USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. I > Part 51
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109
The report was duly made and ordered printed and the conven- tion adjourned until Monday, the 21st, when consideration and amendment of the proposed constitution began. August 13 Poin- dexter's memorial was reported and adopted, only Lattimore and West voting against it.
The constitution was read and signed Friday, August 15, 1817.
An address to the President of the United States regarding the Indian claims to lands was adopted, and the president of the conven- tion was instructed to transmit this and a memorial regarding Brit-
502
MISSISSIPPI
ish claims, and for extension of territory, to the senators and repre- sentatives to be elected; the secretary was ordered to send the chairs to Natchez to be used by the legislature; $100 was ordered paid for the rent of the meeting house, and, on motion of Mr. Poin- dexter, the thanks of the convention were extended to David Holmes, president thereof, to which he responded, briefly and ap- propriately, hoping that the constitution would "hand down to pos- terity unimpaired those great principles of freedom which the world admires and which Americans revere." Thereupon the con- vention adjourned. The expense of the convention was $9,703.98, which was paid out of a full treasury, leaving over $8,000 to be inherited by the State. There was no law for this disbursement, but it was afterward approved by the first State legislature,
One of the questions hardest to settle was the site of the State capital. Natchez had her friends, but there was a strong senti- ment in favor of some more central location, to be made after the Indians should be removed. The question was avoided by requir- ing the first session of the legislature to be held at Natchez, and thereafter at such place as might be directed by law.
On the question of the name of the new State, Cowles Mead proposed that it should be Washington, and this received 17 votes to 23 for Mississippi, which was the recommendation of the com- mittee. (Journal of the Convention, reprinted by Benj. P. Stock- ton, Port Gibson, 1831.)
"The men who gave Mississippi her first constitution belong now to an almost forgotten past, to a time that may be said to be the romantic period of the State's history. It is well to remem- ber them. They belong to a time that can never be reproduced ; it was indeed heroic. They had many of the noblest virtues of men. They represented a phase of Mississippi life which gave to succeed- ing generations a type of man that excited the admiration of all men. In many of them the rural simplicity of the plowman was combined with all the graces and accomplishments of the man of the world. All had a passionate fondness for statecraft, oratory and politics. They were high-strung, passionate and quick to take offense ; they were men of superb courage, unmoving integrity and unsullied honor." (Rowland, Publs. M. H. S., VI. 90).
"More delegates claimed their nativity from the two States of Penn- sylvania and North Carolina than from any other State except Vir- ginia." (Leftwich.) Of many of these, biographical sketches are giv- en in these volumes. Of others, the information is meagre. George W. King was of a prominent family in the Natchez district ; Balch was
503
MISSISSIPPI
a lawyer who had emigrated from North Carolina to Tennessee and thence to Mississippi; Dr. John Shaw, of Jefferson county, was probably from the Carolinas; was a representative of Jefferson county in the assembly as early as 1803, and was prominent in the convention, being named fourth in the committee of twenty-one .. The convention was saddened, August 1, by the announcement of his death, and mourning was worn by the members during the re- mainder of the session. John Ford was the hospitable South Caro- linian inn-keeper on Pearl river on the road between Natchez and Tombigbee. McLaughlin was a North Carolina, Scotch-Irish set- tler on the same river, the father-in-law of Gov. Humphreys. Amos Burnet, who lived at Burnet's bluffs, in Hancock county, was a brother of Daniel Burnet. Gray was a lawyer and belonged to a Virginia family, from the State of Tennessee. McKay, McRae and "Long John" McLeod were worthy representatives of the Scotch settlements. Bilbo was a surveyor from Georgia. Runnels also was a Georgian, a former adherent of the trouble-seeking frontiersman, Gen. Elijah Clarke. He was the "first settler" of Lawrence county. One of his four sons became a governor of the State. Barnes, from North Carolina, had been prominent in the territory as president of the council. Downs, of Warren, was from the settlement on the river below Vicksburg. He had served as a representative in the assembly in 1808 and in 1813-17, and was an intelligent, accomplished gentleman, of considerable influence. His colleague, Andrew Glass, must have been a son of Anthony Glass, who resided at Fort Nogales at the time of the Spanish occupation. Daniel Williams was a North Carolinian, from Ten- nessee, a lawyer and planter. He had been nominated for the coun- cil in 1816. Gen. John Joor was a South Carolinian, of Huguenot descent, a planter, legislator, director of the bank, wealthy, con- vivial, elegant, a "fire-eater"-in politics. Maj. Joseph Johnson was a Virginian, brother of Henry Johnson, governor of Louisiana. Hanna, Batchelor, Burton, Torrance and Wilkinson were substan- tial planters, of high character. Burton acted as attorney general east of Pearl river in the territorial-state interregnum. Louis Winston, the secretary, afterward a circuit judge, had been attor- ney-general of Madison county, 1809-17.
