Magnolia Gazette
Magnolia, Miss., May 18, 1910
Editor Gazette: In 1813 Joseph Lewis, at the age of 15 came from Georgia to Pike county
and subsequently married Sarah Morris, daughter
of Benjamin Morris and Sarah Bolton, immigrants from South Carolina in the
territorial period of Mississippi. Joseph Lewis
became a Baptist minister in charge of the old New Zion Baptist church in the
southeastern portion of the county. He was succeeded by his son, Little
Joe Lewis. His second child and daughter Nettie
[Hettie] was born January 18th, 1826, being one of nine children and was nine
years of age when Halley's Comet made its appearance in 1835. She is now in her
85th year and is healthy, strong, active and possessed of remarkable memory of
events connected with the past history of Pike county. Her birthplace was on
her father's farm, three miles south of Tylertown where the new town of Lexie,
on the New Orleans & Great Northern railroad is now being built. Here she
was married on the 5th of February 1846, to Joel P.
Dillon, son of Theopholis Dillon, and
grandson of Richard Dillon, a native of Ireland,
and one of the colonial partriots of the revolutionary war, who emigrated from
South Carolina and settled at Dillontown about 1800.
Mrs. Hettie Dillon's
bridesmaid was Selena Irwin and the groom's best
man was Thaddeus Gray whose father was also one
of Pike's pioneer settlers on the Boguechitto river. The wedding ceremony was
performed by Rev. Jesse Crawford who was at that
time in charge of the Silver Creek church, having succeeded Rev. Nathan Morris in 1835, the year of the visit of Halley's comet.
Mrs. Hattie Lewis Dillon
is the mother of five living children as follows: John T. Dillon, Hackley, La.; Newell C. Dillon, Dick P. O., Franklin county, Miss.; Joel
P. Dillon, Holmesville, Miss.; Sarah James, wife
of Zach Wilkinson, Gloster, Miss. Mrs. Dillon has 43 grand children, 78 great grandchildren,
and three great great grandchildren, all living, making 124 living descendants
at this writing.
Mrs. Dillon
joined the Bapist denomination at Union church north of Tylertown, in 1854,
under the ministration of Rev. Calvin Magee, by
whom she [w]as baptized and since that time has lived a constant and devoted
member of that faith. All of her descendants belong to the Baptist faith. Two
of her Mother's uncles, Joseph and Nathan, were Baptist preachers, the latter
being placed in charge of the Silver Creek church in 1816 which he filled for
19 years, when he was succeeded by Rev. Jesse Crawford.
Rev. Nathan
Morris Jr., an uncle of Mrs. Dillon, was
also a Baptist preacher, and her brother, Little Joe Lewis,
succeeded her father in the charge of New Zion church which position he
resigned during the civil war and emigrated to Texas.
And now, in her 85th year, healthy, strong
and active, true to her religious faith, Mrs. Hettie Dillon,
with 124 descendants, can again look upon that great wonder of the skies which
made its appearance when she was nine years old.
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LUKE W. CONERLY, |
Note: Transcribed from a microfilm copy of
the original newspaper from the Mississippi Archives and submitted by Mona Ray.
Text appearing in brackets indicate notes made by the submitter.
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