James Madison Strain, the fourth child of Robert Strain and Mary (Polly) Wilson was born July 20, 1820 in Abbeville Co., SC. His father died when he was 4 years old, and his mother died when he was about 12, leaving him in the care of her father, Matthew Wilson. Although her will specified him to be cared for by her brother, James Wilson, I have found no record that he ever lived with James Wilson, although this is possible. He appears in his grandfather’s will in 1834, as does his younger brother Mathew Harvey Strain, but their three older siblings are not mentioned in his will, which suggests to me that he was living with his grandfather at that time.

He is mentioned in the Diaries of William Bowie during his time in Abbeville, and at some point in his early 20s, he migrates to Yalobusha Co., MS, as does his younger brother Mathew Harvey Strain. We find record of James Madison Strain’s marriage to Caroline C. Robinson there in 1846. I have been told the date was 15 Sept 1846, but the marriage book A is now missing at the Courthouse in Coffeeville. At present, Caroline C. Robinson’s parents are unknown.

J. M. "Jim" Strain is well documented during his entire life in Yalobusha Co., through a variety of sources. Near the end of his life, he moved to Pittsboro, Calhoun Co., MS, purportedly so that his children could attend better schools.

Although his early location in the county is a bit uncertain, he eventually purchases several hundred acres in the east part of the county that was later incorporated as the town of Air Mount (Airmount). He is given credit for naming this town, which was the same name as his home built on the hill of this town, prior to the Civil War. His first purchase of the land, (Sec 12/Township 24/Range 7E) there was in 1856 from an out of state trustee, Anderson & Soffanary, apparently owned at that time by a land speculator who purchased it from its original Native American owner, I-Yo-Ma-Tubby, who patented the land 21 Dec 1844. There was a church and cemetery built on the land owned by J. M. Strain, but the church was destroyed by arson a few years ago. The cemetery is well kept in recent years, and has one grave which seems to pre-date the ownership of his land, dated 1838.

J. M. Strain served in the Civil War in Co. K, 3rd Regiment Mississippi Cavalry. He was wounded by a gunshot, and later in life was described by Mississippi Governor Dennis Murphree by the statement "Captain Strain was a one-armed Civil War veteran." J. M. Strain’s CMSR shows him enlisting as a private with no promotions, so I at first discounted the possibility that he actually held the rank of Captain. However, I have found a letter from an attorney, dating 1879 that addresses him as Capt. J. M. Strain. I am slowly beginning to believe that he did actually hold this rank and that the documents from the military were lost, as were so many records of the Confederate States of America.

J. M. Strain’s occupation was listed as "farmer" on early censuses, but by 1870 he had established a mercantile store in the town of Airmount. This was known as Strain & Page, and another, perhaps later run by his daughter, was known as Strain & Thompson. J. M. Strain was active in politics, and was the Mayor of Airmount for several years in the 1870s and 1880s. In addition, he served two terms as the Clerk for the County of Yalobusha, during the years 1876-78 and 1878-1880. One of the most interesting things I’ve found is that he petitioned on more than one occasion to prohibit the sale of alcohol within the town limits of Airmount. The petition was always granted, also.

One of the petitions from the October term of 1883 reads as follows: "Ordered by the Board that the petition of J. M. Strain, et al, asking the board not to grant any license to retail any vinous or spiritous liquors in the town of Air Mount for a space of twelve months be granted."  In the WPA write up on Air Mount, there is mention that on weekends, it was apparently a problem with many people coming into town, drinking, and then shooting off guns, in order to get put into Jail to have a place to sleep and a good meal.  Perhaps this had something to do with an effort to stop this from occurring?

The courthouse in Coffeeville contains hundreds (perhaps thousands) of records documented and signed by J. M. Strain, as well as one entire annual receipts book in his handwriting. After he left as the clerk, he apparently was in a brief partnership with A. T. Roane as an attorney (or perhaps just his son was), and there are several court cases that have letters addressed to him, or that bear his signature or testimony. I’ve yet to fully examine all the possible papers and cases in which he may have been involved.

J. M. Strain appears often as a judge for elections for the precinct in or near Airmount, was appointed to the "Board of Equalizers" during the April Term 1883, and was appointed to the first county school board for that area when public schools were established for the State of Mississippi. I understand from written histories of Airmount that his daughter, Varina, was a schoolteacher there. His son, James Robert Strain, also became a prominent schoolteacher/superintendent, founding the Calhoun County Agricultural High School, and his son after that, my grandfather Allen E. Strain, was a superintendent of several schools.

