Doctoral Dissertations
Date of Award
8-1980
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Major
History
Major Professor
Ralph W. Haskins
Abstract
For any student of nineteenth-century America, the biographies of those who lived through the era of the Civil War must be of more than passing interest. In particular, the lives of the men who essentially controlled the economy and actively participated in politics are of utmost importance. James Alexander Ventress, born in Tennessee but a Mississippian from early childhood, was one of those men. Reared by a prosperous, slave-holding father who had twice removed to the American frontier, James Ventress received a better-than-average education in the local academies and in New Orleans. He lost his parents on the brink of adulthood and immediately left home for an extended European sojourn, which was focused on higher learning. Studying law, science, and the arts, he invented medical and measuring instruments as well as firearms, dabbled In creative writing, and fostered a serious interest in translating and producing French drama. At the end of eight years, having obtained no formal degree at any of the universities at which he had studied, he returned to his family home in eastern Wilkinson County, Mississippi. For the next decade he was well occupied as a planter and Whig legislator, rising to speaker of the house and senator. He earned and deserved his reputation as a conscientious representative of his constituency and was frequently found among the committees which drafted published declarations of party doctrine. In addition, he pursued several favorite projects—the completion of the public buildings in Jackson, the geological and agricultural survey, and establishment of the state university. For his efforts in the latter cause, he was named "the father of the university," serving as trustee for a quarter century. In the mid-1840s Ventress turned from the Whig to the Democratic party. He was an elector in 1848, exercising considerable influence in southwestern Mississippi, usually a Whig stronghold. With the crisis of 1850-51 Ventress declared himself a Union Democrat, a choice which proved the end of his active political career. After a brief association with the Know-Nothing movement, he retired from public service but maintained a lively interest in politics. Ventress married late in life, in 1848, to a New Englander whose inheritance gave him control of a vast estate centered on LaGrange plantation. In addition, he had speculated wisely in Mississippi and Louisiana cotton lands. By 1860 he owned properties valued at over half a million dollars. A good businessman, Ventress employed overseers on his scattered domain, provided adequately for his slaves, and shouldered serious family responsibilities. The education of his own sons was a primary concern and he also watched carefully the upbringing of numerous nieces and nephews. His avocations included a major renovation of his home—with the aid of a famous Philadelphia architect— scientific experimentation, and the acquisition of a magnificent library. The story of James Alexander Ventress and LaGrange is based mainly on contemporary newspapers, primary printed sources, and a substantial collection of family documents never before used for scholarly purposes. His life is important, both for illuminating the history of Wilkinson County and for his own role as a political and economic leader of consequence, yet one whose contributions to Mississippi have been generally overlooked.
Recommended Citation
Crist, Lynda Lasswell, ""Useful in his day and generation" : James Alexander Ventress (1805-1867). " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1980.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/10853
