Teoc, Mississippi
Encyclopedia
Teoc is an unincorporated community in Carroll County, Mississippi
and is part of the Greenwood, Mississippi micropolitan area
approximately 7 miles (11.3 km) northeast of Greenwood
on Teoc Road along Teoc Creek..
Teoc is best known as the birthplace of the blues
legend Mississippi John Hurt
..
Now largely unpopulated, this was once a small farming town. In the 1982 U.S. Geological Survey map. only two houses stood in Teoc; recent aerial photographs show two houses and one farm
William Alexander McCain, great-great grandfather of Arizona
senator
John McCain
, purchased Teoc Plantation in 1851 and owned at least 52 slaves there. He died in 1863, fighting for the Confederacy
during the American Civil War
. Bill McCain, a descendant and cousin of Senator McCain, still owns 1500 of the plantation's former 2000 acres (8.1 km²). Since 2003, black and white descendants of the community at Teoc have attended family reunions organized by the black McCains, descended from two of the plantation's slaves, Isom and Lettie, and Henderson McCain. After the Civil War, the blacks remained closely entwined with Teoc, remaining as tenants of William Alexander's son, John Sidney McCain, and adopting the McCain surname.
Black people surnamed McCain in Teoc, organizers of schooling for African-American children in the 1880s, were local leaders in the Civil Rights Movement
of the 1960s.
Carroll County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 10,769 people, 4,071 households, and 3,069 families residing in the county. The population density was 17 people per square mile . There were 4,888 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile...
and is part of the Greenwood, Mississippi micropolitan area
Greenwood, Mississippi micropolitan area
The Greenwood Micropolitan Statistical Area is a micropolitan area in the northwestern Delta region of Mississippi that covers two counties - Leflore and Carroll...
approximately 7 miles (11.3 km) northeast of Greenwood
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. The population was 15,205 at the 2010 census. It is the...
on Teoc Road along Teoc Creek..
Teoc is best known as the birthplace of the blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
legend Mississippi John Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt
John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
..
Now largely unpopulated, this was once a small farming town. In the 1982 U.S. Geological Survey map. only two houses stood in Teoc; recent aerial photographs show two houses and one farm
William Alexander McCain, great-great grandfather of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, purchased Teoc Plantation in 1851 and owned at least 52 slaves there. He died in 1863, fighting for the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Bill McCain, a descendant and cousin of Senator McCain, still owns 1500 of the plantation's former 2000 acres (8.1 km²). Since 2003, black and white descendants of the community at Teoc have attended family reunions organized by the black McCains, descended from two of the plantation's slaves, Isom and Lettie, and Henderson McCain. After the Civil War, the blacks remained closely entwined with Teoc, remaining as tenants of William Alexander's son, John Sidney McCain, and adopting the McCain surname.
Black people surnamed McCain in Teoc, organizers of schooling for African-American children in the 1880s, were local leaders in the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
of the 1960s.
See also
- Avalon, MississippiAvalon, MississippiAvalon is an unincorporated community in Carroll County, Mississippi, United States.Avalon is part of the Greenwood, Mississippi micropolitan areaIt is known as the home of the great bluesman Mississippi John Hurt....