 o keefe family o keefe family ray mon 11212011 1612 the o keefe family the great potato famine of 18451850 brought death and misery to millions of impoverished irish roman catholics one of the positive actions of this near 19 th century genocide was the immigration and subsequent habitation of  edward ned keefe  18151874 later  o keefe  a native of bincher parish county tipperary ireland to ocean springs mississippi in the mid1850s here a middleaged ned o keefe and spouse  mary tracy  18321895 another irish expatriate commenced an irishamerican family that remains a viable part of ocean springs biloxi and the entire mississippi gulf coast lepre 1991 p 165 the ned o keefe family chronology at ocean springs is one of success determined toil perseverance and good business acumen in an environment probably untarnished with hibernian prejudice and because of its small size predominantly catholic society and high ratio of immigrants to indigenous people allowed edward ned o keefe to achieve his prosperity primarily as a teamster and drayage contractor to further ameliorate the local situation there were already several other irish families at ocean springs mississippi the ames colligans egans shanahans and sodens  the primal cottage the first known property acquisition at ocean springs by edward ned o keefe the family progenitor occurred in february 1859 when he paid andrew f ramsay 100 for lot 5block 26 culmseig map of 1854 this ground is situated on the northeast corner of rayburn and porter it is assumed that the first o keefe domicile was erected here o keefe purchased lot 4 block 26 which was contiguous and north of lot 5 in october 1867 from george a cox 18111887 it is interesting to note that margaret b foy d 1892 also from ireland lived just east of the o keefe family she settled here in february 1855 on the northwest corner of porter and jackson her nephew james lynch 18521935 was legated her twostory home and subsequently operated a store and the renown lynch academy which the jj o keefe children attended for some of their basic education jackson county ms land deed bk bk 7 p 272 and bk 1 pp 184185 and ellison 1991 p 35 the o keefe lots on the northeast corner of rayburn and porter were sold to eda miller wife of john voght miller in december 1883 for 400 and a note of 50 jackson county ms land deed bk 7 p 272 the j o keefe livery stablesituated on the north side of porter street between jackson avenue and washington avenue the o keefe livery stable served the jeremiah j jerry o keefe family and ocean springs for many years as a venue for drayage and transportation services the business commenced after the war of the rebellion by edward ned o keefe 18151874 an irish immigrant after ned s demise jerry o keefe 18601911 his only son continued in the livery and drayage business eventually becoming the town s undertaker probably in the early 1890s by 1926 the o keefe family had let the building to william f willy dale 18991990 here he commenced the dale motor company willy repaired motorcars and sold gasoline and petroleum products here for many years the building is extant and is use by the bradfordo keefe funeral homes  civil war after returning to ocean springs from the civil war in which he served with company alive oak rifles of the 3 rd mississippi regiment ned o keefe became a teamster and started a livery business he supplied transportation service to the multitude of visitors who arrived at ocean springs by steam packet and later railroad train when people passed on his carriages were used to transport their bodies to the local cemetery as well as their mourners before his demise in 1874 ned o keefe and his wife had two children jeremiah jerry joseph o keefe 18601911 and mary helen o keefe 18631878 howell 1991 p 440 and p 555  ned o keefe barroom brawl and death of leitzler an anectdotal story passed down through the o keefe family was that ned o keefe had killed a man at ocean springs in 2019 else jensine martin a fabuolous researcher and jackson county mississippi historian discovered this article in the daily picayune  scion of the timespicayune  on saturday night inst messrs  edward keith  o keefe and  blaze leitzler  had a difficulty  resulting in the death of leitzler   who received a fatal wound in the bowels and back with a pocket knife so far as we have been able to gather the particulars they are as follows ned keith went to the barroom of leitzler in search of a friend and when he knocked at the door leitzler answered opened the door and asked keith what he wanted keith replied that he came after his friend naming him and must see him but refused to go in and drink with leitzler  whereupon leitzler pushed keith away from the door at the same time telling him he did not care a d n for him or his friend they then clinched and fell to the ground leitzler being topmost and during the scuffle leitzler received the wounds from which he died a few hours after notwithstanding the best medical aid that could be procured in the town it is a lamentable affair they were both old citizens with families mr keith immediately took the  creole    steamer for east pascagoula where he at once gave himself up to the sheriff mr john c clark who delivered the prisoner to our sheriff last sunday who placed him in jail where he awaits his examination in jackson county the daily picayune october 26 1870  1878 yellow fever the 1878 epidemic started at new orleans in july and took nearly four months to run its course through the mississippi and ohio river valleys when it was over the nation recorded more than 100000 cases of fever and a mortality rate estimated as high as 20000 people particularly hard hit were the cities of memphis approximately 6000 deaths new orleans between 4000 and 5000 deaths and vicksburg where about 1000 victims fell to the pestilence fever cases and deaths occurred as far north as st louis on the mississippi river and louisville kentucky and gallipolis ohio on the ohio river the economic impact to the nation was over 100000000 due to the suspension of industry and trade lost wages medical attendance and relief for the thousands of sick and unemployed it is estimated that new orleans lost 15000000 during the crisis by late september 1878 health conditions in mississippi had gotten so grave that governor john m stone made a proclamation part of which read as follows   i jm stone governor of the state of mississippi do recommend that on friday the 30th day of september all christian people throughout the state repair to their respective places of worship and offer up their united petition in prayer to god that he will withdraw from our people this terrible affliction and that he in his infinite goodness and mercy will restore them to health and bring peace to their mourning households   since the yellow fever quarantine had shut off the people of ocean springs from the outside world conditions were very difficult the ocean springs relief society was formed in early september 1878 to assist those in need hh minor sr 18371884 was president robert a van cleave 18401908 treasurer and jm ames secretary the society collected 76725 with the howard association of new orleans the citizens of galveston texas and the moss point relief committee being the largest contributors there were approximately one hundred seventyfive cases of yellow fever recorded at ocean springs from the nearly six hundred people believed to have been here at the time from this population about thirty deaths were recorded many were small children and unfortunately  mary helen o keefe  18631878 died from the fever at ocean springs on september 5 1878 miss o keefe was probably buried at the evergreen cemetery in ocean springs o keefe boarding house plat the o keefe boarding house was located on the northeast corner of jackson avenue and porter street in lot 6 of block 27 of the culmseig map 1854 of ocean springs the structure was a twostory wood framed edifice with 2824 square feet of living area under roof there was a lower and upper gallery on the south and west side of the building of 1710 square feet the dining room was attached to the main building and had an area of 874 square feet the kitchen appears to have been detached and to the north of the building but was connected by a covered breezeway the lower floor of the structure was moved to 2122 government street in 1910 after the edifice present today was erected in 1909 by jeremiah j o keefe 18601911 as his family home today the former o keefedale building at 911 porter is utilized as the bradfordo keefe funeral home  o keefe boarding house in february 1881 mary tracy o keefe commenced her boarding house and store operations on the northeast corner of jackson avenue and porter street at ocean springs the structure was an attractive and hospitable inn it is very likely that the o keefe boarding house had a strong irish flavor and catered to hibernian families from new orleans and irish born railroad workers  the pascagoula democratstar february 4 1881 p 3  in january 1891 when alfred e lewis was erecting the artesian house a twostory edifice on jackson avenue and diagonally opposite the o keefe place jerry o keefe s boarding house was referred to a jerry o keefe s hotel  the biloxi herald january 10 1891 p 4  the o keefe boarding house property was purchased by ned o keefe in two parcels the first lot was bought from enoch n ramsay 18321916 in april 1867 and described as lot 6 of block 27 culmseig map of ocean springs and comprised 52 feet on jackson and 200 feet on porter in august of the same year ned keith acquired lot 5 of block 27 culmseig map of ocean springs from george a cox 18111887 this tract became the site of his livery stable  the pascagoula democratstar february 4 1881 p 3 and  jxco ms land deed bk 62 p 475 and bk 62 p 476 not all boarders in o keefe s inn were irish in august 1896 the  pascagoula democratstar  reported that one alphonse gauthreaux of donaldsonville louisiana   beat his board decamped stole a pocket book containing 500 and prayer beads shoes and some clothes whereabouts unknown the pascagoula democratstar   august 14 1896 p 3  in 1895 the o keefe family was tragically struck by fire on two occasions the most devastating occurrence was in february when mrs mary o keefe s gown caught fire from the hearth and she died as the result of her burns later in the fall of the same year the kitchen was badly gutted by a fire caused by a defective flue jerry o keefe gave a generous donation to the fire department which was very effective since this was the first fire fought with the assist of fifteen new fire wells which provided ample water  the daily picayune february 19 1895 p 9 and the pascagoula democratstar   september 20 1895    o keefe children although born at new orleans the children of jeremiah j o keefe 18601911 and alice cahill o keefe 18641921 were reared at present day 911 porter street john aw o keefe was a leader of men and made his career in public service and the military mary c o keefe was an outstanding educator and is memorialized with our mary c o keefe arts and cultural center on government street jeremiah j ben o keefe ii was a funeral home proprietor at biloxi and ocean springs jh jody o keefe was a sugar chemist and lost his life in a diving accident while working in cuba lr jeremiah j ben o keefe 18941954 joseph h jody o keefe 18971932 mary cahill o keefe 18931981 and john aw o keefe 189119  the jeremiah j o keefe family jeremiah joseph o keefe 18601911 called jerry was born at ocean springs on february 5 1860 he met his future wife alice cahill 18641921 a new orleanian whose family came to ocean springs for a visit and stayed at the o keefe lodge on porter street the couple wedded in the crescent city at st joseph s catholic church on april 3 1888 their children all born in the crescent city were edward j o keefe 18891890 john w a o keefe 18911985 mary cahill o keefe 18931981 jeremiah j ben o keefe ii 18941954 and joseph h jodie o keefe 18971932 nola mrb 13 p 105  the daily picayune april 1 1888 p 9  and the history of jackson county miss 1989 pp 301302 alice cahill was born at new orleans into an irish immigrant family her parents  thomas cahill  18191865 and  mary britton   18321906 an 1852 irish immigrant were also the parents of margaret cahill connors 18561931 m michael connors john l cahill 18581926 m margaret orrell 18551958 and ellen cahill hill 18621940 m stephen j hill 18611935 mary britton cahill expired on april 9 1906 at 2822 palmyra street at new orleans the daily picayune april 12 1906 p 7 margaret cahill connors died at the o keefe home at ocean springs on january 28 1931 her funeral was held at st alphonsus catholic church and transported to st patrick no ii cemetery in the crescent city for internment  the timespicayune january 29 1931 p 2  ellen cahill hill 18621940 passed on july 9 1940 in new orleans she had married stephen j hill who expired at 3117 jena street in december 1935 they were the parents of thomas j hill jr joseph s hill mary hill vogt and mrs charles r brennan her son thomas j hill jr once served as the clerk of the city commission council of new orleans  the timespicayune december 14 1935 p 2 and july 9 1940 p 2  after mrs ned o keefe s demise in february 1895 alice cahill o keefe in addition to rearing her children edward joseph o keefe 18891890 john aloysius william o keefe 18911985 m amelia castenara 19052000 mary cahill o keefe 18931981 jeremiah joseph ben o keefe ii 18951954 m teresa tess josephine slattery 18941995 and joseph hyacinth jodie 18971932 ran the family boarding business on porter street her husband jerry had already expanded his undertaking service to create the o keefe funeral service in 1892 although born at new orleans the children of jeremiah j o keefe 18601911 and alice cahill o keefe 18641921 were reared at present day 911 porter street edward joseph o keefe died in his infancy john aw o keefe was a leader of men and made his career in public service and the military mary c o keefe was an outstanding educator and is memorialized with our mary c o keefe arts and cultural center on government street jj ben o keefe ii was a funeral home proprietor at biloxi and ocean springs jh jody o keefe was an ocean springs businessman and sugar chemist and lost his life in a diving accident while working in cuba politically jerry o keefe was elected the first alderman from ward 2 in 1892 in the newly incorporated town of ocean springs and served in that office for two years he also was a road overseer in jackson county beat four being in charge of jackson avenue from the front beach to o keefe s corner on porter street and jackson avenue and from o keefe s corner to the illing place on washington avenue ellison 1991 pp 57  318 jackson avenue the 1885 o keefe castleseven gables  the o keefe castle also known as the o keefesaxon house and seven gables at present day 318 jackson avenue was erected by jeremiah j o keefe 18601911 circa 1885 on a lot acquired from kate peniston m jourdan d 1943 and augusta sophia m jourdan 18581952 of new orleans in 1855 the jourdanmcgehee