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| "MY ANCESTORS" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "THE STEEN CEMETERY" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This property was reserved by Linda Steen Moore I'm 48 years old, from Mississippi, USA. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "THE STEEN CEMETERY" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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dedicated to daddy...Daulton Eugene Steen. My memories are so vivid as I recall so many times going to the country with him to visit the Steen Cemetery. The red clay is so dark up there that it will stain your skin and your clothes. It is deep red, especially on the hill where the cemetery actually is. Few of our family have ever understood why Daddy wanted to go there so often or just why and how he "felt so connected" to our ancestors buried there. I don't think we know today and I know now, it doesn't matter; Daddy knew. On January 6, 2000, Daulton Eugene Steen left this life as we know it and was buried in the red clay dirt in very spot that he visited and stood on so many times. His final resting place is beside Daulton,II and just feet away from William and George. He told me not long before he died that he was so happy that he would someday soon be buried there with them. Daddy was happy about the genealogical research our family is doing. He was glad that I had found other family members and that he was able to see photographs of Zachariah, his grandfather and also of Cullen, Zachariah's brother. He asked me to continue research about our family and to write about it and share with others. On the day of Daddy's funeral as I sat there watching the vault be lowered into the red earth, I knew Daddy was at last where he so long had wanted to be. While I will miss him, I am happy that he is finally reunited with some of the people that he felt so spiritually connected to. I love you Daddy. Linda Jean | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "THE STEEN CEMETERY" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The "STEEN CEMETERY" is located in Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi. Location: Section 31, Township 16, Range 7 East. From town, take Highway 12 East to State Highway 43. Turn left (North) on 43 and go North for about 7 miles. Turn left on County Road 3217 at Pierce Chapel Methodist Church. Travel about 4 miles and turn right. The Cemetery is 3/10 of a mile on the right. It is difficult to see, it is not marked well and is not fenced. Some history about The "STEEN CEMETERY". The "STEEN CEMETERY" was established on August 28, 1871, when father, William M. STEEN and his son, George W. STEEN were laid to rest there. William and George were murdered on August 26, 1871. There is a double tombstone there that is broken, but still legible. It reads: Father Wm M. Steen Murdered August 26, 1871 Aged about 61 years Son George W. Steen Murdered August 26, 1871 Aged 24 yrs 7mos 26 days For many years the "STEEN CEMETERY" was abandoned. The area was heavily wooded and grown up with weeds, barely visible from the red clay dirt road. Legend has it that residents from surrounding counties have visited the "STEEN CEMETERY" over the years and have taken their children and grandchildren to visit and see the old grave stones. There are many stories about what happened in August of 1871. I am currently documenting those stories. They will be listed on this site. For over 123 years, William M. Steen and George W. Steen have been sleeping side by side, together and alone, in that isolated area of the northern part of Attala County Mississippi. In 1995, Daulton Eugene Steen, II, joined William and George in his final resting place. Daulton is the great, great, great grandson of William M. Steen. For many years, I have visited the "STEEN CEMETERY", with my daddy, Daulton Eugene Steen. Many times, since I was a little girl, we have been there and talked about our ancestors and what may have happened that dreary morning in August of 1871. For years, daddy has said he wanted to be buried there with William and George. When tragedy struck our family in 1995 and my brother Daulton was killed in an automobile crash, daddy made the decision to bury his beloved son Daulton Eugene Steen II, close to his ancestors. There is a grey granite double tombstone there that reads: Father Daulton Eugene Steen,I September 4, 1927 Son Daulton Eugene Steen, II January 29, 1979 April 1, 1995 Aged 16 years 2 mos 3 days Daddy has decided that when his life on this earth is done, he will join William, George and Daulton in his final sleeping place in the "STEEN CEMETERY". Meanwhile, daddy and I go there every week to visit. I will be writing about the stories I have heard about the murders of our ancestors. If you have questions or information you would like to contribute to this site, please feel free to e-mail me at LM21679@aol.com. I would love to hear from you. Please check out my links to STEEN MURDERS. Thanks for visiting. Linda Steen Moore STORIES: I have heard many stories over the years about how the STEENS were killed and why. There are "eyewitness" accounts of the killings that are part of the original "murder trial transcripts" and I will be posting some of that data on the "STEEN MURDERS" site. Here are some of the stories that I have heard. The "Corn" Story: I recently ran into Mary and Addison Rosamond and Mary had a story to tell about how William and George were killed. She said she knew of the STEENS for