James Whitfield, son of Benjamin and Ann Staton Whitfield, was born in Elbert County, Georgia, on December 15, 1791. He married Caroline H. Dyer, daughter of Anthony Dyer of Monticello, Jasper County, Georgia, around 1825. Whitfield, his wife, and four children, George (b. 1826), Julia Randolph (b. July 31, 1828), Luke James (b. September 6, 1833), and Henry Buchannon (b. April 19, 1835), moved to Columbus, Lowndes County, Mississippi, around 1838. He had established a plantation and a mercantile store; was serving as a representative in the Mississippi legislature; and had five more children, Anthony Dyer, Iowa, Louisiana, Mary E., and Sarah E., by 1847. Whitfield was elected to the Mississippi Senate in 1851, and in November of that year, he was elected as president of the senate during a special legislative session called by the secretary of state, Joseph Bell, whose term had actually expired. The special session was necessary because Governor Quitman had been arrested, and the terms of the ranking members of the senate had expired. In his capacity as president of the senate, Whitfield carried out the duties of governor from November 25, 1851, until January 10, 1852, when Henry Stuart Foote took the oath of office as governor. Whitfield also became president of the Columbus Insurance and Banking Company in 1852, holding that office until his resignation in 1870. Whitfield continued living in Columbus and managing various business interests in the city until his death at the age of eighty-two on June 25, 1875.

This collection consists of a letter from James Whitfield to business associate Henry Buchannon of Columbus, Lowndes County, Mississippi. In the letter, Whitfield discusses various aspects of his mercantile business with Buchannon, including the purchase of cloth and other goods for resale and business trips to New York City.

1. Letter. 1838. 1 item.