Lewis Ginter

Lewis Ginter was born on April 4, 1824, in New York City to Dutch immigrants John and Elizabeth Ginter. His father, who owned a grocery store, died shortly after his birth. After his mother died several years later, he was raised by his sister, Jane Ginter Arents.

In 1842, at the age of 18, Ginter relocated to Richmond, Virginia to open a shop selling notions and toys. The business expanded into household furnishings, and by 1853, transitioned to marketing wholesale notions and imported fashionable goods to village and country merchants. In early 1860, his nephew George Arents joined the partnership of Ginter, Alvey & Arents. The business became "the largest wholesale notion house and handlers of white goods and Irish linen in the South." Ginter traveled throughout the United States and Europe to source merchandise and amassed a considerable fortune before the Civil War. Preparing for unpredictable times and in order to protect his wealth, Ginter invested in large quantities of tobacco, sugar, and cotton that were stored in Richmond warehouses.