Life of adventure: Tupelo native publishes thesis on Tippah County legend Paul J. Rainey
Nov. 26—TUPELO — Growing up, Tupelo native Peyton Holliday often passed by the Rainey estate in Cotton Plant in the car with her family on their way to visit her grandparents in Ripley.
Her father would tell stories he'd heard about adventurer Paul J. Rainey and about visiting the property as a child.
Through the years, those stories stuck with Holliday, and when the time came to select a topic for her master's thesis at Liberty University last year, she came back to those tales she'd heard and decided to explore the full history of one of the 20th century's most interesting men.
Who was Paul J. Rainey?
A native of Ohio, Rainey purchased a large swath of land in Northeast Mississippi where he built the Tippah Lodge, often referred to as the Rainey estate.
A businessman, hunter, documentary filmmaker and spy, Rainey was immortalized in the works of Mississippi author William Faulkner and Canadian poet Robert W. Service. The Rainey estate in Cotton Plant, The Rainey in New Albany, the 26,000-acre Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary in Louisiana and the Rainey Memorial Gates at the Bronx Zoo in the Bronx, New York, are a testament to his legacy.
Despite information about Rainey's life and adventures being scarce, Holliday was able to find stories about the man in various records. A handwritten copy of Marius F. Johnston's "Diary of an Arctic Expedition" Holliday located in a museum in Boudin College, Maine, provided some tales she could share, and World War I Gen. John J. Pershing — who once fought alongside President Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders — claimed within the pages of his own diary to have had lunch with Rainey.
More Information
Want to learn more about the life and adventures of Paul J. Rainey and Holliday's research into his amazing life? Holliday has created an Instagram account (@pauljrainey) to share her journey from thesis to book, along with fun facts about Rainey's life. To read Holliday's complete thesis, visit digitalcommons.liberty.edu/masters/922
Rainey lived from 1877 to 1923, dying on his 46th birthday en route from England to South Africa. He was buried at sea, in the waters on which he'd traveled so many miles and had so many incredible adventures.
Researching Rainey's life
Despite Rainey's varied and daring adventures, Holliday discovered there was very little information about the mount to be found — at least, not without some digging.
"I was kind of shocked," Holliday said. "I was surprised that there was nothing. So, I just dove in and decided to see if there'd be enough information to write a thesis, and that's how I got started."
Holliday, 25, read books, combed through online sources, conducted phone interviews and in-person visits to get a clearer picture of who Rainey was.
Thirteen months and more than 100 pages later, Holliday's thesis was published in October 2022.
Retelling Rainey's story
Ultimately, what Holliday found most compelling about Rainey was the sheer variety in his story.
The man lived such a sporadic and adventurous life, it was difficult for Holliday to establish a cohesive narrative. Penning the thesis required an equal share of creativity and curiosity, she said.
"Writing an academic paper on him, it was really hard to pull a thread through the entire thesis," Hollidays said. "One minute, he would be in Europe, the next minute he's in Africa hunting and the next minute he has a film coming out. It had no major connection beyond the fact that this is just Paul Rainey. So, I really struggled with that."
Holliday divided her thesis into the following sections, each highlighting an important part of Rainey's life : big game hunting, wildlife filmmaking, World War I and Rainey's death and legacy.
"Once I was able to pinpoint four important details, that helped me solidify my research," she said.
Holliday completed her undergraduate degree in 2018 and went on to earn a master's in History in Sept. 2022. She now lives in Washington, D.C., where she works as a reporter for CNS News.
For Holliday, the research into Rainey's life and adventures continues on. One day, she'd like to turn her work into an official biography of sorts, sharing with others the stories her father shared with her as a child. Tales of a man who lived a relatively brief life, but one packed with adventure.
