Edward Mayes (December 15, 1846 – August 9, 1917) was an American lawyer and law professor who served as the Chancellor of the University of Mississippi from 1887 to 1891.[1][2]

Edward Mayes
Born(1846-12-15)December 15, 1846
DiedAugust 9, 1917(1917-08-09) (aged 70)
Education
OccupationEducator
Signature

Early life and education edit

He was born on December 15, 1846, in Hinds County, Mississippi, to Elizabeth Mayes and her Virginia-born attorney husband Daniel Mayes, who already had three older sons and an unmarried daughter living in their household, as well as American-born and Irish-born servants.[3][1][2] They also owned 31 enslaved people.[4] Mayes received a private education appropriate to his class, including at Bethany College in Virginia.

As Mississippi seceded from the Union during the American Civil War, despite his youth, Mayes volunteered to fight for the Confederacy, enlisting as a private in Company B of Hughes' Battalion of Mississippi cavalry.[1][2] On December 1, 1862, he rose to the rank of corporal with the 4th Mississippi Cavalry Regiment, assigned to Company H.[5] Following the conflict, Mayes enrolled in the University of Mississippi, and graduated in 1868.[1][2]

Career edit

He worked as a lawyer in Coffeeville and Oxford.[1] In 1877, he taught law at University of Mississippi.[1] He served as its Chancellor from 1887 to 1891.[1] He then taught law at Millsaps College.[1]

Death and legacy edit

He died in Jackson, Mississippi, aged 71.[6]

Bibliography edit

  • History of Education in Mississippi
  • Lucius Q.C. Lamar: his life, times, and speeches. 1825-1893 (1896)

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Ole Miss biography Archived May 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi (Vol. 2 Part 1), Firebird Press, 1999, p. 423 [1]
  3. ^ 1850 U.S. Federal Census for Hinds County, Mississippi, Family no. 1041 p. 134 of 211
  4. ^ 1850 U.S. Federal Census for Hinds County, Mississippi, Slave Schedule p. 106 of 199
  5. ^ Confederate service records on ancestry.com
  6. ^ "Law Notes". 1918.