Copeland's Youth

Among the fireside tales told by the older people are stories of the notorious Copeland Gang, which terrorized the county a generation ago. Near the Perry Bond House was the "Old Gum Spring". (Now in Stone County) It is reported that the gang would come to water their horses and rest enroute from their hideout on Pearl River in Hancock County to Black Creek on the boundary of Stone, or Harrison County as it was then. Mr. Bond is said to have furnished them entertainment, unaware of the real character of his guests. Among other members of the gang were said to be two men named Wages and McGrath, who posed, respectively, as an evangelistic preacher and singer. While they engaged the community in a revival, the Copelands stole their horses.

The following article was included in the same WPA report as the above information.

James Copeland was born near the Pascagoula River, in Jackson County, Ms on the 18th day of January, 1823. He was the son of Isham Copeland and his wife Rebecca Wells Copeland.

When James was about ten or eleven years of age, his father sent him to school, and he went at intervals form time to time, to several good teachers. His father often insisted, and urged it upon him to study and try to obtain a good education, and often told him that he would send him to school as long as he wished to go. But being misled by his associations with bad company, he was engaged instead in studying mischief and other things no way profitable to himself or advantageous to youths. It was his misfortune, that his disposition led him on a to study how to cheat, defraud and swindle his comrades and school-mates out of their pocket-knives, their money, or anything that they might have that he wanted. He was generally successful in his undertaking. If he could not effect his object in one way, he would resort to some other and finally obtain it before he stopped. Indulging in this rude and mischievous disposition, he naturally became more hardened, and when at school it was his delight to see scholars whipped or otherwise punished, and he would often tell lies on any of them that would displease him, so as to cause them to get a flogging; and very often would tell a lie on an innocent scholar, so as to clear a favorite and guilty one and have the innocent one punished. It most generally happened, however, that sometimes he got punished. This he did not care for any longer than the punishment lasted. As soon as he was released, he would commit a worse misdeed than the one he was chastised for. Any of his schoolmates that were the cause of his punishment was certain to wreak his vengeance. From his bad conduct in school there was no teacher that would permit him to go to his school long at a time, and whenever he had any difficult with his teachers, his mother would always protect and indulge him in what he would do; and being so indulged and protected, this excited him to commit crimes of greater magnitude.

Hi statement, "When I was about the age of twelve years, my mother one day sent me with a snack to a neighbor's house, Mrs. Helverson's, to procure some vegetables of greens. I communicated my errand to Mrs. H who told me to go to the gardens and take what I wanted. I had no knife with me, so I asked Mrs. H to loan me a knife, which I knew she had, and she pulled out a very pretty little knife form her work pocket and told me not to lose or break it, for it was a present made to her by a friend. I listened to her and promised that I would be careful. Now, while I was in the garden procuring vegetables of greens, my whole mind and wits were employed in devising some mode by which I could cheat the lady out of her knife. Finally, after I had procured my vegetables and placed them in the sack, I put the knife in the bottom of the sack. I then returned to the house and told the lady that I had laid the knife down in the garden and had forgot the place and could not find it. I asked her to go with me and help me hunt it, which she did, and we both hunted diligently, but to no effect. The lady was very anxious about her knife and much regretted its loss, while I was all the time laughing in my sleeve to know how completely I had swindled her. This trick of mine passed off well for a time. It was, however, found out that I had the knife, and that created some noise and trouble. I was accused of stealing the knife, but denied all accusations and stated that I had bought the knife I had, in Mobile, and provided it by my mother, who always upheld me in my rascality. This may be said to be my first successful venture in stealing, although I was in the habit of stealing little frivolous things from school boys before that time.:

James' father living a very close neighbor to Mr. Helverson, and whose family was related, ran their stock together on the same range. So the next time onset in stealing was from Mr. Helverson again; he had a lot of very fine pigs and these were at that time selling at a high price in Mobile. His brother, Isham, nicknamed Whinn, and James geared up a horse and cart, pretending to start for a camp hunt to kill a deer and haul to Mobile. They only went a short distance that night and camped. During the night they went to Helvberson's hog bed, and stole a cart load of his finest pigs, fifteen in number, hauled them to Mobile and sold them at two dollars each. Although Mr. Helverson was satisfied in his own mind that the Copeland boys had stolen the pigs, yet he could not prove it; and they escaped again. They were stimulated with their success and being still more encouraged and upheld by their mother, and not exceeding fourteen years of age, James believed he could make an independent fortune by thieving, and became insensible of the danger which awaited him. A short time after the incident just related had transpired, James made his second venture. He was not so fortunate as in the first, for Mr. Helverson rather got him that time. The proof was sufficiently strong, and he was prosecuted for the first time, for pig stealing. James was arrested by the sheriff of Jackson County, and had to give bond to appear at the Circuit Court of Jackson to answer the indictment preferred against him by the State of Mississippi, for the crime of larceny. The bond required him to attend the court from term to term, and from day to day, until discharged by due course of law. His poor old father employed the best counsel to defend him, that could be obtained in all the country. This cost the poor old man a large sum of money.

