John D. Freeman

John D. Freeman (1817 – January 17, 1886) was a U.S. Representative from Mississippi, attorney general of Mississippi, and a prominent nineteenth-century lawyer and legal reporter. He was born in 1817 in Cooperstown, New York, where he attended the common schools. Little is recorded about his family background or early youth, but his education in local schools provided the foundation for his later legal career and public service.

As a young man, Freeman moved from New York to the South, settling in Grand Gulf, Mississippi. There he undertook the study of law, following the customary practice of reading law rather than attending a formal law school. After completing his legal studies, he was admitted to the bar and commenced practice. His abilities as a lawyer soon brought him to public attention, and he was appointed district attorney, marking his entry into public office and establishing his reputation in Mississippi’s legal community. During this period he relocated to Natchez, Mississippi, an important commercial and legal center on the Mississippi River, where he continued to build his practice and political connections.

Freeman’s legal and political career advanced significantly when he became attorney general of Mississippi, a position he held from 1841 to 1851. In that capacity he was the chief legal officer of the state during a decade marked by complex questions of property, slavery, and state authority. Demonstrating his commitment to the development of Mississippi jurisprudence, he authored the first volume of reports of decisions of the Chancery Court of Mississippi, published in 1844. This work contributed to the formal reporting and systematization of the state’s equity decisions at a time when reliable published case law was still emerging in many Southern states.

In national politics, Freeman was elected as a Unionist to the Thirty-second Congress, serving as a U.S. Representative from Mississippi from March 4, 1851, to March 3, 1853. His election as a Unionist placed him among those Southern politicians who, in the tense years following the Compromise of 1850, sought to preserve the Union while representing a slaveholding state. Although his congressional tenure lasted only one term, it reflected his prominence in Mississippi politics and his alignment with moderate, pro-Union sentiment during a period of growing sectional conflict.

After his service in Congress, Freeman continued his legal career and remained active in state politics. He again served as attorney general and took part in significant litigation, most notably arguing the case of Mitchell v. Wells before the Mississippi Supreme Court. That case addressed whether a man could leave property to his daughter who had been born his slave. The father had freed his daughter, Nancy Wells, and attempted to bequeath property to her, but the Mississippi Supreme Court ultimately rejected the will, denying her the inheritance. Freeman’s involvement in this case placed him at the center of one of the era’s most contentious legal questions concerning race, slavery, and inheritance. In the political sphere, he later served as a member of the Democratic State central committee and rose to the position of chairman, underscoring his continued influence within Mississippi’s Democratic Party.

In the final phase of his life, Freeman moved west as part of the broader migration and development of the American frontier. In 1882 he settled in Cañon City, Colorado, where he resumed the practice of law. He lived there until his death in Cañon City on January 17, 1886. Although he died in Colorado, his remains were returned to Mississippi, and he was interred in Jackson, reflecting the enduring connection between his public career and the state he had long served as lawyer, attorney general, and congressman.