Ouachita Parish
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From the Boston Commercial Gazette, 13 Oct 1830.
Horrible Murder. - We
have been favored with the following letter from Monroe, Louisiana, dated 11th
ult., to a gentleman in this city. Gen. Morgan, referred to by the writer, was
formerly a resident of this city, in which he served an honorable
apprenticeship. Like many other young men of New England, he emigrated to the
western states some years since, where his enterprizing [sic] efforts were
crowned with success.
"It becomes my most painful and melancholy duty to
inform you that your brother, Ferdinand Morgan, was on the 7th inst. murdered by
a base and infamous assassin. The circumstances are these: - On the 6th
September he had some words with a man by the name of Hemken. H. immediately
sent him a challenge by one Col. Morehouse, register of the land office in this
place, which he refused to receive. The following morning he had business with a
gentleman; in going to see him he had to pass the office of Morehouse. Not
finding the gentleman in he went to see, he returned, and on passing the
register office again, Morhouse called to him, and in the street presented him
with the same challenge again. Your brother refused to receive any communication
from him or his principal, and turned and walked off, ten paces perhaps, when
Morehouse observed, You are a ___ coward. Your brother wheeled instantly, and
advanced towards Morehouse, with a sword cane in his hand. Morehouse presented
a pistol and snapped it, and missed fire. Morehouse then struck at him with the
pistol, and then threw it at him and struck him on the head, which brought him
very near the ground, say more than half bent. At the same instant Robt. H.
Sterling, brother-in-law to M., was in the office, concealed behind the door. He
saw an opportunity at the instant above, and shot your brother from inside the
door. The ball entered about 2 1/2 inches to the left of the left of the back
bone, and came out between the nipple and the breast bone on the same side. He
fell and expired instantly. A more base outrage could not be committed. The
grand point of difference between your brother and Morehouse was, that at the
election for senator your brother beat him, and was elected for the next four
years. Stirling is now in jail and in chains, where he will have to await his
trial in November. If there is justice, I hope the poor miserable wretch will
receive that punishment which is due to all murderers. I shall write you again
shortly and more fully, for at this moment there is great excitement. General
Morgan was very popular among all classes of people."
Notes:
--Contributed 12 Sep 2006 by Lora Peppers, extracted from National Gazette and Literary Register, Philadelphia October 19, 1830, Vol. XI, No. 1505, Page 1, Column 5
The following death notice was penned by Captain McCranie, the former captain of Company M, 12th Louisiana Infantry Regiment. The victim was McCranie's subordinate during the war, his lieutenant William H. Sanders.
HORRIBLE MURDER -- PASS HIM AROUND
Never in a journalistic experience of several years have we discharged a more
unwelcome, melancholy task than that now about to devolve upon us. Death in any
form and with even the aged for its victim is an unpleasant theme. When the
young die, we are more than usually sad; when they die suddenly, our grief is
still greater. But when a young man, full of promise and hope, the object of a
father's and mother's love and a kind sister's devotion is hurried into eternity
by the bloodied hand of an assassin, for no cause whatever, humanity shudders,
society weeps, and men stare each other in the face for want of language to
express their emotion.
William H. Sanders, 1st Lieutenant, Co. M, 12th
Louisiana regiment, late C. S. A. was the soul of generosity, courage and
magnanimity. For nearly four years we served with him side by side in the late
war, and during that whole period, as his superior officer we never once had an
occasion to complain of a single derelict on of duty on his part. He was
uncommonly kind and forbearing; temperate in all his views and prudent in all
his acts. With an extraordinary mild disposition, he combined great refinement
of feeling, so that one had but to know him well to prize as invaluable his
sterling worth and cherish his many noble qualities of heart, as possessions
rarely to be met with in one young and inexperienced as himself.
It is of
the cold-blooded murder of this young man we have now to speak, and by one who
was his play-fellow, his school mate, and afterwards his comrade in arms - by
one who never exhibited a single manly virtue, who ___manenerd his career in
vice and immorality, who to theft added desertion and to desertion
assassination. This felon's name is W. H. Calcote, a young man of some 21 years
of age and singularly blood-thirsty for one so young.
