Henry Clay Marchant

Henry Clay Marchant

John Marchant exerted so powerful an influence on his son Henry that the latter became almost a carbon copy of his father. Born in Charlottesville in 1838, Henry Marchant developed into a robust man, as ambitious and forceful as his father. His square-cut face was framed between a heavy beard and an abundant shock of hair, while massive eyebrows added an air of dignity that was softened by wrinkles about his eyes. As a boy, Marchant attended local private schools, but his more practical education was given by his father. Instead of whiling away his time in boyish sports, Marchant was early put to work in his father's store and factory where he learned the fine points of merchandizing. In later life he credited his father with instilling in him the virtues of resourcefulness and hard work which characterized his personality.--Harry Poindexter