 the ohr family ohro keefe museum of art ooma  the ohr family ohro keefe museum of art ooma ray fri 4232010 1024 the ohr family and ohro keefe museum of art ooma  art historians and critics generally are in agreement that george e ohr jr 18571918 the much maligned and not so mad potter of biloxi was the greatest ceramic artist of his time and possibly ever ohr s life is fairly well documented in the literature by himself 1901 dolores bobbie davidson smith 1965 of ocean springs rw blasberg 1973 and 1986 garth clark et al 1989 and others this article will attempt to present a fairly comprehensive ohr family genealogy and other previously undisclosed facts about the renowned ohr family of biloxi george edward ohr jr was born at biloxi mississippi on july 12 1857 his parents george e ohr 18191904 and johanna wiedman ohr 18211905 were immigrants from alsace that interesting piece of geography between the rhine river and the vosges mountains and wurtemberg respectively wurtemberg a former constitutional monarchy is now integrated into the german state of badenwurtemberg in the southwest region of this western european nation while alsace is now a part of the french deparments of basrhin and hautrhin the senior ohr immigrated to america in 1850 from with his parents mr and mrs john george ohr who both expired at new orleans in 1852 at new orleans george e ohr met and married johanna wideman in 1853 clark et al 1989 p 177 and webster s 1989 p 39 and p 1353 by 1852 ge ohr and spouse had relocated to biloxi where he made his livelihood as a blacksmith while mrs ohr would by 1880 operate a grocery store mr ohr is believed to have been the first person to shoe horses in biloxi in this relaxed peninsular village on the mexican gulf george and johanna ohr brought into the world five children augustus ohr 18541927 george e ohr jr 18571918 emma ohr gruntz 18591909 louise ohr schultz 18631909 and mena ohr 18671893 but pre1900   the biloxi daily herald july 8 1904 p 5    biloxi lands george e ohr began acquiring land in biloxi on pass christian road now howard avenue in august 1859 when he paid john and josephine scherer 300 for a tract with about 50 feet on pass christian road that ran south 300 feet to jackson avenue it is very probable that the original ohr blacksmith shop was situated on this parcel harco ms land deed bk 9 p 175 less than ten years later july 30 1868 george e ohr added to this tract by purchasing from francois arbeau caillavet 18151883 and euranie fayard caillavet 18181895 my greatgreat grandparents charles ferdinand quave 18111894 and rose desiree c quave 18141883 louise c lefaure 18171868 the widow of stephen lefaure and marie c bousquet 18251883 the widow of jeanbaptiste bousquet all the heirs of louis arbeau caillavet 17901860 a native of the opelousas post louisiana and marguerite fayard caillavet 17871863 of biloxi a parcel of ground adjacent to and west of their original holdings on pass christian road howard avenue this particular lot had a front of 50 feet on jackson avenue and ran north for 172 feet to the property of priscilla pebukst ritch 18161905 the grandmother of two of biloxi s most renown and beloved school teachers mary alma ritch 18901964 and priscilla ritch 18931972 who toiled for decades at the now demolished gorenflo public school on lameuse street in biloxi the ritch lot had 50 feet on pass christian road harco ms land deed bk10 p 604 it wasn t until late march 1873 that ge ohr would buy the lot that would be the site of the potohrree and domicile of his soon to be famous son ge ohr jr arne bernard and wife adele ladner delauney caillavet bernard 18121880 conveyed to mr ohr a large lot on the northwest corner of pass christian road and delauney street the ohr tract had 90 feet on pass christian road and 200 feet on delauney street john harkness 18271903 was to the north and the pineau property to the west the consideration was 650 harco ms land deed bk 13 pp 626627 it can be ascertained with some degree of certitude that george e ohr was not financially solvent from december 1875 until about 1890 he borrowed sums of money ranging from 150 to 500 from fellow biloxians such as joseph kuhn 1875 josephine scherer 1882 and john bradford 1886 and 1887 harco ms land deed bk 14 p 618 bk19 p 39 bk 21 p 458 and bk 22 p 45 in january 1895 contractor burk was building a onestory commercial building on the corner of pass christian street howard avenue and delauney for the ohr family enterprises the biloxi herald january 9 1895 as we shall see these biloxi lands the legacy of george and johanna w ohr would cause much grief in the family and contribute to some of the erratic behavior of the world s greatest potter in the first decade of the 20 th century george e ohr passed on july 8 1904 mrs ohr died on december 28 1905 at the residence of her son george e ohr jr their corporal remains were interred in section e lot 5 the george ohr family burial plot in the biloxi city cemetery  the biloxi daily herald july 8 1904 p 5 and december 28 1905 p 2 and the biloxi cemetery records bks ac 18411905  the four children of george e ohr and joanna w ohr who survived into the 20 th century found mates within their germanic culture and language as each married german natives or first generation germanamericans a brief biography of each ohr child follows  august ohr august ohr 18541927 married lizzie hahn in may 1877 she may have been the daughter of elizabeth hahn 18121904 the proprietor of the magnolia hotel mrs hahn a native of hanover germany arrived at biloxi in 1847 harco ms mrb 6 p 476 and  the biloxi daily herald october 5 1904 p 5   lizzie and august ohr were the parents of two sons peter joseph ohr 18781953 and john ohr 18791879 peter j ohr became a local farmer in september 1912 he acquired the ne 4 of the se 4 of section 12 t7sr10w from john canaan for 800 peter was a resident of new orleans in june 1918 when he quitclaimed his tract to lizzie betz who held a deed of trust from him peter s nephew leo edgar ohr 18901970 immediately acquired these forty acres and it became his farm peter j ohr died at biloxi in midoctober 1953 his corporalremains were passed through the episcopal church and interred in the biloxi city cemetery  harco ms land deed bk 102 p 107 and trust deed bk 10 p 163 and the daily herald october 13 1953 p 8  august ohr made his livelihood as a laborer in the winter of 1901 he managed a steam wood mill on back bay at reynoir street it supplied stove wood stove wood blocks and cord wood at reasonable prices august also worked for the texas pacific machine shop and the biloxi ice factory in 1904 he was running a merrygoround at vicksburg mississippi before returning to biloxi in late october suffering from malaria in his later life mr ohr was a night watchman in august 1892 lizzie and august ohr divorced in harrison county mississippi harco ms chancery court cause no 523august 1892 and  the biloxi daily herald november 15 1901 p 8 october 27 1904 p 5 and the daily herald april 11 1927 p 2  by 1906 lizzie hahn ohr was married again her new spouse was antoine muller or miller harco ms chancery court cause no 2200ocotber 1906 and cause no 2500october 1907 august ohr married mrs charles wolbarth on july 25 1893 in orleans parish louisiana see hunting for bears orleans parish louisiana august ohr married the widow of william wachenfeld elizabeth montag wachenfeld 18421920 in may 1894 she was born at bodstadt hessen germany the daughter of joseph montag and katherine sour mrs ohr was the mother of charles w wachenfeld 18681936 philip wachenfeld 18711929 august wachenfeld and christina w harvey 18721931 the wife of louis harvey 18741913 before his demise louis harvey was foreman of the gorenflo packing company at biloxi several of his descendants philip i harvey b 1941 david harvey and elizabeth h joachim are prominent in insurance and real estate at ocean springs harco ms mrb 10 p 206  the daily herald august 29 1920 p 1 and the daily herald september 17 1913 p   1  mrs elizabeth w ohr died at biloxi on august 18 1920 august ohr expired on april 10 1927 both were passed through the episcopal church and interred in the biloxi city cemetery  the daily herald august 19 1920 p 1 and april 11 1927 p 2  george e ohr jr on september 15 1886 george edward ohr jr 18571918 married josephine gehring 18681930 a native of gretna louisiana like george s parents her father and mother were also german immigrants by the last year of the 19 th century josephine had given george seven children but only four survived leo e ohr 18901970 clo l ohr 18921989 otto t ohr 18951982 and lio i ohr 18931914 to see the federal census taker on delauney street in june 1900 ellen louise ohr 1887pre 1900 asa eugene ohr 18881893 and flo lucretia ohr 18971900 had expired before june 1900   harco ms mrb 8 p 217 and 1900 federal censusharrison county ms t623 roll 808 p 21b  post june 1900 zio i ohr 19001904 ojo j ohr 19031991 and george e ohr iii 19061986 were born but only the latter two survived to adulthood josephine gehring ohr expired on march 17 1930 in her home at 409 delauney street she had been a resident of biloxi since 1885 in addition to her children she was survived by two brothers george and louis gehring and three sisters mrs nick koenig mrs william hartley and mrs lg dauenhauer all of her siblings resided in the greater new orleans area mrs ohr s corporal remains were interred in the biloxi city cemetery  the daily herald march 17 1930 p 10  the world s greatest potter george e ohr jr had preceded josephine in death he passed at his delauney street residence on april 7 1918 after several years of declining health prior to his demise ohr had sought medical attention in the crescent city with no avail after his corporal remains had been blessed in the episcopal church of the redeemer they were interred in his burial lot designated as block 13 lot 173 of the 3 rd addition to the biloxi city cemetery in addition to george e ohr and josephine g ohr the graves of leo e ohr lio i ohr and marguerite kuljis ohr are marked in this family burial lot  the daily herald april 8 1918 p 1 and personal observation september 14 2002  the ohr children consistently with his creative and eccentric nature george e ohr jr derived the first name of his children from the first letter of their first middle and surname for example leo was created from leo edgar ohr clo came from clovinia lucinda ohr etc a brief biography of the children of george e ohr jr and josephine gehring ohr follows  ellen louisa ohr ellen l ohr 1887pre1900 was born on june 21 1887 she received the holy sacrament of baptism in the roman catholic church at the nativity bvm in biloxi on july 10 1887 ellen passed on before june 1900 no further information lepre 1991 p 243  asa eugene ohr asa e ohr 18881893 was born in 1888 and expired on december 7 1893 young asa must have been very special to his aunt mena ohr who published a poem in his memory in the local journal following his funeral services and burial his remains were passed through the nativity bvm roman catholic church prior to internment   lepre 1991 p 243 and the biloxi herald december 9 1893 p 8 and december 16 1893 p 8  leo edgar ohr leo e ohr 18901970 was born at biloxi on september 20 1890 his baptism took place in the nativity bvm roman catholic church on october 20 1890 on january 22 1926 leo married mamie catchot 18901961 a native of ocean springs and the daughter of antonio toy catchot 18681952 and adelia mon 18761948 lepre 1991 p 243 and harco ms mrb 37 p 522 as early as 1913 leo e ohr was in the automotive garage and machine business with otto t ohr he commenced the ohr boy s garage at 411 delauney street just north of their familial domicile and on the site of his father s famous potohre biloxi city directory 19131914 p 180 julius m lopez 18861958 biloxi entrepreneur and yachtsman often had leo e ohr as the engineer or pilot of the   belle l  his 30foot 145 hp race boat which was lauded as there is nothing in the gulf that can near equal it in speed   in addition leo owned the   anna may  also a racing speed boat  the daily herald july 13 1913 p 1 and p 8  in april 1915 leo e ohr obtained the harleydavidson franchise on the mississippi gulf coast he rode the streets of biloxi on his new twin cylinder harleydavidson as a demonstrator for interested customers  the daily herald april 26 1915 p 2  by 1922 leo had changed the name of his business to the ohr garage and by 1927 added and machine works to this title as late as 1949 he remained the proprietor of the ohr machine shop in 1958 leo e ohr was renting rooms at 208 lameuse street biloxi city directory 19221923 p 162 ibid 1927 p 158 ibid 1949 p 480 ibid 1958 p 641  ohr farm in addition to being the proprietor of the ohr machine shop at 409 delauney street leo e ohr was a farmer in june 1918 he acquired fortyacres of land the ne 4 of the se 4 of section 12 t7sr10w from lizzie betz for 500 this land situated on the west side of cedar lake road between popps ferry road and us i10 is now very commercial and includes the cedar lake medical plaza and surroundings harco ms land deed bk 122 p 329 here in 1934 leo e ohr harvested the largest sugar cane crop ever grown in harrison county from his fifteenacres of seed grown sugar cane he made over three thousand gallons of cane syrup ohr sold over 1500 gallons to the state welfare board for its program to assist needy families in south mississippi as a result of the national economic depression leo was also in the process of erecting a plant to produce cane syrup which had the potential of being a profitable local agricultural industry  the daily herald january 15 1934 p 8  leo e ohr died on august 17 1970 at the time of his death he was possessed with his cedar lake farm and other biloxi real estate harco ms chancery court case no 1162may 1971l  clovinia lucinda ohr clovinia l ohr 18921989 called clo was born at biloxi on may 1 1892 she was baptized on june 5 1892 in the nativity bvm roman catholic church on april 15 1909 clo eloped and married fredric andrew moran 18881972 a wellknown boat builder and schooner racer of biloxi he was the son of ernest moran and catherine kornman 18541922 lepre 1991 p 243 harco ms mrb bk 21 p 188 and  the biloxi daily herald april 16 1909 p 1  clo and freddie moran were the parents of four children fredric elwood moran 19102001 julia m sutton 19141996 josephine m morykwas 19151997 and joseph joe moran 19151999 joe moran like his father also built boats and in his later life became a nationally acclaimed painter several of mr moran s works are in the smithsonian institute and two american presidents have acquired his art  the sun herald december 1 1989 p b2 and the sun herald march 24 1999    lio irwin ohr lio i ohr 18931914 was born at biloxi on july 26 1893 his arrival was announced by the local journal as   another potter arrived at the art pottery of geo ohr last wednesday of course it s a boy the biloxi herald july 29 1893 p 8  lio i ohr was baptized in the catholic faith at the nativity bvm on august 27 1893 his godfather was joseph f meyer 18481931 the newcomb art school potter lio expired at his parent s home on delauney street on december 12 1914 from a tumor lio had worked for dr jason j harry 18541950 of handsboro as his chauffeur until struck down with his fatal malady in november 1914   lepre 1991 p 242 and  the daily herald december 13 1914 p 4    otto theodore ohr otto t ohr 18951982 called pie was born september 11 1895 on october 6 1895 he received the sacrament of baptism at the nativity bvm otto t ohr married rosalie elder 18901970 the daughter of robert e lee elder 18641931 called lee and nellie catherine williams 18751926 at pascagoula mississippi in november 1913 lepre 1991 p 243  the daily herald november 20 1913 p 8 and jxco ms mrb 9 p 553    elderforetich otto t ohr s fatherinlaw mr lee elder was a prominent ice manufacturer in biloxi elder s early career was as a licensed steamboat engineer he commenced ice making as an engineer with the biloxi artesian ice manufacturing company in 1887 by 1895 elder was chief engineer of their plant with a capacity of making twentytwo tons of ice each day he was also a stockholder with john walker president tp dulion treasurer and wkm dukate 18521916 general manager and secretary dyer 1895 p 19 lee elder married nellie c williams at biloxi on may 11 1889 they were the parents of rosalie e foretich ohr 18901970 ethel e entrekin 18941931 hw will elder 18961931 ruth e vancourt 18991931 mrs je collins and mrs g rossini  harco ms mrb 8 p 476 and the daily herald september 28 1931 p 1  in february 1907 rosalie elder had married lawrence foretich 18841966 in the methodist church at gulfport they had two sons elliott l foretich 19081992 and kenneth lee foretich 19111933 lee foretich was murdered at new orleans during mardi gras madness in late february 1933 he had recently moved to the crescent city from biloxi where he had been at the us coast guard base on point cadet  the biloxi daily herald february 25 1907 p 1 and february 27 1933 p 2  in late january 1914 lawrence foretich married maud kleyle of new orleans at the hotel brielmeire they initially were domiciled in biloxi but eventually relocated to new orleans he expired there in 1966  the daily herald january 29 1914 p 2    otto s life as a young man otto t ohr began making a living as one of the ohr boy s garage owners with his brother leo e ohr by 1922 he as his grandmother johanna w ohr had done in the late 19 th century became a grocer the ohr store was situated at 742 lameuse street circa 1925 otto t ohr was sent to chicago by lee elder to study refrigeration and ammonia returning