Sunday, April 27, 2008

The Pecan Gap Success Mystery Photograph

The other day I was digging through a collection of old photographs from Itawamba County and came across the above interesting photograph. As the scene looks to be the interior of a printing office, the Pecan Gap Success is probably a newspaper. I started researching the name Pecan Gap and came to the conclusion that the scene was probably photographed in Pecan Gap, Delta County, Texas. It is interesting that I could find no reference to a newspaper named the Pecan Gap Success. I searched the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers for the Pecan Gap Success, finding several newspapers from that area, but none by the name of Success. In surveying the census records it seems there are many citizens in Delta County, Texas who were born in Mississippi from the 1880 through the 1910 census records. I came across at least two Itawamba County families – the Rhyne and Sheffield families during the quick census survey. There are probably several more Itawamba County families there as well. It is my opinion that the photograph, mounted on cardboard stock, was mailed to family in Itawamba County and the subjects in the photograph have Itawamba County connections.

I have shared a digital copy of the photograph with the Delta County TXGenWeb Project with the hopes that more information may be gleaned from the photograph.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, there existed a newspaper titled, "Pecan Gap Success." The Dallas Morning News 1903-1904 has snippets of articles written in the the Pecan Gap Success paper. The men remain a mystery, but this is a riddle that can be solved. I have been checking the WWI registrations for the young men born in Itawamba towns that lived near Pecan Gap. They may be the children of the men we are looking for.

Anonymous said...

1900-1920 Connections between Precinct 6, (Pecan Gap, Lake Creek, Ben Franklin towns)Delta County, Texas and Itawamba/Lee Counties:
SURNAMES    Location
BARNETT    Bethany & Tupelo
BIRMINGHAM    Plantersville
CAUTHEN    Fulton
ERWIN    Baldwyn
LANGSTON    Saltillo
McMILLIAN    Baldwyn
McNUTT    Saltillo
This method of research only applies if our elusive Pecan Gap Success Newspaper owners, stayed in Delta County after 1904.
Are there any former newspaper owners in Itawamba with the above surnames?