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Eliza was a poet before she was a publisher, A selection of her works appears in this small book, which can be seen at the Hancock County Historical Society (4674090).
good story when it saw one and quickly dispatched a reporter to cover the 1882 bare-knuckle fight between John L. Sullivan and Paddy Ryan which took place in Mississippi, despite the Mississippi statutes. The Picayune editors noted that the sheriff "was away on business" at the time. The paper was later successful in 1885 in promoting passage of a city ordinance that made prizefighting unlawful and punishable by a S25 fine or 30 days in jail.
The heart of the poet never waned in Eliza, and she wrote two lengthy narrative poems that received praise from critics of the day. ?'Hagar" and the second poem. "Leah." were noted for their strength in narration and beauty of language. Publication of a collection of her poems was planned but never realized.
On Feb. 5. 1896. Eliza's husband. George, died three months before his 76th birthday. Eliza Jane died 10 days later. She was 53.
Shortly after her death, a small pamphlet called "Two Poems" containing reprints of "Hagar" and another work entitled "Only a Dog" appeared?the only portion of the collection that was to be printed.
At her death, editors of rival newspapers paid tribute to the grande dame, noting her significant contributions to both journalism and the world at large.
"She will not be forgotten," wrote one.	^
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1995
Eliza?s Family Tree
Like many early settlers of Mississippi and Alabama, Eliza Jane Poitevent?s parents came from North Carolina.
In the early 1800s, West Hancock County was just beginning to be settled. The Mississippi Territory became a U.S. possession, and the descendants of indentured servants and poor farmers from the original Southern colonies began their move west.
Foremost among the early settlements which sprang up along the river was the town of Gainesville, named for Ambrose Gaines, who held the first recorded land grant issued by the Spanish government in 1810. Gaines' grant encompassed about 9,000 feet of river frontage and more than 500 acres of land. He called his new possession Gaines Bluff.
As time went on, the area attracted other settlers searching for land and new opportunities, and the communities of Pearlington and Logtown sprang up along the river farther south. Those interested in the early history of the area can find much enjoyable reading in S.J. Thigpen?s history, Pearl River, Highway to Glory Land, published in 1965.
In February 1829, Eliza Jane?s ancestors, intent on starting a new life in the rapidly opening wilderness, left.Brunswick County, North Carolina, to joumey oyfoot and horse to the Pearl. Eliza?s ancestors in the group were members of the family of Amelia Potter Russ, widow of Sempronius Russ, and members of the family of John Poitevent, neighbors of Russ.
Poitevent was himself a recent widower with six children. His eldest son, William, nearly 15, drove one horse with a cart. Averaging a mere 19 miles a day, members of the group followed what roads they could find and traveled by paths through the wilderness when no roads existed. Their destination was the home of Samuel Potter Russ, oldest son of Amelia and Sempronius, who was living in Pearlington in 1829.
When the group arrived in Pearlington, they found Russ with a sick wife and five children. Russ? wife died just a few weeks later. Later in 1830, Bill Poitevent married Mary Amelia Russ, Samuel?s daughter, barely 12.
Bill and Mary Amelia were the parents of Eliza Jane Poitevent.