Frank Burkitt Papers

Benjamin Franklin Burkitt, better known as Frank Burkitt, was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, on July 5, 1843. His parents were Henry Lemuel Burkett and Louise Howell. During the American Civil War, Burkitt served in the 9th Battalion Tennessee Cavalry of the Confederate States Army. After this service, he worked as a teacher for two years in Alabama before moving to Houston, Mississippi, where he served as the editor of the town’s newspaper, the Messenger beginning in 1872. Later in 1876, Burkitt moved the paper to Okolona, Mississippi, and he renamed the periodical the People’s Messenger,. In 1883, he became the president of the Mississippi Press Association. During his life, he also practiced law starting in 1872. He also engaged in Mississippi politics, serving in the Mississippi House of Representatives as a Democrat from 1887-1897 and 1907-1911. From 1911-1914, he served in the Mississippi State Senate. In terms of his personal life, Burkitt married Mattie Schrimsher on December 20, 1866, and together the couple raised four children: Jennie Lee Cary, James Howell, Mary Louise King, and Bennie Dosett. In 1906, he entered into his second marriage to Mary Elizabeth Mitchell. Burkitt died on November 8, 1914, aged 71 in Okolona, Mississippi.