Constitutional Convention of 1832. A bill providing for a Con- stitutional convention was introduced in the house in January, 1830, but was indefinitely postponed.
It appears from the governor's message of November, follow- ing, that he believed popular sentiment was in favor of a conven-
504
MISSISSIPPI
tion. That session submitted the question to the people; there was a favorable vote in August, 1831, and thereupon was passed the act of Dec. 16, 1831, by a vote of 20 to 16 in the House, provid- ing for the election in August, 1832, of representatives to a conven- tion to meet at Jackson on the second Monday of September, 1832.
The movement for a convention was a demand for greater powers of self-government by the majority, and part of a world-wide re- vival of the same excellent gospel. The election of Andrew Jack- son was a forerunner. In 1831-32 the spirit of the times was in- dicated by the forcing of the reform bill through the British parlia- ment by great popular commotions accompanied by riots ; by the deposition of Louis Philippe in France, and the democratic agita- tion in Germany ; also by general agitation of the abolition of slav- ery, which affected the convention to the extent of causing much discussion of the proposition to forbid the inter-state slave trade.
In the Mississippi archives are preserved the broadsides for and against N. G. Howard as a candidate for the convention in Rankin county. He stood for manhood suffrage, ad valorem taxes, limited term of office, election of officers by the people, separate judges for the circuit and supreme courts, a legislature once in two years, no dominant church, free public schools with the funds distributed impartially for the benefit of the common people.
The Journal (printed at Jackson, by Peter Isler, 1832,) recites that the convention convened at the Capitol, in the town of Jack- son, on Monday the tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord, 1832, and of the independence of the United States of Amer- ica, the 57th. The attendance was very general, the en- tire number of the delegation being present, with the exception of one person, detained by indisposition. At 11 o'clock, a. m., Mr. Dickson arose and addressed the convention on the subject of its organization ; when Mr. Johnson was called to the chair, and John H. Mallory appointed secretary pro tem. Mr. Wright submitted the resolution to elect a president, and Quitman and Trotter were appointed tellers. P. Rutilius R. Pray, David Dickson, Charles Lynch, Thomas Freeland and Gerard C. Brandon were balloted for, and Pray was elected on the second ballot. John H. Mallory was chosen secretary almost unanimously; Joseph G. Anderson sergeant at arms; Lewis Whitesides, doorkeeper; Aaron Lindsay reading clerk, and Willis A. Farris assistant clerk.
