This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Vandeventer, Gainer, Marriner, Loomis, Hall, Spencer, and Allied Families Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/WMB.2ACE/4876 Message Board Post: Peter Lewis VanDeventer, along with his brother Henry Bergen VanDeventer, were bankers and stock brokers in New York City in the 1850-1880's. Their office was in fact at 6 Wall St. in New York City. Peter began buying land in Missouri with his profits, and had such a vast estate in Missouri and eslewhere that it took over twenty years to sell all he had accumulated. Van Deventer Avenue in St. Louis, MO was named for him. The Avenue itself was the mid-point of his land holdings. He owned everything in all directions, to the Mississippi River, south, north, and west, as far as could be civilized....about 50 square blocks of the area around VanDeventer Avenue. All of this, he was subdividing and selling as lots to build on. His personal home was located on VanDeventer Place, and was to have a fountain, at the time of his death in 1863. His land holdings in St. Louis were said to be worth $125,000 in 1863, but, when all the lots were sold, actually made over a million dollars. Peter owned land in St. Louis, Macon, Newton, and Franklin Counties in Missouri, as well.