James Whitfield (December 15, 1791 – June 25, 1875) was an American politician. He served as the

Governor of Mississippi A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

from November 24, 1851 to January 10, 1852.Bio data
/ref> He also served in both houses of the

Mississippi Legislature The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi State Senate, with 52 me ...

Background

He served until

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

Henry S. Foote Henry Stuart Foote (February 28, 1804May 19, 1880) was a United States Senator from Mississippi and the chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 1847 to 1852. He was a Unionist Governor of Mississippi from 1852 to ...

, who had been elected

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, could complete his service in the Senate and resign from that body. Whitfield was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. He donated of land in the northern part of the state to facilitate the creation of what is simultaneously the state's largest psychiatric facility and hospital, now known as

Mississippi State Hospital The Mississippi State Hospital (MSH) is a psychiatric facility operated by the Mississippi Department of Mental Health. It is located in the unincorporated community of Whitfield, Rankin County, Mississippi, along Mississippi Highway 468.

. His

Columbus, Mississippi Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, on the eastern border of Mississippi, United States, located primarily east, but also north and northeast of the Tombigbee River, which is also part of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterwa ...

plantation was sold in 1852 to Thomas Carleton Billups and is known today as The Billups Whitfield Place. In the same year he built a house in Columbus which is known as Snowdoun and is featured annually on the local tour of homes. It was here that

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

stayed while campaigning across the state for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

. He gave a speech from the balcony of this house. The home was later visited by author

Julian Street Julian Leonard Street (April 12, 1879–February 19, 1947) was an American author, born in Chicago. He was a reporter on the New York ''Mail and Express (later Evening Mail'') in 1899 and had charge of its dramatic department in 1900–01. His ...

as he was traveling across the Southern U.S. compiling notes for his book ''American Adventures'' in 1915.

Notes

Sources

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External links

James Whitfield
at

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

James Whitfield: Eighteenth Governor of Mississippi: November 1851 – January 1852
''Mississippi History'' 1791 births 1875 deaths Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Democratic Party Mississippi state senators Democratic Party governors of Mississippi Whitfield family 19th-century American politicians {{Mississippi-politician-stub