Duncan McKenzie

1831-1833 Land and People

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The Land: Settling in Covington County, MS

The Duncan McKenzie family was forty-five days on the road, arrived and welcomed at Allan Stewart’s January 18, 1833. The next Saturday Stewart took McKenzie, Johnson, and McBryde to view three places. Duncan chose his place because of its proximity to a school. They are renting their land on which they find houses and equal access to a well. Duncan explains their tenant agreement in his January 1833 arrival letter:

“there is 120 acres of land in cultivation & as good buildings as

is to be found on any farm in this neighborhood in so much

that each Family have separate houses convenient to the

same well or Equally convenient it being 200 yards from

the nearest — the Rent we are to give is 100 pounds of

Seed cotton per acre for so much of the land as we can

tend in corn and cotton the balance we have given

in to us for oat and pasture round or if we choose to

give the 4th part of the corn fodder and cotton after

it is made we are at liberty then to take a choice” — Duncan McKenzie

According the the authors of the Mississippi Encyclopedia article titled “Covington County,” the land in this part of Mississippi was not particularly good for growing cotton, though Duncan seems to have supported his family and eventually eight enslaved people by growing peas, mostly corn, and cotton. Compared to the rich Delta farmland and parts of Northeast Mississippi, Covington County land had much less cotton potential. In fact, cotton production declined in this area during the decade before the Civil War. Though the McKenzie’s don’t mention growing it, rice appears to have been productive here. West toward the Mississippi River near Natchez, some of the most successful cotton plantations in the state could be found in 1833. The authors of the “Environment” article from the same encyclopedia also admit to the variety of the land in this area.

By February of 1833 the tenants (Duncan McKenzie, Allan Johnson, and Duncan McBryde) had divided the land they were to farm and Duncan writes to his brother-in-law confirming the tenancy:

“we have divided the land on

this plantation I have 58 acres 28 I expect to tend

in corn 20 in cotton 10 in Rye and oats I pay for my

part 42-50 lb Seed cotton or if I choos it 1/4th part

of cotton corn and fodder we have choise at the end of

the crop”     – Duncan McKenzie

John P. Stewart’s Description 1831

Though Duncan McKenzie offers us little description of the general lay of the land on his travels or upon his arrival, another Duncan McLaurin correspondent does – John P. Stewart, nearing thirty years old when this letter was written. Stewart is the son of Allan Stewart and later becomes Clerk in Franklin County, MS where he lives out his life as a bachelor much interested in politics. In a June 1831 letter written to Duncan McLaurin he describes his travels westward from Covington County. It is possible that Duncan McKenzie was shown this letter and read it before making his decision to migrate a year or more later. As he travels with a cousin bearing the same name, John Patrick Stewart views the land he passes with a discerning eye. In describing the towns, Stewart takes pains to make comparisons with which his audience might be familiar. The following is his description of a portion of this part of the state:

West toward the Mississippi River 1831

“I was on the eve of starting westward when you last heard from me in company with Cousin John Stewart We took a small tour toward the Mi. River –  We were not Successful in getting into business – The season was too far advanced – Many persons employed in that section of the State were going up the river to their homes in the west as they are mostly birds of passage. We proceeded to Monticello on the Pearl a distance of 30 miles the first day Country similar to this in which we live Vis Broken and poor except on water courses or flats. This town is on the West bank of Pearl and has a handsome situation the buildings extending to the waters edge it is on this decline and pretty much resembles Lumberton. We proceeded thence over a very poor country 31 miles to Holmesville in Pike County. This last place is on a small river called Bogue Chitto and is a very flourishing village the buildings are new and mostly painted white – We thence proceeded to Liberty in Amite County The land was poor for the first ten miles it then improved considerably – Liberty is situated between the 2 branches of Amite River containing 4 or 500 inhabitants. It has a gloomy appearance when I was there the weather was very wet and the streets were as slippery as they would be in Rockingham at such a time. After leaving the latter place 11 miles I crossed Beaver Creek and entered the Thick Woods – Thickwoods indeed are they. having a large and luxuriant growth of white-Oak, Gum Beech, poplar and with a very thick undergrowth in this section the lands lie tolerably level and are productive but unhealthy indeed I think moreso than it is near The River As I approached Woodville the country becomes more broken and the undergrowth not so thick – It is yet a more desirable place than the latter the lands are more productive and better watered — The people in this Section Say their lands will produce from 15 to 2000 lbs cotton per acre but not so well adapted to the raising of corn and wheat The climate does not suit grains. Woodville is a handsome little town homes and the most splendid Court House I ever beheld – I concluded I must be lost in this section I could see none of my old friends and neighbors… They are banished or never could gain a footing – There are a few scattering short leaf pines”     – John P. Stewart

