William Charles Cole ClaiborneApril 1802 - June 1802Note: The documents are sometimes out of chronological order because they may be enclosures with letters to Federal officials in Washington or are letters from the Federal government which take perhaps a month to be delivered. |
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| Date Written | From | To | Subjects |
Monday |
Wm.C.C.C. | Appointments | Appointments for the last three months include Abner Green as Treasurer General for the territory, Cato West, a Justice of the Peace for Adams County, various other County and Militia Officers. |
Tuesday |
Wm.C.C.C. | Talk to Indians | Claiborne admonishes the Choctaws who have wondered into the Territory from Choctaw lands. They are drinking whiskey and stealing cattle and other food stuffs. He asks them, in a very condescending manner to leave the territory. |
Wednesday |
Wm.C.C.C. | Madison | Claiborne passes on confident reports that East and West Florida have been ceded to France, though no formal announcement has reached Gov. Salcedo of Louisiana. Territorial Militia still disorganized and needs arms. Laws of the territory are still unpublished. Choctaw are pests to the territory and it is becoming difficult to shield them from harm from the citizens. An interpreter is needed . |
Friday |
Wm.C.C.C. | Proclamation | Claiborne calls a General Assembly of the territory for May 3rd. |
Monday |
Wm.C.C.C. | Henry Dearborn | Receives letter from Evan Jones former Consul at New Orleans who has in his possession three hogsheads and three boxes containing hoes and axes and marked U. S. Choctaw Indians. They had apparently been taken as a prize from the brig Thomas bound for New Orleans in February or March 1801. It is worth the expense of having them shipped to Natchez rather than accumulating storage fees in New Orleans. The Choctaw are becoming troublesome. Wants interpreter and a subaltern Officer with about twenty or thirty men assigned to Natchez. Wilkinson has promised to erect a blockhouse for storage of arms at Natchez some time ago. Enclosed are letters from Jones, Sam Postlethwait and Col. McKee, agent with the Choctaw. |
Friday |
Evan Jones | Wm. C. C. C. | A letter from Evan Jones former Consul at New Orleans who has in his possession three hogsheads and three boxes containing hoes and axes and marked U. S. Choctaw Indians. They had apparently been taken as a prize from the brig Thomas bound for New Orleans in February or March 1801. |
Sunday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Evan Jones | Asks Evan Jones to deliver the goods to Samuel Postlethwait, merchant of Natchez. |
Sunday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Sam Postlethwait | Asks Samuel Postlethwait, merchant of Natchez to receive the goods marked for Choctaw Indians from Evan Jones. |
Sunday |
Captain Shamburgh | Wm. C. C. C. | From a camp 10 miles north of Ft. Adams Captain Bartholomew Schamburgh writes that General Wilkinson has asked him to send to Claiborne a Brass field piece, eighty stand of arms and 16 flannel cartridges filled with 1 1/2 pounds of powder each. They will be delivered by Lt. Wilson. |
Friday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Captain Shamburgh | The goods have been delivered by Lt. Wilson. Claiborne
asks that Capt. Shamburgh visit him at his house when he arrives in Natchez.
The goods include 1 brass three pounder, a traveling carriage, 2 side
boxes, 1 trail hand spike, 1 lead apron, 2 sponges and rammers. 1 ladle
and worms, 1 pair of drag ropes, 2 tent stocks, 3 poufire stocks, 1 pound
of slow matches, 16 flannel blank cartridges, 40 stand of arms complete,
1 gunner belt, 1 powder horn complete. The remaining 40 stand of arms were given to Samuel Postlethwait for safe keeping. |
Tuesday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Samuel Postlethwait | Small pox has hit New Orleans and Claiborne wants to warn Postlethwait to be careful of all people who have been to the city. He also asks that merchants forebear selling fur hats and woolen cloths because they are thought to nourish the infection. |
Tuesday |
Wm. C. C. C. | William Dunbar | Claiborne has been ill and did not answer Dunbar's letter right away. Warns against the spread of small pox. A vaccine is not expected, unless the citizenry should start a fund and send someone to Kentucky to pick it up. Mrs. Claiborne is confined, having just delivered a daughter. |
Saturday |
Henry Dearborn | Wm. C. C. C. | An outline of the president's wishes for setting up factories to help Native Americans' assimilation into society through economic development. |
Friday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Dearborn | Promises to spare no exertions to rescue the Indians within the territory from a state of barbarism. |
Monday |
Madison | Wm. C. C. C. | A commission for David Latimore as a member of the Legislative Council. |
Wednesday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Madison | David Latimore accepts the commission as a member of the Legislative Council. Claiborne notes a call in Congress for a hospital in New Orleans for American citizens. |
Saturday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Col. Daniel Burnett | Alerts Brunett to information that pirates who lurk on
the Mississippi and the Road leading to Tennessee have a rendezvous near
Walnut Hills in Claiborne County. A man named Samuel Mason and one named
Harp are leaders of this Banditti. The attempted to board the vessel of
Co. Joshua Baker but a show of arms prevented them. He asks Burnet to
put together a detail of maybe fifteen volunteers to go to Walnut Hills
as high as the Yazoo. Claiborne has also written to Lt. Rennick. Mason will be tried for robbery by Spanish military authorities in New Madrid January 11-31, 1803 |
Saturday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Seymore Rennick | Alerts Lt. Seymore Rennick, who commands a detachment of U. S. Troops at Grindstone Ford in Claiborne County, to pirates who prey on travelers along the Mississippi and the wilderness road leading to Tennessee The men named Samuel Mason and Wiley Harp may have a rendezvous at the house of the wife of John Mason near Walnut Hills in Claiborne County. Asks him to give men and aid to Co. Burnett. |
Saturday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Officer in charge at mouth of Bear Creek | Claiborne continues to alert military personnel about the robbers lead by Samuel Mason and Wiley Harp, this time as far as the Tennessee River. |
Wednesday |
Wm. C. C. C. | John McKee | Claiborne tells the agent to the Choctaw nation that the Indian who murdered the black man mentioned in a previous letter resides in Mucklesow town. |
Wednesday |
Wm. C. C. C. | William McCormick | From the Town of Washington Claiborne asks the condition of the small pox patients. A Mr. Ruth will lend some planks and Mr. Bashford will make a dry and comfortable shelter for the sick men at the encampment. McCormick is a merchant at Natchez. |
Wednesday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Abner Green | The Treasurer General of the Territory is to pay James Farrall $144 for printing the Laws. |
Friday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Bartholomew Shaumburgh | The president is sending 500 rifles and 300 muskets. A Block house to store them should be erected in Washington town. |
Saturday |
Wm. C. C. C. | The State Assembly |
Opening the session the governor outlines needed changes such as printing the laws, the judicial department, election days, consideration of good intentioned objections, unavailable small pox vaccine and need for health laws, public education. Jefferson College is established by the territorial legislature on May 13, 1802. |
Tuesday |
Nathaniel Macon | Wm. C. C. C. | Encloses a resolution from the House of Representatives of the U. S. about the death of Narsworthy Hunter the delegate to Congress from the Mississippi Territory who died on March 11. The Assembly quickly elects Thomas Marston Green as his replacement. |
Monday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Co. Benajah Osmun | Militia Officers have drawn the bounds of militia companies and Claiborne asks them to hold an election for those men that are perceived as leaders and after careful consideration he will draw up commissions for them. |
Sunday |
Dearborn | Wm. C. C. C. | The president has considered the lack of arms in the Mississippi Territory and is sending 500 rifle guns from Philadelphia to New Orleans care of vice-consul William Hulings. He is also sending 300 muskets to Ft. Adams. They should be sold only to militia and at a price high enough to prevent speculation. |
Friday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Dearborn | Receives the letter of March 10 and describes his intentions for the weapons and their care. |
Saturday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Majors Isaac Callier and Nathaniel Christmas | Sends these men in Washington County a copy of the Tax and Election laws passed by the last assembly. |
Tuesday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Madison | Reports the latest session of the territorial assembly. In this session the legislature established Jefferson College, selects the town of Washington as the seat of territorial government and selects Thomas M. Green as the new delegate to Congress. |
Tuesday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Dearborn | Indian goods mentioned in the last letter have not arrived but they are on the river and expected daily. Claiborne wishes that while Spain is in the humor of parting with some of her possessions that the United States would negotiate for East and West Florida, including the mouth of the river. |
Wednesday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Seth Lewis | Claiborne asks that Stephen Bullock be examined for a license as a lawyer and asks permission to send all future applicants for admission to the Bar. |
Friday |
Dearborn | Wm. C. C. C | The president has approved plans for a troop to build and man a new post near the center of population at Washington in the Mississippi Territory. Dearborn describes the buildings that later are built as Fort Dearborn. He suggests consulting with the commander at Fort Adams for the best site. |
Tuesday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Madison | Sends a manuscript copy of the Laws passed at the last session of the territorial legislature. The laws of the previous session are still at the printer. |
Tuesday |
Madison | Wm. C. C. C | The Secretary of State sends the Commission to Claiborne as Governor of the Mississippi Territory. The appointment was confirmed by the Senate January 26, 1802. His first appointment on May 25, 1801 came during a recess of the U. S. Senate. |
Saturday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Madison | Acknowledges receipt of the commission. |
Tuesday |
Thomas Jefferson | Wm. C. C. C | The President acknowledges receipt of letters from the House of Representatives and Governor of the Mississippi Territory. In his answer he believes it will not be long before Mississippi will join as a full fledged state with the other United States. |