The complete membership of the convention was as follows :
Adams-John A. Quitman, Spence M. Grayson, Stephen Duncan. Amite-Richard Hurst, Isaiah Cain. Claiborne-Thomas Free-
505
MISSISSIPPI
land, Thomas Gale, Daniel Greenleaf. Copiah-Seth Granberry, William P. Rose. Covington-Frederick Pope. Franklin-Daniel McMillan. Greene-David McRae. Hinds-David Dickson, James Scott, Vernon C. Hicks. Hancock-P. Rutilius R. Pray. Jefferson-Putnam T. Williams, Cicero Jefferson. Jackson-Wil- liam C. Seamon. Jones-Nathaniel Jones. Lawrence-Aloysius M. Keegan, Joseph W. Pendleton. Lowndes-James F. Trotter. Madison-Russell M. Williamson. Marion-Dugald Mclaughlin. Monroe-George Higgason. Perry-Jacob J. H. Morris. Pike- James Y. McNabb, Laban Bacot. Rankin-Nathan G. Howard. Simpson-John B. Lowe. Warren-William J. Redd. Washing- ton-Andrew Knox. Wayne-Thomas P. Falconer. Wilkinson- Gerard C. Brandon, Edward T. Farish, Joseph Johnson. Yazoo- Howell W. Runnels, Richard F. Floyd. There were also 8 district representatives: Yazoo and Madison-William J. Austin. Mon- roe, Lowndes and Rankin-Daniel W. Wright. Warren and Wash- ington-Eugene Magee. Copiah and Jefferson-Benjamin Ken- nedy. Amite and Franklin-Richard A. Stewart. Lawrence, Simpson and Covington-Charles Lynch. Jones, Perry, Greene, Hancock, Jackson and Wayne-John Black. Pike and Marion- James Jones.
Simeon P. Shope contested the election of McNabb, and was rep- resented by Henry S. Foote, but the contest failed.
The chairmen of committees were: On the bill of rights, How- ard; executive department, Jefferson; judicial department, Quit- man ; legislative department, Brandon; general provisions, Trot- ter. It was Quitman, however, who finally reported the bill of rights, as well as a counter report on the judiciary. Brandon re- signed before the close of the session.
The doctrines of the bill of rights were the topic uppermost, and Mr. Howard reported on Thursday that these amendments were advised : That there should be no property qualification for suf- frage or public office ; that "the people are capable of self-govern- ment and of electing their own officers, and ought to exercise this act directly through the ballot box, in all cases where they can with advantage and convenience do so, and that whenever the peo- ple delegate this inestimable power the reason and necessity for so doing shall be strong and imperative;" that "to preserve the prin- ciple of rotation in office and prevent office holders from becoming oppressive or unmindful of their duty as public servants," no office should be held during life or good behavior; that no person should hold more than one office at the same time; that the execu-
506
MISSISSIPPI
tive and judicial and legislative powers should be strictly separate, "to the end that it may be a government of laws and not of men; that monopolies are odious and contrary to the spirit of a free gov- ernment and ought not to be suffered in any case whatever."
The words of President Pray at the adjournment, Oct. 26, may be taken as the understanding of their work by the leaders in this convention.
"Though we are all liable to error in all our investigations, yet some rule of action must be adopted, and in all communities or bodies of men the will of the greater number must constitute the general will, and that will, when it does not violate the great condi- tions of the social compact, is always politically right. It is there- fore, in the birth of societies, the Chiefs of the Republic form the institutions, but afterwards those institutions form the Chiefs. We have now formed a new Constitution for the State of Missis- sippi; we have greatly enlarged the duties and liberties of the people ; we have pushed forward the bounds of legitimate democ- racy; and if experience shall fix the sanction of truth to our doc- trines (which I doubt not), our labors will form a proud era in the history of Mississippi, and we may justly anticipate that, although we are among the youngest members of the confederacy, we shall ere long be followed by those of more mature years. The oper- ations of this constitution will form a new school of politicians. Our children, who are to succeed us in the government, will find them- selves unshackled by the immutable laws of precedent, which have so long bound us down to earth, to follow the footsteps of anterior generations; and, commencing where we have paused, their march will be onward."
A committee of the house in 1833 reported that "the following named members of the convention claimed no more than the com- pensation provided for by law, viz: John A. Quitman, J. W. Pen- dleton, James Jones and Gerard C. Brandon ; and that no claim has been presented for the compensation of John Black." Mr. Pray, the president, had drawn $251 in excess, and others in smaller amounts, aggregating over $3,000.
Governor Quitman, who opposed the extension of suffrage, said in his message of January, 1836, "I should fail to discharge my duty, did I withhold the expression of my deliberate opinion, that the Constitution of this State as revised in the year 1832, has not realized the anticipations of the people." He refrained from dis- cussing general principles, but suggested "some amendment to the provisions from which an almost total interregnum in the govern-
.
