Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar was born near Louisville, Jefferson County, Georgia on 16 August 1798. He was the second son of John and Rebecca (Lamar) Lamar. He has been described as short and stocky with straight, black hair and blue eyes. Mirabeau grew up at "Fairfield", his father's 1,000 acre plantation near Milledgeville, Georgia. He did not have a lot of formal education, although he did attend acadamies at Milledgeville and Eatonton. He was exposed to literature and history by his uncle, Zachariah Lamar, who lived with the family. Zachariah admired noble figures from the past and named several of his nephews after these literary and political figures. Mirabeau acquired a similar admiration for these heroes from history. As a boy, Mirabeau became an expert horseman and an excellent fencer as he won a gold medal as the Georgia State fencing champion in Milledgeville. Lamar also was an excellent speaker, painted with oils, and became adept at writing poetry.

When Mirabeau became 21, he traveled to Alabama and engaged in several business ventures, among them a general store at Cahawba, Alabama. He was also joint publisher for the Cahawba Press for a few months in 1821. In 1823, Mirabeau went back to Georgia and became the private secretary of newly elected Governor George M. Troup. On 01 January 1826, Mirabeau married Tabitha Burnwell Jordan of Twigg County, Georgia. He soon resigned as Troup's secretary to take care of Tabitha who was ill with tuberculosis. Daughter Rebecca Ann was born 07 November 1827. Mirabeau soon moved his wife and daughter to Columbus, Muscogee County, Georgia where he established the Columbus Enquirer. He was elected state senator in 1829 for Muscogee County. Son John Burwell Lamar was born on 01 August 1830. Shortly after giving birth, Tabitha died on 30 August 1830 from her tuberculosis. Son John died 31 August 1831. Mirabeau was so devastated over the loss of his wife, that he withdrew from the re-election race for Senator, closed his home, and left little Rebecca in the care of his mother. He traveled for two years and then tried a run for Congress in 1832 but was defeated. He again was defeated in 1833. These losses plus grief over the deaths that year of his father and sister Evelina, and the suicide of his closest brother, Judge Lucius Quintus Cinncinatus Lamar, Sr., in 1834, prompted him to sell his stock in the newspaper and leave Georgia for Texas.

Mirabeau followed his friend James W. Fannin, Jr. to Texas to collect historical data. A journal of his trip records that he left Columbus by stage on 15 June 1835. By the time he reached Texas, his health and spirits were on the mend, and he decided to stay there. He declared for Texas independence, helped build a fort at Velasco and then hurried back to Georgia to settle his affairs. When news of the battle of the Alamo and the Goliad massacre reached him, he rushed back to Texas and joined the army at Groce's Point as a private. His actions saved the lives of Thomas J. Rusk and Walter Paye Lane on 21 April 1836 as they were surrounded by the enemy at San Jacinto. In fact he was saluted by the Mexican lines for his bravery and received a verbal commission as a colonel and commander of the cavalry. He became secretary of war ten days later and soon commander in chief of the Texas army. In September 1836, Lamar was elected vice-president. Two years later, he was chosen to succeed Sam Houston and became the second President of the Republic of Texas. He served until 1841. Lamar's administration was criticized for his determination to eradicate the Cherokee Indians from Texas and for bringing Texas close to bankruptcy. However, he was noted for instituting some far reaching policies including establishment of a system of public education, enactment of a Homestead law, support for a Texas Navy, and moving the state capital to Austin, which was at that time on the edge of the Indian frontier.

Mirabeau retired to his home in Richmond in 1841. Following the death of his daughter Rebecca in 1843, he sought relief from his despair through travel. With the outbreak of the Mexican War, he joined Zachary Taylor's army as a lieutenant colonel and fought in the battle of Monterrey. After 1848 and a short stint in the Legislature, Mirabeau traveled more and began writing biographical sketches for a proposed history of Texas.

On 11 February 1851, in New Orleans, Mirabeau married Henrietta Maffitt. Their daughter, Loretto Evelina was born in 1853 at Macon, Georgia. In 1857, Lamar was appointed U. S. minister to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. He held this post for 20 months and then returned to his Richmond plantation where he died on 19 December 1859. He is buried at the Masonic Cemetery at Richmond in Fort Bend County, Texas along with his wife Henrietta and his daughter Loretto Lamar Calder.

Mirabeau is buried next to his wife Henrietta and in the next burial plot is Jane Long, the "Mother of Texas". It is rumored that Mirabeau and Jane were best of friends and that he once asked her to marry him. For whatever reason, she refused. Jane did sell to him in 1854, 500 acres of land in Richmond for the sum of 6,000 dollars.

Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar was definitely a major figure himself in the history of Texas and the United States. He was a charming romantic, a great orator, and a visionary. The following is a poem that he wrote upon the death of his wife:

SOURCES

The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Volume VI
Heroes of San Jacinto, S. H. Dexon and L. W. Kenp, 1932
Dictionary of American Biography, Dumas Malong, 1932
Texas, Our Texas, Larry Willoughby, 1993
The Papers of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, Charles Adams Gulick, et al, eds, 1968
Mirabeau Lamar, 1798-1859, Mirabeau Lamar, 1798-1859
The Handbook of Texas Online, The Handbook of Texas Online

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