A Note on the Sources
Piecing Together a Hidden History
The history of Altare was not found in a single volume on a library shelf. Because the lives of rural Black Mississippians were often marginalized in official narratives, reconstructing this story required a “detective’s lens”—gathering fragments of truth from diverse and often difficult-to-access records.
The following primary sources provided the foundation for this work:
1. Land Deeds and Deeds of Trust
The skeletal structure of Altare was found in the Chancery Clerk’s office of Newton County. By tracing the land purchases in Section 14 and Section 24, I was able to verify the exact dates the Evans, Chapman, and Walker families became landowners. More importantly, the Deeds of Trust revealed the economic struggle, documenting the high-stakes loans with merchants like W.B. Richardson and M.J.L. Hoye.
2. Vital Statistics and Census Records
To honor the “Taken Too Soon,” I relied heavily on Mississippi Death Certificates (beginning in 1912). These records provided the clinical cause of death—Typhoid, Tuberculosis, or Pellagra—while the U.S. Federal Census (1870–1950) allowed me to see who lived in which cabin, their literacy levels, and their occupations.
3. The Black Press vs. The Local Press
A major component of this book is the contrast between how Altare was viewed from the outside and how it saw itself.
- The Newton Record: Used to find headlines regarding “Race Panics,” agricultural news, and local violence.
- The Chicago Defender: Used to understand the “Pull” of the Great Migration and the advice given to those leaving the South.
- The Mississippi Enterprise: Provided a window into the civic and social lives of Black Mississippians that the white press ignored.
4. Military Records
Draft cards and enlistment records from World War I and World War II provided the names and service histories of Altare’s veterans. These documents often included physical descriptions and discharge dates, helping to flesh out the men who returned to the pines as changed leaders.
5. Oral Histories and Sacred Ground
Finally, the “soul” of the book comes from the community itself. Physical surveys of the Altare Church Cemetery and the Evans Cemetery on Mt. Moriah Road provided names and dates not found in state records. These headstones, combined with the oral traditions passed down through the Arrington, Chapman, and Evans families, turned data into a story of endurance.
Deed Records: Deed Book 45, Page 471 (Chapman to Trustees, 10 acres); Deed Book 62, Page 158 (Denson Chapman to Trustees, 1 acre).
School Records: 1927 List of Educable Children, Newton County, Mississippi (Distinguishing the dual Calhoun Consolidated districts).