John C. Calhoun II

John Caldwell Calhoun II (1843–1918) was an American planter and businessman. He was a large landowner in Chicot County, Arkansas, and a director of railroad companies. He was a prominent financier and developer of the "New South".

John Caldwell Calhoun II
Calhoun circa 1902
Born	John Caldwell Calhoun II July 9, 1843 Demopolis, Alabama
Died	December 18, 1918(1918-12-18) (aged 75) Manhattan, New York City
Occupation(s)	Planter, businessman
Spouse	Lennie Adams
Children	3 sons, 1 daughter
Parent(s)	Andrew Pickens Calhoun Margaret Green Calhoun
Relatives	Patrick Calhoun (brother) John C. Calhoun (paternal grandfather)

Early life

He was born on July 9, 1843, in Demopolis, Alabama.^[1] His father, Andrew Pickens Calhoun, was a planter.^[1] He had a brother, Patrick Calhoun.^[1] His paternal grandfather, John C. Calhoun, served as the Vice President of the United States from 1825 to 1832.^[2][3]

He was educated in Demopolis, Alabama^[1] and graduated from South Carolina College in 1863.^[4]

During the American Civil War of 1861–1865, he served in the Confederate States Army (CSA).^[1][2]

Career

In 1866, Calhoun entered in a partnership with James R. Powell, a businessman from Montgomery, Alabama, whereby he moved freedmen from the Southeast to Yazoo County, Mississippi, where they worked on new plantations.^[1][2] A year later, he decided to do this on his own, and on a larger scale.^[1][2] Over the years, he moved over 5,000 freedmen from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama to the Yazoo Valley of Mississippi.^[1]

By 1869, Calhoun moved to the Florence Plantation in Chicot County, Arkansas, which was inherited by his wife through her mother.^[2] By 1881–1882, he acquired a few more plantations in Chicot County: Harwood, Hebron, Luna, Fawnwood, Patria, Hyner's, and Latrobe.^[2] He also acquired the Sunnyside Plantation from the Starling family for US$90,000.^[2] He also acquired the Lakeport Plantation from his mother-in-law.^[2] He established the Calhoun Land Company, the Florence Planting Company, and the Chicot Planting Company.^[2] He teamed up with investors J. Baxter Upham of Boston and Austin Corbin of New York City.^[2] However, due to heavy debt, by 1885, he let his brother divest of their Arkansas landholdings.^[2]

Meanwhile, Calhoun moved to New York City, where he invested in the construction of Southern railways.^[2] He served as on the Board of Directors of railroad companies.^[3] He became the majority proprietor of the Baltimore Coal Mining and Railway Company.^[1] He sued the United States Shipbuilding Company.^[3]

Personal life

He married Linnie Adams on December 8, 1870, in Marengo County, Alabama.^[2] She was the daughter of Betsy Johnson and grandniece of Richard Johnson, who served as the Vice President of the United States from 1837 to 1841.^[2] They had three sons and one daughter.^[1]

Death

He died on December 18, 1918, at his home 200 West Fifty-eighth Street, in Manhattan.^[1][3] He was buried at the Saint Philips Episcopal Church Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina.