Stephen Minor

Stephen Minor
Born February 8, 1760
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Died July 9, 1844
Natchez, Mississippi
Occupation Planter, banker
Spouse(s) Martha (Ellis) Minor
Anna (Bingaman) Minor
Katherine (Lintot) Minor
Children Frances (Minor) Chotard
Catherine (Lintot Minor) Wilkins
William J. Minor
Relatives Samuel Minor (brother)
Stephen Minor (brother)

Stephen Minor (1760-1844) was an American plantation owner and banker in the Antebellum South.

Early life

Stephen Minor was born on February 8, 1760 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.[1][2][3][4] His father was William Minor (1735-1804) and his mother, Frances Ellen Phillips Minor (1739-unknown).[1] His brother Samuel Minor (1777-1859) was elected as sheriff of Monongalia County, West Virginia in 1842.[1] His other brother, John Minor, went on to live at the Oakland Plantation in Natchez.[5]

Career

He moved to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1779 and served as Captain in the Spanish Army.[2][4][6] He then served as the Secretary to the Spanish Governor Manuel Gayoso de Lemos (1747–1799).[3][6][7] In 1791, he received generous land grants from the Spanish government for his service.[3][6]

He turned his land grants into nine plantations, including the Southdown Plantation in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, where he grew sugar cane.[3][7] In 1797, his plantations produced twenty-five hundred bales of cotton.[6] He became one of Natchez's richest residents in the 1810s and 1820s.[6]

Additionally, he served as the first President of the Bank of Mississippi from 1797 to 1815.[3]

Personal life

He resided in Natchez, Mississippi from 1780 to 1815.[4] He purchased the Concord mansion in Natchez, Mississippi, which burned down in 1901.[3][8][9][10]

He married three times.[1] His first wife was Martha Ellis Minor (1764-1791).[1] His second wife was Anna Bingaman Minor (1762-1784).[1] His third wife was Katherine Lintot Minor (1770 - 1844), the daughter of Bernard Lintot.[1][3][4] They had three children:

Death

He died on July 9, 1844 in Natchez, Mississippi.[1][4]

Further reading

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 FindAGrave: Maj Estaven "Stephen" Minor
  2. 2.0 2.1 MINOR FAMILY PAPERS: Stephen Minor Family, Mississippi Department of Archives and History
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Louisiana State University Libraries: MINOR (William J. and Family) PAPERS
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 The Order of the First Families of Mississippi: Stephen Minor
  5. UNC University Libraries: Collection Title: Minor Family Papers, 1763-1900
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Mary Carol Miller, Lost Mansions of Mississippi, Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1996, Volume 1, p. 4
  7. 7.0 7.1 Herman De Bachelle Seebold, Old Louisiana Plantation Homes And Family Trees, Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing, 2004, p. 220
  8. THE BURNING OF "CONCORD."; Old Mansion at Natchez, Miss., Was Owned by a New Yorker., The New York Times, March 24, 1901
  9. Lost Mississippi: Concord, Natchez (1789-1901), Preservation in Mississippi, May 4, 2010
  10. Early Natchez: Concord, Mississippi Department of Archives and History