507
MISSISSIPPI
4
ment must result biennially, and to remove the restrictions on apportionment which must operate oppressively on the new coun- ties." [Also see Scott's Adm.]
Constitutional Convention of 1851. Gen. John A. Quitman wrote to J. S. Preston of South Carolina in March, 1851, his view of the situation generally : that the opinion they held, that "the political equality of the slaveholding states is incompatible with the present confederation as construed and acted on by the majority," was growing in the cotton states; there was some indication of such sentiment in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Ken- tucky and Missouri, and to some extent in Texas and Louisiana, "but they were frowned down by most of their public men as treasonable and revolutionary. There is then, no present hope that a majority of the slaveholding states will unite in any effective measures for curing the evils." In Alabama, Florida and Louisiana, there was much discontent expressed, "but nowhere, except in South Carolina and Mississippi, is it proposed to act authoritatively on these questions." He asked South Carolina to take the lead, and felt assured that Mississippi would take position by her side. (Claiborne's Quitman, II, 125-6; also see Matthews and Quit- man Adms .; Convention of 1849; Nashville Convention.)
The authoritative action brought on by Quitman as governor, was the convention regularly elected by the people, which met at Jackson, November 10, 1851. . "It was composed of 93 delegates and was, without doubt, the most distinguished of the ante-bellum assemblages." (Garner).
The membership of the convention was as follows: Adams- John T. McMurran, James H. Veazie. Amite-David W. Hurst, William L. Huff. Attala-Samuel Gilleland, Jason Niles. Bolivar -William Vick. Carroll-Samuel Hart, C. F. Hemingway, Isaac Sullivan. Chickasaw-J. T. Griffin, T. S. Evans. Choctaw- George Huie, Thomas Fox. Claiborne-William S. Wilson. Copiah-Robert Miller, Frank Sturges. Clarke-Allen Mclendon. DeSoto-J. C. N. Robertson, J. J. Williams, Samuel Watson. Franklin-James M. Jones. Greene-Norman McLeod. Hancock -Robert Montgomery. Hinds-William L. Sharkey, Amos R. Johnston, G. G. Banks. Holmes-W. A. Purdom, J. M. Gwin. Har- rison-William A. Champlin. Itawamba-George W. Stovall, John F. Duncan, Drury Sawyer. Issaquena-William T. Lowry. Jasper-William P. Cherry. Jefferson-Charles Clark. Jones- John Easterling. Kemper-W. R. Vaughn, Duncan P. McAllum. Lafayette-Isaac A. Duncan, William Hale. Leake-David S.
508
MISSISSIPPI
McDonald. Lauderdale-Sylvanus Evans, W. L. Cole. Lawrence -W. P. Harris. Lowndes-Joseph B. Cobb, William Barksdale, Thomas C. Billups. Madison-Patrick Henry, Montfort Jones. Marion-William James Rankin. Marshall-J. W. C. Watson, Phineas T. Scruggs, Richard Phillips. Monroe-Stephen Adams, James A. Butler. Neshoba-James L. Backstrom. Newton-John H. Wells. Noxubee-George H. Foote, Anderson W. Dabney. Oktibbeha-William R. Cannon. Perry-Poster J. Myers. Pike -Thomas J. Connelly. Pontotoc-Jefferson Wilson, James C. Jones, Benjamin S. Edwards. Rankin-Joseph McDowell. Scott -Seaburn J. Smith. Simpson-Henry Sturgis. Smith-Samuel Keown. Sunflower-W. N. Scales. Tallahatchie-James S. Bailey. Tippah-Orlando Davis, Benj. Collins, John Boatner, Stephen B. Jones. Tishomingo-Wm. L. Duncan, Wm. H. Muse, Benj. N. Kenyon, Cornelius Carmack. Warren-Wm. A. Lake, Wm. H. Johnson. Wayne-Samuel H. Powe. Wilkinson-James Alex- ander Ventress. Winston-George G. Snedecor, John C. Holmes. Yalobusha-John B. Ashe, Samuel R. Garner, R. H. Gollady. Yazoo-Philip J. Burrus, Daniel A. James. Panola- - Piner.
