Bynum Reunion in 1966

The following article appeared in the August 30, 1966 edition of the Hattiesburg American in Hattiesburg, Mississippi:

Margaret "Peggy" Collins (1821-1890)

Margaret "Peggy" Collins was born in Covington County, Mississippi on February 21, 1821.

She was one of many children born to the marriage of Stacy Collins and Sarah Anderson.

Stacy Collins' Bible on display in the Jones County Library in Laurel, Mississippi

Her siblings included:

Nancy
Sarah "Sallie"
Betsy
Vinson Allen
Mary
Simeon
Stacy, Jr.
Riley James
Jasper Jones
Newton
Warren Jacob
Christopher
E. Warren

The 1830 U. S. census shows the Stacy Collins family living in Jones County, Mississippi.  Jones County was formed in 1826.  The area of Covington County where the Collins family lived was part of the land used to form Jones County.

Following her marriage to Benjamin Franklin Bynum, Sr. circa 1838, Peggy and her family made their home in Jones County.

1850 U. S. census

1860 U. S. census

1870 U. S. census

1880 U. S. census

Margaret "Peggy" Collins Bynum died circa 1890.  Benjamin Franklin Bynum, Sr. died circa 1886.  The location of their burial places has not been documented.  Family records show them buried at the Old Gaines Bush Place in Calhoun, Jones County, Mississippi.

The following children were born to the marriage of Benjamin and Peggy Bynum:

Minerva, 1840-1860
Dicey E., 1842-1872 (m. William A. Mauldin)
Benjamin Franklin, Jr., 1844-1862
Prentice Montgomery, 1846-1906 (m. 1. Frances Welch; 2. Nancy Rawls)
Zachary T., 1848-?
Sarah Elizabeth, 1850-1922 (m. Marion Columbus Valentine)
Celeta Margaret, 1853-1917 (m. Jefferson Thomas Herrington)
Morgan Lafayette, 1856-1929 (m. Mahalia Jane Bush)
Gustavus Adolphus, 1860-1907 (m. Dicy Herrington) 

Margaret "Peggy" Collins Bynum was my maternal 3great grandmother, through her son Prentice Montgomery Bynum; grandson, James Benjamin Bynum; great grandson, John Buel Bynum; great-great granddaughter, Mildred Bynum Edmonds.

Benjamin Franklin Bynum, Sr. (1810-1886)

Benjamin Franklin Bynum, Sr. was born in Maury County, Tennessee ca. 1810.

He was the son of William Bynum also known as "Old William".  There are no records listing his mother's name.




His siblings included:

William
John
Mark
Jesse
Anna
Drury
Sarah Nancy

Land records for Old William show the family living in Greene County, Mississippi by 1817.

The 1820 U. S. census shows the family living in Covington County, Mississippi.

In the 1837 Mississippi State and Territorial census, Benjamin Bynum is shown living in Jones County.  The portion of Covington County where the Bynum family lived had become part of the newly formed Jones County in 1826.

Benjamin Bynum married Margaret "Peggy" Collins circa 1838 in Jones County. Peggy was born in Covington County on February 21, 1821 to the marriage of Stacy Collins and Sarah Anderson.

The 1840 U. S. census shows them living in Jones County, Mississippi.

Benjamin Bynum began buying land in Jones County in 1841.

By 1850, several children had been born to Benjamin and Peggy Bynum.  The census record below shows them living near Benjamin's father, Old William.

Additional land was purchased in Jones County in 1853.

The 1860, 1870 and 1880 U. S. census records show the Benjamin Bynum family continuing to call Jones County, Mississippi home.

1860 U. S. census

1870 U. S. census

1880 U. S. census

Benjamin Franklin Bynum died circa 1886.  Margaret "Peggy" Collins died circa 1890.  The location of their burial places has not been documented.  Family records show them buried at the Old Gaines Bush Place in Calhoun, Jones County, Mississippi.

The following children were born to the marriage of Benjamin and Peggy Bynum:

Minerva
Dicey
Benjamin Franklin, Jr.
Prentice Montgomery
Zachary
Sarah Elizabeth
Celeta Margaret
Morgan Lafayette
Gustavus Adolphus 

Benjamin Franklin Bynum, Sr. was my maternal 3great grandfather through his son, Prentice Montgomery Bynum; grandson, James Benjamin Bynum; great grandson, John Buel Bynum; great-great granddaughter, Mildred Bynum Edmonds.

Prentice Montgomery Bynum (1846-1906)

Prentice Montgomery Bynum was born in Jones County, Mississippi on January 5, 1846 to the marriage of Benjamin Franklin Bynum, Sr. and Margaret "Peggy" Collins.

In the fall of 1863, at the age of seventeen, Prentice and his uncle, Tapley Bynum, joined the Knight Company.  Formed by Captain Newt Knight and Jasper Collins, this group of southern men were loyal to the union and defied the Confederacy.

Prentice and Tapley remained a part of the group for a little over a year, clashing with confederate soldiers on several occasions.

After the death of Tapley Bynum, Prentice traveled to New Orleans where he enlisted in the Union Army at Fort Pike, Louisiana on May 26, 1864.

In October of 1864, he was in the University Hospital of New Orleans due to a disabling injury to his left foot caused by the "scold of shoe" and aggravated by fever and abscess.

He was later transferred to St. Louis General Hospital on January 5, 1865.  Prentice remained there until April of 1865 before being transferred to  McDougall U.S. Hospital at Fort Schugler, New York.




After being discharged from McDougall U.S. Hospital on May 22, 1865, Prentice returned to New Orleans and was discharged from the Union Army.

Prentice made his way home to Jones County, Mississippi where he married Frances "Fanny" Welch several months after his return.

The following children were born to the marriage of Prentice and Fanny:

Aurelia Margaret
Mary Matilda
James Benjamin

In 1870, Prentice Bynum was appointed as the Chancery Clerk of Jones County and Circuit Clerk.

Chancery Clerk

Circuit Clerk

In 1872, Prentice Bynum was elected as the Coroner and Ranger in Jones County.  He was appointed the local Commissioner to the Southern States Agricultural and Industrial Exposition in 1876.

Coroner and Ranger

Fanny Welch Bynum died in 1876, leaving Prentice as a single parent of their three young children.  In 1878, he married Nancy Caroline Rawls who became a mother to these three children as well as eight more children born to this marriage.

The following children were born to the marriage of Prentice Bynum and Nancy Rawls:

Ida Burtie
Prentice Buford
John Franklin
Felix Jefferson
Robert Everett
Willard William
Nannie Nita

Lamar County Supervisor

Prentice Bynum served as deacon of the Oral Baptist Church and was instrumental in organizing the first school in the Sumrall area.  He was also the first teacher in the school.

In 1904, Prentice Bynum was appointed the first supervisor of Lamar County, a position he held until his death.




Prentice Montgomery Bynum passed from this life on November 14, 1906.  He is buried alongside his second wife in Rawles Cemetery, Lamar County, Mississippi.