Thomas Plater (Nashville, TN)

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Thomas Plater (date unknown)

Thomas Plater (January 4, 1829 – December 17,1906)

Biography

Thomas Plater was born January 4, 1829, in Poolesville, Maryland. His parents were Thomas Plater (1769-1830) and Evelina Hite (Buchanan) Plater (1798-1847). The elder Thomas Plater was a lawyer and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the third district of Maryland and served from 1801-1805. The father of Thomas the elder, and grandfather to the subject of this short biography, was George Plater, who served in the Continental Congress and as the sixth Governor of Maryland. Thomas Plater, the junior, was primarily educated in Maryland and later attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. After graduation, he studied law in Washington under former Vice-President John C. Calhoun. Soon after being admitted to the bar, he moved to Nashville to begin his legal career.

Thomas married Sarah Evalina Buchanan in Nashville on January 10, 1851. We don't know how soon the wedding occurred after he moved. Advertisements for his legal practice begin in early 1851, and he was 22 years old when he married Sarah, who was from Nashville. Unfortunately, his legal practice did not last long. Thomas suffered from acute hearing loss, and soon decided to move his family to a farm 4 miles south of Nashville. There is no further mention of him in the contemporary newspapers until after the Civil War. The 1860 census has him on his farm and as the owner of 9 slaves. Sarah died March 18, 1867, after a long illness, leaving Thomas with 4 surviving children. Around this time, Thomas went into the milling business with O.F. Noel, who would help found and direct the Fourth National Bank of Nashville, charter 1669. The Jackson Mills milling company was very successful financially, and O.F. Noel was able to get Thomas elected as a Director of Fourth National Bank in 1867. Soon, Thomas was elected Vice-President of the bank. In 1871, Thomas and several other Nashville businessmen organized the Nashville Cotton Factory Company due to the stranglehold northern states had on the production of cloth from cotton. Also, on Aprill 11, 1871, he married Mary Louisa Bugg in Nashville, and together they had 2 more children.

In January 1875, Thomas was elected Cashier of the Fourth National Bank. He stepped down as Cashier and was again elected Vice-President of Fourth National on January 25, 1881. He resigned as Cashier to devote more time to the Nashville Electric Light Company, which he helped organize January 7, 1880. The Merchants National Bank of Nashville, charter 2513, was organized February 23, 1881, and opened for business April 2, 1881. The Directors of this new bank approached Thomas and asked him to take the Presidency, which he accepted. This new bank did not last long, because on June 30, 1883, it merged with the First National Bank of Nashville, charter 150. Thomas was elected Vice-President of this larger bank. On November 25, 1885, he was elected President of First National, and stayed as President until January 12, 1892. On March 6, 1891, he was elected Director of the Nashville Gas Light Company.

On December 27, 1892, Thomas was elected President of the Capital City Bank of Nashville, a state bank. 1893 brought with it a financial panic, resulting in the Capital Bank liquidating on May 6, 1893. On May 6, 1894, he founded his own firm, named Thomas Plater & Company. It was registered as a bank and brokerage company, but it mostly dealt in stocks and bonds. Thomas managed it for a few years, but due to his now almost complete loss of hearing, he allowed his son to manage the day-to-day operations.

Thomas suffered from heart disease late in his life. He died of a heart attack at home on December 17, 1906, at the age of 77. He was buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, in Nashville.

Bank Officer Summary

During his banking career, Thomas Plater was involved with the following bank(s):

  • Merchants National Bank, Nashville, TN (Charter 2513): President 1881-1882
  • FNB/Fourth and First NB, Nashville, TN (Charter 150): President 1886-1891
(Need note signed by Plater)


Sources

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