to biloxi he organized the peoples ice company which commenced his long association with ice manufacturing in biloxi and later at bayou labatre alabama where he was employed by the alabama ice company    biloxi city directory 19131914 p 180 ibid  19221923 p 162 and thelma o palmer september 23 2002  when the otto t ohr family returned to biloxi from bayou labatre in the early 1930s otto worked as an engineer for the anticich ice company and by 1936 had become the manager of the gulf service ice company by 1958 otto t ohr was the engineer for the biloxi freezing company at the time of his death in april 1982 he was an engineer with the biloxi port commission biloxi city directory 1927 p 158 ibid 1931 p 148 ibid 1936 p 193 ibid 1958 p 641 and  the sun    april 21 1982  the children of otto t ohr and rosalie elder ohr were carl otto ohr 19221996 dorothy ohr 19231999 married willis page 19151973 carroll ruth ohr 19241982 married edgar l allen ii marian elizabeth betty ohr b 1925 married thomas r o neil shirley lola ohr 19271986 married charles f kitzmiller 19191997 thelma ohr b 1929 married robert palmer and mary ohr b 1934 married harry lockwood  the sun april 21 1982 p a4 and thelma o palmer september 23 2002  thelma ohr palmer a resident of semmes alabama remember vividly from her childhood that her father would take all of his children to get ice cream in downtown mobile the proprietor of the dairy parlor would invariably comment facetiously   here comes mr and mrs ohr with their little paddles  george ohr jr s only grandson carol otto ohr married helen marie anderson their children were paula maria ohr rutland b 1948 married don wayne rutland mena dianne ohr wentzell b 1950 married bobby ray wentzell carl monroe ohr 19521986 married rosella ann mccaleb and sarah ohr murphy  the sun herald march 5 1996 p b2  carl m ohr married rosella mccaleb the daughter of joseph ellsworth mccaleb and dolores l lemmler mr ohr was a biloxi fireman and served as president of the ml michel middle school pta they were the parents of rachel ann ohr sharp b 1975 and brian ohr the great greatgrandson of biloxi s mad potter mrs ohr s maternal grandfather henry p lemmler 19041953 had once owned a grocery store in biloxi  the sun herald october 22 1986 p a2 and the daily herald october 13 1953 p 6    flo lucretia ohr flo l ohr 18971900 was born on december 17 1897 she was baptized january 16 1898 in the nativity bvm roman catholic church at biloxi she expired on march 21 1900 flo was just over two years old and had reached that stage of her young life when her personality was developing her corporal remains were interred in the ohr family burial lot in the biloxi city cemetery lepre 1991 p 243 and  the biloxi daily herald march 23 1900 p 8    zio ignatius ohr zio i ohr 19001904 was born at biloxi circa september 20 1900 he expired on april 20 1904 from blood poisoning burial was in the biloxi city cemetery in the ge ohr sr family burial lot  the biloxi daily herald april 21 1904 p 1  ojo julius ohr ojo j ohr 19031991 was born january 25 1903 at the ohr home on delauney street he came into the world as a healthy twelvepound baby boy  the biloxi daily news january 26 1903 p 6  ojo j ohr married mae miguez 19001968 the daughter of numa miguez and homelia miguez at pascagoula mississippi on september 12 1924 two of her sisters mrs ralph mattina and mrs armond broussard had also married biloxi men mae was born at new iberia louisiana on may 12 1900 her father numa miguez was killed in late november 1931 in st martin parish louisiana when his car driven by son was struck by a train jxco ms mrb 15 p 418 and  the daily herald november 24 1931 p 2  in january 1945 mae and ojo j ohr divorced in harrison county mississippi without having offspring ojo had to pay the exmrs ohr 2000 assign his interest in three lots located in section 15 t7sr9w jackson county mississippi and convey a lot to her on benachi avenue in biloxi harco ms chancery court case no 21563january 1945 later in her life mae miguez married forrest l churchill 18991968 a native of stoughton massachusetts he was a master sergeant in the usaf and had served in ww ii the churchills resided at 705 dorries street in biloxi mae m churchill expired at biloxi on october 15 1968 her corporal remains were interred in the southern memorial park cemetery at biloxi mr churchill followed her closely in death passing on december 12 1968 his remains were sent to virginia for internment in the arlington national cemetery  the daily herald october 16 1968 p 2 and december 13 1968 p 2  in july 1955 at pascagoula ojo j ohr married marguerite kuljis 19131986 the daughter of luka kuljis 18861965 and tadika pitalo kuljis 18841978 he made his livelihood as the proprietor of ojo s junk yard and machine shop situated at 811 benachi avenue his residence was nearby ojo passed on march 23 1991 mrs ohr died july 24 1986 their corporal remains were interred in the biloxi city cemetery  the sun herald july 25 1986 p a2 and march 24 1991 p b2 jxco ms mrb 82 p 158  ohr legacy in addition to the ohr patriarchal family home on delauney street and about sixthousand of his incredible mud babies george e ohr jr left his wife and children a tract of land on the west side of benachi avenue situated north of division street and south of bay terrace he acquired this approximately 22acre parcel in september 1890 from charles fayard the consideration was 130 harco ms land deed bk 25 p 440 the benachi avenue tract was subdivided by the mrs josephine ohr and her children between 1928 and 1930 in october 1930 ojo j ohr acquired a 115foot lot fronting on benachi between geo e ohr and leo e ohr he bought another lot on benachi from leo e ohr in february 1933 this lot became the property of mae miguez ohr after their 1945 divorce harco ms land deed bk 187 p 163 and bk 196 p 587 it was here on benachi avenue that ojo j ohr would found his infamous junkyard on the south and east side of bay terrace a development that was considered as one of biloxi s most fashionable subdivisions of the post ww ii era both ojo and younger brother geo e ohr iii lived in this sylvan setting surrounded by a visual cacophony of abandoned household appliances automobiles buses and other miscellaneous objects of no particular description or value in 1959 the ohr boys relocated their father s remaining pots from the delauney street garage to a brick block building situated within ojoville on the west side of benachi avenue north of division street the no twoalike world s greatest art pottery had been crated for nearly sixty years when a peripatetic picker from new jersey came to town looking for antique automobile parts james w carpenter james w jim carpenter grew up in a dairy farming community in the kittatinny mountains of rural northwestern new jersey light years from the art world of the east coast conurbation stretching from washington dc to boston as a young man he tested milk and eventually owned his own milk truck collecting the raw product from local dairy farmers as the milking business declined carpenter learned to barber but also relied on his avocation collecting antiques to make his livelihood even in the sleepy hollow of montague new jersey with its paucity of fine art carpenter s artistic father had introduced him to an aesthetic culture and a deep appreciation of exceptional art and antiques his experience as an antiquer had brought him in contact with rookwood weller roseville and newcomb pottery some of which collected others he wished that he had as their worth has risen geometrically in recent times with his natural talent for recognizing value and a ready market jim carpenter literally put his barber chair in the corner and with his loving wife miriam affectionately called mim became a full time antiques merchant opening a store in their delaware river valley domicile in addition to regional auctions he traveled the hinterlands in search of treasures florida was a favorite site to seek respite from the harsh new jersey winter and pick for antiques primarily antiquated motorcar components and accessories biloxi in 1966 jim carpenter wandered into new orleans with antique auto parts on his most wanted list he found a dealer and before his transactions were completed asked the man for additional references in order to continue his acquisitions of automotive paraphernalia the ohr boys in biloxi chimed the old junk man how will i find them questioned carpenter oh no problem everyone there knows them do you imbibe a little the august aged gentleman of junk smiled and added i ll tell you this the ohr boys won t do business with you unless you take a nip with them iw harper was their whisky of choice armed with this valuable knowledge carpenter traveled east to the mississippi gulf coast with a bottle of bourbon in hand he entered ojo ohr s junkyard on benachi avenue north of division street mr carpenter soon discovered that the ohrs had a peculiar sense of bartering firstly they would insist that all have drinks until the bottle was empty when jim carpenter found antique auto parts of his liking they would not give him their selling price but insist that he make them an offer the yankee antique seeker soon learned that his offering price was accepted only when tripled by the ohrs who obviously knew the value of a shrimp nickel during this novel visit with the ohr boys carpenter was asked if he would like to see some of their father s pottery when he agreed ojo ohr placed some of george s glazed pieces on a table for him to inspect mr carpenter was surprised as he had never seen art pottery of this style he wasn t knowledgeable in this field of art and decided to consult others before making an offer to the ohr family robert w bob blasberg a wellrespected scholar and new jersey friend of carpenter was conferred with and sight unseen he recommended that carpenter acquire the eclectic ceramic collection hidden at biloxi the final trip after several years of frustrating and futile negotiations with the ohr family jim carpenter gave up two silent years passed and surprisingly one morning he received a missive from ojo ohr inquiring of carpenter s desire to still acquire george s pots ojo was ready to make a deal somewhat bewildered but pregnant with hope jim carpenter returned to biloxi in the winter of 1972 or early 1973 with a cashier s check arriving at the ohr s benachi avenue site he spent the next three days inspecting and crudely inventorying the approximately 6000 glazed bisque and ceramic trinkets and molds that had survived from george s potting years the ohr family finally accepted what will be carpenter s legacy to the curious a large number of green dollars whose value is speculated to range between 50000 and 100000 for their father s mud babies promoting george after battling through several ice storms in a rental truck jim carpenter arrived safely back in new jersey with his cache of ge ohr s pots he generously gave his neighbors each an ohr vessel for assisting him and mim in unloading the truck carpenter had just completed a new store building and although he placed some ohr on the shelves his first year sales proved barrensorry george but no sales a familiar mantra for ohr the initial ohr season wasn t an entire bust as carpenter s collection did increase by two ohr pots as he acquired them through ads that he had seen in trade journals not fazed by ohr s lack of sales jim carpenter decided that now was the time for him and bob blasberg to educate america about the genius of george e ohr in 1973 blasberg published george e ohr and his biloxi art pottery which sold for 300 this was followed by an exhibit of ohr s works ten of which were selected for a juried american art pottery show at the renwick gallery of the smithsonian institute in washington dc carpenter sold about half of the three hundred ohr pots that he brought to the smithsonian exhibit after the show he gave the smithsonian the ten juried pots one of which a combination coffee and tea pot only about seven inches high carpenter considers as ohr s greatest work from his wheel it was from the renwick gallery exhibit that george was discovered by ceramic collectors especially those of gotham sales sales and more sales once george became known and loved jim carpenter chose an interesting marketing strategy each year he limited the number of pots that he would vend some years it took only two months to sell his year s quota this scheme only wetted the appetites of collectors and drove the price up annually by the 1980s new york city was really hot for ohr and carpenter was making excellent sales there once nyc painter jasper johns offered to trade was of his paintings for an exceptional ohr pot carpenter refused and now regrets it as some of john s work now sells for seven figure prices thanks jim biloxi and the art world owe james w carpenter many kudos for his ambitious speculation into a subject of which he was no expert mortgaging his new jersey farm allowed mr carpenter the necessary cash to acquire the art treasures of biloxi s mad potter  george e ohr iii george e ohr iii 19061974 called geo or g was born on august 8 1906 his birth was simply noted in the local journal as   born to mr and mrs geo e ohr a boy   the biloxi daily herald august 10 1906 p 2  at pascagoula mississippi on november 10 1927 geo married iola giadrosich 19061986 the daughter of paul giadrosich and edna apperson she had four brothers edward giadrosich 18981968 rudolph giadrosich 18991978 orville giadrosich and paul giadrosich jr 19161983 and a sister lottie g richards jxco ms mrb land deed bk18 p 51 and  the daily herald october 16 1968 p 2  geo e ohr iii had a wiry physique and the arm and hand strength of his blacksmith father witnesses aver that he could do a pullup using the power generated in his thumb and index finger considered by many as a mechanical genius geo lived on benachi avenue near his brother ojo j ohr he owned three classic cars an original 1903 cadillac a 1908 culver racer and a 1900 mcintyre geo gave the culver racer to frank j duggan 19122000 a longtime employee of ojo geo retired from the biloxi fire department having worked their as a mechanic a design engineer from americanlafrance of elmira new york a fire engine manufacturer came to biloxi to inspect one of its fire trucks that geo had repaired the crankshaft he was amazed at this feat and brought back technology to his company that mr ohr had used to redesign the cooling system for the crankshaft  frank j duggan jr october 8 2002  in september 1947 geo his wife and mr and mrs jimmy richardson of new orleans were at horn island a barrier island about thirteen miles southeast of biloxi when a hurricane hit the region they had gone to horn island to care for their property recently acquired from the us government ohr and his party secured an army duck an amphibious vehicle to a tree and remained in it until the tempest had passed they had an ample supply of canned food and candles for illumination the ohr party was rescued by leo ohr eddie cannette and others from the vessel   whipowill  the daily herald september 22 1947 p 5  george e ohr iii passed on february 23 1974 mrs ohr expired on july 13 1986 their corporal remains were interred in the biloxi city cemetery  the sun herald july 15 1986 p a2    emma ohr in 1890 emily emma ohr 18601926 was born at biloxi in december 1860 circa 1890 she married louis gruntz 18641930 a native of germany who had come to america in 1880 louis made his livelihood as a grocer they had two children born in new orleans louis gruntz ii 18921900 and emily gruntz birl wife of paul birl 18941926 in june 1900 the gruntz family were residents of the 3 rd ward 16 th precinct of nola 1900 federal census orleans ph la roll 571 book 1 p 309 emily ohr gruntz expired at new orleans on may 25 1926 she was a resident of the city since 1889 and was domiciled at 2623 st anne street at the time of her demise mrs gruntz was survived by her husband who lived until july 12 1930 and a daughter mrs paul birl her corporal remains were interred in st patrick cemetery no 2  the times picayune may 26 1926 p 2 and july 15 1930 p 2    louisa ohr louisa ohr 18651957 was born at biloxi in april 1865 circa 1886 she married rupert l schulz 18551930 an 1869 immigrant from germany they were the parents of joseph rupert schulz 18871957 pearl schulz fitzgerald 1890pre 1957 anna schulz hourguettes 18921957 and arthur l schulz post 19001957 mr schulz was a machinist and the family lived at mcdonoughville jefferson parish louisiana 1900 federal census jefferson parish louisiana p 105a louisa ohr schulz expired at gretna louisiana on june 13 1957 she had resided here since 1897 in addition to three children mrs schulz was survived by a grandson rupert e fitzgerald and a great granddaughter pearl e fitzgerald her corporal remains were passed through the salem evangelical lutheran church in gretna and they were interred in the mcdonough cemetery also located in gretna louisiana mr rupert l schulz preceded his wife in death expiring on november 9 1935  the times picayune november 10 1935 p 6 and june 16 1957 p 18    mena ohr mena ohr 18671893 never married she died before 1900 and her body buried in the ohr family burial plot in the biloxi city cemetery mena had a good heart as she remembered the demise of her young nephew asa eugene ohr in december 1893 no further information an ohr family time line the following chronological events from 1889 to 1923 demonstrate the trials tribulations and triumphs of the ohr family leading to the insanity trial of ge ohr jr in april 1909 and beyond  1889 the ohr pottery burned in midnovember 1889  the