Towards Natchez 1831

“I then proceeded to Natchez a distance of 37 miles. After leaving Woodville for 2 or 3 miles this country becomes very broke and what very much surprised me was to see the Cane growing on the top of the most elevated ridges – We traveled as I was told a ridge road. It was indeed on the ridges scarcely broad enough to admit of a road in many places. Caused or cut down with precipice on either side – The growth on these hills comprised what grows in the swamps of rivers in Carolina. Vis Elm, Ash, Horn Beam, Magnolia, Walnut, Linn a tree I never saw before whose bark strips like elm it looks something like Ashe in the Body and leaves similar to what is improperly called English Mulberry. I saw land cultivated more hilly than any I ever saw in Richmond County … 16 miles from Natchez I crossed the Homo-chitto River which is larger than Lumber River. The country there changes for the better and not so broken up. Every plantation in this section is ornamented with a grove of China trees. I was informed they are considered as conducive to health. This section is mostly owned by wealthy men who do not reside on their farms”           – John P. Stewart

Natchez 1831

“Natchez contains by the last census (I think) 2774 inhabitants there was very little business going when I was there except on the wharves. Here I first beheld the noble and majestic Mississippi – It did not at first sight appear to me more than 1/4 mile in width and the current appears Sluggish. yet I was undeceived when I saw with what rapidity rafts and flat bottomed boats passed and observed the size of certain objects (cattle for instance) on the opposite bank – There were more than 200 boats at the landings when I was there and many more daily arriving indeed you could not look up the River without seeng a boat or boats within 2 or 3 miles – Provisions of all were plenty – They were mostly loaded with bacon, corn, flour Pork, whiskey Tobacco, livestock corn sold at about 20 c per Bushel and flour $5. Bacon 5 to 8. Natchez is on a high bluff more than 300 feet above the water the banks are very steep and precipitous – There are several buildings in this lower town under the hills mostly warehouses and house of ill fame – There is a small town on the Louisiana side called Concordia – The situation appeared to be low and flat. I saw the River a few miles above Natchez with the same appearance Vis West low E. High Banks”              – John P. Stewart

Port Gibson 1831

“I proceed thence to Port Gibson on Bayou Pierre 45 miles above Natchez It is nearly as large as Cheraw There is considerable business done in that place in the winter season – it is about 12 miles from The River the Bayou is navigable – The country between this and Natchez is not so fertile generally as in many places below but should consider it more healthy except on large Creeks or rather Swamps as they are mostly wet weather streams There are very few miles west of Pearl River – Port Gibson I proceeded eastward the land lies generally level 15 or 20 miles – Pine woods thence to Covington Co. ”    – John P.  Stewart

The People 1831

“The inhabitants of this State having collected from Several States there is necessarily a great diversity of manners, Politics, Religion & c The people of this country are generally better informed than they are in Carolina I mean those of little or no education. They are very inquisitive and have all travelled more or less and see many … from whom they gather information – The inhabitants are as moral in this Section or more are where you live — At least they are more temperate in drinking spiritous liquors coffee is lesser thereof – Raising cotton absorbs all their politics & meditations – The first salute to a neighbor is how does your cotton look”          – John P. Stewart

The letters written by Duncan McKenzie and John P. Stewart are remarkable in that they convey in words from the past a time, place, and circumstance that has disappeared from our physical sight forever. Yet they leave us with a virtual image of what was.

