 barrier islands and wildlife barrier islands and wildlife ray mon 5092011 823 gulf islands national seashore  gins  references    the daily herald   causeway  to connect coast with ship and horn islands  bill is now up for action   april 16 1954 p 1 the daily herald     public invited to talks on island toll causeway     december 10 1964 p 7 the daily herald      gulf islands seashore listed in mational guide    may 2 1973 the daily herald     land  claims on gulf islands lost    september 30 1980 sec ii p b1 the daily herald   gulf islands district headquarters to be named for william colmer   march 21 1983 p 2  the ocean springs gazette   gins releases final plan   july 24 2014 p 2 the ocean springs news   ship island for national park   june 15 1967 the ocean springs news   new visitors center   interim contact station until new visitor s center constructed  opens at gins   july 21 1977 p 1  the ocean springs record   seashore state project   october 8 1970 p 1  the ocean springs record   gulf seashore site positive for springs   december 2 1971 p 1  the ocean springs record   gins map   january 6 1972 p 1  the ocean springs record   seashore legislation introduced   february 17 1972 p 1 the ocean springs record   highway officials discuss seashore link   february 24 1972 p 1 the ocean springs record   seashore amendment moves towards house approval   march 23 1972 p 1 the ocean springs record   colmer s statement to the house interior committee   march 23 1972 p 3    the ocean springs record   a biographical sketch of congressman colmer   march 23 1972 p 11  the ocean springs record   cabinet officials to visit springs   april 6 1972 p 1  the ocean springs record   interior secretary  roger morton  dedicates gulf seashore project   april 27 1972 p 1  the ocean springs record   offshore islands for the birds   may 11 1972 p 2  the ocean springs record   federal government receives magnolia park   july 27 1972 p 1  the ocean springs record   ship island study started   december 21 1972 p 5  the ocean springs record   ship island under federal ownership   january 4 1973 p 6  the ocean springs record   ship island under control of gulf islands seashore   january 4 1973 p 7  the ocean springs record   gins hearing set   november 281974 p 2  the ocean springs record   gulf islands seashore has 350000 visitors   january 8 1976 p 1   the ocean springs record   park service accepting bids on roads leading into park   january 8 1976 p 1 the ocean springs record   gulf islands offers recreation for all ages   march 11 1976 p 9  the ocean springs record   supervisors told ocean springs did not lose headquarters   may 6 1976 p 1  the ocean springs record   gulf islands sets new information   september 23 1976 p e2  the ocean springs record   federal cutbacks can be felt at national park   july 23 1981 p 1  the ocean springs record   settlement reached on claims ro mississippi s barrier islands land   december 9 1982 p 8  the ocean springs record   gins wr colmer visitor center dedicated on april 1st   march 31 1983 p 2  the ocean springs record   thirty years old alive and well gins celebrates   january 11 2001 p 12  the ocean springs record   ranger bill retires after 32 years with park service   december 5 2002 p b3  the ocean springs record   gulf islands moving forward   march 6 2008 p a1  the sun herald   park service to ground personal watercraft   march 6 2001 p a1 the sun herald gulf islands among top ten parks april 11 2013 p a2 the sun herald coast tourism boominggins has 44 million impact in state  march 8 2014 p d6 the sun herald   us army corps of engineers  corps asking for comment on barrier island restoration plan march 8 2014 p a3 the sun herald officials seek input on safer roads in gulf islands park  august 31 2014 p a4    mississippi sandhill cranes mississippi sandhill cranes are one of six subspecies of sandhill cranes and are indigenouse only to the grassy savannas of south jackson county mississippi  references  the sun herald with a little human help sandhill cranes hang on december 15 1985 p a4  cat island colonial days   juan de cuevas   cat island harbor  see the daily picayune november 13 1873 p 2    cat island lighthouse built circa 1873 acquired by nathan v boddie son of george boddie harrison county engineer in december 1948 from the war assets administration for 440 he planned to dismantle it for lumber salvage  the daily herald december 8 1948 p11  1893 hurricane   quarantine station the  quarantine board of mobile county were visitors to scranton  pascagoula to inspect the quarantine plant at cat island and  found it suitable to make arrangements for its removal to mobile bay  the biloxi daily herald august 16 1898 p 8  lighthouse  the progress july 2 1904 p 4  syc annual cruise and long distance race  see the daily picayune july 5 1905 p 9  joseph h duggan joseph henry duggan 18341891 was born in virginia of irish parentage he married ida adele fowler 18461900 a louisiana native circa 1867 nine children adele ida duggan 18691957 mary francis duggan 1871 joseph h duggan jr 1873 m bertha mary lobdell 18741963 eugene f duggan 1876 edith bayer duggan 18781932 miriam gurlin duggan 18801955 m dr laurence r debuys 18791957 isabel duggan 18821970 m frank m dameron 18621938 lillian agnes duggan 18851907 m ashton hayward 18811963 louise mather duggan 18871963 m thomas dugan westfeldt 18871974 and philip r duggan 18901934 m elise r urquhart 1890  nathan v boddie nathan van boddie acquired the majority interest in cat island in march 1911 from benjamin m harrod 18371912 gertrude t duggan carnal 18791944 h gibbs morgan adele ida duggan edith bayer duggan miriam duggan debuys 18801955 isabel duggan dameron louise duggan westfeldt philip r duggan 18901934 and joseph h duggan jr 1873 the consideration was 9630 for the approximately 3000 acres island  the daily herald march 18 1911 p 1   nathan v boddie 18501920 was a native of mississippi he was reared in rural hinds and madison county mississippi as boddie his father and a native of north carolina made his livelihood farming nathan married sallie atkinson 18551920 in october 1880 they were the parents of two sons nathan van boddie ii 1885 and george r boddie 18911920  grazing lease   sawmill in late april 1915 db lemon an experienced mill man planned to harvest timber from cat island estimated reserves at 3500000 board feet mill could process 7000 board feet each day lumber shipped to gulfport for domestic and export utilization  the daily herald april 28 1915 p 7    1919 casino hotel company inc of cat island mississippi in early 1919 the casino hotel company inc a louisiana company based in new orleans had aspirations to develop cat island as a resort  the company was led by pres fa middletonnola vicepres rc herrengreenwood ms sec in wiseyazoo city ms treasurer george m footegulfport ms and board memeber hh casteel of pickens ms newspaper says that cat island owned by hernando money wm money and mr homason of alabama  the daily herald january 19 1921 p 1 and february 22 1921 p 3  wharves colonel thomas us engineer s office at mobile granted permission on june 12 1920 to the owners of cat island to build three boat wharves one each on the east north and south sides of the island   the daily herald june 14 1920 p 3    1929 pass christian goose point tarpon club c bidwell adam 18941982 lt governor of mississippi et als  30000 club house and electric power house at goose point was destroyed by fire in late march  the large club house and eight cottages was erected between may 1929 and august 1929 as a hunting and fishing venue for its members john a sutter local water well digger hit potable water in a well dug to 599 feet it flowed at the rate of 100 gallons per minute of clear fresh water construction was completed by midaugust 1929 but the formal opening was postponed as lt governor c bidwell adam was on business out of state the daily herald may 22 1929 august 28 1929 p 1 and march 28 1932 p 1  mrs bidwell adam landed a 94pound tarpon off cat island  in september 1930 she was the only goose point club member to catch a tarpon that day emile godchaux of new orleans and anglers from belzoni mississippi and pass christian mississippi were in the fishing party the timespicayune september 15 1930 p 17  iowa raccoons  mrs sallie a boddie leased the island to mississippi game and fish commission and in may 1933 they began importing raccoons from iowa these animals were considered to have a superior fur to the indigenous animals imported mink were planned for the furture as the state game commission was attempting to create a game preserve on cat island the daily herald may 10 1933 p 1  world war ii  us army trains dogs to detect enemy soldiers the sun herald january 11 2009 and december 19 2016  boddie claim confirmed in 1968 in march 1968  federal judge dan m russell jr opined that the boddie family s claim to cat island was valid  in the harrison county mississippi chancery court cause  mrs jw keen v nv boddie george r boddie and sarah e boddie buffington  judge russell determined that an 1837 deed from john quave aka juan de cuevas to judah p benjamin was valid he also recognized that the boddie clainm to cat island was proved by record of title and adverse possession and occupation from 1932 to 1968 the daily herald march 8 1989 p 1 and us district court  gulfport ms  case no 2561 and book 601 p 324 and book 609 p 285probably final records  see also eservicesarchivesgov servicesonline    gins cat island became part of gins in 2000  british petroleum oil disaster2010 occurred april 2010 with the explosion and burning of transocean drilling rig working for british petroleum on its macondo prospect deep water exploration well situated in mississippi canyon ocs block 2 off the coast of louisiana oil flowed continuously for nearly months and was transported by wind and ocean currents to the shores of louisiana mississippi alabama and florida the mississippi barrier islands were particularly affected  british petroleum acquisition in early april 2011 british petroleum acquired from the boddie family the eastward facing beach of cat island the national park service owns and protects about 1000 acres as part of gins while the boddie family still possesses some island acreage there are also about thirty private lots on the island ray melick spokesman for bp related that the oil giant acquired the eastern facing shore face to facilitate their efforts in its removal of residual oil and tar balls this work is facilitated when not privately owned the company released a statement in conjunction with the cat island acquisition as follows   the purchase of this section of cat island is in keeping with bp s commitment to preserve and protect the environment ecology and historical significance of the mississippi barrier islands for future generations   the sun herald april 8 2011 p a1    british petroleum vends cat island acreage in december 2016 the state of mississippi acquired the 492 acres that british petroleum had bought from the boddie family in april 2011 the federal mississippi coastal improvements program acquired the tract for 137 million and transferred title to the citizens of mississippi at no cost the us army corps of engineers planned to commence in february or march 2017 to renourish the eastern beach of cat island and restore goose point to its pre1998 configuration and adding 40acres the sun herald december 10 2016 p a1  east beach restoration2017 in september 2017 the east beach of cat island was being restored to its pre1998 size and appearance by a dredge boat pumping 50000 cubic yards of sand each day and eventually adding 40 acres to the island this 16 million dollar reenourishment project was funded by the mississippi coastal improvements barrier island restoration plan the sun herald september 29 2017  references  nap l cassibry ii  the ladner odyssey  miss coast historical genealogical society biloxi mississippi1987 david l cipra  lighthouses lightships of the northern gulf of mexico  department of transportationunited states coast guard1976 john cuevas cat island  the history of a mississippi gulf coast barrier island  mcfarland2011 robin fa fabel  the economy of british west florida 17631783   university of alabama press tuscaloosa alabama1988 rd foxworth richard r priddy wendell b johnson and williard s moore  heavy minerals of sand from recent beaches of the gulf coast of mississippi and associated islands  mississippi geological survey bulletin no 93 university of mississippi1962 paul estronza la violette  sink or be sunk the naval battle in the mississippi sound that preceded the battle of new orleans  annabelle publishingwaveland mississippi2002  marine resources and history of the mississippi gulf coast    cat island   volume ii mississippi department of marine resources biloxi mississippi1998 richebourg gaillard mcwilliams  iberville s gulf journals  the university of alabama press university alabama1981 john d ware  george gauld surveyor and cartographer of the gulf coast  university presses of florida gainesville tampa1982  journals the biloxi herald the biloxi herald   cat island   january 25 1890 the biloxi herald   the recent great storm   october 7 1893 the biloxi herald   quarantine station at cat island   july 25 1896  the biloxi daily herald the biloxi daily herald   is it fake   january 23 1897 the biloxi daily herald   resort for cat island   february 26 1906  the daily herald the daily herald   title to cat island   february 24 1905 the daily herald   cat island to be redeemed   march 5 1906 the daily herald   the cat island proposition   may 12 1909 the daily herald   the week s record of deed filed   march 18 1911 the daily herald   valuable property changes hands   may 17 1912 the daily herald   pine trees on cat island to be tapped   march 14 1911 the daily herald   fishing club for cat island   may 10 1912 p 6 the daily herald   valuable property changes hands   may 17 1912 the daily herald   cattle thrive on cat island   october 27 1913 the daily herald   db lemon to start saw mill   april 28 1915 p 7 the daily herald   abandon cat island as pastures   september 10 1919 the daily herald   cat island to be fully developed   december 3 1919 the daily herald   permission granted for wharves on cat island by war department   june 14 1920 the daily herald   deal is consummated to make cat island a popular resort   january 19 1921 p1 the daily herald   cat island will help the coast   january 28 1921 the daily herald   prospectus for cat island development   february 22 1921 p 3 the daily herald    make headway on club house  at goose poi nt    may 22 1929 the daily herald    6th annual tarpon rodeo   august 28 1929 the daily herald    30000 club house at goose point is destroyed by fire   march 28 1932  the daily herald    island to get iowa raccoons   may 10 1933 the daily herald   lift restrictions off cat island   january 24 1946 the daily herald   nathan v boddie buys 75yearold island lighthouse   december 8 1948 the daily herald   four rescued from cat island   september 7 1956 p 2 the daily herald      know your statewhen the seminoles were on cat island      august 18 1964 p 4 the daily herald      public invited to talks on island toll causeway     december 10 1964 p 7 the daily herald   judge russell sustains boddies claim to island   march 8 1968 the daily herald     individual land  claims on gulf isalnds lost   july 30 1980 the daily herald    cat island eyed for rocket launch   july 20 1983 p a1 the daily herald    plan to use cat island as launch site draws support   july 21 1983 p a1  the daily picayune the daily picayune   a day or two at pass christian   october 1 1841 the daily picayune   coast survey   january 27 1848 the daily picayune   letter from pass christian   august 21 1850 the daily picayune   body found   january 7 1851 the daily picayune   fifteen dollars reward   march 2 1852 the daily picayune   reminiscences of a trip to cat island   july 13 1862 the daily picayune   wayside notes   november 13 1873 the daily picayune   the white gods of cat island   may 22 1892 the daily picayune   a touchy tragedy by cat island light   july 9 1904 the daily picayune   southern yacht club cruise plan   july 5 1905 p 9 the daily picayune   on cat island   september 15 1907 the daily picayune   two washington artillery veterans dead   september 28 1911 the jeffersonian   fortifications and light houses   18  the progress the progress   ocean springs   death  dan mccall     july 2 1904 p 4  the sun herald the sun herald   congress passes bill for cat island sale   december 21 2000 p a2 the sun herald    family will keep its half   april 18 2004 p a1 the sun herald   the war dogs of cat island failed experiment used donated pets   january 11 2009 and decemebr 9 2016 the sun herald   bp buys east beach of cat island   april 8 2011 p a1 the sun herald   cat island helps create a bright legacy   july 16 2013 the sun herald   early christmas gift to mississippi more of cat island   december 10 2016 the sun herald   did you know that you owned an island off the mississippi coast well most of one   september 29 2017  chandeleur islands   references  the biloxi herald   quarantine station   february 15 1888 the daily herald june 4 1913 p 8  the daily herald   complete  jack valentine  third trip in study of island birds   june 6 1968  the daily herald    individual land  claims on gulf islands lost   september 30 1980  deer island   oysters salvador taranto 188119 was vending famous deer island oysters at his business at 701 west howard avenue in october 1908 the oysters sold for 10 cents a dozen on ice with all condiments provided taranto also sold the fienst fruits and vegetables the biloxi daily herald october 3 1908 p 8  1915 the  deer island island development company formally dedicated