The Final Resting Place Of Jim & Mary Vaughn - Early Settlers in the Alabama & Mississippi Indian Territory in the 1830's
Wahalak, Mississippi
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As a boy, I remember listening to my dad and uncles as they related stories about their great grandparents, Jim and Mary Vaughn and their experiences at Walahak. In the late 50s and early 60s, our family reunions were held at Twin Cemetery where picnic tables were abound with wonderful home cooked dishes. It was a place where we could meet other members of the Vaughn, Conner and Taylor families and enjoy hearing the stories about our family's history. Stories, like Jim and Mary Vaughn's move from Speeds Mill, Alabama to Wahalak, or Jim jumping into the Tombigbee river to save his prize cow, the night the stars fell during their journey to Mississippi, their encounters with the Choctaw Indians who had refused to be moved and remained behind, in the wild around Jim and Mary's new home. The legend of Walking John Vaughn, The Hawford devil, my great grandtathers trip to Texas in a covered wagon where my grandfather, John R. Vaughn was born along the way, the Confederate conscriptors visit to Jim Vaughns house in the middle of the nigh to force conscripts for the civil war and others. We will also push back further into our past, searching for the identity of three Vaughan brothers who came from Ireland in the early 1600 ( a lead Jack Vaughn discovered in his early family history research). Many of the subjects in these stories had passed on before I was born, but their characters were vivid and alive to me through the family accounts as told told by our grandparents, my father, aunts and uncles. These stories were handed down from generation to generation to all the children and grandchildren. As a boy, these stories captured my imagination and connected me in a real and tangible way to my early relatives who settled these hills in and around Wahalak, MS. in the 1830s.
Visiting Twin Cemetery, I stand atop the knoll overlooking Wahalak Creek and let my mind wander back across time, imagining what this land was like when my great, great grandparents lived here. Everytime I visit, I experience this connection to my family's past. A feeling of reverence that doesn't change. But my generation is the last to hear these stories about our family, about our ancestors. People live differently in todays world. Life is fast and family gatherings are fewer. We are always so busy. If our family's story is to be told to todays generation and to future generations, it will be through information technology mediums like the internet and video. That is why it is important that my generation begins to tell the family stories from our youth before they are gone forever and forgotten. This story is about the place my family named Twin Cemetery and it holds the remains of our loved great, gread, grandfather and grandmother who came here to make a home, to find a place to live and raise their families nearly 200 years ago. It is a special place to all my family and it will always be so. Let me share it with you. ..Ray Vaughn, Webmaster, Vaughn Family History Archive
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| Purchase Link |
Hewers Of The Wilderness-Special Edition.
The Story of Jim (1804-1857) and Mary Vaughn
in Alabama & Mississippi Indian Territory as settlers.
James (Jim) Vaughan was born September 21, 1804 in Wilson county, Tennessee. Migrated to Picken's county, Alabama sometime before 1833. Jim Married Rebecca Carnop on the night of November 12, 1833. Mary Carnop was born December 26, 1814 in South Carolina.
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Twin Cemetery Jim and Mary Vaughn settled at an Indian village located here in 1833. The village had been vacated when the Choctaws were moved to Oklahoma after the treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. Their first home in Mississippi was in an abandoned indian hut located on this site. There are two cemeterys here from which the Twin Cemetery name is derived. An ancient indian cemetery and the early Mississippi settlers cemetery containing the graves of The Vaughns, The Adams, the Taylors and others. The oldest marked grave has a birthdate of 1791. In addition, there is a slave cemetery located here as well. Today, Twin Cemetery sits atop a raised and peaceful knoll along the banks of Wahalak Creek, in a cow pasture about 3 miles west of highway 45 on Wahalak Road. Wahalak is about 6 miles north of Scooba, MS on Hwy. 45. 
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Family Pages Section
Family Names page links are located at top of page and contain more information by family names.
Please note: The family names pages are under construction with much content to be added so check back for updates. Ray Vaughn, webmaster, Twin Cemetery.org
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New Information and Recent Family Discoveries
Early this year while doing family history searches, Lynn discovered that uncle Jack Vaughn donated some of the family reference materials to the Tennessee State Archives in Nashville, TN. many years ago. After multiple inquirys, Lynn has ascertained that the Tenn. State Archives still has possession of an Adams/Vaughn/Taylors bible dated from 1857 and members of Jack Vaughn's family have been notified. At the time of this writing, Virgil Vaughn has acquired the bible and it has been returned to Jack Vaughn's family for safe keeping. There continues to be a great need for more pictures of the early Vaughn family........particularly of Jim & Mary Vaughn and other photographs before 1900 if any exist. Photographs from that period are scarce, especially in the rural South. So if anyone has pictures of Jim and Mary or their children we would like to receive copies in either hard copy or email format to be posted on the Twin Cemetery and Vaughn Family History websites.
Ray Vaugh, webmaster, Twin Cemetery.org
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Family Events & Reunions
Twin Cemetery Reuinon The reunion is always on the 3rd Sunday in Sept. at Wahalak Baptist Church in Wahalak, MS. For More Info Contact: Donna Tucker darryltucker1@bellsouth.net
The Conner Family Reunion The reunion is always held on the first Sunday in July at Wahalak Baptist Church in Wahalak, MS.
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| Ray Vaughn Webmaster-Twin Cemetery.org |
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| Lynn Vaughn Till Geneology Research and Family History The Vaughns |
Our Links
This site is especially dedicated to my father, Herman Vaughn, son of John R. Vaughn, grandson of John A. Vaughn, and great grandson of James (Jim) Vaughan. I will always remember the accounts of the Vaughn family my father related to me in my youth, for the visits to Twin Cemetery and I am ever in his debt for taking the time to share his family heritage with me over the years. My father shared his experiences, as a boy growing up near Wahalak, MS. , in a time that was far different than we know today. We miss him very much and this site is for him.
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| Herman Vaughn Great Grandson of Jim & Mary Vaughn |
Additional Notes: Any omission or oversight related to content and accuracy contained in this site is accidental and not intended. If you have additions or corrections, please submit them to;
Contact Information
Ray Vaughn
2727 Pecan Ridge Dr.
Laurel, MS 39440
eMail; rayvaughn33@aol.com
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