Peter Aaron Van Dorn

Peter Aaron Van Dorn (1773–1837) was an American lawyer, judge and plantation owner. He was one of the founders of Jackson, Mississippi.

Early life

Peter Aaron Van Dorn was born on September 12, 1773 near Peapack, New Jersey.^[1][2] He descended from the Baron Van Doorn family of the Dutch nobility.^[1][2] Later ancestors were wealthy farmers in Monmouth County, New Jersey and Somerset County, New Jersey.^[1] His father was Aaron Van Dorn (1744-1830) and his mother, Ghacy Schenck (1748-1820).^[2]

He studied Theology and the Law at the College of New Jersey, now known as Princeton University, and he graduated in 1795.^[1][2][3]

Career

Van Dorn first moved to Virginia.^[2] After his first wife died, he moved to the Mississippi Territory at the age of twenty-one.^[2]

He became a lawyer in Natchez, Mississippi.^[1] In 1804, he was appointed as Marshal of Natchez by Governor William C. C. Claiborne.^[2] He later served as Judge of the Claiborne County Probate Cour in Natchez.^[2][3] Shortly after, he moved to Port Gibson, Mississippi, forty miles away from Natchez. He established a private practise in Port Gibson, while traveling to Natchez to serve as clerk of the Circuit Court.^[1][2] In 1817, he became Clerk of the Mississippi House of Representatives.^[2]

He was a proponent of establishing public schools in Mississippi.^[1] In 1821, he served on a commission alongside Dr William Lattimore and General Thomas Hinds to decide upon the location of the future state capital, Jackson, Mississippi.^[1][2] As a result, he was one of the founders of Jackson.^[2] He followed a 'checkerboard' plan suggested by Thomas Jefferson, whereby houses would be interspersed by parks and green spaces.^[2]

He built the Van Dorn House in Port Gibson, now listed on the National Register of Historic places.^[2] He also built another house in Grand Gulf, ten miles away from Port Gibson.^[2] It was destroyed during the Battle of Grand Gulf in 1863 during the American Civil War; it stood where the Grand Gulf Military State Park now stands.^[2] Additionally, he owned a plantation on the Yazoo River as well as African slaves.^[1][2]

He was a freemason, and a member of the Washington Lodge No. 3 of Port Gibson, Mississippi.^[2]

The Van Dorn House in Port Gibson, Mississippi.

Personal life

His first wife, with whom he had no children, died when they were living in Virginia.^[2] On August 18, 1811, he married Sophia (Donelson Caffery) Van Dorn, the granddaughter of explorer John Donelson.^[1][2] She was also the niece of Rachel Jackson, President Andrew Jackson's wife.^[3][4] They resided at the Van Dorn House in Port Gibson. They had nine children:

• Mary Van Dorn (1812-1909).^[1]
• Jane Van Dorn (1815-1866).^[1]
• Octavia Van Dorn (1816-1897).^[1] She married Vans Murray Sulivane; their son, Clement Sulivane (1838-1920), served in the Confederate States Army (C.S.A.) and later in the Maryland Senate.
• Earl Van Dorn (1820-1863).^[1] He served as a general in the C.S.A. during the American Civil War of 1861-1865.
• Aaron Van Dorn.^[1]
• Mabella Van Dorn.^[1]
• Sarah Van Dorn.^[1]
• Emily Van Dorn (1827-1909).^[1]
• Jacob Van Dorn.^[1]

Death

He died on February 12, 1837 at his plantation near the Yazoo River.^[1] He was buried with Masonic honors in the Wintergreen Cemetery in Port Gibson, Mississippi.^[2][2] Daniel Vertner was the sole executor of his will.^[2]

References