William Trent ( December 25, 1724) was a prominent trader and merchant in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

around the turn of the 18th century after whom the capital of

, Trenton, was named. Little detail is known of his early life, including exactly when he was born.

Early life and education

He emigrated to the North American colonies with his brother James in the 1690s.Overview: ''The William Trent (d. 1724) Ledger, 1703-1709''

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historic research facility headquartered on Locust Street in Center City Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chron ...

, accessed 20 August 2012

Career

By 1693, Trent had immigrated with his brother James to the British colonies, and settled in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. As a merchant trader, he became quite wealthy, eventually being one of the most affluent men in the city. He had extensive trading interests in furs, goods, and

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, with contacts/clients in the colonies,

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

colonies and England. He owned an interest in more than 40 ships, exporting such products as

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

, flour and furs while importing wine,

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

, molasses and dry goods. He also imported

indentured servants Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or ser ...

from the British Isles, and African and

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the term ''West Indian'' in 1597 described the indigenous inhabitants of the West In ...

slaves from Africa and the Caribbean. Trent became one of the wealthiest men in Philadelphia. Politically active, he was appointed to the

Pennsylvania Provincial Council The Pennsylvania Provincial Council helped govern the Province of Pennsylvania from 1682 to 1776. The provincial council was based on the English parliamentary system and was analogous to the Upper House or House of Lords. From the Frame of Govern ...

from 1704 to act as an adviser to the governor (the council was similar to the contemporary governor's cabinet). He was appointed to the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Judiciary of Pennsylvania, Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as ...

. After being elected to the Assembly, Trent was elected as its Speaker.

Marriage and family

Trent was believed to have married Mary Burge (d. 1708) soon after his arrival in Philadelphia. They had four children together: James (named for his father), John, Maurice and Mary. After his wife's death in 1708, Trent remarried, to Mary Coddington. They had two sons together: Thomas, who died in infancy; and William Trent, born in 1715/1718, who survived to adulthood. It is this younger William Trent who is accused of being involved in giving smallpox infected blankets to Delaware emissaries during negotiations surrounding the siege of Fort Pitt.

Later years

In 1719, Trent built a

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

below the falls of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

in central

. He platted a town or settlement around his house, which came to be known as Trent's Town, and later Trenton. It became the state capital. After his move, he became active in New Jersey politics, being elected to its Assembly and appointed as chief justice. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, his house was used by Hessian officers fighting for the British. In the

Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington's George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, crossing of the ...

, it was attacked by

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

troops. After Trenton was designated as the state capital, the Trent House was used as the governor's mansion for many years. William Trent died on December 25, 1724. Three slaves were arrested and hanged in 1737 for allegedly poisoning him."Meet William Trent"
William Trent House Museum

Legacy and honors

*The William Trent House is on the state and national registers for historic places, and is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. It is operated as a house museum in Trenton.

References

External links

''The William Trent (d. 1724) Ledger, 1703-1709''
Overview and more than 230 pages of entries that cover the breadth of his business interests; it is available for research at the

. The ledger has been microfilmed. {{DEFAULTSORT:Trent, William 1650s births 1724 deaths Merchants from colonial Pennsylvania Merchants from colonial New Jersey 18th-century American merchants Politicians from Trenton, New Jersey Members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly Members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Council Scottish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania History of Trenton, New Jersey Members of the New Jersey General Assembly Chief justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey People from colonial New Jersey Speakers of the New Jersey General Assembly (colonial period) Speakers of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly