Person:Thomas Hancock (20)

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Thomas Hancock
b.13 Jul 1703
d.1 Aug 1764
m. 11 Dec 1700
  1. Rev. John Hancock1702 - 1744
  2. Thomas Hancock1703 - 1764
m. 5 Nov 1731
Facts and Events
Name Thomas Hancock
Gender Male
Birth[1] 13 Jul 1703
Alt Birth[2] 17 Jul 1703
Marriage 5 Nov 1731 to Lydia Henchman
Death[2] 1 Aug 1764
Reference Number? Q7790387?


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Thomas Hancock (July 17, 1703August 1, 1764) was an American merchant and politician best known for being the uncle of Founding Father and statesman John Hancock. The son of an Anglican preacher, Thomas Hancock rose from obscurity to become one of the wealthiest businessmen in Massachusetts Bay, accumulating a 70,000 pound fortune over the course of his lifetime and becoming the proprietor of his own mercantile firm.

Born in Lexington, Massachusetts, Thomas Hancock became apprenticed to Boston bookseller Samuel Gerrish as an indentured servant at the age of 14. After the contract expired in 1724, Thomas Hancock eventually opened his own bookstore before expanding into the fledgling colonial publishing sector as well. In 1730, Thomas Hancock married Lydia Henchman, daughter of a business partner, the publisher and bookseller Daniel Henchman.

After his marriage to Lydia, Thomas Hancock entered into a partnership with prominent Boston merchant and slave trader Charles Apthorp, eventually rising to become one of the leading merchants in the city. Thomas Hancock soon expanded his business interests to a wide variety of mercantile sectors, becoming the proprietor of the House of Hancock, which exported rum, whale oil and fish, built ships, and imported books and luxury goods.

In 1752, Thomas Hancock formally became involved Massachusetts politics after abstaining from political affairs for most of his life, taking a seat on the Governor's Council. On August 1, 1764, Thomas Hancock suffered a stroke while entering the council chamber and died. After Hancock's death, his last will and testament deeded all properties owned by the House of Hancock to his nephew John Hancock and his personal mansion to Lydia.

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Thomas Hancock (merchant). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
References
  1. 1. Capt. John3 Gerrish, in Eaton, Arthur Wentworth Hamilton. The Gerrish Family: Family of Capt. John Gerrish. (Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1913)
    p. 5.

    ...b. 13 July 1703, son of Rev. John and Elizabeth (Clark), who became one of the wealthiest merchants in Boston; no issue.

  2. 2.0 2.1 Thomas Hancock (merchant), in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.