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William Smith Calhoun<br>

William Smith Calhoun<br>

Marie Marguerite Ada Lane​}}​

Marie Marguerite Ada Lane​}}​

 

'''Meredith Calhoun''' (1805 &ndash; March 14, 1869) was a [[Farming|planter]] and a [[newspaper]] editor in Grant Parish, north of [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], [[Louisiana]], known for his editorial activism on behalf of the [[Democratic Party]].​

'''Meredith Calhoun''' (1805 &ndash; March 14, 1869) was a [[Farming|planter]] and a [[newspaper]] editor in Grant Parish, north of [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], [[Louisiana]], known for his editorial activism on behalf of the [[Democratic Party]].​

==Biography==

==Biography==

 

Calhoun was born in [[South Carolina]] but moved to Rapides Parish in central Louisiana c. 1830. On May 24, 1834, he married the former Mary Margaret Smith Taylor, granddaughter of William Smith, an [[Alabama]] judge and former [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] from South Carolina, on May 24, 1834. Their children were William Smith "Willie" Calhoun (born c. 1835) and Marie Marguerite Ada (born c. 1845). The couple purchased fourteen thousand acres from Senator Smith, who had acquired the land in 1836. They divided the property fronting the Red River into four plantations on which they grew primarily [[cotton]] and [[sugar]] cane. The Calhouns established one of the largest sugar mills in Louisiana and their estate was valued in excess of $1 million in the 1860 United States Census,<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-c/|title=Calhoun, Meredith|publisher=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'': Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=April 28, 2020}}</ref> a considerable holding at that time.​

Calhoun was born in [[South Carolina]] but moved to Rapides Parish in central Louisiana c. 1830. On May 24, 1834, he married the former Mary Margaret Smith Taylor, granddaughter of William Smith, an [[Alabama]] judge and former [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] from South Carolina, on May 24, 1834. Their children were William Smith "Willie" Calhoun (born c. 1835) and Marie Marguerite Ada (born c. 1845). The couple purchased fourteen thousand acres from Senator Smith, who had acquired the land in 1836. They divided the property fronting the Red River into four plantations on which they grew primarily [[cotton]] and [[sugar]] cane. The Calhouns established one of the largest sugar mills in Louisiana and their estate was valued in excess of $1 million in the 1860 United States Census,<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-c/|title=Calhoun, Meredith|publisher=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'': Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=April 28, 2020}}</ref> a considerable holding at that time.​

"Calhoun's Landing," as the principal plantation was called, became an important shipping point on the Red River. Calhoun purchased the ''Red River Democrat'' newspaper and renamed it the ''National Democrat.'' The publication was strongly supportive of the 1860 Democratic presidential nominee  U.S. Senator [[Stephen A. Douglas]] of [[Illinois]].<ref name=lahist/> Douglas, however, was soundly trounced nationally by the [[Republican Party|Republican]] choice, [[Abraham Lincoln]], also of Illinois. Louisiana voted for the outgoing [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] John C. Breckinridge of [[Kentucky]], running as the breakaway "Southern Democratic" candidate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/5440|title=The Election of 1860: Results by States|publisher=learnnc.org|accessdate=December 23, 2010; material no longer accessible}}</ref>​

"Calhoun's Landing," as the principal plantation was called, became an important shipping point on the Red River. Calhoun purchased the ''Red River Democrat'' newspaper and renamed it the ''National Democrat.'' The publication was strongly supportive of the 1860 Democratic presidential nominee  U.S. Senator [[Stephen A. Douglas]] of [[Illinois]].<ref name=lahist/> Douglas, however, was soundly trounced nationally by the [[Republican Party|Republican]] choice, [[Abraham Lincoln]], also of Illinois. Louisiana voted for the outgoing [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] John C. Breckinridge of [[Kentucky]], running as the breakaway "Southern Democratic" candidate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/5440|title=The Election of 1860: Results by States|publisher=learnnc.org|accessdate=December 23, 2010; material no longer accessible}}</ref>​

 

In 1869, four years after the ending of the [[American Civil War]], Calhoun died while in [[Paris]], [[France]]. Mrs. Calhoun died some two years later on June 11, 1871. Their son, Willie Calhoun, became like his maternal grandfather, a state senator who worked to establish Grant Parish separate from the more populous Rapides Parish to the south.<ref name=lahist/><ref>In its article on Calhoun, ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' uses as sources the ''Red River Republican'', ''Red River Democrat,'' and ''The Shreveport Times,''  Rapides and Grant parish courthouse records; United States Census reports, and Mary Fletcher Harrison and Lavina McGuire McNeely, ''Grant Parish, Louisiana, A History'' (1969).</ref>​

In 1869, four years after the ending of the [[American Civil War]], Calhoun died while in [[Paris]], [[France]]. Mrs. Calhoun died some two years later on June 11, 1871. Their son, Willie Calhoun, became like his maternal grandfather, a state senator who worked to establish Grant Parish separate from the more populous Rapides Parish to the south.<ref name=lahist/><ref>In its article on Calhoun, ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' uses as sources the ''Red River Republican'', ''Red River Democrat,'' and ''The Shreveport Times,''  Rapides and Grant parish courthouse records; United States Census reports, and Mary Fletcher Harrison and Lavina McGuire McNeely, ''Grant Parish, Louisiana, A History'' (1969).</ref>​

==References==

==References==

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[[Category:Louisiana People]]​

[[Category:Louisiana People]]​