Bourbon Plantation

OVERVIEW

Location: South of Ellis Cliffs, Adams County, Mississippi
Date Constructed/ Founded: 1836
Associated Surnames: Metcalfe, Baker, Gillespie, Semple
Historical Notes: Dr. James Metcalfe moved from Kentucky to Mississippi in 1816. On November 30, 1836, Dr. Metcalfe purchased 397 acres from Calvin Smith and established his Bourbon Plantation, which eventually grew to include 2500 acres. He also acquired Montrose Plantation (800 acres), Hutchins Landing (400 acres), Woodland Plantation (1100 acres), and York Plantation (1100 acres). His family’s main home was at the Montrose Plantation.
Associated Pages: Seminole Plantation (later renamed Kilmarnock Plantation, Adams Co., MS); York Plantation (Adams Co., MS); Montrose Plantation (Adams Co., MS); Woodland Plantation

ASSOCIATED ENSLAVED PERSONS

None listed yet

ASSOCIATED FREE PERSONS

Metcalfe family: Dr. James Montrose Metcalfe (b.1760-d.?) – owner; Sarah Williams Baker Metcalfe (b.1796-d.1876) – wife; James Wistar Metcalfe (b.1819-d.1865) – son; Dr. Orrick Field Metcalfe (b.1824-d.1898) – son; Henry Laurens Metcalfe (b.1829-d.1912) – son; John Thomas Metcalfe (b.1818-d.1902) – son; Amelia L. Metcalfe Choppin (b.1832-d.1893) – daughter; Dr. Volney Metcalfe – brother of James Metcalfe

RESEARCH LEADS AND RECORDS

• Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations, Series J: James Wistar Metcalfe Papers, 1841-1852, Adams County, Mississippi; also Indiana. The second part of the volume contains a diary he kept while at Bourbon Plantation, near Montrose, between January and August 1843. Metcalfe apparently was managing a plantation for his father. In the diary, he kept a record of his activities, field work of slaves, hunting and fishing, the weather, building ditches, the corn crop, fodder, and social events. http://www.lexis-nexis.com/cispubs/guides/southern_hist/plantations/plantj6.htm

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

None noted yet

REFERENCES

• Originally contributed by Edward B. Adams
• Find-A-Grave Database. Entry 66501063, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/66501063/james-metcalfe
• Guide Introduction: Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations Series J, Part 6 (Mississippi and Arkansas) http://www.lexis-nexis.com/cispubs/guides/southern_hist/plantations/plantj6.htm
  Persac, A. Norman’s Chart of the Lower Mississippi River. New Orleans, B.M. Norman, 1858. Engraved, printed and mounted by L.H. Colton & Co., New York. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html