1. Overview
    1. Location
    2. Date Constructed/ Founded
    3. Associated Surnames
    4. Historical notes
    5. Associated Slave Workplaces
  2. Associated Free Persons
  3. Associated Enslaved Persons
  4. Research Leads and Plantation Records
  5. Miscellaneous Information
  6. References
  7. Users Researching This Workplace

Overview

Location

Adams Co., MS. Specifically, this plantation was a mile or two north of the town of Natchez along Pine Ridge Road (now M.L. King). The plantation adjoined Lansdowne Plantation, which was to the north east of Homewood. Homewood is shown at the top of the map at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/maps/mississippi/citymap/natchez1891.jpg

The plantation was located at land coordinates T7N-R3W, section 12; and T7N-R2W, section 55. This land originally belonged to Stephen Minor in the original land survey map or about 1800. This map is on-line at www.glorecords.blm.gov

Date Constructed/ Founded

Probably there was a plantation on this land owned by Stephen Minor as early as 1800.

Associated Surnames

Dunbar, Ferguson, Hunt, Balfour

Historical notes

The Homewood Plantation land was originally owned by Stephen Minor. The land was probably bought by Robert Dunbar at around the same time he bought the adjoining Ivy Place (later known as Lansdowne Plantation). The plantation would have then passed from Robert Dunbar to his daughter and her husband (Jane (Dunbar) and John Ferguson). Then the plantation would have passed to Jane and John Ferguson's daughter and son-in-law - Ann (Ferguson) and David Hunt.

Homewood plantation was a wedding gift from David Hunt to his daughter Catherine Hunt and son-in-law William S. Balfour. Catherine and William married in 1850. They built one of the grandest mansions near Natchez on this plantation. A photo is at the following website. Scroll down to the William S. Balfour section at http://www.rootsweb.com/~msissaq2/balfour.html More photos are half-way down the page at: http://www.geocities.com/twincousin2334/Natchez.html Construction began in 1855 and lasted for five years until the mansion was finally completed in 1860. While the mansion was being constructed, they lived on the Issaquena County plantation (probably Only Plantation) that William inherited from his father, who died during this time.

Catherine and William's Homewood was a an approximately 600 acre property when the Balfour family sold it in the early 1900s.

William S. Balfour's brother served as a member of General Van Dorn's staff during the Civil War. William served in the Confederate Army as well. After the War William returned to live in his mansion on Homewood. He and his wife Catherine are buried in the Natchez City Cemetery.

Homewood was sold out of the Balfour family in the early 1900's. The mansion burned after that sometime around 1940.

The mansion on Melrose Estate in Natchez looks a lot like the Homewood mansion did. The following link shows the parlor at Melrose (probably similar to the one at Homewood). http://www.uwec.edu/geography/Ivogeler/w188/south/urbslv.htm
Click on enter at the following website. Then scroll down to and click on the photo on the right of the page for a slide show about slave life at Melrose (it has sound, so turn on your speakers if you have them) http://www.slaveryinamerica.org

Associated Slave Workplaces

Woodlawn Plantation - Claiborne MS,
Woodlawn Plantation MS,
Homestead Plantation (Madison Co., MS),
Only Plantation (Issaquena County)
Fall Back Plantation (Washington or Bolivar Co., MS)
Eyrie Plantation - Balfour (Carroll Parish, LA)
Balfour Family Plantation (Harrison Co., MS)
John W. Balfour Plantation (Marshall Co., MS)
William T. Balfour (Warren Co., MS)


Associated Free Persons

  • Robert Dunbar - probably the original landowner. He had a residence where the big house on the adjoining Lansdowne Plantation was later built.
  • David Ferguson and his wife Jane Dunbar (possibly owned this land before it was passed on to Robert Dunbar's grandaughter Ann Ferguson Hunt)
  • David Hunt and his wife Ann (Ferguson) Hunt (Woodlawn Plantation MS) - Ann was Robert Dunbar's granddaughter.
  • William Suggs Balfour (b.1827-d.1902) married his wife Catherine (Hunt) Balfour (b.1829-d.1871) in 1850 - Catherine was David Hunt's daughter; William was a son of William L. Balfour of (Homestead Plantation)
  • The children of William and Catherine Balfour:
    • Ann Hunt Balfour (b.1851-d.?)
    • William Lovett Balfour (b.1853-d.?)
    • L. Balfour (b.1854-d.?)
    • Elizabeth B. Balfour (b.1856-d.?)
    • D.H. Balfour (b.1857-d.?)
    • Jane Martin Balfour (b.1859-d.?)
    • Josephine Balfour (b.1861-d.?)
    • George Pendleton Balfour (b.1867-d.?)
    • Charlotte Hunt Balfour (b.1869-d.?)
    • Catherine H. Balfour (b.1871-d.?)
  • Lucy Stone Balfour (b.?-d.1903) - second wife of William S. Balfour (m.aft.1871)
  • Mary S. Balfour (b.1875-d.?) - daughter of William S. and Lucy S. Balfour

Associated Enslaved Persons

*Although Homewood was the same size as neighboring Lansdowne Plantation (which had 23 slaves), Homewood probably had a few more slaves to run the Balfour's mansion (so maybe it had around 30 slaves). Homewood is not listed in Tom Blake's list of largest Adams County slaveholders - the smallest slaveholder on the list held 89 slaves.


Research Leads and Plantation Records

  • none reported yet

Miscellaneous Information

  • The Homewood Estate is described in the book In Old Natchez by Catharine Van Court.

References

*Plantations of David Hunt, by Andy McMillon. http://www.rootsweb.com/~msjeffe2/davidhunt.htm
*The Hunt Family of Jefferson County, by Andy McMillion. http://www.rootsweb.com/~msjeffe2/hunt_family.htm

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