families had become involved in the hostelry business at ocean springs as they owned the seashore house on jackson avenue and front beach opposite the ocean springs hotel jackson co mississippi land deed bk 11 pp 410412 and bellande 1994 p 25 the spinster jourdan sisters were the daughters of augustus w jourdan d 1860 and mary josephine mcgehee 18371878 mr jourdan was an attorney and in the hierarchy of the louisiana democratic party there is some degree of certitude that he was appointed by louisiana s governor to have the louisiana s napoleonic code modified to concur more readily with the english law of other states the timespicayune february 24 1949 p 13 augusta and kate jourdan were aristocratic women of new orleans augusta was a gifted writer and had been an honors graduate of the peabody normal seminary in the crescent city when she graduated in july 1878 she gave dissertations in latin and french she was a member of the quarante club one of the oldest and most prestigious women s literary organizations in america  the daily picayune july 7 1878 p 15 the daily city item july 14 1878 p 2 and the timespicayune february 24 1949 p 13  in the early years of the 20 th century augusta and kate jourdan settled in the saintmande district of paris they traveled to egypt from where augusta wrote essays of their adventures which were published in the daily picayune in june 1908 both woman died in france and their corporal remains were interred in the metairie cemetery with their parents  the daily picayune june 21 and june 228 1908 and the timespicayune  february 24 1949 p 13 and november 7 1952 p 2 miss mary c o keefe acquired this beautiful home from her siblings in july 1930 it was sold to cecile brodeur saxon 18931980 by mary c o keefe in august 1933 mrs saxon was the mother of rose annette saxon 19241998 who in march 1944 married miss o keefe s nephew lt jeremiah j o keefe iii b 1923 a young usmcr fighter pilot at camp pendleton ocean side california jackson co mississippi land deed bk 63 p 524525 and deed bk 66 pp 4648 and  the daily herald march 13 1944 p 7  miss mary c o keefe s great niece susan m o keefe snyder b 1952 and her spouse christopher t snyder acquired the o keefe castle in march 1982 in early 1997 paul campbell general contractor and carl germany architect were hired by the snyders to undertake a major interior renovation of their historic home with the heavens watching and the luck of the irush the snyder home was spared the wrath of karina in august 2005 jackson co mississippi land deed bk 730 p 116  the 1909 neoclassical mansion  circa 1940 it is believed that the 1909 jeremiah j o keefe home at present day 911 porter was modeled on that of the dr casehf russell edifice which stood on the southwest corner of washington avenue and porter street until it was demolished in the 1930s  the jackson county times september 29 1934 and  jk lemon 1993 in 1909 jerry o keefe built a large family home behind the o keefe boarding house this 2 12 story mansion of beauxarts polite design corinthian columns and wide galleries has become an iconic symbol of the o keefe family prosperity and financial calamity built on the colonial style with massive pillars at a cost approaching 10000 the jerry o keefe mansion was lauded in 1909 as a handsome addition to the numerous beautiful edifices situated in ocean springs  the ocean springs news november 27 1909 p 1  in 1964 miss mary cahill o keefe who at this time was domiciled on porter street two houses east of her childhood home related her memories of the 1909 o keefe home place as follows   as having beautiful lawns and tennis courts and as the scene of many gay young parties with the four children of jeremiah   o keefe  the house was filled with young people and the tennis courts were a popular place the house was originally surrounded by a picket fence and with wonderful oak trees and green lawns the marvelously attractive colonial house and all it was a real beauty spot   the ocean springs news august 6 1964 p 3  boarding house in 19091910 with the new o keefe family residence completed on west porter the old wooden o keefe boarding house was sold in july 1910 to samuel backous 18551921 a farmer from indiana who had recently returned to ocean springs from texarkana texas mr backous and his wife had sold their texas farm and planned to reside at ocean springs permanently in september 1907 they had purchased the nw 4 nw 4 of section 29 t7sr8w from ee clements of buncombe county north carolina jackson co mississippi land deed bk 32 pp 616617 and  the ocean springs news july 23 1910  the o keefe boarding house was moved to the backous place in 1910 the upper story was removed it is speculated that it was transported over the shell roads of ocean springs using a method popular at this time  when one wished to move a house he called his neighbors together and organized a hauling bee or halerie with a dozen yoke or oxen and three wagons they soon had the house underway with no difficulty first they took the beds off two wagons and in place of the regular coupling poles they used long logs perhaps thirty feet long they jacked up the house then ran poles under it next they chained them up to the two front pair of wheels thus supporting the house and it was ready to roll they hitched five or six yoke of oxen to each of the wagons and away they went across the open prairie  post 1974 p the backous family developed their twentyacre site on old county road now government street into a farm and pecan orchard and probably utilized the boarding house as a home only the first floor of the old structure was relocated to present day 2122 government street where it became the residence of mary anne lightsey clark the widow of alvah clark 19181990 the clark home was placed on the national register of historic places in 1987 as an individual listing it remains in the clark family bellande 1994 p 65 and kemp associates ltd 1996 p 15  william f willy dale   18991990 willy dale has been described as a   hard working good businessman and mechanical wizard  he was a passionate fisherman and speedboat racer here circa 1927 willy is shown with two drum that he caught in biloxi bay near gulf hills courtesy of h randy randazzoarlington virginia  willy dale unfortunately what has become ocean springs architectural jewel the former 1909 jeremiah j o keefe 18601911 home at present day 911 porter street was lost by his heirs during the great depression when it was repossessed in december 1938 by the home owners loan corporation a federal government corporation the family had a mortgage balance of 561217 on their prized residence when it was sold by this governmental agency to william f dale in december 1939 for 3850 jackson co mississippi land deed bk 71 pp 580581 and bk 74 pp 158160 william frederic dale 18991990 was born march 4 1899 at ocean springs he was known in the community as willy dale his parents were george william dale 18721953 and harriet hattie rose seymour 18761956 the daughter of narcisse seymour 18491931 and carolyn v krohn 18471895 they were married on december 9 1897 at the st alphonsus catholic church george w dale was baptized into the roman catholic church on june 27 1897 several months before his marriage to miss seymour lepre 1991 p 78  mechanical genius as a young man willy dale learned to repair automobiles in may 1926 he went into business as the dale motor company he opened a 3500 squarefoot garage on west porter in a structure which was once the locus of the jj o keefe livery stable dale s garage was of the most modern on the entire coast dale s machines and tools were mostly electrically powered state of the art for the period among his inventory of apparatuses were the electrical valve resurfacing and reseating tool electrical riveting countersinking machine for relining brakes cylinder hones aligning gauges for front wheels acetylene welding and cutting torch weaver wrecker for hauling in disabled vehicles air pump weaver tire change stand humpycooper rebabbiting machines and other appurtenances applicable to automobile repair at this time willy dale was the local chevrolet dealer he also sold texaco gasoline oil and greases and his porter street auto service business  the jackson county times june 12 1926  it appears that willy dale must have initially rented the o keefe livery stable lot east of the o keefe home on west porter because in august 1927 he obtained a lease from the o keefe family on the tract where he operated his garage and sold texaco products mr dale later vended shell gasoline here jackson co mississippi land deed bk 70 pp 196200  motorboat racing willy dale was a passionate man and motorboat racing and fishing were his salient avocations his ocean wave and ocean kid were the only competitive speedboats at ocean springs these watercraft were powered by a lockwood motor since willy s dale motor company was the agent for johnson and lockwood outboard motors willy raced his boats very successfully in the late 1920s at most of the gulf coast regattas as this was a very popular sporting event at this time during the wf dale ownership from 1939 to 1986 the o keefe home at 911 porter street was used primarily as a restaurant and lounge although it was once leased to perkinston junior college in the spring of 1941 willy dale hired clarence kornman 18901973 of biloxi to move the former o keefe residence back 32 feet from its former location mr dale planned to convert the structure into an apartment house with additional space for a restaurant and another business the daily herald march 3 1941 p 6 on august 31 1959 college classes began in the former o keefe home and dale s restaurant the regional junior college offered seventeen evening classes and one morning class in practical nursing which included a simulated twelvebed hospital subjects available for prospective scholars to enroll in the evening curriculum were english english literature algebra trigonometry general business accounting shorthand general psychology sociology american government world history personal health speech music appreciation and introduction to teaching admission to the perkinston classes was open to high school graduates or mature individuals demonstrating the ability to utilize the material offered by the lecturer  the ocean springs news may 27 1959 p 1 and august 27 1959 p 1   one of the great success stories of ocean springs was the return of the o keefe family residence on porter street to the family when they lost it in the late 1930s the jj ben o keefe jr family relocated to biloxi and resided on fayard street behind the o keefe funeral parlor at 601 west howard avenue a young jeremiah j jerry o keefe iii b 1923 and his sister alice o keefe sebastian 19222011 vowed that someday they would reclaim their former home in ocean springs alice o keefe sebastian september 13 1999 and  the ocean springs record july 3 1986 p 2 july 10 1986 p 2 and december 3 1987 p 1  this was accomplished in july 1986 when the wf dale family sold the o keefe mansion to gulf national life an o keefe family corporation the o keefe family held a homecoming party and celebrated with music food and friends at their new home in ocean springs on july 2 1986 at the o keefe fete long time owner willy dale commented in regards to his almost fifty year ownership of the property the first day was fun and the last day was fun jj jerry o keefe iii responded mr dale has taken real good care of this property for us jackson co mississippi land deed bk 863 p 159 and the sun herald july 3 1986 p a1  the egan doors were a wedding gift to jerry o keefe 18601911 from jefferson davis egan 18641907 his childhood friend from 1938 until 1971 the o keefe cutglass doors remained at ocean springs in miss mary c o keefe s cottage which was located on west porter between dale s garage and the ws van cleave store now the locus of five seasons a health store after miss o keefe s domicile was demolished to erect the villa maria in the early 1970s the doors were stored in biloxi they were installed on the o keefe mansion during its restoration which was completed in december 1987 an adjunct to this tale is that of the fabulous cutglass portals on the o keefe mansion that had been constructed by jefferson davis egan 18641907 the son of irish immigrants john j egan 18271875 and julia egan 18331907 as a wedding gift for his childhood friend jerry o keefe 18601911 from 1938 until 1971 the o keefe cutglass doors remained at ocean springs in miss mary c o keefe s cottage which was located on west porter between dale s garage and the ws van cleave store now the locus of five seasons a health store after miss o keefe s domicile was demolished to erect the villa maria in the early 1970s the doors were stored in biloxi they were installed on the o keefe mansion during its restoration which was completed in december 1987 ellison 1991 p 67 alice o keefe sebastian september 13 1999 and  the ocean springs record december 3 1987 p 1   the 1909 jj o keefe home on porter street was restored under the supervision of lloyd j vogt 19412002 a biloxi and new orleans architect and maria c bargas architect at ocean springs worked on the historical certification for the structure s placement on the national register of historic places it was opened in early december 1987 after a 1 million dollar restoration the edifice became the funeral parlor for bradfordo keefe funeral home which it has continued to do so to the present day  the sun herald july 3 1986 p a1 and the ocean springs record december 3 1987 p 1    the entrepreneurial o keefe brothers at ocean springs from about 1913 and throughout the 1920s the o keefe brothers john aw o keefe jj ben o keefe ii and jh jodie o keefe continued aggressively in their entrepreneurial projects in addition to the funeral parlor they were involved in a ford automobile dealership livery and drayage coal delivery construction materials gasoline retailing and a taxi and limousine service   white house tract the locus of many of the o keefe brothers commercial activities in ocean springs were centered on their valuable commercial lot situated on the southeast corner of washington avenue and robinson street opposite the l n depot in february 1906 jeremiah j jerry o keefe 18601911 their father acquired the white house property from mary artemise rodriguez marie 18401912 the widow of antonio marie 18321885 a spanish immigrant mariner and pioneer settler of bayou puerto now gulf hills the consideration was 1100 for the tract which had one hundredseventy feet on robinson street between cash alley and washington avenue and ran south two hundred twentyfive feet jackson co mississippi land deed bk 35 p 642 the white house tract was located just east of the commercial hotel which was situated on the southeast corner of washington avenue and robinson street it had been erected by r obert a vancleave 18401908 in 1880 this event was noted in the pascagoula newspaper as  van cleave s new hotel on the depot grounds is going steadily forward to a speedy completion and gives employment to a number of workmen he seems