Calcote with his
brother John, younger by two or three years than himself, attended a militia
drill at Woodville, Jackson Parish, on the 23rd ult. Mr. Sanders was also
present. Several times during the day these brothers were heard to threaten
Sander's life, of which fact he was horified. Acting upon the information, he
prudently avoided a collision until late in the afternoon he was returning from
a tan yard near town, whither he had gone on some business, when he met the
Calcotes in the road, that being their route home. Reining his horse to one side
of the road, he sought to pass around them and thus avoid a difficulty. But his
good intentions were wholly thrown away and probably served only to invite the
trouble he wished to avoid. The Calcotes advanced towards him with pistols drawn
and one of them seizing the reins of his horse's bridle informed him that they
intended to have satisfaction, or words to that effect. A colloquy then ensued,
which wound up by young Sanders remarking, "Well, I will sell my life as dearly
as I can;"and reaching back he drew a pistol but was prevented from using it by
the younger Calcote catching his hand. While in this position Harrison Calcote
fired at sanders, the bullet taking effect in his head. Brains oozed from the
wound which was inflicted with a revolver, and so near as to be powder burnt.
Mr. Sanders expired in great agony at 9 o'clock, p.m., having been wounded
at 4 p.m. His tragic death and many sterling virtues and a deep-felt sympathy
for his loss brought a large number of people together to pay the last sad rites
to his memory.
Immediately after committing the damnable deed the elder
Calcote mounted his horse and fled, the younger by threats and acts intimidating
two young men who were present from pursuing until he was out of reach;
whereupon, mounting himself he followed in pursuit of his brother.
A
posse of citizens speedily organized a search for the assassins. John Calcote
was apprehended; has since been tried, refused bail and committed to jail at
Bienville parish, that in Jackson Parish being insecure. Being less hardened in
crime a disposition has been manifested to palliate his complicity in the bloody
deed. If it be true as we have heard, that he vauntingly asserted after mature
reflection he was one of the men who committed the crime, we have no hesitancy
in saying he deserves the extreme penalty of the law.
Harrison Calcote,
so far, has made good his escape, despite of every effort to procure his arrest.
Whilst fleeing the scene of his bloody work he passed some parties, to whom he
said, "I have just committed a cold-blooded murder" and hurried on in his
flight. We know this young villain well - defended him when his life was in
peril for the crime of desertion; heard his solemn vows for reformation and
witnessed his apparent contrition for his crime. Convinced now, as we expected
then of his utter depravity we can but hope that all good men will keep a good
watch out for him, and if seen, arrest or kill him on the spot.
Background information about the military records of the above three men from Booth's Index
--Contributed Apr 2004 by Timothy D. Hudson, extracted from the Ouachita Telegraph, 4 Jan 1866. page two, columns 3 and 4. Note: Captain George W. McCranie founded the 'Weekly Telegraph' in Monroe, Ouachita Parish beginning in September 1865. In December, he decided to change the name to the 'Ouachita Telegraph.'
Hon. J. B. Boatner of Catahoula is the youngest
member of the State Senate. He is 34. Ouachita's Senator, John B. Boatner is one
of the handsomest member of that body. He is a candidate for Circuit Judge and
aspires to the seat of Judge Clinton, whose successor will be elected by the
present legislature.
Joseph W. Hyums, editor of the East Baton Rouge
Sugar Planter, is the youngest member of the legislature, being only 23 years
old.
--Contributed 21 May 1999 by Annette Carpenter Womack, extracted from
The Ouachita Telegraph, Monroe La, May 19, 1888, Page 2, 4th col.
Wednesday morning a terrible accident happened at Baille & Brewer's drug
store, by which a stranger, R.T. Wortham, hailing from Temple, Tex., was
dangerously and probably fatally injured, and Messrs. B.A. Trousdale and Farrell
Buckingham were also painfully, but not seriously hurt. Wortham had just had a
mixture of nitric acid and mercury compounded by Mr. Buckingham, who cautioned
him to be careful in handling it, when he replied that he had handled it before,
and gave the bottle a shake. An explosion of the bottle instantly followed and
its contents shot up in a flame into his face, burning him horribly, and
spattering over Messrs. Buckingham and Trousdale, who stood near by. Mr.
