Z 2213.000 Leverich (Charles P.) Papers, Accretion

Biography/History:

Dr. James Gustine left Carlisle, Pennsylvania, with his brothers, Lemuel, Richard, and Samuel, and moved to Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi, where they established cotton plantations. Dr. James Gustine also brought his wife, Mary Ann, and children Sarah Elizabeth (b. September 6, 1811), Rebecca Ann b. May 17, 1813), Matilda Duncan (b. 1814), and Lemuel Parker (b. 1816) to Natchez in November of 1817. The Gustines’ youngest child, Margaret, was born at the Hedges plantation in Adams County in 1818.

Charles P. Leverich married Matilda Duncan Gustine about 1832. The Leveriches had at least one child, Sarah. The couple resided in the New York area where Leverich and his brother, Henry Stanton, were bankers, cotton factors, and merchants with interests in Natchez and New Orleans. Henry Stanton Leverich married Margaret Gustine. Charles P. Leverich died in 1876.

William John Minor married Rebecca Ann Gustine in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on July 7, 1829. The Minors returned to Concord Plantation in Adams County, Mississippi, after the wedding.

Scope and Content:

This accretion consists of two letters addressed to Charles P. Leverich of New York. His brother-in-law, William John Minor, of Concord Plantation, Adams County, Mississippi, wrote the first letter on September 27, 1845. The primary topic of the letter is the estate of their uncle, Dr. Samuel Gustine, which continued in litigation until at least 1917. As an executor, Minor was concerned with a section of the will leaving a portion of the estate to Dr. Gustine’s nephew, Samuel. In the letter, Minor relates that he had consulted with attorneys who felt that the provision could not be carried out. He asked Leverich and his brother, Henry Stanton, for their opinions on the matter. Minor also reported on the health of family members and the expected yields of cotton and sugar-cane crops on some of his plantations.

G. H. Johnson of Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, wrote the second letter to Leverich on July 21, 1849. In the letter, Johnson refers to a business account, probably his cotton account with Leverich. Specifically, Johnson discusses closing another account and forwarding the balance due him to Leverich. He also informs Leverich of a letter of credit he has written for “Mr. Anthony” authorizing sums of money to be drawn on his account.

Series Identification:

1. Correspondence. 1845-1849. 1 folder.