Meadville
Mississippi
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The city of Meadville was named for Cowles Meade, Virginia native, who was appointed Secretary of the Territory in 1805. He had also served as acting Governor and Speaker of the House. Meadville was the political hotbed of Franklin County. Most of the leading political figures of the county lived in Meadville, or in its' environs. In 1860, it had telegraph service, three inns and taverns, two houses of private entertainment, a post office, cobblers, several school teachers, a group of lawyers, a number of mechanics, several blacksmiths, and a tailor.
A gentleman passing through Meadville in 1841, describe it as "Being in a state of dilapidation and decline. The palsying hand of time had shaken it to pieces." Actually, the whole county was suffering from the lingering depression that is usually styled "the panic of 1837." The traveler was undoubtedly sincere in his observation concerning the condition of Meadville. No one had enough money to buy a tavern license in the town that year, so he might have missed his mid-day "dram." It might have appeared dilapidated, because the Whig Party had consistently led his Democratic Party during the past few years or because many people had left the county two jumps ahead of process servers, to escape paying their debts and had left their homes vacant and fields unattended. The county did not have a sheriff because William K. Ratcliff, the man elected sheriff, could not get any person or group of persons as sureties for his bond, and the old jail had nearly fallen down.
Conditions in the entire state were bad. Various laws were passed, restricting sheriffs who were busily selling debtors' property. The sheriff received half of the property at auction, if there were no bidders, and some sheriff's "forgot" to advertise the auctions. Early in 1841, a law was passed requiring the sheriff to post five notices, one being on the courthouse, advertising the auctions which could not be held without ten days' notice on personal property, or thirty days' notice on real estate. Later in the year, a law was passed to ban the sheriff from receiving half of the property where there were no bidders.
City Of Meadville
The city of Meadville was named for Cowles Meade, Virginia native, who was appointed Secretary of the Territory in 1805. He had also served as acting Governor and Speaker of the House. Meadville was the political hotbed of Franklin County. Most of the leading political figures of the county lived in Meadville, or in its' environs. In 1860, it had telegraph service, three inns and taverns, two houses of private entertainment, a post office, cobblers, several school teachers, a group of lawyers, a number of mechanics, several blacksmiths, and a tailor.
A gentleman passing through Meadville in 1841, describe it as "Being in a state of dilapidation and decline. The palsying hand of time had shaken it to pieces." Actually, the whole county was suffering from the lingering depression that is usually styled "the panic of 1837." The traveler was undoubtedly sincere in his observation concerning the condition of Meadville. No one had enough money to buy a tavern license in the town that year, so he might have missed his mid-day "dram." It might have appeared dilapidated, because the Whig Party had consistently led his Democratic Party during the past few years or because many people had left the county two jumps ahead of process servers, to escape paying their debts and had left their homes vacant and fields unattended. The county did not have a sheriff because William K. Ratcliff, the man elected sheriff, could not get any person or group of persons as sureties for his bond, and the old jail had nearly fallen down.
Conditions in the entire state were bad. Various laws were passed, restricting sheriffs who were busily selling debtors' property. The sheriff received half of the property at auction, if there were no bidders, and some sheriff's "forgot" to advertise the auctions. Early in 1841, a law was passed requiring the sheriff to post five notices, one being on the courthouse, advertising the auctions which could not be held without ten days' notice on personal property, or thirty days' notice on real estate. Later in the year, a law was passed to ban the sheriff from receiving half of the property where there were no bidders.