William E. Starke - Early Life and Career

Early Life and Career

Starke was born in Brunswick County, Virginia. His younger brother Peter Burwell Starke also became a general in the Confederate army, as well as a Mississippi politician. Prior to the Civil War, the brothers worked in the family's stagecoach business that operated between Lawrenceville and Petersburg, Virginia. In 1840, William Starke moved to the South, becoming a successful cotton broker in Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1858, he purchased the SS Texas Ranger, a former supply ship, from the Federal government and used it to haul cotton to his customers.

Starke was married to Louisa Grey Hicks, the daughter of a prominent Brunswick County businessman. Their daughter Sallie was born in Melrose, Alabama.

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