Peter Aaron Van Dorn (1773–1837) was an American lawyer, judge and cotton planter in Mississippi. Born and raised in New Jersey, with a law degree from Princeton, as a young man he migrated to the

Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that was created under an organic act passed by the United States Congress, Congress of the United States. It was approved and signed into law by Presiden ...

, where he made his career and fortune. He became a major planter with a plantation on the

Yazoo River The Yazoo River is a river primarily in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is considered by some to mark the southern boundary of what is called the Mississippi Delta, a broad floodplain that was cultivated for cotton plantations before the Ame ...

, a law practice in Port Gibson, and a seat as a judge on the Orphan's Court. He was one of the founders of

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

, designated as the capital when it became a state.

Early life

Peter Aaron Van Dorn was born on September 12, 1773, near Peapack, New Jersey.Arthur B. Carter, ''The Tarnished Cavalier: Major General Earl Van Dorn, C.S.A.'', pp. 1-

/ref>Ancestry.com: Peter Aaron Van Dorn, 1773-1837
/ref> He descended from the ethnic Dutch Van Doorn family. Members of this family were elevated to the

Dutch nobility The Dutch nobility is a small elite social class consisting of individuals or families recognised as nobility, noble, and with or without a title of nobility in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The existence of nobility was established in the Con ...

in the 19th century. Emigrants to the New World became wealthy farmers, particularly in

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

and

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

counties in New Jersey. His father was Aaron Van Dorn (1744-1830) and his mother, Ghacy Schenck (1748-1820). He studied theology and law at the College of New Jersey (now

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

), graduating in 1795.''The Confederate General'', National Historical Society, 1992, volume 6, p. 7

/ref>

Career in Mississippi

Van Dorn first moved to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. After his first wife died there, he moved to the

at the age of twenty-one. He became a lawyer in Natchez. In 1804, Territorial Governor William C. C. Claiborne appointed Van Dorn as Marshal of Natchez. Shortly after, he moved to

Port Gibson, Mississippi Port Gibson is a city and the county seat of Claiborne County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,567 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is bordered on the west by the Mississippi River. The first European settlers i ...

, forty miles north of Natchez. It had river access and was also on the

Natchez Trace The Natchez Trace, also known as the Old Natchez Trace, is a historic forest trail within the United States which extends roughly from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi, linking the Cumberland River, Cumberland, Tennessee River, ...

, a major route between this area and what became

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in Middle Tennessee. Established as the county seat, Port Gibson became a major regional trading center for the cotton-based economy. Van Dorn established a private law practice in Port Gibson and served as clerk of the Circuit Court from about 1810. In 1817, he became Clerk of the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for ...

. He later was appointed as a judge on the Orphan's Court, established after Mississippi became a state. He also acquired a plantation on the

, where several of his children were born. Influenced by Northern practice, Van Dorn was a proponent of establishing public schools in Mississippi, but these were not established until authorized by the biracial legislature during the Reconstruction era after the Civil War. In 1821, he served on a commission alongside Dr William Lattimore and General Thomas Hinds to decide upon the location of the future state capital,

. The new town's plan followed a 'checkerboard' plan suggested by

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

, whereby residential plots would be interspersed by parks and green spaces. He built what became known as the Van Dorn House, completed about 1830 as his town house in Port Gibson. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1972. He designed another house, McGregor, in Port Gibson as a wedding present for one of his daughters. Completed in 1835, it was designed in the

Greek Revival architecture Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style. and ' It was listed on the

NRHP The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1979. Van Dorn also built a house in Grand Gulf, ten miles away from Port Gibson. It was destroyed in the Battle of Grand Gulf in 1863 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. The Grand Gulf Military State Park now encompasses the former property of this house. Additionally, Van Dorn owned a cotton plantation on the

and the numerous enslaved African Americans needed to work it. Van Dorn was a prominent

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, in the Washington Lodge No. 3 of Port Gibson, Mississippi.

Personal life

Van Dorn's first wife, with whom he had no children, died when they were living in Virginia. On August 18, 1811, after he had moved to Port Gibson, Mississippi and become established, he married Sophia Donelson Caffery. She was the granddaughter of explorer and revolutionary Col.

John Donelson John Donelson (1718–1785) was an American frontiersman, ironmaster, politician, city planner, and explorer. After founding and operating what became Washington Iron Furnace in Franklin County, Virginia for several years, he moved with his famil ...

, who founded Fort Nashborough. This later developed as

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. She was also the niece of Rachel Jackson, President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

's wife.Abraham Van Doren Honeyman, ''The Van Doorn Family (Van Doorn, Van Dorn, Van Doren, Etc.) in Holland and America, 1088-1908'', Issue 764, p. 48

/ref> The Van Dorns had nine children before her death in late 1830 or early 1831: *Mary Van Dorn Lacy (1812–1837) *Jane Van Dorn Vertner (1815–1870) *Octavia Van Dorn Ross Sullivane (1816–1897). Her son Clement Sulivane (1838-1920), served in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

(C.S.A.) as aide de camp to his uncle

Earl Van Dorn Earl Van Dorn (September 17, 1820May 7, 1863) was an American Major General who started his military career as a United States Army officer and became famous for successfully leading two defenses of a Native American settlement from the Comanch ...

(below) and later was elected to the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

. *Sophia Mabella Van Dorn (1819–1836) *

(1820–1863) attended

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

and became a U.S. Army officer; after the Civil war broke out, he joined the C.S.A., becoming a general during the war. He was killed by a man who thought he was having an affair with his wife. *Aaron Van Dorn (1822–1874) *Sarah Ross Van Dorn (1825–1828) *Emily Donelson Van Dorn Miller (1827–1909) *Jacob Van Dorn (1829–1837)

Death

Van Dorn wrote and dated his will in 1830. He died on February 12, 1837, at his plantation near the Yazoo River. He was buried with Masonic honors in the Wintergreen Cemetery in Port Gibson, Mississippi. Daniel Vertner was the sole executor of his will.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Dorn, Peter Aaron 1773 births 1837 deaths People from Somerset County, New Jersey Politicians from Natchez, Mississippi People from Port Gibson, Mississippi Princeton University alumni American people of Dutch descent 19th-century American planters American Freemasons American city founders American slave owners 19th-century American lawyers American cotton plantation owners