Buckingham escaped almost entirely, but Mr. Trousdale was not so fortunate,
being severely burned about the face. Dr. T.O. Brewer, who is attending Wortham,
says that his face is now so badly swollen that it is impossible to ascertain
whether or not he will lose his eyes, if he recovers, of which there is some
doubt. The right eye is probably ruined and the left is badly damaged if not
lost also. The unfortunate man had a hemorrhage of the bowels Thursday morning,
but we learn that he was somewhat better yesterday.
--Contributed 2 Aug
2007 by Lora Peppers, extracted from Ouachita Telegraph, April 20, 1889, Page 3,
Column 2
The "Gazette" was founded in 1878 by Judge James E. Trimble (22 Feb 1834 – 19 Dec 1887). Although Judge Trimble founded the "Gazette" in 1878, only four individual issues are known to exist for the period 1878 - 1893. The issue of 7 March 1894 begins the contiguous issues of this paper. I have only abstracted Ouachita Parish notices and advertisements.
R. B. Dawkins, Esq., left the first part of
this week for Monroe, where he goes to attend to professional business before
the Federal court.
Mr. S. Marx has shipped all his merchandise to West
Monroe where he will open a store. He will discontinue business at this place.
He and his family will take their departure for their new home this week. Mr.
Marx has been in business here for the last ten years and will be missed in
commercial circles at this place very much.
Mrs. S. S. Thomas and Messrs. Elias George and J. K. Ramsey
left Monday on steamer Helen Vaughan for Monroe.
Messrs. Abe Stein, J. D.
Baughman, R. C. Webb, G. Hartman and ___ Haas are in Monroe this week
[atte]nding the session of the United States court.
We learn from the
Monroe papers of last week that Judge W. R. Roberts, who formerly practiced law
in this parish, has moved with his family from Monroe to Vernon, in which place
he will make his home in the future.
Mr. S. Marx and family took their
departure Monday morning on the steamer Helen Vaughan for their new home in
Monroe. Mr. Marx has been prominently connected with the commercial interest of
this parish for a number of years, and he said while he will in the future be
located at Monroe yet he intends to hold his trade in this section by offering
special inducements to customers at his new place of business. Lookout for his
new ad. in a few weeks.
Several citizens of this parish were arraigned before the United States
District court in Monroe, last week for violations of the national revenue laws.
Of one of the cases from this parish the Telegraph-Bulletin says: William
Honeycutt, of Union parish, was fined $600 and sentenced to three months
imprisonment for having in his possession and setting up a still without having
obtained a license and registering same.
A Tragedy in Monroe.
The
following, which we clip from the Monroe Evening News, may be of some interest
to some of our readers: Two strangers, Henry Gulledge and J. O. Johnston, both
of Lincoln parish, arrived in the city last evening and after nightfall started
in to see the sights of the city. Later in the night they concluded to take in
the town and going to the Ruby Bell house in the eastern portion were admitted.
Hardly had they entered when Gulledge began cursing and raising a general
racket. He then sent to the kitchen, demanded a cup of coffee from the cook,
drew his pistol and threatened to shoot if it was not forthcoming. "Ruby"
thereupon interfered when he turned his wrath on her, drew a pistol and leaving
fired three shots from his pistol at her, one of which lodged in the wardrobe in
Ruby's room. Ruby then telephoned for the police and policeman Haynie responded
to the call, but on his arrival, they had left and getting on their trail he
followed the men to Five Points, where Haynie was joined by policeman Hugh
Biggar. The officers approached toward Gulledge and Johnston to arrest them,
when the two started to run and Haynie called to them to halt. Instead of doing
so Gulledge drew his pistol. Haynie told him to "drop the gun," when Gulledge
replied: "I'll drop it" and opened first on Haynie then on Biggar and the fire
was returned, Gulledge receiving two wounds, one through the heart and one in
the abdomen. J. O. Johnston, of Downsville, was with Gulledge and when the
shooting commenced he drew his pistol, fired one shot at the policemen and then
ran off up Desiard street, but a telephone message preceded him and he was
arrested in front of Garretson's Opera House a few minutes after the occurrence
and is now in jail.
