Catherine Jefferson Wiggins

Quick Facts

Significance:

Mississippi Homesteader

Place of Birth:

Georgia

Date of Birth:

1847

Place of Death:

Carpenter, Copiah, Mississippi

Catherine Jefferson Wiggins was born in Georgia in 1847 and was more than likely born enslaved. She married Luther Wiggins on December 13, 1868, in a town called Hamilton in Harris County, Georgia. They had seven children, Smith, William, John, Jasper, Sissie, Maggie, and Jeff. Sometime after 1870 they migrated to Carpenter, Mississippi which was located in the county of Copiah.

In July of 1903, Catherine, along with one of her sons, her daughter Maggie Lipscomb, and Maggie’s husband, settled upon section 18 on the east half of the northeastern quarter west of the Choctaw Meridian. On July 20, 1903, Catherine Wiggins applied for Homestead entry with application number 38966.

Catherine and her family went on to improve the land by adding a two room lumber house, kitchen, smokehouse, crib, stable, cotton house, orchard, and field and fencing. The value was estimated to be about $200.00.

The home Catherine lived in was built in December of 1903, nearly six months after settling on the land. In January of 1904, Catherine moved into her home establishing residence, but more than two years later, on November 15, 1906, Catherine passed away never being able to see the completion of her application process.

On July 22, 1908, Maggie Lipscomb, Catherine’s daughter, would file and sign with her own hand a Notice of Intention to Make Proof with the Department of the Interior in Jackson, Mississippi. She would re-file the same notice on September 5, 1908, and it would appear in the Hazlehurst Courier. The notice stated, “…Maggie Lipscomb for the heirs of Catherine Wiggins, deceased, Carpenter, Mississippi…has filed notice of intention to make final 5-year proof to establish claim to the land…” The article went on to list the four witnesses who supported her claim: James Ginane, a native-born Irishman, Frank Hunter, Ely Glenn, and Squire Moore.

On November 8, 1909, President William H. Taft signed patent number 88149. Maggie had finally obtained the land patent for 79.3 acres on behalf of the heirs of her mother, Catherine Jefferson Wiggins.

By 1910, Smith Wiggins, Catherine’s oldest son, was recorded on the census as being by occupation a gen farmer that owned his own farm and home that was under a mortgage. The Glenn family and Squire Moore and family were recorded as his neighbors which supports the fact that he was living on the land obtained by homestead patent. By 1920, Smith owned the home free and clear and was still farming cotton.

Smith was an extremely talented person and was recorded as literate in 1900. He was known to be an excellent wood carver and basket weaver. Those talents he passed along to his children. In the 1930s, he enjoyed visits with his children and grandchildren, and they were amazed at how much money he had been able to save; not believing in banks, he kept his money stored in barrels around his home. When his family visited, he would tell them that he was being pressured by certain individuals to sell his land, but he never would even when some of the pressure became violent. Some family members urged him to sell it and not risk his life because of it, but Smith was unmoved. On February 26, 1939, tragedy struck. Smith Wiggins was burned to death in his home. His death certificate stated that he was “found to have died from burns by jury of inquest.” His family was deeply saddened but not shocked when a telegram arrived announcing his death. 
~ Contributed by Trenika Austin

Trenika Austin
Photo Credit: T. Austin

Trenika is the 3^rd great-granddaughter of Catherine Jefferson Wiggins, great-great granddaughter of Smith Wiggins, great granddaughter of Eugene Wiggins, and granddaughter of Dorothy Mae Wiggins. Since 2008 she has researched her family history as a hobby being able to recall verbatim stories told by the elders and finding documents that support family lore.

Additional notes from the contributor: The story surrounding Smith Wiggins’ death was often told by his grand-daughter Dorothy Mae Wiggins. The death certificate supports a suspicious cause of death. *Special thanks to Shana Augustus for retrieving a copy of the death certificate from Mississippi Department of Archives, Jackson, Mississippi.

Sources: Patent Details - BLM GLO Records

Lamar, L.Q.C., “Notice of Publication”, Hazlehurst Courier, Sept. 5,1908Certificate of death Smith Wiggins, number 2358, Mississippi State Board of Health Copiah, Mississippi