pottery was the first structure to be supplied with water from the water works company  the biloxi herald november 16 1889 p 4  1890 george e ohr suggested to the biloxi herald reporter  that those who cannot afford to buy flower pots should put their pretty flowers in the rear of their houses   now that there is a first class pottery in biloxi here is no excuse for placing pretty flowers and rare plants in old tin cans and painted pots  the biloxi herald june 7 1890 p 4  1891 ohr was awarded a prize for the   most grotesque costume   at the mechanics steam fire company no 2 mardi gras ball held in the knights of labor hall this was the grand culmination of the festivities at biloxi on fat tuesday  the biloxi herald february 15 1891 p 1  george ohr the artistic potter has an elegant line of pottery on hand to which he invites the inspection of the public his stock embraces every variety and is well worth a visit to his pottery where all are welcome whether they buy or not  the biloxi herald may 30 1891 p 4  1893 george and josephine g ohr s eldest son asa e ohr  18881893 expired on december 7 1893  lepre 1991 p 242    george e ohr jr traveled to chicago to demonstrate his ceramic wares at the world s columbian exposition  which was held between may and november 1893 1894 the october fire destroyed the potohre and ohr residence on delauney street  george e ohr sr had uninsured losses of 5000 while ge ohr jr estimated his loss at 3000 in a short period of time   the toil and work of ohr the artistic potter was reduced to ashes  after examining his burned out pottery mr ohr estimated that about 1000 pieces of his artistic work were not harmed by the conflagration  the biloxi herald october 13 1894 p 8 and october 20 1894 p 8  1895 ge ohr jr traveled to atlanta with his art and novelty pottery to exhibit at the cotton states international exposition which commenced in midseptember 1895 ohr s work was not selected for an award but  the atlanta constitution  remarked of ohr s presence at the event    ohr is the comical genius with the long whiskers who makes all sorts of pottery in machinery hall where he is always surrounded by an admiring crowd   the biloxi daily herald january 4 1896 p 8  1896 the wonderful wheel   a novel which was inspired by the image projected by biloxi s mad potter was written by mary tracy earle 18641955 and published by the century company of new york miss earle was the daughter of parker earle 18311917 and melanie tracy 18371889 and resided at ocean springs mississippi for several years some other published works by mary tracy earle are  the man who worked for collister  1898  through old rose glasses  1900 and  the flag on the hilltop  1902 the celebrated potter of this city george e ohr has proven his interest in the human race by placing on howard avenue next to the vienna cafe  a barrel of ice water which is free to all  the cooler is a specimen of his handwork in clay and no doubt those who imbibe will be thankful the cooler carries with it a number of poetic effusions which for originality are unsurpassed   the biloxi herald august 22 1896 p 8  1897 on august 18 1897  jules gabry  18291897 a native of france and t he first potter at the newcomb pottery committed suicide by drowning himself in the mississippi sound monsieur gabry was a friend of ohr and left his kick wheel at the potohre  the biloxi daily herald august 21 1897 p 8  1899 in december 1899 ohr s work was lauded at the natural arts club in new york city as follows   among the potters unknown to new york is geo e ohr of biloxi miss whose exhibit is interesting attaining in some pieces a great richness of color and in one a remarkable effect of dull metal   the biloxi daily herald december 3 1899 p 8  1900 flo l ohr  18971900 the daughter of george e ohr jr and josephine g ohr expired on march 21 1900  the biloxi daily herald march 23 1900 p 8    george e ohr jr sent some of his art pottery to paris france to be exhibited at the paris exposition universelle of 1900 his work was not chosen for an award 1901 george e ohr jr exhibited his work at the providence art club of rhode island in the spring of 1901 and at the pan american exposition at buffalo new york between maynovember 1901 he did not win an award at either event  jb myers formerly of biloxi reported in july 1901 that   mississippi has no state exhibit at the great pan american exposition in buffalo there are exhibits from the smithsonian institute and elsewhere but none compare with mr ohr s handiwork rookwood is represented by a 1000 pieces but if they were cleaned of their paints and decorated they would be a heavy clumsy lot of clay but every piece made by ohr is light brilliant and graceful all in its own beauty   the biloxi daily herald july 18 1901 p 8  1902 biloxi has a potter and a pottery  the potter george e ohr is one of the most original artists in the world and turns out high art pottery with all the ease that the ordinary potter turns out common earthen crocks  he has thousands of pieces and no two are alike at the great international expositions he has exhibited collections of his wares and has been awarded diplomas and medals not a few and that too while in competition with the art potters of the earth he does not sell much of his work because most people do not appreciate it and refuse to pay his price otherwise he might become wealthy by selling his trifles and trinkets at 25 and 50 cents each the clay is found along one of the rivers that flow into back bay  the daily picayune biloxi rich in historical interest march 31 1902 p 10  an exhibit of color photographic images by cs jackson taken at biloxi in may 1901  was shown at the montross hotel in late september among these was one taken of the interior of the ohr art pottery depicting multicolored pots of earthenware with the art potter mounted on a pedestal in the background  the biloxi daily herald february 25 1902 p 8  1903 a poem appeared in the biloxi daily herald about mr ohr in april 1903 as follows   george ohr he went to new orleans the city sights to see he wandered round but nowhere found sights like ohr s potohre disappointed in the sights he wandered far to seek he tied his mustache in a knot and will be back next week    the biloxi daily herald april 18 1903 p 8  1904 zio i ohr  19001904 the son of george e ohr jr and josephine g ohr died on april 20 1904 george e ohr sr  18191904  passed on july 8 1904  george e ohr jr attended and exhibited his art pottery at the louisiana purchase international exposition at st louis missouri  he was awarded a silver medal for his ceramic skills he returned to biloxi in late december 1904  the biloxi daily herald december 26 1904 p 7  1905 johanna wiedman ohr  18211905 the mother of george e ohr jr died on december 28 1905  she legated her estate to august ohr 25 emma ohr gruntz 25 louise ohr schultz 25 and josephine g ohr 25 ge ohr jr was to receive 500 from the sale of the estate and his residence and art pottery at 409 delauney street and 411 delauney street respectively mrs johanna w ohr also requested that her property not be sold for ten years unless all legatees agreed to vend it sooner rupert schultz her soninlaw was named executor of her estate harco ms chancery court cause no 2108  1906 the ohr art pottery had a fortunate break on the eve of january 8th when its oil heater that mr ohr had left burning to prevent his newly thown greenware from freezing fell to pieces the burning oil from the furnace charred the floor and smoke filled the studio there had been a strong north wind blowing at the time which would have directed anyfire onto west howard avenue in biloxi s business district  the biloxi daily herald january 9 1906 p 1  in march 1906 the smithsonian institution of washington dc accepted a small red vase from the works submitted by george e ohr jr to the united states potters association at its annual convention in march 1906  august ohr filed a forced heirship suit in the chancery court of harrison county mississippi to sell the estate property of johanna w ohr on the north side of howard avenue this litigation was ceased by august ohr harrison county mississippi chancery court cause no 2151 in october 1906  august ohr filed another forced heirship cause against the heirs of johanna w ohr  in addition to the ohr estate lands and improvements north of howard avenue it included those properties south of howard avenue in depositions the ohr estate properties were valued at 17000 by jw swetman 18631937 a local druggist and between 15000 and 16000 by charles tanner a biloxi realtor harrison county mississippi chancery court cause no 2281  1907 in june 1907 rupert and louise ohr schultz louis and emma ohr gruntz and august and elizabeth w ohr sold their right title and interest as heirs of george e ohr and johanna w ohr to charles c redding and joseph lawrence for 12000 harco ms land deed bk 81 pp 388389  charles c redding 18571926 was born at bay st louis mississippi the son of walter redding an englishman and elodie necaise redding came to biloxi about 1870 as a poor teen his work ethic and frugality propelled him to the forefront of biloxi s commercial leaders redding owned a mercantile business on west howard avenue a dozen schooners and interests and stock in the biloxi canning company biloxi box factory cowart sawmill the traction company and the peoples bank of which he was an organizer and director he also served three terms an alderman on the biloxi city council  the daily herald january 7 1907 p 1  in november 1886 charles c redding married ann minerva pittman 18681917 a native of tennessee and the daughter of william pittman and esther reice they reared a family of four daughters and two sons in their large victorian home situated on the northeast corner of jackson street and delauney ge ohr street the redding house is utilized today to host wedding receptions and other special celebratory events p 265  joseph lawrence 18671952 was the son of spanish immigrants in september 1890 he married catherine tucei 18661939 a native of naples italy and the daughter of vincent tucei and seraphine griese they were the parents of five children of which two survived into adulthood mary l coleman 18951952 and joseph v lawrence 19021975 mr lawrence was a city laborer before he commenced repairing and selling shoes and doing business as the guarantee shoe store on west howard avenue the french cafe later occupied this site and was also a lawrence family enterprise in 1902 joseph lawrence became a stockholder in the people bank and was elected to the board of directors in 1911 he assumed the position of vicepresident of the peoples bank in 1932  guice p 51 the daily herald january 13 1939 p 6 and october 9 1952 p 1  in may 1929 joseph lawrence let a contract to manuel wetzel to refurbish the lawrence building on the northwest corner of west howard and delauney street the gabriel jewelry company managed by jr beggs planned to move here in july they had recently acquired the merchandise of edward brady  the daily herald may 28 1929 p 2  ohr heirs commercial rentals 19071909 between july 15 1907 and september 15 1909 charles w redding collected rents from the commercial properties of the ohr heirs on west howard avenue as agent for rupert schultz the executor of the estate of johanna w ohr and spouse of louise ohr from harrison county mississippi chancery court cause no 2473 the sanborn insurance maps and city directories of biloxi one can ascertain with a high degree of certitude the lessees of the ohr heirs whose six rental buildings and ancillary outbuildings were situated delauney street north of west howard avenue and on the north and south side of west howard avenue between delauney street and magnolia street the north side addresses were 401405 delauney 202208 west howard and 205209 west howard 1909 sanborn mapbiloxi ms sheet 5 it is interesting to note that several of the ohr heir tenants were italian immigrants or first generation italianamericans who were born in biloxi or new orleans some of these italian families who worked and lived in this section of biloxi were corso esposito fallo martino olivari randazzo seroolini solari taranto tedesco and tucei a brief chronology of the ohr heir tenants between 1907 and 1909 follows  moseley devitt this partnership was a grocery business founded by john moseley and thomas kirkland devitt 18821946 tk devitt was born at harbor springs michigan in august 1907 he married lily rose bourdon 18841951 the daughter of french immigrant ao bourdon sr 18451901 and marie virgets 18471901 of new orleans the devitts resided on lower lameuse street here they reared their three children thomas k devitt jr matthew devitt slidell louisiana and lily d stuart baltimore   the biloxi daily herald   august 16 1907 p and the daily herald    december 16 1946 p 5  in addition to his grocery business mr devitt was seriously involved in the seafood packing industry at biloxi ocean springs and in southeastern louisiana with patrick henry clark 18701927 a new orleanian he chartered devitt clark at new orleans on june 10 1914 they commenced operations in the canning business on point cadet at biloxi in august 1913 when it leased the plant of the bourdoncastanera packing company for the 19131914 shrimp and oyster season devitt took the interest of louis harvey 18741913 their cannery which was modern and wellequiped was situated between the dunbar lopez dukate factory and the barataria canning company  the daily herald august 26 1913 p 8  circa 1926 tk devitt became active in the seafood industry at louisiana he was involved in packing operations at braithwaite wyclosky golden meadow and cutoff he sons were also in the seafood business at louisiana clark expired at new orleans his remain were interred the biloxi cemetery  the daily herald    december 16 1946 p 5  lawrence romeo lawrence romeo 18701932  was a grocer and fruit vendor prior to entering commerce at biloxi in 1896 he was a boat captain mr romeo was the son of antonio romeo 18231898 and angela romeo 18341910 the romeo family came to america in 1889 from riposto an italian city on the east coast of sicily his siblings were louis romeo d 1896 and mrs grazzo d ca 1927   the daily herald april 7 1932 p 2  in 1896 lawrence romeo married josephine taranto 18761967 they were the parents of louis romeo 18981899 anthony romeo 19001900 lawrence romeo jr 19011968 juliet r marchoni 19031932 joseph romeo 19061976 mrs edward hilton b post 1910 and julius d romeo 191619191910 federal census harrison county ms t624 roll 740 p 268 lawrence romeo paid the ohr heirs 30 rent each month francis m dillinger francis m dillinger  18551910 was a native of indiana he operated a candy store and paid mr redding 1800 each month for rent 1910 federal census harrison county ms t624 roll 740 p 268  post son post son occupied this building from july 1907 to 1908 they were jewelers and opticians and sold musical instruments their monthly rent was 18001905 biloxi city directory p 27  abbley dancer abbley dancer was partnership composed of frederick p abbley 18821941 and r anderson dancer 18781915 frederick p fred abbley 18821941 was born in north biloxi the son of captain fritz abbley 18461905 a swiss immigrant and margaret harvey 18471886 the youngest daughter of french immigrant sailor pierre harvey 18101883 and zeline moran 18111883 in march 1905 fred abbley married viola caillavet 18841968 the daughter of francis arbeau caillavet 18561909 and marie dodart 18581942 they were the parents of three children francis abbley 19051905 eunice a brocato 19081996 and bernice a emile b 1909 in 1909 fred abbley was the manager of an  en plein air  movie theater the airdome the airdome was situated at 413 renoir street and occupied a large lot which extended to fayard street with a frontage on west howard avenue in late august 1909 mr abbley was brought to the court of judge elmer and adjudicated innocent of violating a city ordinance for showing a movie on sunday another trial was held in september in the court of judge zt champlin abbley pleaded guilty and was fined 10 and court costs which judge champlin suspended the people of biloxi were generally apathetic to the socalled blue laws  the biloxi daily herald august 30 1909 p 4 and september 10 1909 pp 12  mr abbley s associate r anderson dancer 18781915 was born at buenavista chickasaw county mississippi the son of john w dancer and carolina e bean he arrived at biloxi circa 1900 and was the brother of jessie dancer cousins 18741957 the spouse of joseph h cousins 18741917 mr dancer worked for lopez dukate at the rigolets in 1904 in november 1911 r anderson dancer married carrie engbarth 18891967 a native of rodney jefferson county mississippi and the daughter of emile engbarth 1855ca 1905 and magalene jeanette arndt 18561938 at the time the engbarth family resided on porter street in ocean springs dr chipman of the pascagoula episcopal church officiated  the daily herald   december 1 1911 p 4 and the ocean springs news    april 15 1915 p 1  circa 1909 mr dancer had come to ocean springs and opened a movie theater on washington avenue called the vaudette he sold it to ew illing 18701947 in september 1909 in november 1909 mr dancer went to lumberton mississippi with willie engbarth 18821957 his future brotherinlaw to open a movie house apparently things did not work as  the ocean springs news  reported that ra dancer sold his movie house and returned to ocean springs in december 1909 with charles engbarth 18931967 after their marriage carrie and anderson dancer ran a store at ocean springs probably on the southeast corner of porter and washington mr dancer expired