User:Zigzig20s/FrancisSurget

Captain Francis Surget (1784-1856) was an American land speculator and plantation owner in the Antebellum South.

Early life
Francis Surget was born on February 18, 1784 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He had a brother, James Surget, who was also a plantation owner. 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. His mother was named Catherine.

Career
He was a land speculator and plantation owner. He owned thirteen large plantations in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. One of his plantations was the Carthage Plantation, three miles south of Natchez; another plantation, the Palo Alto Plantation, was located near Naralia, Louisiana.

Surget became one of the wealthiest men in the Antebellum South. Charles P. Leverich (1811-1880) acted as his factor.

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.

Personal life
He married Eliza Dunbar, the daughter of William Dunbar (1750-1810) and Dinah Clark (1769-1821). They resided in Natchez, Mississippi. They had ten children:
 * Francis Surget, Jr. (1815-1866).
 * Catharine S. Surget (1817-1888). She married John Minor, the son of William J. Minor and a Harvard graduate. She inherited the Carthage and Palo Alto plantations from her father.
 * Margaret Surget (1819-1826).
 * Eliza Surget (1821-1826).
 * Stephen Surget (1822-1826).
 * Henry Surget (1824-1826).
 * Lennox Surget (1827-1858).
 * Jane Surget (1829-1866). She married Ayes P. Merrill II (1826-1883). In 1852, Surget purchased Elms Court for them.
 * Eustace Surget (1832-1882).
 * Sarah Surget (1835-1865).

Death
He died on October 15, 1856. He was buried in the Natchez City Cemetery in Natchez, Mississippi.