Person:Thomas Leathers (3)

During the Civil War Leathers was arrested by the U.S. occupation forces as a Confederate spy. This was probably not the case, but he had continued to run his boats on the river as much as possible and assumptions were made. He was pardoned 26 Jul 1865 by President Andrew Johnson.

He owned and captained at different times eight different steamboats named Natchez, and was the captain of the famous Natchez that raced the Robert E. Lee from New Orleans to St. Louis in 1870 -- and lost the race. Late in the morning of July 4th, Capt. John W. Cannon and the Robert E. Lee landed in St. Louis after only 3 days, 18 hours and 14 minutes.

Cannon's success can be partially attributed to his pre-race planning. Knowing that a lighter boat could travel faster, he ordered any unnecessary items for the trip to be removed. Even windows -- including those of the pilothouse -- doors and shutters were dismantled and left in New Orleans. These modifications made the Robert E. Lee a strange-looking steamboat when, carrying few passengers and very little cargo, it was cut loose from the shore at exactly 5:00 P.M. on June 30th, 1870. Instead of losing time by docking to take on fuel, Cannon had another steamboat, the Frank Pargoud, waiting to meet the Robert E. Lee upriver. The two boats were tied together and continued to travel slowly against the current while the fuel was transferred. Although the Natchez had to stop for refueling in the usual way, it was still very much in the race. When a dense fog settled on the river, however, Leathers stopped and waited for it to lift, assuming that Cannon would do the same. But, with the help of four pilots, Cannon continued progressing slowly, barely avoiding disaster several times. Fortunately for Cannon, the fog broke and he gained a considerable lead over Leathers, beating him to St. Louis by six and a half hours. See also the [Wikipedia article on the Natchez]

Leathers was a very well figure in New Orleans society and members of his family appeared regularly in The Picayune. While he had residences at various times in both Natchez and New Orleans, he appears in Polk's New Orleans City Directory for about one-third of the years between 1866 & 1891.

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Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi, 1850 census:^[5]

Leathers, T. P. 32 yrs Steamboat Captain b. Kentucky

      Julia A. 22 yrs b. Mississippi

      Jessie B [m] 4 yrs b. Mississippi

      Francis [f] 2 yrs b. Mississippi

      Julia A. 1 yr b. Mississippi

Bell, Elizabeth 14 yrs b. Mississippi

New Orleans, Louisiana, 1860 census:^[6]

Leathers, T. P. 44 yrs Captain S.B. [Steamboat] (real estate = $40,000; personal estate = $100,000) b. Kentucky

      Charlotte C. 24 yrs b. Mississippi

      Jessie B. [m] 14 yrs b. Kentucky

      Frances S. 12 yrs b. Mississippi

      Courtney 6 yrs b. Louisiana

      Bowling 4 yrs b. Louisiana

      Claiborne 2 yrs b. Louisiana

      Magdalena 10/12 yr b. Louisiana

Malloy, M. [f] 22 yrs Domestic b. Ireland

Sullivan, M. [f] 26 yrs Domestic b. Ireland

New Orleans, Louisiana, 1870 census:^[7]

Leathers, Th. P. 50 yrs Steamboat Captn. (real estate = $40,000; personal estate = $2,500) b. Kentucky

      Charlotte 33 yrs b. Mississippi

      Jesse 21 yrs b. Kentucky

      Cooney 13 yrs b. Louisiana

      Bolan 12 yrs b. Mississippi

      Magdalen 9 yrs b. Louisiana

      Paul 6 yrs b. Louisiana

      Francis [f] 3 yrs b. Louisiana

Walker, Nellie [MULATTO] 30 yrs Servant b. Kentucky

Calhoun Sarah [MULATTO] 60 yrs Servant b. District of Columbia

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Latrobe Family Genealogy (website).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Find A Grave.

   Find a Grave

3. ↑ City of New Orleans. Death Records Index, 1804-1949.
4.   Latrobe Family Genealogy (website)
   ED 56, p. 171B.
5. ↑ ^5.0 5.1 Adams, Mississippi, United States. 1850 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration Publication M432)
   p. 20A, dwelling/family 40/42.
6. ↑ ^6.0 6.1 Orleans, Louisiana, United States. 1860 U.S. Census Population Schedule
   p. 830, dwelling/family 1828/1990.
7. ↑ ^7.0 7.1 Orleans, Louisiana, United States. 1870 U.S. Census Population Schedule
   p. 368B, dwelling/family 133/158.
8. ↑ The Times-Picayune. (New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, United States)
   14 Jun 1896.