to believe in the right way of doing things that is employing home folks when he has work to be done   the pascagoula   democratstar   january 16 1880 p 3  the first person to develop the white house tract was charles ernest schmidt 18511886 and laura coyle schmidt 18571931 his spouse in february and august 1877 they acquired this land from ew and mary t clark of philadelphia pennsylvania charles e schmidt was born in new orleans of ernst schmidt and euphrosine schoser immigrants from baden german charles e schmidt came to ocean springs and met laura coyle the daughter of an immigrant menorcan father francisco coyle 18131891 and magdalene ougatte pons 18131904 they married in october 1874 at st alphonsus catholic church their son francis ernest schmidt 18771954 later owned a bakery on washington avenue from 19011938 and served as ward one alderman 19151922 and 19251929 and mayor of ocean springs from 19351938 a son of fe schmidt charles ernest schmidt 19041988 would write  ocean springs french beachhead  1972 the first and only comprehensive history of the city and also serve as mayor 19611965 two other sons frank o schmidt 19021975 and harry j schmidt 19051996 would become prominent physicians on the mississippi gulf coast jackson county ms land deed bk 3 pp 103106 and lepre 1991 p 303 the journal du jour  the pascagoula democratstar  had the following items published between 1879 and 1881 concerning the schmidt s white house  mr charles e schmidt commonly called handsome charlie has opened a retail family grocery store and says he will sell goods as cheap as anybody schmidt keeps almost everything good to eat in his store and at his other establishment white house everything good to drink   november 7 1879   when you go to ocean springs call at the white house and see charlie and frank   november 7 1879   last saturday in the early evening the kitchen of the white house caught fire proprietor charles e schmidt had help from friends in battling the blaze postmaster vancleave brought two garden and house sprinklers   november 26 1879   the white house is the place to get liquid refreshments   february 4 1881 p 3   white house and the vahle egan livery situated on the south side of robinson street opposite the l n depot these buildings and land were owned by mary a rodriguez marie 18401912 after charles e schmidt 18511886 built the white house the vahle egan livery burned in early december 1900 the same evening that the ocean springs drug store on washington avenue and porter street was torched by alleged arsons casper vahle 18691922 and herman nill 18631904 his brotherinlaw and proprietor of the ocean springs drug store soon departed ocean springs to commence commercial enterprises at biloxi and then gulfportthen a new port town rapidly developing west of mississippi city jj jerry o keefe acquired the white house tract from madame marie in 1906 and demolished the white house in 1911 the o keefe brothers would develop this tract and acquire adjacent land between 1913 and the late 1920s the white house is the structure east of the vahle egan livery from along the gulf dyer 1895 in august 1881 charles e schmidt made the decision to sell the white house he advertised it in  the pascagoula democratstar  of september 2 1881 as follows  for sale white house billiard and beer saloon with fixtures is offered for sale at a great bargain the white house is opposite and near the depot apply to chas e schmidt  in november 1881 the schmidt family sold the white house to antonio marie for 1200 after antonio marie died intestate in december 1885 madame marie began leasing the white house in october 1887 she entered into a two year contractual agreement with john vogt miller the rent for the first four months was set at 500 per month and 800 per month for the remaining twenty months mr vogt expected madame marie to repair the doors windows and blinds of the building jxco ms land deed bk 6 p 19 and bk 11 pp 1012 madame marie allowed herr vogt the use of the following articles in her building  20 beer glasses 8 chairs 1 baseball club and deer horns 2 round tables 1 large mirror 2 plaster images 1 marble top wash stand damaged 1 ice stand and 1 beer closet 1 door off  by december 1892 the vahle family formerly of new orleans took a long lease on the white house property and built a livery stable here just west of the white house casper vahle 18691922 the proprietor oversaw the erection of the 1200 squarefoot barn in march 1894 richard egan 18581896 joined casper vahle to form vahle egan  the pascagoula democratstar    december 28 1892 p 3  in 1895 charles l dyer in  along the gulf  stated that while visiting ocean springs  the firm of vahle egan furnished us with carriages upon all occasions and we were rather surprised to find in a town of this size such a finely equipped livery stable messrs casper vahle and richard egan are both young enterprising energetic business men and have built up a fine trade since their partnership which commenced in march 1894 previous to this both members of the firm had conducted livery stables of their own they have a number of fine driving horses and several speedy matched pairs and a number of carriages to select from among which are tallyhos three and twoseated surries buggies wagonettes transfer wagons and they also have several teams for heavy hauling after the untimely death of richard egan in 1896 the business appears to have dissolved as soden illing were operating a livery at this location in 1898 by 1900 mrs marie had moved to biloxi in december of that year she entered into another lease agreement with casper vahle this lease was for five years january 1901 to january 1906 and called for a 500 per month rental vahle must have decided to purchase the white house from artemise marie as the deed records of jackson county indicate mrs a marie of biloxi sold the frame building known as the white house and a certain parcel of land situated on the south side and opposite the l n railroad depot to casper vahle on december 12 1900 jackson co ms land deed bk 22 pp 208209  the fire casper vahle and herman nill 18631904 his brotherinlaw and owner of the ocean springs drug store on the northwest corner of washington avenue and porter street were victimized by vandals in early december 1900  the pascagoula democratstar  of december 7 1900 reported its demise in ocean springs locals as follows  the most distressing scene witnessed in our town for a long time was the burning of the ocean springs drug store and vahle s livery stable monday night the fire was discovered about midnight by walter davis the night operator for the cumberland telephone exchange which was on the second floor of the drug building the fire alarm being given the two companies responded immediately and by heroic efforts saved the illing house a switzer s store and mrs ma case s property from similar fate the flames spread so rapidly that nothing was saved from the drug store and had it not been for the rain during the evening which made the housetops wet several other buildings would probably been lost mr herman nill proprietor of the drug store and his family were in new orleans at the time and the place was temporarily in charge of dr ea riggs who lost everything in his office which was also a room in the building the drug store was insured for 3900 in the home insurance company of new york probably half its value with the stock there was no insurance on the livery stable the telephone exchange was completely destroyed but will be installed again as soon as possible  caspar vahle and herman nill and his family left ocean springs shortly after the conflagrations and settled at gulfport on february 10 1906 madame marie sold the white house property to jeremiah j jerry o keefe 18601911 jxco ms land deed bk 35 p 642 several years later jerry o keefe demolished the white house on robertson street it had apparently deteriorated with age and neglect its demise was related in  the ocean springs   news  of august 19 1911  the dilapidated old lady that has stood for years opposite the depotantiquated relic of byegone days is now being torn down by the owner jerry o keefe the old structure was at one time one of the principal business places of the town it was known as the white house and was a hotel and barroom old residents tell of great doings at the old tavern of late years it has fallen into decay and has not been inhabited for a long time something more substantial and ornamental will doubtless be built in its place   ocean springs livery stable and ford agency by july 1914 john and ben o keefe were local agents for the ford automobile and prestolite an exchangeable acetylene gas tank for the running lights of an automobile the o keefe brothers through their ocean springs livery stable provided transportation at ocean springs in their stable of motor cars was a cadillac touring car and large enough to accommodate seven passengers in comfort they advertised in the local journal as follows  j o keefe the ocean springs livery stable undertaking modern automobile service fine cars careful drivers reasonable charges ford agents prestolite tanks refilled all orders promptly attended to telephone 46  the jackson county times september 26 1914 p 1   they sold rural mail carriers walter armstrong 18781945 and fred newcomb 18801932 their ford automobiles mr armstrong delivered the us mail to the laruelatimer communities while newcomb handled the east beachfontainebleauvancleave route  the ocean springs news august 1 1914  the o keefe brothers sold their ford agency to wb hollingsworth who had come to ocean springs in march 1915 from south bend indiana mr hollingsworth rented the john b honor place on front beach for one year in november 1915 orey young son bought out the hollingsworth garage and ford agency  the ocean springs news november 4 1915 p 1  in october 1915 fred davidson 18851915 a native of illinois and the son of jerome t davidson 18451918 and jessie montgomery davison 1859pre1930 bought the buick overland and hudson agencies from wb hollingsworth who returned to the hoosier state the davidson family acquired present day 420 martin avenue the mestiersheehan house in february 1917 at this time there were fiftytwo automobiles at ocean springs dr ol bailey 18701938 had bought nine since 1906  the ocean springs news  october 11 1915 p 5  o keefe brothers commercial hotel tract jerry o keefe and sons owned a large tract on robinson street and later the northeast corner of washington avenue and robinson street in the years between 1906 and 1944 here they operated a ford automobile dealership livery and drayage service coal delivery business sold and transported construction materials gasoline retailing and operated a taxi and limousine service in december 1953 wendell palfrey 18961956 constructed a 2100 squarefoot arkansas tile building on a portion of this land which he leased to the us postal service the building was later the location of the salmagundi gifts shop which closed in january 2014 salmagundi was founded circa 1963 by lois marye robertson raum 19261967 and pam smith of pascagoula in the farmers and merchants bank building on washington avenue the business later moved across the street into the former us post office on the southeast corner of robinson and washington jeannie steveson the last proprietor acquired the business from mary and bob costa circa 1991 the ocean springs gazette january 16 2014 p 1  commercial hotel tractsalmagundi gifts  view south from l n tracks down washington avenue between 1913 and 1920  van cleavecommercial hotel  18801920 robert adrian van cleave 18401908 was a founding father of the town of ocean springs he arrived at ocean springs in 1867 from yazoo county mississippi with his new bride elizabeth r sheppard 18421912 she was the stepdaughter of entrepreneur george a cox 18121887 with mr cox who came to ocean springs in the early 1850s van cleave established a store on bluff creek to trade with the charcoal burners in that area this commercial venture led to the development of the present day village of vancleave the hotel was called the commercial hotel when it was destroyed in a large conflagration on early in the early morning of october 26 1920 hf russell a protege of van cleave sold the hotel tract to ben o keefe and jody o keefe on may 18 1921 for 1500 jk lemon jr 19141998 remembers as a boy that circa 1925 the o keefe brothers had a livery stable automobile service station and a taxi service on robinson avenue the former hotel lot was utilized as a parking area the commercial hotel tract was situated on the southeast corner of washington avenue and robertson street just west of the o keefe white house parcel which had been acquired in february 1906 the commercial hotel was erected in 1880 by ra van cleave 18401908 and was destroyed by fire in the early the morning of october 26 1920 after flames were discovered in the commercial hotel immediately fire alarms consisting of fire bells pistols and engine whistles were sounded unfortunately the entire structure was consumed by fire in only a few minutes guest on the second floor made a hasty departure into the cool autumn darkness although winds were light firemen had difficulty securing a convenient water supply and the building was quickly lost to the conflagration the farmers and merchants bank building opposite the inn on the west side of washington avenue had window damage from the intense heat originating from the hotel fire although the structure was fully covered by fire insurance hf russell 18581940 the owner stated that he would not rebuild on the site commencing with the ocean springs hotel in 1905 and the shanahan house in 1919 the commercial hotel became the third ocean springs hotel to be lost to fire in these early years of the twentieth century  the jackson county times october 30 1920 p 1   hf russell sold the vacant commercial hotel lot on may 18 1921 to jeremiah j ben o keefe ii 18941954 and joseph h jody o keefe 18971932 for 1500 this acquisition now gave the o keefe brothers one hundredten feet on washington avenue and approximately three hundred front feet on robinson avenue opposite the l n depot unarguably a most advantageous location for business and commerce jk lemon jr 19141998 remembers as a boy circa 1925 that ben o keefe had a livery stable automobile service station and a taxi service on robinson avenue the former hotel lot was utilized as a parking area jackson co mississippi land deed bk 50 p 400 jj ben o keefe ii held the commercial hotel property on washington avenue until october 1944 when he conveyed it to isabel hodges 19021981 here in december 1953 wendell palfrey 18961956 constructed on a 2100 squarefoot arkansas tile building which he leased to the us postal service the lot and structure cost 27500 it was completed by et hoffis general contractor in late april 1954 and turned to oscar t davis 18941963 postmaster of ocean springs in june 1954 the new post office had its main entrance on washington avenue and a side portal on robinson street congressman william meyers colmer 18901980 was the