52 Ancestors - Week 39- Homestead

52 Ancestors – WEEK 39 – Homestead

By Cynthia Keefer Patton

I was fortunate enough to be given land by my in-laws when my first husband, Shephard Patton and I decided to move back home to southern Mississippi to live on the Patton place in rural Harrison County.

When we first arrived in late summer 1984, the land needed attention--old fences, dilapidated barns and a corn crib from maybe the late 1800s. There was also the timber house of the original couple who obtained the land through Homestead and Cash Entry program in Mississippi. In 1883[1] and 1890[2], Philip S. Patton acquired first 39 +/- acres and then 159 +/-. 

At one time, we had the original homestead certificate signed by Benjamin Harrison, but when my husband died, I passed it on to a Patton family member. 

Philip was married to Cordelia S. Johnson and had two children: Ida Patton, born in 1885 and Oliver Owen Patton, born in 1890. Ida married and left the homestead moving only 5 or 6 miles away to an area called Orange Grove. Oliver never married and stayed with his parents through their death. When he was old, my father-in-law, Luther R. Patton (his first cousin, once removed) looked in on the aging Owen. Family lore says he took him to cash his pension checks, brought him groceries, and drove him to the doctor’s office.

As a reward for his kindness, Owen left all the land to Luther. Over the years some land was sold off to support farming operations and pay taxes. When we received our portion, it was 120 acres including the location of the original house and barn. At one time the area was called Finley, and the cemetery up on the ridge above our land was the “Finley Cemetery” now owned by the county.

We spent quite a bit of money to move the old house off the 5 acres where we were to build our forever home down to what we called “the back 40” which belonged to my husband’s brother Luther R. “Ronny” Patton II. It stood as a reminder of times gone by but fell to further disrepair over the years. We stored items in it, and there was some of their original furniture, but time and the humidity of the deep South had ruined it all. In a sad stroke of fate, Hurricane Georges knocked it off its foundation and blew off the tin roof. We had to raze it and haul off the remains.

We worked the farm hard for many years. We grew soybeans, raised cattle, and built ponds. We raised our son. We lived and loved and prospered.

We tried to hold onto as much land as we could, but hard times and loans coming due to farm equipment meant selling some of the land. When my husband passed away, my son and I decided to sell the house we had built and over time I parceled out any remaining land. All that is left is 1 acre with a duplex on it. My son and his wife rent it out as an AirBnB. We can visit there and treasure our memories.

Shephard is buried up on the hill in Finley on a plot next to his mother Florence D. Patton, her husband Luther, Philip, Cordelia and Owen Patton[3]. We purchased headstones for all of them so time would not forget.

[1] Philip Patton (Harrison Co, MS) patent no.35898; U.S. Bureau of Land Management, “Patent Search,” digital images. General Land Office Records (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch: accessed 26 Sep 2024).

[2] Philip S. Patton (Harrison Co, MS) Homestead certificate no.4439; U.S. Bureau of Land Management, “Patent Search,” digital images. General Land Office Records (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch: accessed 26 Sep 2024).

 [3] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/89905654/oliver_owen-patton: accessed September 26, 2024), memorial page for Oliver Owen Patton (3 Mar 1890–21 May 1962), Find a Grave Memorial ID 89905654, citing Finley Cemetery, Gulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi, USA; Maintained by Ed Stallings (contributor 46921758).