Alphabet File page 89
Claiborne, Duralde, Nicholson Av., Waveland (Ph 48 thru 50) (Ph 55)
Claiborne, J. F. H. - Louis Boisdore built a beautiful mansion (Laurel Wood Plantation Mansion) on a forty acre tract two miles southeast of Pearlington on Mullato Bayou. Built on a French Land Grant with slave labor, the house served as home for several Families. The most notable of its occupants was J.F.H. Claiborne, historian during the Civil War and early reconstruction. (PC&C p4)
John F. H. Claiborne, one of Pearlington's most prominent citizens moved to Laure Wold plantation in 1853. He was a politician and historian. He moved into the famous house two miles from Pearlington as a 44 year old man. He previously served as Legislator and Congressman. His most memorable accomplishment was the writing of Mississippi As a Province, Territory, and State. (PC&C p27)
Claiborne, J.F.H. at Laurel Wood Plantation July 1863
On five separate occasions during the month of July, 1863, Claiborne informed (Union Gen.) Banks of the activities of saltmakers and tannery operators on the Gulf Coast.
To Claiborn's chagrin, the leatherworkers were systematically stripping the bark from live oak trees which had been set aside as a reserve for the United States Navy for use in the tanneries they had erected at Bay St. Louis.
Furthermore, a great quantity of salt was being produced for military and civilian use. According to Claiborne, Mississippi Governor Pettus had contracted for 100,000 bushels of salt at thirty-five dollars a bushel.
In one letter Claiborne suggested "If you could shell those places and seize the salt-boilers, we should get rid of the guerrillas and their sympathizers."
In subsequent memorandums he reported that salt making was proceeding at a rate of five hundred bushels a day, and that twenty wagon loads of salt had been shipped to General Joseph E. Johnston's army. (Journal of Mississippi History Vol XVIII, Jan 1956) (VF)
Claiborne, John F.H. (Wb A pg 238-44) Decd. Wife: Martha D. Claiborne, Dau. Martha E. Garrett, Anna C. Pell. Filed for Probate 1-23-1894.
Claiborne, J.F.T. (should be J.F.H.?) #6 J. A. Cuevas List. "..raised sea island cotton and his plantation was called Sea Glen." (VF MJS III 00350)
Claiborne died in 1884 at the age of 77 (PC&C p 27)
The Three Famous Claibornes Of Mississippi
They were William Charles Cole Claiborne who in 1801 when he was only 26 years old was appointed the second governor of Mississippi Territory by President Thomas
Jefferson; his brother Ferdinand Leigh Claiborne, brigadier-general in command of the militia of Mississippi Territory who was unjustly blamed for the massacre at Fort Mims; and Ferdinand's eldest son, John Francis Hamtramack Claiborne, the "Confederate Yankee" whose greatest achievement was his History of Mississippi, which Dunbar Rowland rated as "one of the greatest if not the greatest of state histories."
His oldest son - John Francis Hamtramack Claiborne - was eight years old when General Claiborne died and was sent a year later to Virginia to be educated. The future famous Mississippi historian had intended to remain in Virginia, but his health was so delicate he returned to Natchez where he temporarily took charge of the newspaper then published by the venerable Andrew Marschalk, Mississippi's first printer.
Before he was 21 John Francis was the Democratic candidate of Adams County for the Legislature to which he was elected for three consecutive terms. He was nominated for Congress in 1835 by the first Democratic State Convention in Mississippi, was elected by a large majority and arrived the youngest member in that impressive body of men.
He was respected by some and reviled by others (depending on whose ox was being gored) when he was appointed president of the Board of Choctaw Commissioners to adjudicate the claims of the Indians under the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, which were the basis of great and corrupt speculation and which Claiborne fearlessly exposed - treading on the toes of interest so influential they could employ S.S. Prentiss on a contingent fee of $100,000 to defend them. Claiborne's life was repeatedly threatened and he was twice challenged to a duel which he refused to accept. His unwavering action crushed the speculation and ruined those involved. However, Claiborne found it the better part of valor to temporarily leave the unfriendly atmosphere of Mississippi and take refuge in New Orleans.
There he ventured in land, cotton and slaves but being a novice in business lost his money through careless endorsements of other peoples notes and was taken in to custody like a common debtor. Then he went back to newspaper editing again for awhile, but the complete collapse of his already poor health caused him to consider the purchase of Laurel Wood plantation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast (located on Mulatto Bayou west of Bay St. Louis about 2 miles southeast of Pearlington off U.S. 90, the still existing mansion has been turned over to the State of Mississippi so it can be restored and opened to the public as an historical attraction.)
In 1853 President Pierce appointed him timber agent for the three states of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. With that position as a financial cushion Claiborne moved to Laurel Wood and, although little experienced in plantation management and operation, made a success of growing sea island cotton.
When the Civil War became a grim reality Claiborne remained as long as he could in seclusion at Laurel Wood to avoid facing the issue and taking sides. Although a government employee it would seem as if there should have been no question of his loyalty to the South, especially as the owner of a hundred slaves.
And yet, although he decided finally to openly support the Confederacy (he was quickly commissioned to administer oaths and handle deeds and other papers for the Confederacy and during the war purchased several thousand dollars worth of Confederate bonds) he also decided to secretly serve the Union.
His intrigue throughout the war was known to the Confederate Government, but in the absence of absolute proof of traffic with the enemy, it was unable to interfere. He was not a common spy working behind the lines. He was a prominent Coast citizen and presumably a loyal Confederate supporter. Also, in his strategic position at Laurel Wood he was under the constant protection of the Federal gunboats that blockaded the Coast.
When the war was over Claiborne immediately took the oath of allegiance to the United States and promptly aligned himself with the carpet-bagger government of his State of Mississippi. He continued to live quietly at Laurel Wood until 1870 when he inherited the "Dunbarton Planation" at Natchez and moved there.
Claiborne spent the remaining years of his life completing the monumental history of Mississippi for which he is famous and which was started at Laurel Wood during the war period. (Copyright 1963 Ray M. Thompson, The Daily Herald, Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi Coast)
Claiborne, W. C. C.
The Three Famous Claibornes Of Mississippi
They were William Charles Cole Claiborne who in 1801 when he was only 26 years old was appointed the second governor of Mississippi Territory by President Thomas Jefferson; his brother Ferdinand Leigh Claiborne, brigadier-general in command of the militia of Mississippi Territory who was unjustly blamed for the massacre at Fort Mims; and Ferdinand's eldest son, John Francis Hamtramack Claiborne, the "Confederate Yankee" whose greatest achievement was his History of Mississippi, which Dunbar Rowland rated as "one of the greatest if not the greatest of state histories."