Francis Surget | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 18, 1784 |
| Died | October 15, 1856 |
| Resting place | Natchez City Cemetery |
| Occupation(s) | Planter, land speculator |
| Title | Captain |
| Spouse | Eliza Dunbar |
| Parent(s) | Pierre Surget Catherine Surget |
| Relatives | William Dunbar (father-in-law) |
Captain Francis Surget (1784-1856) was an American land speculator and plantation owner in the Antebellum South.
Biography
editEarly life
editFrancis Surget was born on February 18, 1784 in New Orleans, Louisiana.[1] He had a brother, James Surget, who was also a plantation owner.[2] His father, Pierre Surget, was a French captain in the West Indies from La Rochelle who acquired a land grant of 2,500 acres south of Natchez, Mississippi from the Viceroyalty of New Spain.[3] His mother was named Catherine.[3]
Career
editHe was a land speculator and plantation owner.[4] He owned thirteen large plantations in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.[2] One of his plantations was the Carthage Plantation, three miles south of Natchez; another plantation, the Palo Alto Plantation, was located near Naralia, Louisiana.[5]
Surget became one of the wealthiest men in the Antebellum South.[2] Charles P. Leverich (1811-1880) acted as his factor.[6]
In 1856, Surget sued William Byers over land he owned in Arkansas; the case went all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States.[7]
Personal life
editHe married Eliza Dunbar, the daughter of William Dunbar (1750-1810) and Dinah Clark (1769-1821).[1] They resided in Natchez, Mississippi.[2] They had ten children:
- Francis Surget, Jr. (1815-1866).[1]
- Catharine S. Surget (1817-1888).[1] She married John Minor, the son of William J. Minor and a Harvard graduate.[8] She inherited the Carthage and Palo Alto plantations from her father.[8]
- Margaret Surget (1819-1826).[1]
- Eliza Surget (1821-1826).[1]
- Stephen Surget (1822-1826).[1]
- Henry Surget (1824-1826).[1]
- Lennox Surget (1827-1858).[1]
- Jane Surget (1829-1866).[1] She married Ayes P. Merrill II (1826-1883).[9] In 1852, Surget purchased Elms Court for them.[9]
- Eustace Surget (1832-1882).[1]
- Sarah Surget (1835-1865).[1]
Death
editHe died on October 15, 1856.[1] He was buried in the Natchez City Cemetery in Natchez, Mississippi.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m The Peerage: Francis Surget
- ^ a b c d UNC University Libraries: Collection Title: Francis Surget Letters, 1860
- ^ a b A Guide to the Surget Family Papers, University of Texas at Austin: Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
- ^ Louisiana State University: Surget (Francis) Estate Papers
- ^ Klingberg, Frank Wysor (February 1947). "The Case of the Minors: A Unionist Family within the Confederacy". The Journal of Southern History. 13 (1): 27–45. Retrieved 3 July 2015 – via JSTOR.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|registration=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (help) - ^ William Kauffman Scarborough, Masters of the Big House: Elite Slaveholders of the Mid-nineteenth-century South, Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 2006, p. 156 [1]
- ^ 60 U.S. 303 - William Byers v. Francis Surget, Open Jurist
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
kingbergwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b SURGET FAMILY PAPERS, Mississippi Department of Archives and History
- ^ FindAGrave: Francis Surget
Category:1784 births Category:1856 deaths Category:American people of French descent Category:People from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:People from Natchez, Mississippi Category:American planters