Sources:

Letter from Duncan McKenzie to Duncan McLaurin. 29 January 1833. Boxes 1 and 2. Duncan McLaurin Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Letter from Duncan McKenzie to Duncan McLaurin. 3 February 1833. Boxes 1 and 2. Duncan McLaurin Papers. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Duke University.

Letter from John P. Stewart to Duncan McLaurin. 20 June 1831. Boxes 1 and 2. Duncan McLaurin Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Mississippi Encyclopedia Staff. “Covington County.” Mississippi Encyclopedia. University Press of Mississippi: Jackson. 2017. 209

Prewitt, Wiley C. Jr. and Saikku, Mikko. “Environment.” Mississippi Encyclopedia. University Press of Mississippi: Jackson. 2017. 392-394.

Words Between Sisters

Betty McKenzie Lane2 Comments
BMcKLetExcerpt
Excerpt from Barbara’s 1817 letter to her sister Effy. 16 June 1817. Boxes 1 and 2. Duncan McLaurin Papers. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Duke University.

On June 16, 1817 Barbara McLaurin McKenzie wrote a letter to her favorite sister Effy because she was homesick for her family and “uneasy” about the health of her aging mother. Barbara was married to Duncan McKenzie, who farmed on the Peedee River within about sixty miles of Gum Swamp. Likely this was more than a couple of day’s travel in a wagon – less by horseback – yet still far enough away to impose an obstacle for very frequent visits. Barbara’s anxiety is palpable in these lines,

“Duncan came last night I was verry glad for we did not here a word Since uncle was down there I was very uneasy about Mother that she would be Sick this Summer I hope she will get well now my patience was a most out till Duncan came I kept dreaming every Knight of father and Mother and the all of you.”

The Duncan to whom she refers is probably her brother Duncan McLaurin. Barbara goes on to say in the letter that they are late with the crop and will not go down “till the Sacriment will be at the Hill” when she will stay a week. With the hopeful prospect of one or more of her sisters returning to PeeDee River with  her to visit a while, she remarks on the “Jelious pout” her sister Effy displayed when Barbara did not write her: “you Said I forgot you but not as long as I live & we did look for father and one of you every Saturday but you did not come.” This last was to be prophetic for Barbara, especially after she migrated with her husband and children to Mississippi. Sisters and brothers still did not come, and her life would become so busy and probably sometimes so grueling that she would want to write but either never did or her letters may not have survived in this collection.

A physical complaint Barbara expressed in this letter would also appear in letters written by her husband and children many years later from Mississippi. She had developed a pain in her hip which she blamed on a rough wagon trip, “I had a mity sore pain in my hip for … too weeks I did go one night to preaching we rid very fast I was thinking it was that rased the pain.” This pain would follow her the rest of her life, a challenging one for most yeoman farmer women. For example, the family had no chimney in their new home in Mississippi and would have to bake their own bricks, which was not necessarily a priority – the crops were. Though it helped that they moved onto already cleared land, no chimney likely meant cooking outdoors and moving heavy pots.

According to later letters, the family had brought at least one enslaved woman with them from North Carolina, and possibly this was so that she could help Barbara when she was not needed to help in the fields. In 1839 Barbara would lose a second daughter to what was probably influenza, a year-old infant. Barbara would, of course, have been in charge of watching the children too young to work on the farm, among her many other tasks. Relationships between owners and the enslaved people on farms were often complicated. Barbara apparently particularly cared very much for one enslaved mother and her young daughter. However, it is difficult to gauge the reciprocity of affection in a relationship based on inequality and injustice, though individuals made their own choices in dealing with their own situations. Even while aging, Barbara’s son Kenneth attests to his mother’s ability to remain active even as he describes her as a “dried stick.” Widowed with six grown sons in 1847, Barbara’s life would end in 1855 after a horrific battle with mouth cancer. She would never know her grandchildren, for none of her sons married until after her death.

