Monette, John W. History of the Discovery and Settlement of the Valley of the Mississippi, by the Three Great European Powers, Spain, France and Great Britain, and the Subsequent Occupation, Settlement, and Extension of Civil Government by the United States, Until the Year 1846, in two volumes, Volume II . New York: Harper and Brothers, Publishers, 1846. [format: book], [genre: history]. Permission: Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures, Aurora University
Persistent link to this document: http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/file.php?file=monette2.html

[A.D. 1802.] Early in the year 1802 the territory was erected into five counties by the division of both Adams and Pickering. On the 11th of January an act of the General Assembly changed the name of Pickering county to that of "Jefferson," in honor of the newly-elected president. On the 27th of January, another act divided the county of Jefferson, by a line varying but little from the present one between Jefferson and Claiborne counties, and which extended eastward to the western bank of Pearl River. That portion of the territory on the north of this line was called "Claiborne county," in honor of the new governor. ⁴⁰⁶ The seat of justice was located permanently, on the 5th of March, at "Gibson's Landing," on the south fork of Bayou Pierre.

On the 30th of January another act of the General Assembly divided the county of Adams by the Homochitto River, from its mouth up to "Richard's Ferry," and thence eastward by an imaginary line to Pearl River. That portion of the territory south of this line was called "Wilkinson county," in honor of General James Wilkinson, commander-in-chief of the Federal army. ⁴⁰⁷

The first regular code of jurisprudence and judicial proceedings for the use of the territory were adopted during the session of 1801 and 1802. An act of the same session, passed February 1st, removed the seat of the territorial government to the town of Washington. This session had organized with Joshua Baker speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and John Ellis president of the Council. Each of these received as salary five dollars per diem during the session, and the members of both houses four dollars per diem.

The first weekly newspaper in the Mississippi Territory was published in the spring of 1802, by Colonel Andrew Marschalk, formerly a lieutenant in General Wayne's army. Having descended the river with General Wilkinson, he continued in the service until 1802, when he commenced the publication of the "Natchez Gazette." This paper, under different forms and names, such as the "Mississippi Herald and Natchez Gazette," the "Washington Republican," and "Mississippi State Gazette," was published by this father of the press in Mississippi for nearly forty years afterward.

The second weekly paper in the territory was the

Previous page

Next page