Levin R. Marshall (October 10, 1800 – July 24, 1870) was an American banker and planter in the

Antebellum South The ''Antebellum'' South era (from ) was a period in the history of the Southern United States that extended from the conclusion of the War of 1812 to the start of the American Civil War in 1861. This era was marked by the prevalent practic ...

. He was a founder and President of the

Commercial Bank A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit. It can also refer to a bank or a division of a larger bank that deals with whol ...

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...

. He owned 14,000 acres in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and 10,000 acres in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Early life

Levin R. Marshall was born October 10, 1800, in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

.''Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi'', Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing, 1999, Part 1, p. 39

/ref> His father, Henry Marshall, was from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, and related to Chief Justice Marshall. His maternal grandfather, Stephen Minor, was a prominent planter.D. Clayton James, ''Antebellum Natchez'', Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 1968, p. 15

/ref>

Career

Marshall started his career as a banker for the United States bank in

Woodville, Mississippi Woodville is one of the oldest towns in Mississippi and is the county seat of Wilkinson County, Mississippi, United States. Its population as of 2020 was 928. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of ...

. In 1831, he moved to

, where he continued his work as a banker. He then established his own bank, the

of Natchez. Marshall also owned the Mansion Hotel in Natchez and worked for the commission house J. B. Byrne & Co. of

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

as well as Marshall, Reynolds, and Co. of Natchez. In 1825, he led a group of local children to welcome

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

to Natchez. Marshall owned many cotton and sugar

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

s in

, and

.Historic Resources Inventory: Richmond
/ref> Indeed, he owned five plantations in Mississippi and Louisiana which spanned 14,000 acres, and 10,000 acres in Arkansas. By the 1850s, he produced more than 4,000 bales of cotton every year. In 1860, he owned 817 African slaves. He also owned a large livestock herd. For a time,

Henry Wirz Henry Wirz (born Hartmann Heinrich Wirz; November 25, 1823 – November 10, 1865) was a Swiss-American convicted war criminal who served as a Confederate Army officer during the American Civil War. He was the commandant of Andersonville Prison, ...

worked as an overseer on one of Marshall's plantations in Louisiana; Wirz would later serve in the Confederate Army as commandant of the notorious prisoner-of-war camp known as Andersonville.

Personal life

In 1826, Marshall married Maria Chotard (1807–1834), the daughter of John Marie Chotard, in Woodville, Mississippi. They had four children, only one of whom survived: George Matthews Marshall, who later married Charlotte Hunt, the daughter of planter David Hunt, and resided at the Lansdowne estate. Portraits of Levin R. Marshall by

Thomas Sully Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783November 5, 1872) was an English-American portrait painter. He was born in England, became a naturalized American citizen in 1809, and lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including in the Thomas Sull ...

and George M. Marshall painted by

Louis Joseph Bahin Louis Joseph Bahin (1813–1857) was a French-born American painter in the Antebellum South. Early life Louis Joseph Bahin was born on October 6, 1813, in Armentières en Brie/Isles, Seine & Marne France.Patti Carr Black, ''Art in Mississippi, 1 ...

hang in the dining room at Lansdowne.Lansdowne Plantation: Tour
/ref> After Maria's death, Marshall remarried to Sarah E. Elliott Ross, daughter of Dr. Elliott and widow of Isaac Ross. They had eight children. They resided at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

in Natchez and also maintained Hawkswood, a residence in Pelham Bay, New York.

Death

Marshall died on July 24, 1870, at the age of 69.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Levin R. 1800 births 1870 deaths Businesspeople from Alexandria, Virginia People from Woodville, Mississippi People from Natchez, Mississippi People from Westchester County, New York American bankers American cotton plantation owners 19th-century American planters American slave owners