Oxnard, Benjamin A.

Submitted by Mike Miller

Oxnard, Benjamin Alexander, prominent Louisiana planter and president of the Adeline sugar factory company, is a son of Thomas and Louise Adeline (Brown) Oxnard, and was born in New Orleans, La., Dec. 10, 1855. Thomas Oxnard, the father, was born at Marseilles, France, July 4, 1811. His father was from Portland Me., but his mother, Clarice (Degrand) Oxnard, was a native of France. Thomas Oxnard was reared partly in France and partly in Boston, Mass., with his uncle, Henry Oxnard. In the course of his education he attended the College of Sorreze, in the south of France. At that time there were a number of young men from Louisiana attending this college, among them representatives of the families of Labranche and Soniat, and various others, and the acquaintance formed with these boys served Mr. Oxnard well in later years. In 1832, being then 21 years of age and a graduate of Sorreze college, he came to New Orleans to represent his uncle, Henry Oxnard, in the cotton business, and it was at this time that his college friendships formed in France with prominent young men from New Orleans proved an important aid in getting established in business. It was not long, however, before Mr. Oxnard became interested in sugar planting, and retired from cotton business to become a sugar grower, which afterward engaged his attention as long as he remained in Louisiana. In the early years of his residence in New Orleans he made the acquaintance of Miss Louise Adeline Brown, and as a result of this meeting, their marriage followed some time later, in Feb., 1839, at Gretna, La. Miss Brown was a daughter of William Brown, originally from Philadelphia. William Brown was one of the secretaries of the commission that came to take possession of the region at the time of the Louisiana purchase. He later became the second collector of the port of New Orleans, the first collector of the port having been his brother-in-law, Browse Trist. In 1859 Thomas Oxnard removed from Louisiana to France, where he passed some years, later returning to America and settling at the city of Boston, where he engaged in the sugar refining business. This latter business was continued until 1875, when he removed to New York to prosecute the same line of business. In 1882 he retired from active business, but remained a resident of New York until 1889, when, on account of his wife's declining health, he removed to California, where he remained resident until the time of his death, in Mrs. Thomas Oxnard's mother was Euphemie Labranche, and a member of the very well known Louisiana family of that name. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Oxnard, these being as follows: Fannie, who became Mrs. R. T. Sprague, now deceased; Alice M., deceased; Marie D., now living in California; Robert, born Oct. 9, 1853, and now living in San Francisco; Benjamin A., born Dec. 10, 1855, now living in New Orleans, and the subject of this sketch; Henry Thomas, born June 23, 1860, now living in Washington, D. C., and in the state of Virginia; James G., born in Aug., 1861, now retired from business and living on Long Island, N. V. Robert and Henry T. are both vice-presidents of the American Beet Sugar Co. Benjamin A. Oxnard received the principal part of his education in Boston, Mass., where he graduated as mining engineer from the Massachusetts institute of technology, in 1875, with the degree of bachelor of science. In the same year of his graduation he went to New York and became connected with his father's sugar refinery. In 1882 the father retired from business, and following this, the firm became Oxnard Bros. (Robert and Benjamin A.) The factory which these brothers operated was located in Brooklyn, and was known as the Fulton sugar refinery. The factory did a thriving business until the autumn of 1887, when the business was absorbed by the American Sugar Refining Co. Following this, Benjamin A. Oxnard passed the greater part of the succeeding year traveling in Europe. In Jan., 1889, he located at New Orleans as the representative of the American Sugar Refining Co., and so continued during about 2 years, when he withdrew from the service of that corporation and, associated with his brothers and nephew, formed the Adeline Sugar Factory Co., with Benjamin A. Oxnard occupying the executive position of president of the company, of which he has remained incumbent to the present. This company acquired the Adeline sugar plantation, which it has continued operating in connection with its sugar factory, which is located on the plantation. Mr. Oxnard is a member of the Sugar exchange, and the Boston club of New Orleans, and the University club of New York City. In faith, Mr. Oxnard is a Roman Catholic. He is president of the Marquette association for higher education, in connection with the Jesuit order, and it is not amiss to say that the activities of this association were of large importance in the promotion of Loyola university. Politically, Mr. Oxnard is affiliated with the republican party. April 27, 1899, Mr. Oxnard was married to Miss Robbie Giffen, daughter of Robert and Rosine (Raoul) Giffen, both of whom were born in New Orleans. Robert Giffen served the Confederacy throughout the Civil war as a member of the Washington artillery. To Mr. and Mrs. Oxnard 2 children have been Born, namely: Thomas, born June 1, 1901, and Benjamin Alexander, Jr,. Dec. 5, 1903.

Source: Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), pp. 558-559. Edited by Alcée Fortier, Lit.D. Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association.