Invitation to St. Francisville

There’s just something different about the St. Francisville, Louisiana, area. For one thing, it’s not French or Creole or Cajun; it’s English. For another, it’s not flat and swampy like most of southeast Louisiana; it’s in the rugged Tunica Hills. But the most important difference is that it was the site of the 1810 revolt against Spanish rule that culminated in the heady days of the West Florida Republic, a brave adventure that lasted all of 74 days and set off the rolling wave of revolutions that shaped the entire country.

So that’s what the West Feliciana Historical Society is celebrating the third weekend in March, and it promises to be fascinating. Centered around historic downtown St. Francisville, the events kick off Friday, March 18, with “Taste of the Republic,” opening a newly expanded museum exhibit on the rebellion complete with craft beer tasting, cracklin’s and fried oysters straight from bubbling cauldrons, live blue grass music and more. Saturday, March 19, begins with a walkabout or guided trolley tour along Royal Street to view historic structures that actually witnessed the birth of the republic: Prospect which is open for tours, Printer’s Cottage, Barrow House, Propinquity, Cabildo, Republic Park and Seabrook. After the Children’s Art Show, excitement builds as the Methodist Church bells toll for all to assemble at Republic Park; Reverend Daniel Hixon’s invocation will be followed by a featured presentation by respected scholar and republic expert Dr. Sam Hyde, and costumed re-enactors will ceremoniously raise the famous flag, blue with a lone white star, near the park’s striking obelisk crowned by a single star. In the afternoon on Saturday, visitors may drive by outlying sites where much of the planning for the rebellion took place: Rosale (Egypt), Highland and Woodland, Troy.

It was in the summer of 1810 when 500 predominantly Anglo planters gathered at Egypt Plantation, marking the beginnings of the West Florida Rebellion that would belatedly wrest Louisiana’s lands east of the Mississippi from Spanish control. Called today the eight Florida Parishes, this contested area flanking the United States’ Mississippi Territory was excluded from Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase of 1803, at least according to the French and Spanish. West Florida encompassed the north shore of the Gulf of Mexico from the Perdido River in Florida to the Mississippi River, north of Lake Pontchartrain and south of the 31st parallel.

Not until 1810, some seven years after the Louisiana Purchase, would that meeting set in motion carefully conceived and executed plans to replace the Spanish regime with the free and independent Republic of West Florida. The republic lasted for all of 74 days before this contested area rejoined the rest of Louisiana to eventually become a state in 1812. Its capital was in St. Francisville and its constitution intended a more complete system of criminal and civil jurisprudence, more efficient militia, more equitable apportionment of representation, and more extensive basis for levying taxes to support the government. Diplomat Fulwar Skipwith was elected governor, and said he “knew that the sole object of those Patriots in proclaiming that Declaration was to procure to the United States an honorable pretext to receiving us into their bosom with a surrender of our Sovereign Rights.”

Funds raised support the West Feliciana Historical Society‘s preservation and tourism projects. For information and tickets, visit www.invitationtostfrancisville.org or contact the West Feliciana Historical Society at (225) 635-6330.

Mississippi has thirteen grounds for divorce; however, only three grounds are the most frequently used. The first is irreconcilable differences, which means “both” parties agree to terminate their marriage and enter into a property settlement agreement. Once their joint petition stays on file for 60 days, the parties are entitled to a divorce. This is called an uncontested divorce.

If just one marital partner wants a divorce and has grounds for such, this is known as a contested divorce. The two most contested grounds for divorce in America today are adultery and cruelty. Of these two grounds, adultery accounts for 20 to 40 per cent of divorces. The other ground, cruelty, accounts for 40 to 60 per cent of contested divorces. It is this ground that I will focus on in the rest of this article.

Our Mississippi Supreme Court just recently decided a case involving allegations of cruelty by a wife against a husband. I will refer to the parties only as husband and wife.

The wife brought her complaint for divorce on the grounds of habitual cruelty and “inhumane” treatment, and the testimony beginning with her commentary was recorded as follows:

“Husband became very upset on their honeymoon, due to wife talking to her sister on the phone; husband became irate when wife gave food to a homeless man; the husband tortured their dog by tying it up outside and forced its own feces down its mouth after an accident inside the house; husband shoved wife when she was pregnant several years before the filing for divorce; husband forced himself into a locked bathroom where wife was hiding and proceeded to call her profane and derogatory names; husband humiliated her in front of church friends and then finally the husband wanted sex one morning and when wife declined, he took the parties small children to another town for 3 days without telling her where they were.

“Wife then testified this conduct by husband caused her constant headaches for over 5 years and she suffered high blood pressure. She said she suffered from mental and emotional distress.

