Senate Concurrent Resolution 546

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE LONG CAREER OF PUBLIC SERVICE OF ALBERT GALLATIN BROWN OF TERRY, MISSISSIPPI, 14TH GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, AND URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY TO ERECT AN HISTORICAL MARKER IN HIS HONOR.

WHEREAS, Albert Gallatin Brown of Terry, Mississippi, 14th Governor of the State of Mississippi and the only Mississippian ever to hold state judicial, legislative and executive offices, as well as to serve in both branches of Congress without suffering a single political defeat; and

WHEREAS, he is remembered as the Governor who fathered the Mississippi public school system and Ole Miss, was elected Governor on his firm stand in favor of the repudiation of bank bonds, was a strong supporter of States Rights and Manifest Destiny, was a leader so popular that in 1860 many Mississippi newspapers were announcing that he was the logical Democratic nominee for President of the United States, and as a gentleman campaigner whose attacks on political issues were impersonal and who, even among his intimate friends, never spoke ill of any man; and

WHEREAS, he was born on May 31, 1813, in South Carolina. When Albert was ten, his father, James Brown, moved to Copiah County in Mississippi and became a large landowner. When Albert was 16, his parents sent him to Mississippi College in Clinton, from which he transferred three years later to Jefferson College in Washington, Mississippi. Albert began the study of law at old Gallatin, then the seat of Copiah County. Admitted to the bar before he was of legal age, Albert joined his preceptor to form a law partnership; and

WHEREAS, in 1834, at the age of 21, Albert Brown was elected Brigadier General of Militia, thus launching an over 30-year career in public service during which he was never defeated for office, a record without parallel in Mississippi political history; and

WHEREAS, in 1835, he was elected to the State Legislature as a Representative from Copiah County and was chosen Speaker Pro Tempore during his first term. He was reelected and served in the Legislature until 1838; and

WHEREAS, in 1839, Brown was promoted by his loyal supporters to a seat in Congress where he served one term. When he married Roberta Young, daughter of General Robert Young of Virginia in 1841, he declined reelection to Congress. Instead he came home to Mississippi, ran for Circuit Judge and was elected; and

WHEREAS, in 1843, Brown was elected Governor by 2,000 votes over two opponents. There is no doubt that at this point Brown was the most popular and influential man in the state. Under Brown's leadership, Mississippi contributed more than her share of soldiers in the Mexican War; and

WHEREAS, in 1845, Governor Brown was reelected for the second time, but before his term expired he was again elected to Congress, taking his seat in 1848 and remaining until 1851. In 1854, the State Legislature sent Brown to the U.S. Senate, but when Mississippi seceded, Brown resigned from the Senate a week before Jefferson Davis, returned home and organized the Brown Rebels, a company that became a part of the 18th Mississippi Regiment of the C.S.A. He was elected Captain of the company and served in Virginia until he was elected a member of the Confederate Senate. He represented Mississippi in that body from February 1862 to March 1865; and

WHEREAS, Brown never returned to politics or public office after the war. He died on June 12, 1880, and together with six other Mississippi Governors is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson, Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Governor Brown was married twice, the first time in 1835 to Miss Elizabeth Frances Taliaferro, of Virginia, and the second time in 1841, to Miss Roberta Young, who played such an important part in his life as a national leader and in the life of the little rural community in which they lived in Terry, Mississippi. The name of Governor Brown's widow is honored with a memorial window in a little antebellum Episcopal church in Terry; and

WHEREAS, the proud citizens of Terry, Mississippi, are interested in preserving the heritage of the town by erecting an appropriate marker in honor of this faithful public servant who was a resident from 1849 until his death in 1880, and it is fitting to recognize one of the most interesting personalities in all of the state's history:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize the long career of public service of Albert Gallatin Brown of Terry, Mississippi, the 14th Governor of the State of Mississippi, and urge the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to assist the citizens of Terry in erecting an appropriate historical marker in his honor.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the Mayor of the City of Terry, Mississippi, the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.