their deer island amusement center  on june 23rd meyer eiseman of the didc george w grayson of the biloxi commercial club mayor glennan of biloxi mayor foote of gulfport and mayor saucier of pass christian spoke at the ceremony ocean springs beat biloxi 52 in the baseball game the gulfport advocate june 26 1915 p 1  4th july 1915 visitors to deer island to celebrate independence day 1915 were treated to a baseball game a fancy skating exhibition by marvelous davis dancing and fireworks capped the evening festivities as crowds lingered until midnight on the sandy grounds the barn dance particularly enjoyed by the rural crowd was a novelty the daily herald july 6 1915 p 2  1937 fire in february several homes on deer island were spared damage from the recent fire the daily herald february 4 1937 p 5  nudist colony  sunshine and health  official magazine of the american sunbathers association inc announced in its december issue that a  new nudist organization is planning a nudist colony on deer island  the daily herald december 18 1947 p 16  hermit of deer island john r guilhot 18771959 the hermit of deer island died at latimer jackson county mississippi on may 27 1959 the daily herald may 28 1959  option extended the biloxi port commision extended the biloxi bridge and park commission s option on the west end of deer island for another 30 months  the port commission owns about 11 acres on the edge of the island the daily herald march 13 1968 p 19  2012 rezoned in april 2012 the biloxi city council in a 51 vote rezoned eight acres on deer island from agricultural to waterfront larry mitrenga owner and developer of this deer island tract proposes to erect eight threestory buildings with 96 units two of the structures would be condos the sun herald april 18 2012 p a1  references  the bay press   deer island now belongs to the people of mississippi may 24 2002 the biloxid iberville press   time traveler   the hermit of deer island   august 14 2008 p a4 the biloxi herald   latest city news  august 22 1896 the biloxi daily herald   tragedy on deer island   september 15 1903 the biloxi daily herald   fine fresh oysters   october 3 1908 p 8 the daily herald   negotiations started for purchase of deer island surveys are made   january 20 1915 the daily herald   planning to buy on deer island to make resort   january 23 1915 the daily herald   lynch was asked to go to island   january 25 1915 the daily herald   island project still hangs fire   january 25 1915 the daily herald   may build a city of tents on isle   january 26 1915 the daily herald   dance pavilion   may 2 1915 the daily herald   ferry service to begin to island   may 29 1915 the daily herald   deer island   june 15 1915 p 2 the daily herald   biloxi v ocean springs   july 3 1915 p 7 the daily herald   deer island   july 6 1915 p 2 the daily herald   deer island will continue as usual   july 14 1915 the daily herald   dance pavilion   august 2 1915 the daily herald   deer island lots with oyster beds sold to  james s  wentzell  october 29 1915 the daily herald   biloxi fertilizer to be used   september 13 1922 the daily herald   deer island added to shore as realty sales develop   april 24 1925 the daily herald   to improve deer island   may 19 1925 the daily herald    mass meeting last night  on deer island bar february 4 1926 the daily herald    lions  club  oppose  deer   island bar   february 11 1926 the daily herald   rules against  see wood v hd money and louis e curtis  made islands   august 24 1926 the daily herald   urges use of deer island   january 20 1931 the daily herald   fire on deer island   february 4 1937 the daily herald     113th observation  squadron starts ground firing off deer island saturday   may 16 1941 p 2 the daily herald   air squadron leaves biloxi  returns to meridian     june 2 1941 p 7 the daily herald    john r gulhart sic  reports wallet missing  august 5 1946 p 7  the daily herald   two homes are destroyed on deer island  september 23 1947 the daily herald   nudist colony being planned for deer island   december 18 1947 the daily herald   causeway to deer island   october 5 1951 the daily herald   board to enter contract for causeway study   june 29 1954 the daily herald   causewayspro and cons   november 27 1954 the daily herald   group will negotiate for islands   november 29 1954 the daily herald   desire new site proposed bridge to deer island   december 11 1954 the daily herald   biloxi causeway meeting tuesday   december 11 1954 the daily herald   group okays 300000 for deer island property   december 16 1954 the daily herald     guillhot  finds haven on deer island for past 35 years   april 5 1955 the daily herald   contract signed for development of deer island   january 22 1958 the daily herald   31 million to be spent of deer island   february 25 1958 the daily herald   amendments to deer island bill prepared   february 25 1958 the daily herald   court says no error in deer island matter   february 25 1959 the daily herald    hermit of deer island will be buried friday    may 28 1959 the daily herald   hear deer island protests   april 5 1960 the daily herald   city or county empowered to form agency to develop deer island   april 15 1960 the daily herald   urges deer isle tip to be developed   october 9 1963 the daily herald     public invited to talks on island toll causeway     december 10 1964 p 7 the daily herald   proposal given for development of new offshore islands   december 17 1964 the daily herald    say 436450 to be approved for deer island  november 13 1965 p 1 the daily herald    ok plans for deer isle plans  november 19 1965 p 1 the daily herald    make proposal on bridges to islands  december 16 1965 p 1 the daily herald    plan island urban trips during trip  january 28 1966 p 2 the daily herald    four objections to site of bridge  from oak street to deer island     july 13 1967 p 2 the daily herald    extend option on deer island area    march 13 1968 p 2 the daily herald   know your coast the summer deer island was the coast s top attraction   the daily herald   young biloxians plan to beautify island    february 28 1975 p a1 the daily herald   deer island are for spoils  us army corps of engineers     november 10 1975 p a2 the daily herald   individual land  claims on gulf islands lost   september 30 1980 the ocean springs gazette   volunteers help create habitat on deer island   june 15 2011 p 10 the mississippi press   island is dear to heart of biloxi bay   january 12 2002 the jackson county times   would build bridge to deer island   may 15 1926 the ocean springs news   deer island project practically certain   january 28 1915 the ocean springs news   deer island project benefits us   february 25 1915 the ocean springs news   to feature ocean springs   may 13 1915 the ocean springs news   hearing called on study of bridges for islands   december 10 1964 the ocean springs news   to construct deer island pier   april 8 1965 p 1 the ocean springs news    approval land transfer for island project      february 10 1966 p 1 the sun herald   owners envision 2 billion resort   april 4 1997 the sun herald   deer island lands in middle of president deal   april 1 1999 the sun herald   state to buy deer island   january 12 2002 the sun herald   musgrove signs deer island purchase   april 2 2002 the sun herald   island bill gains momentum but questions remain   march 15 2002 the sun herald   deer island purchase approved   march 22 2002 the sun herald   deer island deal gets closer   june 18 2005 p a6 the sun herald   planned oneyear restoration of deer island begins   september 18 2010 p a14 the sun herald   crews filling gap in deer island with sand   september 22 2010 p a6 the sun herald   wildfire burns part of deer island drought conditions blamed   june 2 2011 the sun herald   deer island now in  secretary of state  hosemann s sights   june 8 2011 the sun herald   mdeq deer island material not oil   august 18 2011 the sun herald   deer island landowner proposes building resort condotels   november 17 2011 the sun herald   editorialdon t build on an island we hold so dear   november 20 2011 p b8 the sun herald   proposed resort would not be the first for shifting sands of the  mississippi  sound   december 1 2011 p 2c  the sun herald   panel  biloxi planning commission  doesn t envision oasis condotel on deer island   february 17 2012 p a1  the sun herald   biloxi council rezones part of deer island   april 18 2012 p a1 the sun herald   port  of gulfport  dredging helping restore deer island   august 25 2012 p a1 the sun herald   hosemann deer island boat rides on the way   august 15 2014 p a1 the sun herald     2014 p  horn island  ile a corne horn island is a barrier island located in the gulf of mexico off the coast of jackson county mississippi the island is 16 miles in length and at its nearest point is about 6 miles south of the mississippi coastline two passes horn island pass to the east and dog key pass to the west separate it from petit bois and ship island respectively   topography   climate   vegetation   fauna sea turtles and turtle eggs throughout the late 19 th and into the 1950s reports of sea turtle hunts for meat and eggs are reported in local journals at horn island    mineral resources the mineral wealth of horn island consists primarily of it quart sand in the early 1880s quart sand was mined and transported to moss point where a glass factory existed for a short period although heavy minerals such as staurolite kyanite tourmaline ilmenite and many others are present in thin laminated sand deposits they are not concentrated in sufficient volumes to warrant commercial mining operations the space age metals titanium and zirconium are found in heavy minerals limited oil and gas exploration has occurred in the past and with the success of the industry in finding large reserves of natural gas in lower mobile bay to the east it is anticipated that oil hunters will search the waters near horn island in the immediate future shallow miocene gas is a likely target for these wildcatters  the colonial era 16991811  for over a century horn island like the rest of the american southwest frontier was in the possession of foreign powers france england and spain all ruled this area until the united states of america took formal possession in 1811 the french period 16991763  discovery after french canadian soldier of fortune pierre le moyne sieur d iberville 16611706 established a french beachhead in the lower mississippi river valley at fort maurepas on biloxi bay in april 1699 subsequent reconnoitering of the coastline of la louisiane by his brother jeanbaptise lemoyne sieur de bienville 16801767 resulted in the discovery of horn island circa 1700 called ile aux aigles island of eagles on august 24 1699 bienville departed fort maurepas with five men they traveled in two birch bark canoes exploring the region east and west of biloxi bay as well as the mississippi river delta this expedition discovered the pascagoula river round island massacre island dauphin island and mobile bay at an island south of round island a soldier in the bienville party lost his powder horn this event was described by andre penicaut a master carpenter who came to la louisiane with iberville in january 1700  while coasting from there along the island on our way back we crossed a pass about a half league wide at the end of which is another island called islea la corne because one of our frenchmen had lost his powder horn there this island lies three leagues off the mailand and is seven leaghues long like isle massacre and of the same width as it it is quite barren and has the same trees as this island when we reached the point of this island we sailed the three quarters of a league to isle surgere ship island where we had a big hunt after which we crossed over to our fort to rest for several days  mcwilliams 1988 p 11 pierre le moyne sieur d iberville 16711706 ordered his men to sound the pass between ship island and horn island on april 20 1700 he was searching for a better anchorage than that of ship island mcwilliams 1981 p 139  first owner  in october 1716 jeanbatiste le moyne de bienville was rewarded by the french crown for his service to the louisiana colony and given horn island en roture  a commoner s tenure he had hoped to receive it en seigneurie  bienville was named a knight in the order of saintlouis on september 20 1717 dictionary of canadian biography 1974 p 381    early shipwrecks in 1725 the saone  a french vessel ran aground on horn island to free the ship from its quartz trap the crew discharged 300 to 400 barrels of flour and several hogsheads of shoes into the briny sea the ship s pilot was blamed for the incident rowland volume ii 1929 p  in 1737  la marguerite  a sixtyton boat was wrecked off horn island the vessel was returning from cape francois at st domingue haiti to louisiana second journey that year to the west indies for the boat surrey 1916 p 66    first settler  there is a high degree of certitude that mathurin ladner dit christian  ca 17251787 was the first white settler of horn island he was the son of swiss emigre christian ladner 169917 and marie barbe brunel christian ladner arrived at new orleans in 1719 on the french flute  le marie  he was a young soldier recruited by the company of the west cassibry ii 1986 p 79 mathurin ladner married marie catherine anne berda ca 17301786 dit picard their children were catherine ladner carco b ca 1747 jacque ladner b 1750 angelique ladner fayard b 1753 louis ladner b 1755 and joseph ladner b 1758 nap cassibry ii an authority on the ladner family and mississippi coast history related the following about mathurin ladner dit christian in his magnus opus the ladner odyssey 1988  i have estimated that he mathurin ladner was born circa 1725 in the pascagoula area of the mississippi gulf coast we will also note as his line does progress that he spent his adult life on horn island off the coast of jackson county mississippi and that he died sometime between 1787 and 1800 there is no credible record of where he was buried and i will not hazard a guess in this regard  p 499 corroboration for cassibry ii s claim that mathurin ladner and family inhabited horn island during the french colonial period is found in the roman catholic baptismimal records of some of his children cassibry ii 1988 p 500  the george gauld survey of 1768 in june 1768 george a gauld 17321782 a scottish cartographer and surveyor in the employ of the british admiralty made a map of coastal mississippi he was operating from hms sir edward hawke  during his reconnaissance and charting of the region gauld made many observations about horn island he discovered that it was some sixteen miles in length but in width no more than one mile orientation was nearly eastwest as regards to vegetation gauld noted that there were uneven groves of trees on the westend of the island the middle was characterized by dense growth and the eastern end of the sand bar was fairly devoid of tree growth ware 1982 pp 105107  george a gauld charted an elevenfoot channel at the western tip of massacre petit bois island which led to a good anchorage today ships entering the port of pascagoula utilize the same water course albeit now dredged to a greater depth ibid p 105  from the perspective of history george gauld s most interesting observation was that of an old hut and old house on horn island the old house was situated in  john d ware  george gauld surveyor and cartographer of the gulf coast  the university presses of florida gainesville tampa1982  the spanish period 17801811  spanish west florida bernardo de galvez spanish forces under bernardo de galvez captured mobile in   madame catherine baudrau madame catherine baudrau 17151797 was born marie catherine vinconneau at la rochelle france she married jeanbaptise baudrau ii  17071757 the son of jeanbaptise baudrau dit graveline and an indian woman  four children from this union jeanbaptiste baudrau iii b ca 17351805 marie catherine mazurier louise catherine bosarge 17421806 and claud baudrau   jeanbaptiste baudrau ii  madame catherine baudrau 17051788 acquired horn island from spanish governor bernardo de galvez in august 1781 in 1778 horn island had an estimated 700 head of horned cattle fabel 1988 p 111112 corroborated by hutchins observation that inhabitants at biloxi made tar and raised cattle since horn island had been granted to their mother catherine baudrau by the spanish crown the heirs of madame baudrau filed claim no 51 to get title to horn island after its entry into the united states they attested that the island had not be inhabited or cultivated but that it had been utilized to raise cattle black slaves attended the baudrau livestock the american state papers volume 3 p 15 the heirs of robert farmar a british colonial military officer also issued a claim no 25 to horn island the basis for their assertion was that it had been acquired by a private conveyance from sheffield howard not inhabited or cultivated american state papers volume 3 p 34 the heirs of robert farmar also claimed dauphine island no 5255 p 15  enemy corsair attacks pascagoula september 4 1805 when the spanish governed louisiana and west florida from 17811811 the shipping and livestock of the colonials on the mississippi gulf coast were always under the threat of raids and harassment from english or american privateers operating in the mississippi sound horn island and petit bois island afforded shelter for these raiders and their deep water passes provided entry into the primary spanish shipping and trade lanes connecting pensacola mobile and new orleans in 1805 don vincente folch the governor of pensacola was responsible for the military defense of spanish west florida he divided the present day mississippi gulf coast into two military districts pascagoula