The following is the substance of Mr. Biggar's
testimony. "I was in Johnsonville last night looking for a negro I wanted to
arrest and as I came back through Five Points I was told that Mr. Haynie wanted
me. I came on up town and locked the negro up and went back to Five Points. Two
parties came along and went over to Henry Barnes, and at that time Mr. Haynie
came up in Habeyan's buss [sic] and got out. We walked down the street to Faulk
& Renaud's and met the two men, (Johnston and Gulledge) who began to run. Mr.
Haynie called to them to "halt I want to see you" and this gentleman, (meaning
Johnston,) fired one shot and then run and kept running, but the other one
stopped in a dark place across the street and begin firing fast at Mr. Haynie
and then at me. He leveled his pistol at me and I dropped to my knees and began
firing at him."
Gulledge remarked "well gentlemen you got me," and Mr. Perry
McCabe ran up and wrenched his pistol from him when he fell on his face. The
testimony of numerous other witnesses corroborate with Mr. Biggar's.
The
coroner's jury rendered a verdict to the following effect: That W. J. Haynie
came to his death by a shot from a pistol in the hands of Henry Gulledge and J.
O. Johnston, and that Henry Gulledge came to his death by shots from a pistol in
the hands of W. J. Haynie and Hugh Biggar in the discharge of their duties. J.
O. Johnston is now in the parish jail to await a preliminary trial.
The
weapon used by Gulledge was a Smith & Wesson 38 calibre revolver. The weapon
used by officer Haynie was of the same manufacture.
Henry Gulledge was a
farmer living near Downsville, Lincoln parish, and leaves a wife and two
children, who have been summoned here.
The steamer Helen Vaughan was at our landing Sunday morning
and Mr. Sam Blum took passage on her for Monroe.
--Contributed 2006 by T.
D. Hudson, extracted from the Gazette, Farmerville, Union Parish, LA, April
1894. The microfilm is available for interlibrary loan or purchase from the Hill
Memorial Library on the main campus of Louisiana State University in Baton
Rouge, Louisiana. The microfilm is also available for viewing at the Union
Parish Library, main branch, in Farmerville.
Pat Paine, the wife-murderer, paid the penalty for his awful crime on the
gallows at Monroe last Friday [8 Oct 1897]. His was the first legal execution
that has taken place in Monroe in over twenty years.
--Contributed 11 Nov
2006 by Timothy D. Hudson, extracted from Farmerville Gazette, Wednesday 13
October 1897, page 3, col 12.
Ouachita Parish, established in 1807, is one of the 19 parishes into which Orleans parish was divided in that year. It was named for the Ouachita Indians, who held this part of the country when it was discovered and explored by the French. Its history is most interesting, as it was owned and ruled by savage, king and emperor, within a brief period. The parish of today comprises but a small portion of the original "District of Ouachita" during the French and Spanish regime, and of the "County of Ouachita" which, when set apart by the territorial council of Louisiana in 1805, comprehended "all that country commonly known and called by the name of Ouachita settlements," and which embraced within its original boundaries the parishes of Morehouse and Union and a part of Carroll. Ouachita is situated in the northern part of the state in the Ouachita valley and has an area of 646 square miles. As now constituted it is bounded on the north by Union and Morehouse parishes; on the east by Morehouse and Richland parishes, from which it is separated by Bayou Lafourche; on the south by Caldwell parish, and on the west by Jackson and Lincoln parishes.
The Ouachita river was explored by the French at an early day, and Penicaut, in his memoirs of Louisiana, states that "On the 19th of April (1719), the ships Marechal de Villars, Count de Toulouse, and the Phillip arrived. * * * Among the passengers were M. de Montplaisier, who came with 30 persons to establish a tobacco factory, and an Irish gentleman, who brought with him 60 men, to establish concessions on the Ouachita river, eight leagues above its mouth, in ascending from the Red river." These men were probably the first white men to settle in the region. The French established a post of which Stoddard writes, in his Historical Sketches of Louisiana, "The fort and settlement on the Washita are situated in north latitude, 32° 30', nearly.
