Last year FAMILY TREES received an interesting query from Jane Marshall Brister, a native Mississippian who was transplanted in Nacogdoches, Texas. She was seeking help with an interesting project &045; a book about her grandfather, Dr. Hiram Benjamin Cowart, who practiced medicine in the Poplarville area for almost half a century.

Thanks in part to your responses to her search for information about this Southern gentleman, her project is now complete with the publication of DOC, The Legacy of Dr. H.B. Cowart, South Mississippi Country Doctor, 1881-1970.

In this loving remembrance of her grandfather, Mrs. Brister has combined her family history with stories gathered from letters and interviews with his colleagues, former patients, and their descendants to produce a delightful tale of this remarkable personality and his life during the first half of the twentieth century.

Dr. Cowart was a gifted family practitioner serving the people of a tri-county area in South Mississippi from 1905 to 1965.

Not only was he known for his diagnostic abilities in an age when diagnostic tools were very limited, but he delivered more than 5,000 babies over the span of his career.

The book delivers a rare glimpse of Mississippi history told through the story of Doc’s own life, early medical practice, and the house calls made through two world wars and the Great Depression.

The touching tales of this country doctor who began his practice from a horse and buggy and ended it with a deep passion for powerful automobiles (and roses!) makes a heartwarming read.

Lemuria Books in Jackson will be hosting a book signing for Jane Brister and DOC on Dec. 17, 2002, so keep this in mind as you work on your Christmas list!

If you can’t make it by for signing, copies of the book may be ordered through Eakin Press at P.O. Box 90159, Austin, Texas 78709 or by calling 1-800-880-8642. The volume contains approximately 140 pages with over 60 pictures and is available for $21.95 which includes shipping and sales tax.

DOES ANYONE KNOW …

… M.D. White (

whitemd@umd.edu

) is looking for information about HARRIOT or HARRIET KELLY and ELIAS RICHARDSON who were married in Amite County, Mississippi on 23 July 1818. They may have moved to West Feliciana Parish by 1830. He would like to identify their parents, brothers, or sisters and any related information. Can any reader help?

… Margaret Metcalfe Hassin (

Margaret_Hassin@deq.state.ms.us

) needs help in obtaining a birth record for her great-great grandmother, ZULEIKA ROSALIE LYONS, who was born 31 May 1822 in Natchez, Mississippi. She married JAMES BARD METCALFE of Natchez.

Her father was Dr. Joseph B. Lyons and her mother was Aurora Debora COX. Does anyone have a baptism record or documentation on Zuleika’s birth? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Please send your announcements and queries to FAMILY TREES at 900 Main St., Natchez, MS 39120 or e-mail to

Famtree316@aol.com

. All queries printed free of charge. We look forward to hearing from you!