Gideon Wanton letters (RLC.Ms.014)

Biographical note

Gideon Wanton (1766-1786) was born in his family’s house at 17 Broadway in Newport, Rhode Island (known today as the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House). He was the son of John G. (1729-1799) and Mary Bull Wanton (1729-1821) and the younger brother of Mary “Polly” Wanton (1763-1821). His sister, Polly, married Daniel Lyman (1756-1830), an army officer during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), in 1781.

Towards the end of the Revolutionary War, Gideon’s father sent him to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to learn the mercantile trade. He found employment with M. LeMaigre, a French merchant of that city, and was soon entrusted with LeMaigre’s business affairs. LeMaigre sent Gideon abroad to the West Indies to conduct his business as supercargo, which made Gideon responsible for managing the cargo being shipped, selling the merchandise at the various ports visited, and buying and receiving goods to return to Philadelphia. In May 1785, LeMaigre offered to open a wholesale and retail store under Gideon Wanton’s name with the prospect of earning one third of the profits, but Gideon was apprehensive given the current state of the country following the end of the Revolutionary War. Unfortunately, Gideon was not given another chance to make a name for himself in business since he passed away on November 26, 1786, at the age of twenty.