Rev. Poindexter

The Reverend James E. Poindexter came to Port Tobacco prior to 1890. There aren't many records of the Reverend in our research except a few tidbits here and there in the PT Times abstracts. In 1889 as the new rector in town he "put out the fire in the rectory" (April 26, 1889). And then he was given a new deacon in 1894 to work under him named John R. Brookes.

I did some quick searches and came across a few interesting pieces of information that will need further investigation.

First, there were no deed records for James E. Poindexter or John R. Brookes. However, there was a deed reference for a Catherine G. Poindexter as a trustee for the Colored Episcopal Church buying property in 1894. This lot is adjacent to the "Rectory Lot" and was part of a land that was conveyed to the children of Frederick Stone. Mr. Stone owned alot of land in and around Port Tobacco. There are several names in the deed that need to be researched that will tell us if this lot and the "Rectory Lot" were actually in the town. The only reference in the deed itself is that "the said lot touches the main road leading from Port Tobacco to Salem..." I don't think it is in the town "proper" but I'll look into it.

Second, I did a quick google search on James E. Poindexter and came up with a book excerpt from the 1891 Episcopal Church Diocese of Maryland. It gave two references to our Reverend. The first was an entry on April 13, 1891 in which the Reverend was given $360 for the colored school at Port Tobacco. The second entry was for $66 paid to the Heywood, Bros. & Co. for the colored school at Port Tobacco.

So the next piece of information to investigate further is the Heywood, Bros. & Co. Again, a quick google search (isn't the Internet grand...sometimes?!) gave me this tidbit to go on.

Two companies, Wakefield Rattan Company and the Heywood Brothers and Company merged in 1897. Original owners of the Heywood Brothers & Company of 1826 were brothers Levi, Benjamin, Walter and later William. After that several other family members were in and out of the leadership of the company. They made wicker, rattan, oak, and other furniture including baby carriages with plants in Massachusetts, Illinois, and California. From what I have read, it appears they were in business until 1966.

On another more coincidental note, there was also a Heywood Brothers & Company bank in Manchester England that was in business from 1788-1874.

- Peter