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origin, as in the case of Solomon Lott and James McArthur, are assumed to mean they were residing, for at least a short period, within the state of Georgia at the time they were given the passport.
In any case, Solomon Lott and the McArthurs were heading south. Solomon apparently tried to make a homestead at Sim’s Crossing on the Elk River which is in extreme northern Alabama today, because on Sept. 5, 1810 he signed a petition with others to President James Madison claiming that he was being forced from his claim by the Chickasaw Indians who considered him an “intruder”. This information was given by Mr. Watts although he did not list his source. In a book called “Next Door to Heaven” by S.G. Thigpen at the Gulfport, MS library, p. 181, the author states that this Lott family was from Tennessee. Although they may have stayed in Tennessee for a brief period after leaving North Carolina, we suspect Mr. Thigpen was in error, although this family lore is entirely possible.
The next record we have of Solomon Lott is in the 1814 land census of Hancock Co., MS (Vol. 3, p. 33, American State Papers). This record shows “Solomon Lotte” living on the east side of the Pearl River and it says he settled there in December 1810. Other land and census records show that some of Solomon’s children and other family members settled near him. Solomon is also listed with his family in the 1820 Hancock Co. census. An 1822 plat map in the Hancock Co. Courthouse shows Solomon Lott located on the east bank of the Pearl River with 640 acres. Also nearby were Stephen Lott, John Lott, Amos Lott, Jacob Lott, and James McArthur.
According to Mr. S. G. Thigpen in his book previously cited, old Solomon Lott died in 1822 and was the first person buried in what is now the Pine Grove Cemetery located approximately 6 miles west of Picayune, MS in Pearl River Co., IV2 miles off Hwy 43 in the Pine Grove Community and next to the present Pine Grove Baptist Church. It was next to this cemetery that the old Solomon Lott home once stood. There is a nearby creek called Lott’s Creek which was named after Solomon. The first church in that area was called the Lott’s Creek Church after this old man. It should be noted that prior to 1890, Pearl River Co. was part of Hancock Co. and Mr. Thigpen was an elderly historian of that community. He knew many of the older Lott descendants that were bom before the turn of the century in Hancock and Pearl River counties and has recorded much of what he was told in his books. While we have found a few errors in his work, the vast majority has proven to be accurate. Additionally, Solomon Lott does “not” appear in the Hancock Co. 1824 tax list, indicating he was probably dead by that time. This further supports Mr. Thigpen’s 1822 death date. Perhaps he got it from a now lost cemetery head marker or some family member’s bible.
One may ask what sort of man was Solomon Lott? It is our impression that he was a farmer by trade judging from the number of acres and location of the property he settled in Hancock Co. He was probably fairly well off financially because he owned “3 slaves” according to the Georgia Passport records. It is also our suspicion that he was “politically active” which may have accounted for some of his relocations around the time of the American Revolution. He was no doubt a well respected man, for his name was kept alive when his descendants named their own children after Solomon.
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