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Draft:Newitt Vick

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Rev. Newitt Vick - Founder of Vicksburg

Reverend Newitt Vick (March 17, 1766 - August 5, 1819) was a Methodist pastor from Virginia who would move down to Mississippi with his wife and thirteen Children where he would spread the gospel and be named "the Founder of Vicksburg."[1]

Family and Early Life

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Birth and His Family

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Newitt Vick was born on March 17, 1766 to William and Martha Vick in Southampton County, Virginia where by the end of the 1760's, he and his parents and siblings would move to North Carolina . His original Family, Joseph Vick, would move to Virginia around 1675.[2]

His Personal Family

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In 1791, he would marry Elizabeth Clark in North Carolina where they would become the parents of thirteen children. He would go on to become a circuit pastor for around fourteen years before moving to Mississippi. In 1805, they would move to Fayette, Mississippi before moving to Walnut Hills, now Vicksburg, Mississippi, to be closer to family who lived there.

Ministry in Mississippi

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Newitt Vick moved to Mississippi for business and religious reasons. Most circuit pastors were poorly educated and moved from place to place without opening up a church[3]. What made Newitt Vick stand out from other pastors is that he would actually stay at a location so people would know where he was to listen in on his preachings.[3] After moving to Warren County, Mississippi, he and his family opened a small plantation that he called Open Woods. In 1814, Newitt and his nephew Foster Cook would erect a small Methodist Church just outside of Open Woods.[3] When Vick moved to Walnut Hills, he had always dreamed of establishing a village just on the bluffs of the Mississippi River, so between 1816 and 1819, Newitt bought some 640 acres of land meant for the purpose of town lots.[3]

Death and Events After

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Death

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Just before is dream had been completed, Newitt and his wife Elizabeth both caught Yellow Fever and Newitt Vick passed away on August 5, 1819. Newitts's son-in-law would continue selling Newitt's land to be turned into town plots.[2] Gravesite

Vicksburg

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After his death, in 1825, Walnut Hills was renamed to Vicksburg, Mississippi in honor of his accomplishments and growth of the town[2] and just one year later, Vicksburg, Mississippi would become the county seat of Warren County, Mississippi. Vicksburg, Mississippi would go on to play a critical role in the American Civil War.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Stanley Nelson: 'Newitt Vick: Founder of Vicksburg'". Hanna Newspapers. June 3, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Vicksburg will honor its pioneer settlers". The Ada Evening News. May 13, 1925. p. 8 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d Surratt, John (August 21, 2022). "FAITH OF OUR FOREFATHERS: Program to discuss Methodism, Newitt Vick". The Vicksburg Post.
  4. ^ "Vicksburg". American Battlefield Trust.
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