The convention was called to order by Stephen Adams; William A. Lake was temporary chairman, and Cornelius Carmack was elected president; Fleming L. Swann, secretary. A committee of thirteen was appointed to submit resolutions, as follows: James A. Ventress, chairman ; Orlando Davis, Jefferson Wilson, J. W. C. Watson, C. F. Hemingway, J. B. Cobb, W. R. Cannon,. W. L. Sharkey, Samuel Gilleland, William H. Johnson, J. T. McMurran, Wiley P. Harris, W. A. Champlin.
The minority of this committee-Cannon, Harris and Gilleland -reported resolutions reasserting the resolutions of the partisan convention of 1849, interpreting the election of September as ac- quiescence in the compromise but not a sanction of the legislation, and finally that the State had "unquestionable right to withdraw from the union." The minority also contended that it was the duty of the convention to submit any resolutions they adopted to the vote of the people, but the majority of the convention considered that the nature of the resolutions made this unnecessary. (On the general question of submission, see Mayes' Lamar, p. 68). The report of the majority, that the asserted right of secession was ut- terly unsanctioned, was adopted by a vote of 72 to 17. The resolu- tion of censure was adopted 52 to 29. The convention adjourned November 17.
The resolutions, adopted almost unanimously (only three in
509
MISSISSIPPI
opposition), are printed in Claiborne's Life of Quitman, II, ch. xvii. They begin: "The position of Mississippi, declared in convention at Jackson, which met on the 10th day of November, 1851. The people of Mississippi, in convention assembled, as ex- pressive of their deliberate judgment on the great questions in- volved in the sectional controversy between the slaveholding and non-slaveholding states of the American Union, adopt the follow- ing resolutions." Then follow eight resolutions, of which the sub- stance was, that having maturely considered the congressional legislation affecting slavery, the people of Mississippi, "while they do not entirely approve, will abide by it as a permanent adjustment of this sectional controversy, as long as the same, in all its fea- tures, shall be faithfully adhered to and enforced." That they per- ceived nothingin this legislation that "should be permitted to disturb the friendly and peaceful 'existing relations between the government of the United States and the government and people of the State of Mississippi,' the latter quotation being from the call for the convention." 3d. Therefore resolved, that in the opinion of this Convention, the people of the State of Mississippi will abide by the Union as it is, and by the Constitution of the United States without amendment. That they hold the Union secondary in im- portance only to the rights and principles it was designed to per- petuate ; that past associations, present fruition, and future pros- pects will bind them to it so long as it continues to be the safe- guard of these rights and principles. 4th. Resolved further, That, in the opinion of this Convention, the asserted right of secession from the Union, on the part of a State or States, is utterly un- sanctioned by the federal Constitution, which was framed to estab- lish and not to destroy the Union of the States, and that no seces- sion can, in fact, take place without a subversion of the Union es- tablished, and which will not virtually amount in its effects and consequences to a civil revolution." The convention declared there might be legislation which would amount to intolerable oppression, and would justify a resort to measures of resistance. These would be, interference with the institution of slavery in the States; inter- ference in the slave trade between the States, legislation regarding slavery in the places subject to the jurisdiction of congress incom- patible with the safety and tranquillity of the slaveholding states, a refusal to admit a new State on the ground of its toleration of slavery, the prohibition of slavery in any territory, the repeal or non-enforcement of the fugitive slave law.
Further agitation of the subject was deprecated, and the final
510
MISSISSIPPI
resolution was, "8th. Resolved, That, in the opinion of this Con- vention, without intending to call in question the motives of the members of the legislature, the call of this convention by the leg- islature, at its last extraordinary session, was unauthorized by the people, and that said act, in peremptorily ordering a convention of the people of the State without first submitting to them the question whether there should be a convention or no convention, was an unwarranted assumption of power by the legislature, at war with the spirit of republican institutions, an encroachment upon the rights of the people, and can never be rightfully invoked as a precedent."