primary speaker at the late april dedication of the new post office jackson county ms land deed bk 106 p 120 and 140 pp 484488 and  the gulf coast times december 10 1953 and january 13 1954 p 14 and april 28 1954 p 1  the old us post officepalfrey structure is extant at 922 washington avenue as poppy s a unique gift boutique which was formerly located on west porter salmagundi under the proprietorship of jeanne and jack stevenson natives of mobile operated here from about 1991 until they closed the portals in january 2014  the ocean springs record october 6 2005 p a4 and the ocean springs gazette january 16 2014 p 1    o keefe transfer company after acquiring the commercial hotel tract the o keefe brothers promptly built their office and garage fronting on washington avenue in late june 1921 the building was onestory and 2500square feet in area  the daily herald june 23 1921 p 5  in july 1923 the o keefe brothers were awarded a contract for hauling materials for the construction of that portion of us highway no 90 the old spanish trail known locally as the million dollar highway between moss point and the mississippialabama state line they had just acquired six ford trucks which had been specially built for heavy duty tasks  the jackson county times july 7 1923 p 5  in late august 1927 the o keefe s formally opened their new liberty pep gasoline pumps at their filling stations as an inducement for their clientele to use the new petroleum fuel they gave one gallon of motor oil free with each five gallons of petrol purchased  the jackson county times local and personal august 27 1927    o keefe service station in 1925 jj ben o keefe ii 18941954 acquired a lot on the nw c of government street and bellande avenue a gasoline service station was erected here which was leased to liberty oil standard oil of kentucky and sold to wofford oil in this vintage made by george h granitz 19091981 from the mcleod lodge f am building one can observe the former o keefe structure being utilized by george t rehage 18781937 a native of nola mr rehage was a tailor and operated a dry cleaning business here at 1011 desoto center right one can observed the home of we ed wilson 18731926 and ida fayard smith wilson 18841978 and the wilson cash and carry store just east of their residency the texaco gasoline pump on the north side of government is probably that of philip j wieder 18871985 courtesy of the first presbyterian church of ocean springs in late august 1927 the o keefe s formally opened their new liberty pep gasoline pumps at their filling stations as an inducement for their clientele to use the new petroleum fuel they gave one gallon of motor oil free with each five gallons of petrol purchased  the jackson county times local and personal august 27 1927   the o keefe s also supplied construction materials in the form of cement lime plaster gravel and sand for the erection of the 1927 ocean springs public school on government street on october 9 th 1999 a historical marker was dedicated on the former school grounds in honor of miss mary cahill o keefe 18931981 the sister of the o keefe brothers and former school superintendent for whom the building is now named  the jackson county times september 10 1927    601 west howard avenue o keefe funeral parlorsituated at 601 west howard avenue opposite nativity bvm catholic church jj ben o keefe ii 18941954 acquired the frank voivedich residence in march 1923 on june 4 1923 mr o keefe commenced his funeral business in biloxi which had been started by jj jerry o keefe 18641911 his father at ocean springs circa 1890 the o keefe funeral home was demolished in 1960 to erect a modern commercial building which was leased to goodyear who operated a tire sales and automobile repair business here for many years the o keefe family sold their large land holding on howard avenue fayard and thomas streets in may 1994  o keefe funeral servicebradfordo keefe funeral home in march 1923 jj ben o keefe 18941954 acquired for 6800 the frank voivedich and josephine fayard voivedich property at 601 west howard avenue and fayard street opposite nativity bvm catholic church the tract had 84 feet on west howard avenue and ran south on fayard street for 122 feet by early june 1923 the frank voivedich residence had been refurbished and transformed into the o keefe funeral service a modern funeral parlor equipped to do a general undertaking business and conduct funerals ben o keefe planned to continue his large business interests in ocean springs and had joseph jody o keefe his brother assisting him there harrison co ms land deed bk 135 p 351 and the jackson county times may 19 1923 p 5 and june 16 1923 p 5 the o keefe brothers commercial activities increased dramatically in june 1923 when they received the contract to haul materials to build the last section of us highway no 90 through jackson county from moss point to the alabama state line they acquired six large specially constructed ford trucks for the work the jackson county times july 7 1923 p 5 in may 1957 jj jerry o keefe iii acquired the bradford funeral home and all property ambulances etc from paul s bradford and ruth gates bradford the merger of the bradford funeral home and o keefe funeral service was not completed until july 1960 the company now called bradfordo keefe funeral service was situated at the former bradford funeral parlor on east howard avenue where improvements and additional parking had been acquired on the north side of the street harrison co ms land deed bk 422 pp 317326 in 1960 the former o keefe funeral parlor at 601 west howard avenue was demolished and a 6500 squareft goodyear service center was built on its former location in addition to selling new tire the goodyear enterprise did front end alignments and wheel balancing as well as replacing mufflers and tail pipes general electric appliances were also sold  the daily herald june 17 1960 p 2 and november 2 1960 p 12  mrs theresa tess slattery o keefe made a 15year lease with goodyear in may 1971 and the building and land were sold in may 1994 to james e sablich et ux by tess o keefe and sons dr john b o keefe and joseph ben o keefe harrison co ms 2 nd jd land deed bk 21 p 271 and bk 273 p 204 in 1964 bradfordo keefe built the ben o keefe chapel at ocean springs it was located on the northwest corner of government street and pine drive the chapel was later closed but became the temporary city public library in 19941995 in august 1997 the structure was dedicated as the  new hope center  a joint venture between the gulf coast ymca and the o keefe foundation  the ocean springs news august 6 1964 p 3 and the ocean springs record august 7 1997 p 1    1929 buyout shortly after the october 1929 wall street crash ben o keefe acquired the interest of his siblings in the o keefe funeral service of biloxi which had opened on june 4 1923 at 601 west howard avenue opposite the nativity bvm catholic church and the o keefe transfer and gasoline filling station enterprise on the southeast corner of washington avenue and robinson street at ocean springs ben o keefe assumed about 28000 in mortgages and other debt he also gave up his rights title and interest to several tracts of land at ocean springs and new orleans among them were the jj o keefe family home at present day 911 porter the o keefe castle also called the saxon house and seven gables present day 318 jackson avenue the old livery stable on porter street the white house tract on robertson street and the mary c o keefe domicile on porter street which was sold in february 1970 to the catholic charities housing association in to erect the villa maria jackson co mississippi land deed bk 63 pp 511515 and bk 371 p 506 this vintage image was very probably executed at biloxi mississippi between 1937 and 1940 the event is also unknown but was of a major importance as it is composed of the governor of mississippi the head of the mississippi national guard the elected municipal leadership of biloxi and three harrison county board of supervisors lr biloxi city commissioner john a swanzy 18811965 governor hugh lawson white 18811965 unknown beat i supervisor walter l nixon sr 18951960 unknown adjutant general john wa o keefe 18911985 biloxi city commissioner fa tucei 18891954 and mayor louis j braun 18901951 john wa o keefe elected mayor of biloxi in august 1934 to succeed r hart chinn 18881972 mayor o keefe announced in early february 1936 that he would resign as biloxi s mayor on february 10 to take the position of adjutant general of the state of mississippi he had been selected for the position in november 1935 by elect governor hugh l white  john a w o keefe john aloysius william o keefe 18911985 was born at new orleans on february 24 1891 the son of jeremiah j o keefe 18601911 and alice cahill o keefe 18641921 at this time the o keefe family was domiciled in the o keefe boarding house on the northeast corner of porter street and jackson avenue at ocean springs mississippi the o keefe family had settled here in the late 1850s when irish immigrants edward ned o keefe 18151874 a native of bincher parish tipperary county ireland and mary tracy o keefe 18321895 acquired land on the northeast corner of porter and rayburn jxco ms land deed bk 7 p 272 and lepre 1991 p 165  education john a o keefe attended local schools and the jesuit college at new orleans there is a high degree of certitude that he attended the lynch academy a private school at ocean springs operated by james lynch 18521935 an irish immigrant and merchant this is corroborated by the 1900 federal census which notes that john a o keefe is a student residing with his parents and siblings on porter street 1900 jackson county mississippi federal census t623 812 p 2b ed 45 mr lynch s school was situated on the northwest corner of porter and jackson avenue opposite the jj o keefe home at present day 911 porter in early december 1896 james lynch advertised his private school in  the ocean wave  as follows  preparatory school to the general school instructions already offered i will add a course of elementary classics and french algebra and geometry stenography and typewriting as a preparatory for college or commercial studies for particulars apply to  james lynch  jackson avenueocean springs mississippi john a o keefe s sister mary cahill o keefe 18931980 who would establish herself as an excellent educator of the french and english languages in the school systems of shreveport and monroe louisiana and at biloxi and ocean springs mississippi was an attendee of the lynch academy miss o keefe became superintendent of public schools at ocean springs in 1929 and held this position until 1945 she was also the first woman appointed to the board of trustees of perkinston junior college  the daily herald april 6 1945 p 3 c 6 and charles l sullivan october 28 2006  by 1901 john a w o keefe was in new orleans and under the tutelage of the jesuits he was promoted from first sergeant to first lieutenant in the jesuit cadets young o keefe received his ab degree from the college of the immaculate conception at new orleans in 1911 the college of the immaculate conception of new orleans was divided into loyola university and jesuit high school john aw o keefe graduated from tulane university in 1911  the pascagoula democratstar december 3 1901 and the daily herald 50 th anniversary souvenir golden jubilee 1934 p 50    family john a o keefe married amelia nicki castanera 19052000 the daughter of captain frank b castanera 18701934 and amelia desporte 18801953 in december 1929 amelia castenera was the queen of les masques a biloxi mardi gras krewe in 1927 and taught school at biloxi  the daily herald february 12 1927 p 1  in 1937 john and nicki o keefe adopted a jackson mississippi born baby girl and named her patricia mary o keefe 19372009 patricia m o keefe was born on september 27 1937 she was a graduate of the immaculate seminary at washington dc and a 1959 graduate of chestnut hill college at philadelphia pennsylvania patricia married ensign badger conley smith iii on july 4 1959 in the walter reed memorial chapel at washington dc ensign smith had graduated from st john s college washington dc and the us naval academy in 1959  the daily herald july 8 1959 p 8  patricia mary o keefe married frank obrimski in may 1965 she worked for the library of congress for fifteen years patricia died on september 20 2009 at garrett park maryland she and frank obrimski were the parents of margaret obrimski bonacorda and sharon obrimski portillo the history of jackson co ms 1989 p 302 and  the sun herald october 4 2009    the o keefe s troubled thirties joseph h jody o keefe  18971932 jody o keefe worked as a sugar chemist primarily in cuba although he had worked at a sugar beet factory in mt clemons michigan in the fall of 1927 at the time of his demise on august 1 1932 he was the assistant superintendent of the matanzas sugar company at matanzas cuba jody o keefe fractured several neck vertebrae in a diving accident while swimming in matanzas bay his older brother john aw o keefe 18911985 was also a sugar chemist in his early life ocean springs produced several more sugar chemists louis jeanbaptise mestier 18831954 and eugene w illing 18951978 lr jeremiah j ben o keefe 18941954 top row jody o keefe sitting mary cahill o keefe 18931981 and john w o keefe 18911985 courtesy of maureen o keefe ward  jodie s death the o keefe family like many other americans faced the depression with determination and hope several years after the infamous october 1929 stock market crash their brother joseph hyacinth jodie o keefe 18971932 died on august 1 1932 from neck and cervical injuries incurred while springboard diving at matanzas bay cuba miss o keefe and her new orleans friends mrs jt nix rosary nix and james t nix had just visited jodie at matanzas where he was a sugar chemist and assistant manager of the matanzas sugar company they were on a caribbean cruise and the vessel had stopped in havana for a few days  the daily herald august 2 1932 p 1   joseph hyacinth o keefe 18971932 was born at new orleans on february 13 1897 the son of jeremiah j o keefe 18601911 and alice cahill 18641921 joseph h o keefe was called jody he was a graduate sugar chemist from loyola university at new orleans young o keefe began his career in the sugar industry in 1920 with most of his technical work at sugarhouses in cuba when the sugar season ended in the caribbean tropics he would return to ocean springs to work in operated family enterprise history of jxco ms 1989 p 302 prior to entering the sugar refining business young jodie o keefe was employed by a large oil company in caddo parish louisiana in june 1918 he returned to the family home at present day 911 porter avenue in ocean springs from this assignment in the shreveport area of north louisiana  the jackson county times june 15 1918 p 5  in may 1923 jody was helping ben with his business interests at ocean springs ben had bought an old home in biloxi on west howard avenue opposite the nativity of the blessed virgin mary to open a modern funeral parlor  the jackson county times