Gerard C. Brandon papers

Collection

Identifier: urn:taro:utexas.cah.03320

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This small collection is comprised of correspondence from Brandon to Mississippi Secretary of State John A. Gimball, soliciting state government commissions for several acquaintances. Additional correspondence includes a letter to future Governor Hiram G. Runnels from T. B. Hadley, discussing politics in Woodville, Miss., July 18. 1925, and a letter from Mississippi Governor Gerard Brandon to W. V. C. Dillingham and the sheriff of Amite County, Mississippi, granting pardon to citizen James Gordon. Also included in the collection is a withdrawal request for a $1,000 note from the Bank of the State of Mississippi, and the transcript of the diary of Brandon’s son kept while on a trip to Texas with slaves and livestock, July 1863-February 1864.

Forms part of the Natchez Trace Small Manuscripts Collection.

Dates

Creation: 1823 - 1829
Creation: 1863 - 1864

Creator

Brandon, Gerard Chittocque, 1788-1850 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

There are no use restrictions on this collection. Publisher is responsible for complying with copyright law.

Biographical/Historical Note

Gerard Chittocque Brandon, the fourth and sixth governor to serve Mississippi, was born on Selma Plantation, Natchez, Mississippi on September 15, 1788. His education was attained at Princeton University, and at William and Mary, where he earned a law degree. In 1815, he established a legal practice in Washington, Mississippi.

Brandon first entered politics as a member of the 1817 Mississippi Constitutional Convention. He also served as speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1822, and was the lieutenant governor of Mississippi from 1822 to 1825. On November 17, 1825, Governor Walter Leake died in office, and Brandon, who was the lieutenant governor at the time, assumed the duties of the governorship. He served in this capacity until January 7, 1826, when newly elected David Holmes took office. After Governor David Holmes resigned from office on July 25, 1826, Brandon again assumed the governorship.

During Brandon’s tenure, primary and secondary schools were established; a charter was secured for the state’s first railroad; the judicial system was improved; and whites began to settle in land previously occupied by the Choctaw Indians. Brandon left the governor’s office on January 9, 1832, and retired from political life. Governor Gerard C. Brandon passed away on March 28, 1850, and was buried in Columbia Springs, near Fort Adams, Mississippi.

Source: “Mississippi Governor Gerard Chittocque Brandon.” National Governors Association. Accessed June 19, 2013. http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_mississippi/col2-content/main-content-list/title_brandon_gerard.html

Extent

7 items

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This small collection is composed of a withdrawal request and correspondence from Mississippi Governor Gerard C. Brandon and a transcript of his son's diary, kept while on a trip to Texas with slaves and livestock.