Marcus Antonius Spurr (Nashville, TN)

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Marcus A. Spurr (date unknown)

Marcus Antonius Spurr (March 6, 1844 – July 18, 1922)

Biography

  • Name: Marcus Antonius Spurr
  • Birth: March 6, 1844 Near Lexington, KY
  • Death: July 18, 1922 Nashville, TN
  • Spouse: Susan (Porterfield) Spurr (1849-1932) (Married 1866)

Marcus Antonius Spurr was born March 6, 1844, near Lexington, in Fayette County, Kentucky, to Richard Winn Spurr and Martha Ann (Prewitt) Spurr. He was raised in Fayette County, and schooled locally. The 1860 census has him working on his father's farm. When the war drums sounded, Marcus chose to fight for the south, and was enlisted on September 10, 1862 in Fayette County by Captain Thomas W. McCann, into Troop A of the 8th Kentucky Cavalry under Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan. General Morgan departed from Sparta, Tennessee, on June 11, 1863, and moved into Kentucky. General Morgan had been ordered to stay in Kentucky, but on July 8, Morgan crossed into Indiana. Morgan fought several skirmishes going east along southern Indiana, until on July 13, he crossed into Ohio, where he continued destroying Union supplies, bridges, and stores. Finally, on July 26, Marcus and most of the 8th was captured at Salineville, Ohio, and Morgan's Raid had come to an end. By the time of his capture, Marcus had been promoted to commissary sergeant.

Marcus was sent as a prisoner first to Camp Chase, Ohio, then on to Camp Douglas, near Chicago, Illinois. Marcus was able to escape from Camp Douglas by bribing a guard, and then made his way to Canada, where the Canadian government remained neutral. While in Canada, he was recruited by Lieutenant Bennett H. Young, who was also an escapee and member of the 8th Kentucky Cavalry, to take part in a raid into the United States from Canada. Lt. Young recruited a force of about 22 escaped Confederates to attack the town of St. Albans, Vermont. On October 19, 1864, this small band of soldiers robbed three banks, including the First National Bank of St. Albans, charter 269. The plan was to rob the banks, steal some escape horses, and burn the town. They were able to rob the three banks of $208,000, steal the escape horses, but the devices they planned to burn the town malfunctioned. They sped out of town, but the locals were able to organize a posse and follow the band of men into Canada, where they tried to arrest them. The Canadian authorities stepped in and arrested most of the raiders, but refused to extradite them back to the Union. The soldiers spent the remainder of the war in Canada. Marcus was paroled in April, 1865, and pardoned by President Andrew Johnson on May 1, 1867. Marcus was promoted to Major sometime between the St. Albans raid and the end of the war.

While in Canada, Marcus met the daughter of a Nashville banker named Susan Porterfield. Her father, John Porterfield, had fled Nashville during the early years of the Civil War and had settled in Quebec. John Porterfield later returned to Nashville and helped organize the Fourth National Bank of Nashville, charter 1669, where he served as Cashier. Marcus married Susan Porterfield in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, on September 20, 1866. They then returned to Nashville, where Marcus would become a partner in a wood mill and manufacturing company named Prewitt, Spurr & Company. After a couple fires, including one that completely destroyed the manufacturing facility in east Nashville, Prewitt, Spurr & Company incorporated in 1872. The company grew and expanded, making a full line of red cedar and oak wooden wares. They were known for their quality cedar buckets. Soon, they were producing flooring, roofing, and general building grade lumber. The company survived a couple floods and yet another fire in 1881, making Marcus a prosperous merchant.

Marcus decided to help organize a national bank. On July 16, 1884, several prominent businessmen met to organize the Commercial National Bank of Nashville, charter 3228. The charter was approved on July 22, and the bank opened for business on August 18, 1884, with Marcus elected as President. Several years later, in 1892, the cashier, Frank Porterfield, began to use bank funds to speculate in the cotton market with a cotton brokerage named Dobbins & Dazey. The brokerage had an account at the bank, and it was normal business for the bank president to authorize checks that the firm drew on the bank. Soon, the losses began to catch up to Frank. 1893 was a bad year for banks and the overall economy, causing a depression in the value of cotton. The failure of the Commercial National Bank on March 25, 1893 was due to the actions of the cashier, Frank Porterfield, and Dobbins & Dazy, and only exacerbated the panic in Nashville. Frank Porterfield was tried and convicted of fraud. Both cotton brokerage partners were convicted of fraud, and Marcus was charged for his part in approving the worthless checks.

Marcus was tried three times, each time ending in a hung jury. On the fourth trial, he was convicted. He stayed free on appeal, but on October 8, 1898, the U.S. Circuit Court in Cincinnati refused to hear his appeal. The only court left was the U.S. Supreme Court, and Marcus appealed to it. On October 28, 1899, the Supreme Court vacated his conviction, sparing Marcus from a two year prison sentence. Marcus stayed in Nashville, but in a much diminished capacity. He listed his occupation as farmer on the 1900 census, and soon after, opened a Fire Insurance business named Spurr-Gross & Company. He dabbled in real estate and also sold stocks and bonds.

Marcus died at home on July 18, 1922, after a lengthy illness. He is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, in Nashville.

Bank Officer Summary

During his banking career, M. A. Spurr was involved with the following bank(s):

  • Commercial National Bank, Nashville, TN (Charter 3228): President 1884-1893


No bank notes are currently known with M.A. Spurr's signature.


References

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