William J. Minor

Minor was born on January 27, 1808, in Natchez, Mississippi.[1] His father was Stephen Minor (1760-1844), a planter and banker, and his mother, Katherine (Lintot) Minor (1770-1844).[2]

Minor was educated in Philadelphia in the 1820s.[3] He learned Latin, French and English with a private tutor.[3] He also "attended lectures in chemistry and philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania."[3]

Minor owned three sugar cane plantations: the 1,900-acre Waterloo Plantation in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, as well as the 6,000-acre Southdown Plantation and the 1,400-acre Hollywood Plantation in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.[1][3] However, as an absentee plantation owner, he did not live on those plantations.[3]

He hired overseers to make sure the slaves were working on the land.[3] He corresponded via mail with his overseers regularly, sending them precise instructions while living in Natchez himself.[3] Moreover, his sons lived on the plantations part of the time. From 1855 to 1861, his son Stephen lived on the Waterloo Plantation until he joined the Confederate States Army; in 1862, his other son Henry took over.[3] Another son, William, lived at the Southdown Plantation and also managed the Hollywood Plantation.[3]

He served as the second President of the Agricultural Bank in Natchez, Mississippi.[1] He was well connected among the planter elite, and visited planters Duncan F. Kenner (1813–1887) and Henry Doyal as well as the McCollums, the Cages, and the Gibsons.[3][4] He read De Bow's Review and kept a diary.[3][5]

Politically, he was a supporter of the Whig Party.[3] He was in favor of tariffs on sugar, which meant more profit for domestic sugar producers like himself.[3]

During the American Civil War of 1861–1865, he supported the Union and opposed secession, as he believed that would be bad for the sugar industry.[3] However, he was arrested by Union forces with his son Henry in Houma in 1862; they were released a week later in New Orleans.[6] Meanwhile, Unionists stole sugar and molasses from his Hollywood and Southdown plantations, under the false pretext that it had been deserted, even though overseers and servants were there.[6]

Minor was on friendly terms with Union Generals Benjamin Butler (1818-1893) and Lorenzo Thomas (1804-1875), whose forces protected Concord (his Adams County, Mississippi, plantation) on September 29, 1863, and on March 10, 1864.[1] Both during and after the war, Minor asked for reparations for the financial losses he had endured due to the theft of commodities by Unionist forces, to no avail.[6] By 1863, he had realized his slaves had become unwilling to work; they also killed hogs and sheep.[6]

Because of General Order No. 12 imposed by Union General Nathaniel P. Banks, he was forced to pay them wages.[6] Slaves, who had gotten used to working "under the threat of punishment," were not motivated by their salaries; as a result, Minor tried to reduce their wages if they failed to work.[6] By 1865, Minor paid one third of the crop profit at the Waterloo Plantation to his slaves.[6] He signed a work contract with his slaves at the Southdown and Hollywood plantations whereby they agreed to work ten hours every day except for Sundays and received specific hourly wages as a result.[6] Moreover, Minor agreed to clothe, feed and house them all.[6]

Minor was a supporter of Abraham Lincoln, whom he called "the most conservative & ablest man in the Washington Government."[6] He deplored his assassination, as he believed Lincoln would have been fair to Southern agriculturalists.[6]

Minor was interested in horseracing.[1] He corresponded with Cadwallader R. Colden and Sanders D. Bruce (1825-1902) about horses.[7] He served as the Secretary of the Natchez Jockey Club.[7] He visited Jerome Park Racetrack in 1866, while it was under construction.[8]

He was also a regular contributor to The Turf, Field and Farm, an equestrian publication.[8] He sometimes used the pseudonym "Redlander."[8]

On August 7, 1829, he married Rebecca Ann (Gustine) Minor (1813-1887), the daughter of James Parker Gustine (1781-1818) and Mary Ann (Duncan) Gustine (1790-1863) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1][3] They resided at Concord, his family residence, in Natchez, Mississippi.[3] They had seven sons and one daughter, including John Duncan Minor (1831-1869). A Harvard graduate, he married Catherine Surget, the daughter of planter Francis Surget.[9]

He died of apoplexy on September 18, 1869, at the Southdown Plantation near Houma.[1] He was buried at Concord in Natchez, Mississippi.[6]

His obituary was published in The Turf, Field and Farm.[7] It was republished in The Louisiana Democrat.[8]

• William J. Minor Horse Racing Papers. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.