The first settlement here was made by the French, which was destroyed by the Natchez Indians in 1729, and neither revived till the country passed into the hands of Spain. It now extends about 30 leagues above Fort Miro, and comprehends between five and six hundred souls." The old fort, called Fort Miro, was built where the city of Monroe now stands. After the Natchez were overcome, settlers began to come into the Ouachita valley. English, Scotch, and Scotch-Irish immigrants came from Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, some from Tennessee and Kentucky, and a large number came from the Mississippi territory. The settlement had attained a population of about 1,000 when erected as a parish. Some of the early settlers were Judge Henry Bry, Thomas Lewis, who became judge in 1810, Thomas Morgan, who held the same office in 1813, Thomas Barlow, Lloyd Posey, John Dewitt, John Faulk, Charles Bettin, Alexander Lazare, Hypolite Pargoud and A. D. Richardson.
After the organization of the parish, Monroe was made the parish seat. The first courthouse was a rude structure, but was replaced by a better building, and in 1883 the 4th and present modern courthouse was built.
Ouachita parish is drained by the Ouachita river and Bayou Lafourche and their many tributaries, all of which are used in the extensive lumbering industry of the parish. Ouachita belongs to the "good upland" parishes and is an exceedingly rich farming region. About one-half of the parish consists of alluvial river bottoms, the remainder is undulating uplands, quite hilly in some places, interspersed with creek bottoms. Water is good and abundant, as there are springs and wells all through the upland section. Cotton is the great staple crop, for in the bottom lands of the Ouachita the greatest cotton producing soil in the world is found. The parish also produces corn, oats, hay, sugar-cane, sorghum and tobacco. Dairying, poultry raising and truck farming are all paying industries around Monroe and West Monroe, as the eastern and northern markets supply a growing demand for early vegetables and fruits. Originally the parish was heavily timbered with oak, gum, cottonwood, willow, cypress, beech, poplar, and hickory, hence for years lumbering has been one of the leading industries and a source of great wealth to the parish. As the forests have been cleared away stock raising has increased. It is a natural cattle country, as stock can range without much care nearly the entire year, and sheep, cattle, hogs and horses are raised in great numbers.
There are cotton compresses, cottonseed oil mills, numerous sawmills, canning factories and other industries in the parish, all attracted by the abundance of raw materials, cheap fuel, good water, and convenient transportation facilities furnished by the Ouachita river, the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific R. R., which traverses the central part of the parish east and west; the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern R. R., which enters the northeastern boundary near Wham, runs southwest to Monroe and thence directly south; a branch of the New Orleans & Northwestern R. R., which runs from Collinston in Morehouse parish to Monroe, and by the Little Rock & Monroe R. R., which runs northwest from Monroe.
The largest and most important city is Monroe, the parish seat, located at the intersection of all the railroads. It is the chief market and distributing point of the rich Ouachita valley, and the largest town in all northern Louisiana. Other important towns and villages in the parish are Bosco, Calhoun, Cheniere, Fouche, Swartz, West Monroe, Indian Village, Lapine, Logtown, Luna, Mill Haven, Okaloosa and Sterlington.
The following statistics are taken from the U. S. census for 1900: number of arms, 1,720; acreage, 181,920; acres under cultivation, 78,150; value of land and improvements exclusive of buildings, $1,323,510; value of farm buildings, $482,150; value of live stock, $426,366; value of all products not fed to live stock, $1,178,149; number of manufacturing establishments, 90; capital invested, $1,569,560; wages paid, $270.429; cost of materials used, $715,756; total value of products, $1, 239,012. The population of the parish in 1900 was 7,847 whites, 13,098 colored, a total of 20,947, an increase of 2,962 during the preceding decade. The estimated population for 1908 was over 22,000.
--Contributed 03 Nov 2019 by Norma Hass, extracted from Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, published in 1909, volume 2, pages 278-280.
