Thomas Hancock (merchant)
The son of an Anglican preacher, Thomas Hancock rose from obscurity to become one of the wealthiest businessmen in colonial Massachusetts, accumulating a 70,000 pound fortune over the course of his lifetime and becoming the proprietor of his own mercantile firm.He became the proprietor of a firm known as the House of Hancock, which exported rum, whale oil and fish to Europe and the West Indies, engaged in building ships and imported European books and luxury goods to Massachusetts."[11] Despite their close contacts with the British Crown, Thomas Hancock also supplemented his regular businesses by smuggling goods such as tea, paper, and sailcloth from the Dutch Republic and molasses from the West Indies into New England.[1] In British America, smuggling was largely perceived by the general public as being a victimless crime, and smugglers frequently enjoyed considerable community support from government crackdowns.[14][15] Throughout his later years, Thomas Hancock started to suffer from gout and a nervous disorder, which led him to turn over control over the majority of his business affairs to his nephew, who had effectively been adopted.His mercantile interests had led Thomas Hancock to acquire a wealth of over roughly 70,000 pounds, one of the largest fortunes in the New England Colonies; they had also made him one of the richest and best-known residents in Boston.Included with these inheritances were thousands of acres of real estate in Eastern Massachusetts, rapidly transforming John Hancock into one of the wealthiest men in the Thirteen Colonies.[19] However, the mansion was left largely intact by the British (Clinton having ensured that it was scrupulously cared for) and John Hancock subsequently moved back in after they departed, using it to entertain numerous socially prominent guests.
Lexington, MassachusettsBostonMassachusettsJohn Hancock Sr.John HancockFounding FatherAnglicancolonial MassachusettsapprenticedSamuel Gerrishindentured servantcolonial publishing sectorDaniel HenchmanCharles Apthorpwhale oilbuilt shipsluxury goodsGovernor's Councilstrokelast will and testamenthis personal mansionThe Rev.MedfordNorth End of BostonThirteen Coloniespaper productionMiltonlarge mansionBeacon HillBritish empireFrench and Indian WarsWar of Jenkins' EarKing George's WarFrench and Indian WarBritish ArmyRoyal NavyNorth Americacolonial agentBritish Crownhis nephewslavesHarvard CollegesloopsAcadiansNova ScotiaFrench Louisianaforced removalprivateersslave shipssmugglingsailclothDutch RepublicmolassesNew EnglandBritish Americavictimless crimeJohn Singleton CopleyLexington mansionJonas ClarkeMassachusetts poundsbattles of Lexington and Concordnervous disorderpoundsNew England ColoniesParliament of Great BritainSugar ActAmerican coloniesJohn SmibertEastern MassachusettsSons of LibertyBritish poundsemancipatedAmerican Revolutionary WarSir Henry Clintongovernor of MassachusettsBoston municipal governmentEdwin M. Baconcolonial-era buildingsAndreas, PeterOxford University PressBacon, Edwin M.Barratt, Carrie ReboraMetropolitan Museum of ArtDrake, Samuel AdamsTuttle PublishingFischer, David HackettFowler, William M.Houghton Mifflin HarcourtNorthwestern University PressThe History PressMiddlekauff, RobertPrinceton University PressTourtellot, Arthur BernonW. W. Norton & CompanyUnger, Harlow GilesWiley & SonsWillcox, William B.Alfred A. KnopfWroth, Lawrence C.The Anthoensen Press1st and 3rd Governor of Massachusetts, 1780–1785, 1787–1793PresidentSecond Continental Congress, 1775–1777, 1785-1786Boston Board of Selectmen, 1766–1775United Statesfounding eventsHMS Liberty confiscationCo-inspired, Boston Tea PartyPresident, Massachusetts Provincial CongressChairman, Massachusetts Committee of SafetyUnited States Declaration of Independence(signingArticles of Confederation1788 Massachusetts CompromiseHancock–Clarke HouseHancock ManorMassachusetts Hall, Harvard UniversityBoston CadetsAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences1788–89 United States presidential electionGranary Burying GroundAmerican RevolutionpatriotsSyng inkstand1972 filmLiberty's KidsJohn Adams