Constitutional Convention of 1861. For preliminary events see Pettus Administration. Before the meeting of this convention South Carolina had declared herself an independent State, (Dec. 20th), and the newspapers contained accounts of the military oper- ations against Forts Moultrie and Sumter; the Mobile forts were seized by Alabama early in January, and it was "expected that a combination of Southerners exists by which the government at Washington will be taken possession of by the South," in opposi- tion to a similar rumored movement from the North.
The opening of the convention was preceded by a caucus at which the work was arranged, on the lines of a plan of secession prepared by L. Q. C. Lamar.
The membership of the Convention was as follows: Adams-A. K. Farrar, Josiah Winchester. Attala-E. H. Sanders, J. W. Wood. Amite-D. W. Hurst. Bolivar-M. H. McGehee. Carroll-J. Z. George, W. Booth. Claiborne-H. T. Ellett. Coahoma-J. L. Alcorn. Copiah-P. S. Catchings, B. King. Clarke-S. H. Ter- ral. Choctaw-W. F. Brantley, W. H. Witty, J. H. Edwards. Chickasaw-J. A. Orr, C. B. Baldwin. Covington-A. C. Powell. Calhoun-W. A. Sumner, M. D. L. Stephens. DeSoto-J. R. Chalmers, S. D. Johnston, T. Lewers. Franklin-D. H. Parker. Green-T. J. Roberts. Hinds-W. P. Harris, W. P. Anderson, W. B. Smart. Holmes-J. M. Dyer, W. L. Keirn. Harrison-D. C. Glenn. Hancock-J. B. Deason. Issaquena-A. C. Gibson. Itawamba-R. O. Beene, A. B. Bullard, W. H. H. Tison, M. C. Cum- mings. Jasper-O. C. Dease. Jackson-A. E. Lewis. Jefferson-J. S. Johnston. Jones-J. H. Powell. Kemper-O. Y. Neely, T. H. Woods. Lawrence-W. Gwin. Lowndes-W. S. Barry, G. R. Clayton. Leake-W. B. Colbert. Lauderdale-J. B. Ramsey, F. C. Semmes. Lafayette-L. Q. C. Lamar, T. D. Isom. Marshall- A. M. Clayton, J. W. Clapp, S. Benton, H. W. Walter, W. M. Lee.
511
MISSISSIPPI
Madison-A. P. Hill. Monroe-S. J. Gholson, F. M. Rogers. Marion-H. Mayson. Noxubee-Israel Welsh. Neshoba-D. M. Backstrom. Newton-M. M. Keith. Oktibbeha-T. C. Bookter. Perry-P. J. Myers. Pike-J. M. Nelson. Panola-J. B. Fiser, E. F. McGehee. Pontotoc-C. D. Fontaine, J. B. Herring, H. R. Miller, R. W. Flournoy. Rankin-J. J. Thornton, W. Denson. Sunflower-E. P. Jones. Simpson-W. J. Douglas. Smith-W. Thompson. Scott-C. W. Taylor. Tallahatchie-A. Pattison. Tishomingo-A. E. Reynolds, W. W. Bonds, T. P. Young, J. A. Blair. Tunica-A. Miller. Tippah-O. Davis, J. H. Berry, J. S. Davis, D. B. Wright. Washington-J. Shall Yerger. Wilkinson -A. C. Holt. Wayne-W. J. Eckford. Warren-Walker Brooke, T. A. Marshall. Winston-J. Kennedy, W. S. Bolling. Yalobusha -F. M. Aldridge, W. R. Barksdale. Yazoo-H. Vaughan, G. B. Wilkinson.
A list of the members, published after the Convention, classified them politically as State Rights Democrat, Southern, Southern Rights, Secession Whig, Secession Democrat, Secessionist, etc., besides plain Democrat and Whig. Most of the opponents of se- cession were entered as Whigs. Charles D. Fontaine listed himself as "disunionist per se;" D. W. Hurst, "opposed to universal suf- frage ;" J. Z. George, "Southern." There were 84 Democrats and 25 Whigs.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.