on april 9 1915 he was buried in the evergreen cemetery ocean springs carrie e dancer remarried fred meyers and was residing at pass christian mississippi in 1962 she was at ocean springs in 1967 no further information abbley and dancer paid 3000 rent each month to charles redding joseph lawrence joseph a lawrence 18671952 the biloxi shoe man owner of guarantee shoe and hat company located at 205 west howard avenue his rent was 1500 each month pearson brothers the pearson brothers grocers operated two stores at biloxi the downtown store was situated at 407 east howard avenue on the corner of main street and howard avenue and called the people s cash grocery the pearson brothers were john p pearson and hw pearson their father clinton patton pearson 18431920 was a native of missouri and was the spouse of e catherine pearson 18481910 a kentuckian he made his livelihood as a traveling salesman their sister may r pearson 18891914 was the store s cashier their rent was 1500 per month they moved out of their building in october 19081910 federal census harrison county ms t624 roll 740 p 227 in january 1907 the pearson brothers advertised as having a   complete stock of fancy and staple groceries    one could purchase 18 pounds of granulated sugar for 100 red cross tomatoes at 10 per can and 2 pounds of butter for 75  the biloxi daily herald january 9 1907 p 4  nikola martino nikola martino 18601942 constructed and repaired shoes for his livelihood he and his spouse lena genusa 18681910 and son joseph martino 18861941 emigrated from italy to new orleans in 1886 three martino children were born in new orleans leanora m stassi 18891973 anthony j martino 18921956 and camille m tedesco 18951942 while peter martino 18971937 and nickola martino jr 19061942 were biloxi natives 1910 federal census harrison county ms t624 roll 740 p 266 after the death of lena g martino nikola married jennie coci capuana 18731941 the daughter of phillip and rose coci she was a widow and the mother of philip capuana 19061968 mrs chris tucei and mrs sidney manuel  the daily herald january 5 1942 p 2  nikola martino s rent was 1000 each month in addition the ohr heirs collected rents from two other lessees during the period 19071907 they were dr hm folkes 18711926 and ld byrd dr folkes rent was 3000 while byrd paid the same amount to charles redding 1907 it is interesting to note that in early 1907  john harry portman  18781917 the able assistant of ge ohr jr was in the plumbing business with wl via 18551921 this and the fact that the few if any ohr pots have been discovered with dates post1906 indicate that the world s greatest potter had greatly reduced his ceramic productivity  the biloxi daily herald january 7 1907 p 3 and  clark et al 1989 p 36  jh portman was a native of biloxi and had been reared in the ohr family home on delauney street  apparently his career as a plumber was short lived as in 1907 portman left biloxi for employment with the us lighthouse board which became the us lighthouse service in 1910 his first assignment was at the sand island light at the entrance to mobile bay in 1915 jh portman transferred to round island where he was employed until he became ill and expired in june 1917 his corporal remains were interred in the biloxi city cemetery  the daily herald  june 14 1917 p 3  1909 in april 1909 lemuel h doty jr an attorney who represented joseph lawrence and charles c redding filed a request in the chancery court of harrison county for a non compos mentis hearing for ge ohr jr a jury of his peers met at gulfport and after reviewing the facts immediately declared george e ohr jr sane ohr represented himself during the inquiry mr doty was from an honorable family in lexington mississippi where his father lemuel h doty 18441929 was active in civic and educational affairs his brother am doty was a physician  the biloxi daily herald april 3 1909 p 1 and the daily herald january 11 1929 p 1  it is interesting to note that one of ohr s adjudicators was caspar vahle 18691922 a former resident of ocean springs he had been in the livery and hotel business while domiciled here his mother katherine vahle 18381914 of german ancestry was a principal in the vahle house a hostel situated on the northwest corner of washington and calhoun in the period from 1900 to 1916 casper vahle s sister was married to druggist herman nill 18631904 the vahlenill family left ocean springs and resettled in gulfport shortly after the turn of the 20 th century as they were victims of local arsonists in early september 1909 fs hewes clerk of the harrison county chancery court while attempting at public outcry to sell the ohr estate property on delauney street and west howard avenue was struck in the face by ge ohr jr ohr was vehemently opposed to this partition sale of his family s commercial properties and had protested both verbally and in written letters against it he was particularly displeased with the chancery court not observing a clause in his mother s last will and testament which specifically stated    that   my estate   be kept and administered   a period of ten years before being sold divided or disposed of unless all and everyone of my heirs should want to have it divided and dispose of  for his blow against hewes ohr was jailed at biloxi police chief louis staehling 18661938 a witness to this minor pugilistic encounter averred that he saw mr ohr strike the chancery clerk with his hand and then attempt to hit him again with that of his spouse josephine g ohr  the daily herald september 6 1909 p 1 and harrison county ms chancery court case no 2108  in spite of ge ohr jr s displeasure a commissioner s deed was issued to charles redding and joseph lawrence for the ohr estate property by fs hewes special commissioner in october 1909 the consideration was 12000 george and josephine ohr retained their domicile and art pottery at 409 and 411 delauney street respectively harco ms land deed bk 92 pp 4243 and harrison county ms chancery court cause no 2473  1910 in october 1910 ge ohr jr was again incarcerated in the biloxi city jail in which he described to a local reporter interviewing him as a shameful place to lock a man up in and one of vile sanitary conditions he had been adjudicated guilty of trespassing and fined 10 by the court ohr s failure to pay the fine resulted in his short stay in the local calaboose upon release he wrote a letter published in  the daily herald  further condemning the biloxi jail as   a filthy pen a dirty brick walled jail where a nauseating unsanitary dirt receptaclea dirty and rotten excelsior torn straw mattress is strewn on the floor that never gets a scrubbing   the daily herald october 7 1910 p 1  1911 in late february 1911 ge ohr jr accused of trespassing again  the daily herald february 27 1911 p 8  1918 it was reported that george e ohr jr left for a hospital at new orleans for treatment and his family had not heard from him  the daily herald april 8 1918 p 1  george edgar ohr jr expired at his residence 409 delauney street on the quiet sunday morning of april 7 1918 his health had declined to a state where he sought medical treatment in new orleans his corporal remains were interred in the biloxi cemetery after funeral rites in the episcopal church of the redeemer  the daily herald january 9 1918 p 1  1919 in april 1919  the daily herald  suggested that biloxi organize a local museum to preserve its culture and heritage contemporaneously colonel ww mccleland a regular winter tourist from denver colorado commented more specifically in that he lauded the art pottery of george e ohr jr mcclellan boldly and confidently stated the following     one hundred years from now when the names of some of your great men are forgotten people will be hunting for a piece of mississippi mud with the name of george orr sic on it his pottery is wonderful and worthy to be preserved by the city in which he lived and produced this pottery certainly one specimen of each kind of articles he manufactured should be collected at any cost and placed in proper cases where the public may view them now and in time to come  1922  see anthony v ragusin s article in  the daily herald january 28 1922 p 3  1923 the biloxi chamber of commerce had just relocated to their new office and locals were loaning items that were curiosities of biloxi and to promote home grown products and industries josie ohr loaned them some pottery of her late husband and it was recorded as   one of the prettiest exhibits came from mrs george ohr and consists of seven pieces   of beautiful art pottery made in biloxi by the late george ohr in the exhibit loaned  by mrs ohr is several glazed jars and a beautiful glazed miniature house   the daily herald january 5 1923 p 3 some seventy odd years later after much of ohr s valuable ceramic works had left biloxi primarily for art aficionados on the eastern seaboard a museum was founded to honor and display his art in the biloxi public library in recent years with the o keefe family leading the charge a world class ohr museum is planned for the biloxi waterfront overlooking deer island once the homestead of ohr s friend and mentor joseph fortune meyer  references  books robert w blasberg    george edward ohr and his biloxi art pottery    jw carpenter port jervis new york1973 robert w blasberg  the unknown ohr  peaceable press milford pennsylvania1986 garth clark robert a ellison jr and eugene hecht  the mad potter of biloxi the art life of george e ohr  abbeville press new york new york1989 charles l dyer  along the gulf    biloxi miss   women of the trinity episcopal church pass christian1971 originally published 1895 julia cook guice  harrison county marriages 18411899   city of biloxi mississippi 1968 jerome lepre  catholic church records diocese of biloxi mississippi  volume i catholic dioceses of biloxi biloxi mississippi1991 pp 242243 chancery court cases harco ms chancery court case no 523   lizzie ohr v august ohr    august 1892 harco ms chancery court case no 2108   estate of johanna ohr    harco ms chancery court case no 2151   august ohr v louise ohr schultz at al   march 1906 harco ms chancery court case no 2200   charles mccormack v lizzie and antoine muller  october 1906 harco ms chancery court case no 2281   august ohr v emma ohr gruntz et al    october 1906 harco ms chancery court case no 2473   charles rushing v joseph lawrence et al  june 1907 harco ms chancery court case no 2500   lizzie muller v pj ohr    october 1907 harco ms chancery court case no 2507  charles rushing and joseph lawrence v josephine ohr harco ms chancery court case no 2990   insanity of ge ohr    1909 harco ms chancery court case no 4162   rosalie e foretich v lawrence foretich   jube 1913 harco ms chancery court case no 21563   mae migues ohr v ojo ohr  january 1945 2 nd judicial district harco ms chancery court case no 1162   estate of leo edgar ohr   may 1971 annie faye chase or annie faye campbell harco ms chancery court case no 8188   guardianship of marguerite kuljis ohr    september 1978 harco ms chancery court case no p804b estate of iola g ohr august 1986 harco ms chancery court case no p827b   estate of marguerite k ohr   september 1986 harco ms chancery court case no 12296   estate of george e ohr   july 1982 harco ms chancery court case no p864b   estate of carl monroe ohr   sealed harco ms chancery court case no p1518b   guardianship of rachel ann ohr   may 1989 harco ms chancery court case no p1519b   guardianship of brian christopher ohr   may 1989 harco ms chancery court case no p1957b   estate of oj ohr  april 1991 journals the biloxi herald   local and personal notes      the biloxi herald   local and personal notes   november 16    1889 the biloxi herald   local happenings   february 15 1890 the biloxi herald   biloxi s carnival   february 15 1891 the biloxi herald   local happenings   may 30 1891 the biloxi herald  april 9 1892 p 1 the biloxi herald   local happenings   july 29 1893 the biloxi herald   local happenings   december 9 1893 the biloxi herald   in memoriam   december 16 1893 the biloxi herald   the flames   october 13 1894 the biloxi herald   local happenings   october 20 1894 the biloxi herald   local happenings   january 9 1895 the biloxi daily herald   latest city news   january 4 1896 p 8 the biloxi daily herald   latest city news   august 22 1896 the biloxi daily herald   tired of life   august 21 1897 the biloxi daily herald   local and personal   december 3 1899 p 8 the biloxi daily herald   local and personal   march 23 1900 the biloxi daily herald   local happenings   july 18 1901 the biloxi daily herald   city news   november 15 1901 the biloxi daily herald   city news   september 25 1902 the biloxi daily herald   city news   january 26 1903 the biloxi daily herald   to and fro      april 18 1903 the biloxi daily herald   zio ignantz ohr   april 21 1904 the biloxi daily herald   george ohr sr   july 8 1904 the biloxi daily herald   mrs elizabeth hahn   october 5 1904 the biloxi daily herald   city news   october 27 1904 the biloxi daily herald   city news   november 26 1904 the biloxi daily herald   mrs joanna ohr   december 28 1905 the biloxi daily herald   city news   january 9 1906 the biloxi daily herald   locals   august 10 1906 the biloxi daily herald   moseley devitt   january 7 1907 the biloxi daily herald   wl via co   january 7 1907 the biloxi daily herald   biloxi s new administration   january 7 1907 p 1 the biloxi daily herald   pearson brothers   january 9 1907 the biloxi daily herald   foretichelder   february 25 1907 the biloxi daily herald    bourdondevitt   august 16 1907 p 1 the biloxi daily herald   george ohr declared sane   april 3 1909 the biloxi daily herald   moranohr   april 16 1909 the biloxi daily herald   abbley not guilty says state jury   august 30 1909 the daily herald   george ohr makes trouble   september 6 1909 the daily herald   ohr fined for striking chancery clerk hewes   september 7 1909 the biloxi daily herald   barber assumes roll of reformer   september 10 1909 the daily herald   geo e ohr released from durance vile  october 7 1910 the daily herald   george ohr again in trouble   february 27 1911 the daily herald    dancerengbarth   december 1 1911 the daily herald   devitt and clark have lease on bourdoncastanera co s plant   august 26 1913 the daily herald   louis harvey died this am   september 17 1913 the daily herald   ohrelder   november 20 1913 the daily herald   foretichkleyle   january 29 1914 the daily herald   lio ohr passes away saturday at noon after several weeks illness   december 13 1914 the daily herald   leo ohr has agency   april 26 1915 the daily herald   harry portman dead   june 14 1917 the daily herald   whereabouts of   george e  ohr unknown   january 9 1918 the daily herald   pottery wizard dies in biloxi   april 8 1918 the daily herald   biloxi museum finds favor   april 14 1919 the daily herald   mcclellan honored   august 21 1919 the daily herald   mcclellan   september 2 1919 the daily herald   biloxi resident died yesterday   august 19 1920 the daily herald   art work of tchouticabouffa clay lasting memorial to potter   january 28 1922 the daily herald    exhibits enlarged at chamber of commerce   january 5 1923 p 3 the daily herald   father of lh doty dies at lexington   january 11 1929 the daily herald   renovating lawrence building   may 28 1929 the daily herald   mrs ohr died last night   march 17 1930 the daily herald   return from funeral   november 24 1931 the daily herald   lawrence romeo sr dies   april 7 1932 the daily herald   lee foretich killed   february 27 1933 the daily herald   leo ohr completes manufacture syrup   january 15 1934 the daily herald   jos w swetman taken by death   may 31 1937 the daily herald   mrs joseph lawrence dies at biloxi home   january 13 1939 the daily herald  fred abbley dies   september 30 1941 the daily herald   n martino dies   january 5 1942 the daily herald   tk devitt sr dies   december 16 1946 p 5 the daily herald   survive storm in army duck at horn island   september 22 1947 the daily herald   jos v lawrence vicepresident biloxi bank dies   october 9 1952 the daily herald   ohr death   october 13 1953 the daily herald   mrs mae churchill   october 16 1968 the daily herald   edward giadrosich   october 16 1968 the daily herald   fl churchill   december 13 1968 the daily herald   frederic a moran   july 11 1972 the daily herald   gd   sic   ohr  february 25 1974 the daily picayune   biloxi rich in historical interest   march 31 1902 p 10 the ocean springs news     ra dancer passes away   april 15 1915 p 1 the sun   otto t ohr   april 21 1982 the sun herald   mrs marguerite ohr   july 25 1986 the sun herald   carl ohr   october 22 1986 the sun herald   mrs clo l ohr moran   december 1 1989 the sun herald   ojo ohr   march 24 1991 the sun herald   some of ohr s pottery comes back to grandson   february 18 1993 the sun herald   carl otto ohr   march 5 1996 the sun herald   moran leaves mark on coast   march 24 1999 the sun herald   wayne m morykwas   july 29 2005 the sun herald  ohr s grandson joe moran s photographs in the spotlight november 27 2007 p b8 the times picayune     emily ohr  gruntz   may 26 1926 the times picayune     louis  gruntz   july 15 1930 the times picayune      rupert l  schulz   november 10 1935 the times picayune     louisa ohr   schulz   june16 1957 personal communication  thelma ohr palmertelephone conversation on september 23 2002 frank duggan jr telephone conversation on october 8 2002  post katrina images    the pods   images made december 2007 by ray l bellande images made august 2009 by ray l bellande  museum directors 1992008 margie  gowdie   20082013 denny mecham denny mecham announced in april 2013 that she would be retirng from her fulltime position as executive director of ooma 2013 kevin o brien kevin o brien became ooma director in october 2013 coming from west lafayette indiana he is a native of minnesota and was reared at south bend indiana o brien matriculated to notre dame university where he completed a bachelor degree in fine arts he earned a master degree in fine arts and painting from tulane university kevin met grace benedict his wife while they were both students at tulane grace is an artist and active in her profession the sun herald december 15 2013 p f1  ellen j lippert image by ray l bellandedecember 7 2013 ellen j lippert  associate professor of art history and western humanities at thiel college greenville pennsylvania was on the coast this past weekend to introduce  george ohrsophisticate and rube  her recent book on biloxi s mad potter published by the university press of mississippi ellen made an appearance at the ohro keefe museum of art and pass christian books she held book signings as well as relating the salient points of her treatise of george ohr as a man and potter during the gilded age ellen was received enthusiastically in both venues she was hosted by carol messer of ooma while at biloxi  references  the sun herald   ohro keefe chief retires as final phase begins   april 24 2013 p a2 the sun herald    kevin o brien  opportunity to make a difference   december 15 2013 p f2  ohro keefe museum bibliography journals the sun herald   the hour of ohr   april 2 1991 p c1 the sun herald   mad potter society to promote biloxi s ohr   july 12 1992 p f1 the sun herald   some of ohr s pottery comes back to grandson   february 18 1993 p b1  2000 the sun herald   main street wants museum kept downtown   march 21 2000 p a3 the sun herald   ohro keefe museum could become jewel in the coast crown   july 9 2000 the sun herald   architect gehry talks about biloxi berlin and hollywood   october 12 2000 p a1 the sun herald   gehry shares idea for museum   october 10 2000 p a1  2001 the sun herald   fanciful forms   july 8 2001 the sun herald   millions still needed to build art museum complex   july 8 2001 the biloxid iberville press   ohr site s prehistory   july 11 2001 p 4 the sun herald   biloxi toasts gehry design   july 12 2001 the new york times   recognition for biloxi s mad potter   july 20 2001 p b33 the sun herald   ohr naturally   photo     july 27 2001 p a1 the sun herald  museum receives ohr scrapbook   july 27 2001 p a6 the sun herald   5 million in bonds sought for ohr   august 18 2001 the sun herald   museum bond vote put off by council   august 22 2001 p a1 the sun herald   museum bond issue on agenda   august 25 2001 p a5 the sun herald   ohr museum drops request for bonds   august 29 2001 p a1 the sun herald   ohr s biggest artwork coming home to coast   august 29 2001 p a8 the sun herald   carpetbagger or art savior   september 11 2001 p a1 and a7 the sun herald   shedding light on bits of ohr   september 13 2001 p a8 the sun herald   pots were a hidden treasure   september 13 2001 p a8 the sun herald   ohr urn earns oohs aahs   october 6 2001 p a2 the sun herald   o keefe trying to rally silent support   october 16 2001 p a1  2002 the sun herald   museum million hard to swallow   february 27 2002 the bay press   ohr yesohr noohr maybe   march 1 2002 p 8a the sun herald   museum fans it s good business too   march 2 2002 the bay press   ohr moves reed house offers blues photos   april 26 2002 the bay press   featured artistbrian nettles   april 26 2002 p 2 and p 11 the sun herald   federal grant puts museum at halfway mark   june 12 2002 p a3 the sun herald   the next great art destination   june 23 2002 p d1 the sun herald   vincent creel says he support museum   june 23 2002 p d7 the bay press   ohr museum seeks funding to continue construction   july 8 2005 p 3 the sun herald   ohr to partner with smithsonian  october 2002 p a2 the sun herald   affiliation opens artistic doors   october 28 2002 p a1 the sun herald   ohro keefe gets 250000 gift   november 13 2002 the bay press   ohro keefe museum seeks pleasant reed items   november 18 2005 p 5 the sun herald     mad potter finally gets respect  december 22 2002 p h3  2003 the sun herald   ohro keefe bond clears committee   february 21 2003 p a10 the sun herald   disciples of ohr   march 16 2003 p h1 the sun herald   ohr more than halfway to buildingfund goal   april 2 2003 p a9 the sun herald   biloxi in the spotlight   may 11 2003 p h1 the sun herald   a pleasant place to visit   may 14 2003 p a1 the sun herald   biloxi to consider museum money   june 21 2003 p a3  2004 the sun herald   ohro keefe unveils national council   january 18 2004 p a1 the sun herald   museum gets more county money   june 15 2004 p a1 the bay press   ooma features ohr at world s fair   june 25 2004 p 1 the sun herald   beau ups its ohr donation to 1m   july 9 2004 p a1 the sun herald   ohro keefe takes shape in biloxi   august 1 2004 p h1 the sun herald     students ooh and aah over ohro keefe s architecture   december 30 2004 p a11   2005 the sun herald   biloxi pier is project of museum   march 24 2005 p a2 the sun herald   ohr museum opens fundraising drive   april 19 2005 p a6 the sun herald   and what s wrong with his hair   june 19 2005 p h1 the sun herald    why ohr    june 19 2005 p h1 the sun herald    pollack documentary to focus on gehry ohr   june 19 2005 p h3 the sun herald   museum to open d ohrs   august 7 2005 p h1 the sun herald   starchitects   frank gehry  can t be ignored   august 7 2005 p h5 the sun herald   ohr s ribs tickle fancy or architect   august 26 2005 p a2 the sun herald   plans for ohro keefe museum will reopen   october 9 2005 p f6  the sun herald  museum members ready to rebuild october 20 2005 p a8 the sun herald    ohr and pleasant reed in biloxi   october 23 2005 p a4 the sun herald    ohr has to wait  november 1 2005 p b1 the sun herald    task force hunting pleasant reed items november 22 2005 p b1 2006 the sun herald   ohro keefe getting a boost march 22 2006 p c14 the sun herald   ohro keefe gets tlc march 26 2006 p f11 the sun herald   andy warhol likes george ohr   march 31 2006 p b1 the sun herald   it is hard to be needy   april 7 2006 p a1 the sun herald   ohr pots to make antiques roadshow july 4 2006 p a6 the sun herald   it s time for more ohr   george ohr rising gulf states juried exhibition   august 20 2006 p f1 the sun herald   katrina one year later where we re goingcurators worry museums soon will be history august 27 2006 p 31 the sun herald   ohrdeal architect gehry pledges to help in any way he can   december 12 2006 p a1 the sun herald   head ohr heels december 16 2006 p a11 the sun herald   ohr joins mississippi s hall of fames   december 16 2006 p a4 2007 the sun herald   beachfront needs ohro keefe museum of art to help rouse its recovery february 14 2007 p c6 the sun herald   ohr going back to beach february 15 2007 p a1 the sun herald   ford foundation gives 365000 to ohro keefe   august 14 2007 p a2 the sun herald   the pods are coming the pods are coming   october 30 2007 p a4 the sun herald   museum cleanup brings out volunteers  november 11 2007 p a6 the sun herald    the dance begins at pods   november 27 2007 p b8 the sun herald  ohr s grandson joe moran s photographs in the spotlight november 27 2007 p b8 the sun herald    dances with trees   november 30 2007 p b8 the sun herald    an artistic marriage   december 1 2007 p a3 the sun herald    hundreds take tour of ohr pods   december 2 2007 p a2  2008 the sun herald    reed house rises again   january 29 2008 p b8 the sun herald  gowdy leaving ohr at the end of year february 28 2008 p a10 the sun herald    ohr building to get 700000 grant   march 12 2008 p a9 the sun herald    ohr pods honored by time   magazine    april 5 2008 p a4 the sun herald    private sector bets millions on success of ohro keefe   may 25 2008 p b8 the sun herald    a rare find   three pots owned by john morywas    june 15 2008 p a1 the biloxid iberville press   ohr museum hands on create public art   june 26 2008 p b4 the sun herald  ohr s words put to music by logan skelton september 8 2008 p a2 the sun herald  north carolinian denny mecham selected as head of ohro keefe september 9 2008 p a6 the sun herald  meet denny mecham october 14 2008 p c10 the sun herald  designs on 2010 ohro keefe moves forward with gehry december 17 2008 p a1  2009 the sun herald  mad potter of biloxi takes a bow at the met january 17 2009 p a3 the sun herald  mr ohr goes to jackson mississippi hall of fame may 24 2009 p f1 the sun herald  campaign for more ohr july 11 2009 p a2 the sun herald  ohro keefe aims for a finish with energy excitement july 12 2009 p b6 the sun herald  council delays ohr vote on request for 500000 september 9 2009 p a2 the sun herald  treasure trove september 20 2009 p f1 2010 the sun herald  biloxi city council looking for ways to fund ohro keefe opening february 24 2010 p a8 the sun herald    ohr pods offer amazing glimpse   may 21 2010 p a2 the sun herald    history rests on history   july 26 2010 the sun herald  architect  frank gehry    gets first look at ohro keefe museum august 6 2010 p a2 the sun herald  inside gehry s ohr museum september 5 2010 p a1 the sun herald  george ohr one of a kind  october 10 2010 p f1 the sun herald  ohrography october 10 2010 p f1   the sun herald  design power the meaning of frank gehry october 31 2010 p f1 the sun herald  ohr architect to return for opening gehry keep the small scale of east biloxi october 31 2010 p f the sun herald  ohro keefe museum of art debuts october 31 2010 the sun herald  ohr anderson november 3 2010 p c2 the sun herald  a weekend of legacies november 5 2010 p a1 the sun herald  knight foundation gives 3 million dollars to ohro keefe museum november 3 2010 p a1 the sun herald  the o keefe connection november 5 2010 p b1 the sun herald  this could be a springboard to a world class destination november 5 2010 p b1 the sun herald  full circle november 5 2010 p b1 the sun herald  ohro keefe museum of art timeline november 5 2010 p b3 the sun herald  at the museum november 5 2010 p b3 the sun herald    bobby   mahoney creates ohriginal tshirts december 2010 p a2 the sun herald  door auction book signing set for ohr december 29 2010 p a3 the sun herald  ohro keefe named best new museum  by southern living in its january 2011 issue   december 31 2010 p b1 the sun herald  door auction book signing set for ohr december 29 2010 p a3 2011 the sun herald  doors to ohrs january 9 2011 p f1 the sun herald  supporters get an early glimpse at d ohrs of ohr january 16 2011 p  the sun herald  ohr on the edgemuseum president we need city s help to survive july 24 2011 p a1 the sun herald  letters to the editorohro keefe museum is a luxury not a necessity july 26 2011 p a9 the sun herald  museum officials hold off on pitch to biloxi council july 27 2011 p a2 the sun herald   letters to the editordon t write off the ohro keefe  july 31 2011 p b3 the sun herald  mayor aj holloway  says biloxi can t fund museums august 4 2011 p a1 the sun herald  letters to the editorthe ohr is incredible ugly  august 7 2011 p b9 the sun herald  did katrina end ohr management agreement augsut 10 2011 p a1 the sun herald  museum asks city for 365k for expenses september 7 2011 p a7 the sun herald  seafood museum s 18k restored ohr financing tabled september 28 2011 p a1 the sun herald  deciding the fate of the ohro keeefe museum has been put off long enough september 29 2011 p c2 the sun herald  ohr museum funding a step closer september 30 2011 p a3 the sun herald  consolidate all museums at the ohro keefe october 2 2011 p b9 the sun herald  ohro keefe is a good fodder for barbs and jokes october 2 2011 p b9 the sun herald  ohro keefe is a money pit october 5 2011 p c3 the sun herald  magazine says ohro keefe is a top destination october 6 2011 p a9 the sun herald  look at the ohro keefe from a different perspective october 9 2011 p b9 the sun herald  the ohro keefe receives a reprieve october 2011 p 8b the sun herald  diamonds ohr forever  gala   october 30 2011 p f1 the sun herald  let the ohro keefe go bellyup october 30 2011 p c3 the sun herald  tiffany co donates gehry sculptures torque collection to the ohro keefe  july 20 2012 p a3 the sun herald  2012 p  the sun herald  201 p  the sun herald  201 p    magazines garth clark  antiques    directions george e ohr   september 1985 vol 128 no 3 harper s bazaar    frank gehry and berta aguilera   june 2001 esquire    gehry   july 2001 worth    the next great art destination   june 2002 architectural digest  may 2003 smithsonian    the mad potter of biloxi   february 2004 pp 8894 vanity fair   architecture in the age of  frank  gehry  no 600    august 2010 p 156 southern living  january 2011  history of the ooma tract l ive oak three centuries on the pass of biloxi mississippi section 33 t7sr9w harrison county mississippi abstract  live oak is the 19 th century name appropriately attached to a threeacre tract of live oak graced landscape fronting deer island on the pass of biloxi today this ancient arbor is alive with engineers contractors and laborers who are toiling diligently in the long shadows of its stately oaks erecting the ohro keefe museum a 21 st century creation of internationally acclaimed architect frank gehry george e ohr and frank o gehry are wellmatched as ohr a 19 th century avantgarde art potter is regarded by art historians as totally unique while gehry is the unrivaled master designer of bold imaginative futuristic structures  previous archeological investigations indicate that live oak was once the prehistoric local of native american culture by the late 19 th century it became the scene of large gracious summer homes of affluent businessmen and professional people primarily from new orleans from the land deed records it appears that only one biloxi native has ever possessed a portion of live oak the recorded chronology of live oak begin with an 1807 spanish land grant to a louisiana native of acadian heritage valentine docette richard 17761868 better known as dorsette richards by 1835 richards had vended or bartered his 443acre donation claim george holley 18001883 was the primary recipient of his acreage in 1888 the parcel known as live oak was created when joseph kuhn 18191903 a hungarian immigrant and local lumber merchant sold a 3acre tract from his large land holdings in the dorsette richards land claim on the biloxi peninsula to edward langevin of st paul minnesota after langevin s demise circa 1891 the lot became possessed by george h dunbar 18441917 a seafood processing magnate from new orleans in 1892 mr dunbar split live oak into two lots of equal area his brother francis b dunbar ca 18481908 acquired the western tract the dunbar s had the quarters on their east beach lot demolished in february 1892 in september 1892 they contracted with charles dudley an architect and builder from jackson mississippi to erect two edifices for them at a cost of 11000 from 1917 until 1946 the e 2 of live oak was owned by the new orleans families of eb johnson ernest l jahnke and cyprian a sporl ca sporl 18801936 was the owner of a large marine insurance business at new orleans he also operated the hotel new orleans sporl s avocation was yachting in 1946 an affluent california attorney lynden bowring 18891980 and wilda lopez 18991977 his biloxi wife acquired the lot from mr sporl s heirs hurricane camille in august 1969 destroyed the bowring home they relocated to ocean springs bowring legated his east beach biloxi land to patricia tarr leavant his nieceinlaw it was sold in june 2000 to the city of biloxi by real estate developers who had acquired and option on it from mrs leavitt in 1993 the w 2 of live oak was vended in february 1914 by anna tourne dunbar 18451919 the widow of francis b dunbar to ora nelmes logan the wife of george w logan of new orleans she conveyed it to mary byrne mcgee of laurel mississippi in may 1915 mrs mcghee defaulted on her mortgage and the property was repossessed in april 1917 mrs nelms conveyed her estate to lucinda davis stamps farrar d 1946 lucinda s farrar was the spouse of judge edgar h farrar 18491922 of new orleans he was a lawyer linguist and ethnologist eh farrar was the ceo of farrar goldberger dufour a prominent legal firm of the crescent city in june 1924 mrs lucinda s farrar subdivided the w 2 of live oak into three lots designated lot a lot b and lot c she sold lot a to george e williams of new orleans at this time in august 1944 mr williams vended lot a to sam mitchell of biloxi in a prior agreement with louis w harvey 19041970 mr mitchell traded lot a for cash and a harvey parcel elsewhere in biloxi lot b was conveyed in march 1968 to wilda lopez bowring by the heirs of lucinda stamps farrar mrs ralph jane b wood harrison co ms mrs richard goldsborough wayne co ny edgar h farrar iii bell co texas stamps farrar ii san francisco co calf maud ellen farrer orleans parish la bh goldberger district of columbia joseph h goldberger canadian co oklahoma mrs michael warnock bonneville co idaho and bruce sharp robert sharp and donald sharp all of orleans parish louisiana lot c was sold in august 1924 by lucinda stamps farrar the widow of edgar h farrar a resident of hancock county mississippi to stamps farrar her son in may 1947 stamps farrar to lucille g minor in december 1956 lucille g minor to  lynden bowring  live oak lot which he had acquired in july 1946 from the sporl family of new orleans colonial biloxi  when the french colonial government abandoned its post at biloxi in the 1720s