Stephen Duncan | |
|---|---|
 portrait by Joseph H. Bush | |
| Born | March 4, 1787 Carlisle, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | January 29, 1867 (aged 79) New York, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Dickinson College |
| Occupation(s) | Plantation owner, banker |
| Known for | Wealthiest cotton planter in the South prior to the American Civil War; second largest slave owner in the country |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Ellis Catherine Bingaman (m. 1819) |
| Children | (with Margaret): John Ellis Duncan, Sarah Jane Duncan (with Catherine): Stephen Duncan Jr., Charlotte N. Duncan, M. L. Duncan, Henry P. Duncan |
Stephen Duncan (March 4, 1787 – January 29, 1867) was an American planter and banker in Mississippi. He was born and studied medicine in Pennsylvania, but moved to Natchez District, Mississippi Territory in 1808 and became the wealthiest cotton planter and the second-largest slave owner in the United States with over 2,200 slaves. He owned 15 cotton and sugar plantations, served as President of the Bank of Mississippi, and held major investments in railroads and lumber.[1]
In the 1830s, Duncan was one of the co-founders of the Mississippi Colonization Society and helped purchase land in West Africa, known as Mississippi-in-Africa, to create a colony for relocation of free people of color from the state.
He was a Southern Unionist during the American Civil War and declined to offer assistance to the Confederate cause. He was ostracized in Mississippi due to his pro-Unionist stance and moved from Natchez to New York City in 1863.