Dates: 1856-1862.

Biography:

Joseph Douglas Eads and Margaret Jane Treadwell

Joseph Douglas Eads was born on a farm in Monroe County, Virginia (now West Virginia), on March 23, 1817. He was the son of William Lovern Eads (1783-1871) and Susan Elizabeth Douglas Eads (b. 1793). Both grandfathers of Eads served in the American Revolution. After studying law in Ohio, Joseph Douglas Eads was later admitted to the Indiana bar in 1840. He was among the first settlers of Carthage, Leake County, Mississippi, in 1843, and he began a law practice there that would continue for approximately fifty-three years. Eads married Callie Harper in 1846. She was the daughter of Logan Harper, another early settler of Leake County. Callie Harper Eads died in childbirth sometime before 1850, but her daughter, Callie, survived and later married W. H. Colbert.

Margaret Jane Treadwell was born in Walton County, Georgia, around 1827. She was the daughter of James Treadwell, who later moved his family to Calhoun County, Alabama. Joseph Douglas Eads married Margaret Jane Treadwell on October 22, 1850. They had three children: Ellen Douglas, Josephine Douglas, and Margaret (Maggie) Treadwell Eads. The Eads family belonged to the Carthage Methodist Church, and Mrs. Eads was the first member to sign the earliest register of that church in 1848.

Joseph Douglas Eads was a justice of the peace in Carthage in 1852. He probably co-owned Eads and Treadwell, a Carthage mercantile store, with a member of the Treadwell family, and this store was in business from at least 1857 to 1861. Eads was Mississippi state treasurer from 1858 to 1864, and he was an alderman for Carthage from 1860 to 1864. He helped to make the original map of Carthage, and he recorded all land transfers in Leake County from the time of its organization. Eads was unable to fight during the Civil War because of a dislocated shoulder. He was elected as mayor of Carthage after the war. Following the death of his second wife in 1889, Joseph Douglas Eads married Callie M. Hooks on October 31, 1893.

Pearl River Lodge No. 105 of the Masonic Order was chartered in Carthage on January 17, 1849. Joseph Douglas Eads was master of the lodge for a number of years. An Eastern Star chapter was established in Carthage in 1938, and it was named for Eads.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection consists of a mercantile ledger, a deed of conveyance, and a roster of Confederate soldiers. These items are all related to Leake County, and two documents concern Joseph Douglas Eads. The materials were apparently assembled by Kalar Luckett Helms, a relative of Joseph Douglas Eads.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Mercantile Ledger (Eads and Treadwell). 1857-1860. 1 item.

The bound, paginated mercantile ledger bears the name, Eads and Treadwell, and the stores location in Carthage, Leake County, Mississippi, is inscribed on one of the first pages. Most of the entries in the ledger are from 1858 and 1859, although the accounts cover 1857 to 1860. The ledger includes an alphabetical index, and individual sales are entered chronologically under each customers name. The store sold general merchandise such as cloth, coffee, nails, and tobacco. Items of interest include an entry on page fifty-five regarding expenses for "Pearl River Lodge, No. 105, for Academy." Joseph Douglas Eads and David, Isaac, James, and William J. Treadwell all had accounts recorded in the ledger.

 

Series 2: Deed of Conveyance. 1856. 1 folder.

There is an 1856 deed of conveyance that lists the names of Pearl River Lodge No. 105 members who donated land for the purpose of establishing a female academy in Carthage.

 

Series 3: Roster of Confederate Soldiers. 1862. 1 folder.

There is a February 20, 1862, roster of Leake County soldiers who served in the Confederate army. The roster is arranged by company and lists over five hundred men.