Madison Parish, Louisiana
Articles of Historic Interest:

Last Updated January 29, 2021

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• 1850 Madison Census – An Analysis (Richard P. Sevier) — People, Real Estate Values, Birth Places, Occupations
• 1859-1863 Mark Valentine Diary – Oasis Plantation (Bob Williamson) — Interesting plantation owner’s Civil War diary of a plantation near Brokenburn.
• 1928 THS Football Season (Richard P. Sevier) — A series of articles written during the 1928 Tallulah High School football season.
• 1929 THS Football Season (Richard P. Sevier) — A series of articles written during the 1929 Tallulah High School football season.
• 1930 THS Football Season (Richard P. Sevier) — A series of articles written during the 1930 Tallulah High School football season.
• 1931 THS Football Season (Richard P. Sevier) — A series of articles written during the 1931 Tallulah High School football season.
• 1932 THS Football Season (Richard P. Sevier) — A series of articles written during the 1932 Tallulah High School State Championship football season.
• 1933 THS Football Season (M. A. Phillips) — Newspaper clippings and comments from Coach M. A. Phillips’ notebook.
• 1934 THS Football Season (M. A. Phillips) — Newspaper clippings and comments from Coach M. A. Phillips’ notebook.
• 1935 THS Football Season (M. A. Phillips) — Newspaper clippings and comments from Coach M. A. Phillips’ notebook.
• 1935 Football Banquet (Tallulah Madison Journal) — Write-up of the THS football banquet following the 1935 season.
• 1936 THS Football Season (M. A. Phillips) — Newspaper clippings and comments from Coach M. A. Phillips’ notebook.
• 1937 THS Football Season  (Janet Byram Newsom) — A series of articles written during the 1937 Tallulah High School football season.
• 1938 THS Football Season (Richard P. Sevier) — A series of articles written during the 1938 Tallulah High School football season.
• 1940 THS Football Season (Richard P. Sevier) — A series of articles written during the 1940 Tallulah High School football season.
• 1946 THS Football Season (Richard P. Sevier) — A series of articles written during the 1946 Tallulah High School State Championship football season.
• 1947 THS Football Season (Richard P. Sevier) — A series of articles written during the 1947 Tallulah High School North LA Championship football season.
• Agriculture in Madison Parish (Tallulah Madison Journal) — From the Early 1800's to 1977
• Ashly (John Earl Martin) — A History of the gigantic Ashly Plantation.
• Battle of Milliken's Bend (Richard P. Sevier) — Complete Details from Confederate and Union Reports
• Battle of Richmond (Richard P. Sevier) — Complete details from Union Report
• Betty Kaye Gilfoil’s Life in a Japanese Prison (Betty Kaye Gilfoil Drouant) — Written 50 years after she was freed in 1945 from three years in a Japanese prisoner camp in the Philippines during World War II.
• Burrill Coleman, Colored (Jeannette Downes Coltharp) — A 315 page book, published in 1896 about life in Madison Parish during the latter part of the 19^th century. (Large file-1.1 MB)
• Chicago Mill in Tallulah (Tallulah Madison Journal) — History of Tallulah’s Chicago Mill.
• Civil War Canals in Madison Parish (Richard P. Sevier) — A Pictorial Review of Grant's and Duckport Canals.
• Civil War in Madison Parish (Tallulah Madison Journal) — Including Reconstruction.
• Coach H. Devone Payne (Tallulah Madison Journal) — Delores Payne reminisces in 1975 about her husband, legendary Tallulah coach Payne who passed away in 1958.
• Crescent Plantation House (Blanche Oliver) — The story, written in 1936 as part of a WPA project, of one of the few Madison Parish antebellum houses left standing after the Civil War.
• Crimes in Madison Parish (Tallulah Madison Journal) — A discussion of most major crimes through 1975.
• Crop-Dusters (Timothy Harper) — The story of crop dusting from airplanes (developed in the early 1920’s by the USDA Experiment Station in Tallulah.)
