John J. McRae
American politician (1815–1868)
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John Jones McRae (January 10, 1815 – May 31, 1868) was an American politician from Mississippi. A Democrat,[1] he served in the Mississippi House of Representatives, the US House and Senate, the Confederate Congress, and as governor of Mississippi.
John J. McRae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member of the Confederate House of Representatives for Mississippi | |
| In office February 18, 1862 – February 17, 1864 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | John Tillman Lamkin |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 5th district | |
| In office December 7, 1858 – January 12, 1861 | |
| Preceded by | John A. Quitman |
| Succeeded by | Legrand W. Perce |
| 21st Governor of Mississippi | |
| In office January 10, 1854 – November 16, 1857 | |
| Preceded by | John J. Pettus |
| Succeeded by | William McWillie |
| United States Senator from Mississippi | |
| In office December 1, 1851 – March 17, 1852 | |
| Appointed by | James Whitfield |
| Preceded by | Jefferson Davis |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Adams |
| Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives | |
| In office 1847–1851 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Jones McRae January 10, 1815 Sneedsboro, North Carolina, United States |
| Died | May 31, 1868 (aged 53) Belize City, British Honduras |
| Party | Democratic |
Biography
McRae was born in Sneedsboro, North Carolina. In 1817, he moved with his parents to Winchester, Mississippi.[2] McRae graduated from Miami University of Ohio in 1834, and the same year he founded the town of Enterprise in Clarke County.[3] McRae attempted to find a navigable path from his new town to the sea via the Chickasawhay River, and in 1842 managed to sail a steamboat from Lake Ponchartrain to Enterprise.[4]
He studied law in Pearlington and was admitted to the bar.[3] McRae was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, serving from 1847 to 1851.[1] During that time, he helped establish the University of Mississippi.[5]
McRae was selected as a Democratic US Senator from Mississippi in 1851 to fill a vacancy, serving in that office until 1852.[6] He ran for Governor of Mississippi in the November 1853 election, defeating his Whig opponent Francis M. Rogers by a sizeable margin.[6] In the 1855 election he stood again, defeating his Know Nothing opponent by a similar margin to the prior election.[6]
Prevented by term limits from running again for governor, McRae left that office in 1857 and stood for Congress, winning a seat in the US House of Representatives.[6] A staunch advocate of southern secession, McRae withdrew from Congress in January 1861 when Mississippi left the Union.[3] He then won election to the First Confederate Congress in 1861, but was defeated for reelection by John Tillman Lamkin in 1863 due to war-weariness in his home state.[3]
He died on a visit to British Honduras (now Belize), where his brother Colin J. McRae lived in exile.[5]