for new orleans on the mississippi river some of the recent immigrants from western europe and french canada remained on the mississippi coast they made their livelihood as sailors fishermen and subsistence farmers cattle and tar production provided barter and cash items with the larger settlements of mobile and new orleans during the spanish colonial occupation of the area land donations on the biloxi peninsula were granted by the spanish representative at mobile from present day point cadet on the east to the present day biloxi city cemetery on the west these grantees were jacques mathurin ladner dorsette richards jeanbaptiste carquote carco angelique fasiar fayard and louis fasiar fayard  valentine docette richard  valentine docette richard 17761868 was the original claimant of the land upon which live oak was erected he is referred to in legal documents as  dorsette   richards  and this nomenclature will be used throughout this essay richards was born at st gabriel louisiana the son of expelled acadians amant richard and marie braux his first wife susanne marque expired shortly after birthing their son in 1798 in 1800 dorsette richards wedded marguerite babin 17701829 a native of belle isle en mer france her parents were also exiled acadians who immigrated to louisiana post1777  cassibry 1986 p 77    dorsette richard claimsection 33 t7sr9w the dorsette richards family settled at biloxi in 1807 he received a spanish land grant on the biloxi peninsula at this time american state papers vol iii p 38 his donation was designated by the federal government as claim no 146 in the district east of the pearl river it was confirmed in 1819 by the federal government in 1824 his land was surveyed and was shown to consist of 44338 acres and designated as section 33 t7sr9w harco ms tract bk 1 p 36 a land patent for section 33 t7sr9w was issued to dorsette richards by the federal government on october 1 1840 harco ms land deed bk 2 pp 290292  george l holley in june 1835 dorsette richards traded all of his merchantable land in section 33 t7sr9w to george l holley for lot 1 of section 23 t7sr10w which contains 11068 acres harco ms land deed bk 1 pp 143144 george l holley 18001883 came to the mississippi coast from new york in the late 1820s with his family it appears from federal census data that there were six children all born in new york  george holley  18001883 benjamin holley 18021860 william holley 18031850 charles holley 18051857 rebecca h norberg 18091880 and nicholas holley 18101860 their mother rebecca holley 17831860 was born at new york their father was a native of rhode island and appears to have died before 1850 george l holley made his livelihood as carpenter and probate judge in july 1859 he married jane elizabeth rand an english lady married sarah m bounds in july 1877  new orleans summer resort affluent people of new orleans used biloxi and over villages of the mississippi gulf coast as summer retreats escaped the heat and yellow fe ver in 1893 george dunbar ft howard ht howard e bell l valle j vandorf august bohne jb blakemore and judge tisso were among the wealthy crescent city gentlemen maintaining elegant summer homes at biloxi th glenn 1893 p 59  joseph kuhn in august 1865 joseph kuhn bought about 125 acres in the dorsette richard claim from george holley for 1000 harco ms land deed bk 4 pp 578581 does not appear to be live oak joseph kuhn 18191903 was a native of budapest hungary he arrived in america in 1840 and biloxi mississippi in 1864 at harrison county in october 1868 he married sarah drake 18391921 a native of ohio their children were christian kuhn 1871pre 1900 elizabeth kuhn 18731929 sophia kuhn 18751927 m ulysses desporte 18611927 rosa kuhn 18781942 m a j bourdon 18731912 and may adele kuhn 18811930 kuhn made his livelihood as a lumber merchant at the time of his demise the kuhn family resided on the corner of holley street and beach boulevard in february 1878 joseph kuhn conveyed to his wife sarah kuhn all of his real property in harrison county mississippi for 2000 kuhn stated that   he owed no debts to anyone and further the transfer of his property to sarah kuhn was not for the purpose of defrauding anyone but to secure to her a support in case of his death  included in this transaction was a piece of property described as follows a lot having a front four hundred feet on the front bay of biloxi running back due north between two parallel lines to the back bay of biloxi bounded west by a street and on the east by estate of toledano harco ms land deed bk 16 pp4748  edward langevin in april 1888 joseph kuhn and sarah kuhn conveyed to  edward langevin  of st paul minnesota for 4000 a parcel of land described as bounded on the south by the gulf of mexico or pass between deer island and the main shore east by toledano estate north by langevin street and west by kuhn street the lot measured 432 feet on the gulf and 321 feet northsouth the terms of the sale were 1000 cash and 3000 to be paid on april18 1891 with 6 interest per annum harco ms land deed bk 23 p 75 in april 1888 edward langevin also acquired lots 1 and 2 of the samuel friedlander estate from wi hodgson an auctioneer at new orleans for 23753 the conveyance included the brick residence outbuildings and dependencies lot 1 had 85 feet on the gulf 281 feet on magnolia 81 feet with lot 2 and 281 feet east 3 in november 1891 eleanor langevin of st paul minnesota the widow of edward langevin conveyed lots 1 and 2 of the friedlander estate to frederick william elmer for 27004 her daughters mary michand and emma flanagan and their husbands achille michand and thomas j flanagan signed the warranty deed charles and mary e michand of st paul gave elmer a quitclaim deed on the property in april 18925 on january 19 1892 joseph kuhn and sarah kuhn acknowledged that the langevin mortgage of 3045 on a parcel of land known as the oaks had been paid harco ms land deed bk 27 pp 310311  george h dunbar in december 1891 the heirs of edward langevin mary michaud achille michaud emma flanagan thomas j flanagan and eleanor langevin conveyed their beach front lot to  george h dunbar  for 5500 harco ms land deed bk 27 pp 308309 same description as above emma flanagan signed at quebec canada mary michaud wife of charles michaud achille michaud tj flanagan and eleanora langevin signed at ramsay county minnesota george h dunbar 18441917 was born at new orleans the son of george w dunbar 18161878 of bridgewater massachusetts and charlotte z hacker 18221910 siblings he was educated at georgetown university and almost immediately after graduation he enlisted in the confederate states of america army and served as an aidedecamp on the staff of general buisson postbellum dunbar returned to his native new orleans and entered business  the daily herald october 19 1917 p 1  gh dunbar was married three times his final spouse was susan foucher children f foucher dunbar george w dunbar guinnes havana cuba mrs stephen voorhies 5527 prytania nola mrs alcee j gelpi 124 s cortez nola and mrs auguste capdeville 2453 esplanande nola mrs foucher dunbar was the daughter of ec fenner lived on lee street  the daily herald april 19 1912 p 8  inventor   public life buried st louis no 3  lopez dunbar s sons co  the lopez dunbar s sons company was commenced in 1884 when lazaro lopez 18501903 and wkm dukate 18521916 resigned from the biloxi canning company the biloxi canning company was located in section 27 t7sr9w in the city of biloxi mississippi on the back bay of biloxi at the head of reynoir street it was originally called the lopez elmer and company this company was organized in 1881 with a capital stock of 8000 by lazaro lopez f william elmer 18471926 wkm dukate william gorenflo 18441932 and james maycock 182618921 lopez dunbar s sons was situated on east beach in biloxi in 1895 it was the second largest oyster canning plant in the united states the factory utilized the norton brothers machinery to pack its shrimp with the patented muslin bag insuring a good product its shrimp were marketed under the dunbar standard deer head lion head and pelicans labels see  the biloxi herald  biloxi chief industry september 12 1892 p 4  lot division in february 1892 the dunbars had the families residing on their east beach tract vacate their quarters immediate demolition was ordered for all buildings on their scenic home site  the biloxi herald february 6 1892 p 4  on march 31 1892 george h dunbar divided the oaks lot into two equal parts which he conveyed to his wife susie foucher dunbar 18581920 and brother francis b frank dunbar ca 18481908 mrs george h dunbar received the east half and francis b dunbar the west half the dimensions of each lot were 217 feet by 417 feet francis b dunbar paid his brother 2250 while his spouse paid only 1 harco ms land deed bk 27 pp 444445 immediately thereafter on the same day francis b dunbar conveyed his western lot to his wife anna therese tourne dunbar 18451919 for 1 harco ms land deed bk 27 pp445446  two homes in late september 1892 the dunbar brothers contracted with charles dudley an architect and builder formerly of jackson mississippi but now established in biloxi to erect two homes their completed cost was approximated at 11000  the biloxi herald september 28 1892 p 4  cost of building materials in biloxi at this time rough lumber 7 10 per thousand board feet at the sawmill dressed lumber 8 17 per thousand board feet brick 8 12 per thousand cypress shingles 2 3 75 per thousand  the biloxi herald april 29 1893 p 8  francis b dunbar resided at 2326 esplanade avenue in new orleans two sons fb dunbar and james v dunbar 622 canal commercial bank bldg and a daughter mrs emile christ 705 calhoun nola expired in new orleans at his home head of dunbar cannery interests at the time  the biloxi daily herald january 31 1908 p 1  mr and mrs francis dunbar and miss alice dunbar of new orleans are now occupying their summer residence here  the biloxi herald june 10 1893 p 8   in late june the family left biloxi for chicago where they planned to remain for several weeks  the biloxi herald july 1 1893 p 8  mrs dunbar expired in may 1919 at new orleans she resided at no 3 everett place at the time  the daily herald may 31 1919 p 3   west half of live oak  ora nelms logan in february 1914 anna t tourne dunbar of new orleans the widow of francis b dunbar conveyed her home and lot in biloxi to ora nelmes logan for 8000 6500 was financed for three years at 6 interest by mrs logan included in the sale were all buildings and improvements a ½ interest in an artesian water well and all furniture and personal property contained in the house except boats and some family portraits mrs logan was required to carry insurance of not less than 6000 on the buildings harco ms land deed bk 107 pp 9192 in midfebruary 1914  the daily herald  announced that miss jessie a smyly s agency had arranged the sale from mrs dunbar to gw logan of new orleans her home was lauded as   one of the most beautiful and attractive homes in biloxi or anywhere on the coast   the daily herald february 12 1914 p 1  lien cancelled by mrs anna tourne dunbar on may 3 1915 harco ms land deed bk 111 pp 405406  mary byrne mcgee et al in may 1915 ora nelms logan the spouse of george w logan of new orleans sold to mary byrne mcghee addison f mcgee jr and marie jones mcgee wife of addison f mcgee jr of laurel mississippi for 8000 the w 2 of the oaks the sale included all buildings and improvements a ½ interest in an artesian water well all furniture and personal property in the house except all religious pictures a large quantity of galvanized roofing material pulleys and ropes and the gas machine financed and had to carry 6000 of insurance on the buildings harco ms land deed bk 111 pp407408  ora nelms logan in february and march 1916 mary byrne mcgee of laurel marie jones mcgee wife of addison f mcgee and a resident of jacksonville duval county florida and addison f mcgee of west point troup county georgia defaulted on their promissory notes and returned their property to ora nelms logan of new orleans harco ms land deed bk 115 pp7174  lucinda stamps farrar 909 east beach drive in april 1917 ora nelms logan of hancock county mississippi conveyed to  lucinda davis stamps farrar  18571946 of new orleans for 7750 included all buildings and improvements ½ interest in artesian water well all furniture and fixtures in and personal property in buildings bathhouse pier and riparian rights at this time the former frank dunbar home was described as having fourteen rooms and a large beautiful lawn the jessie a smyly real estate agency handled the transaction  the daily herald april 9 1917 p 4 and  harco ms land deed bk 118 p430 lucinda s farrar was the wife of  judge edgar howard farrar  18491922 he was born in concordia parish louisiana the son of thomas prince farrar and anna mary girault young farrar was educated at the university of louisiana and in 1871 received his masters degree from the university of virginia he married lucinda davis stamps at new orleans in june 1878 lucinda was the daughter of captain issac davis stamps and mary humphreys their children were  edgar howard farrar jr  18791911 m may clara spearing  mary humphreys farrar   18811969 m dr joseph goldberger 18751929  lucinda farrar   18811910  anna girault farrar  18821970 m richard f goldsborough b 1871  edith barnes farrar  18841959   mildred maury farrar  18871967  jane kempe farrar   18891982 m ralph bouligny wood 18841967  issac davis stamps farrar   called stamps  18941950 m maude tobin white the daughter of albert sidney johnson white 18661934 and ellen tobin and  thomas prince farrar  19011951 m beatrice howard 18861933   the daily herald january 7 1922 p 1   and 1900 orleans parish louisiana federal census t623574 p 11a ed 102  although judge farrar and family had a residence at new orleans they planned to stay at biloxi for sometime especially the summer season  the daily herald april 9 1917 p 4  lucinda stamps farrar expired at 909 east beach on november 1946 her funeral service was held at the church of the redeemer with the reverend ea demiller attending mrs farrar s corporal remains were sent to nola for burial in the metairie cemetery  the daily herald november 13 1946 p 5  farrar children edgar howard farrar jr edgar h farrar jr 18791911 like his father was a new orleans attorney he also matriculated to the university of virginia young farrar was shot to death by two thieves in early november on the corner of peniston and magnolia streets in the crescent city he was the nephew of mrs emd anderson of 210 west water street in biloxi  the daily herald november 2 1911 p 8 and november 3 1911 p 8  stamps farrar stamps farrar was an attorney with his father s law firm anna f goldsborough anna girault farrar 18821970 married richard f goldsborough b 1871 a maryland native and new york attorney on january 31 1904 at nola she was living at biloxi in 1922 in may 1930 she and her daughter  ellen goldsborough  were at biloxi were involved in interior decoration as their wall panels were sent to a new country club at birmingham alabama anna had a son  frances goldsborough  who graduated from biloxi high school and went to new york to work a branch of the hibernia bank situated in nyc he was appointed assistant manger of the bank in may 1930  the daily herald may 27 1930 p 2  anna farrar goldsborough passed on december 1970  mary f goldberger living in washington in 1922 mildred m farrar mildred maury faurer 18871967 was a native of new orleans she resided at 909 east beach in biloxi since 1927 she was an episcopalian and interred in the metairie cemetery  the daily herald february 2 1967 p 2  jane k farrar wood jane kempe farrar 18891982 married ralph bouligny wood 18841967 of new orleans at the church of the redeemer in biloxi on september 12 1916 the young couple honeymooned at asheville north carolina before traveling to their home in cuba where mr wood was employed with the cubanamerican sugar company  the daily herald september 13 1916 p 3  in retirement the wood family lived in the hermann house at 523 east beach in biloxi ralph b wood retired as the executive vice president of the cuban american sugar company a daughter mrs james pringle of long beach both interred at the southern memorial park cemetery in biloxi  the daily herald october 26 1967 p 2  jane died on may 12 1982 a daughter mrs leo seal thomas p farrar thomas prince farrar 19011951 was born at new orleans and practiced architect there he lived at biloxi where he did scenic painting and costume designs in june 1933 he married beatrice howard 18861933 formerly mrs robert c ocher of new york mr farrar relocated to new york city and worked in theatre design until his death there in june 1951 his corporal remains were interred in the metairie cemetery at nola the daily herald june 1 1933 p 2 and the times picayune june 12 1951 p 3  edith b farrar edith barnes farrar lived at chicago in 1922 west halflot a harvey house  in june 1924 lucinda stamps farrar subdivided her w 2 lot into three lots which were designated as lot a lot b and lot c the three lots were surveyed by jd ferguson in july 1923 mrs farrar conveyed lot a to george e williams of new orleans for 14000 right of ingressegress granted as an easement across the south end of lot b but not to be carried when williams sells lot a harco ms land deed bk 141 pp 585587  george e williams george elliot williams 18861944 married adele monroe 18891944 in orleans parish louisiana on june 7 1911 orleans parish marriage record bk volume 33 p 320 in december 1929 george elliot williams 18861944 of nola to adele monroe williams 18891944 of new orleans