Edward Mayes (December 15, 1846 – August 9, 1917) was an American lawyer and law professor who served as the Chancellor of the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

from 1887 to 1891.Ole Miss biography
''Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi (Vol. 2 Part 1)'', Firebird Press, 1999, p. 42

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Early life and education

He was born on December 15, 1846 in

Hinds County, Mississippi Hinds County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. With its county seats (Raymond and the state's capital, Jackson), Hinds is the most populous county in Mississippi with a 2020 census population of 227,742 residents. Hinds Coun ...

to Elizabeth Mayes and her Virginia-born attorney husband Daniel Mayes, who already had three older sons and an unmarried daughter living in their household, as well as American-born and Irish-born servants. They also owned 31 enslaved people. Mayes received a private education appropriate to his class, including at Bethany College in Virginia. As Mississippi seceded from the Union during the American Civil War, despite his youth, Mayes volunteered to fight for the Confederacy, enlisting as a private in Company B of Hughes' Battalion of Mississippi cavalry. On December 1, 1862, he rose to the rank of corporal with the 4th Mississippi cavalry, assigned to Company H. Following the conflict, Mayes enrolled in the

, and graduated in 1868.

Career

He worked as a lawyer in Coffeeville and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. In 1877, he taught law at University of Mississippi. He served as its Chancellor from 1887 to 1891. He then taught law at

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded in 1889–90 by a Confederate veteran, Major Reuben Webster M ...

Death and legacy

He died in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

, aged 71.

Bibliography

*''History of Education in Mississippi'' *''Lucius Q.C. Lamar: his life, times, and speeches. 1825-1893'' (1896)

References

1846 births 1917 deaths Bethany College (West Virginia) alumni Chancellors of the University of Mississippi People from Hinds County, Mississippi {{US-academic-administrator-1840s-stub