Joseph Hilliard Cain Sr. (March 25, 1892 − April 22, 1962) was an American military officer, a member of the Mississippi State Legislature, a licensed preacher and Mississippi educator.Cain, Winton Burell. 1995. A Cain Connection, Maryland to Mississippi and Beyond (1686-1995). McDowell Publications, Utica, Kentucky.
Early years Joseph Hilliard Cain was born in the Ramsey Springs community of Harrison County, Mississippi (now part of Stone County) on March 25, 1892, and was the sixth child of Thomas Wistar Cain and Miranda Whittington Cain. At age 20, he was licensed to preach in the Methodist Episcopal Church South.Joseph Hilliard Cain Sr. in: Journal of the Jackson County Historical and Genealogical Society, Pages 46-47, Vol. 25, 2008.
In 1913, he completed his secondary education at Daisy-Vestry High School.Hometown Locator (Daisy Vestry School) Retrieved 2013-03-23 In 1915, Cain enrolled in Mississippi Normal College where he studied for two years.Joseph Hilliard Cain: Legislator—Jackson County, Mississippi in: Journal of the Jackson County Genealogical Society, Page 24, Vol. 12, No. 2, 1995.
Military service When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Cain enlisted in Troop D, First Mississippi Cavalry on June 29,Mississippi World War I Veterans Index Books (1917-1919), Jackson County Retrieved 2013-03-24 and served as a corporal and sergeant. He was stationed at Camp Beauregard in Louisiana.Data on U.S. Army Divisions during World War I Retrieved 2013-04-05
On August 4, 1917, while in military service, Joseph Cain married Hilda Martin of Moss Point, Mississippi. Joseph and Hilda would become the parents of six children.
In July 1918, Cain was commissioned a second lieutenant in Field Remount Squadron 337 of the Quartermaster Corps, serving at Camp Johnston, Florida.Mississippi World War I Statement of Service Retrieved 2013-03-24 The war ended before Cain's unit was sent overseas, and he was honorably discharged on December 18, 1918, at Camp Stuart, Virginia.Joseph Hilliard Cain, Second Lieutenant, Quartermaster Corps, Army of the United States of America, Certificate of Honorable Discharge, 18 December 1918.
After World War I, Cain served as a deputy sheriff in Jackson County, Mississippi.
Mississippi legislator In 1919, Cain was elected to the House of Representative in the Mississippi State Legislature and served Jackson County for four years (1920–24).Cain, Cyril Edward. 1962. Four Centuries on the Pascagoula, Volume II (History and Genealogy of the Pascagoula River Country). Page 10.Members of Mississippi Legislature Retrieved 2013-03-24 Cain was a member of the House Standing Committees on Education, Railroads, Census and Apportionment, Fees and Salaries, Commerce and Shipping, and Fisheries.Rowland, Dunbar. 1923. The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi (1920-1924). Members of House Standing Committees, Pages 192-198. Hederman Brothers, Jackson, Mississippi.
Educator In 1915, Cain first received a license to teach in Mississippi public schools. He taught in Jackson, George, and Stone Counties. He also served as principal in the Leakesville school and in the Powers School of Stone County.
In 1924, Cain was reauthorized to teach in Mississippi public schools.Authorization to teach in Mississippi public schools, Department of Public Education, State Board of Examiners, No. 317 (J.H. Cain), February 11, 1924. On occasion, he officiated as preacher at Pine Grove Methodist Church in Jackson County.Wilkerson, Bill. 1994. Pine Grove Methodist Church Memories (1837-1994), Homecoming Services.
Civilian Conservation Corps From 1927 to 1933, Cain worked with the Mississippi State Forest Service (now Mississippi Forestry Commission). In 1933, he leased of his land in the Ramsey Springs community to the Civilian Conservation Corps for use as Camp F-16 (Unit 1484), which opened on June 21, 1935.Perry County, Mississippi Genealogy and History Retrieved 2013-03-24 Cain was a Project Superintendent for Stone County CCC Camp P-51 (Unit 1486), from 1933 until it closed. In 1942, the CCC program was disbanded nationwideCivilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Retrieved 2013-04-01 as many enrollees entered military service following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Later years During World War II, Cain worked as a shipfitter at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation in Pascagoula, Mississippi.Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation, Ship Fitting Certification (Joseph H. Cain Sr.), December 10, 1942. After World War II, he was an employee of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Joseph Hilliard Cain Sr. died in 1962 and is buried in Hunt-Whittington Cemetery, in Stone County, Mississippi.
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