and bay st louis the pascagoula district extended west from pascagoula to the old fort present day ocean springs the bay st louis district went west from biloxi to bay st louis these two military districts reported to the commandant at mobile who in turn was subordinate to pensacola in september 1805 at pascagoula captain don francisco bellestre commanded an infantry detachment while don juan bautista pellerin 17731815 was in charge at bay st louis both were responsible to don francisco maximiliano de st maxent 17621815 at mobile francisco bellestre 17641820 was born in louisiana he rose through the ranks of the louisiana infantry from soldier in february 1777 to captain in april 1800 bellestre had participated in the successful campaigns of general galvez against the english in west florida his superiors considered him a courageous obedient soldier of average ability holmes 1965 pp 9394 captain bellestre arrived at pascagoula from mobile on july 11 1805 his orders from de st maxent were to establish a militia and lead it bellestre was given thirty muskets with bayonets and powder with these small arms he was expected to repel any attack and incarcerate any suspicious transients to prevent trouble which had occurred at baton rouge agi pc 55 july 1 1805 immediately francisco bellestre realized the difficulty of his task the inhabitants of the pascagoula district lived a great distance from each other often 3 leagues or more in times of crisis it would be extremely difficult to timely muster enough militiamen to have an effective fighting force multiple attacks upon his district would only exacerbate the graveness of the situation to remedy some of his military problems captain bellestre requested that de st maxent send a minimum of twenty regular army soldiers to defend the three mouths of the pascagoula river agi pc 142a july 11 1805 captain bellestre and one corporal composed the regular army detachment at the pascagoula post they oversaw the formation of a local militia governor don bernardo de galvez 17461786 based at new orleans utilized militiamen while expulsing the british from west florida in his military campaigns at manchac 1779 baton rouge 1779 mobile 1780 and pensacola 1781 galvez 1978 p xiv and xv during these 17791781 military actions governor galvez concluded that militiamen recruited from the settlements were not suited for combat their significant concerns were for their families and professions and not soldiering miller 1978 p 46 as we shall see in the following engagement this same dictum could be applied to the local coastal militia utilized by the spanish to protect pascagoula in the early 1800s on september 4 1805 francisco bellestre commandant at pascagoula led the militia in their encounter and exchange of fire with the crew from an enemy corsair the enemy ship had entered horn island pass and captured spanish vessels the intruders armed one of the captive ships with cannons and proceeded to pascagoula they anticipated to attack the small poorlydefended settlement but the militia quickly gathered to defend the district agi pc 142a no 7 and agi pc 75 no 7 september 5 1805 during the battle of september 4 1805 captain bellestre and the following men defended the pascagoula post agi pc 142a september 9 1805 corporal jose dominguez louisiana infantry regiment don jeanbaptise nicolete captain of the militia carlos lachapeles lieutenant of the militia santiago white james white syndic jorge seragui george farragut luis gabriel mestizo pierre bufele pierre nicola mestizo bourguillon batiste nicola mestizo juan bautista ely jeanbaptiste ely alexy nicola mestizo jose duloran glaude nicola mestizo juan sims john sims labe estanabe indian jise rose jesse rose tapina oma indi jime wer james ware 3 slaves of jeanbaptiste nicoleteluis nicolette urcin fayar urcine fayard jacobo ladnere jacob ladner  jacobo bing jacob bang  sincir le blanc st cyr seymour  jaque fayar jacques fayard augustin glaude mestizo juan bautista adnere jeanbaptisite ladner of the biloxi district in describing the battle to his superior don francisco maximiliano de st maxent at mobile bellestre related that several of his men had fought gallantly at his side on the beach during the enemy attack he particularly cited militiamen corporal jose dominguez the elder captain jeanbaptise nicolete bourguillon bufele urcine fayard glaude luis gabriel augustine glaude and jacobo the mulatto slave of jeanbaptiste nicolete the remainder of bellestre s men sought cover in the woods agi pc 142a no 10 september 9 1805 the aggressors fired cannon and muskets at the spanish militiamen with little consequences although the intense combat lasted an hour and half the only damage sustained by the bellestre s force was a broken musket carried by one of its black soldiers his fire lock had been hit by a musket ball agi pc 142a no 7 and agi pc 75 no 7 september 5 1805 before the spanish militiamen protecting pascagoula drove off the enemy they killed one of the aggressors and severely wounded another attacker who suffered a broken thigh bone agi pc 142a no 11 september 9 1805 after the fierce encounter with the enemy force from the corsair captain bellestre requested reinforcements artillery and munitions of his superior don francisco maximiliano de st maxent at mobile captain bellestre desired one sergeant and ten soldiers of the spanish regular army these regular servicemen were required to defend the pascagoula district as bellestre could not depend on the local militiamen to muster with consistency a sixpounder cannon with its ammunition as well as a box of cartridges filled with the appropriate amount of gunpowder and gun flints were also requisitioned by the spanish captain agi pc 142a no 11 september 9 1805 captain bellestre also informed st maxent of several examples of the militiamen s dereliction of duty two days before the pitched battle the corsair had been observed at the tip of horn island captain bellestre summoned the men from the pascagoula river country to come and assist in the defense of the coastline only one man obeyed the order a haven accompanied by an indian came to succor but they left when they heard the enemy cannon fire agi pc 142a september 12 1805 in addition with great urgency captain bellestre had ordered francisco krebs who had been proposed as a sublieutenant of the militia to gather his men at pascagoula krebs refused to muster for the action which occurred on the 4 th of september krebs cited that as a representative of the local population he realized that they faced the same dangers as the spanish but that they preferred to fend for themselves and their own interests agi pc 142a september 12 1805 shortly after the engagement at pascagoula with the enemy corsair captain francisco bellestre in a letter to st maxent alluded that his health was poor he requested permission to go to pensacola at the earliest moment possible agi pc 142a september 12 1805 bellestre repeated his plea to st maxent to be relieved of his duties on september 15 1805 he cited pain fever and discomfort as his reasons to implore relief from his post agi pc 142a no 14 from the correspondence between these two men after the confrontation of september 4 th 1805 it is clear that captain bellestre was extremely disillusioned with the attitude and apathy of the militiamen and inhabitants of the pascagoula district his post at pascagoula lacked regular soldiers was poorly armed and its munitions were of inferior quality francisco bellestre was particularly displeased with his lack of authority in punishing those who disobeyed his orders not surprisingly he sought to leave pascagoula as he was a conciencious soldier and loyal to his king the commandant departed the pascagoula district in midoctober 1805 he and corporal f rodriguez and spanish regulars delivered seventeen english prisoners to mobile the englishmen had been captured by don bernardo prieto commandant of the galley  luisiana  on october 8 1805 captain bellestre his soldiers and the incarcerated english sailors traveled over land to mobile agi pc 142a no 24 october 16 1805 in 1820 captain bellestre was living in retirement at pensacola nancy gorman 17731820 a mulatto laundress occupied his residence she was a native of baltimore coker and inglis 1980 p 117 captain juan bautista pellerin of bay st louis temporarily replaced francisco bellestre at pascagoula until captain jose collins became commandant of the district on may 2 1806 jose collins was formerly captain of the militia dragoons agi pc 62 no 4 may 2 1806 it is interesting to note the presence of sincir le blanc in the spanish colonial militia this information corroborates the postulation of brother jerome lepre 19271998 that le blanc was later known as st cyr seymour 17881845 seymour and his wife mariejoseph ryan 17861876 were the progenitors of the large seymour family of the mississippi gulf coast at the time of the skirmish with the corsair st cyr seymour was single lepre 1995 p 56  epilogue many readers will perhaps be descended from the bang ely fayards ladners or ware who were members of this early paramilitary unit at pascagoula in addition these archival documents give some credence to the name spanish fort which has been used at pascagoula for generations to characterize the de la pointekrebs house one of the oldest structures extant in the lower mississipppi river valley perhaps captain bellestre s early military post or billet at pascagoula was on or near the krebs plantation and the term spanish fort was adopted by the locals as a guise to thwart marine marauders such as attacked the village in september 1805 the author is deeply indebted to dr g douglas inglis of seville spain who translated the spanish documents from the general archive of the indies at seville which were utilized in this essay dr inglis directed a threeday workshop colonial family history in the lower mississippi valley at william carey college on the coast gulfport mississippi from november 57 1998 the translated spanish documents were included in the course workbook especially prepared for this seminar  19 th century the united states of america 18111998    jackson county   whale strandings the daily picayune of 1829 and 1857 reports whales stranded on the beach at horn island   the biloxi daily herald april 1 1899 p 1  the waters family the waters family came to reside on horn island in 1845 and remained until 1920 raised cattle harry waters and hanna nichols lived on horn island their family was henry waters 1845 harriet w aken william waters and emma waters history of jxco mississippi 1989 p 388  the civil war during the civil war union forces from ship island took some of the waters cattle to feed federal soldiers at ship island they left some for the widow waters and family to subsist no compensation for cattle taken this anecdote is corroborated somewhat by union sources which record a raid on horn island in midmarch 1862 an expedition of soldiers from the 12 th connecticut infantry regiment who were bivouacked on ship island having arrived there on march 9 1862 from new york was sent to horn island in search of fresh beef they captured cattle so poor that although they were eaten gave little pleasure to foragers the history of jxco ms 1989 p 388 and croffut and morris 1868 p 145  pascagoula and horn island harbors   the anchorage discovered by george a gauld of the british admiralty in 1768   timber exports a paucity of markets curtailed the growth of the timber industry in jackson county prior to 1870 the timber market was limited to new orleans the caribbean region and mexico shipment was primarily by shallow draft coastal s   schooners as the water depth of the mississippi sound was not deep enough for lumber vessels of greater than 100000 board feet capacity to load at the mills in the pascagoulamoss point area    in 1874 george denny of moss point got an order for onehalf million board feet of lumber from the amazon river basin this event was the catalyst which opened the area to increased foreign exports large draft vessels many canadian in origin anchored at horn island lumber from the local mills reached the export ships by rafts and lighters having a capacity of 40000 board feet each hickman 1962 pp 4748   see port of pascagoula pdstar 8161901 p 1    horn island pass george a gauld charted an elevenfoot channel at the western tip of massacre petit bois island which led to a good anchorage today ships entering the port of pascagoula utilize the same water course albeit now dredged to a greater depth ware 1982 p 105   in june 1884 the swedish bark  vagoola   was towed through horn island pass and sounded water depths no less than twentyone feet it was anticipated that with congressional appropriations for dredging that horn island pass could be deepened to accommodate ships of great drafts  the pascagoula democratstar june 6 1884 p 3    channels into horn island harbor and to ship island a pass from the gulf of mexico into horn island harbor channel at outer bar 50000 cost of required dredging to secure an anchorage at horn island 20 feet in depth  the biloxi daily herald december 9 1898 p   in january 1899 the war department estimated that a dredged channel from horn island to ship island would cost 1089637 for a 23foot deep passage connecting the two barrier islands  the biloxi daily herald january 7 1899 p    accidents and drownings   the bar pilots pilot commissioners met in november 1881 and appointed sa dutch  18361894  thomas crosbie  and james napier for the port of pascagoula  the pascagoula democratstar november 18 1881 lp p 3    1884john davis   1889pilots sh bugge leonard levin olssen wh george william george  18401900 born england immigrated to us in 1870 a widower in 1900 1900 james p fox  18481900 born scotland immigrated 1860   the lighthouse service commenced in 1874 with construction of a lighthouse on the east end of horn island to guide vessels entering horn island pass on their way to the port of pascagoula martin freeman 18141894 was the first lighthouse keeper salary in 1887 was 630 and 400 for his wife per year with rations  the gulf coast advertiser april 29 1887  in 1880 the lighthouse service ordered that a new horn island beacon be erected westward of the original structure storms currents and tides had eroded the foundation necessitating a replacement a breakwater constructed in early 1880 had been rapidly destroyed by high seas putnam tobias were awarded the contract and commenced initial surveys prior to construction in july 1880  the pascagoula democratstar may 21 1880 p 3 and july 9 1880 p 3  william w bayly  18761955 son of william w bayly and lee verne davis born on a ship off of penscaola florida keeper at chandeleur horn sand and at the mouth of the mississippi river formerly with a fruit company in honduras brother benjamin bayly children robert p bayly betty bayly mrs russell v johnson duluth   the daily herald november 26 1955 p 2  charles johnsson a pole succeeded martin freeman in 1894 refused to leave his post in the september 1906 hurricane and perished with his wife and daughter their remains were never found mr johnsson s were interred at mobile higginbotham 19 pp 6164 fa schrieber 18711944 was lighthouse keeper at horn island in may 1918 jxcot may 25 1918 p 5  the moss point glass factory in 1881 white coarsegrained quart sand was mined from the north shore of horn island it was barged for 50 per ton to moss point where a glass factory had been established by judge orlando randall 18311910 and ww sullivan in december 1880 the glass plant cost 26000 glass blowers and other technical support people were imported from pittsburgh pennsylvania glass manufacturing at the moss point facility was shortlived the workers were unionized and two strikes curtailed production a fire then destroyed the entire operation after only six weeks of glass generation some of the glass had been sold to a party in bagdad florida who related that it was of the finest quality  the daily record tribune december 4 1907      whale sightings one of the earliest sightings of these large marine mammals occurred in the spring of 1877 when captain delmas aboard the escambia  bound for a lumber ship at horn island pass with a tow of timber saw a black whale delmas described the cetacean as about thirtyfive feet long and looked as large as a tenton schooner  the star of pascagoula april 13 1877 p 1 c 5   captain martin freeman of the horn island lighthouse observed a pod of large whales in pascagoula bay in february 1887 he postulated from the size of their fins and inability to maneuver in the ten feet of water of the bay that the whales must have been 6065 feet in length  the gulf coast advertiser february 11 1887  in march 1914  ambergris  the waxlike substance secreted by internal organs of sperm whale was found on horn island by ben bailey the assistant lighthouse keeper of cat island mrs william waters found the substance on the beach and threw it back into the water  the ocean springs news march 7 1914 p 5 c 5    early excursion boats surf and sunbathing shell collecting picnicking and the general excitement of a marine adventure were being enjoyed by tourists and locals on the sunbleached siliceous strands of horn island in the latter half of the 19 th century an example of an excursion party numbering about thirty people aboard the colonel ingalls  a steam tugboat captained by wt morrill that departed the port of pascagoula in may 1881 follows   at 6 pm we crossed the bar at the mouth of the river and within 45 minutes pleasant run we dropped anchor off the pickets at the island when all went ashore in small boats once on the island the party wandered up and down the beach hunting shells went in bathing in the surf and had a delightful time generally at about 10 o clock under the directing hands of the