Claiborne, J. F. H. (John Francis Hamtramck), 1809-1884

Claiborne, the eldest son of Ferdinand Leigh Claiborne, worked as a lawyer and editor in Natchez, Mississippi, before moving to Madison County in 1835. He served that area as a state legislator and U. S. Congressman. He was also an eminent Mississippi historian.

From the description of Claiborne, John Francis Hamtramck, papers, 1828-1838. (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 32458159

J. F. H. Claiborne was a lawyer, U.S. Representative, editor, planter, and historian of Mississippi and Louisiana.

From the description of J. F. H. Claiborne papers, 1797-1884 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 22486123

U.S. representative from Mississippi (1835-1838), editor, and historian.

From the description of J.F.H. Claiborne papers, 1818-1885. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 71066065

John Francis Hamtramck Claiborne, son of General Ferdinand Lee Claiborne and nephew of William C. C. Claiborne, was born near Natchez, Miss., on 24 April 1807. He studied law in Virginia, edited a pro-Jackson paper in Natchez, and served in Congress, 1835-1837. He moved back to Natchez to edit the Mississippi Free Trader, a Democratic paper. In 1842, Claiborne was appointed president of a commission to adjudicate the claims of the Choctaw Indians to several thousand acres of valuable land, which was also claimed by speculators. He moved to New Orleans in 1844 and edited the Jeffersonian in English and French, the Statesman in German and English, and the Louisiana Courier . In about 1853, Claiborne became a planter in Hancock County, Miss. He opposed secession and, after the war, while not an active politician, favored reconciliation and cooperation with the Republicans. He devoted the later part of his life to writing a history of Mississippi and published one volume. The manuscript of the second volume was burned shortly before his death on 17 May 1884. He also wrote Life and Times of Sam Dale and Life and Correspondence of John A. Quitman .

[For further information see the Dictionary of American Biography and Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, V and VII.]

From the guide to the J.F.H. Claiborne Papers, 1797-1884, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)