Comments on: Newt Knight vs. the U.S. Court Claims revisited: Montgomery Blackwell’s deposition http://renegadesouth.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/newt-knight-vs-the-u-s-court-claims-revisited-montgomery-blackwells-deposition/ histories of unconventional southerners Wed, 22 May 2013 22:00:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: renegadesouth http://renegadesouth.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/newt-knight-vs-the-u-s-court-claims-revisited-montgomery-blackwells-deposition/#comment-2284 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:30:04 +0000 http://renegadesouth.wordpress.com/?p=1985#comment-2284 Hi Vicki,

You have pointed out some interesting parallels between the Free State of Jones County, MS, and the Free State of Van Zandt County, TX! I think a comparison of surnames associated with each county’s Unionists and political radicals might yield some leads. Then again, it may just be that the residents of each county experienced such similar hardships that their histories took similar courses.

There were, of course, a number of “free states” throughout the South, and migration patterns meant that different branches of the same stem family were located throughout these regions. e.g. There are Unionist Bynums in northern Mississippi as well as Southern Mississippi; Unionist Welborns in Texas as well as Mississippi, in addition to Unionist Collinses in both MS and TX. Clearly, this would make a great research topic for someone who enjoys using genealogical research to better understand cataclysmic historical events such as the Civil War.

Greg Rowe, who occasionally visits this site, wrote a brief essay on the Free State of Van Zandt on his own Civil War website over a year ago:
http://acwresearcher.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/the-free-state-of-van-zandtwhat-does-it-mean/

It would be great to hear from readers who may already know something about connections between Jones county, MS, and Van Zandt County, TX. Who knows? Maybe this topic would make a good post for Renegade South!

Vikki

]]> By: Vicki Betts http://renegadesouth.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/newt-knight-vs-the-u-s-court-claims-revisited-montgomery-blackwells-deposition/#comment-2283 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:00:21 +0000 http://renegadesouth.wordpress.com/?p=1985#comment-2283 This is not on topic for this particular post, but I finished reading _The Long Shadow of the Civil War_ last night and was struck by the similarity of the Free State of Jones and the Free State of Van Zandt (county seat Canton) here in mid-East Texas. I was wondering if you had discovered any family or philosophical connections, and how many “free states” might actually be out there. Van Zandt County was largely settled by yeoman hard scrabble types, as well as by a small Norwegian group. A sizeable minority voted against secession. Squads of Confederate soldiers were sent out from Tyler fairly regularly to arrest deserters. There is a surviving “black list of Unionists” from 1863 that includes at least two Collins members (see: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txvzcgs/vzgs5cw.htm ). The first name on the list, George Rosenbaum, was arrested for being involved in a plot to free federal POWs at Camp Ford near Tyler. Three Unionists were lynched. After the Civil War the federal troops stationed at Tyler still had problems with violence Van Zandt County. Once cotton became the primary crop, the county drifted into tenancy and into the more radical third political parties, especially the People’s Party. Then in the early 20th century Grand Saline became the site of the first and largest Socialist Party encampment in the state. Yet, Grand Saline has also long been known as a sundown town. Some would say that Van Zandt County still has a rough reputation. In your research did you come up with any connections?

Vicki Betts

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