may 19 1923 p 5  in 1925 jodie o keefe worked in cuba until midjuly when he returned to ocean springs he was the assistant superintendent of two sugar refineries cuba produced more than 5000000 tons of sugar this year  the jackson county times july 181925 p 3  in april 1927 jh o keefe returned from central espana of the matanzas sugar company in cuba he had been here since december 1926 as first assistant superintendent of the refinery o keefe reported that sugar production was down but the price for the commodity was sufficient to make the industry profitable  the daily herald april 19 1927 p 9  jody traveled widely in his profession and in october 1927 went to the northern climes of michigan where he was employed at a large sugar beet factory in mt clemens northeast of detroit o keefe returned from michigan in december 1927  the jackson county times october 9 1927 p 2 and december 27 1927 p 5  john w a o keefe flew to havana cuba via atlantamiami to recover his brother s corpse he accompanied jody s corporal remains on its return to america via new orleans they sailed from cuba aboard the united fruit company s freighter  cataga  the daily herald august 5 1932 p 2  jodie h o keefe s funeral was held on august 9 1932 in ocean springs it was one of the largest ever held on the mississippi coast a requiem mass was celebrated at st alphonsus catholic church by father joseph h chauvin 18671959 with assistance from four biloxi priests fathers o sullivan mcglade maloney and mulrooney hundreds were in attendance in respect for ben o keefe jody s brother funeral directors from coast cities and mobile conducted the funeral services arthur lang of gulfport was in charge he was assisted by ha fails moss point calvin dees perkinston and joseph thompson and james duffee of mobile  the daily herald august 9 1932 p 2  jody o keefe s corporal remains were carried to the evergreen cemetery at ocean springs on august 9 1932 for interment  the daily herald august 9 1932 p 2  cwa and the o keefe airfield while in business at biloxi john w a o keefe continued his involvement in the military at this time he held the rank of captain in the us army air corps reserves in april 1932 captain o keefe was sent to the air corps headquarters in new york for two weeks duty  the daily herald april 11 1932 p 2  in 1933 john w a o keefe was appointed civil works administration aeronautics advisor for mississippi the cwa was part of president franklin d roosevelt s new deal to combat the lethargic american economy of the depression it also was an economic failure and was disbanded by april 1934 in march 1934 john aw o keefe had retired as the grand knight of the biloxi council knights of columbus relating that his active position as cwa aeronautics advisor and his third term as grand knight as salient reasons  the daily herald march 20 1934 p 5  in november 1934 the town of newton mississippi and the newton county american legion post dedicated their new 12000 airport in honor of major john aw o keefe former cwa aeronautics adviser for mississippi the event was highlighted by a visiting us army air corps aircraft from maxwell field alabama national guard planes from birmingham and eighteen commercial southeastern united states including a trimotor airship mayor john summers of newton made the presentation to major o keefe us senator byron pat harrison 18811941 also spoke at the dedication the newton county airfield is no longer called o keefe field it is now known as james h easom field it is located at 266 o keefe road one mile southeast of newton mississippi  the daily herald november 13 1934  biloxi mayor john aw o keefe was elected mayor of biloxi in july 1934 to succeed incumbent mayor robert hart chinn 18881972 called hart chinn chinn had born on april 9 1888 at vandalia audrain county missouri the son of james buchanan buck chinn 18571912 and martha ella hart 18571938 in 1890 buck chinn came to biloxi to start the biloxi milling company with fellow missourians eg burklin rd chinn and mr brewton in april 1893 the biloxi milling company commenced operations making flour and meal  the biloxi herald january 7 1893 p 8 and april 22 1893 p 1  r hart chinn   r hart chinn  18881972 called hart was unarguably the most controversial and belligerent politician ever to serve the people of biloxi he was first elected mayor of biloxi after mayor john j kennedy 18751949 resigned from office in june 1933 to become comptroller of customs at new orleans mr chinn became biloxi s mayor by winning the august 25 1933 general election incumbent mayor chinn lost his reelection bid to john wa o keefe 18911985 in august 1934 after mayor o keefe resigned in february 1936 to become mississippi s adjutant general hart chinn lost to louis j braun 18901951 in the april 1936 election to replace mayor o keefe who had relocated to jackson mississippi hart chinn did serve another term as biloxi s mayor in the early 1950s after a brief military career during ww i lt hart chinn returned to biloxi where he made his livelihood as manager of the fosterfountain packing company he married mrs vera l dukate bond 18861977 on november 11 1918 at camp sherman ohio  the daily herald november 14 1918   vera dukate was the daughter ofwilliam k m dukate 18521916 a native of fredericksburg washington county indiana and linda rose lienhard 18591939 born in harrison county mississippi the daughter of peter j lienhard 18121873 a swiss immigrant and malinda b seaman 18261890 linda rose and mr dukate had married in her mother s residence at biloxi mississippi on april 27 1878 the dukate children were  elbert l dukate  18811943 m corrine desporte 18821973  eula t dukate  18821894  vera l dukate  18861977 m brantley a bond 18801966 and r hart chinn 18881972  leola may dukate  18881967 m william l ewing 18881967  irma dukate  18901974 m daniel j gorenflo 18881965 and beulah l dukate  19001983 m carl e matthes 18961972   the pascagoula democratstar may 3 1878 p 3 and lepre 1991 p 99    vera dukate bond was the mother of two daughters vera leola bond 19091989 m leslie baltar grant 19081986 and whillamene linda bond 19111998 m hawthorne eddy in july 1933 mayor john kennedy 18751949 of biloxi resigned his position to accept the post of comptroller of customs new orleans louisiana for the gulf district which included mississippi alabama arizona louisiana new mexico and texas his recommendation for this federal position had come from us senator byron patton pat harrison 18811941 of gulfport mississippi and appointment by president franklin delano roosevelt 18821945 r hart chinn was elected mayor of biloxi at the august 25 1933 general election in the democratic primary held earlier mayor chinn ran against walter h skeet hunt 18871960 and dr george f carroll 18841962 during chinn s brief first tenure as mayor of biloxi he became involved in a heated argument on august 22 1934 at a biloxi city council meeting with city commissioner john a swanzy 18811965 r hart chinn struck mr swanzy in the head with a paperweight mayor chinn and william parks his secretary was also involved in the altercation with commissioner swanzy r hart chinn was charged with assault and battery with intent to kill by the harrison county grand jury  the daily herald    august 22 1934 p august 24 1934 p 1 and october 3 1934 p 1    o keefe s mayoral campaign the 1934 biloxi mayoral election was held at biloxi on july 17 1934 john w a o keefe ran against r hart chinn mayor incumbent and defeated him by three hundred fiftysix votes there were 2029 total votes cast in the mayoral election john w a o keefe had campaigned with enthusiasm and based his candidacy on five issues reduction of taxes industrial development to spur employment harmony between elected officials for the greater good of biloxi hard work and endeavor and honesty in the office of mayor mr o keefe related to the electorate that he would not waste time with trite conversation but would toil diligently to place biloxi where it belongs he promised if elected that   you ll find biloxi a better place to live in four years     the daily herald july 18 1934 p 1 july 10 1934 p 1 and july 14 1934 p 1  mayoral candidate o keefe was not meek on the stump he criticized his opponent at several public forums repeatedly future mayor o keefe related that mr chinn was often absent from his office and that chinn had attempted to obfuscate the election by introducing issues with other men communities and states o keefe was alluding to the rumor running amok at biloxi that senator huey p long of louisiana was involved behind the scenes in the biloxi mayoral race the louisiana conservation commission had an office in biloxi at this time and it was alleged that they supported r hart chinn when asked about this huey long stated that he didn t even know that louisiana had a conservation office in biloxi  the daily herald july 12 1934 p 1    washington nationals arrive at biloxi in 1935 this vintage image was made in the winter of 1935 at the l n depot at biloxi mississippi biloxi mayor elect john aw o keefe and city commissioners f a tucei and john a swanzy are welcoming clark griffith 18691955 president and owner of the washington nationals of the american league the nationals held their spring baseball training at biloxi for several years during the early 1930s clark griffith arrived here in midfebruary to complete arrangements for the opening of the 1935 baseball spring training session lr mayor john w a o keefe 18911985 frederick a tucei 18891954 city commissioner clark c griffith 18691955 owner washington nationals john a swanzy 18811965 city commissioner image by anthony v ragusin 19021997 from the ray l bellande historical imagery archives and  the daily herald february 19 1935 p  city commissioners with john aw o keefe the biloxi voters elected two city commissioners john a swanzy 18811965 a longtime incumbent and fa tucei 18891954 a political newcomer mr swanzy swept into office in the first primary  the daily herald august 14 1934 p 1    captain castanera expires the summer heat and intensity of the mayoral election were stilling boiling in biloxi when nicki c o keefe lost her father on august 21 1934 captain frank b castanera 18701934 had been born in pascagoula mississippi and received a jesuit education at spring hill college in mobile he settled at biloxi in 1893 and organized the biloxi and ship island tow boat company in february 1897 with jb roberts the steam tug  biloxi  built by the taltavull shipyard for frank b castanera was used in the towing operations along the mississippi coast circa 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  the daily herald august 21 1934 p 1   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  the biloxi news april 25 1926 p 1 and may 2 1926 p 7   captain frank b castanera had married amelia desporte 18801953 at biloxi on june 30 1897 in addition to amelia c nicki o keefe their other children were eugene ernest castanera 18981932 ursula c provensal 19001991 married sidney w provensal 18881977 delauney castanera 19031935 married louise tremmel and theodore castanera 19051978 married bessie welch 19141989 harrison co mississippi circuit court mrb 11 p 211  the biloxi battlerjohn a o keefe  in august 1934 john a o keefe had been elected mayor of biloxi defeating incumbent r hart chinn by a wide margin when time came for the watch to change at the biloxi city hall in early january 1935 mayor chinn refused to leave office claiming that o keefe and the other newly elected city councilmen john a swanzy and fa tucei 18891954 were not qualified electors as they had been late in paying city taxes chinn also alleged that john w a o keefe was a registered voter in both jackson and harrison counties  the daily herald january 7 1935 p 3  a few minutes past midnight on january 7 1935 mayorelect o keefe and his cabinet took the oath of office administered by judge george b wink on biloxi s point cadet immediately thereafter mayor o keefe who at the time was a major in the mississippi national guard commanding the 3 rd battalion 114 th field artillery and his armed followers took the biloxi city hall by force ousting chinn supporters among them police chief george bills mayor o keefe brought a cot with him and slept in his office during the crisis week  the daily herald january 7 1935 p 1 and p 3  the o keefe contingent soon discovered that r hart chinn had absconded with the city books and records making it nearly impossible to manage the daily operations of the municipality chinn excused this act as he believed that he was protecting them from the o keefe led mob that he had heard would invade city hall in the early morning hours of january 7 th when chinn refused a court order to return biloxi s records he was cited for contempt of court the net result of this chaos at biloxi which lasted about two weeks was that chinn was fined 100 and ordered to pay court costs  the daily herald january 24 1935 p 1    car wreck in early march 1935 mayor o keefe spouse nicki c o keefe amelia desporte castanera 18801953 his motherinlaw and dorothy daspit 19081937 an ocean springs school teacher and native of houma louisiana were traveling west to new orleans for a mardi gras celebration while driving the beach road through pass christian the steering mechanism of mayor o keefe s automobile failed and the vehicle struck a tree nicki c o keefe broke her hipbone while her mother and mayor o keefe suffered cuts and bruises miss daspit was not seriously harmed in the accident  the jackson county times march 9 1935 p1    general john wa o keefe general john wa o keefe mayor john a o keefe of biloxi became adjutant general of mississippi on january 22 1936 hugh lawson white 18811965 the mississippi governorelect had promised o keefe this position in his administration for the mayor s influence and political support during his campaign for the office to lead mississippi mayor o keefe s announced to his constituency that he would resign as biloxi s mayor on february 10 1936 to lead the state s 2000 national guardsmen the salary was 2700 per year mayor o keefe succeeded thomas grayson also from biloxi and an appointee of governor martin sennett mike connor 18911950  resignationadjutant general with the inauguration of hugh lawson white 18811965 in january 1936 as the governor of mississippi john a o keefe became adjutant general of mississippi the governorelect had promised mayor o keefe this position in his administration for his influence and political support during his campaign for the office to lead the people of mississippi mayor o keefe s appointment as adjutant general was confirmed by the mississippi senate in executive session on january 22 1936 although he did not announce his retirement as biloxi s mayor until february 10 1936 to lead mississippi s 2000 national guardsmen his salary as adjutant general was 2700 per year john wa o keefe succeeded thomas grayson also a biloxian and an appointee of governor mike connor o keefe and family found an apartment on west capitol street in jackson   the daily herald october 17 1935 p 2   and the daily herald