ladies a sumptuous feast was spread and the crowd gathered around and enjoyed a good supper by the light of the silvery moon ice lemons etc were carried along and to say that the supper was relished and enjoyed would hardly express the idea at 1 am we reembarked on the homeward trip under the superintendency of wiley green one of the best stewards that ever trod a deck ice cream was made and served with cake and strawberries to the entire party  the pascagoula democratstar may 20 1881 p 3   captain samuel a dutch 18361994 a native of frankfort maine and master of the pretty jemima   a sailing yacht ran excursions to horn island as early as 1877 in an advertisement in the star of pascagoula  captain dutch stated that his vessel left pascagoula on tuesday thursday and saturday of each week for the island round trip fare was 50 cents the pretty jemima  left port at 530 am  the star of pascagoula june 29 1877 p 4 and july 6 187 p 1   the schooner  scranton   probably owned by the gulf fish oyster company advertised in the local journal that on june 4 1899 it was departing the pascagoula wharf at 8 am for horn island and would return at the convenience of the excursionists patrons could expect plenty of ice water and foodall for a round trip fare of fiftycents  the pascagoula democratstar june 2 1899      james f veicich and the municipal park pier in the late 1930s james f veicich manager of the pascagoula municipal park began daily public excursions to the east end of horn island tourists sought the barrier island for recreation and surf bathing the bj larsen   an excursion vessel left the municipal pier at 5 pm every day except sunday the sunday schedule consisted of four trips to horn island the fishermen left the pier at 4 am and returned at 900 am when the first tour boat headed south for the island other sunday voyages departed the municipal pier at 200 pm and 600 pm the bj larsen returned to pascagoula from horn island at 930 pm on sunday evening joe stratton and troy tillman b 1917 operated the bj larsen   for mr veicich the large seaworthy watercraft was equipped with the following dressing rooms and rest rooms life preservers a 12 foot by 23 foot awning to screen passengers from the sun cold drinks hot coffee and sandwiches were served at reasonable prices  the chroniclestar june 10 1938 p1    other local vessels transporting private parties to horn island at this time were the  singing  river   snapper king  and mary joy   the municipal pier at pascagoula became effective as a base of operation for departing horn island pleasure craft after the jackson county dredge was perfected by captain adam gautier 18731963 in early june 1938 it dredged a one hundredfoot wide channel providing seven feet of water to the municipal pier the county dredge was also used to pump spoils from the mississippi sound to create a sand beach along the shoreline at pascagoula  the chroniclestar june 17 1938 p 1    ship wrecksgroundings in may 1884 the russian bark  iliana   under the command of captain engblom and piloted by john davis ran aground on horn island southeast of the lighthouse no apparent damage was observed but a diver was dispatched to ascertain the condition of the hull s bottom before loading commenced  the pascagoula democratstar may 9 1884 p    20 th century charles brash married anna c johnson on october 14 1900 the wedding took place in the lighthouse on horn island the history of jackson county mississippi 1989 p 35  the 1901 storm   the september 1906 storm   sand for sale see advertisement of builders supply company in the ocean springs news january 23 1909 p 4   uss mississippi 1909 the uss mississippi  a battleship  visited horn island on may 31st and june 1st the biloxi daily herald may 25 1909 p1 and may 31 1909 p 1  oil fever taylor gauche and paul jahncke of new orleans  the biloxi daily herald july 5 1909 p 1    channels and harbors in march 1915 the board of engineers for rivers and harbors improvement now corps of engineers recommended that congress appropriate 283000 for the deepening of the pascagoula river and harbor included in this plan was that the channel from horn island into pascagoula be 225 feet in width and 22 feet deep  the moss point advertiser march 19 1915 p 1 c 3    the 1915 hurricane   the 1916 hurricane   ww i thirtyfive to forty miles of communication cable was run from horn island to chandeleur island for coastal defense in august 1917 jxco times august 11 1917 p 3 c 5  prohibition  19191933  mississippi  issues first land patent in march 1925 the state of mississippi issued a land patent to nd thomas mr thomas acquired 160 acres in in october 1925 federal government would sell 1045 acres of land on horn island appraised from 125 to 250 per acre  the daily herald july 14 1925 p 5    ww ii biologicalchemical warfare research  in february 1947 the war assets administration offered for public sale the approximate forty buildings at the horn island chemical warfare service station the temporary quarters consisted of barracks officers quarters mess halls warehouses and other typical military structures in addition the island s electrical and water systems were on the sales block  the jackson county times february 15 1947 p 1    the mississippi press    horn  island  may pose danger because of ordnance chemicals  april 22 1993 p 3a the sun herald  editorial   a hazardous legacy   august 12 2012 p 11a  1947 hurricane   the islander walter inglis anderson 19031965  air crashmay 1953   1954proposed causeway the house ways and means committee of the state legislature approved a bill to authorize construction of a causeway comnnecting ship and horn islands with the mississippi gulf coast the daily herald april 16 1954 p 1  black gold search1954 oil and gas mineral leases acquired by gulf oil and melben in 1952 a 13000foot exploratory well bottomed in lower cretaceous strata and completed in june 1954 as a dry hole  silver city1955 in march 1955 paul mateo skrmetti 18951968 a biloxi realtor platted a subdivision on the west end of horn island called silver city jackson county mississippi chancery court plat book 2 p 74 skrmetti was a native of croatia  horn island national wildlife refuge1958 in may 1958 the us department of the interior created the hinwr book 296 p 194 in november 1959 ap fred moran 18971967 was authorized to buy tracts on horn island  the ocean springs news november 12 1959 p 1    gulf islands national seashore as early as 1980 the federal government was contemplating ways to protect all barrier islands along america s shoreline  the times picayune february 3 1980 p  new visitors center dedicated on april 1 1983 at davis bayou unit of gins dedicated to wr colmer us representative from pascagoula mississippi  hurricane katrina morning of august 29 2005  references  books the american state papers volume 3 18151924   reprint southern historical press greenville south carolina1994 donald muir bradburn  last barriers photographs in the gulf islands national seashore  university press of mississippijackson misssissippi2011 nap cassibry ii  early settler and land grants at biloxi  volume i mississippi coast historical genealogical society biloxi mississippi1986 nap cassibry ii  the ladner odyssey  mississippi coast historical genealogical society biloxi mississippi1988 croffut and morris  connecticutduring the rebellion 1868  dictionary of canadian biography    le moyne de bienville jeanbaptiste volume iii 17411770 university of toronto press toronto canada1974 david l cipra  lighthouses lightships of the northern gulf of mexico  department of transportationunited states coast guard1976 robin fa fabel  the economy of british west florida 17631783   university of alabama press tuscaloosa alabama1988 rd foxworth richard r priddy wendell b johnson and williard s moore  heavy minerals of sand from recent beaches of the gulf coast of mississippi and associated islands  mississippi geological survey bulletin no 93 university of mississippi1962 marcel giraud  a history of french louisiana the reign of louis xiv 16981715   volume i lsu press baton rouge1974  the history of jackson county mississippi  the jackson county genealogical society pascagoula mississippi1989  marine resources of the mississippi gulf coast  historical background of horn and petit bois islands   vol ii mississippi department of marine resources nollie hickman  mississippi  harvest   lumbering in the longleaf pine belt  paragon press montgomery alabama1962 richebourg gaillard mcwilliams  fleur de lys and calumet being the penicaut narrative and french adventure in louisiana  the university of alabama press tuscaloosa alabama1988 richebourg gaillard mcwilliams  iberville s gulf journals  the university of alabama press university alabama1981 dunbar rowland  mississippi  provincial archives volume ii 17011729  1929 peter skrmetti  mississippi  coast  historical genealogical society  volume 31 no 2 july 1995   the skrmettiskrmetta family  nm miller surrey  the commerce of louisiana during the french regime  columbia university press new york1929 john d ware  george gauld surveyor and cartographer of the gulf coast  university presses of florida gainesville tampa1982  references  agi pc 142a no 7 archivo general de indias papeles de cuba legajo 142a letter no 7 william s coker editor  the military presence on the gulf coast  gulf coast history and humanities conference pensacola florida1978 w james miller   the militia system of spanish louisiana 17691783   william s coker and g douglas inglis  the spanish censuses of pensacola 17841820 a genealogical guide to spanish pensacola  the perido bay press pensacola florida1980 bernardo de galvez  yo solo the battle journal of bernardo de galvez during the american revolution  translated by ea montemayor polyanthos new orleans louisian1978 jack d holmes  honor and fidelity the louisiana infantry regiment and the louisiana militia companies 17661821  holmes birmingham alabama1965 jerome lepre  mississippi  gulf coast  historical and genealogical society   solution to a mystery leblancwhitemoorezamoraseymour vol 31 no 2 july 1995  archival documents archivo general de indias papeles de cuba legajo   journals the chronicle star   excursion boat from park to horn island to start on june 12  june 10 1938 the chronicle star   island trips were popular last sunday  june 17 1938 the biloxi daily herald   horn island harbor   december 9 1898 the biloxi daily herald   ship island pass   january 7 1899 the biloxi daily herald   channel buoys   november 23 1899 the biloxi daily herald   horn island be to welcome big battleship  uss mississippi     may 25 1909 the biloxi daily herald   battleship at anchorage  off horn island     may 31 1909 the biloxi daily herald   horn island be treasured island  july 5 1909 the daily herald   bidders seek island land   july 14 1925 the daily herald   coast guard target range on horn island   april 2 1927 p 2 the daily herald   propose gunnery range south of horn island   october 10 1941 the daily herald   horn island was bacteriological warfare station   january 5 1946 the daily herald   survive storm in army duck at horn island   september 22 1947 the daily herald   retired keeper of lighthouses dies suddenly   november 26 1955 the daily herald     public invited to talks on island toll causeway     december 10 1964 p 7  the daily herald   paul skrmetta sic   june 24 1968 the daily herald    land  claims on gulf islands lost s eptember 30 1980 the daily herald   horn islandpark service wants to preserve its wilderness   june 8 1984 the daily recordtribune gulfport   glass making  december 4 1907 the gulf coast advertiser  february 11 1887 the gulf coast advertiser    lighthouses and keepers in pearl river custom district    april 29 1887 the jackson county times   gov buildings on horn island offered for sale   february 15 1947 the mississippi press    horn island may pose danger because of ordnance chemicals  april 22 1993 p 3a the moss point advertiser   22foot channel to world s ports   march 191915 the ocean springs news   horn island sand  an advertisement january 23 1909  the ocean springs news   ambergris found on horn island   march 7 1914 the ocean springs news   moran named to buy tracts on horn island   november 12 1959 the ocean springs record   settlement reached on claims to mississippi s barrier island land   december 9 1982 p 8 the ocean springs record   fire may help horn island   july 3 1997 p 1 the ocean springs record   writer and photographer express passion for horn island   june 9 2005 p b4 the pascagoula democratstar   the seashore   may 21 1880 the pascagoula democratstar   local paragraphs   july 9 1880 the pascagoula democratstar    local news  may 9 1884 the pascagoula democratstar   local news  june 6 1884 the pascagoula democratstar   bark tevere was burned  april 8 1881 the pascagoula democratstar   on pascagoula s waters  august 3 1883 the pascagoula democratstar   moonlight excursion   may 20 1881 the pascagoula democratstar    detailed advantages of the port of pascagoula over that of ship island    february 15 1889 the pascagoula democratstar   local news   march 4 1892 the pascagoula democratstar   starbeams   july 6 1877 the sun herald   once an escape ranger returns to shell of island   september 21 2005 p b3 the sun herald    a hazardous legacy   august 21 2012 p a11 the sun herald      range r ben moo re  leaving horn island   june 30 2013 p a 1 the sun herald     horn island chimney area off limits due to asbestos   august 30 2014 p a 5 the star of pascagoula   starbeams   april 13 1877 the star of pascagoula   excursions   june 29 1877 the star of pascagoula   starbeams   july 6 1877 the times picayune   us frowns on island development   february 3 1980 the times picayune   tranquil retreat was lost to island s secret purpose january 3 1983 the times picayune   horn island research links it to us atomic project   january 3 1983 the times picayune    maps carte particuliere des environs du fort maurepas et de la baye des biloxys circa 1700  ship island   ship island1947  courtesy of kenneth fountain and august taconifebruary 2020 from a 16mm film shot by bay aero a seaplane flying school in north biloxi  ileauxvaisseaux iberville aboard la badine anchored here 10 february 1699  fort massachusetts ship island was set aside by the president for military purposes on august 30 1847  the daily herald april 22 1940 p 3    lighthouse   quarantine station   1887 dr robert drake murray  18451903 native of ohlton the surgeon in charge of this station know as the gulf quarantine has had sixteen years of experience in this service he was an ohio soldier during the war civil war and bears upon his face an ugly scar where a bullet crushing through his right cheek bone and putting out his eye left for twelve years a running sore half blind and never for a conscious moment free from pain he studied medicine these years of ordeal giving him diplomas from two leading colleges a surgeons commission in his present service in a competitive examination over forty four other applicants and a reputation for efficiency faithfulness and usefulness of which any well man might be proud there is no field of though and investigation in which he is not a student his career is a signal sic example of the triumph of mind over matter his family a wife and five bright children live with him on the island an excerpt from an 1887 article about ship island mississippi the quarantine station by his cousin moses folsom published in the marion weekly star marion ohio  lillie d bell murray  18631887  expired at ship island on august 16 1887  she was the spouse of dr rd murray of the us marine service and charge of the quarantine station on ship island she left 5 young children to her husband the pascagoula democratstar august 12 1887  1888 in january  dr robet d murray was ordered by the us marine hospital service to  key west florida as his service at ship island quarantine station had expired he died at laredo texas on november 22 1903 the biloxi herald january 21 1888 p 8 in february the mississippi house passed a bill authorizing the removal of the ship island quarantine station  it had passed the senate earlier 45  was appropriated for the removal project the biloxi herald february 25 1888 p 8  1890    excursions captain john boardman was running the relief  a steamer to ship island from biloxi for daily excursionist the steamer left biloxi at 900 am visitors were given two hours to visit fort massachusetts and the ship island lighthouse before returning to the mainland a new mathushek piano was on board the vessel for those who enjoyed music the relief could also be chartered to make trips to other points along the coast at reasonable rates  the biloxi herald june 28 1890 p 4 and july 19 1890 p 4    1897  the biloxi herald august 14 1897 p 5  1898    telephone the telephone company at biloxi had its central office connected with ship island on september 26th messages were received at ship island by captain dan mccall and delivered to the appropriate party the cost was 50 to call a vessel in the ship island anchorage and 100 to contact a person at the quarantine station the biloxi daily herald september 27 1898 p 4  1899 whale standed a whale stranded on the beach was towed by the vessel leo to antonio  pons wharf at biloxi prior strandings were reported in the daily picayune of 1829 and 1857 at horn island   the biloxi daily herald april 1 1899 p 1  1906 eaton j bowers   18651939 mississippi congressional representative introduced a bill on january 4th to appropriate   50000 to dredge a ship channel to be 26 feet deep and 300 feet wide from ship island to gulfport  a separate bill was proposed by bowers to survey a ship channel from ship island to biloxi the biloxi daily herald january 5 1906 p 4  1909 dr jacquelin a moncur