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Mr. Hamilton’s ancestors
were some of the 1st people in this area. His forefathers were
hunting and fishing in the swamps of West TN long before the
arrival of De Soto.
His heritage lies in the Creek Indians that hunted this area
before Columbus ventured
across the ocean. His great grandmother was a full Creek Indian,
Lucy Ellen Thrower. |
Her husband David Hamilton was
a veteran of the Civil War. He was
stationed at Belmont, now Belmont Park, KY. He fought there and
retreated south with the Confederate Army being wounded at the
Battle of Shiloh, captured, and spent the remainder of the war
in a
POW camp at Ft. Morton in Indianapolis, IN. There they were feed
corn meal with ground corn cobs, more cobs than meal. This rips
ones
bowels a new one causing bleeding & diarrhea. Numerous POW
soldiers
died of this little known fact that the Union did. David’s
father, Ishmael,
moved into this area around 1810 and settled at the area now
called
Champey Pocket on Reelfoot Lake with his brother Phillip and
their
mother. Ishmael’s brother Phillip was the overseer of the
Meriwether |
David Hamilton
CLICK HERE
for enlarged view |
plantation one of the largest
in the Obion County area at the time. This plantation was
located between Reelfoot Lake and the Mississippi River north
of Tiptonville in the
unformed Obion Co. area. Obion Co. was formed in 1823. It was
not until 1870 that
Lake Co. divided from Obion Co. These were also the days when
the Passenger Pigeon
was in such high demand at restaurants that the NY markets could
not get enough. The
passenger pigeon squab (newly hatched about 4 week old bird)
was a big delicacy on the
menu. These birds would black the sky, estimated to be 3 to 5
billion in the early days.
Now all these birds are gone. |
David’s
son, Robert (Bob) Hamilton, was one of the 1st Game
Wardens commissioned at Reelfoot Lake in Nov. 1st 1925.
Bob was also a deputy sheriff and a Federal Game Warden
that patrolled the Federal Wildlife Refuge at Reelfoot Lake when
it was created in 1941. Bob oared from one refuge to the other
during those early days. Bob was friends with Victor Glodo (The
inventor of the modern day duck call). Victor Glodo, Bob Hamilton,
& William Miller (Jamie’s other grandfather) pose on
the porch of
John Shaw’s Store in Shaw’s Park now Samburg for a
picture he
has around 1908. All three men were friends. Mr. Hamilton’s
other grandmother was a Lee and one of her great uncles was
General Robert E. Lee. The Lee family was some of the leaders
of the Night Rider’s movement in the early 1900’s that
freed |
Bob Hamilton - Game Warden
CLICK HERE for enlarged view |
Reelfoot Lake from
being drained by speculating land owners & lawyers. This
is documented
in the book Night Riders of Reelfoot Lake by Paul J. Vanderwood.
These early Lee’s are
buried at Cobb’s Chapel Cemetery between Hornbeak &
Shawtown east of Reelfoot Lake. |
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Bob Hamilton's Handcuffs &
Badge
CLICK HERE for enlarged view |
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Jamie Hamilton, Sr., photo and
article
CLICK HERE for enlarged
view |
Slingshot CharlieTaylor &
Wife Nora Lee Taylor
CLICK HERE for enlarged view |
Jamie’s father (a veteran
of WW II, the Germany Campaign) and
both grandfathers owned fishing & hunting camps at Reelfoot
Lake. His father’s hunting camp was the one owned by
“Slingshot” Charlie Taylor. “Slingshot” Charlie
was a world
famous slingshot shooter that traveled the world displaying his
trick shooting using a slingshot. He even shot waterfowl
with it, traveled to Hollywood, & there they made a movie
of it.
These individuals were called “Pushers” (now Guides)
by the
“Sports” (now Tourists) when there were no limits on
fish or
waterfowl. The reason they were called “Pushers” is
because no
one had motors, you pushed the boats with a pole or paddled
the “Sports” out to fish or hunt. Reelfoot in those
days was
shallow with a fluctuating water level that at times would be
swampy and almost dry. But when water was present it was |
deeper than today, less silt &
the Mississippi River overflowed into it almost annually
flushing it out. They were early market hunters trying to survive
on Reelfoot Lake.
An early ice house was created at the Cypress Point area. Old
timers cut ice from Reelfoot
Lake that was stored in a building that had a dug out pit in
it to keep ice for the summer.
These were hard times. Lots of salt was used to dry & preserve
the Canvasbacks (that were
so high in demand) along with mallards, ring necks & etc.
The ducks were salted &
usually shipped by rail in barrels to markets in the north. |
Slingshot CharlieTaylor
CLICK HERE for enlarged
view |
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Reelfoot Lake Night Riders
CLICK HERE for enlarged view |
Bob Hamilton in 1942 on the sickle
type weed cutter that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service used
to cut lily pads & cut grass in the waters of Reelfoot Lake.
Jamie Hamilton, Jr. has a B.S.
in Biology, B.A. in Spanish, and a 2 year degree in
Mechanical Engineering. Beside all of this, Jamie has done extensive
research on
Reelfoot Lake including the filming of the periphyton of Reelfoot
Lake. Periphyton is
the sessile attached organisms on the plants & surfaces in
Reelfoot Lake. Periphyton
communities contribute to a lake's overall biological productivity.
He has documented
numerous organisms not previously known to exist in Reelfoot
Lake. He has produced
a film, World of Invertebrates Reelfoot Lake, TN. This is a documentary
of some of these
sessile organisms to educate the public and to be used as an
educational tool for
future reference. Dr. Wintfred L. Smith provides a commentary
on the DVD film.
Mr. Hamilton professionally
trained retrievers in the late 1970's to early 80's.
His retrievers won numerous ribbons, silver bowls & trophies
in AKC competition.
The retrievers competed in the AKC Sanctioned Field Trials. There
were no Hunting Test
trials back in those days as it is today. Your dog or dogs competed
against 70 to 80 dogs
in each of the 4 events at one of these retriever trials for
only one winner.
His retrievers won several AKC trials.
Jamie has been guiding on Reelfoot
Lake for 50 years. His knowledge of Reelfoot Lake
is from a life long experience at fishing, hunting, & living
at Reelfoot Lake. Jamie owns
the world famous “Reelfoot’s Taj Mahal” waterfowl
blind in Black Jack Pocket on Reelfoot
Lake. This is the #1 and most consistent waterfowl blind on Reelfoot
Lake. It sets next
to the Grassy Island Refuge on Reelfoot Lake. Most hunts are
filmed in HD. If you want to
experience a truly unique waterfowl hunt and learn the history
of Reelfoot Lake and stay
in a nice lodge on the shore of Reelfoot Lake then Black Jack
Pocket Hunting Club
is the place. The tradition of years of pleasing waterfowl hunters
is here. |
