Stephen Minor

Stephen Minor (1760–1815) was an American who served as the last acting governor of the Spanish held Natchez territory, a plantation owner and a banker in the antebellum South.

Stephen Minor
Stephen (“Don Estevan”) Minor
Born	(1760-02-08)February 8, 1760 Greene County, Pennsylvania
Died	November 29, 1815(1815-11-29) (aged 55) Natchez, Mississippi
Occupation(s)	Planter, banker
Spouse(s)	Martha (Ellis) Minor Anna (Bingaman) Minor Katherine (Lintot) Minor
Children	3, including William J. Minor

Family and Early Life

Stephen Minor’s paternal ancestor Thomas Miner (1608 - 1690) had emigrated from Sommersett, England to America in 1629.^[1] He and his family would become prominent members of colonial New England. Five generations later, his great great great grandson Stephen Minor was born to Captain William Minor^[2] and wife Frances Ellen Phillips Minor on February 8, 1760 in Greene County, Pennsylvania.^[3][4][5] During the revolutionary period, Captain Minor was an officier and recruiter for the colonial army.^[6][7]He was additionally involved in supplying equipment and although not formally aligned with the American colonists, the Spanish officials in Louisiana were an important source. This included gunpowder, canons and munitions for the revolutionary cause. As to Stephen, not much is known about his early life but in 1779 (age 20) he would be part of expedition to New Orleans to procure this needed equipment.^[8] The course of events that followed would forever link him to Spain and the Natchez region.

Service for Spain

In 1779 Stephen travelled to Spanish New Orleans as part of a group procuring military supplies for the Continental Army.  “On the return trip up the western bank of the Mississippi he became ill with severe fever and chills. These prevented him from keeping pace with the other men and he was forced to lay back and catch up with the others once each event had subsided. Following one such episode, in the heart of “Indian country” of present day Arkansas, he followed the trail of his caravan only to discover that it had been attacked by bandits. The supplies had been stolen and the other members of his party had been murdered. Minor was left alone and sick in the Indian wilderness. Somehow he was able to make his way back to New Orleans where he would eventually offer his services to the Spanish crown”.^[9] Spain had indirectly entered the American Revolutionary War on May 8, 1779 with a formal declaration of war on Great Britain by King Charles III. Even before this, however, the governor of Louisiana Bernardo de Gálvez had anticipated the coming conflict and had been assembling a Spanish Army to take on the British in West Florida. Though a network of spies he was aware that the British were planning an attack on New Orleans but before they could do so he decided to attack first. The British had established three forts along the lower Mississippi River to protect their western border of British West Florida. The first two, Fort Bute and Baton Rouge were quickly taken by force and the third Fort Panmure in Natchez surrendered without conflict.^[10]During this period Minor had attracted the attention of the Spanish officers and had volunteered his services to the Spanish army. In early 1780 Governor Gálvez undertook an expedition against Fort Charlotte in Mobile which was the last British frontier post capable of threatening New Orleans. Minor was chosen to be part of his personal body guard considered to be the finest body of men that could raised in New Orleans. It was siege of Fort Charlotte that Minor caught the eye of General Gálvez. He was impressed with his bravery and heroism as well as his “remarkable skill with a rifle” after Minor killed an Indian who was aiming at the governor. The capture of Fort Charlotte drove the British from the western reaches of West Florida and reduced their regional military presence to its capital Pensacola which would fall in May of 1781.^[11] In return for his military services under Galvez, Minor was accorded the rank of Captain and in 1791 received large land grants in Louisiana and Mississippi. ^[3] In 1783 Minor was appointed adjutant of the military post at Natchez. He assisted the fort commanders (Felipe Treviño 1783-85; Francisco Bouligny 1785-86; Carlos de Grand Pré 1786-98) as well as Manuel Gayoso de Lemos the district governor 1787-98 with various administrative duties while providing the Anglo-American settlers a district liaison with the Spanish officials. In this capacity he was often referred to “Don Esteban.” During the West Florida Controversy he was appointed as one of the Spanish commissioners responsible for establishing the boundary between Florida and the United States. After Gayoso’s departure in late 1797 he would serve as the acting Spanish governor of the Natchez District until April of 1798 when Spain evacuated the region which under the Pinckney's Treaty of 1795 was to be ceded to United States. Minor along with the Consul José Vidal would continue to command the Spanish forces which were relocated to Vidalia, Louisiana across the river from Natchez. He would additionally serve as one of the Spanish boundary commissioners after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

Minor was in the service of Spain for most of his adult life and was greatly respected by the Spanish, the colonial Americans and native Americans. William Dunbar, a contemporary who owned Forest Plantation south of Natchez said Minor "endeared himself to his countrymen, the American settlers, by his acts of friendliness and protection," and that when advice or help was needed, he was sought".

Property and business interests

He resided in Natchez, Mississippi from 1780 to 1815.^[5]. His land grants included vast holdings in current Mississippi and Louisiana. These were subsequently developed into nine separate plantations and he originally held most of the land that became the current day city of Natchez. In 1797 he would additionally purchase the estate Concord which had been build by Governor Gayoso as the official residence of the Spanish Governors of the Natchez District. ^{[4][12][13][14]} In 1797, Minor’s plantations produced 2500 bales of cotton and he ranked as one of Natchez’s richest citizens in the first two decades of the 1800s.

In addition to planting, he served as the first President of the Bank of Mississippi from 1797 to 1815.^[4]

Personal life

He married three times. His first wife was Anna Bingaman Minor. His second wife was Martha Ellis Minor. His third wife was Katherine Lintot Minor, the daughter of Bernard Lintot,^[4][5] "a founding member of the United States Mississippi Territory."^[15] They had three children; Minor's daughter Mary married cotton broker and sugar planter William Kenner.^[16] One of his grandsons, John Minor, went on to live at the Oakland in Natchez.^[17]

Death

He died on November 29, 1815, in Natchez, Mississippi.^[5]