marine hospital surgeon at ship island was registered yesterday at the breslow hotel at biloxi he spent his vacation one month vacation in february 1908 at washington dc the daily herald february 19 1908 p 1 and april 5 1909 p 4  1920   joe l graham american legion post no 119 the joe l graham american legion post was organized at gulfport in august 1920 it was named for joe l graham 18951918 a private in company 2 28 th us infantry of the american expeditionary force joe l graham enlisted in the us army on april 12 1917 and his ship left new jersey for combat in france on june 10 1917 he was killed in action while fighting german soldiers in france on may 29 1918 joe was the son of walter f graham and lucy d graham  the daily herald july 3 1918 p 1   houston hewes evans 18951930 gulfport attorney and representative from harrison county to the state legislature organized the founding of the joe l graham post 119 he was elected temporary chairman at its august 1920 meeting at gulfport with the following charter members fc selby cliff murphy lh myers cc gaston george p hopkins ee williams rc newby lee clark hh evans dean p woleben dr da hilton af franklin rc cottingim and ae kramer  the daily herald november 28 1919 p 3 and august 12 1920 p 1    1926   1930 the harrison county mississippi board of supervisors authorized the acquistion of 1200 acres at ship island in may 1930 for 1783750  the daily herald may 6 1930 p 1  1933 after public law no 6073 rd congress was passed in 1933 the joe l graham american legion post 119 acquired ship island in september 1933 from the federal government for 15000 at this time ship island was divided into three parcels and contained about 1260 acres harrison co mississippi land deed bk 119 p 197 acquired approximately 1260 acres excluding reservations of the light house and the quarantine station built a recreation facility in 1934 which was open to the public in april 1934 luther w maples was in charge of this project  the daily herald april 19 1934 p 8    excursion trips in june 1935 peter skrmetta began ferrying tourists to ship island on the president roosevelt  a power boat skrmetta ran to the island three times daily making stops commencing at the baltar pier at the hotel biloxi and white house piers twice daily the daily herald june 27 1935 p 2  pan american clipper the  pan american clipper  a 15000 diesel powered excursion boat recently completed by toche brothers shipyard on east beach has been operating for several weeks between biloxi and ship island with captain peter skrmetta at the helm the vessel was built for the mavar fish and oyster company and runs at 12 mph the boats runs from her main landing at the foot of delaunay street baltar pier and makes stops at the buena vista hotel biloxi and white house piers  on its regular schedule of three trips daily  the daily herald march 30 1937 p 3 may 29 1937 p 6 and june 25 1938 p 3  ship island memorial and playground development and luther maples in october 1941 joe graham post 119 named luther maples 18901971 as director of the ship island memorial and playground development harrison co mississippi land deed bk 389 p 458  ship island fort incorporated leased the west end of ship island to peter skrmetta in 1945 renewed lease in january 1950 harrison co mississippi land deed bk 389 p 40  gulf clipper   gulf clipper the  gulf clipper  was launched at the tony jack covacevich sy on back bay she was built by oral covacevich for  marko skrmetta  for the family ship island tour business the boat was 60feet in length with a beam of 23feet and of 63 gross tons with the capacity to transport 250passengers  peter skrmetta  was to captain the vessel this watercraft l was sold to  ben l herndon  of corpus christi texas in july 1952 it was used to haul tourists to padre island from corpus christi the daily herald june 1 1946 p 2 and july 31 1952 p 2 and the corpus christi callertimes august 17 1952 p 29  udc 1963 memorial united daughters of the confederacy acquired oneacre on ship island in 1933 selected memorial site in november 1963 sold oneacre to federal government in november 1972 harrison co mississippi land deed bk 530 p 475 and 2 nd jd land deed bk 45 p 319  1954proposed causeway the house ways and means committee of the  state legislature approved a bill to authorize construction of a causeway comnnecting ship and horn islands  with the mississippi gulf coast the daily herald april 16 1954 p 1  1964 in september the state of mississippi sought for 25000 to acquire 190acres on the east end of ship island from the federal government this tract had been used by kafb for recreational purposes of its military personnel by middecember the us   congress removed barriers to sell a portion of ship island to the mississippi state park commission   the daily herald september 18 1964 p 1 and december 12 1964 p 1  1965 mayor guice speaks out to save fort massachusetts  the daily herald november 13 1965 p 1  1967 save the fort inc founded circa 1967 by m james stevens et al to protect fort massachusetts from eroding tidal currents and wave action a wall was built circa 1968 around the fort to protect it from tidal and longshore currents in 1977 save the fort inc was lauded for its preservation effortd at the 11th annual military history conference held at fort monroe virginia the daily herald may 4 1977 p 2  1969 hurricane camille in august 1969 hurricane camille created the camille cut which divided the island into east and west ship island  lighthouse fire the 1885 ship island lighthouse caught fire on june 27th the 73foot wooden tower was consumed by the conflagration leaving only the concrete foundation the daily herald june 28 1972 p 2  gins in december 1972 joe graham sold ship island to federal government for 102000 three tracts containing to 67360 acres harrison co mississippi 2 nd jd land deed bk 34 p 117  references  books edwin c bearss  historic resources studyship island harrison county mississippi gulf islands natioal seashoreflorida mississippi  us department of the interiornational park service denver service center1984 annalena berg  blood on the oceanthe forgotten true story of the veronica mutiny  ship islandoctober 1902 countyvise ltd united kngdom2012 287 pages luther maples  camp fires of ship island  gulfport printing company gulfport mississippi1936 theresa arnoldscriber and terry g scriber  ship island mississippirosters and history of the civil war prison  mcfarland company inc jefferson north carolina2008  chancery court harrison county mississippi chancery court cause no 33575 paul skremetta v joe graham american legion post no 119 ocotber 1953  journals the biloxi herald   quarantine station   february 15 1888 the biloxi herald   the future of biloxi   february 22 1890 the biloxi herald   local happenings   june 28 1890 the biloxi herald   the bar at ship island   july 12 1890 the biloxi herald   ho for ship island   july 19 1890 the biloxi herald   ship island harbor   april 23 1892 the biloxi daily herald   ship island quarantine   january 1 1898 the biloxi daily herald   local and personal   september 27 1898 the biloxi daily herald   ship island pass   january 7 1899 p 1 the biloxi daily herald   city news   january 5 1906  the daily herald   personal   april 5 1909 the daily herald   kiln sends five men to the ranks   april 13 1917 the daily herald   bar association holds memorial in honor fallen gulfport soldier   july 3 1918 the daily herald   maccabees hold memorial service   july 9 1918 the daily herald   american legion post for gulfport   november 28 1919 the daily herald   gulfport to have american legion   august 12 1920 the daily herald   american legion to meet tuesday   august 23 1920 the daily herald   american legion meeting postponed   august 24 1920 the daily herald   bar association holds memorial in honor fallen gulfport soldier   july 3 1918 the daily herald   memorial exercises at ship island   may 30 1930 the daily herald   harrison county purchase of ship island authorized by board of supervisors   may 6 1930 the daily herald   captain pete eskald dies burial set thursday   june 21 1944 p 7 the daily herald   favor island development   june 10 1933 the daily herald   congress approves bill authorizing ship island sale   june 14 1933 the daily herald   work starts on island   december 18 1933 the daily herald   maples tells island plans   april 19 1934 the daily herald   legion to open ship island to the public again this weekend   april 19 1934 the daily herald   legion to open its island resort to public sunday   april 26 1935 p 9 the daily herald   veterans go to ship island   october 5 1935 p 1 the daily herald   captain pete eskald once owned ship island gun but couldn t move it   july 8 1937 the daily herald   ship island bill passed by  ms  senate   april 18 1940 p 1 the daily herald   seek to clarify ship island title   april 22 1940 the daily herald   chinese casket found on ship island   june 16 1942 p 8 the daily herald   cg  coast guard  firing area off ship island   december 29 1942 p 1 the daily herald   hears report  american legion joe graham post development plans  on ship island      november 8 1946 p 1 the daily herald   ship island shore gradually moving nearer fort   march 31 1949 p 10 the daily herald   core drilling on proposed causeway get underway to determine foundation   august 13 1954 p 1 the daily herald   causewayspro and cons   november 27 1954 the daily herald   group will negotiate for islands   november 29 1954 the daily herald   development of ship island still in works   october 23 1961 the daily herald   ship island and recreation   august 14 1964 p 4 the daily herald   state seeking to buy acreage on ship island   september 18 1964 p 1  the daily herald   know your statenever has its  15 inch rodman cannon  bass voice been heard   september 18 1964 p 4  the daily herald     public invited to talks on island toll causeway     december 10 1964 p 7  the daily herald   congress actsway is cleared for sale of ship island   december 12 1964  the daily herald    make proposal on bridges to islands  december 16 1965 p 1  the daily herald    three persons rescued in gulf at ship island   july 18 1966 p 22  the daily herald      marine  usmcr 2nd amphibian tractor companygulfport  training on ship island   september 17 1966 p 10 the daily herald   wife s husband lived on ship island as boy   march 16 1968 the daily herald   family court judge  luther w maples  dies   january 4 1971 the daily herald      ship island lighthouse burns   june 28 1972 p 2 the daily herald      save the fort inc honored for efforts   may 4 1977 p a2 the daily herald     land  claims on gulf islands lost    s eptember 30 1980 the daily herald   the daily herald   the ocean springs news   hearing called on study of bridges for islands   december 10 1964 the ocean springs news   bridge to ship island should start at biloxi   april 1 1965 the ocean springs record   ship island study started    december 21 1972 p 5 the ocean springs record   ship island under federal ownership    january 4 1973 p 6 the ocean springs record   ship island under control of gulf islands seashore    january 4 1973 p 7 the ocean springs record     four generations  skrmetta family  span ship island    april 8 1999 p 14 the ocean springs record   renourishment protects fort    december 1 2011 p 2    the sun herald   islands resilient to natural forces    may 30 1989 the sun herald   federal agencies try to save ship island   s eptember 29 2011 the sun herald   dredging to rejoin ship islands begins   s eptember 30 2011 the sun herald   ship island erosion worst in recent memory    march 2 2012 the sun herald   unidentified man s body found floating near ship island    july 30 2013 p a1 the sun herald     first mardi gras on the coast may have been on ship island    march 3 2014 p c3 the sun herald   ship island excursion contract extended 10 years   february 24 2015 p a6   mississippi export timber and the ship island bar pilots  18751902 sunset and evening star  and one clear call for me  and may there be no moaning of the bar  when i put out to sea  tennyson  although the early european explorers and adventurers failed to find gold and other mineral wealth in the strata of the gulf coastal plain of the southern united states there was indeed an inestimable natural treasure in the guise of virgin forests which waited to be exploited in particular was the longleaf pine which is also called the southern pine heart pine yellow pine and long straw pine this tree often grew to a height of 95100 feet with a diameter of 33 12 feet it was characterized by rising 60 feet without a single branch before expanding into its evergreen crown in mississippi most of the longleaf country is located between the pearl river and alabama border the northern perimeter of this sylvan expanse is copiah rankin lauderdale newton scott and kemper counties the longleaf pine tree grows primarily on sandy soils and thrives in terrain which has a generally rolling topography with broad dry plateaus cut occasionally by hollows and streams the early french colonist in coastal mississippi utilized the tall straight tapering longleaf and slash pines for masts and spars for their sailing vessels a few small sawmills were built to process lumber for export to their caribbean island possessions later the english and spanish developed lumbering and naval store industries before the civil war a thriving lumber business existed in hancock county early sawmill sites were at pearlington logtown napoleon and gainesville on the pearl river these sites were selected because at this time there was no railroad or roads in the area and logs had to be brought to the mills by water from the interior forest and shipped to outside markets by schooners and brigs the industry in harrison and jackson counties developed slower but significant sawmills developed on the pascagoula and escatawpa rivers in jackson and at bayou bernard in harrison county in the decades following the civil war the lumber industry expanded rapidly in south mississippi this expansion was due to the discovery of foreign markets by the mill owners up to 1870 the market was confined chiefly to mexico the caribbean area and new orleans with minor shipments to large atlantic seaboard cities and europe with this brief background as an introduction the role of ship island and the bar pilots who guided large sailing vessels and steamships into safe anchorage in the mississippi sound will be presented to demonstrate their role in the development of the historic mississippi lumber industry as pierre lemoyne discovered in february 1699 large draft vessels could not sail in the mississippi sound due to its shallow depth in fact one has to go as far east as mobile and pensacola to find natural navigational channels conducive for the navigation of large ships when foreign flag vessels came calling to mississippi ports to export timber in the decades following the civil war they were limited to two areas ship island and horn island because of water depth an insurance company in 1896 when rating gulf coast ports said this  pensacola is rate a 21 feet meaning that that is the safe depth of water mobile 21 feet and horn island 18 feet with no limit to ship island   the biloxi herald february 29 1896 p 8  also in 1896 a legislative committee from the state senate and house who were studying the advisability of each coast point as a potential deepwater port were given a thorough tour of the mississippi gulf coast one of their outings was the sounding of the mississippi sound from gulfport to ship island the results of this occasion were recorded as follows  the cutter headed for gulfport and reached there about 1130 am where preparations were made for soundings the gig was launched and a party among whom was louis bowen put off to about threequarters of a mile from the shore of gulfport where six feet of water was found the party continued sounding at intervals of a quarter mile and as they went on to six miles off gulfport they gradually found the depth at that point to be sixteen feet and this was in what is known as the pocket finally after running thirteen miles the last sounding brought the cutter into ship island harbor here the water was from thirty to thirty fivefeet   the biloxi herald february 29 1896 p 8  ship island became the principal port for the shipment of timber and deals from the coastal counties of mississippi biloxi was the official port of entry as the custom house had been moved there in 1852 from shieldsboro bay st louis permanent settlement of ship island was discouraged by the threat of hurricanes and the paucity of trees although some exist on the eastern end of the island ship island lies 1012 miles offshore in the mississippi sound the island is approximately seven miles long and about one half mile wide striking in an eastnortheasterly direction the beaches and dunes are composed of quartz sand with dune elevations ranging from 10 to 18 feet the western terminus of the island is reported to have a high concentration of heavy minerals principally staurolite and kyanite ship island harbor the salient physiographic feature which lends great value to the island is located at its extreme northwest end this natural harbor lies 4001500 feet from the northshore in the mississippi sound this subaqueous depression has an area of about 45 acres 3300 feet x 600 feet with a water depth greater than 30 feet entrance to this haven is reached via a fairly narrow channel known as ship island pass the linear axis of this channel is about 1000 feet west of the western bound of ship island the pass has an average width of 1000 feet within the 30foot isobath the primary obstacle to navigation in order to success fully reach anchorage at ship island harbor is the ship island