Stephen Duncan
Stephen Duncan was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States on March 4th, 1787 and is the American Planter. At the age of 79, Stephen Duncan biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
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In 1808, shortly before the War of 1812, Duncan moved as a young man to Natchez District, Mississippi Territory, a developing river town that was important to trading along the Mississippi River. In the antebellum South, Natchez became a thriving city due to the booming cotton industry. In Natchez, he became a banker and planter. He served as the President of the Bank of Mississippi. The Bank of Mississippi charter was revoked in 1831 and Duncan became one of the founders of the Agricultural Bank of Natchez in 1833.
Duncan purchased Auburn plantation from Lyman Harding in 1827.
Duncan owned 15 cotton and sugar plantations including L'Argent, Camperdown, Carlisle, Duncan, Duncannon, Duncansby, Ellisle, Homochitto, Middlesex, Oakley, Rescue, Reserve, Attakapas, and Saragossa. He also owned shipping, railroad and lumber businesses in Mississippi and New England. He was a partial owner of the Erie & Kalamazoo, Columbus, Pequa & Indiana, Terre Haute & Richmond and Panama railroads.
Duncan sold his crops through the merchant firm Washington, Jackson & Co. in New Orleans, instructing them to sell it through their subsidiary Todd, Jackson & Co. in Liverpool, England. The revenue derived from the cotton and sugar sales was sent to Charles P. Leverich & Co., his bank headquartered in New York. His plantations yielded returns of US$150,000 annually. As a result of these financial transactions, Duncan became the richest cotton planter. In the 1850s, Duncan owned more than 1,000 slaves, making him the largest resident slave holder in Mississippi. By 1860, Duncan's ownership of 858 slaves in Issaquena County made him second nationally to the estate of Joshua John Ward of South Carolina, which enslaved 1,130.
While Duncan enjoyed the Mississippi weather during the winter months, he spent most summers away from Natchez and escaped the heat with his family to Philadelphia, Saratoga Springs, New York or Newport, Rhode Island.
American Civil War and postbellum career
During the Civil War, Duncan remained a steadfast Unionist. He declined to offer any assistance to the Confederate cause and was ostracized by other Southerners. With investments worth $1,060,000 unrelated to his plantations, he was able to live comfortably regardless of the outcome of the war. In 1863, Duncan left Natchez and moved to New York City. He unsuccessfully attempted to lobby the Lincoln administration to protect his slaveholdings in Union occupied Mississippi.