John A. Quitman and Family Papers (Z/0066)
Collection Details:
Collection Name and Number: John A. Quitman and Family Papers (Z/0066).
Creator/Collector: John A. Quitman; and others.
Date(s): 1812-1860.
Size: 10 cubic feet.
Language(s): English.
Processed by: MDAH staff.
Provenance: Gift of Donor, of Place, State, on Date; Z/U/XXXX.XXX.
Repository: Archives & Records Services Division, Mississippi Department of Archives & History.
Rights and Access:
Access restrictions: Collection is open for research.
Publication rights: Copyright assigned to the MDAH. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to Reference Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the MDAH as the owner of the physical items and as the owner of the copyright in items created by the donor. Although the copyright was transferred by the donor, the respective creator may still hold copyright in some items in the collection. For further information, contact Reference Services.
Copyright notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).
Preferred citation: John A. Quitman and Family Papers (Z/0066), Mississippi Department of Archives & History.
Biography:
John A. Quitman
John Anthony Quitman (b. Sept. 1, 1798–d. 17 July 1858), a resident of Natchez and a planter, lawyer, soldier, and Mississippi political leader. He served in the Mississippi House of Representatives, 1828; as judge of the Mississippi Superior Court of Chancery, 1828–1834; as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1832; as a state senator, 1835; as governor of Mississippi, Dec. 3, 1835–Jan. 7, 1836, and Jan. 10, 1850–Feb. 3, 1851; as grand master of the Grand Lodge of Mississippi, 1826–1838, and 1845–1846; as brigadier general of volunteers, July 1, 1846–May 14, 1847; as major general of volunteers, May 14, 1847–July 20, 1848; as civil and military governor of Mexico City, Sept. 14–Nov. 1, 1847; as a member of the United States House of Representatives, Mar. 4, 1856–July 17, 1858.
Quitman commanded the Second Brigade of the First Field Division of Volunteers and later that division in the armies of Maj. Gen. Zachary Taylor and Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott in the Mexican War.
Scope and Content Note:
Correspondence, papers, and records of John Anthony Quitman.
The correspondence and papers are divided into three chronological files: "Correspondence and Papers," "Military Papers," and "Copies of Papers."
The file of Correspondence and Papers contains 1,357 pieces in 83 folders. The bulk of the material from 1812 to 1846 consists primarily of bills, receipts, notes and other business and legal papers. One letter dated May 21, 1846, written to Generals Houston and Rush, advises them of his desire to enter active military service in the event of war with Mexico. The letters for the period from Jan. 1848, to Mar. 1850, deal mainly with state and national politics. From Mar. 1850, to July 1855, the papers relate primarily to filibustering. After July, 1855, the papers are similar to those found in the files of a congressman of the period. The papers in this file are divided by dates as follows:
- undated, 107 pieces
- 1812, 1 piece
- 1821–27, 11 pieces
- 1830–1839, 44 pieces
- 1840–1849, 327 pieces
- 1850–1859, 866 pieces
- 1860, 1 piece
The file of Military Papers contains 984 pieces in 59 folders and covers the period from Jan. 8, 1846, to Dec. 31, 1847. The file contains maps, circulars, general orders, special orders, requisitions, casualty reports, guard reports, returns, receipts, accounts, and correspondence pertaining to these organizations and such subordinate units as the First Regiment of Alabama Volunteers, the First Regiment of Georgia Volunteers, the First Regiment of Mississippi Riflemen, the First New York Regiment of Volunteers, the First Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, the Second Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, the First Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers.
The file of Copies of Papers is composed of 189 typewritten copies of military papers in 10 folders and covers the period from July 2, 1846, to Oct. 25, 1847. The volumes are as follows:
- Springfield Plantation Account Book, Dec. 14, 1841–Dec. 1, 1853, pp. 127, 20 cm. by 31.5 cm., which is filled principally with daily entries pertaining to a ferry run in connection with Springfield Plantation in Adams County, owned by John A. Quitman, and also contains inventories of supplies and livestock, lists of slaves, records of sales of wood to steamboats and information on other matters concerning the management of the plantation
- Order Book of John A. Quitman, Aug. 20, 1846–Oct. 25, 1847, pp. 96, 25.5 cm. by 40 cm., which contains Orders Nos. 1–4, Aug. 20–Sept. 4, 1846, and Special Orders Nos. 1–3, Aug. 28–Sept. 3, 1846, of the Third Brigade of the Second Division of Volunteers; Orders Nos. 1–47, Sept. 4, 1846–May 3, 1847, and Special Orders Nos. 1–29, Sept. 3, 1846–Apr. 27, 1847, of the Second Brigade of the First Field Division of Volunteers; and Orders Nos. 1–28, May 5–Sept. 27, 1847, and Special Orders No. 1, May 16 and July 23, 1847, of the First Field Division of Volunteers
- "Notes Taken from Newspapers and Manuscripts on John A. Quitman and His Interest in Filibustering Expeditions, September 4, 1849–December 13, 1854" (typewritten), pp. 337. See also Z 0156.000.