bar this submarine sand dune is 1 12 2 miles long and generally strikes northwest it averages about 700 feet in width its location is 34 to 1 mile ssw from the western terminus of ship island water depth shoals to 20 feet from about 25 feet in the surrounding waters once this bar is negotiated entry into ship island pass is gained and a voyage of only 1 14 nautical miles is necessary to reach the anchorage at ship island harbor the ship island bar demanded only experienced seamen who knew the daily conditions of the tides currents and wave action that prevailed in that ship island local the men who performed the task of negotiating the bar were called bar pilots their charge was the safe navigation of large ocean going vessels from the open gulf of mexico south of ship island across the ship island bar through ship island pass into ship island harbor a safe return voyage to the gulf completed the nautical circuit the legislature of the state of mississippi on december 23 1874 approved an act titled chapter iii chapter iii read as follows  chapter iii an act to create a board of pilot commissioners for ship island harbor and mississippi sound section 1 be it enacted by the legislature of the state of mississippi that it is hereby made the duty of the governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate to nominate and appoint three citizens of this state one of whom shall reside at biloxi one at mississippi city and the other at pass christian in harrison county to be named and styled the board of pilot commissioners for ship island harbor and mississippi sound who shall hold their offices for the term of six years and until their successors are appointed and qualified and they shall take and subscribe the oath of office required by the constitution of this state and file the same in the office of the chancery clerk of harrison county section 2 be it further enacted that two of said commissioners shall constitute a quorum for any business and they shall have power to grant licenses to pilots for ship island pass and all other passes leading into the mississippi sound and there shall not be less than four pilots for said pass and sound if such number shall apply for license and shall be qualified for such office and duty section 3 be it further enacted that every such pilot shall take and subscribe an oath as such pilot and give a bond in the penal sum of one thousand dollars with good and sufficient security payable to the state of mississippi for the faithful performance of their duties as pilots which bond shall be approved by said board of commissioners and such bond shall be renewed every two years such pilots when they board any vessel coming into ship island harbor outside of the pass shall if the vessel draws more than eight feet of water be entitled to half pilotage and any vessel going out of said pass drawing more than ten feet of water shall pay half pilotage if any pilot offers to take her out that for piloting vessels in or out of harbor or sound such pilots shall be entitled to not over three dollars per foot section 4 be it further enacted that said board of pilot commissioners shall make and publish such bylaws rules and regulations and impose fines and forfeitures for neglect of duty and revoke licenses of for incompetency or intemperance section 5 be it further enacted that any pilot removing any vessel from said harbor or sound while such vessel is in charge of any civil officer by virtue of process from any court of record of this state or the united states shall forfeit his license and be ever afterwards disqualified as a pilot and subject to a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars to be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction in a quitam action one half for the benefit of the informer and the other half for the benefit of the common school fund of this state section 6 be it further enacted that said pilot commissioners are authorized and empowered to elect or appoint a harbor master for said harbor and sound and it is made the duty of all vessels arriving in said harbor or sound in ballast to report to said harbor master who shall designate and prescribe what shall be done with such ballast subject to such rules and regulations as may be adopted by said pilot commissioners and any vessel failing or neglecting to make such reports and make such disposition of her ballast as the harbor master may direct shall be fined in the sum of one thousand dollars collectable by said pilot commissioners in any court of competent jurisdiction for the benefit of the common school fund of this state said harbor master shall be entitled to a fee of five dollars for his services in each case to be paid by the vessel making report to him section 7 be it further enacted that said board of pilot commissioners shall keep a record of all their acts and doings so that all persons may know the same and said board shall have an office at mississippi city section 8 be it further enacted that if any person shall act as a pilot without a license granted by said board of pilot commissioners he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars nor less than one hundred dollars for the benefit of the common school fund of this state section 9 be it further enacted that the fees of said commissioners shall be for every license granted to a pilot ten dollars for taking bond and affidavit and filing same two dollars and fifty cents and for copies of their records and proceedings for each hundred words twenty five cents and for certificate to same fifty cents section 10 be it further enacted that all laws in conflict with this act be and the same are hereby repealed and this act shall go into force and effect from and after its passage with this legislation in place the ship island bar pilots began their duties in 1875 they were the first civilians to occupy former military buildings on the island when the pilot s station was established life as a bar pilot must have been interesting they were exposed to people from almost every seafaring nation of the planet ships flying the flag of great britain norway sweden germany france russia and the united states crossed the ship island bar to load timber the boats of norway and sweden hauled the majority of cargo for foreign ports while the coastal trading was handled by american vessels although the cultural exposure provided by foreign crews must have been stimulating the constant threat of yellow fever small pox plague and other contagious tropical diseases probably dampened social contact by 1881 a yellow fever quarantine station was operating near the center of the island to protect the mainland against all contagions an excerpt from the biloxi herald of july 7 1881 demonstrates the serious nature of those involved in the yellow fever battle  persons who do not wish to remain in quarantine five or ten days had better fight shy of the quarantine station on ship island dr carter s motto is absolute nonintercourse and he means to carry it out one day this week a party of four run into quarantine grounds and when ordered to come to an anchor by the quarantine officer they refused to do so they were promptly brought to by rifles and placed in quarantine for five days the captain of the yacht is known as red bill biloxi and the entire coast is to be congratulated on having such an able and determined gentleman in charge of the station at ship island it was standard practice for the crew of the ship and pilot to remain in quarantine for the prescribed time which could be as long as fifteen days the ship island bar pilots were well organized and regulated they had a pilot s association for the licensed members which was organized about 1880 the rules and regulations were provided by the board of pilot s commissioners for ship island harbor in a document titled pilots laws and regulations ship island harbor mississippi  hc james harbor master may 5 1893 the following rules for pilots is given rule 1 that any licensed pilot who shall take or bring a steamer or vessel into port shall be entitled to take her out and any other pilot taking out such steamer or vessel shall forfeit the full amount of pilotage to the pilot rejected and the captain owners thereof shall be bound to pay to the pilot rejected the fees established by law unless the master aforesaid shall show good cause tothe contrary which shall be satisfactory to the board of pilot commissioners that all vessels on being ready for sea are required to pay their pilotage on shore at biloxi rule 2 that all steamers or vessels entering said harbor or leaving the same shall be subject to pay to any licensed pilot performing on board at the rate of three dollars per foot or to the pilot who shall first speak to any steamer or vessel entering or leaving said harbor shall if the vessel draws more than seven 7 feet of water be entitled to half pilotage and any vessel going out of said harbor drawing more than eight 8 feet of water shall pay half pilotage if any pilot offers to take her out this rule shall apply to all steamers and vessels whether owned by citizens of this state or not that all steamers or vessels carrying the regular united states mail shall pay half pilotage only that all steamers or vessels drawing less than 7 feet of water and having a coastwise license shall be exempt from paying whole or half pilotage unless they employ a pilot rule 3 that pilots on any of the bars of said harbor in addition to the qualifications as pilots now required by law shall hereafter be required to have served a regular apprenticeship of two years on some pilot boat on any such bars provided that on such bars as have no regular pilot boats the provisions of this rule shall not apply rule 4 pilots shall forfeit their authority as such for more than 24 hours absence from their several bars except in case of sickness rule 5 that whenever any vessel is ready for the sea the pilot who brought her in shall have notice and if such notice cannot be given personally it shall be given by hoisting a jack at the foremasthead twentyfour hours before leaving when if the pilot signalized does not come on board the master may take the first pilot that may offer rule 6 no pilot shall be interested directly or indirectly in the earnings of more than two pilot boats or more than one partnership or pilots no combination or partnership of pilots shall exist unless sanctioned by the board of commissioners any pilot violating this rule maybedeprived of his license and forfeit a sum to be determined by a majority of the commissioners rule 7 any pilot bringing a vessel into the harbor who shall fail to bring such vessel to during the existence of quarantine regulations at quarantine buoy unless visited by the port physician shall be deemed guilty of misconduct and shall be either suspended from his duties as pilot or shall forfeit his license rule 8 the pilot commissioners shall have power to revoke the license of any pilot for misbehavior neglect of duty or drunkenness or any other cause detrimental to the interest or navigation rule 9 any person who shall act as a pilot for any of the passes leading into said harbor without a license from the board of pilot commissioners shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than three hundred dollars for each and every offense recoverable before any court of competent jurisdiction in this state said fine to be paid for the benefit of the common school fund of this state rule 10 any pilot who shall be detained at quarantine station on board any vessel shall be entitled to receive three dollars per day for every day so detained which amount must be paid by the vessel he piloted into quarantine rule 11 section 2259 code 1892 provides that the charges for piloting at ship island harbor and passes shall not exceed four dollars per foot it is hereby ordered by the board of commissioners that all vessels drawing eighteen feet or more shall pay for pilotage four dollars per foot and all vessels of less draught than eighteen feet shall pay three dollars per foot rule 12 it is further ordered by the board of commissioners that the per diem of port wardens for ship island harbor is hereby fixed at ten dollars the bark was the most common sailing vessel employed in the export lumber trade it was a three masted ship with a square rig on the first and second mast these ships were 250300 feet in length with 4050 foot beams and drew 1520 feet of water when loaded an article appearing in the march 10 1900 issue of the biloxi herald told of a record set at ship island the british ship record  captain mcnutt for liverpool laden with limber broke the record at this port yesterday having went out loaded to a depth of 23 feet messieurs hc james and antoine bellande piloted her out and she was cleared by patterson and downing probably a tugboat firm the recordis 1722 tons burden and is the biggest vessel that has ever crossed the bar the fact is worthy to note because it indicates biloxi ship island has the deepest water of any port on the gulf coast outside of pensacola and shows great advantage and importance as a seaport the record is one to be proud of  in the early 1890s steamships began to replace sailing vessels in the lumber trade by 1895 twentyfive per cent of the export business was handled by steamers lumber shipping was a seasonal business affected primarily by the weather the dry seasons summer and fall were times for cutting and hauling logs the logs were stored on the banks of creeks and rivers to wait for high water created by the rains of winter and spring to float them to the mill the teredo worm a saltwater inhabitant which destroys lumber caused the sawn timber to be shipped before the waters of the gulf became too warm the condition conducive for their growth thus late winter and early spring were very busy times at ship island unfortunately this is the time of the year that extratropical fronts from the northwest and north pass through the area the winds and storms brought by these frontal passages created loading problems for exporters as the ship island harbor is exposed on the north this compelled merchants to insure their timber timber was towed to ship island on rafts or lighters large barges by steam tugboats the average size lighter cargo was about 42000 cubic feet and the round trip cost was 50 the barks and steamers in ship island harbor were loaded by stevedores using handoperated winches that often lifted timbers two feet square and sixty to seventy feet in length an example of a ship s cargo is given by this notice in the biloxi herald of august 11 1888  the british steamship hempstead 1440 tons captain e jones which sailed from this port this week for dordrecht carried the largest cargo ever taken from ship island the cargo consisted of 2240 loads of deals and timber equal to 14000000 feet of timber the freight and cargo being valued at about 50000  it was common for a vessel to remain at anchorage in ship island harbor from 30 to 90 days factors which determined this were loading time size of the cargo demurrage and amount of water drawn by the vessel ships which drew more than 21 feet of water had to wait for exceptional tides to float across the ship island bar at times a wait of 25 days was necessary for an appropriate high tide although the construction of gulfport at the southern terminus of the gulf and ship island railroad in 1887 signaled the future termination of ship island harbor as an important port it wasn t until a deepwater channel was completed in 1902 that this was a fait accompli the six mile channel to gulfport was dredged 300 feet wide and 19 feet deep by captain joseph t jones 18421916 the august storm hurricane of 1901 with its 85 mph winds deepened it to 22 feet when the italian schooner trojan docked at gulfport on january 24 1902 to load timber for export gulfport was born and activity at ship island began to wane although the exportation of mississippi longleaf pine climaxed in the years 19061913 gulfport has grown as a port today it functions as a leading gulf coast harbor for the importing of bananas from central america and the exporting of mississippi agricultural products to the world the role of the original bar pilot no longer exists but today ocean going vessels and gambling boats are still guided into and out of gulfport by ship pilots  references  henry w black  gulfport  beginnings and growth  bowling green kentucky rivendell publications 1986 traugott bromme  mississippi a geographicstatistictopographic sketch for immigrants and friends of geography and ethnology  baltimore maryland1837 cyril edward cain  four centuries on the pascagoula  volume ii spartanburg south carolina the reprint company 1983 rd foxworth richard r priddy wendell b johnson and williard s moore  heavy minerals of sand from recent beaches of the gulf coast of mississippi and associated islands  university mississippi geological survey bulletin 93 1962  the history of jackson county mississippi  pascagoula lewis printing service 1989 m james stevens collection  ship island  books 129133 and timber industry  book 149 biloxi public libraryhistorical and genealogical section the pascagoula democrat star    local paragraphs   may 20 1881 the pascagoula democrat star    detailed advantages of the port of pascagoula over that of ship island  february 15 1889  maps usdept of commerce national oceanic and atmospheric administration  chart 11372msladog keys pass to waveland  22nd edition june 2 1990 frank leslie s illustrated newspaper   ship  island vicinity  from the us coast survey january 4 1862  ship island bar pilot biographies about 1875 a group of men some foreign born began piloting ships from the open waters south of ship island to safe anchorage at ship island harbor in later years after the port of gulfport was opened in 