Benjamin L. C. Wailes
Benjamin L. C. Wailes | |
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| Born | August 1, 1797 Georgia |
| Died | November 16, 1862 (aged 65) |
Benjamin Leonard Covington Wailes (August 1, 1797 – November 16, 1862) was a surveyor, government land agent, Indian agent, state legislator, college professor, university administrator, historian, geologist, naturalist/collector, and land and slave owner of Mississippi, United States.
He represented Adams County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1825[1] and 1826.[2]
Wailes organized the Mississippi Historical Society in the 1850s, making important acquisitions for a state history collection; the organization lapsed after his death and then was reestablished as the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
Born in Georgia to a family of Marylanders, he moved with his parents in 1807 to Washington, the capital of Mississippi Territory.[3] He was educated at Jefferson College and then spent most of the rest of his life as a member of the college's board of directors.[3] He married a distant cousin, Rebecca Covington, whose father was U.S. Army General Leonard Covington.[3]
References
- ^ "Journal v.8 1825". HathiTrust. pp. 1–3, 124, 276–290. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
- ^ "Journal of the Senate of the State of Mississippi ... 1826 v.9". HathiTrust. pp. 3–6, 20, 25–29. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
- ^ a b c n.a. (August 1, 1978). "Renaissance Man". Clarion-Ledger. p. 14. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
Sources
- Mitchell, Dennis J. (2014). A New History of Mississippi. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781626740198. LCCN 2013044104. OCLC 863127649. Project MUSE book 33980.
- Sydnor, Charles S. (May 1937). "Historical Activities in Mississippi in the Nineteenth Century". The Journal of Southern History. 3 (2). doi:10.2307/2191879.
- ——— (1938). A Gentlemen of the Old Natchez Region: Benjamin L. C. Wailes. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. LCCN 38008687. OCLC 11015731. OL 5604504W.