• Curtains for the Bend (Frances Alexander) — The only known history of the ill-fated town of Milliken's Bend.
•           Ups and Downs of Madison Parish Recalled By Mrs. Jennie Witherow (Martha Bunch) — A 1936 interview with Mrs. Jennie Witherow who spent most of her life in Milliken’s Bend.    
• Delta Airlines-from Crop Duster to Airlines (James John Hoogerwerf) — Roots: From Crop Duster to Airline; The Origins of Delta Air Lines to World War II. An Auburn University PhD dissertation (December 2010) by a former Delta Airlines pilot. Tallulah and the USDA Delta “Lab” are mentioned often.
• Delta Eagle Comes to Tallulah — Several 1941 Madison Journal articles about the coming of the Missouri Pacific “streamlined” train, the Delta Eagle, which was to operate between Tallulah and Memphis.
• Diaries of Cadet Richard K. Boney of Madison Parish, LA 1874-1880 (Richard P. Sevier) — These Diaries include Virginia Military Institute: 1874-78; Univ. of VA Law School: 1879 and Univ. of LA (Tulane) Law School: 1880. Over 100 vintage photos are included as well as footnoted personal information on almost everyone mentioned
• Does Anyone Ever Look at All This Stuff - 2014?  (Richard P. Sevier) — An updated interesting statistical review for 2013 of who is viewing the Madison Parish websites and where they live. Less-detailed data for 2008-2012 is also presented.
• Don’t Worry About Teenagers 1951 (Norma Lee Browning) —  70+-year-old Chicago Tribune article about “typical” teenager Babs Pollard of Tallulah, LA.
• Early Education in Madison Parish (Tallulah Madison Journal) — Education in the 1800's and early 1900's.
•        Madison Parish Schools in 1901 — A report to the Superintendent of Public Schools showing the plans, teaching methods and attendees of the Tallulah “Graded” School in 1901.
• Early Newspapers of Madison Parish (Tallulah Madison Journal) — The Richmond Compiler, Madison Item, Madison Times and Madison Journal
• Early Plantations of Madison Parish (Tallulah Madison Journal) — Typical life on a pre-Civil war plantation
• Early Settlers of Madison Parish (Tallulah Madison Journal) — From Early Indians to Plantation Owners before the Civil War
• Early Tallulah High School Football (Tallulah Madison Journal) — History of THS Football from 1910 to 1928.
• Early Transportation in Madison Parish (Tallulah Madison Journal) — From Pirogues and Steamboats to Buggies and Railroads
• Economic Development of the Tallulah Territory (Robert L. Moncrief) — Robert L. Moncrief’s Thesis, written in 1937, gives an outstanding history and overview of the Madison Parish area as it appeared at that time.
• Elias S. Dennis - A Yankee General in King Cotton's Court (Richard P. Sevier) — Including several versions of the Battle of Milliken's Bend
• Fitzwilliam Family of Milliken’s Bend (Dorothy Garesché Holland) — Thomas Fitzwilliam came to Milliken’s Bend in the early 1840’s and was one of its most prominent citizens. His brother John’s family arrived in the late 1840’s.
• Floods! (Tallulah Madison Journal) — Madison Parish Floods, including the 1927 super flood.

·               1927 Overflow (Ala Westmoreland Byram) — Mrs. Byram’s personal account of this devastating flood.

• Frisby House (Sam Hanna) — The story of the magnificent, but unfinished, pre Civil War house on the Tensas River and its builder, Norman Frisby
          More on the Death of Norman Frisby (Richard P. Sevier) — Three separate accounts of the 1863 murder of Norman Frisby by Orlando Flowers, the husband of    his niece, Gertrude.
•        Frisby’s Ghosts (Sue Moore) — Ghosts found in Norman Frisby’s Claiborne County, Mississippi house.
