Vignettes

vi·gnette  /vin'yet/  
Noun: A brief evocative description, account, or episode.
Verb: Portray (someone) in the style of a vignette.

A Journal of Our Travels by Amelia Russ (1936)

Foreword This diary was written in 1836 by Miss Amelia Russ, sister of  Miss Adeline Russ, who later married Dr. Mead on Mar 7, 1839.  Adeline Russ Mead was the mother of Lois Amelia Mead born December 15, 1839.  Lois A. Mead married Henry Weston on July 15, 1858 at Gainesville, Mississippi.  The W. Poitevent… (read more)

Incorporation of the Town of Shieldsborough 1818

To establish and incorporate the Town of Shieldsborough.   Sec. 1.  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Mississippi in General Assembly convened, That the place situated on the West side of the Bay St. Louis, in the County of Hancock, known by the name of Shieldsborough, is… (read more)

Cassette Girls

In 1703, twenty young girls, “reared in Virtue and Piety…” had been approved by Monseigneur Saint-Villier, Bishop of Quebec, as being of high moral character.  They were chosen because the lack of that quality in female immigrants had recently created substantial unrest in Martinique and Saint-Domingue. Most of the girls were between the ages of… (read more)

Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville

Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, French explorer and colonial administrator, was born in Ville Marie (Montreal), Canada, in 1680.  He was the eighth of eleven sons of the wealthy Charles Le Moyne of Montreal.  He joined the French navy at age twelve and during King William’s War served at the Hudson Bay engagement… (read more)

State Flower, Motto, Bird and Tree

Hancock county and Jackson were the only two large counties which comprised the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 1817 when Mississippi became a state at  the First Session, First General Assembly (1817-1818). The great Seal of Mississippi was adopted and is described in the Laws of the State as follows:  “The seal of the state, the… (read more)

Valena C. Jones United Methodist Church

  This is the fourth in a series on historic churches in Hancock County.  This month we return to the Bay St. Louis area with a look at the Valena C. Jones United Methodist Church located located at 248 Sycamore Street.   Between 1865 and 1882, the predominately white Methodist Episcopal parent church faced the… (read more)

Hancock County Schools

WPA PROJECT 1937 [Emma A. Clay and Edmond J. Giering wrote the following report in February and March of 1937.]   The first attempt to establish a system of public or common schools proved futile in the early days of the state and counties.  The following Acts of the Legislature did not bear fruit until… (read more)

Williams School – Pearlington

  In the fall of 1912, I began teaching in the public school of my hometown, Pearlington.  I was principal and teacher.  My pupils numbered thirty-two from primer through eighth grade.   I had had two years of helping my mother in her private school in Pearlington.  Then attended the Tri-County Normal School in Wiggins,… (read more)

Trains

“I never thought I would miss the sound of the trains passing through the Bay. When I first moved back to Bay St. Louis, we lived right across from the depot. The first night we were awakened not only by the wailing of the train, but by the sound of my pictures falling from the… (read more)

The Depot

At the turn of the 19th century, the Louisville and Nashville railroad station at Bay St. Louis was considered to be the prettiest station on the line between New Orleans and Mobile. Meeting the dollar excursion train from New Orleans morning and evening was an outstanding attraction during the summer season.  In the evening, the… (read more)