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Show Levi Z. letter, rnplt.illst, retired merchant prince, and one of the builders build-ers of Chicago, died from heart failure, fail-ure, wlili-h followed a long drlvo and walk which he had til. on tho day before his death. While the death of Mr. I.cller removes re-moves one of tho men without notlro of whoso financial nprrntlons the history his-tory of Chicago cannot be written, It Lady Curzon. will not have a marked Influence lu the financial world. The management of Mr. I.olter'B great estate, which Is estlmnted as being worth from 20,-000,000 20,-000,000 to $;lu.ooo,00, bad already passod Into the bands of his son Joseph, Jo-seph, who waa the principal figure In the great wheat deal of 1898, which coat the I -el tor estate In the neighborhood neighbor-hood of 9,75U,OO0. l,evl Zolglvr Inciter was born In , 1834 In the quaint little Hutch Calvin-Istlo Calvin-Istlo settlement nf Loltcrsburg, Washington Wash-ington county, Maryland, which was founded by and named after bis ancestors. ances-tors. He was educated there and spent the early years of his life In tbe little town, until Ur.4. when he went to Chicago to make a nam for himself, him-self, and to add by bis own efforts to the money he had Inherited. He entered tho employ of Downs A Van Wyck, where he worked until 1S.H), two years later. Then ho saw a better bet-ter opportunity for advancement In accepting the pnnlilun offered him In the bouse of Cooley. Wiulaworth & Co., where ho worked side by side with Marshall Field, who was to become be-come bis business partner. Ho worked with the firm until 18M, and the favor with which he was looked look-ed upon by his employers Is proved by the fact that when he left them bo controlled an Interest In the business of the firm. Marshull Field also had an Interest In the firm and decided to Join young loiter In a new venture. They sold out to J. V. Fsrwell and pur-chased pur-chased a controlling Interest In the business of I'otler Fslinor, who was engaged In the dry goods business at tho time. The firm been inn known as Field, Letter A Co., remaining so until 1H1, when Mr. Irflter retired from It. While engaged In the dry gooos business with Mr. Field, Mr. Loiter Invested In-vested boavlly In renl estnlo. Aa the city grew tho vnliin ot bis holdings Increased In-creased until by llio time that bo retired re-tired from the firm of Field. loiter A Co., ho was worth millions of dollars Independent of his Interest In that concern. Hut Mr. Letter's millions wero not accumulated In the renl estnto busl ness simply by sitting down and waiting wait-ing for the down town district to grow until It embraced within Its hounilar les the properly that he bud purchased. purchas-ed. Tho great flro of 1N7I, which ruined so many a Chlcagoan, practically practi-cally destroyed Mr Inciter's property. AH the buildings bo owned lu the down town district were levelod to the ground by the flames. Ills firm's hualnns house waa also destroyed. Ho had to begin all ovor again, and It waa only by untiring efforts that the great fortune he had amursed to have wiped out was Brain acrurnulslod. The Loiter family has enjoyed a mnro prominent position In International Interna-tional society than any but a few of the other American nitilti-nillllonnlren. The marrlngo of Mary loiter to Lord Curxon, who at tho time of the mnr-rlngo mnr-rlngo was a simple gentleman, Is the principal cause for the social proml-nenco proml-nenco of tho l.eller family. Ixrd Cur-ton, Cur-ton, who nt tho time of hla marriage was a almple "Honorable," won his own way and hla own title. Ho waa a prominent leader of the Conuervatlvs party In parliament nt the time of hit marriage, and after be had been returned, re-turned, largely by the efforts of hi) wife, who campaigned for him, to par I lament, he was admitted to tbe Ministry, Min-istry, The title and the vlceroyalty of India came soon after, and Lady Curzon became vicereine and practically practi-cally queen of India. Her family nab tl rally shared In the prominence which aha had achieved, and la ISurope Uiey were given f standing which few Americana have managed to attain. Tbe loiter home at Washington Is one of the finest In llio capital city. Here tunny festivities are held, and the Letter girls nre prominent In diplomatic dip-lomatic and ottleial society. The $d0, Ouo bsllroom of tho Ixilter home in Washington la ono of the most magnificent mag-nificent of Its kind In the country. |