Alexander Mosby Clayton (January 15, 1801 – September 30, 1889)[1] was an American politician who served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi from 1842 to 1852,[2][3] and as a deputy from Mississippi to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States from February to May 1861.
Alexander Mosby Clayton | |
|---|---|
| Deputy from Mississippi to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States | |
| In office February 4, 1861 – May 11, 1861 | |
| Preceded by | New constituency |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Bradford |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 15, 1801 Campbell County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | September 30, 1889 (aged 88) Benton County, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Resting place | Hill Crest Cemetery, Holly Springs, Mississippi, U.S. |
Biography
editBorn in Campbell County, Virginia, to William Willis Clayton and Clarissa Mosby Clayton. He attended the local schools. After this he read law with a Lynchburg attorney in 1822 to gain admission to the bar in 1823.[2] He migrated first to Arkansas Territory, where he was appointed in 1832 to serve as a Judge of the Superior Court, the highest court in the territory, and then to Mississippi, where he served as a state court judge from 1842 to 1852. From 1844 to 1852, he served as the first president of the University of Mississippi Board of Trustees.[4][2] In May 1853, President Franklin Pierce appointed Clayton to serve as Consul to Havana, Cuba.[1][5] An editorial in the Natchez Daily Courier condemned the appointment, asserting that Clayton had authored a secessionist address on behalf of a committee appointed by the legislature to respond to the Compromise of 1850, with the editorial describing Clayton as "a leader of the secession forces".[1][6] Clayton nevertheless received the appointment; he resigned the following year, and was succeeded by Roger Barton in August 1854.[7]
Clayton represented Mississippi in the Provisional C.S. Congress from February to May, 1861. He resigned and was appointed as a Confederate District Court Judge for the balance of the year. After the war he again served as a state court judge from 1866 to 1869.[2]
Death
editClayton died on his farm near Lamar, Mississippi, at the age of 88.[1] In his obituary, Clayton was described as "a leader at the bar of two States and at the time of his death [who] had practiced law longer than any other man in the country".[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Judge Alexander M. Clayton, Lamar, Miss.", The New Orleans Times-Democrat (October 2, 1889), p. 4.
- ^ a b c d Southwick, Leslie H. "Alexander Clayton (1801–1889) Judge". Mississippi Encyclopedia / Center for Study of Southern Culture. Mississippi Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
- ^ Leslie Southwick, Mississippi Supreme Court Elections: A Historical Perspective 1916-1996, 18 Miss. C. L. Rev. 115 (1997-1998).
- ^ "Mississippi Hall of Fame Members". Clarion-Ledger. October 7, 2001. p. 62. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ "Appointments", The Yazoo Democrat (June 1, 1853), p. 3.
- ^ "Another Resister Appointed", Natchez Daily Courier (May 26, 1853), p. 3.
- ^ "Appointments by the President", The Weekly Mississippian (August 16, 1854), p. 2.
External links
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