  Growing up in the 1900’s (Elizabeth Kell in the Tallulah Madison Journal) — Liz Kell tells of growing up in Madison Parish During the 1900s.
• Guns, Goats and Italians: The Tallulah Lynching of 1899 (Edward F. Haas) — The little known story of what became an international incident.
       Transcriptions (some translated) of diplomatic letters, depositions, attachments, etc., written between July 26, 1899 and December 4, 1900 concerning the details of the July 20, 1899 lynching of five Italians in Tallulah. 
• Henrietta-Southern Woman of Valor (Yvonne Stewart) — This is a very interesting story of a German Jewish family who emigrated from Bavaria to Milliken’s Bend about 1850. It chronicles their early family history in Bavaria and is primarily devoted to Henrietta Geisenberg Bauer; her immigration to Milliken’s Bend; her life before, during and after the Civil War and her descendants.
• History of Ag Aviation in Madison Parish (John Earl Martin) — This is an excellent history of agricultural aviation, which was pioneered in Tallulah and Madison Parish. The article contains many pictures.
• History of Silver Cross Cemetery (Ruth Reed) — 1996 Madison Journal Article.
• History of Tallulah’s Agricultural Experiment Station (Lecky & Murphy 1936) — History of Tallulah’s “Bug Station”. WPA Project article enhanced with photographs.
• History of St. Agnes (St. Edwards) Catholic Church — Two articles, one written in 1947 and one in 1987.
• History of Tallulah Airport — From 1930 Madison Journal article.
• History of Tallulah Book Club (Rosalie Rountree, Tallulah Madison Journal) — Book Club history through 1975.
• History of Tallulah Post Office (Tallulah Madison Journal) — Post Office history through 1975.
• History of Tallulah’s First Baptist Church — History of the First Baptist Church from 1914-1972.
• History of Tallulah’s First Methodist Church (Gussie Slack Hebert et al) — History of the First United Methodist Church including the Union Church from 1873 to about 1981.
• History of Tallulah’s Trinity Episcopal Church (Frances {Boo} Bettis Eiland) — This is the history of one of the oldest churches in Tallulah.
• History of the USDA Cotton Insects Research Laboratory Tallulah, Louisiana, 1909-1973 (T. C. Cleveland and C. R. Parencia in Bulletin of the Entomological Society of America Vol 22, No 4 December 1976 pp 403-407) — Complete history of Tallulah’s “bug lab” from 1909 to 1973.
• How Tallulah Became the Parish Seat (Minnie Murphy in the Tallulah Madison Journal) — How Tallulah “stole the Parish Seat from Delta
• In the Louisiana Canebrakes (Theodore Roosevelt) — The president’s story in his own words of his bear hunt in northeast Louisiana in 1907 including his hunt at Bear Lake in Madison Parish.
• Integration Comes to Madison Parish (Tallulah Madison Journal) — History of integration in Madison Parish.
• Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Found in Madison Parish — Articles from 1932 Madison Journal.
• Madison Parish Historic Names and Places on the Lower Mississippi River (Excerpted from a Publication by Marion Bragg) — An interesting description of Bends, Cutoffs, Landings, Towns and Islands along the Madison Parish portion of the River.
• Madison Parish in 1885 — A very interesting, primarily agricultural, article about Madison Parish from the New Orleans Picayune in June 1885.
• Maher Family of Madison Parish (Richard P. Sevier) — The story of this relatively unknown, one-time prominent Madison Parish family of the mid-1800’s and their descendants.
• Mansford Plantation (John Earl Martin) — A History of Mansford Plantation.
• Morancy Family of Milliken’s Bend (Minnie Murphy) — History of probably the most visible family in Milliken’s Bend during the mid-1800’s.
• Moses Groves (Billie Grunden) — The story of one of Madison Parish’s earliest settlers and largest landowners.
• Mound Colony (Illinois Central Magazine) — The story of the farmers from the north who came to Madison Parish in the late 1920’s to show that crop diversification (from cotton) was a sound and economical idea.
