J. F. H. Claiborne, son of Ferdinand Leigh Claiborne, nephew of W.C.C. Claiborne, and grandson of Anthony Hutchins, was born in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi, on April 24, 1809. After the death of his father, he attended public schools in Virginia, studied law there, and was admitted to the Bar in 1825. He practiced law in Natchez, Mississippi, served as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1830 to 1834 and of the 24th Congress, 1835 to 1837. In 1841, he began his literary career as one of the editors of the Mississippi Free Trader, publishing an autobiographical account, “Trip Through the Piney Woods.” In 1842, he was appointed president of the Board of Choctaw Commissioners to settle land claims resulting from the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. After moving to New Orleans, J.F.H. Claiborne worked as editor for the Jeffersonian, the Statesman, and the Courier. In 1881, while residing at Dunbarton near Natchez, he published Mississippi as a Province, Territory, and State. J.F.H. Claiborne died in Natchez on May 17, 1884.
 

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