Isaac H. Hilliard
Isaac H. Hilliard (1811-1868) was an American planter and cotton factor in the Antebellum South. He was an advocate of the Confederate States of America. During the American Civil War of 1861-1865, he moved his family slaves to Texas and later Louisiana. In the postbellum years, he was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson and liquidated his cotton-factoring business. His Arkansas plantation was inherited by his sons.
Isaac H. Hilliard | |
|---|---|
| Born | Isaac Henry Hilliard, Jr. 1811 |
| Died | June 25, 1868 |
| Alma mater | University of Nashville |
| Occupation | Planter |
| Spouse(s) | Lavinia Leinian Miriam Brannin |
| Children | Isaac H. Hilliard III Edwin S. Hilliard |
| Parent(s) | Lavinia Hilliard |
| Relatives | Hardy Murfree (grandfather) |
Early life
Isaac H. Hilliard was born in 1811 in Halifax County, North Carolina.[1] He grew up in North Carolina and Virginia.[1]
His grandfather, Hardy Murfree, is the namesake of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.[2] His brother-in-law was George W. Polk,[2] a relative of President James K. Polk and the owner of Rattle and Snap, a plantation in Columbia, Tennessee.
He graduated from the University of Nashville in 1832.[1]
Career
Hilliard inherited land in southern Chicot County, Arkansas from his grandfather, Hardy Murfree.[1] In 1844, he moved to Chicot County to establish a plantation near Grand Lake, Arkansas, which he co-owned with his brother-in-law George W. Polk.[1] They hired an overseer from Kentucky, James H. Garrett.[1] As of 1850, they owned 550 acres of land and 151 African slaves as well as "three horses, twenty-four mules, thirteen dairy cattle, thirteen oxen, seventy-five other cattle, and a hundred head of swine."[1] By 1860, he owned 1,939 acres of land.[1]
He was a Partner of Hilliard, Summers and Company, a cotton-factoring firm based in New Orleans, Louisiana,[3] where he spent much of his time.[1]
Hilliard was a staunch advocate of the Confederate States of America and the institution of slavery.[1] On January 14, 1861, he wrote a letter to The Chicot Press stating he was a candidate to represent Chicot County at the secessionist convention, and he was elected.[1] He voted in favor of the Confederate States Constitution.[1]
During the American Civil War of 1861-1865, he moved to Texas, where he took his brother-in-law's African slaves, and later Louisiana.[1] He was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson on September 19, 1865.[1]
In 1866, he liquidated the firm of Hilliard, Summers & Co.[3]
Personal life
He was married twice. His first wife was Lavinia Leinian.[1] They had a daughter, named after her mother, born in 1837.[1] His first wife died in childbirth.[1]
In 1847, he married a second time, to Miriam Brannin of New Castle, Kentucky.[2] They had two sons: Isaac Henry Hilliard III and Edwin Summers Hilliard.[1] Miriam, who kept a diary, spoke French fluently and attended balls, for example in Jackson, Mississippi in 1850.[1] Plagued by neuralgia, she took morphine to get better, but died in 1853.[1]
Death and legacy
He died on June 25, 1868.[1] His plantation was inherited by his eldest son, Isaac H. Hilliard III,[4] who married his cousin, Carolina Polk, in 1880.[1] His younger son, Edwin S. Hilliard, purchased the plantation from his brother's widow in 1895.[1]
References
- Jones, J. Wayne (Summer 2000). "Seeding Chicot: The Isaac H. Hilliard Plantation and the Arkansas Delta". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 59 (2): 147–185. JSTOR 40025437.
- Louisiana State University: HILLIARD (ISAAC H.) FAMILY PAPERS
- "Business Cards: Cotton Factors". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans, Louisiana. April 12, 1866. p. 5. Retrieved December 29, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Abstract of Opinion By Mr. Special Justice Jones". Daily Arkansas Gazette. Little Rock, Arkansas. December 17, 1893. p. 9. Retrieved December 29, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.