Walter Ross Wade

Walter Ross Wade (1810–1862) was an American physician and planter in the Antebellum South. He owned the Rosswood Plantation, a cotton plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi. His diary was published posthumously.

Walter Ross Wade
Born1810
South Carolina
Died1862
Jefferson County, Mississippi
OccupationPhysician, planter
Spouse(s)Martha Taylor Wade
Mabella Jane Duncan Chamberlain
Children4
Parent(s)Daniel Wade
Jean Brown Ross
RelativesIsaac Ross (grandfather)

Biography

Early life

Walter Ross Wade was born in 1810 in South Carolina.[1][2] His father was Daniel Wade and his mother, Jean Brown Ross.[2] His maternal grandfather was Isaac Ross, the first owner of the Prospect Hill Plantation.[3]

Career

He worked as a physician, treating patients in the Natchez District.[3][4] He kept a diary of his patient visits and other activities.[3][4]

He purchased the Rosswood Plantation, a 1,250-acre cotton plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi.[4][5][6] He owned more than 100 African slaves who picked cotton in the fields.[6] In 1857, he hired architect David Schroeder to design the Greek Revival mansion.[5][6][7] It was built as a gift for his second wife.[3] The Wades entertained guests regularly and went fox-hunting on the grounds.[3] During the American Civil War of 1861-1865, they invited the Confederate States Army to use the mansion as a Confederate hospital.[7]

Personal life

He married a cousin, Martha Taylor Wade.[2] They had two children.[2] After she died, he got remarried to Mabella Jane Duncan Chamberlain, and they also had two children.[3]

Death

He died in 1862.[1]

Legacy

His diary was published posthumously. In 2003, it was recorded as an audio book on a CD.[3]

References
  1. Wade Family Papers, 1847-1851, University of South Carolina Libraries
  2. Google Books: Journal description
  3. Walter Wade's Rosswood Plantation diary now available on CD, Natchez Democrat, September 17, 2003
  4. The History of the Rosswood Plantation
  5. Bill Seratt, A Whimsical Farm of Frogs and the Singing Chef of Lorman, Visit Vicksburg, September 25, 2014
  6. Jack and Winnie Baldwin, Baldwin's Guide to Inns of Mississippi, Pelican Publishing , p. 79
  7. Marc R. Matrana, Lost Plantations of the South, Oxford, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2009, p. 142
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