Well, we finally made it to DeKalb, MS, our final destination on Thursday March 26, 2009. We stayed at the Naval Air Station in Meridian, MS the night before. This town De Kalb is the town where my grandfather was born. During my research I discovered that some of my ancestors are buried at the Black Water Baptist church cemetery located behind the church. The family were French Huguenots that came to this country from France after religious persecution. They landed in Martinique then moved on to Virginia then west after the Revolutionary War. My group settled in the Mississippi area where many French congregated. C. and I strolled through the cemetery. There were some graves that I recognized the names. A lot of the stones were weather beaten, others were broken. Fortunately, I had the camera to take pictures of some of the stones.
The town of DeKalb appears to be suffering from decline in many ways. There were few businesses and the homes and buildings were old. The only library was closed on Thursdays. There was no historical society or archives. The court house was open, but they did not have any property records from the 1800's. I was told I would have to go to Jackson, MS, the capitol of the State. We did not go back to Jackson. What a disappointment. I had hoped to find at least some descendants of my grandfather's brothers and sisters. Pappy left the area and came to Tennessee in about 1937. As far as I know he never went back to MS. We never knew any of his family. I am finding that it only takes about two generations when family records are not kept to have information lost forever.
Like stepping back in time.
De Kalb, MS
There are a lot of Pine Trees being grown in Dekalb, MS to reforest
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