A descendant of the man who built one of Mississippi’s pre-Civil War grand mansions has returned the family Bible and other items during a recent visit.

Andrew Hunt Frazer, a descendant of the man who built Stanton Hall, and his wife, Ellen, of Nashville, recently visited Natchez to return the Stanton Family Bible, a number of documents and several chairs original to Stanton Hall.

His great-great-great-great grandfather, Frederick Stanton, a cotton broker, built Stanton Hall on an entire city block in Natchez in the late 1850s.

Originally known as Belfast, Stanton lived in the home less than a year before he died on Jan. 4, 1859. Stanton and a number of his family members are buried in the Natchez City Cemetery. Stanton was born in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, near Belfast, in 1794.

The belongings, Frazer said, were passed down to his father, Marshall Frazer of Nashville, and Frazer’s two siblings.

“My father’s siblings earlier returned their Stanton possessions to Stanton Hall and my father’s intention was to do that, too, but he has not yet made the trip down to Natchez,” Frazer said. “He has had them in storage. My wife and I planned a trip to Natchez and I told him it would be a good time to return the items to Stanton Hall.”

Frazer said his family planned a trip to Natchez earlier, but it was postponed because of the pandemic.

“It was a lot of fun (visiting Natchez). We had the entire experience, got to see lots of historic homes and were graciously welcomed here,” Frazer said.

Marsha Colson, president of the Pilgrimage Garden Club, said the club, which owns Stanton Hall, is happy to have the Stanton Family Bible and furniture back at the historic house.

“We are so grateful and appreciative to Frazer and his family. The chairs match chairs currently in the library at Stanton Hall,” she said. “The family Bible also provides a wealth of information and insight into the Stanton family.”