Tombigbee Tales

The Ghost of Henry Betts at the Lowndes County Courthouse

Henry Betts' execution at the Lowndes County Courthouse was botched. He was a large Black man who was accused of murder. He weighed over 300 lbs and stood 6'6" tall. He was most probably railroaded into a conviction. He "confessed" to save his brother. 

Charles Baskerville - Columbus Born Discoverer of Carolinium and Berzelium

Charles Baskerville, chemist and college professor, was born (1870) at Deerbrook, Noxubee County, Mississippi, the son of Charles Baskerville, a physician and former CSA captain, and his wife, Augusta Johnson. He was educated in Columbus, MS. and raised by his paternal grandparents. Charles would lay claim to the discovery of two chemical elements. 

Reverend Pleasant Bowler and the First All African American Male Jury

Pleasant Bowler was a scam artist and flim flam man who posed as a Baptist minister and helped found the Shiloh Baptist Church in Burns Bottom in Columbus, Mississippi after the Civil War. He murdered Sheriff Cline in a struggle and was brought before a Reconstruction Era Judge from Ohio and an all Black male jury in the Lowndes County Courthouse in 1869. This jury is alleged to be the first all Black jury in US history. 

The Tennessee Williams is on the Brink of Structural Collapse in Columbus, MS

The Tennessee Williams building has been so neglected under the reign of Nancy Luke Carpenter that the floor joists are completely rotted under the building and so all renovations are at a complete standstill. 

First State Funded College for Women in the US and the Women Who Fought For It

The women who fought for the first state funded college for women in the United States were Sarah "Sallie" Eola Reneau, Olivia Valentine Hastings, and Annie Coleman Peyton. Three of the most stubborn, brilliant, and courageous women the antebellum South ever produced. These ladies were no shrinking violets. 

Alva N. Temple and the Tuskegee Airmen

Alva Temple and three other Tuskegee Airmen won the 1949 inaugural USAF Gunnery Meet...essentially their version of Top Gun. Yet their names were never recorded as the winners and were listed as "unknown" until 1995 and their trophy stuck in the back of a storage closet at Wright Patterson AFB Museum. Temple retired to Columbus, Mississippi and opened a service station and radiator repair shop on HWY 69. 
 

Mississippi Author Julie Liddell Whitehead Hurricane Baby Interview

Mississippi author Julie Liddell Whitehead's new book Hurricane Baby is coming out this fall. Her publishing journey started with a short story within days of weathering Katrina in Brandon, MS and the book just kept growing from there. Follow along as she shares her book beginnings so far!https://julieliddellwhitehead.com/
 

Mississippi Artist Lee Harper

Mississippi Artist Lee Harper is an amazing miniature artist. She lives in Oxford, MS where she is a painter and miniaturist who takes commissions. 
See her work at: 
https://www.instagram.com/leeharperoxford/
https://www.tinyhistorystudios.com/
 

The Education Legacy of Stephen D. Lee

Stephen D. Lee was and is a controversial Southern figure; however, his emphasis on education was embraced not only by his son but by his direct descendants and their spouses. Their education has benefitted the world of aeronautics, law, forensic science, constitutional rights, and space exploration. 

Frances Glessner Lee, Mother of Forensic Science

Frances Glessner Lee, the Mother of Forensic Science, was the daughter-in-law of General Stephen D. Lee and his wife Regina. Her Nutshell Studies are still taught in homicide investigation training around the country.