lot a for 14000 included all household fixtures and furniture located in the dwelling house harco ms land deed bk 184 pp246247 in august 1944 george e williams and adele monroe williams to sam mitchell and mae pringle mitchell for 15000 royse r aiken had an unrecorded lease dated september 16 1943 a notice was sent to aiken to cancel his lease harco ms land deed bk 267 p 288  sam mitchell in july 1944 sam mitchell 19031984 native of hancock county mississippi entered into an agreement with louis h harvey mrs louis h harvey and miss irma e harvey the harvey s owned a lot on the northwest corner of beach boulevard and fayard street mitchell agreed to buy the ge williams lot and then trade it for the harvey property and also give 5000 to the harveys it was also agreed that in the event that the houses on each lot were destroyed by fire or damaged to make them unfit for habitation before the contract was consummated the contract would be voided sam mitchell owned the bungalow on west beach boulevard harco ms land deed bk 266 pp 126129 sold in august 1944 bk 267 pp 303304 in august 1944 sam mitchell conveyed lot a to irma e harvey and louis w harvey harco ms land deed bk 267 pp 301302  louis w harvey louis wachenfeld harvey 19041970 was the son of louis h harvey 18741913 and christina wachenfeld 18721931 he married mary l barnes 19101999 of handsboro mississippi children louis w harvey 19341996 philip i harvey b 1941 and kenneth karl harvey 19511990  the sun herald november 14 1999 p a11  row in september 1954 row easement granted to mississippi state highway commission by louis h harvey bk 387 pp 390391  west halflot b 909 east beach  in january 1943 lucinda davis stamps farrar drafted her will in this instrument she devised and bequeathed to her daughters edith barnes farrar of chicago illinois and mildred maury farrar 18871967 of biloxi mississippi her home situated on the corner of kuhn and beach street at biloxi mississippi for the period of their natural lives mrs farrar included all furniture fixtures and contents of her house she excepted from this donation all appurtenances that had been designated for other family members in addition her spinster daughters were provided an annual income from a trust fund created from cash stocks and bonds owned by their mother as gorenflo was the trustee after her daughters demise her remaining assets to be divided by her living heirs harco ms chancery court will bk 9 pp 241243 the other heirs at law of lucinda davis stamps farrar were mary farrar goldberger anna farrar goldberger jane farrar wood thomas prince farrar issac ds farrar jr and maud ellen farrer harco ms chancery court cause no 53890 mrs jane farrar wood v the unknown heirs of edgar howard farrar and lucinda davis stampsmay 1967 lucinda davis stamps farrar died on november 22 1946 she lived at biloxi but was a legal resident of louisiana mildred m farrar resided in her home at 909 east beach until her death on february 8 1967 she was a native of new orleans and had lived at biloxi since 1927 funeral services at the episcopal church of the redeemer her remains interred in the metairie cemetery  the daily herald february 8 1967 p 2  after miss mildred m farrar s demise her home became the property of her mother s living heirs these were determined by the probate court to be anna farrar goldsborough a daughter jane farrar wood a daughter edgar howard farrar iii only child of a son now dead dr joseph goldberger mrs mary g sharp and mr benjamin goldberger  children of mildred maury farrar  miss maud ellen farrar and mr stamps farrar ii harco ms chancery court cause no 53890may 1967mrs jane farrar wood v the unknown heirs of edgar howard farrar and lucinda davis stampsmay 1967 fifteen shares of stock in the borgnemouth realty company a louisiana corporation bk 589 pp 152154 in march 1968 mrs ralph jane b wood harrison co ms mrs richard goldsborough wayne co ny edgar h farrar iii bell co texas stamps farrar ii san francisco co calf maud ellen farrer orleans parish la bh goldberger district of columbia joseph h goldberger canadian co oklahoma mrs michael warnock bonneville co idaho and bruce sharp robert sharp and donald sharp all of orleans parish louisiana conveyed to  wilda lopez bowring  the following  that certain lot or parcel of land situated on the northeast corner of east beach boulevard and kuhn street having a frontage on the gulf of mexico of 84 feet and extending back in a northerly direction for a distance of 230 feet more or less being bounded on the south by the gulf of mexico east by the property of williams now of harvey north by the property of bowring west by kuhn street in the city of biloxi  harco ms land deed bk 610 pp 340344  west halflot c909a east beach in august 1924  lucinda stamps farrar  the widow of edgar h farrar a resident of hancock county mississippi sold lot c to  stamps farrar  her son harco ms land deed bk 142 pp 484485  stamps farrar in october 1938 stamps farrar opened his home for the weekend of the laurence moore barkley and malcolm tullis wedding which was held at the church of the redeemer their guests for the barkleytullis nuptials were mrs farrar s mother mrs albert sidney white and ellene white her sister mrs lillian lewis and hampden lewis also of new orleans stayed at the farrar summer home on east beach  the daily herald  october 9 1938 p 3  lucille gillis minor in may 1947 stamps farrar to  lucille g minor  for 6000 harco ms land deed bk 298 pp 338339 lucille gillis minor 18891954 was born in new orleans louisiana on march 6 1889 the daughter of alfred barr gillis and lucille bohn living in 1956 she married  john duncan minor  18761937 a native of southdown plantation terrebonne parish louisiana they were the parents of  lucille m minor  the spouse of hastings mortimer and  joan minor  19151956 john d minor was the son of henry c minor d 1898 of houma and anna louise butler the daughter of judge thomas butler of west feliciana parish both families were southern aristocratic his grandfather william j minor d 1869 was the founder of southdown plantation near houma louisiana his sister was mrs david pipes jr of southdown young jd minor attended tulane university where he was a member of the alpha tau omega social fraternity he returned immediately to manage the business operations at southdown upon the passing of his father in 1898 mr minor retired from the sugar business in 1912  the daily herald august 9 1937 p 8    southdown plantation it would be remiss without providing some chronology of the southdown plantation situated at houma louisiana here in the 1820s on a former spanish land grant william j minor the son of stephen minor a resident of the natchez district and friend of manuel luis gayoso de lemos who administered the government of spanish louisiana from 17971799 began to cultivate indigo by 1830 he was growing sugarcane and by 1846 a sugar mill had been erected at southdown in 1859 a onestory greek revival brick edifice was erected for the minor family after wj minor s demise in 1869 his seven children inherited southdown soon henry c minor and sister katherine lintot minor acquired the interest of their siblings and ran the plantation for many years in 1893 a second floor and round turrets were integrated into the former greek revival building metamorphosing the structure to the queen anne architectural style after miss kate l minor passed in 1923 the sugarcane plantation survived until the 1930s when it was sold to commercial entities in the 1970s through the efforts of esther b mccollam of ellendale plantation and the terrebonne parish historical cultural society southdown was placed on the national register of historic places in july 1975 valhi inc the corporate owner donated southdown its servant s outbuildings and about 5 acres to the local historical society the former minor plantation was open for public touring in 1986 and today remains an integral part of the history of houma and terrebonne parish louisiana  antiques gazette june 1993 p 7   in august 1915 john duncan minor acquired for 5500 from oscar g keller lot 3 being share no 3 in the partition of the estate of john h keller at biloxi mississippi harco ms land deed bk 112 pp 346347 here at 543 east beach eightyfeet west of lee street the minor family made their home until august 1930 when mr and mrs minor sold their estate to winifred c green for 9900 harco ms land deed bk 187 p 166 john d minor s aunt katherine lintot minor 18491923 the daughter of captain william j minor and rebecca ann gustine passed at new orleans in late 1923 she resided at houma louisiana but was prominent in the ladies auxiliary at the touro infirmary in the crescent city  the daily herald december 4 1923 p 3  john duncan minor expired at his home at 3211 prytania street where he had resided since 1932 he had been active in the social circles of the crescent city in regards the mardi gras and its carnival organizations minor s corporal remains were interred in the magnolia cemetery at houma louisiana  the daily herald august 9 1937 p 8  lucille g minor passed on june 25 1954 at her home at 909a east beach in biloxi her daughter joan desmond minor resided here until she became ill in mrs lucille minor mortimer  inherited in 1925 she was living at biloxi and attending school in the north visited mr and mrs edward caffery her relatives at havana cuba in the summer of 1925  the daily herald august 27 1925 p 3  in late august 1928  miss joan minor  returned to biloxi after a twomonth stay at camp allegheny in west virginia guests at the minor home compliments of miss lucille minor were miss maud werner hastings mortimer miss mildred brown and john stafford all of nola  the daily herald september 1 1928 p 2   in december 1956 lucille g minor mortimer conveyed to  lynden bowring  1980 for 6000 harco ms land deed bk 416 p 343 title cleared in november 1961 when lucille g mortimer harco ms land deed bk 487 pp 491492 sister joan minor expired in louisiana on may 29 1956 lynden bowring also owned the east half of the live oak which he had acquired in july 1946 from the sporl family of new orleans east half of live oak lot in july 1917 mrs george h dunbar of new orleans to edwin b johnson for 1 cash in hand harco ms land deed bk 119 pp 310311  edwin b johnson edwin b johnson  18621930 was born in mississippi during the civil war circa 1889 he married  martha moss  18641930 a tennessee native their only child was born before 1900 but did not survive in 1900 the johnsons were domiciled at clarksdale coahoma co mississippi where he was a merchant 1900 coahoma co mississippi federal census t623805 p 11a ed 25  in december 1924  eb johnson and mattie moss johnson  sold  their residence at  941 east beach  to  cora stanton jahncke  18851970   the wife  of  ernest lee jahncke  18771960   of nola  for 15000 the johnson family planned to return t o their home at  clarksdale mississippi the johnsons lived here for some time and always had the welfare and civic improvement at heart mr jahnke will use the home as a summer residence when the jahnckes bought the house they borrowed the money from cyprian a sporl by 1930 the johnsons were domicled on john street living in their own home valued at 10000 mr johnson s occupation was rental property collector no further information the daily herald december 18 1924 p 3 harco ms land deed bk 143 p 412 and 1930 coahoma co mississippi federal census r1142 p 9a ed 13  commodore  ernest lee  jahncke commodore ernest l jahncke was a native of new orleans he was a speedboat driverracer and owner of the several fast watercraft   at the 13 th annual regatta of the biloxi yacht club held in july 1912 captain jahncke introduced the  humpty dumpty  a most unusual hydroplaning vessel in outline she appeared to be the integration of a boat and rocking chair  humpty dumpty  was constructed of mahogany and finished with a high luster varnish on the water she had a top speed approaching thirty miles per hour much interest had developed at the july regatta as there were innuendos that the  bella l  the very fast motorboat of julius m lopez 18861958 would meet in a match race  the daily herald july 12 1912 p 1  unfortunately neither captains jahncke nor lopez could agree on a racing rules format for a match race in biloxi at the july summer regatta no future contest was planned  the daily herald july 12 1912 p 1  july 1916 storm following his actions during and post july 1916 tempest comodore ernest lee jahncke of the southern yacht club was dubbed the hero of the recent storm he spent 2000 of his own finances in assisting biloxians by taking mail to new orleans on the  clarabelle as  the train and telegraph were inoperative commodore jahncke sent a tug boat to the coast to take vessels to deep water and tow the pile driver working at the biloxi yacht club to safety as well as assist boats during and after the hurricane  the daily herald july 10 1916 p 2  in early august 1919 captain jahncke moored the   aunt dinah  his expansive houseboat at biloxi with his spouse and family aboard as usual the jahnckes planned to spend some vacation time in biloxi in may 1923  the daily herald  related that   this boat has been coming to biloxi for the summer season for a number of years and its presence adds much to the pleasure of the summer colony of visitors who come to spend the season  the daily herald august 4 1919 p 4 and the daily herald may 28 1923 p 3  while a resident of biloxi jahncke built an eyecatching fence on the south elevation the fence was replicated from that of an old english estate of renown the fence pillars were constructed of brick  the daily herald november 5 1964  adele townsend jahncke in 1926 the jahncke s daughter adele townsend jahncke 19091993 was a student at sophie newcomb college in new orleans she was captain of the freshman basketball team and was considered one of the best competitive sailors along the gulf coast after graduating from newcomb adelle made her debut at new orleans and washington dc in 1933 miss jahncke married charles w dotson 18981974 an attorney at farmer city illinois he was a graduate of the university of illinois one son charles w dotson jr 19361998  the daily herald december 10 1926 p 4 and october 13 1933 p 2  in may 1928 lee jahncke was lauded for the fine improvements made to his east beach home  the daily herald may 24 1928 p 2  captain ernest lee jahncke defaulted on his mortgage payment to sporl and in december 1932 hanun gardner trustee sold the jahncke home to cyprian a sporl for 6500 harco ms land deed bk 196 pp 342343  cyprian a sporl purchased by cyprian a sporl 18801936 on december 10 1932 from hanun gardner trustee for 6500 harco ms land deed bk 196 pp 342343 ca many sporl was the son of cyprian a sporl and louise soule d august 1930 of new orleans and bay st louis he had two brothers edward f sproul 181956 and walter sproul and four sisters alice sproul 1956 l elsie sproul 1956 hilda sproul and laura sporl killeen d march 1956 the spouse of joseph l kileen  the daily herald august 28 1930 p 5 and the daily herald march 6 1956 p 2  at new orleans many sproul resided at 6550 oakland drive with his wife adrienne de lappe and children harold d sporl and cyprian a sporl ii 19051999 he was a member of the southern yacht club and owned a fiftyfive foot motor vessel  wendy  in early july 1913 sporl participated in the nearly three hundred mile new orleans to pensacola motor boat race his watercraft was propelled by a 40 hp murray tregurtha engine  the daily herald july 3 1913 p 4  cyprian a sporl ii 19051999 donated  cocheco  his 30000 76foot disel yacht to the uscg in april 1941 he also enlisted in the uscg at this time the  cocheco  was to be used for patrol duty  the daily herald april 21 1941 p 5  in september 1936 the sporl property was adjudicated by the harrison county chancery court to adrienne de lappe sporl ca sporl ii and hd sporl harco ms land deed bk 212 p 253  wwii during wwii the sporl family of nola allowed their home to be used by the women s uso for a small rental  the daily herald november 5 1964  lynden bowring  18891980   lynoaks lynden bowring in july 1946 for 30000 the sporl family conveyed their biloxi home to  lynden bowring  harco ms land deed bk 288 pp 517518 mr bowring called his mansion  lynoaks  in later years lived on 1 st floor and rented the 2 nd and 3 rd floors clara l d aquilla october 23 2000  lynden bowring  18891980 was born in los angeles california made his livelihood as an attorney and rumored to have made money in the movies business in hollywood described as a loner and eccentric bache whitlock october 19 2000 during his life bowring was married three times he had two children with his first wife but they as well as his spouse preceded him in death his second nuptial ended in divorce lynden married wilda lopez 18991977 the daughter of lazro lopez ii 18771918 and eurilda seal 18791966 miss wilda lopez was the valedictorian of the 1915 class of biloxi high school and delivered an appropriate speech to her nine classmates and audience she went on to study at randolph macon college at lynchburg virginia wilda s other siblings were clara lopez tarr froede 19021936 beverly lopez berggren 19041991 florian seal lopez 19111957 john beverly lopez 19151970   the daily herald may 29 1915 p 1  prior to her marriage to lynden bowring wilda lopez had married dr james edward wallace 18771942 in the roman catholic church at biloxi mississippi on january 9 1920 harco ms mrb 31 p 493 dr wallace was a native of natchitoches louisiana he came to biloxi in 1914 and was affiliated with dr hyman m folkes 18711926 the husband of teresa lopez 18731951 mrs folkes