Biography:

Joseph W. Chalmers was born in Halifax County, Virginia, in 1807. He was a United States senator from Mississippi from March 4, 1845, to March 3, 1847. Chalmers was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Senator Robert J. Walker.

Scope and Content:

One letter, dated February 7, 1846, is to George Bancroft, secretary of the navy. In the other letter, dated March 7, 1846, Chalmers sends his autograph to a constituent.