november 8 1935 january 22 1936 p 1 and the jackson county times february 1 1936 p 1  in august 1936 adjutant general o keefe and 2175 officers and troops of the 155 th infantrymississippi the 156 th infantrylouisiana the 106 th quartermasters regimentmississippi and other louisiana national guard units spent two weeks training at camp beauregard near alexandria louisiana the medical detachment from biloxi was led by lt eldon l bolton md 19101990 the quartermasters unit from ocean springs was in charge of lt walter holloway and company m out of gulfport with captain glenn rutledge in command were also encamped the daily herald august 24 1936 p 2 in september 1939 adjutant general o keefe was grand marshal of the mississippi delegation in the national american legion parade at chicago in august ben hilbun of laurel mississippi and the newly elected american legion state commander had made the first announcement of general o keefe s selection as grand marshal for the illinois event  the jackson county times august 5 1939 p 1    lurline schrieber hall marion lurline schrieber hall  b 1920 called lurline our guest contributor today was reared on east porter street near vancleave avenue by her parents joseph louis dode schrieber 18731951 and etta augusta clark 18881979 lurline is pictured with the oyster boxes that her father built for biloxi s seafood factories in the 1920s dode schrieber was an interesting man he was multitalented and made his livelihood at various times as a carpenter boat builder and oysterman dode schrieber made an amazing contribution to the chronology of ocean springs in the fall of 1949 when he was interviewed in the twilight of his life by captain ellis handy 18911963 then a writer for   the gulf coast times  captain handy s column  know your neighbor  was published between july 1949 and november 1949 it included interviews with some of ocean springs most notables antonio john catchot 18641954 john edward catchot 18971987 henry l girot 18861953 john wc mitchell 18711952 alfred peter moran 18971967 fred j ryan 18861969 and george washington smith 18571953 the vancleave bradford davis and many more pioneer families and individuals were highlighted by mr handy in addition to details of his own schrieberletzler family dode schrieber related much about the unpublished events of the mid and late 19 th century chronology of ocean springs for any local genealogist or history buff the handy and schrieber reports are a must marion lurline schrieber hall b 1920 now a resident of east letohatchie alabama attended the ocean springs public school in the 1920s and 1930s graduating with the oshs class of 1937 her personal recollections of miss mary cahill o keefe her former teacher and principal follows  mary o keffe a hometown girl became the principal circa 1930 of ocean springs high school this was a complete surprise since there had never been a female head of the school mr chandler resigned when i was in the fifth grade and we not only had to get used to a lady at the helm but a strict lady she let it be known from the beginning that she would stand for no foolishnessshe gave us rules to follow and we knew we had to live by them she showed no favoritism but expected courtesy from each of us and we knew exactly what she expected from us miss o keefe was always fair but stern   during the time my class was in the eighth grade which was during the tight financial years of the depression we only had school for eight months of the year due to the shortage of money the teachers agreed to the eightmonth term and we compressed nine months of learning into eight  mary o keefe who was known in ocean springs as mamie had to take on a few teaching chores herself she taught our english class and always addressed us as my dear child her first instructions to us were when i call the roll you are to answer prepared or unprepared if you answer unprepared i will expect an acceptable reason i will not accept excuses i will accept reasons and they must be good ones  rest assured you could count the unprepared responses with the fingers of her one hand her next admonition to us was not to say yes mame or no mame when addressing her we were requested to say yes miss o keefe or no miss o keefe even when reprimanding us miss o keefe spoke to her students as my dear child  each day at noon when we were dismissed for lunch miss o keefe stood at the foot of the stairssometimes at the girls stairs and at other occasions the boys stairwell this was to discourage the stomping of feet as we descended we never knew which stairway she would select and even the high school boys refrained from loud stomping yes the sexes were segregated even on the playgrounds one had to ask permission from the teacher on playground duty to cross over an imaginary boundary separating the sexes even if a ball was accidentally sent crossed the barrier this form of segregation was enforced primarily to prevent larger boys from unintentionally running into smaller females and possibly inflicting bodily injury miss o keefe captained a taut ship during the depression ocean springs high school was never removed from the list of accredited schools and colleges she provided the curriculum that would enable her students to attend college or make a livelihood of ones choosing after graduation she operated the school in a most outstanding manner steering her students on a straight course with caring yet with authority someone once said that miss o keefe was trying to excel in order to prove that a local girl was capable of managing an exceptional school even though many people thought that a female was incapable of doing it during the years that miss o keefe was our valued mentor her brother was killed in a diving accident for a year she wore mourning black in fall and winter and white and lavender in spring and summer mrs weyerstall made her clothes and they were lovely this was her outward expression to us for her deep love for her departed brother jody  miss mary c o keefe was a lady who demanded respect and she returned respect if it was earned she had the best interests of her students at heart and worked continuously to obtain the very best for ocean springs high school to name our old school building for her would certainly be an appropriate and deserving tribute   lynch academy and marker the lynch academy a private school was located on the northwest corner of jackson avenue and porter street james lynch 18521935 an irish schoolmaster lived here taught school and also managed a dry goods and grocery store mr lynch served as an alderman and later town clerk from 19171929 in the image note the us highway 90 sign in september 2006 workmen in the employ of brad lemon a resident of 509 ward avenue discovered a small concrete marker with the designation lynch academy 18901916 inscribed into its surface the lemon house was built circa 1928 by pj wieder 18871985 it is not known who made the lynch academy marker or how it got to the wiederlemon home on ward avenue  early education miss mary c o keefe attended st alphonsus school and the lynch academy both located on jackson avenue in ocean springs the lynch academy was located on the northwest corner of porter and jackson directly across the street from the o keefe residence james lynch 18521935 the school master was himself irish probably a native of county cavan eire  the daily herald april 6 1945 p 3 the jackson county times july 6 1935 and the pascagoula democratstar august 27 1897  former mayor and local historian charles ernest uncle ernie schmidt 19041988 paints a vivid image in his description of master lynch s teaching methods which follows  his curriculum was grounded in the fundamentals of language and ciphering that is reading writing parsing and constant drilling tables addition multiplication and division up to the 19 th informality was the order when a lesson was learned it was heard if satisfactory the pupil was advanced if not he was set down to study it again   discipline carried over from a past age a slap on the head with a closed book restored order the old man s explosive expletives were something to be avoided a wrong answer as to the product of 13 times 16 would draw a thunderous balderdash or if the pupil failed completely he would likely be assessed as a confounded mope    schmidt 1972 p 69 may 29 1904 was a special day in the spiritual life of mary c o keefe she and other young contemporaries received the roman catholic sacrament of holy communion at the st alphonsus church on jackson avenue among those in her holy communion class were henry beaugez moses beaugez 18911973 deo bertuccini 18931979 paul bertuccini leila catchot lena eglin gilbert 18901928 elizabeth joachim john king josephine mon ella ryan blanche von rosambeau 18921982 gertrude soden mcgregor 18931987 mamie starks b 1891 tom starks 18921917 george van court and alice white 18901960  the progress may 28 1904 p 4  miss o keefe completed her high school education at st mary s dominican academy at new orleans her brother john a o keefe 18911985 was attending jesuit high school concurrently he was appointed captain of company djesuit cadets in december 1905  the pascagoula democratstar november 3 1905 and december 8 1905  john a o keefe would go on to a distinguished career in politics and the military he served the city of biloxi as its mayor in 1935 before being appointed as adjutant general of mississippi by governor hugh lawson white  the pascagoula democratstar november 3 1905 and december 8 1905 and the daily herald september 16 1985 p a2  at the dominican academy graduation exercises in late june 1910 miss o keefe was awarded five gold medals for excellence in various academic disciplines she matriculated to sophie newcomb college at new orleans in the fall of 1910 and after taking a private examination was admitted to the sophomore class  the ocean springs news october 15 1910 p 4 and june 25 1910  miss o keefe graduated from newcomb college in 1913 in 1917 she was voted president of her 1913 class for life  the jackson county times july 7 1917  a peripatetic career north louisiana  19131923 after her stellar academic accomplishments in the scholastic halls of new orleans finest educational institutions miss mary c o keefe went to shreveport louisiana to teach french at the high school level she spent the summer of 1914 at ocean springs and departed in september 1914 to resume her position as professor of french in the central high school  the ocean springs news september 26 1914  at this time it was extremely common for single schoolteachers to room and board with local families at shreveport miss o keefe found shelter on fairfield avenue with the roman catholic family of john b slattery 18441927 a prominent attorney and widower his spouse mary ellen herron a native of wisconsin had expired in 1899 they were the parents of four sons and two daughters alice o keefe sebastian september 13 1999 although mr slattery s daughter teresa tess josephine slattery 18941995 had met jeremiah ben joseph o keefe ii 18941954 while on a seashore summer holiday to visit mary c o keefe at ocean springs in 1919 it was his journey to shreveport for the thanksgiving holiday of the following year that sealed their fate at ocean springs ben had been the steady escort of the widow carrie johnson garrard 18861968 but he was smitten with miss slattery and they were wedded at shreveport s st john berchman s roman catholic church in april 1921 mary c o keefe was the maid of honor in her brother s wedding she appropriately carried killarney roses alice o keefe sebastian september 13 1999 and  the jackson county times september 20 1919 and may 7 1921 p 3    mary cahill o keefe this image was made for the biloxi beacon the 1924 biloxi high school annual miss o keefe s career as a foreign language instructor began at shreveport louisiana in 1913 and she retired from her profession while at ocean springs in april 1945 as superintendent of education during her tenure as school superintendent at ocean springs miss o keefe instilled in the community the value of excellence in education and raised the level of learning to a higher standard as well as being an inspiration to her students to excel in their chosen vocations after graduation in mary cahill o keefe s beloved memory the 1927 ocean springs public school was named the mary c o keefe cultural center of arts and education fondly called the mary c in december 1998 by the city of ocean springs a mississippi historical marker for this purpose was dedicated on the former school grounds on october 9 1999  shreveport years until the summer of 1918 miss o keefe continued her educational career at shreveport routinely spending her summer and christmas holidays at ocean springs  the ocean springs news december 30 1915 the jackson county times september 15 1917 and january 5 1918  in 1918 however she passed the civil service examination and spent that summer working in government service at washington dc miss o keefe returned from washington to ocean springs in early september 1918 again she went dutifully to shreveport to teach french that fall  the jackson county times may 25 1918 p 5 and september 7 1918 p 5  the academic year of 19181919 also brought miss o keefe a new wrinkle in addition to her french language classes she coached the girls basketball team 1919 was also the memorable year that miss tess slattery from shreveport came home with mary c o keefe for a summer holiday at the seashore in ocean springs they returned to shreveport in september 1919  the jackson county times april 5 1919 may 31 1919 and september 20 1919    monroe louisiana  19211922 miss o keefe left her position as head of the modern language department in the shreveport louisiana school system after the 19211922 academic year during the late spring of 1921 she attended the annual alumni reunions of newcomb college and st mary s dominican academy miss o keefe was elected president of her dominican academy high school class she reported to monroe louisiana in october 1922 to teach french at the high school there she returned to biloxi in june 1923 for her annual summer holiday  the daily herald october 21 1922 p 5 and june 23 1923 p 5 and the jackson county times june 18 1921 p 3    biloxi mississippi   19231926 miss o keefe did not return to monroe louisiana in the fall of 1923 evidently this assignment wasn t agreeable as she commenced the 19231924 school year at the biloxi central high school on september 10 1923 she had been elected to teach french to the students here  the jackson county times june 16 1923 p 5 and september 15 1923 p 5  in early june 1924 miss o keefe departed ocean springs for a globetrotting summer of adventure discovery and learning she visited friends at washington dc and new york before embarking for the continent via ocean liner from montreal dr margaret bowden had feted her with a luncheon at the pickwick club in new orleans before leaving america in late august  the jackson county times june 14 1924  in europe mary cahill o keefe spent several weeks in the larger european capital cities