Mississippi McCains

Luke Fowler wrote in Sunday's Clarion Ledger about Senator John McCain's family connections to Mississippi. Here are some excerpts.

Mother's Side:

His mother's side of the family first settled in northeast Mississippi in the late 18th century. Sometime around the year 1800, James Howard (Sen. McCain's maternal great-great-great-great grandfather) moved from South Carolina to Pontotoc County.

In 1851, Nancy Adeline Atkins (Sen. McCain's great grandmother) was born; she remained in Alcorn County her entire life, starting a family with her husband, Franklin Alexander Wright of Muscle Shoals, Ala. In 1875, Nancy Wright gave birth to Archibald (Sen. McCain's maternal grandfather) in the village of Kossuth.

Archibald was the first member of Sen. McCain's maternal family to leave Mississippi. In about 1900, Archibald made his way to Indian Territory near present day Oklahoma where he made a fortune in oil. While in Muskogee, Okla., Archibald's wife gave birth to twins in 1912, one of whom was Roberta (Sen. McCain's mother). Roberta later married John Sidney McCain Jr., the senator's future father who also had strong ties to Mississippi.

Father's Side:

On his father's side, the first generation of McCain's family to move to Mississippi arrived in the mid 1800s. Mary Scales of Rockingham County, N.C., married Joseph McCain of Scotland in 1807 (Sen. McCain's great-great-great grandparents). After 33 years of marriage, Joseph died in 1840; Mary moved with her children to Tallahatchie County.

Her son, William Alexander McCain (Sen. McCain's great-great grandfather), died fighting for the Confederate States of America in the 5th regiment of the Mississippi Cavalry in the Civil War in 1863.

In 1851, the first John Sidney McCain (Sen. McCain's great grandfather), known as J.S., was born on Teoc. He served as sheriff of Carroll County and later as president of the county's board of supervisors.

John Sidney McCain's brother, Henry Pickney McCain (Sen. McCain's great-great uncle), attended the U.S. Military Academy, retiring as a major general in the U. S. Army. Major General McCain is actually the "McCain" for whom Camp McCain, the Mississippi National Guard training site in Grenada County is named.

In 1884, in rural Carroll County, John Sidney McCain Sr. (Sen. McCain's grandfather) was born. McCain Sr., the first McCain to leave Mississippi, attended the University of Mississippi before transferring to the U.S. Naval Academy.

Camp McCain:

Camp McCain is a Mississippi National Guard training site. Covering more than 13,000 acres in Grenada County, it was named in honor of the "fighting" McCains of Carroll County, and principally Major Gen. Henry P. McCain. Opening in 1942 as a 42,000-acre site, the 87th and 94th Army Divisions trained there before being sent to combat in Europe. At its peak, Camp McCain trained as many as 50,000 men simultaneously.

In addition to training, Camp McCain served as a prisoner of war camp for German soldiers during World War II, one of four in Mississippi. At the height of its POW camp status, it held more than 7,500 German prisoners and administered the POW camp in addition to its training function.

After being deactivated in 1947, Camp McCain has found new life in the 1960s as an Army National Guard training site. By the 1970s, facilities for the housing of 1,200 troops were completed.

In 1984, an additional 4,500 acres were added to the existing perimeter, a road network was expanded and improved; in the late 1980s, 10 modern weapons ranges were constructed.

Camp McCain is not what Mississippians think about when they consider significant military installations in the state. But the state benefits significantly from appropriations directed specifically for the improvement of Camp McCain - more than $10 million in the 21st century alone.

Read the full article here: McCain in Mississippi: GOP nominee a descendent of Carroll County's 'Fighting McCains'