Saturday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Thomas Jefferson | Acknowledges receipt of the president's letter. |
Sunday |
Wm. C. C. C. | James Scurlock | The governor learns that Scurlock and his family have recently returned from the Spanish colonies and that someone in his family suffers from small pox. He asks that if this is true, Mr. Scurlock remove that person from the town of Pinckneyville to an appropriately isolated place. He points out that there is a law against willfully introducing the disease to the territory, passed May 13, 1802. |
Tuesday |
Wm. C. C. C. | John McKee | Discusses the murder of Mr. Fitzgerald's slave , possibly by a Native American. Both Claiborne and McKee agree that some fault lies with the citizens of Natchez. The tools of the Choctaw annuity have arrived in Natchez and are ready for distribution. A letter from the Secretary of War has shifted control of Indian agents in the Territory to the governor. He asks for the required quarterly report. |
Monday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Dearborn | Sends a bill for the cost of shipping the Choctaw Annuity from New Orleans to Natchez and also adds, two days later, a smaller one to pay James Patton who has labored as a marker of the road from the national boundary line to the town of Natchez with a certificate signed by Hugh Davis and John Collins, the commissioners of the road. |
Friday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Address | Claiborne addresses the officers of the First Regiment of the Territorial Militia. He congratulates them, but warns that there is much work ahead to create a militia disciplined enough protect the territory. |
Saturday |
Wm. T. McCormick | Wm. C. C. C. | McCormick bills the territory $114.625 for operation of the makeshift small pox hospital. |
Saturday |
Wm. C. C. C | Wm. T. McCormick | A letter thanking McCormick with payment for the operation of the small pox hospital. |
Saturday |
Wm. C. C. C | pardon | A pardon for George Rapalje who has been convicted of killing John Cotty. He pays a bail and keeps peace for five years. |
Wednesday |
Wm. E. Hailing | Wm. C. C. C. | The vice-consul in New Orleans sends a bill of lading that proves that the 500 rifles have arrived in New Orleans and are ready for the governors instructions. |
Wednesday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Wm. E. Hailing | Acknowledgment of receipt of the bill of lading that proves that the 500 rifles have arrived in New Orleans. |
Saturday |
Wm. C. C. C. | John McKee | Andrew Bracken bears this message to the Indian agent. Bracken has come to recover horses and other goods that he says had been taken from him by a band of Choctaws while traveling along the wilderness road from Tennessee. Included is a copy of the deposition describing his losses. McKee must impress upon the Choctaw chiefs the importance of punishing the robbers to prevent further outrages against travelers. |
Friday |
Dearborn | Wm. C. C. C. | Acknowledges letters that tell of progress of the Choctaw Annuity from Philadelphia to Natchez. The goods are to be passed on to Mr. Dinsmore when he arrives in the Territory. |
Saturday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Dearborn | Claiborne will contact Dinsmore about the Choctaw Annuity goods as soon as he arrives in the area. He believes that the re-demarcation of the old British /Choctaw boundary will solve many problems with the Indians. He tells of the robbery of Bracken by Choctaws. Capt. Sparks, the commanding officer at Ft. Adams, has been too involved with the reorganization of the troops to consult on the site of the new garrison. The 500 rifles have arrived at New Orleans and steps are being taken to deliver them to Fort Adams. |
Sunday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Sheriffs | Claiborne alerts the territory's sheriffs to laws passed by the legislature concerning their duties and the manner of appointing inspectors of the election. |
Sunday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Dearborn | Claiborne encloses a letter from John Callier, a Major in the Militia of Washington County who states that emigration has accelerated to the Tombigbee river and should the Choctaws be inclined to sell some of it the resulting settlement would quickly pay it off. Callier mentions a Spanish record that may give claim to some of these lands. The Tombigbee land is surrounded by the "savages". |
Saturday |
Madison | Wm. C. C. C. | Madison sends a packet of newspapers that relate the laws of the latest session of Congress beginning on the 3rd of May. He does not know anything new of the fate of Louisiana yet. He includes an opinion from Levi Lincoln, the Attorney General, on the land claims. The grants made by the Spanish Government after the ratification of the treaty are void. The dates of the patents must be proven and information from the Spanish records may be helpful. |
Monday |
Wm. C. C. C. | Madison | Dated June 31st this letter may have been written on the first of July, 1802. Claiborne believes that the fraud of any antedate grants can be proven. The compromise between Georgia and the United states is pleasing to the citizens of the territory, but an office to sell the vacant lands should be opened quickly. If this is done the population of the territory will increase quickly also. Claiborne again wishes that the United States would negotiate with Spain for East and West Florida. |
| Date Written | From | To | Subjects |
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