was wilda s aunt bowring affiliated with ct bowring and co ltd of london england a shipping firm owned a onehalf interest in the carlton apartments on union drive in los angeles owned the  rum runner  a large motor yacht 65 feet in length and a relict of the prohibition era moored in front of the east beach home built boat house and slip for it in ocean springs boat never utilized but fulltime employee maintained the craft bache whitlock october 19 2000  ocean springs in august 1969 hurricane camille destroyed the bowrings biloxi home in 1970 the bowrings relocated to ocean springs bruce duckett remember mr bowring as an elderly gentleman approcahing him to buy his home on helmers lane lynden wanted a site on the inner harbor at ocean springs for the  wilda b  aka  rum runner   he convinced a golfer to relocate to gulf hills and bought his home and land at 207 general pershing avenue bruce duckett october 10 2000 in july 1970 wilda lopez bowring acquired from lester b larson and jennie c larson the following property in ocean springs their residence address was 207 general pershing avenue commencing at the southwest corner of hellmers lane and general pershing avenue go south 925 feet to the pob thence south 3315 feet along the west margin of general pershing avenue to the waters edge of the os small craft harbor thence n 70 degrees 20 w 200 feet along the waters edge of the small craft harbor to the fence line dividing the larson and howell property thence n 19 degrees 20 e 257 feet along an old fence line thence s84 degrees 20 e 128 feet along an old fence line to the point of beginning said land lying in section 37 t7sr8w  jxco ms land deed bk 381 pp 587588 in may 1971 mrs bowring acquired from earl w paul and ilsedore paul the following  commencing at the southwest corner of hellmers lane and general pershing avenue go south 925 feet thence n84 degrees 20 w 128 feet along a wire fence thence north 663 feet along a wire fence to the south margin of hellmers lane thence n84 degreese127 feet along the south margin of hellmers lane to the pob  jxco ms land deed bk 401 pp338339 their residence address was 207 general pershing avenue there was a rental house on one of the lots house fire caused by lightening destroyed most of their home september 13 1977 mr bowring was led out of the burning house by alice duckett mrs wilda l bowring suffered burns and smoke inhalation and died in late october as a result of injuries from the conflagration she was a member of the colonial dames daughters of the american revolution les masques carnival club and the biloxi yacht club member of st alphonsus catholic church buried at the biloxi cemetery  the ocean springs record september 15 1977 pp 12 and the daily herald october 27 1977 p a2  mrs wilda bowring left an estate valued at approximately 300000 her principal beneficiaries were patricia t leavitt of ocean springs mississippi barbara t kroningen of downers grove illinois jxco ms chancery court cause no 33566 in june 1978 lynden bowring executor of the estate of wilda lopez bowring sold to charles e carr and joy r carr the two parcels above jxco ms land deed bk 621 p 501 in 1996 dr william pontius built a large home lattiude at hellmers lane on the former site of bowring s boathouse when lynden bowring expired on april 8 1980 he was living at his apartment house at 414 east howard avenue in biloxi he willed his real estate at 900 east beach biloxi to  beverly lopez berggren  his sisterinlaw and  patricia tarr leavitt  his nieceinlaw harco ms 2 nd jd chancery court cause no 9853  cause no 9853estate of lynden bowring1980 patricia tarr leavitt executrix of lynden bowing s estate bowring was married three times his first wife died and he divorced his second spouse two children born of first marriage but children died wife preceded him in death no children left property at 900 east beach biloxi to beverly lopez berggren his sisterinlaw and patricia tarr leavitt his nieceinlaw mr bowring was affiliated with ct bowring and co ltd of london england he owned a onehalf interest in the carlton apartments on union drive in los angeles lynden bowring died on april 8 1980 berggrenleavitt beverly lopez berggren  19041991 called bee and lillie was the daughter of lazaro lopez ii and eurilda seal she was educated at the sacred heart academy and mississippi southern college miss lopez married captain oscar e berggren 18931964 no children they resided on suter street at biloxi she was a charter member of les masques carnival club passed on at biloxi on october 26 1991  the sun herald october 29 1991  captain oscar e berggren was a native of fjallbacka sweden he made his livelihood on the sea during his fortysix year naval career captain berggren had worked for the waterman and morgan steamship lines during wwii he sailed on merchant vessels from canada to europe facing the relentless pursuit of german uboats he was fortunate as on several occasions his ship had close encounters with german torpedoes captain berggren was a member of the masters mates and pilots association  the daily herald january 6 1964 p 2  mrs beverly lopez berggren legated her interest in live oak to patricia t leavitt clara lopez campbell d aquilla b 1936 was her executrix mrs d aquilla was legated mrs berggren s home at 1092 west beach blvd in biloxi harco ms 2 nd jd chancery court cause no p2077b  patricia tarr leavitt  b 1919 was the daughter of leslie r tarr 18971972 and clara lopez 19021936 leslie r tarr met miss lopez during wwi when he was a sailor posted at the gulfport naval station they eloped and were married at ocean springs mississippi on december 8 1918 by judge od davidson 18721938 mr tarr resided at glendale california where he was employed as a newspaperman in los angeles miss lopez was a student at newcomb college in new orleans at the time of her nuptials  the daily herald september 6 1919 p 4 and  jxco ms mrb 11 p 573 the tarrs had another daughter  barbara tarr kroninger  19211983 who was born at biloxi mississippi on february 15 1921 her mother had come here from california for a visit with her family and barbara was born here   barbara tarr was a stewardess for delta airlines and during wwii had been a navy nurse she married lt jg nolan kroninger usn a native of cowden illinois on september 26 1946 he was aboard the  uss lexington  when it was sunk by japanese aircraf in 1942 the kronigers eventually settled at downers grove illinois  the daily herald   february 18 1921 p 3   october 7 1946 p 6  and clara l d aquilla october 23 2000 clara l tarr divorced leslie r tarr in california he was a resident of santa barbara california in 1941 and passed on at newport beach california in july 1972 clara then married paul o froede 18961968 in new york on may 28 1929 mr froede was a native of brooklyn and had been a regular visitor to biloxi the newly weds planned a sixweeks honeymoon trip through new england and canada before returning to biloxi  the daily herald june 5 1929 p 2  patricia jeanne tarr married  clyde m leavitt  b 1910 a naval architect from syracuse new york he was the son of clyde leavitt and patricia mcgowen miss tarr was a student at the university of mississippi when they met mr leavitt was employed at ingalls shipbuilding corporation in pascagoula at the time they married in jackson county mississippi on june 7 1941 two daughters were born from this union clara l d aquilla and jxco ms mrb 33 p 550 in april 1974 the leavitts bought lots 1 and 2 of block 50 gulf hills on 13901 puerto drive from wh mecom jr jxco ms land deed bk 495 p 549 sold gulf hills home in november 1994 to phillip l severson jr the leavitts moved to las cruces new mexico where they reside presently jxco ms land deed bk 1053 p 156 mrs leavitt suffered a stroke recently and is recovering claire l d aquilla october 18 2000  phillip d ward in march 1984 mary l harvey sold her lot to phillip d ward bk 142 p 585 in march 1984 bergrrenleavitt sold their lot to phillip d ward bk 142 p 587  robert e hebert in april 1987 robert e hebert took a deed of trust from phillip d ward on the property he defaulted on his payments to hebert in april 1988 james b person substitute trustee sold the lot to hebert bk 200 pp 6869 when hebert defaulted on his performance conditions and provisions of his deed of trust with harvey and leavittbergreen larry c corban jr trustee sold on july 3 1989 to mary l harvey for 8365614 bk 211 pp 208210 corban sold the other lot to berggrenleavitt for 15353775 bk 211 pp 212214  mrs berggren dies when mrs beverly lopez berggren passed she legated her interest in live oak to patricia t leavitt mrs berggren was known as bee and lillie clara lopez campbell d aquilla b 1936 was her executrix mrs d aquilla was legated mrs berggren s home at 1092 west beach blvd in biloxi harco ms 2 nd jd chancery court cause no p2077bmarch 1993  frederick j burmont in march 1993 for 5000 patricia t leavitt and mary l harvey 19101999 sold an option to purchase the site to frederick j burmont in march 1993 if option selected the selling price would be 800000 harco ms 2 nd jd land deed bk 53 p 417 in october 1993 patricia t leavitt and mary l harvey sold live oak to the oak place development company a mississippi corporation harco ms 2 nd jd land deed bk 262 pp 8485 oak place development company led by frederick j burmont and headquartered at daytona beach florida in may 1994 the stockholders voted to sell their biloxi land to ronald w blacklidge for 1700000 sold in june 1994 to blacklidge with oaks at tullis inc of gulfport harco ms 2 nd jd land deed bk 271 pp421434  oaks at tullis oaks at tullis inc to city of biloxi mississippi harco ms 2 nd jd land deed bk 358 pp 7886  references  chancery court causes harrison county mississippi chancery court cause no 14868   ex parte mrs adrienne de lappe sporl et al   september 1936 harrison county mississippi chancery court cause no 24334   the estate of lucinda davis stamps   december 1946 will book 9 pp 241243 harrison county mississippi chancery court cause no 37904   the estate of joan minor   october 1961 harrison county mississippi chancery court cause no 53890   mrs jane farrar wood v the unknown heirs of edgar howard farrar and lucinda davis stamps   may 1967 harrison county mississippi chancery court 2 nd judicial district cause no 9853   the estate of lynden bowring  1980 harrison county mississippi chancery court 2 nd judicial district cause no p2077b  the estate of beverly lopez berggren   march 1993 mississippi state highway commission v mildred farrar mrs ralph b wood edith barnes farrar mrs joseph goldsberger mrs richard f goldsborough maude ellen farrar stamps farrar and edward h farrar  cause no 12936   harco ms land deed bk 399 pp 4445  cause no 27220 clara m campbell jackson county mississippi chancery court cause no 33566   the estate of wilda lopez bowring   january 1979 books american state papers  volume iii public lands 18151824 the southern historical press inc greenville south carolina1994 nap l cassibry ii  early settlers and land grants at biloxi  volume 1 and volume ii special issue no 5 mississippi coast historical genealogical society biloxi mississippi1986 charles h dyer  along the gulf  women of the trinity episcopal church pass christian mississippi1971 th glenn  the mexican gulf coast illustrated  graham delchamps mobile alabama1893 magazines antiques gazette   southdown plantation now historic house and museum   june 1993   journals the biloxi herald   local happenings   february 6 1892 the biloxi herald   biloxi chief industry   september 12 1892 the biloxi herald   local happenings   september 28 1892 the biloxi herald   local happenings   april 29 1893 the biloxi herald   local happenings  june 10 1893 the biloxi herald   local happenings  july 1 1893 the biloxi daily herald   kuhndesporte   may 1 1903 p 5 the biloxi daily herald   joseph kuhn   november 25 1903 the biloxi daily herald   necrologyfrank dunbar   january 31 1908 the biloxi daily herald   kuhnbourdon   december 20 1909 p 8 the daily herald   new orleans man killed by robbers   november 2 1911 the daily herald   biloxi news   november 3 1911 the daily herald  humpty dumpty speed marvel is sensation of biloxi motor races   july 13 1912 p 1 the daily herald   will be no race between speeders   july 12 1912 the daily herald   speed boats off on long cruise   july 3 1913 the daily herald   dunbar property on east beach has been sold to new orleanian   february 12 1914 the daily herald   thieves ransack the dunbar home   june 22 1914 the daily herald   ten graduates are given diplomas at closing exercises   may 29 1915 the daily herald   jahncke is hero of recent blow   july 10 1916 the daily herald   woodfarrar   september 12 1916 the daily herald   woodfarrar   september 13 1916 the daily herald   judge farrar to come to biloxi   april 9 1917 the daily herald   geo h dunbar dies in new orleans   october 19 1917 the daily herald   prominent man dies in new orleans   october 24 1918 the daily herald   mrs frank dunbar dead   may 31 1919 the daily herald   ernest lee jancke here   august 4 1919 the daily herald   girl of southern noted family joins husband in los angeles   september 6 1919 the daily herald   mrs dunbar dead   february 9 1920 august 27 1925 the daily herald   biloxi news paragraphs   february 18 1921 the daily herald   prominent biloxian sarah kuhn dead   april 26 1921 the daily herald   death claims prominent biloxi resident in judge eh farrar   january 7 1922 the daily herald   farrar remains buried   january 9 1922 the daily herald   edgar h farrar   january 9 1922 the daily herald   miss kate minor dead   december 4 1923 the daily herald   aunt dinah in local port   may 28 1923 the daily herald   biloxi news  lucille minor     august 27 1925 the daily herald   miss jahncke captain   december 10 1926 the daily herald   improving williams home   may 24 1928 the daily herald   biloxi news   september 1 1928 the daily herald   elizabeth kuhn dies   june 17 1929 p 2 the daily herald   froedetarr nuptials   june 5 1929 the daily herald   goldsborough bank head   may 27 1930 the daily herald   mrs ca sporl dies   august 28 1930 the daily herald   may adele kuhn dies   december 3 1930 p 2 the daily herald   farrarhoward   june 1 1933 the daily herald   miss jahncke to marry   october 13 1933 the daily herald   ca sporl dies   january 27 1936 the daily herald   attend sporl funeral   january 29 1936 the daily herald   ca sporl dies   january 31 1936 the daily herald   mrs paul froede dies   september 24 1936 the daily herald   john duncan minor dies   august 9 1937 the daily herald   barkleytullis wedding   october 9 1938 the daily herald    sporl gives yacht to coast guard   april 21 1941 the daily herald   dr james wallace world war captain dies at biloxi   october 28 1942 the daily herald   kroningertarr   october 7 1946 the daily herald   mrs farrar dies burial in new orleans   november 13 1946 the daily herald   mrs laura sporl kileen   march 6 1956 the daily herald   know your coast   the biloxi house with the english fence 1956 the daily herald   mrs joan minor   may 29 1956 the daily herald   minor rites   may 31 1956 the daily herald   capt berggren taken by death   january 6 1964 the daily herald   know your coast     the biloxi house with the english fence    november 5 1964 the daily herald   miss mildred farrar   february 8 1967 the daily herald   rb wood  october 26 1967 the daily herald   widow   mary h farrar  of dr goldberger dies in biloxi home    september 12 1969 the daily herald   louis w harvey   january 20 1970 the daily herald   mrs wilda lopez bowring   october 27 1977 the ocean springs record   saved from fire september 15 1977 the sun herald   mrs beverly berggren october 29 1991 the sun herald   mary l harvey november 14 1999 the timespicayune   married  anna g farrar and richard f goldsborough     january 1 1905 the timespicayune   miss lucy farrar s brilliant career ends sadly in paris   october 28 1910 the timespicayune   dr goldberger pellagra s foe dies for science   january 18 1929 the timespicayune   jahncke named to special duty with navy here    may 19 1941 the timespicayune   mrs farrar 89 expires at biloxi   november 213 1946 the timespicayune   stamps farrar last rites held   may 4 1950 the timespicayune   stamps farrar   may 5 1950 the timespicayune   thomas p farrar dies in new york   june 12 1951 the timespicayune   deaths   edith barnes farrar     february 21 1959 the timespicayune     ernest lee   jahncke rites planned today   november 17 1960 the timespicayune   mrs jahncke rites planned   march 20 1970 the timespicayune   deaths   anna farrar goldsborough     december 12 1970 the timespicayune     anna farrar goldsborough   excartoonist s rites are held   february 2 1971  personal communication  a bruce ducketttelephone conversation on october 10 2000 at ocean springs mississippi bache whitlocktelephone conversation on october 19 2000 at ocean springs mississippi clara l d aquillatelephone conversation on october 18 2000 at biloxi mississippi clara l d aquillainterview at 1092 beach blvd on october 23 2000 at biloxi ms cause no 9853estate of lynden bowring1980 patricia tarr leavitt executrix of his estate married three times first wife died divorced second two children born of first marriage but children died wife preceded him in death no children left property at 900 east beach biloxi to beverly lopez berggren his sisterinlaw and patricia tarr leavitt his nieceinlaw bowring affiliated with ct bowring and co ltd of london england owned a onehalf interest in the carlton apartments on union drive in los angeles bowring died april 8 1980 1699 views  