Levi Leiter

Levi Ziegler Leiter (November 2, 1834 – June 9, 1904) was a Chicago businessman. He co-founded what became the Marshall Field & Company retail empire.[1][2]

Levi Leiter
Born
Levi Ziegler Leiter

(1834-11-02)November 2, 1834
Leitersburg, Maryland, U.S.
DiedJune 6, 1904(1904-06-06) (aged 69)
Bar Harbor, Maine, U.S.
Known forCo-founder of Marshall Field & Company
Spouse(s)
Mary Theresa Carver
​
(m. 1866)​
ChildrenMary Curzon, Baroness Curzon of Kedleston
Margaret Howard, Countess of Suffolk
Parent(s)Anne Ziegler
Joseph Thomas Leiter

Early life

Leiter was born to Anne (née Ziegler) and Joseph Thomas Leiter, of Leitersburg, the Washington County, Maryland, town founded by his grandfather, Abraham Leiter's brother Andrew Leiter (Bell, 184). Although some have confused Leiter's ancestry as Jewish (likely because of his first name), his family was of German Swiss descent and some of his ancestors had been Mennonites. Leiter was raised a Lutheran.[3][4][5][6]

Career

As a boy, Leiter worked for a dry goods business in Springfield, Ohio. In 1853 he began working as a bookkeeper at Chicago's then-largest dry goods company, Cooley, Wadsworth & Co., where he worked alongside Marshall Field and Potter Palmer. Leiter and Field became partners in the firm, but in 1865, they sold their interest in the company to John V. Farwell[7] and went into business, along with Palmer, as Field, Palmer, Leiter & Co.

In 1867, Palmer left his business to pursue real estate ventures, and the company was renamed Field, Leiter & Co. Field & Leiter built a six-story store on State Street in 1868. It was rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. From 1874 to 1880, Leiter was a member of the Executive Committee of the Chicago Relief and Aid Society, which helped collect and distribute funds to rebuild Chicago after the fire. When Leiter sold his interest to Field and retired from the dry goods business in 1881, the name was changed to Marshall Field and Company.

As Leiter's wealth increased, he invested much of his savings in Chicago real estate. After retirement from Field, Leiter & Co., he devoted his attention to real estate and corporate interests.[8] He later devoted time to travel and philanthropy. He was the first president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the second president of the Chicago Art Institute, a president of the Chicago Historical Society, and a prominent figure in the Illinois Trust Company.

From 1892 to 1898, his son Joseph was his agent. Joseph attempted to corner the wheat market from 1897 to 1898, and was briefly the largest individual holder of wheat in the history of the grain trade. Concerted action by his competitors broke the corner.[9] Levi paid millions of dollars to settle Joseph's debts after the market crashed in 1898.[10] Levi's losses were reputed to run to $10 million. Joseph was later president of the Zeigler Coal Company, Chicago, and of the Chicago, Zeigler and Gulf Railway Company; and a director of the American Security and Trust Company.[9]

Personal life

In 1866, Leiter married Mary Theresa Carver (1844–1913) of Chicago. From 1885 until her death, she served as the second Vice Regent for Illinois in the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, which is occupied with the preservation of George Washington's Mount Vernon estate. Together, they were the parents of:[11]

Leiter died of heart disease at the Vanderbilt family cottage in Bar Harbor, Maine on June 9, 1904. His estate became the subject of eight years of litigation.

Washington residence

In 1891, Leiter had a mansion built adjacent to Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C.. The home was designed by Theophilus Chandler.[16][17] After his death, his Washington, D.C. home was used for elaborate parties hosted by his widow. During WWII, the mansion was leased to the U.S. Government for office space. The property was sold and the structure demolished in 1947. The site is now the location of the Dupont Hotel.[16][17]

Descendants

Through his eldest daughter, he was the maternal grandfather of Mary Irene, Lady Ravensdale (b. 1896); Lady Cynthia Curzon (b. 1898), the first wife of Sir Oswald Mosley; and Alexandra Naldera Curzon (b. 1904), the wife of Edward Dudley Metcalfe, the best friend, best man and equerry of King Edward VIII.[18][19]

Through his daughter Margaret, he was the maternal grandfather of Charles Howard, 20th Earl of Suffolk (1906–1941); Hon. Cecil John Arthur Howard (1908–1985), married Frances Dean; and Lt.-Cdr. Hon. Greville Reginald Howard (1909–1987).[20]

Notes
  1. Wendt, Lloyd, Give the Lady What She Wants! The Story of Marshall Field & Co., Rand McNally, 1952
  2. Twyman, Robert W., History of Marshall Field & Co., 1852-1906, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1954
  3. Bradford, Sarah (1995-08-09). "Lady Alexandra Metcalfe". The Independent. London.
  4. Wilson, A. N. (2005), After the Victorians (illustrated ed.), Hutchinson, pp. 22-–23
  5. Martin, E.S. (1899). "This Busy World". Harper's Weekly, Volume 43.
  6. "100 years of Chicago Jewry" (PDF). The Sentinel. August 1948.
  7. Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). "Leiter, Levi Zeigler" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
  8. Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Leiter, Levi Zeigler" . Encyclopedia Americana.
  9. Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Leiter, Joseph" . Encyclopedia Americana.
  10. "Crash in Leiter Deal". Chicago Tribune. 1898-06-04.
  11. McKinney, Megan. "Chicago's British Aristocracy | Classic Chicago Magazine". www.classicchicagomagazine.com. Classic Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  12. "WIFE AND CHILDREN GET LEITER ESTATE; Will to Be Filed in Chicago To- day Disposes of Fortune That May Exceed $10,000,000. WIFE TO GET TRUST INCOME Son Thomas, 20, Inherits Racing Stable and Famous Library Started by Grandmother" (PDF). The New York Times. April 21, 1932. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  13. "LADY CURZON'S WILL. Value of the Estate $59,875 — Most of It Left to Her Husband" (PDF). The New York Times. August 8, 1906. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  14. "She is Back From India". Newark Daily Advocate. Newark, Ohio: 3. 1900-09-19.
  15. Leighton, David (2014-10-20). "Street Smarts: Neighborhood, road named for Lady Suffolk". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona.
  16. Boese, Kent (2009-04-13). "Then and Now: 1500 New Hampshire Ave., NW".
  17. Boese, Kent (2009-04-07). "Lost Washington: The Leiter House".
  18. Higham, Charles (1989). The Duchess of Windsor: the secret life. Charter Books. p. 106. ISBN 1-55773-227-2. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  19. Allen, Martin (2002). Hidden Agenda: How the Duke of Windsor Betrayed the Allies. New York: M. Evans and Co. p. 70. ISBN 0-333-90181-9. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  20. "Cracroft's Peerage: The Complete Guide to the British Peerage & Baronetage", "Suffolk, Earl of (E, 1603)" Archived 2014-04-25 at the Wayback Machine, The Peerage Research Trust. Retrieved 27 May 2014.

References
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