There are
not many such instances of men springing from such humble origin in
Eastern Mississippi; but this is not a solitary case.
There emigrated from different States, North and South, at a remote
period in the brief history of this new country, several young men of
talent and great energy, who not only distinguished themselves, but
shed lustre upon the State. Among the first of these was George
Poindexter, from Virginia; Rankin, from Georgia, (but born in
Virginia;) Thomas B. Reid, from Kentucky; Stephen Duncan, and James
Campbell Wilkins, from Pennsylvania. The most remarkable of these was
George Poindexter. He was a lawyer by profession and a Jeffersonian
Republican in politics. Very early in life he became the leader of that
party in the State, and was sent to Congress as its sole
representative. Very soon he obtained an enviable reputation in that
body as a statesman and a powerful debater. His mind was logical and
strong; his conception was quick and acute; his powers of combination
and application were astonishing; his wit was pointed and caustic, and
his sarcasm overwhelming.
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