On November 2nd, 1837, a man dies of yellow fever in Mobile, Alabama, pauperized and without a will. In his lifetime, he had traveled to his young nation’s frontiers and beyond. He had built one of the tallest structures in the country and in the process defrauded the national banking system. He had founded a town which would become the capital of its state and play a pivotal role in United States history. Despite all this, by the end of his life, he had faded into obscurity.

 

His name is Andrew Dexter Jr.