Charles L. Dubuisson was born in New York State in 1808. As a child, he went to live with an elder sister whose husband was principal of a school in Princeton, New Jersey. Dubuisson received a classical education at the school. He later became headmaster of a school in Salem, New Jersey, while studying law concurrently in the office of John Sergeant of Philadelphia. Dubuisson was a professor of classics at Jefferson College, Washington, Adams County, Mississippi, by 1833. He was inaugurated as president of Jefferson College on July 6, 1835. Dubuisson also married Eliza M. Bradway of New Jersey in 1835, and he brought her to Mississippi. His daughter, Eliza L. Dubuisson, was born the next year.

The year 1837 was a difficult one for Dubuisson. He became ill; he had difficulty resolving property matters in the North; and his wife, Eliza, also became ill and died. The depressed national economy resulting from the Panic of 1837 drastically affected enrollment at Jefferson College. Dubuisson resigned his position there in 1838, and he moved to Natchez to practice law. He married Delia Sessions of Adams County in 1841. The couple had several children, including Charles J. (C. J.), Sarah (Sallie) H., Caroline, Anna (or Nancy), and Delia. Dubuisson served as probate judge of Adams County for several years. He was also one of a group of Natchez citizens, including Alvarez Fisk, John Anthony Quitman, and J. S. B. Thatcher, who helped found the Natchez Institute, the first public school in the city. Dubuisson served on the board of trustees of the Natchez Institute for many years.

Dubuisson also acquired property on the Yazoo River in Yazoo County, Mississippi. His plantation, Sonora, was worked by 101 slaves in 1850. Dubuisson’s wife, Delia, died of yellow fever in 1853. He left Natchez and moved to Sonora permanently in 1858. Dubuisson’s net worth was about one hundred fifty thousand dollars by 1860. He died on September 21, 1870.

Charles J. Dubuisson (also DuBuisson) enlisted in the Confederate army at Yazoo City in 1862, becoming a corporal in the First Regiment, Mississippi Light Artillery. In 1863, Dubuisson transferred to Wirt Adams’ Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry, where he remained until the end of the war. He then returned to Yazoo County to assist his father whose health was failing.

This collection contains an anonymous speech delivered at the dedication ceremony of the Natchez Institute in 1845; an obituary of Charles L. Dubuisson; and letters from Charles J. Dubuisson to his father, Charles L. Dubuisson, and to his sister, Sallie.

1. Speech. [1845]. 1 folder.

   This series contains an unsigned twenty-eight-page original draft and photocopy of a speech delivered at the dedication ceremony of the Natchez Institute, an entity made possible by the donation of buildings formerly belonging to the Natchez Mechanical Society. The speech defines the mission of the Natchez Institute; explains its teaching methods and philosophy, including public examinations; and outlines the responsibilities of its students. While it is probable that Charles L. Dubuisson wrote this speech, newspaper accounts of the dedication ceremony of the school are incomplete. Two speeches were delivered at the dedication ceremony on July 4, 1845, one by Ayres P. Merrill and one by J. S. B. Thatcher. Another donation of property was made to the school on December 9, 1845. Charles L. Dubuisson delivered a weekly evening lecture at the Natchez Institute on December 12, 1845. The speech could have been delivered on either date.

2. Obituary. n.d. 1 folder.

   This series contains a handwritten three-page obituary of Charles L. Dubuisson. The text is initialed "J. B. S." (possibly Presbyterian minister Joseph B. Stratton of Natchez) at the bottom of the last page.

3. Correspondence (Incoming). 1862-1866. 1 folder.

   This series contains letters written by Charles J. Dubuisson to his father, Charles L. Dubuisson, and to his sister, Sallie. In several letters, Dubuisson describes his activities as a soldier in the Confederate army, including entering military training camp; serving in a military hospital in Canton, Madison County, Mississippi; and foraging for horses with his unit. In one letter, dated June 26, 1863, Dubuisson states that he is leaving his unit during the siege of Vicksburg. He also expresses his desperate resolve to return home, should he survive, and to renew his religious commitment. In May of 1864, he writes glowing reports of Confederate victories to his sister even as he advises her to replace her Confederate cotton cards with Yankee cotton cards. Dubuisson’s letter from camp in Alabama during the last skirmishes of Wirt Adams’ Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry, in April of 1865, reveals his exhaustion and his uncertainty over the end of the war. Other family news reveals the Unionist sympathies of his aunt, Caroline, and his cousin, Sallie, of Natchez, and the untimely death of a niece. In the aftermath of the war, Dubuisson discusses economic recovery, military rule, Reconstruction, rumors of an insurrection in Yazoo City, and his lack of marriage prospects. In one letter, he complains of managing the plantation, Sonora, in accordance with the new labor practices instituted by the Freedmen’s Bureau and of the unreliable work habits and shifting loyalties of the freedmen.