1902 they brought vessels here the pilots were regulated by statutes established by the mississippi legislature and the board of pilot s commissioners for ship island harbor  shipisland harbor master in may 1881 captain george belfour 18221881 a dane and resident of biloxi was appointed harbor master for ship island by the harrison county mississippi board of pilot commissioners captain belfour was married to arabella belfour 18381907 a native of tennessee  the pascagoula democratstar may 20 1881 p 3 and 1880 pike co mississippi federal census t9  the following brief biographical sketches will investigate the lives and families of some of these maritime pioneers  fritz abbley abli  captain fritz abbley  18461905 was born may 2 1846 at ennenda canton glarus western switzerland his parents were fritz fridolin abli 1799 and margaret hosli 18041892 some of the fritz abbley sr family immigrated to the united states from switzerland in the 1850s probably 1854 and settled at back bay north biloxi to seek its fortune in the new world the 1860 us census states that fritz sr was a laborer although fritz was the only child listed in that census it is believed he had the following siblings catherine 1824 jost 18251826 jost 18271828 salome 1830 rudolph 1832 margaret 18351853 columbina 1837 and anna maria 18421917 all the fritz abbley sr children were born in switzerland at back bay the abbleys resided in the neighborhood of the pierre harvey family who lived on the back bay of biloxi in section 17 t7sr9w old timers refer to the site as harvey hill here young fritz met and courted margaret harvey 18471886 the youngest daughter of french immigrant sailor pierre harvey 18101880 and zeline moran 18111883 fritz and margaret married on may 24 1869 this union produced seven children margaret celina 18701945 imogene 1873 laura 18751956 rudolph 18781944 pauline 18801939 frederick 18821941 and emile 18841941 sometimes after 1880 the abbley family moved to biloxi from back bay probably 888 reynoir street unfortunately margaret harvey died on january 10 1886 at the young age of thirty eight years leaving fritz with seven young children on april 10 1888 he married sarah young a lady he had known for years as she was a neighbor at back bay her parents were captain james smith young 18181897 and virginia moran 1821 captain william young her brother was associated in the 1890s with the ferryboat sam  which plied the waters of the back bay of biloxi from reynoir street to steele s landing near the casimir harvey store at north biloxi captain fritz abbley had the reputation of knowing the waters in the ship island harbor area as well as anyone he is known to have been a ship island pilot as early as 1893 and held pilots license number six at this time after suffering with the flu for several weeks and apparently recovering he died suddenly on march 15 1905 at his reynoir street home surviving captain abbley was his widow sarah and their seven children mrs jpe mccabe margaret celina mrs harry haise imogene of mobile laura pauline rudolph frederick and emile captain abbley s corporal remains were interred in the biloxi city cemetery references  ray l bellande   back bay ferry system 18431901  mississippi coast historical and genealogical society volume 27 no 1 february 1991 brother jerome lepre  gulf  coast genealogy   the santa cruz family  new orleans lepre 1990  the biloxi daily herald    captain fritz abbley dead   march 15 1905 p 8 us census 18601880  antoine v bellande antoine victor bellande  18291918 was born september 11 1829 at marseille france he was the son of jean antoine joseph marie bellande 17901874 and marcelline vezian 1790circa 1832 his father and grandfather were naval workers probably caulkers in a local marseille shipyard it is believed that antoine departed his native france as a deck hand on a sailing vessel at the age of twentytwo years he arrived at new orleans in 1851 shortly antoine joined his halfbrother joseph bellande 18131907 at ocean springs joseph bellande had immigrated to the united states from france in 1835 antoine bellande acquired the trading schooner  john randolph at new orleans he took it to pascagoula where he embarked in the lumber business transporting south mississippi timber to galveston texas for export during the early years of the civil war captain bellande ran the union blockade for the confederacy making trips to cuba for cargoes of food tobacco paper gin and munitions it was a lucrative business he once had 20000 worth of cuban tobacco stored at biloxi it was stolen from him but he later caught the guilty party it has been reported that captain bellande completed his last voyage with southern contraband just three days before farragut s naval forces captured new orleans april 1862 eliminating it as a viable port his schooner was commandeered and bellande found himself transporting brick from new orleans to ship island for the completion of fort massachusetts work on the island fortress had commenced in 1856 by the government but was interrupted by a hurricane in 1860 a confederate force seized the outpost in january 1861 naming it fort twiggs union forces recaptured ship island in september 1861 in 1864 the confederacy attempted to draft him but antoine bellande didn t approve of the idea he was residing in ocean springs at the time the conscript officer was invited to have a drink with him at the ocean springs hotel before they set out to join the confederate army bellande managed to get the officer drunk and slip away he offered his services to admiral farragut as a ship pilot bellande had become acquainted with the great admiral at pascagoula where farragut would visit his sister mrs gurley although serving as a union naval pilot in early 1864 antoine bellande at the age of thirtyfive officially entered the union navy as an acting ensign and pilot on december 16 1864 he served primarily on the us steamer  cowslip  the cowslip was a sidewheel steamer built in 1863 at newburgh new york as meteor  the steamer was 123 feet and transported cargoes of timber food tobacco paper gin and munitions to ports along the gulf coast he frequently made trips to cuba during the civil war bellande served as a pilot in the union navy aboard the us cowslip at the battle of mobile bay in august 1864 he was the pilot of the screw sloop  monongahela  which rammed the confederate ram  tennessee  on the following morning transporting the victorious union officers to receive the formal surrender of fort morgan he concluded his memorable duties at mobile bay with the dragging of the harbor to remove any torpedoes or mines captain bellande s share of the prize money was 800 for his one day work during the battle he was discharged from the union navy on february 19 1866 for his excellent service he was given a 450 bonus in the summer of 1866 antoine bellande married marie harvey 18401894 the eldest daughter of pierre harvey 18101880 and zeline moran 18111883 they lived at harvey hill at back bay north biloxi in section 17 t7sr9w here the five bellande children were born joseph arbin bellande 18681961 antoine bellande jr 18691924 pierre bellande 18711933 maria ida bellande gussow galle 18741948 and auguste f bellande 18761953 about 1882 the bellande family crossed the back bay of biloxi and settled at 254 reynoir street across from the l n depot this relocation probably coincided with the commencement of captain bellande s duties as a ship island bar pilot on march 17 1894 marie harvey bellande died and the family sold the reynoir street property in 1896 antoine bellande married an ocean springs lady mary catchot 18601931 her parents were antonio catchot 18281885 a spanish immigrant and elizabeth hoffen 18381916 a german immigrant antoine and mary had a son edward antoine 18971978 who became a national figure in the aviation and aerospace industry on september 24 1897  the pascagoula democratstar announced that captain a bellande was appointed the official fumigator for ocean springs the town was besieged by a yellow fever epidemic at this time and bellande s duties were to disinfect and fumigate places where yellow fever deaths had occurred on may 29 1901  the biloxi daily herald reported that captain bellande almost lost his life in the mississippi sound he was in command of the schooner  a gerdes brother  in route to ocean springs the sevenman crew was below preparing for bed the weather was rough and a green sailor was in charge of the watch his inexperience in boat handling allowed the schooner to capsize bellande and his crew were found by the large steam tug  julius elbert  clinging to their stricken vessel they were rescued having lost all their possessions to the sea both vessels were built by frank taltavull the julius elbert was owned by the lopez factory on march 17 1911 antoine bellande was elected president of the ship island and gulfport pilots association an article in the pascagoula democratstar of march 18 1911 stated  at a meeting of the ship island and gulfport pilots association held yesterday at ship island aboard the pilot boat edward d barret reorganization was effected and rules adopted for the ensuing four years captain a bellande was elected president ma scarbrough secretary and treasury fd moran manager captain bellande of ocean springs who was named president is 72 sic 81 years of age and has been a pilot in gulf coast waters for the past 25 or 30 years he is one of the bestknown nautical men on the coast his health is splendid he reads and writes without glasses and is active for his 82 sic 81 years as any young man of 30 he served as a pilot during the civil war under admiral farragut captain bellande is very popular among his brother pilots and the honor of the presidency bestowed on him is richly deserved in october 1902 a very special event in the life of antoine bellande commenced it was at this time that the threemasted bark  veronica  out of st john new brunswick sailed from ship island for montevideo uruguay with a cargo of mississippi longleaf pine the ship was destroyed by fire at sea the inferno was deliberately set by four german crewmen who murdered captain shaw and their shipmates the mutineers were rescued on the small island of tutoia off the northeast coast of brazil in december 1902 the rescue ship brunswick brought them to england for trial captain bellande was called to liverpool england in april 1903 he testified for the prosecution on may 12 1903 at the liverpool assizes since he was the last person to see captain shaw and the crew of the veronica alive at ship island at the time of his retirement in september 1915 antoine bellande was the captain of pilots for gulfport harbor he was eightysix years of age captain bellande spent his last years at his home on jackson avenue at ocean springs gardening and working on his house antoine bellande died on june 10 1918 at his home on jackson avenue in ocean springs he had been a ship island bar pilot for thirtythree years 18821915 antoine v bellande was buried in the evergreen cemetery at ocean springs mississippi  references  ray l bellande and heidi balje good  from marseille to mississippi   a bellande family history  18131990 biloxi bellande 1990 charles l dyer  along the gulf    biloxi   reprint women of the trinity episcopal church pass christian mississippi1971 gw keeton and john cameron  the trial of gustav rau otto monsson and willem smith the veronica trial  william hodge and company london 1952 charles l sullivan  the mississippi gulf coast portrait of a people  windsor publications inc northridge california1985 p 77 and p 82 dictionary of american naval fighting ships  volume ii   cowslip   p 200 the history of jackson county mississippi    captain av bellande   jackson county genealogical society pascagoula mississippi1989 pp 118119 mississippicoasthistory and genealogical society volume 27 no 3   ship island bar pilot biographies   october 1991 p 94 m james stevens collectionbiloxi public library archives biloxi mississippi book 25   cowsliphandsborobellande   the daily herald    captain peter bellande dies at 92  june 10 1918 p 3 the daily herald  know you state  the biloxian who was farragut s pilot in the battle of mobile bay   june 8 1961 the jackson county times    death of a pioneer citizen   june 15 1918  personal communication  letters of bruce wishart novelist and writer brandon manitoba canada letters of renee bellande wife of dr andre bellande marseille france  llewellyn r bowen llewellyn r bowen  18661946 was born at racine wisconsin on september 19 1866 he came to biloxi about 1890 captain bowen was married to johanna laage 18741949 the daughter of john h laage 18391918 and minna wittgrebe laage 18421947 the laages were married at lingen hanover germany her birthplace in 1866 they immigrated to the united states and resided at new orleans until 1884 when they relocated to biloxi mississippi the laages had nine children all natives of new orleans johanna and lr bowen reared a family in biloxi consisting of the following children james j bowen 18921893 lilly bowen 18931958 llewellyn bowen 18991960 and mrs anna may b beck 19081975 lr bowen began his tenure as a bar pilot about 1894 he retired in 1940 with over 45 years of service at ship island and gulfport llewellyn louis bowen was also active politically in biloxi he ran for city alderman in 1900 and 1902 losing both elections to heidenheim and joseph ott respectively captain bowen was very active in cultural and civic affairs he could list among his accomplishments eighteen years of service on the biloxi school board and a few years on the perkinston school board directorship of the peoples bank membership in the woodmen of the world patron of the eastern star and membership in volunteer fire company no 1 bowen also was a mason for 54 years lr bowen house july 2013 the bowen family lived originally at 222 lee street but later resided in a unique home at 606 east howard known as the bowen house its uniqueness was derived from the concrete blocks which were composed of crushed oyster shells  the biloxid iberville press march 27 1991  captain bowen died at 79 years of age on april 29 1946 his corporal remains were buried in the bowen family plot in the old biloxi cemetery  references  captain john walker s diaries  18541907 biloxi public library history and genealogy section volume ii p 7 and p 78 the biloxid iberville press    picture of the past   march 27 1991 the daily herald   biloxian is 102 years old today   june 8 1944 the daily herald    captain bowen 79 retired bar pilot dies in biloxi   april 30 1946 p 1 and p 6  francis a caillavet francis arbeau caillavet  18561909 was born in biloxi in 1856 his parents were francois caillavet b 1815 and euranie fayard 18181895 on september 20 1878 he married marie dodart 18581942 of new orleans this union produced thirteen children but five died in early childhood latour caillavet 18881891 clarence caillavet 18901893 ralph caillavet 18971899 louise and beulah francis a caillavet was survived by eight children laura caillavet married christian a thompson viola caillavet abbley 18841968 married fred abbley anita caillavet 18861975 married percy wetzel francis arbeau caillavet 18811946 sidney caillavet albert caillavet wilfred caillavet and hilda caillavet ackley 19001926 francis arbeau caillavet was a member of the pilot s association from 1900 to 1909 the caillavet family resided at 811 jackson near couevas street the last two years of his life were lived in poor health and he died from a heart ailment  references  the biloxi herald  may 6 1909 p us census 18501880 personal communication letter dated february 7 1976 from eunice abbley brocato  frank b castanera captain frank b castanera 18701934 was born at scranton pascagoula on january 16 1870 his father captain eugene castanera was postmaster at moss point from 18821885 he also had a pecan variety the castanera named for him which was later grafted by colonel stuart and john keller about 1892 and sold as the stuart his mother was estella llado the sister of louis llado who was also a bar pilot frank castanera attended spring hill college at mobile he settled at biloxi in 1893 and organized the biloxi and ship island tow boat company in february 1897 with jb roberts as stated in the charter the object and purpose of this corporation were  to run and operate one or more tow boats or other water craft to tow vessels timber or other merchandise and to transport passengers and merchandise between such points and places on the mississippi sound and its tributaries as the board of directors may determine and to do a general towing and transportation business for a profit the steam tug biloxi built by the taltavull shipyard for castanera was used in the towing operations along the mississippi coast in about 1900 he was in the retail lumber and general supply business in biloxi in 1905 he was appointed a member of the ship island bar pilots association and served as a pilot between ship island and gulfport until the commencement of world war i during the great war he offered his services to the government as a member of the us shipping board while at sea duty in the postwar years castanera met with a many adventures on the seas two notable events at this time of his life reported in the biloxi news of april 25 1926 were the saving of the life of an ill seaman by radio diagnosis with a land based physician and the rescue of the abandoned norwegian steamer johanne dybwad in the stormy north atlantic captain castanera married amelia desporte 18801953 daughter of captain ernest desporte they reared five children in biloxi  eugene ernest castanera  18981932  ursula c provensal  19001991 married sidney provensal  amelia nicki castanera married john a o keefe 18911985  delauney castanera married louise tremmel  theodore castanera  19051978 married