The Mississippi economy after the War of 1812 was based almost completely on cotton, slavery and the plantation system. According to historian William K. Scarborough, this cotton slavery boom reached it climax in the 1830s.

Many men made large fortunes from cotton, but the bubble burst in 1837 with the onset of an agricultural depression that lasted for a dozen years.

For many Mississippi agriculturists this proved a time to test their mettle, and there were many who survived this crisis by following the advice of agricultural reformers.

These reformers advocated growing more food crops and improving livestock, inventing and adopting more labor-saving implements, and developing soil conservation practices. One of the most influential of these reformers was Thomas Affleck, who from 1842 to 1861, resided in the town of Washington.

Affleck was born in Dumfries, Scotland on July 13, 1812, to a respected family of noble lineage.

According to Historian Fred Cole, even as a youth Affleck had a great interest in agriculture, horticulture and practical sciences but for a time he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh.

However, because of financial reasons he left the university to work for the National Bank of Scotland. He learned a lot about business, but decided it was not his kind of life. He left the banking business and in the spring of 1832 migrated to America.

He eventually settled down in Clinton, Ind., where he established a mercantile business. The panic of 1837 hit many businesses hard and he was forced to close.

It was also during this time that he lost his wife and son to an illness. Affleck realized he was no merchant and made plans to return to Scotland.

However, in late 1838, when he arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the journey back to Scotland, he fell gravely ill. Friends helped nurse him back to health.

At the advice of a doctor, Affleck settled near Cincinnati and started a small farm where he grew vegetables, melons and other produce for the market.

He also ornamented his cottage with flowers and trailing vines and it became a famous show place. He had found his calling and he spent the rest of his life involved in agriculture.

By October 1840, Affleck was an associate editor of the agricultural magazine Western Farmer. With his joining the magazine, it became known as Western Farmer and Gardener and Affleck’s original writings immediately made an impact for the magazine.

By 1841, he was promoted to editor. His writings advocated crop diversification, bee breeding, improvements in livestock breeding, and improved farm implements. He also advocated the establishing of agricultural and horticultural societies to help farmers and gardeners share information on improved agricultural practices.

According to Cole, in the winter of 1841 and the early part of 1842, Affleck made a tour of the various fairs and agricultural societies in Kentucky and the southern Mississippi Valley, and was going report on them for his magazine.

It was while he was on this tour in Natchez that he met the widow Anna Dunbar Smith, the daughter of Isaac Dunbar, one of the leading planters in the state. He was smitten and married her.

Affleck had incurred a large debt by this time, and he hoped that his marriage would help alleviate this problem because of his wife’s extensive property holdings. However, he soon found out that his wife was deeply in debt, and he remained in debt for the rest of his life.

He and his wife moved into her house, Ingleside, in the nearby town of Washington. He tried to become a successful cotton grower to alleviate his debts, but the effort proved futile.

However, he did manage to establish a successful commercial nursery and he continued the write articles for newspapers and agricultural periodicals that established him as an authority on southern agriculture

Just before the outbreak of the Civil War, Affleck moved to Washington County, Texas where continued to write about agriculture. He resided there until his death in 1868.

He was honored for his life’s work when in 1998, The Antique Rose Emporium created a new hybrid rose called the Thomas Affleck Rose.

Clark BURKETT is a historian at Historic Jefferson College.