london rome paris and brussels took a trip along the shores of the mediterranean sea by motorcar visited the battlefields of france and had an audience with pope pius xi in addition to visiting all the cities and points of interest on the continent it is believed that miss o keefe took courses in french at the sorbonne while in paris  the jackson county times august 30 1924 p 5 and the daily herald september 5 1924 p 3  after the 19241925 school term had ended miss mary c o keefe and margaret dacey who taught girls physical education at biloxi high school left the mississippi gulf coast in june 1925 for chicago where they were joined by miss cunningham the biloxi educators were guests of the edgewater beach hotel in the windy city from chicago miss o keefe and miss dacey went to detroit and niagara falls before arriving at new york city to attend columbia university miss o keefe returned home to ocean springs from columbia in late august better prepared to teach languages at biloxi high school in the fall  the jackson county times june 20 1925 july 4 1925 p 1 and august 29 1925 p 3  although she was rated as one of the best instructors in the school miss o keefe resigned her position at biloxi high school in january 1926 she cited health reasons for her leaving the classroom her tenure here in the modern languages department had been for three and onehalf years  the jackson county times january 29 1926 p 2  by july 1926 mary c o keefe s health had been restored sufficiently for her to travel to chicago for two weeks to attend the eucharistic congress she was a guest at a reception in honor of the crown prince and princess of sweden  the jackson county times july 10 1926    miss mary c o keefe s cottage located on the north side of west porter street between jackson avenue and washington avenue miss o keefe acquired this structure with acreage in august 1925 with her three brother john aw o keefe jh jody o keefe and jj ben o keefe they conveyed the cottage and other tracts to her sole ownership in july 1930 miss o keefe s cottage was a memorable venue for her great nieces and great nephews and many eclectic friends memories of it were evoked by maureen o keefe ward as follows  the words aunt mary immediately conjure up specific and rich memoriesapproaching her neat white picket fence which wasn t so high that it scared a child walking up onto her tiny front screen porch and immediately confronting her colorful blackbeard figurines by the andersons the historical significance of which aunt mary was always happy to dramatize with great verve and then entering through the front door into the wonderland of her small but beautifully appointed white frame house aunt mary and her petite house were always in perfect orderfrom antique wicker furniture covered in cozy pillows to elderly oriental rugs topped by glassfront cabinets filled with jewellike demitasse cups and saucers gathered patiently on her world travels to the paintings and lovely della robia sculpture on the walls through to her tiny dining room kitchen and bedroom   she loved to host my sisters and me at tea parties during which we got to select our favorite cup and saucer from which to sip sitting around her dining room we would nibble and drink and converse with our best manners on display without ever needing to ask aunt mary always called forth our most perfect behavior we didn t want to risk her displeasure    miss o keefe s cottage  19251971 in august 1925 mary c o keefe jj ben o keefe 18941954 joseph h jody o keefe 18971932 and john aw o keefe 18911985 acquired for 1200 a lot and improvements fronting on west porter from daniel dick 19001971 this was the site of miss o keefe s cottage where she would reside for the next fortysix years jackson co mississippi land deed bk 56 pp 349350 the mary c o keefe s cottage was situated primarily on lot 3 of the seidenstricker tract in lot 12 of block 27 of the culmseig map of ocean springs 1854 this lovely oakshaded site was located on the north side of west porter between jackson avenue and washington avenue miss o keefe s 523acre irregularlydimensioned lot had a front of 94 feet on porter and went north 262 feet on the eastside and had 143 feet on the western perimeter it is postulated that miss o keefe s cottage was erected here in the late 19th century probably by the herman nill family of new orleans who had purchased this tract from ag tebo 18481929 in march 1891 jackson co mississippi land deed bk 17 p 355 caroline vahle nill 18621949 and herman nill 18631904 had sold this property to sallie grayson orrell 18661948 in january 1903 for 1200 the vahles had built a twoand onehalf story building on their lot on the nw corner of washington and porter in 1893 here mr nill ran a drugstore and let offices to local doctors in what was an apparent arson local vandals destroyed nill s building in december 1900 by 1903 the nill family had relocated to gulfport mississippi jxco land deed bk 25 p 521  the ocean springs record july 22 1993 p 18 july 29 1993 p 17 and august 5 1993  sallie grayson orrell was the daughter of judge thomas w grayson 18251904 and anne hyde grayson 18321906 her father was the fourth mayor of ocean springs 18971898 sallie married john c orrell jr 18621931 in november 1889 he was the son of john c orrell 18301917 a north carolinian who established the turpentine industry in western jackson county during reconstruction by 1900 jc orrell jr was a baggage master for the l n railroad and rearing three daughters lucille orrell 18931910 lillian orrell 18951931 and irene orrell 18981920 on porter street the jc orrell jr family left ocean springs for 208 state street in mobile before 1917 as they were residing here when his father died in november 1917  the mobile press register december 1 1917 p 8  mrs sallie g orrell conveyed their porter street cottage to daniel dick 19001971 for 1200 in august 1924 mr dick was born at ocean springs the son of eugene dick 18681918 and mary cecile seymour 18691953 eugene married marie e starns 19011971 the daughter of mr and mrs jp starns of bogalusa louisianajackson co mississippi land deed bk 54 pp 181182 and the daily herald december 16 1933 p 2  it was from daniel dick that the nillorrell house was acquired by mary c o keefe ben o keefe john a o keefe and jody o keefe for 1200 in august 1925 mr dick left ocean springs and made his livelihood at los banos merced county california his brother carl mexi dick 19092000 resided in san ramon california where he expired on september 22 2000 in july 1930 mary c o keefe acquired three parcels of land at ocean springs from her brothers ja o keefe jh o keefe and jj ben o keefe the cottage property on west porter was included in this sale miss o keefe had to assume a mortgage of 1250 held by miss josephine friar 18831958 jackson co mississippi chancery court cause no 5649 jackson co mississippi land deed bk 63 pp 524525 and jackson co mississippi land deed bk 56 pp 349350 miss o keefe sold her porter street cottage to the catholic charities housing association in february 1970 it was removed when the villa maria was erected in midtown ocean springs between april 1970 and september 1971 jackson co mississippi land deed bk 371 p 506  villa maria considered the coast s first skyscraper and still one of the tallest buildings on the mississippi coast the villa maria is located on west porter street in ocean springs this 198 unit 13story 25 million dollar apartment complex was erected by the catholic charities housing association commencing in april 1970 and being completed in september 1971 the ribbon cutting was held on november 28 1971 structures along washington avenue and west porter street were demolished to erect the structure miss mary c o keefe sold her cottage on west porter to catholic charities and moved into the villa maria she expired here on january 22 1980 ocean springs 19271930  miss o keefe joined the faculty of the new ocean springs public school in the fall of 1927 she taught english her first year at the facility for 11500 per month or 103500 per year  the jackson county times september 24 1927 p 1  although mary c o keefe never married she led an active social life and appeared to be peripatetic by nature she had family and friends in new orleans and traveled there often for parties football games and the mardi gras season the year 1928 wasn t one of her better ones as in late february miss o keefe was badly bruised and shaken up in a car accident on her way to new orleans to view the carnival her car had skidded in loose gravel and overturned miss o keefe s friends pierre f donnes jr 18781938 and louise sic donnes 18851938 also received minor injuries  the daily herald february 28 1928 p 4 and the jackson county times february 25 1928  pierre f donnes jr was a new orleans born architect and yacht designer he built a home in gulf hills at present day 6200 ridge road which is extant and generally remembered as the warren jackson 18861972 home since it remained in the jackson family from september 1936 until october 1973 in june mary c o keefe was recovering from an appendectomy at hotel dieu in the crescent city  the jackson county times june 23 1928 p 2  in the spring of 1929 mary o keefe was elected superintendent of the ocean springs public schools she was to succeed professor sterling chandler at the commencement of the fall semester  the jackson county times march 16 1929 p 3  prior to the new school term miss o keefe and miss salome bailey later watkins the daughter of dr ol bailey attended for several weeks a lecture course at columbia university in new york city miss bailey went initially to visit with relatives in atlanta and met o keefe en route to new york  the jackson county times august 24 1929  new homes another woe of the 1930s for the o keefe family as previously mentioned was the loss of their family homestead the 1909 o keefe mansion on porter street in ocean springs it was forfeited to a government mortgage agency in december 1938 in march 1923 ben o keefe acquired the frank voivedich property on west howard avenue and fayard street he planned to make commercial use of this tract during the summer mr o keefe was operating a funeral parlor and burial business building in ocean springs  the daily herald march 27 1923 p 2  ben and tess o keefe and their family alice mary o keefe sebastian 19222011 jeremiah j jerry o keefe iii b 1923 dr john b o keefe 1925200 and joseph b o keefe 19301999 relocated to biloxi when mrs tess o keefe acquired a home and lot on fayard street from josephine fayard voivedich 18621940 in july 1937 this residence was in the rear of the o keefe funeral parlor at 601 west howard avenue harrison co mississippi land deed bk 216 pp 2930 during the final year of ww ii ben and tess o keefe and young ben moved into the old hopkins place at 823 west beach boulevard mrs o keefe acquired this home on a 23 acre tract on the east side of hopkins boulevard and fronting the mississippi sound for 20000 in february 1945 from dr ralph hopkins of new orleans harrison co mississippi land deed bk 273 pp 2930 in july 1945 the main street methodist church of biloxi purchased about one acre of land north of the o keefe home for a new sanctuary in early march 1948 dr bz welch chairman of the main street methodist church building committee announced plans for a new sanctuary on hopkins boulevard carl matthes was named architect in early january 1949 ground was broken to erect the new 200000 methodist church on hopkins boulevard harrison co mississippi land deed bk 276 pp 569570 and the daily herald march 1 1948 p 2 and january 7 1949 p 2 in november 1960 several years after jj ben o keefe expired in his biloxi beach front domicile mrs tess o keefe and her son dr john b o keefe sold 823 west beach boulevard to gulf towers inc by early november gulf towers a tenstory 2 million apartment building at 824 central beach boulevard was ready to break ground barlow and plunkett designed the structure for gulf towers inc lead operated by charles crisler jr a jackson attorney and jerry j o keefe a biloxi businessman howie construction of jackson mississippi was the general contractor harrison co mississippi land deed bk 471 pp 5758 and the daily herald november 5 1960 p 1 after the villa maria was opened on west porter street in september 1971 miss o keefe moved there and was a resident until her demise in january 1980  preview image prior to the first 1699 landing at ocean springs miss mary cahill o keefe was the director of the first 1699 iberville landing celebration at ocean springs which was held in conjunction with the coast wide pageant of march 1719 1939 miss elinor wright 19131953 the niece of hl hunt dallas oil tycoon and who would later married orwin j scharr 19142002 researched and wrote the script for the iberville landing other members of the planning committee for this event were iola f davidson 18831963 gertrude w mcclure d 1971 henrietta m gladney 19001978 virginia t lee 19011986 ap moran 18971967 and mayor charles bennett 18841971 in addition the daughters of henry l girot 18861953 and mabel judlin girot 18901956 were involved in the celebration with rose annette saxon mary handy and henry weyerstall lr henry weyerstall 19131987 beryl girot riviere 19162010 sally girot williams staley 19131961 georgine girot nicholson 19181998 rose annette saxon o keefe 19131987 mary handy lackey and ap fred moran 18971967 in his first of many appearances as iberville the french canadian soldier of fortune courtesy of beryl girot riviere  ocean springs 19311945  it would appear that miss o keefe didn t let the depression years at ocean springs interfere with her social life and summer holiday travel she went abroad in the summer of 1931 with vera malter nix 18911979 the wife of dr james t nix 18871945 and her daughter rosary nix hartel 19142000 they were accompanied by miss mildred van kamp of augusta georgia as previously related mary c o keefe cruised the caribbean sea with her dear friends the nix family of new orleans in the summer of 1932 and visited her brother jodie o keefe 18971932 at matanzas cuba shortly before his demise  the daily herald times august 11 1931 p 2 and august 2 1932 p 1  the following information summarizes some of mary c o keefe s activities during the captioned years 1934 in january 1934 miss o keefe attended the ball and supper dance of the athenians mardi gras organization at new orleans  the jackson county times february 3 1934  in april 1934 she went to two plays at new orleans during her weekend visit with friends  the jackson county times april 21 1934  1935 miss o keefe was the guest of dr james thomas nix and mrs spouse of new orleans she assisted in the receiving line at a yuletide dance given at the new orleans country club for their daughter miss rosary nix miss alice o keefe her young niece accompanied miss o keefe to the nix soiree  the jackson county times december 28 1935  1936 in july 1936 mary c o keefe left ocean springs and spent her summer vacation traveling her initial stop was at jackson mississippi where she visited with her brother major john a o keefe from mississippi miss o keefe stopped at winnetka illinois to see mrs fb thomas the culmination of this journey was montreal where she was the guest of mrs e valliquette  the jackson county times july 25 1936    1939 miss o keefe was the director of the first 1699 iberville landing celebration at ocean springs which was held in conjunction with the coast wide pageant of march 1719 1939 miss  elinor wright  19131953 the niece of hl hunt dallas oil tycoon and who would later married orwin j scharr 19142002 researched and wrote the script for the iberville landing other members of the planning committee for this event were  iola f davidson  18831963  gertrude w mcclure  d 1971  henrietta m gladney  19001978  virginia   t lee  19011986  ap moran  18971967 and  mayor charles bennett  18841971  the jackson county times january 28 1939 p 1  1940 in march 1940 miss o keefe was honored with membership in delta kappa gamma a national honorary educational fraternity a salient qualification for membership in delta kappa gamma was extraordinary achievements in the field of education miss o keefe had demonstrated outstanding leadership as during her short tenure as school superintendent the ocean springs public school had increased enrollment the elementary school had been reclassified from b to a the high school had become fully accredited and the school district had also been enlarged at this time mary c o keefe held memberships and offices in the following organizations jackson county teachers association vicepresident harrisonstonejackson junior college trustee jackson county high school accrediting commission member examining board of jackson county member newcomb alumnae coast club president junior red cross of jackson county chairman  the jackson county times march 30 1940 p 4  miss o keefe spoke to the ocean springs rotary club in november 1940  the jackson county times november 16 1940 p 1  1942 when miss rosary nix 19142000 was betrothed to stephen c hartel 19042003 a new orleans attorney in july 1942 miss o keefe was invited to the nuptial ceremony and was the houseguest of dr james t nix and vera m nix her parents the nix s edifice was situated at 1407 south carrollton in the crescent city rosary was a graduate of the academy of the sacred heart barat college at lake forest illinois and had attended newcomb college and columbia university she had been the queen of osiris and nereus and a maid in several of the larger new orleans carnival organizations the timespicayune july 1 1942 p 19  sibley s wall  19051963 following the retirement of miss mary cahill o keefe in july 1945 the os school board hired mr ss wall silbey s wall 19051963 was a native of decatur newton county mississippi mr wall came to ocean springs in the fall of 1945 from pascagoula where he had been since 1942 he was a graduate of mississippi southern college and had coached and was previously superintendent at beulahhubbard now newton county high school and vancleave high school superintendent wall resigned in 1950 to accept position with the new york life insurance company ss wall was succeeded as ocean springs school superintendent by the following nolan e taconi 19501971 allen t curry 19711990 dewey l herring 19901999 anna p hurt 19992006 robert hirsch 20062012 and bonita colemanpotter 2012present day  1943 ocean springs school superintendent mary cahill o keefe and brother colonel john o keefe 18911985 went to the pensacola naval air station to attend the graduation of their nephew lt jj jerry o keefe iii b 1923 naval aviator  the jackson county times july 3 1943  usmc lt jerry o keefe learned well in flight training as on his first combat mission in the south pacific theatre during wwii he destroyed five japanese aircraft it should be noted that jerry o keefe s father jj ben o keefe ii 18941954 was also a marine he left ocean springs for new orleans in late july 1918 with jasper colligan 18991951 to join other recruits bound for basic training at an eastern camp ben s departure left joseph h jodie o keefe 18971932 in charge of the family businesses livery and undertaking in addition jerry o keefe s son jj jody o keefe iv 19462007 served in the usmc from 19641967  the jackson county times april 28 1945 p 1 july 27 1918 and the history of jackson county mississippi 1989 p 303  1945 mary c o keefe resigned from her position as superintendent of the ocean springs public schools prior to the fall session of the 19451946 school term under her sixteenyear administration the public school of ocean springs maintained high academic standards and reached new levels of proficiency the elementary section advanced from a b to an a classification the high school became fully accredited and pupil enrollment increased by 33 per cent in the near future miss o keefe planned to work on a part time basis in the local school system  the daily herald april 6 1945 p 3   prior to her retirement from the field of education miss o keefe was recognized on may 22 1945 by her faculty and students she sat in the high school auditorium while the student body sang   good morning to miss o keefe   gifts of flowers photographs of the schools achievement during her administration and others from the band and faculty were bestowed on her miss o keefe spoke briefly to her pupils saying   that she had always wished to sit and enjoy a program in the auditorium and at last was realizing that desire  after thanking everyone for their gifts she concluded her comments with   the greatest gifts of all were carried in her heart place there by pupils whom she had taught    the jackson county times may 26 1945 p 4 and the daily herald may 28 1945 p 8  in june 1945 miss jessie boyd 18811963 who was a life friend of miss o keefe and career red cross relief worker was feted by her loyal friends at a buffet supper held at the gulf hills country club mary c o keefe presented miss boyd with several savings bonds as gifts from the guests who included miss ethel rice 18871969 mr and mrs george young miss bernadine wulff 18991992 mrs ed clothilde bailey campbell 19011995 mrs chester davis mrs john knippie and mrs john vera wulff cook 19061992  the jackson county times june 16 1945 p 1  mary c o keefe was succeeded as superintendent of the ocean springs public school by sibley s wall 19051963 a native of decatur newton county mississippi mr wall came to ocean springs from pascagoula he was a graduate of mississippi southern college and had coached and was previously superintendent at beulahhubbard now newton county high school and vancleave high school  the jackson county times july 28 1945 p 1  retirement years 19461980  miss mary c o keefe s retirement years are presented from information casually observed in local journals of the captioned interval as follows  1947 in june miss mary c o keefe returned to ocean springs after a delightful visit with colonel john a o keefe at bethesda maryland mrs l macweeney of rye new york and mrs john knipple in philadelphia pennsylvania  the jackson county times local and personal june 7 1947 p 8  19501952 miss o keefe entertained family and friends from new orleans shreveport and biloxi at gulf hills with a luncheon the young children of the visiting families were sent to the dude ranch to ride horses  the gulf coast times august 25 1950 p 8  in the fall of 1950 miss o keefe spent two months in the east visiting relatives and friends at bethesda maryland washington dc and philadelphia in maryland she stayed with colonel john o keefe s family and at washington dc miss helen bliss at philadelphia miss o keefe was entertained by john and ena knippel mrs knippel was the supervisor of music in the public school of philadelphia  the gulf coast times december 15 1950 p 1  mary c o keefe went to the sugar bowl game at new orleans with the ben o keefe family of biloxi kentucky 101 led by paul bear bryant defeated no 1 ranked oklahoma sooners 100 by the score of 137 miss mary stayed over for a short visit with her dear friend vera malter nix  the gulf coast times january 12 1951  in february 1951 miss o keefe traveled to bethesda maryland to visit colonel john o keefe her brother he had just had a serious eye operation  the gulf coast times february 22 1951 in november 1952 a tea was given for miss ann o neil  the gulf coast times november 27 1952 p 6  jeffrey h o keefe jeffrey h o keefe called jeff was a great nephew of miss mary cahill o keefe and with his siblings maureen o keefe ward and jeremiah j jody o keefe iv 19462007 shared some of their recollections of aunt mary with the author miss o keefe has been posthumously recognized as mississippi s first female school superintendent and also memorialized by having the 1927 ocean springs public school renamed the mary c o keefe cultural center for arts and education in her honor miss o keefe had a profound positive influence on her students and many credit their successful marriages and careers to her strict discipline and high ethical and academic standards 1957 miss o keefe broke a bone in her left foot resulting from a fall her foot was placed in a cast  the ocean springs news january 24 1957  19591962 miss o keefe came out of retirement for a few years and taught french at the sacred heart academy in biloxi she is remembered during this interval by her great niece maureen o keefe ward as always dressed very elegantly with touches of lace here and there or a beautiful pin on her lapel spiffy spectator pumps and stockings maureen o ward september 9 1998  1970 miss o keefe sold her cottage property on west porter to the catholic charities housing association on february 20 1970 the villa maria a sevenstory building which houses a retirement community was built north of her property construction commenced here in april 1970 jackson county mississippi land deed bk 371 p 506 and the ocean springs record april 16 1970 p 1  1980 mary c o keefe was living in the villa maria at time of demise on january 22 1980 her corporal remains were cremated and interred in the o keefe family burial plot at the evergreen cemetery in ocean springs miss o keefe s obituary relates that she was a former president of jackson county teachers association and former member of the board of trustees of the mississippi gulf coast junior college her university associations included being an alumna of dominican and newcomb colleges of new orleans a member of the iota chapter of delta epsilon sigma alpha and delta kappa gamma of which she was a charter member of the zeta chapter miss o keefe worshiped at st alphonsus roman catholic church where she was also a member of the altar society  the ocean springs record january 24 1980 p 3  family remembrances several of miss o keefe s great nephews and a great niece now submit their childhood recollections of their wonderful aunt mary or tante marie as she might have preferred being the unabashed francophile that she was jj jody o keefe iv   19462007  i remember that as a child we used to visit aunt mary at her home on porter street she had a very exquisite collection of demitasse cups and saucers she loved to make us cafe au lait we would usually sit on her porch and sip it while she would tell us stories about jean lafitte bluebeard and other pirates and stories about other fascinating or exciting characters she also taught us to sing frere jacques in french hickory dickory dock and other nursery songs once she invited me to lunch with one of her friends at allman s restaurant at the foot of the old ocean springsbiloxi bridge she embarrassed the hell out of me because she and her friend both kept commenting throughout lunch about how pretty i was and how long and beautiful my eyelashes were not good news or well accepted by a boy about five or six years of age september 4 1999  jeffery h o keefe  b 1956  my memories of aunt mary differ drastically from other folks i have heard that she ruled with an iron fist at the school i remember going to her house where the villa maria s asphalt parking lot is today she was always so pleasant and loved to visit aunt mary had those cut glass doors which now hang on the funeral home on the front of her house for many years she had some beautiful antiques in her home september 2 1999  maureen o keefe ward   b 1945  the words aunt mary immediately conjure up specific and rich memoriesapproaching her neat white picket fence which wasn t so high that it scared a child walking up onto her tiny front screen porch and immediately confronting her colorful blackbeard figurines by the andersons the historical significance of which aunt mary was always happy to dramatize with great verve and then entering through the front door into the wonderland of her small but beautifully appointed white frame house aunt mary and her petite house were always in perfect orderfrom antique wicker furniture covered in cozy pillows to elderly oriental rugs topped by glassfront cabinets filled with jewellike demitasse cups and saucers gathered patiently on her world travels to the paintings and lovely della robia sculpture on the walls through to her tiny dining room kitchen and bedroom she loved to host my sisters and me at tea parties during which we got to select our favorite cup and saucer from which to sip sitting around her dining room we would nibble and drink and converse with our best manners on display without ever needing to ask aunt mary always called forth our most perfect behavior we didn t want to risk her displeasure  during summertime when our many shreveport cousins came to visit she d invite two or three tables of us to her house for an afternoon of canasta and iced tea or lemonade and cookies in addition to expecting proper manners she thought the welltrained great niece ought to know how to play bridge canasta heartsye gods even battle go fish and old maid she taught us carefully and joined the raucous girlish fun as we mastered her tutelage in later years i got to know her as a formal teacher she taught my sacred heart classmates and me french for several years trilling her rrrr s with great gusto and openly admiring charles de gaulle and everything francais since we were typical young teenyboppers though i imagine that her majestic figure perfect posture fine clothes and bluewhite hair made a far more lasting impression on us than her french vocabulary and culture lessons i was very sad when her home was torn down to make way for villa maria though aunt mary apparently was at peace with the move and cheerfully adorned her two rooms there with furnishings from the old house our routine during those years was to drive over each sunday at noon deliver a plate of our warm dinner to her and chat awhile at least on the days when she didn t come across to biloxi and join in the family meal we were sad when she developed shingles and difficulty breathing and started mentioning to our mother that she was ready to go home making it clear that she wasn t describing her apartment at villa maria i m sure tante marie is elegantly adorning heaven now and having teas with mama ceci and nannaw from time to time  september 5 1999   to be continued  3010 views  