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Joel Spring - Father of Hugo - part 3

The Hugo Husonian February 27, 1908 - transcribed by Ron Henson

    It is seldom that in a country which is undeveloped scarcely settled and where human wants are few, that a man in the mercantile business is enabled to build up a large fortune within a few years; yet, this is true of Mr. Spring. But in his case it was his sturdy, honest character that formed the foundation of his success. In the early days he was the only man in this country who owned a safe. In those days many of the settlers were prosperous and at all times had a large amount of ready cash at their command. They were afraid of the banks in the states run by men of whom they but little, but they were acquainted with Joel Spring, and knew that every dollar would be conscientiously accounted for; and for years he was not only a merchant but the banker for a large section of country. Men came from Nashoba county, seventy miles distance, sometimes for the sole purpose of entrusting their savings with him for safe keeping. Many times a large herd of cattle would be sold and the owner knowing but little of the business world would accept nothing but a check payable to the subject of this article. he was [unreadable] of his people and business matters. He had at all times many thousand dollars deposited with him and while he kept a safe reserve in cash, robbers were not unknown and a large amount was kept invested in good securities. He was a banker subject to no regulation or inspection, yet no man lost a cent or had cause for uneasiness; thus you see his success was to a large extent built upon confidence which the world entertains for only the highest order of manly character.
    Joel Spring, while rising from poverty to affluence, was no accident and was a living evidence to the truthfulness of the old saying that, "Blood will tell." He descended from families who were prominent in the affairs two continents during the early part of the Nineteenth century. His grand father, Christian Spring was born in Switzerland of German parentage and was educated in Germany and served his time in the German army.
    Later he was a commissioned officer in the army of Napoleon and immediately after the fatal battle of Waterloo emigrated to America, landing at New Orleans. He drifted into Mississippi and married Susan Bohannan, a lady of French-Indian extraction.
    His mother's maiden name was Eliza Leflore and she was a descendant of the famous Leflore family who were for generations the hereditary chieftains of the Choctaws. Greenwood Leflore the man who wrote and negotiated the celebrated Dancing Rabbit Treaty of 1830, and of whom President Jackson said "There is no greater statesman among any people," was a member of this family.
    The French revolutions and the fall of Napoleon is responsible for the great predominance of French names lineage among the Choctaws and that too contributed by the best blood of Continental Europe.
    Mrs. Joe Spring is a granddaughter of Gov. Basil Leflore. She and seven children survive the husband and father and have the sympathy of thousands of friends.
    The deceased was ill only a few days with pneumonia.

end of article / go back to page 2 / go back to page 1 / read Joel Spring's obit