bessie welch 1914 frank castanera led a full and adventurous life in addition to his seafaring he found time to participate in civic affairs serving on the biloxi city council under mayors tj rosell and ed glennan he died in 1934 and is buried in the biloxi cemetery  references  harrison county mississippichancery court chattel book 1 p 212 the history of jackson county mississippi    pecans   jackson county genealogical society pascagoula mississippi1989 p 19 and 83 twentiethcentury coast edition the biloxi daily herald  george w wilkes sons biloxi harrison county mississippi p 66 journals the biloxi news  april 25 1926 p 1 the biloxi news  may 2 1926 p 7 desporte family  biloxi public library history and genealogical section vertical files  ernest desporte ernest desporte 18531931 was born in biloxi in 1853 his parents victor h desporte 18271878 and elizabeth delauney geraud 18181897 were natives of new orleans victor desporte was a bricklayer he served in the confederate navy during the civil war aboard the gunboat selma desporte was taken prisoner by the forces of admiral farragut at the battle of mobile bay august 1864 he was incarcerated on ship island for seven months by his union captures as a young man ernest desporte went to montgomery alabama to work there he met and married a lovely kentucky lassie minnie schoolcraft 18581939 shortly after their march 1878 wedding the desportes moved to biloxi to be with his father victor who had become ill this marriage created seven desporte children amelia 18801953 mrs frank castanera minnie 18811939 mrs edgar beale corrine 1883 mrs elbert dukate peter 18841889 theodore 18851944 evelyn ingersol ernest 18881977 charlotte mcnulty and charlie 18921898 ernest desporte was very involved in biloxi community life he was a catholic elected to the office of justice of the peace and served on the biloxi school board he belonged to several social and civic organizations such as the biloxi yacht club knights of columbus biloxi benevolent association and the rogue and horseshoe club the ernest desporte home a twelveroom twostory residence on front street was built in 1892 by william kent  the daily herald april 30 1892 p 4  captain desporte was harbor master for about six years  the biloxi daily herald of december 16 1902 p 6 reported the following  harbor master ernest desporte was shanghied yesterday the tug loxley was going to mobile to go on the ways for repairs captains horn and james put the whole crew of the loxley under oath that they would not tell mr desporte about it he came aboard as usual to go to ship island and the tug was far on her way to mobile before he found out that a practical joke had been played on him he served as a bar pilot bringing vessels from ship island to gulfport for about twentythree years desporte retired about 1921 due to failing eye sight he died in biloxi in 1931 and is buried in the desporte family plot at the biloxi cemetery references  the desporte family  biloxi public library history and genealogy section vertical files the biloxi herald   local happenings   april 30 1892 p 4 the daily herald  march 23 1923  william j hursey william john hursey  18751935 was born at pass christian mississippi on april 11 1875 his mother marie amiel bertrand 18491925 was born in france she came to the us in 1859 and was the mother of four children wj hursey 18751935 rosa hursey 1878 m george leland haxelton joseph hursey 18791953 and jerome bourgot william j hursey married katherine blappert 18851983 at new orleans on june 19 1907 she was born in st bernard parish louisiana and her father was a german immigrant william j hursey and katherine blappert resided at pass christian with their five children daughter alice m hursey 19081935 william j hursey jr m virginia f bowes francis j hursey m jean grace horder charles p hursey 19181986 and arthur w hursey 19221998 captain hursey was a ship island bar pilot for more than thirty years he died aboard the american steamship  antinous  while piloting it into the gulfport harbor from ship island pass on january 4 1935 his death was attributed to a heart attack the daily herald january 4 1935 p 1 captain william j hursey was buried in the st paul catholic cemetery at pass christian paul bearers at his funeral were pilots george p favre and ar lingby harbor master ap bugge and jc wacker ca simpson and earl langford he was survived by his wife katherine and children alice goggin of danville kentucky arthur w hursey of new orleans charles p hursey of santa clara california and francis j hursey of pass chrisitian  references  the daily herald    vessel goes aground in gulfport channel after death of its pilot   january 4 1935 p 5 the daily herald  january 5 1935 p 5 the daily herald  january 7 1935 p 6 us census 1910  harry copp james harry copp james  18481923 was born in biloxi on august 7 1848 his parents were robert williams james  18111882 born at wilmington north carolina and jane ann nixon  18201898 of new orleans during the civil war robert w james was a colonel for the confederacy his primary task was to locate iron sheeting to be used as armor for the floating defense forces on western rivers command he probably met jane nixon the daughter of john nixon in new orleans before the war of the rebellion john nixon was a wealthy new orleans attorney who owned the nixon house hotel at biloxi a large portion of downtown biloxi and 15000 acres in st john the baptist parish he had immigrated from northern ireland and arrived in new orleans in 1806 harry copp james was a lifelong resident of biloxi and saw its growth and development from a village to a thriving city after clerking with his father until his early twenties he went to sea james was the master of a lumber schooner the captain of his own vessel for a number of years and was a charter member of the mississippi bar pilots association which was organized about 1880 captain james married isabella j roberts 18581879 she may have died from yellow fever he then married leila ogden malone 18571891 the daughter of captain edward malone sr a mobilegalveston cotton broker she died in childbirth on april 16 1891 they had four children el james b 1887 ruth e james mrs cy wootten b 1885 leila e mrs wg james b 1887 and hettie james pilots hc james and james maycock bought the sylph  a schooner from ct irving of pascagoulanew venice shipyard it was formerly a pilot boat at pascagoula they used their vessel at ship island for pilot duties  the pascagoula democratstar may 9 1984 p 3  harry c james remarried in february 1894 to mamie cooley and later married katie gary 18721905 of new orleans in 1901 harry copp james was a ship island bar pilot for fortythree years and is believed to be the first native american to receive his pilots license in the association he held license no 4 in 1893 and was also harbormaster  spanishamerican war in april 1898 captain harry copp james offered the federal government his personal services and those of his schoonerrigged pilot boat  moses h grinnell   if war was declared with spain captain james had recently retired from the ship island harbormaster post and was employed as a pilot for ship island and the mississippi sound  the biloxi herald april 23 1898 p 8  sanctions while captain john walker 18341907 was a member of the board of pilot commissioners from 1887 to 1907 captain james came under scrutiny he was suspended in november 1902 for thirty days and made to forfeit all earnings and profits because of the charges brought against him he fared better in january 1905 when he was exonerated for getting a spanish steamship grounded on the ship island bar and abandoning her in that position walker 1907 p 19  demise captain harry copp james died in biloxi on september 9 1923 he is at rest in the old biloxi cemetery  references  captain john walker s diaries 18541907   biloxi public library history and genealogy section volume ii p 71 and volume iii p 19 journals the biloxi herald  april 18 1891 p 1 the biloxi herald    a card from h c james   january 28 1893 p 10 the biloxi herald  february 3 1894 p8 the biloxi herald   a mississippi volunteer   april 23 1898 the biloxi herald    quiet marriage   august 22 1901 the daily herald    biloxi loses prominent man   september 10 1923 p 1 the pascagoula democratstar   local news   may 9 1884 harrisoncounty ms federal census 18601880 personal communication letter of james a miller of winstonsalem north carolina dated april 14 1991  joseph lewis joseph lewis  18331907 was born in england in january 1833 his family settled in pass christian he was a seaman for a number of years before going to ship island as a bar pilot about 1877 during the killer cheniere caminada storm of october 1893 he and pilot john nelson sr were in the sound aboard the pilot boat  chicora  the large hurricane came ashore at pascagoula the morning of october 2 1893 tides at nearby ocean springs and biloxi were greater than 9 feet the barometer fell to 2865 hg at moss point the chicora was driven onto cat island by the tempest the boat was found high and dry by a rescue party from biloxi in the days following the storm all aboard were safe and rescued joseph lewis and his irish born wife mary dunn 18351898 had six children harriet b 1855 joseph b 1857 martha b 1859 mary b 1866 laura b 1867 and john b 1869 he was named harbor master at gulfport in 1901 and moved there from pass christian joseph lewis died on december 4 1907 and was buried at pass christian  references  the biloxi herald  october 7 1893 p 1 the biloxi herald  december 4 1907 p 2 cheniere caminada storm  an unpublished proprietary report for jk lemon aaron williams jr university of south alabama october 7 1973 us census 18501870  john e lewis john edward lewis  18701920 was born at pass christian mississippi in 1870 his parents were bar pilot captain joseph lewis and mary dunn they were immigrants from the british isles captain john e lewis moved from pass christian to biloxi in 1899 he was married to zee bourdon they resided at 214 magnolia street and reared mamie john jrand stepson harry laughran lewis served as a member of the mississippi pilots association for twenty seven years his career as a bar pilot was meritorious having served at shipisland and gulfportcaptain lewis was civic conscious he was the aldermanatlarge under the glennan administration and was known for his devoted and energetic service to the city of biloxi lewis was a member of the masons elks biloxi benevolent association and volunteer fire company his body was interred at the biloxi cemetery  references  daily herald biloxi resident died last night august 30 1920 p 1  henry a llado henry albert llado 18851951 was born september 17 1885 like louis llado 18451920 his father henry was a ship island bar pilot he married charlotte g elder on november 16 1931 and they were the parents of three children who were reared at 521 seal avenue mary elizabeth llado aline llado and henry a llado jr henry a llado died at biloxi mississippi on january 5 1951  references  the daily herald henry llado former bar pilot dead january 5 1951 p 8  louis llado louis llado  18451920 was born in new orleans in march 1845 his spanish father francisco llado 18201869 and alabama born mother delphine fournier 18211908 moved to biloxi when louis was a baby he resided at biloxi the remainder of his life louis llado became a bar pilot at ship island about 1897 he had the reputation of knowing the waters of the gulf of mexico from florida to the mexican border in all weather and seasons he was a member of the bar pilots association for twentythree years captain llado was married to elizabeth ann dearing 18611919 of new orleans they reared five children in biloxi at 313 east water street francisco llado 18841966 henry albert llado 18851951 mary agnes llado 18881945 ida aline llado 1890 m john m grady and cora llado 1897 louis llado died on october 4 1920 and was buried in the biloxi cemetery  references  the daily herald louis llado died this morning october 4 1920 p 1 the daily herald henry llado former bar pilot dead january 5 1951 p 8  francis delmas moran francis delmas moran  18531935 was born august 2 1853 at biloxi his parents were francois moran 18151887 and catherine fournier ryan 18241886 the morans morin were of french canadian descent immigrating to the mississippi coast from quebec province in the late 18th century francis moran was called peter he married elizabeth lucretia vanderpool 18691940 on august 2 1887 she was the daughter of susan lucretia stratton 18421897 of rankin county mississippi and little berry vanderpool 18391928 of surrey county north carolina this union produced nine children edwin little berry moran 18881951 catherine ethel moran 18901907 joseph otto moran and francis arbo moran twins 18921892 silas warren moran 18931895 marinina moran young 18951973 alfred peter fred moran 18971967 vincent harold 18991972 and elizabeth vera smith 19011965 captain moran had a keen memory and like to relate the early days in biloxi his obituary states that he was a pilot at ship island before gulfport was founded and performed this duty for about thirty years his associates were captain antoine v bellande louis llado harry stilphen harry james john lewis francis caillavet ernest desport ma scarborough and louis bowen peter moran died at his long time residence 125 bay view avenue on january 26 1935 at this time he was believed to have been the oldest living native citizen  references  the history of jackson county mississippi    moran family of ocean springs   lewis printing service pascagoula 1989 p 291 journals the daily herald  january 26 1935 p 1 the daily herald    morin anglicized to moran   branches and twigs by regina hines june 10 1981 us census 18501880  john nelson sr john nelson sr  18201896 was a native of denmark being born in that scandinavian nation in 1820 as many young boys of his time he went to sea in his early teens as a cabin boy shipping out of the port of kahlenbur nelson settled on the mississippi coast where he became a steerman on steamers running between new orleans and the coast after operating the schooner  louisa  out of the delisle area for some years he obtained his own vessel and participated in the coastwise trade of the area in 1851 captain nelson married jane elizabeth marmion this union produced nine children ada mrs sam b nunn nellie mrs john h lang kate sister borgia metta sister ursula john p loretto robert paul and agnes mrs jc liversedge john nelson sr was one of the first pilots at ship island in the late 1870s and helped to organize the pilot s association he died in 1896 and is buried at st paul s cemetery in pass christian  references  john lang  history of harrison county mississippi  the dixie press gulfport mississippi 1936 p 164  m a scarborough marion a scarborough  18581930 was born in july 1858 probably in the pass christian area he married georgia georganne drew 18561932 in harrison county on july 4 1887 the scarboroughs resided in beat three of harrison county and reared two children purnell f scarborough 18881930 and hattie s greene 18911943 georgia s father was levi drew a native of georgia who served with company h of the 3rd mississippi during the civil war she is buried in the courtenay cemetery at long beach mississippi hattie scarborough 18911943 married clarence a greene 18871944 and died at oakdale louisiana she had eight children at the time of her death her brother pf scarborough who was once married to maud gangloff 18911921 resided in new orleans  the daily herald january 24 1943   in july 1930 ma scarborough was a resident of bosco louisiana his health was poor and he wasn t expected to live long at the this time pf scarborough miss mattie drew his sisterinlaw and niece mrs fm wilson were at gulfport  the daily herald july 9 1930 p 6    references  the daily herald   former harbor master ill   july 9 1930 the daily herald  january 24 1943 us census 1900  jh stilphen   john h stilphen  18421920 was born in new england at south dresden maine in 1842 he went to sea at the age of sixteen years after many years on the ocean as a captain in the international trade he settled in biloxi around 1887 in about 1900 he became a bar pilot at ship island and gulfport john stilphen retired in 1918 an example of his faithful service was exhibited when his only daughter sadie married william t harkness a biloxi architect and contractor it so happened that this was his day for duty as a pilot and he missed the wedding john stilphen died in september 1920 at his residence on west railroad street in biloxi he was survived by a son major henry stilphen who was a member of the army medical department stationed in north carolina henry stilphen may have been the quarantine officer at ship island in the early 1900s his daughter mrs wt harkness of biloxi and a brother and sister in new england leonard stilphen and mrs leonard dickenson were also listed as survivors in his obituary his son dr henry stilphen resided at new orleans he and his spouse came to biloxi for a visit with his sister sadie s harkness in june 1925  the daily herald june 10 1925 p 3    references  the daily picayune    dr stilphen quarantine officer lost his boat and possessions on ship island   august 8 1901 p 1 c 5 the daily herald    captain stilphen died last night   september 20 1920 the daily herald   stilphens in biloxi   june 10 1925    board of pilot commissioners 1893 fw elmer roderick seal john nelson sr  1897 wkm dukate henry lienhard handsboro joseph dempf or deempf roderick m mcintosh appointed dec 1897 upon death of mr deempf  1901 john walker fs hewes jr roderick mcintosh ej adam appointed march 1904 upon death of roderick mcintosh charles redding petitioned in june 1901 but rejected  1905 br clemens fs hewes jr ej adam  petit bois island references 3744 views  