Full sensible of his situation, young as he was at that time, it became necessary for him to devise some plan to get out of the scrape, and he reflected for weeks how to manage this matter. One day, in conversation with his mother and some other confidential friends, she and they advised him to consult Gale H. Wages; and his mother said she would send for Wages and see him herself, as he was a particular friend of hers. This she accordingly did, and he came to their house. There were several of the clan at Copeland's house then though James did not know them at that time as such; but afterwards found it out when he joined them. Among the many plans proposed by the clan, none seemed to suit my mother or Wages. Some were for one thing and some for another. Finally Wages made know his plan, which was seconded by James' mother. This was the proposition James had been waiting to hear, for his mother told him that whatever plan Wages would pursue, he would be certain to get and clear James. The plan was, that they should in some way or other endeavor to have the Courthouse and all the records destroyed, and so destroy the indictment against James. By that means there would be nothing against James, and he should be acquitted, as no charge would arrest him. With this plan James was highly pleased, and much elated with the idea that he had a friend fully able and competent to bear him out and who would stand up to him at any and all hazards, and bring him out clear. Wages pledged himself to James in private to this and was as good as his word. They set a time for the accomplishment of their design, and they accordingly met. It was a dry time, and a dark night, with a strong breeze from the North. After procuring sufficient dry combustibles, they entered the courthouse, went upstairs, and placed their combustibles in the roof on the windward side of the house. Wages went down the stairs to patrol around. After checking around sufficiently, Wages gave James the signal. He immediately sprung open the door of the room, applied the match, and made his escape down the stairs. Wages and James left the place in double quick time and stopped some five or six hundred yards to the southeast of the Courthouse to watch the fire. Such a sight James had never seen before. After the Courthouse, records and all were completely consumed, and the flames had abated and died away, they took their departure for him, rejoicing in their success in the destroying of the papers. So again James got clear of a crime of which he was guilty.

After the burning of the courthouse the bond between the two grew. They became strongly allied to each other, and confidence as fully established between them. Wages one day made a proposition to James, to join him and go with him, alleging that he could make money without work, and live in ease and genteel style, that there were a great many persons concerned with him, in different parts of the country. Some of the persons, he said, were men of wealth and in good standing in the community in which they lived and that they had an organized Band that would stand up to each other at all hazard. They had a Wig-Wam in the city of Mobile, where they held occasional meetings and that they had many confederates there whom the public little suspected. To this proposition, James acceded; it corresponded with his disposition and idea of things, and then being the age he was, it stimulated him to fear nothing when he considered his past success at wrongdoings.

James went to Mobile with Wages and there he became a member of the clan. They held a meeting at the Wig-Wam and James was introduced as a candidate for membership, where he finally was admitted. He was given the oath. The oath was administered on the Holy Bible. The form of the oath was "You solemnly swear upon the Holy Evangelist of Almighty God, that you will never divulge, and always conceal and never reveal any of the signs or passwords of our order; that you will not invent any sign, token or device by which the secret mysteries of our order may be known; that you will not in any way betray or cause to be betrayed any member of this order - the whole under pain of having your head severed form your body - so help you God."

After he was thus initiated, and invested with all the signs, words and mode of secret correspondence, by means of an alphabet or key, invented by the notorious Murrell of Tennessee. He was furnished with the alphabet and key, and in that mystic writing he was furnished with a list of all names that belonged to their clan, and a list of several other clans.

After James had become initiated and had become identified with the clan, Wages and McGrath, knowing his ability and that he was a keen, shrewd and cunning lad, took him under their special charge. They ranged that season from one place to another, and sometimes in town, stealing any and everything they could. Sometimes killing beef, hogs, and sheep, hauling them to town and selling them; sometimes stealing a fine horse or a mule and conveying it to some of their comrades to conceal; and occasionally, a negro would disappear. All this while, they pretended to be engaged in making shingles, burning charcoal, and getting lathes and pickets, each for himself.