time to time with no success. Lots of people came there to get a dog permit and sometimes they dug around without my knowledge or permission. They even wanted to dig under the house, and that's probably the only spot on the property that hasn't been properly explored.

Before the interview, the site of the old Tiblier homestead was visited. Although the house was abandoned a few years ago, it is in a remarkable state of preservation. The property is riddled with holes made by treasure hunters and even the floor of one room in the house was torn open in search of pirate gold. It is said that an old man came from Louisiana and walked most of the way only to dig at this one spot. The caretaker said he spent the night digging alone with the light of a lantern.

Epilogue

In September 1912 E.N. Ramsay (1832-1916) surveyed the Tiblier land at Bayou Poito and divided it into eight plots that Captain Eugene Tiblier gave to his children. Four Tiblier heirs, Albert, Louis, Eugene Jr. and their sister Olivia T. Ryan resided on their properties. Eugene Tiblier Sr. sold twenty acres to Jennie C. Fullem (d. 1926) in November 1914, described as W/2 of the E/2 of Lot 6, Section 14, T7S-R8W..

The Tiblier Bayside Cabin was probably demolished during the Depression years. The salvaged wood was used by others to build rental homes in the Back Bay neighborhood of Biloxi. Martha T. Eleuterius, a granddaughter of Captain Tiblier, confirms that as a girl she saw earth higher than her head in the space between the kitchen and living room of her grandfather's house, where treasure hunters once searched for pirate gold.

This completes "The Early History of St. Martin". As in any history of an area, important facts and people are often omitted. In this case, I focused more on the eastern area as historically, St. Martin. Today's eastern "St. Martin" is culturally connected to what was formerly called the Fort Bayou Community.

Kudos to everyone who has put up with me in the St. Martin community over the past few months. I've found a true friend in Viola "Snooks" Moore Batia. She opened many doors and shared her living knowledge of the area. Among those to whom I owe a "Grand Merci Beaucoup" are: Tony and Lynn Terretta (Pascagoula), Velma Beaugez Garlotte, Carolyn Quave Robinson, Regina Fountain Seymour (1905-2000), Tony Terretta (St. Martin), J.D. Fountain, Curtis Fountain, Robert Mohler, Herman "KO" Kelly and George Kelly, Randy Randazzo, Elaine Gagnon, Reverend James Seymour, Janice Landry Fountain, Margarete Seymour Norman (1908-2001), Martha Tiblier Eleuterius (1919-2001), Iris Letort Holloway, J.K. Lemon (1914-1989), Pauline Demetry, Elvin O. Ramsay (1907-2000), and Tony Lepoma.

Of course, all who study and research our ancestors on the Mississippi coast always owe a great debt of gratitude to Brother Jerome Lepre. Many of his books on the Mississippi Coast Family, as well as his Catholic Church Records Diocese of Biloxi (1994), were used extensively in the preparation of this essay.

REFERENCES:

Dale Greenwell,Twelve flags triumphs and tragedies, Band 1, (Greenwell: Ocean Springs, Mississippi-1968), p. 131.

American government securities, Band 3 (1815-1924), (Nachdruck: Southern Historical Press, Inc.: Greenville, South Carolina-1994), p. 38.

LeMoyne Baptist Ch Book 699, p. 260 and book 700, p. 507

magazines

the book press,"Shell Roads and Lattenzäune" ​​- "Talking St. Martin", [by Dale Greenwell in parts from August 11, 2006 to 2006]

the Biloxi Herald,"Back Bay", 14. November 1891, p. 8.

The Biloxi Herald,"Point St. Martin", 20 February 1892, p. 1.

The Biloxi Herald,"Point St. Martin", 7. May 1892, p. 4.

the Biloxi Herald,"Biloxi Cotton", 12. September 1903.

the Biloxi Herald,"Bay Harbor Club and North Shore Housing Development Announced", 16. From 1926, S. 1.

Die Biloxi-News,"Henry Boudreaux sees golden era for the Gulf Coast", 2. May 1926, p. 17.

Die Biloxi-North Biloxi-Presse,"Peter Dewey Fountain", 10. April 1985, p. 12.

the daily herald,“Lauffer Haneman”, February 9, 1915.

The Daily Herald,"Mrs. Reynoir Goes to Her Reward", 2. July 1917, S. 3.

the daily herald, "Currie & Coley are low bidders for new construction[St. Martin School]", 27. November 1951, S. 3)

The Daily Herald,"Know Your Shore", December 29, 1958.

The Daily Herald,"John Joseph Bertucci"December 26, 1961, p. 2.

Die Jackson County Times,"Brother Isaiah Cudney on the way to Biloxi", 30. August 1924, S. 4.

Die Jackson County Times,"Brother Isaiah Dies in California", 28. July 1934, S. 2.

The Pascagoula Democrat-Star,"Local News", March 3, 1882.

PERSONAL COMMUNICATION:

Viola Moore Batia-August 1996.

Elaine Scarbrough Gagnon-August 1996