The Starr Family

For almost 400 years the Starr family was a major economic powerhouse in Malton. Beginning with investments in colonial tobacco and ending with steel factories across the northwest, the family has played a major role in the economic develpment of much of northern Malton. The Starr family died off in 1950 with the mysterious dissapearance of it's last living member, industrialist Patrick Starr.

Evan Starr & Tobacco

The Starr Family, like many other Maltonse families, traces back to an agricultural heritage. It is assumed they moved into the greater Malton area around 1400 AD, where they survived by growing wheat.

The family survived on this modest source of income until Evan Starr (1582-1640AD), a cunning businessman, sharply turned the family’s fortunes. Evan demonstrated his financial prowess even at a young age; by the time he had turned 18, he had managed to double the family's land. In 1609, Evan sold most of his land and invested the money in the Virginia Company. The gamble paid off; that same year John Rolfe introduced tobacco to Virginia, and the Company and Evan's profits both soared. For the next 31 years, Evan Starr continued to invest in tobacco plantations, and by the time of his death had amassed a small fortune.

Evan's only son, Steven Starr (1628-1710AD) shared his father's uncanny financial gift. He further expanded the family's holdings and lived a lavish lifestyle at his newly constructed villa. The family's wealth and life continued to expand, with sons practicing the business and daughters marrying off to important dignitaries for several generations. However, the income ceased in 1776 when the United States of America (and the family's plantations with it) declared independence from Great Britain. Despite this, the lavish lifestyle continued, and by 1850, the family fortune had wasted away to nothing.

Thomas Starr & Steel Industry

Left with this meager situation was Thomas Starr (1820-1910AD). Sharing many of his ancestor Evan's skills, Thomas sold his remaining assets and moved into the Rhodenbank area, which was at that time under heavy industrial growth. Thomas then used his remaining capital to build a small steel mill. After five years of constant management and two government grants, Thomas finally broke even on the venture. Instead of stopping to enjoy the wealth like his family had for over five generations, Thomas continued to put all his finances and energy into the business. By 1880, he controlled most of the factories in northeast Malton, and had three sons with his wife and Emma Wallbutton.

While Thomas dominated the businesses of northeast Malton, Emma (1835-1935) dominated the social side. A patron of the arts, she helped finance the opening of many museums and cinemas in Rhodenbank. She was voted "Mrs. Rhodenbank" ten times over the years, and was a prominent figure at many town functions. After Thomas's death to an unknown disease in the spring of 1910, Emma personally financed the construction of hospitals and clinics throughout the suburb. Many attribute this obsession with the abnormal amount of hospitals in modern Rhodenbank.

Patrick & Necrotech

Emma lived to the age of 100, in part thanks to her later health-craze, dying peacefully of natural causes while in her east Rhodenbank home. In her will, she left all her possessions to her youngest son, Patrick Starr (1875-???). The only surviving heir to the Starr fortune (his elder brothers both ran off to the military; neither was heard from again) Patrick lived up to his father's high expectations and continued to maintain the lucrative steel industry. During both World Wars, he converted his factories into munitions and tanks plants, maintaining a steady profit all the while.

Despite his success, Patrick had a troubled personal life. In 1918, he married his childhood sweetheart. A year later, she became pregnant, but both she and the child died during birth. Crushed by this loss, Patrick withdrew largely from public life. Reports from servants and close friends suggest he focused solely on his work after the accident, stopping only to sleep or mourn his loss; the closest to him even hint he attempted to contact her beyond the grave; unsurprisingly, they did not succeed. In 1948, a young biotech company approached him. Two years later he disappeared, and in his will left his entire estate to Necrotech.

The company used the money from the will to finance facilities throughout the city, and on his estate erected several more. One of the facilities, The Wallbutton Building, they dedicated to his philanthropic mother, while another, The Starr Building, they dedicated to the family, whose financial cunning led to the development of much of the northeast.