Duncan F. Kenner

Duncan Farrar Kenner (February 11, 1813 – July 3, 1887) was an American politician who served as a Deputy from Louisiana to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1862. In 1864, he served as the chief diplomat from the Confederate States of America to Europe.

Biography Douglas Farrar Kenner was born on February 11, 1813, in New Orleans to sugar planter and cotton factor William Kenner, and Mary Minor Kenner, daughter of Stephen Minor, the last governor of Spanish Natchez. His father's people were from Virginia. Kenner was married to the former Anne Guillelmine Nanine Bringier (August 24, 1822 – November 6, 1911). They resided at the Ashland Plantation.

According to Ulrich Bonnell Phillips, he was "long a slave trader with headquarters at New Orleans before he became a planter in Ascension Parish on a rapidly increasing scale." Kenner was the owner of sugar plantations in Louisiana. He used scientific techniques and was said to be the first man in Louisiana to use a railroad to bring sugar cane from the fields to the mill. He served as the President of the Louisiana Sugar Planters Association. Following the capture of New Orleans in 1862, much of his property was confiscated and his slaves were freed.

After the war, Kenner regained his wealth. In 1877 he created the Louisiana Sugar Producer's Association, representing the largest planters in the state. He served as the president of the World Cotton Centennial. He also served on the Boards of Directors of several banks.