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James McArthur Family of Hancock County, Mississippi
The first record of a McArthur in Hancock County is in the 1819 census of landowners settled in the District East of the Pearl River. This record shows on line 34 “James McArthur” as the original claimant of a tract of land located on Bolochito Creek in what was then Hancock County. It stated that he settled there in the year 1811. In a book, “Passports issued by Governors of Georgia during the years 1810-1820,” in the Jackson Archives, we found a passport issued on February 19, 1810 to “Solomon Lott, Asberry Harris, and James McArthur, the former with his wife, five children, and three negros, and the latter with his wife and one child.” These passports were some sort of legal requirement needed to go through parts of the Georgia Territory which was still owned by the Creek Indians.
From information taken from the 1850 Hancock County MS census, James McArthur was bom in North Carolina in 1778. His wife, “Celia” was also bom in North Carolina in 1780 according to the same census. Baptism records in St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, LA of their grandchildren (children of Lott and Marcelline McArthur), and baptism records in Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church in Bay St. Louis of two of their children indicated that James McArthur’s wife was Celia “Celie” Lott. Most of the records spell her name as Celia, while some refer to her as “Celie,” “Sillie,” or even “Sally.” While Sally is a nickname for Sarah, we have found no indication that Sarah was her correct name.
Celia appears in the 1850 census for the last time. The last civil record we have on her is in the Hancock County Chancery Court case #38 on May 11, 1859 where she was suing her son, John McArthur, over a land claim. This suite states that Celia was the “widow” of James McArthur on that date. Her son, John, was appointed administrator of his father,
James McArthur, Sr.’s, estate in the July 1859 Term of Probate Court (see special Treasurers Report, Probate Court Book, page 392, case #75 in Hancock County Court House). This is a special book filed to itself for unknown reasons. With John being appointed administrator of his father’s estate in 1859, one can only assume that Celia Lott McArthur was dead by July of 1859 or Celia would have been appointed administrix. Until something more specific can be found, we will place Celia’s death in the year 1859. She is presumed to be buried in the family plot located on Mill Creek in Hancock County This burial plot is further discussed in our D’auby Family History (see our Solomon Lott Family History for more information).
James McArthur owned a section of land on Bolochito Creek in Hancock County near the Pearl River. He was the original land claimant, and this land was eventually passed on to his descendants. This land was located in the area of the NASA Test Facility (Stennis), once called Gainesville. James also owned land in Pearl River County according to that county’s court records. On an 1822 map, James McArthur is listed as claimant to 395 acres in Section #7, Township 6, Range 18W, and certificate #34. Also in the Pearl River Tract Book #1, page 13, James McArthur had 80 acres in Section 12, Township 7, Range 16. He purchased this land on July 11, 1836, certificate #4735.
Little is known about James McArthur. We know the early McArthurs were Protestants. We also know that James was basically a farmer by profession and not a wealthy person. Because the census records state that James and his wife were from “North Carolina,” and their oldest son, John (1805), states he was bom in “North Carolina,” one can assume that James McArthur and Celia Lott married around 1803 somewhere in North Carolina. Because his son John, was appointed administrator of his estate in July of 1859, one can assume that James McArthur, Sr. died sometime before 1859.
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