May I in the beginning of these brief remarks on the history of Sarepta apologize for the inadequate situation that I find myself in, begin unable to give you a more complete history. My law practice in the law few weeks has been very heavy with some two weeks of court work involved. This, together with my own inability, has prevented me from giving a more complete report at this time.
To first enlarge upon the history of our community I feel that a few remarks on the history of our county would be enlightening.
Calhoun County was formed from parts of Chickasaw, Yalobusha and Lafayette counties. Sarepta was a part of Lafayette County, while the western and southern portion of Calhoun, as well as the east was formed from Yalobusha and Chickasaw Counties. Through the untiring efforts of the citizens of Calhoun County and the able assistance of the Hon. J.A. Orr, a Representative of Chickasaw County, and formerly of Poplar Springs community, the legislature of Mississippi passed an act in February, 1852, to create the county.
This action was approved by the voters of Calhoun County, on June 8, 1852 and the county was established.
Jesse Yancy Jr.
The county seat was at Hartford (now Oldtown) which was later changed to Orrville in honor of J.A. Orr. The name was later changed to Pittsboro in honor of Pittsboro, North Carolina, where two members of the first Board of Police hailed from.
At the time of the creation of the county there were some 8,000 people living in the area. History will reflect that many of these lived north of Schoona and in the Sarepta area.
The first board of supervisors, formerly called the Board of Police, consisted of Albert G. Hallum, Lawrence Brasher, Sidney P. Brantley, John Dowdy and Hiram Hall. Of these five, Brantley and Brasher, representing the northern end of the county, were from Pittsboro, N.C., hence the reason for the name.
In reading the early history of Calhoun many names of families from around Sarepta appear. This is especially so in the reading of the various officials of the county.
History informs us that some earliest settlers to what is now Calhoun County, were J.R. and Henry Bounds who came to this section in the early 1830’s and settled west of Pittsboro.
As I have stated in the outset, Sarepta was once a part of Lafayette County, and from history it would appear that it was first settled in the early 1830’s. From a search of the old records of land we find the following persons patented land where Sarepta now stands:
U.S. Gov’t. to Nancy Church NE 1-4 Sec. 15 T 11S, R1W, Sept. 9, 1840.
US Gov’t to Thomas Copeland, NW 1-4, Nov. 9, 1840.
US Gov’t to Samuel Ward, SE 1-4 -269-40, Nov. 1936 (Sarepta)
US Gov’t to Thomas McGill, SW 1-4 Nov. 1836 ($345.40).
Early land owners consisted of the following:
1850–A.T. Roane, J.S. Reasons, H.D. McIntosh, J.B. Beasley, J.R Ferguson, W.C. Redwine, Moses Brooks, E.M. B. Hillhouse, J.B. Jones, B. Lewlling, John Bush, J.A. Duncan, L.L. Spencer.
1860-1880–T.F. Robertson, H.J. Ragland, A.F. Duff, G.W.T. Cox, Arron Shine, Thomas J. Ragland, J.M. Hawkins, J.L. Tedford, R.M. Davis, J.Y. Good, S.B. Spencer, Johnny Young, Mary Sanders, James Winter, A.W. Green, S.P. Davis, J.B. Miller, T.W. Vance, G.N. Wheeler, W.S. Hudson, J.S. Rogers, Martin Sadler, W.W. Evans.
1880-1900–M.C. Hardin, A.F. Duff, J.L. Sherfield, J.M. Sherfield, D.C. Lamar, A.W. Lamar, J.D. Dill, B.F. Lewelling, Jasper Lewelling, J.A. Glenn, J.M. Glenn, J.W. Dunavant, Newt Yancy, S.B. Freeman, W.C. Pittman.
1900-1920–Zenis Nelms, J.J. Ingram, W.W. Lamar, J.E. Goodwin, Jane Kelly, W.D. Duff, John H. Prewitt, G.W. Riley, J.H. Ballenger, J.P. McLary, E. Zinn, G.W. Stubblefield, Will Grist, J.T. Costner, J.A. Washington, C.E. Hipp, W.A. Hipp, S.B. Sharp, W.L. Yancy, Tom W.E. Powell, John Cooper, J.B. Phillips.
It is interesting to note that on many of the old land descriptions we find frequent reference to the Pontotoc and Coffeeville road mentioned.
In addition to the above we find that Dr. Andrew Roane was one of the pioneer physicians of Calhoun County. He located at Sarepta in 1840 and was the son of Gov. Archibald Roane of Tennessee, who during his administration as governor appointed Andrew Jackson General of Militia in Tenn. One of the first births recorded in Sarepta history, that I have been able to find, was that of Judge Archibald T. Roane who was born at Sarepta on April 17, 1841.
Capt. H.L. Duncan was one of the first educators in Calhoun County and he taught at Sarepta.
Judge Roane was with Forrest in the civil war and very active in Calhoun County politics, as was his brother, Hon. S.M. Roane who served as district attorney.
Sarepta has always been noted for the patriotic manner in which its citizenry rallies to the defense of her state and county. In checking the list of Confederate veterans we find the following men from Sarepta served our beloved South in the war between the states:
J.H. Barnes, Co. H, 7th Miss. Cal.
J.A. Brasher, Co., Paris 4th Miss.
G.W. Burt, 42nd Miss.
B.F. Hughes, 48th Miss.
J.L. Ivey, 42nd, Miss.
S.J. Jenkins, 7th Miss.
L.M. Jenkins, 42nd, Miss.
M.G. Lantrip, Co F, 42nd Miss.
Jeff Overby, 42nd Miss.
A.E. Peden, Co. C, 1st Miss.
J.N. Phillips, Co. K., 17th Miss.
Theopolus Rankins, Duff’s Ben.
G.W. Riley, Co. B 367th Ala.
This list is supposed to be correct, but of course it only shows the men who gave their address as Sarepta at the time of enlistment and could not possibly include the many others from around Sarepta who served the South’s cause so brave and true.
One can check the list of Sarepta’s heroes in all the wars from the civil war up through the Korean conflict and quickly discover that our little community has played her role in the defense of our country.
Our people have always been esteemed by their dedication to fair play and honesty. From these red hills have come some of this country’s finest citizens. Our people have been primarily farmers, although one easily remembers that this community his and is producing doctors, lawyers, engineers, educators and professional men in all walks of life.
Below is only a partial list of early professional men:
Preachers, G.W. Riley;
Teachers, Dr. H.L. Duncan, H.E. Dean, Curt Hartsfield,
Doctors--Dr. W.H. Reid, Dr. Hardin, Dr. Sherfield, Dr. J.B. Souter, Dr. J.J. Landreth, Dr. J. E. Powell.
Lawyers--Archibald Roane.
There were others.