Known Ouachita Parish newspapers begin with the Washita Gazette newspaper, May 25, 1825. There is an edition of an earlier newspaper from 1823 that is in a private collection. The Gazette collection ends with the November 29, 1825 edition. The next known surviving newspaper is the Monroe Register, December 1, 1859 - November 22, 1860. There are no newspapers from the Civil War period available, and the newspapers pick back up after the war with the Weekly Telegraph, September 18, 1865. During and after Reconstruction, there were several newspapers publishing, among them the Daily Telegraph, the Ouachita Telegraph, The Monroe Bulletin, and Louisiana Intelligencer. From 1890 to May, 1909 there are few surviving newspapers, maybe less than a dozen issues. Persons researching this time period are asked to check surrounding parish newspapers to see if they carried Monroe items. For example, issues of the Richland Beacon survive from this era. From June 1909 to the present, the Monroe News-Star still has some issues available.
William Thomas Theobalds: 1888-1892
Isiah Garrett: 1892-1896
David Johnston: 1896-1908
John "Jack" Parker: 1908-1915
Thomas
Arthur Grant: 1916-1924
Milton Coverdale: 1924-1948
Bailey Grant:
1948-1980
Laymon Godwin: 1980-1996
Charles L. Cook: 1996-2000
Richard L. Fewell: 2000-2008
Royce Toney: 2008(Will take office
January 2008)
Jay Russell: 2012 - present
--Courtesy of the
Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office, Calvin Miyahira
Mr. George Riser, 91, offers wealth of history
and memories. Mr. George celebrated his 91st birthday in May of 1998. He and his
wife Roy married 63 years ago in 1935 and each had 40 year careers with the
local school system. Mr. George still drives, does the family grocery shopping
and always has time for a warm greeting and some uplifting conversation. The
head football coach at Ouachita High School in the mid-40s he was later an
assistant principal at three schools, including Lee Junior High, where he spent
the last 12 years of his career. He was a high school and college referee for
more than 20 years. Mrs. Riser taught elementary school for 40 years. They both
retired more than 25 years ago, but George has remained active in community
affairs. He has been a member of the parish jury commission for the past 15
years, was regularly on committees at First Methodist Church and was on the city
recreation board when most of the city recreation gyms were built. He also took
a part time job four years ago, delivering home meals to the sick and elderly.
Here are items that Mr. George reflected on in his interview:
HIGH SCHOOL:
"Back when I was in high school at Ruston in the 1920s there were no school
buses. In fact I rode my horse Alice, to school. There would always be a few
horses tied up outside our school."
ATHLETICS: "I can still remember when we
went to play a baseball game at Winnsboro. We got on a train in Ruston, changed
to another in Rayville and then went on to Winnsboro. After the game we spent
the night with people there and came home on another train the next day."
"I
also remember my first shoulder pads in football. I swiped one of our pillows at
home, cut a hole through the middle of it and slipped it over my head. As I
recall it didn't help much. All of our athletic games were played in the
daytime. There were no lighted fields. And basketball was played outside on dirt
courts because there were no gyms."
FIRST CAR: "I paid $65 for my first car
and drove it for four years while I was in college. Did you know there was no
such thing as a driver's license in Louisiana until the 1940s."
LONGEST
FAMILY TRIP: "The longest was when we went to Jonesboro for a family
get-together. We went in our wagon. It took all day. We spent the night and I
came back on my horse."
TRANSPORTATION: "I guess some of the biggest changes
in my lifetime have come from the way we travel."
"Did you know that back in
the 1920s and 1930s there were streetcars in Monroe? They were housed at the
mechanical shop in Forsythe Park, where the golf course is. The track from there
went down by the river to DeSiard Street."
FLOODS: "I remember two major
floods in Monroe. The first was in 1927 and the next in 1932. It was soon after
the second flood that the levee was built on the Ouachita River."
RESIDENCE:
"When we built our house on Forsythe in 1951, there was only two or three other
houses on our side of the street. We had crop dusting planes flying over our
house almost daily. spraying the crops behind us."
"Eighteenth Street was
nothing but a trail and Louisville Avenue didn't go beyond Sixth Street."
A
LASTING MEMORY: "I always loved to hunt, I still remember Dec. 7, 1941, when
Pearl Harbor was attacked. I was in Wham Brake hunting ducks.
--Contributed by Dot Golliher, extracted from Monroe News Star, October 21, 1998, an interview by Keith Prince
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