• Mound Mosquito Lab (Tallulah Madison Journal) — Established in 1913 to study mosquitoes. Closed in 1931.
• My Family and the Tensas (James Martin Willhite, Jr.) — Wonderful story of life on the Tensas River during the1930’s.
• Notes from the History of Madison Parish Louisiana (William M. Murphy) — Outstanding comprehensive history of Madison Parish.
• Original Madison Parish Landowners (Patentees) (Richard P. Sevier) — Comprehensive list of original landowners who bought (or patented) land from the US General Land Office (GLO) during the middle 1800’s. Contains links to twenty-six color coded original survey township maps that show the property locations.
• Perkins Family of Northeast Louisiana (Robert Dabney Calhoun) — One of Madison’s most important families during the time immediately before and after the Civil War.
• Plantation Owners (Richard P. Sevier) —Tables listing most important plantations, Owners and acreage in approximate five year increments from 1875 to 1943. Also includes plantation maps for 1875 and 1943.
• Religion in Madison Parish (Tallulah Madison Journal) — Religion in Madison Parish with histories of some of the older churches.
• Richmond Compiler  —1841-1844 excerpts from Madison Parish's first newspaper.
• Singer (John Earl Martin) — An interesting history of the Singer Sewing Machine property in Madison Parish and its relation to the Ivory-billed Woodpecker and the Chicago Mill & Lumber Company.
• Sevier Family of Madison Parish (Richard P. Sevier) — The story a family that has played an important part in the history and politics of the Madison Parish area for the last 150 years.
• Sharkey Hunting Club (John Earl Martin) — An interesting history of Sharkey Plantation and the Sharkey Hunting Club.
• Tallulah — (Minnie Murphy) An article about Tallulah written in 1926 by “Miss Minnie” Murphy.
  Tallulah Bank Robbery  (Vicksburg Herald) — The story of the 1932 robbery of Tallulah’s Madison National Bank.
• Tallulah “Bug” Station (Tallulah Madison Journal) — History of Tallulah’s USDA Agricultural Experiment Station
• Tallulah’s Founders (Dalton, GA Newspaper) — Obituaries of the Railroad Engineer who named Tallulah and his wife for whom Tallulah was named.
• Tallulah Golf Club (Tallulah Madison Journal-1928) — a short history of the club founding including a list of the original members, and a series of articles poking fun at the early would-be golfers.
• Teddy Roosevelt’s 1907 Hunt (Robert L. Moncrief) — Interesting story of the hunt. Probably written with input from the well-known hunter and tracker, Ben Lilly.
• United Daughters of the Confederacy — Charter and list of the Charter members, 1902.
• Verhagens of Glenmary Reminisce about Holland (Jane Fargason-1941)  — The story of the Verhagen family who came to Madison Parish to escape Hitler’s troops.
• “Vignettes” of the Civil War (Francis McRae Ward) — Unpublished manuscript by Francis Ward of Tallulah. This interesting history of the period before, during and after the Civil War was written in 1961 but never published. It covers events that occurred in northeast Louisiana and west central Mississippi. Many photos have been added.
• Williams Funeral Home ledger for 1940-1945 — Actual ledger pages containing much hard-to-find genealogical data including, among other things, a Death Certificate and Occupation, Birth Date, Funeral Date, Race, Religion and Clergyman's Name, Birth Date, Cause of Death, and Name and Birthplace of both the individual and their Mother (maiden name) and Father.
• World War I Draftees (Tallulah Madison Journal) — List of Madison Parish’s very first potential draftees for World War I.
• World War II and Korean War Draftee Scrapbooks (Martha B. Sevier) — Scrapbooks made at Draft Board containing the names of everyone from Madison Parish who was drafted into the service; when they were drafted; pictures of most of them and most news releases concerning them

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© 2016 Richard P. Sevier ([email protected])