The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1883-05-19
ADAM +. BINGAMAN.
BY Hon. J. F. H. CT A1ponsE.

BY Hon. J. f. H. CLAIBORNE.
from Meynier's Louisiana Biographtes.ll
This distinguished gentleman, once
The leader in the highest social circles
IF Louisiana and Mississippi, was born
near Bayou Sara, February IL, 1898.
His family were of German extraction.
and obtained large grants from the
Spanish authorities. ssFatherland,"l
On st. GATHERINGS, near Natchez, be-
came their chief residence, and there
they accumulated great wealth.
Adam l.. Bingaman was educated at
Harvard, and contested the first honor
with Edward Everett. On his return
he found himself master of an exten-
sive plantation and many slaves. he
gave himself up to its management
and its attractions. He became sue
cessful planter, star of fashion,
social favorite, and. a devotee OF the
turf. Endowed with personal mag
netism that attracted every one, ne
soon secured a large following, and be-
came the idol of the multitude. But
for the fatal heritage of wealth ana
slaves, he would, doubtless; have be-
come the foremost man in the South
west. His person was imposing and
elegant /; his features classic. and ex-
pressive; his manners seductive; his
voice musical and sonorous; his imagin-
alton vivid; in fine, he had all the
highest attributes of the orator, with
the classical resources of the scholar.
Like most Southern men of educa-
5tion and talents, he was ambitious OF
political distinction. He often served:
in the Legislature with marked ablli-
ty, and was the leader of any party or
any measure he espoused. But, t,tlough
he made many efforts, he always failed
to secure high position. Els passion
for the turf, and its inc1dentals, and his
political opinions, which he was too
honest to compromise, were the draw
backs. He based his political creed on
the doctrines of Henry Clay, and was,
under all reverses, devoted to that
illustrious statesman. This was enough
to keep Col. Bingaman in minority
in Mississippi. There were memora'
BILE occasions when, had he changed or
even modified his opinion or tempered
his tone, or, held himself sopen to con-
viction," he might have vaulted into
the highest positions. He was often
advised, solicited and pressed to do SO
by political opponents; but he clung
with inflexible honesty to his conyic-
tions, and saw very inferior and more
|pliant colleagues monopolize the hon.
Ors.
When South Carolina enacted her or.
dinance of notification aud courted an
tauonism with Andrew jackson, Presi.
dent Of the United States, Col. Binga.
man sided with the Government in de.
fence of the Union, but would go nc
| farther.
In some vital measures of State
policy-such as the representation OF
the new Chickasaw counties, which Mr.
Prentiss and THO Wings generally op
posel-he co.operated with the Demo
Gratis, and would have been welcomed
as their leader; but he persistently re
fused to support their Presidential
nominees.
Before the civil war he had become
financially embarrassed, from promis
cuous Endorsements in an era of rotter
banks and insane speculation, and th'
unhappy and ever-to- be- -deplored con
, Ifiict, and the changes that ensued, com
) pleted his ruin.
: He had, some years previously, sur
: rendered his hereditary estate, ant
5 made his residence in an humble dom
!. icile in an obscure quarter of your city
I met him a few weeks before nj
death, and he told me had been com
PEELED to part with his books. lie re
ferred to them in tremulous accent
and with fearful eyes, as men refer t
the loved and lost. One volume of tn
a Greek tragedies and the Horace he ha
: used at Harvard were found under hi
= pillow when he died
He was familiar with the classic
d read them daily, declaimed the tine
>, passages, and would often initiate tt
accent, intouation andmanner of til
most eminent persons and graduates
Harvard. 1 shall never forget tt
:" wealth of scholarship he displayed at
U dinner party in honor of Edward Ev'
rett by the late DR.. Sam. Davis,
h Natchez, one of our richest planter
Il The company consisted Of eminent laN
n yers, physicians and divines who nc
u u been educated at Harvard, Val
Princeton, and William and Mary,
d Virginia. was the junior guest, b
cause, although very young, WI
: known as the friend and corresponds
L. of Alexander Everett, a scholar not
ferior to his more illustrious brother.
OF course it was the business of Il
OF evening to draw out the distinguish
ne guest. Mrs. Davis was lady OF II
m ,o perial presence, with rare convcrs
tional and musical. gifts. She was t
: daughter of the last of the Spani