Leverich, Henry S.

Leverich & Co., a merchant house active in New York and New Orleans, was founded in the 1820s by four of the sons of Colonel Edward Leverich (ca. 1761-1833). Charles Palmer Leverich (1803-1876) and Henry Stanton Leverich (ca. 1806-1885) were New York City shipping merchants, commission agents, and investment bankers. They acted as sugar and cotton factors for planters in New Orleans, La., and Natchez, Miss., including Stephen Duncan, a wealthy cotton and sugar planter of the Natchez area. Charles Leverich became director of the Bank of New York in 1840, vice president in 1853, and president of the bank from 1863 until his death in 1876. Charles and Henry married, respectively, Matilda and Margaret Gustine, the two eldest daughters of Dr. James Gustine of Natchez and nieces of Stephen Duncan. Their brothers, James Harvey Leverich and William Edward Leverich, worked out of New Orleans.

Henry S. Leverich was a merchant and financier of New York City. He arrived in the city around 1829 as financial agent for the family business, which was based in New Orleans. Leverich handled local transactions for shipments of sugar (and to a lesser extent, cotton and molasses) sent from New Orleans and invested the proceeds. Around 1840 he was joined by his brother, Charles P. Leverich, later president of the Bank of New York. The brothers also acted as the New York financial agents for southern plantations.