“The husband then testified that he acknowledged problems in the marriage. He admitted his conduct on the honeymoon. He argued that the homeless man was about wife’s security; he denied torturing the dog and denied any belittlement in front of church friends; husband says the shove while wife was pregnant was an accidental bump and was not intentional; husband testified that both parties called each other awful names and that he had a loud voice; husband however testified that he did not want a divorce and argued against the court granting his wife a divorce; he felt that reconciliation was the answer, especially with small children.”

The Chancellor at the trial ruled that wife has NOT PROVED CRUELTY and was not entitled to divorce. The Supreme Court stated the standard for a divorce under cruelty is as follows:

“The conduct either (1) endangers life, limb or health or creates a reasonable apprehension, of such danger, rendering the relationship unsafe for the party seeking relief or (2) is so unnatural and infamous as to make the marriage revolting to the nonoffending spouse and renders it impossible for the spouse to discharge the duties of marriage, thus destroying the basis for its continuance.”

The court also found that the egregious conduct must be shown to have been “systematic and continuous.” Also, the conduct must consist of something more than unkindness or rudeness or mere incompatibility or want of affection.

The Supreme Court held that the trial judge had properly applied the legal standard in not awarding the wife a divorce on the grounds of cruelty.

The wife could show no physical abuse. Even if they judge believed the husband had once shoved her, this conduct was not continuous and systematic.

As to the allegation of mental abuse, the wife’s migraine headaches were not diagnosed by a doctor nor was any medical evidence offered that the headaches were related to the husband’s conduct.

The Chancery Court apparently found that spouses calling each other profane and derogatory names or raising voices at each other can sometimes be part of marriage.

So, what can be drawn from the Supreme Court’s acceptance of the lower court’s ruling?

Apparently, our laws are meant to protect the institution of marriage up to a certain threshold. The courts recognize that marriage can be difficult and even tumultuous and yet should be preserved in light of certain conduct. While some people may disagree with this position, my response would be this: Before you marry, be realistic and honest about who you are about to marry and prepare for disharmony in any marriage.

Lucien C. “Sam” Gwin III was admitted to the Mississippi Bar in 1981 and has been practicing many aspects of the law at the firm of Gwin, Punches & Kelley in Natchez, Mississippi, ever since.

Visit www.bluffsbayous.com for all social scenes.

The Wesson Chamber of Commerce held its Community Awards Program on Thursday, January 27, 2022. This annual event was held on the Co-Lin Campus in Rea Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. Photography Bill Perkins

Alton Shaw, Mayor of Wesson Dwayne McLemore, Guest Speaker Sonya Cowen Dr. Jane Hulon Sims and Stephanie Duguid Ana Mason and Jessica Breazeale Ken Dale Sullivan and Mary Grace Sullivan of Dumps BBQ JoAnn Miller, Robin Furr, Joy Phillips, Debbie Hoaglin, Pam McLemore, Pam Owens, Denise Jackson, Sonya Cowen, Lisa Smith, Meghan Shepherd, Dixie Thornton, Jennifer Peets, Marilyn Britt, Jean Ricks, Jane Hulon-Sims, Nancy Stringer, Joy Wesbrooks, Debbie Smith, and Cathy Warren

“Best of the Miss-Lou Furniture Store” “Best of the Miss-Lou Appliances”

Dixie Thornton, President of Wesson Garden Club Sharon Langley and Bobby Thornton Michael and Jennifer Johnson of Park Place Ice Cream Alton Ricks, Pete Chassion, Bobby Thornton, Roy Roberts, Alicia Coleman, Richard Miller, and AC Curry Janet Currie, Kim Whittington, Aline Chassion, Sharon Langley, Joy Wesbrooks, and Dixie Thornton

When it comes to seasonal allergies, we’re here to help clear things up. We’re open 7 days a week for fast allergy relief. Walk-in when you need us, Vidalia!

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Tim Sutton of Wesson Ace Hardware Ana Mason Dr. Reed Freeman and Roxanne Freeman Kamryn Bridges Wendy Harrell Mary Grace Sullivan, Ken Sullivan, Kris Sullivan, Antrelle Sims, Nancy Sullivan, and Dale Sullivan Brent Duguid, Stephanie Duguid, Phillip Knight, Deemie Letchworth, Jessica Breazeale, Marilyn Britt, and Ken Sullivan Marilyn Britt, President, and Dr. Steven Liverman, Board Member

R3 offers a variety of Simply Southern Classic Dishes giving our customers a true “Soulful Soul-Food Southern Experience.” Our dishes are embedded with flavor, prepared with love and filled with rich generational history!

Sunday: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday & Tuesday: Closed Wednesday & Thrusday: 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Friday & Saturday: 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.