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After much investigation, why he chose this area is still an open question. They had no relatives or other ties that have been established in Hancock County. It was not because of any connection to Sarah Jackson, as she had been from a patrician family in Philadelphia. Perhaps it was to escape responsibility from the accumulated debt. Maybe there is some evidence in Claiborne?s immediate offers of help.
JFH Claiborne was a member of a distinguished family. His uncle, WCC Claiborne was once the governor of Mississippi territory, and then the first governor of Louisiana after the 1803 purchase. His brother, father to JFH, was Major General Ferdinand Claiborne, who had fought the Creek War with General Jackson, and WCC had succeeded to Jackson?s seat in the Congress.
Perhaps Andrew Jr. had been given an introduction.
The Properties
Young Samuel, who was evidently running Clifton Plantation on his own, dutifully reported that he had sent a man to Gainesville, the county seat at the time, to record the two deeds mentioned above. Courthouse records bear him out, at least in the case of the Mitchell deal.
The Mitchell deed was recorded on March 24, 1857, and describes a sale by James Mitchell to Andrew Jackson of 1920 acres (three sections, or three square miles) for a price of $2,760.
It has been established that the Russ Place was almost coextensive with what is now Buccaneer Park. Efforts to find the records of the Russ deed have been unsuccessful. However, it may be that no title would have passed, as this is primarily ?lieu land,? or 16th section, reserved for schools and other purposes. It can only be leased, the period being 99 years. It should be noted, nonetheless, that in later documents transfers of this 16th section have been listed as deeds.
It was one of Samuel?s early letters that contained a clue to the location of the Russ Place, stating that it was ?just on the coast.? Of the three properties he described, only Russ was so located. It is known that Clifton was three miles from open water, and Mitchell bordered on what is now Lower Bay Road. Moreover, Samuel said that Clifton was eighteen miles distant from the Bay of St. Louis.
The journal of Benjamin Wailes, the state geologist who passed through our area in 1852, is confirmation of the locations. Wailes reported visits with both Judge Daniels and Asa Russ, measuring the distance from Clifton to the home of ?Mr. Asa Russ of the
6	Mitchell was a son-in-law of Judge Daniels, the prior owner of Clifton Plantation. The site of the land has been identified as being of the south side of Lower Bay Road, formerly known as the old Pearlington road.
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