The entry regarding J. M. Strain's appointment in 1870 states in part:

    "In accordance with an act of the Legislature of the State of Mississippi entitled "An Act" to regulate the Supervision organization & maintenance of a Uniform System of Public Education for the State of Missi. It is therefore ordered by the Board that the parties hereinafter named are hereby appointed School Directors of the Common Schools of Mississippi to represent the District for which they are hereby appointed, to wit: for the S. E. Dist. or Dist. No. 5, Jas M. Strain is hereby appointed a School Director of the Common Schools of Missi. whose term of office shall commence on the day of the date of his commission and shall continue in office for and during a term of two years from the 1st day of October 1870."

Interestingly enough, in the January term of 1871, there is an entry appointing J. C. Page (who was in business with J. M. Strain) as the School Director for this District, and mentions that J. M. Strain is disqualified. In the February term of 1871, Page resigns and R. S. Bailey is appointed to the position.

During the latter part of J. M. Strain’s life, he moves his family to Pittsboro, Calhoun Co., MS, where he owns and operates the drug store on the "Town Square." His son, J. R. Strain, and he jointly purchase the county newspaper, "The Democratic Banner," in 1893, which is owned by his son until 1900. Two known issues of this paper survive on microfilm in the MS State Archives, which contain a wealth of information related to the family.

The relationship of three generations of Strains is discussed in a newspaper article entitled "Pittsboro in 1893" written by two-time Governor of Mississippi, Dennis Murphree. Originally published in the Monitor-Herald on Sept. 20, 1943, it was reprinted in the Calhoun Monitor-Herald on July 6, 1972, and a cousin by marriage whose husband descends from J R. Strain gave an original copy to me of this 1972 publication. Thank you Mrs. Byars!  The paragraph on the Strains states:

"J. R. Strain & Son" operated the drug store then.  They were located in a big two story frame building located a bit south of the spot where the post office stands in Pittsboro at present.  The porch of this store was some six feet higher than the level of the street in front of the store.  Captain Strain was a one-armed veteran of the civil War.  His son, Jim Strain, was later editor of the Democratic b\Banner at Pittsboro.  Allen Strain, son of the editor, holds a responsible place at Mississippi State College, while other members of the family still reside in the neighborhood.

J. M. Strain executes his last property deed in1895, for the sale of the Doctor’s office in Airmount, which had been used by his son-in-law Dr. J. M. Shannon. This deed is witnessed and executed in Pittsboro, Calhoun County, MS. The last deed that his wife appears on is one executed in 1882. Her death date is not known. One history of Airmount states that J. M. Strain moved his family to Pittsboro, where his wife died, and then he moved to California. There may be substance to this story, as my grandfather states that relatives from California came to his father’s funeral in 1910. In addition, the Democratic Banner mentions that some of J. M. Strain’s relatives are traveling to California in the late 1890s to visit relatives.

Regardless of any possible move to California, he was certainly in Pittsboro in the 1890s, and is buried there in the front of the Pittsboro Cemetery. He died 26 June 1896. I suspect that his wife is buried next to him, but I have no proof. There is an obvious unmarked grave right in line with his, his son’s, and his son’s two wives. All are in order of death, with her probably unmarked one being the earliest.

The children of James Madison Strain and Caroline C. Robinson are:

Nancy Jane Strain, born Abt. 1847 in GA, or MS; married Wad Thompson

Infant Strain, born May 1860 in Calhoun Cty., MS; died 1860 in Airmount Cemetery, Yalobusha Cty., MS

Varina Davis Strain, born Abt. 1861; married Dr. James Madison Shannon.

James Robert Strain, born December 27, 1867 in MS; died January 04, 1910 in Derma, MS; married (1) Naomi Ruth Allen March 10, 1895 in Slate Springs, MS; married (2) Edna Lourinda Smith October 21, 1896 in Pittsboro, MS.

J. M. Strain’s house, Air Mount, is listed in the historic homes compiled by the Works Progress Administration. It survived as the oldest home in Airmount until the early 1980s when vandals burned it. At that time, Mrs. Leo Murphree, of Greenwood, owned the home, and was planning a restoration. A few pictures of parts of the house survive in a Murphree Quarterly that was sent to me. In addition to this house, I have heard that J. M. Strain’s son, J. R. Strain, owned a house at one time in town in Coffeeville, which burned. Although I’ve found no record of this, there are several deeds in the town of Coffeeville by J. M. Strain and his wife, Caroline. One of them is for 55 acres, and encompasses about one-fourth of the Northeast corner of the town at that time. In addition, the corner of this property was an obviously developed two-acre lot with a house that fronted the main road. I suspect that the Strains may have actually lived in town during the time when he was clerk for the county, as the 11-mile journey from Airmount to Coffeeville would become quite tedious by horseback or carriage in the 1870s and 80s.

Air Mount (Airmount) has it’s own significant history and contribution of which J. M. Strain played an important role. Here is the history of Air Mount, as it appears in the WPA compilation for Yalobusha County in 1937.