years and was told that they were killed "on account of some corn". Mary said that she was told that William and George had shelled some corn for a man and had not been paid for the work. She said the STEENS went to the old man several times, asking for the money and were never paid. She said that one time William and George went to the old man, angry and demanding the money and they were "shot and killed". Mary Rosamond is a cousin to me, on my mother's Kinsey/Green family line. Mary and her husband live in Attala County, within a mile from the Steen Cemetery. The "Dray and Oxen" Story: This story was told by Dennis Boswell. He writes that he had a "theory" about the STEEN Murders and that his "theory" was actually what his great grandfather Moses Andrew Brister wrote on the subject in 1932 after having grown up and lived in Rocky Point, Attala County, MS during 1856-1878. The story is posted in the Attala County queries on the Mississippi Gen Web Project. Dennis Boswell's account of his ancestors story is as follows: "Andrew Scott and Mat Teat waylaid and killed Bill Steen and his son George Steen in 1871. The younger Steen had trouble with Mat Teat. Their trouble grew out of something about some damage to Teat's dray done by Steen's oxen. That brought about the murder". Dennis Boswell lives in California and is doing on going research on his family. He is writing a book about his Great Grandfather's life in Mississippi. "You Can Still Hear The Horses Run" This is by far one of the most interesting and eerie stories I have heard regarding the STEEN murders. It was told to me by Dorothy Loretta Musselwhite. She says: "I was born up at Rocky Point and we used to live up there. My momma told me a story about them Steens a long time ago when I was a kid. Momma said that she heard that the Steens had stolen some horses and they were on the run. She said that some folks was "layin in wait for 'em" and shot and killed them as they were riding home one day. She also said that if you go up there...to the STEEN Cemetery where they are buried on the anniversary of their death at the exact time of their murder, that you can still hear their horses run." Dorothy is nick named "Dodie". Her momma was my materal grandmother, the late Fannie Leona Musselwhite Kinsey. I asked Dodie if she had ever been there and heard "the horses run" and she quickly said "no!". But, she did admit breaking the tombstone when she was a kid. She said some of her sisters were up there playing and "I accidenly broke it". Dodie lives in Attala County. The "Bull" Story: This story was told by John W. Pender to Dianne Ladd in 1995. They met in the Attala County Library doing family research. Oddly enough they were both searching families who were related and are both from California. He writes: "The murder of George Steen did take place in Carroll County, MS near Vaiden, MS. The two Steens are buried near a road along which I traveled as a boy and the place was pointed out to me. I doubt that any tombstones are there. The story related to me is as I told to you. Soon after George Steen and Mary Ellen Gaston were married a neighbor's bull kept getting into their corn field. One day as he was leaving home George told Mary Ellen that if the bull got in the corn field while he was gone, she was to get the shotgun and shoot the bull. The bull broke into the field and Mary Ellen shot and killed him. This started the feud which later resulted in George bieng waylaid and killed. There is absolutely no verification of this story." In 1872 the widow Mary Ellen Gaston Steen married John Richard Pender, a half brother to Mr. John Pender's daddy. I believe Mr. Pender still lives in California. Dianne Ladd is the great, great, great grand daughter of William M. Steen. She is descended through Cullen Reed Steen, the oldest living son of William at the time of his death. She lives in California. "The Steer" Story: L. T. Downs is a cousin and related the following story to me about the STEEN murders. He said that his Daddy, John Thomas Downs told him that "the killing" was over a steer. L.T. said that his daddy told him that a steer got out close to the Steen place and old Jack Yates thought that the Steens stole the steer. He was told that the Yates boys hid on the side of the road and ambushed the Steens as they were going home one day. But, that George, the younger Steen was armed with a pistol and got off a shot or two on "old man Yates" before they killed him. "Daddy said George crippled old man Yates with the shots and he was crippled until he died". "That is what Daddy told me." L. T. Downs is the son of John Thomas Downs and Lillian Miller Downs. He is 1/2 brother to Elton and Felton Dees, children of Cull Dees, Jr. He lives in Kosciusko, MS. "The Saloon" Story: I recently heard a story from one of my Steen first cousins in Attala County. Told by Arlis Kimble Steen, Jr. He said his daddy Arlis Steen, Sr. and grandfather, Louis T. Steen told him the same story about the killings. I will get with him and make sure I have all the facts that he has before I post it. This is exciting and I love relating the stories. I encourage you to write me if you have information you would like to share. Remember...there could always be a "little" fact in fiction!!! Until the next story. Linda I will maintain this site and continue to share stories about the "Steen Murders". I will also continue the "Steen Murders. Meanwhile, please continue to visit and feel free to share. Thanks. Linda
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