Nevertheless, Barbara McLaurin, my second great grandmother, must have had a fine early 19th century childhood. Probably born about five years before the turn of the 18th to 19th century, she likely spent a great deal of her time helping out on the family farm and enjoying the home that her father built when he purchased land near Gum Swamp at Laurel Hill, North Carolina. Born into the Hugh McLaurin and Catharine Calhoun McLaurin family, Barbara grew up enjoying a household filled with people and female companionship. Her many sisters by far outnumbered the two brothers, Duncan and John. By 1817 she and three of her older sisters were married: Jennett McLaurin (John) McCall, Sarah McLaurin (Duncan) Douglass, and Isabella McLaurin (Charles) Patterson. Three of her sisters would remain spinsters: Catharine, Mary, and Effy. Although Duncan never married, her brother John married Effie Stalker McLaurin.

Hugh McLaurin would likely not have concerned himself so much with educating daughters as with sons. Duncan, though only about four when he crossed the Atlantic, was by far the most literate of the children. His brother John was a literate farmer but less the man of intellectual curiosity – an infant when the family left Ballachulish in Argyll, Scotland for Wilmington, NC in 1790. According to Marguerite Whitfield, Hugh may have worked in the slate quarry at Ballachulish, Scotland, for he came to America with finances enough to cross the ocean with his family and to purchase property upon his arrival in the new land. The same need for readily available fertile land, affordably taxed, on which to establish a family farm must have been one motivating force that drove the Hugh McLaurin family from Scotland following family and friends that had gone before.

They came to a new continent from Scotland for many of the same reasons the Duncan McKenzie family was inspired to leave North Carolina for Mississippi. Owning land in the early nineteenth century was still considered essential for survival and even more necessary for living a prosperous life with at least a minimum ability to influence the outside forces that governed that life. This would change by the end of the century.

Hugh named his new home and farm Ballachulish, after his hometown in Argyll, Scotland. Duncan often spells the name of the farm “Ballacholish” and others spell it inconsistently in the Duncan McLaurin collection. In fact many Argyll families settled in North Carolina – McLaurins, McCalls, Stewarts, Calhouns and others – most of them becoming land and slaveholders. Many of them are buried in the old Stewartsville cemetery near Laurel Hill that survives today. All of Hugh McLaurin’s children are buried at Stewartsville except Barbara and her South Carolina sister Sarah Douglas. Barbara’s oldest daughter, Catherine McKenzie rests there, probably near her McKenzie grandmother, though no headstone remains. The remaining portion of Hugh McLaurin’s property, upon which his first home was built would pass from generation to generation. Upon Duncan McLaurin’s death in December of 1872, nephew Hugh McCall would inherit the property.  This included the house built in 1865 by Duncan. According to the record of Marguerite Whitfield, a McCall descendant, the property was still in the hands of the McCall family in 1977. A later descendant of the McCalls has photographs and remembers the house still standing in 1982.

From Ballachulish to Mississippi, Barbara’s words speak to a strong family relationship that spans the distance of frontier roads and dreams of a better life.

Sources:

Bridges, Myrtle N. Estate Records 1772-1933 Richmond County North Carolina: Hardy – Meekins Book II. photocopy from the Brandon, MS Genealogy Room. “John McLaurin – 1864,” “Effy McLaurin – 1861,” and “Duncan McLaurin – 1872.”

Letter from Barbara McKenzie to Effy McLaurin. 16 June 1817. Duncan McLaurin Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Whitfield, Marguerite. Families of Ballachulish: McCalls, McLaurins And Related Families in Scotland County, North Carolina. The Pilot Press: Southern Pines, NC. 1978. (This text contains much valuable information, especially about the McCalls and about Scotland roots. However, the information on Barbara McLaurin McKenzie can be corrected with information from the Duncan McLaurin Papers and many other records. Also, two Effys are confused – Effy McLaurin, Barbara’s sister, and Effie Stalker McLaurin, John’s wife. Barbara’s sister Effy died in 1861, and listed Barbara’s children and grandchildren in her will. Effie Stalker McLaurin died in 1881 preceded in death by her husband and all of her children. Effie, John’s wife, is most likely the Effie that lived in her old age with the Hugh McCalls. Duncan McLaurin died in December of 1872, and his will was briefly probated within weeks of his death.)