Edmund Quincy IV (; 1703-1788) was a prominent

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

merchant during much of the 18th century.

Early life and career

Edmund Quincy was one of four children born to Edmund Quincy III (1681-1737) and Dorothy Flynt Quincy of Braintree (now Quincy) and Boston. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

in 1722, and went into the commerce and shipbuilding business with his younger brother

Josiah Josiah ( or ) or Yoshiyahu; la, Iosias was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Josiah is credited by most biblical ...

and brother-in-law Edward Jackson. In 1748, the ''Bethell'', a merchant ship they owned, took out a letter of marque to protect itself from Spanish

privateers A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

during

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...

. Armed with fourteen guns and six fake wooden guns, the ''Bethell'' accidentally came upon a much larger and more heavily armed Spanish ship at night in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. Unable to escape, the ''Bethell'' instead demanded that the Spanish ship surrender, and, mistaking the ''Bethell'' for a British

sloop-of-war In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' en ...

, it complied without a fight. The Spanish ship's cargo, consisting of 161 chests of silver, 2 of gold, and various valuable commodities, was brought safely back to Boston and valued at around one hundred thousand pounds sterling. Josiah Quincy retired shortly after this windfall, while Edmund remained in business, entering into a partnership with his sons. Though well respected, he suffered financial reverses and was declared bankrupt in 1757. He later retired to his paternal estate and, in 1765, published ''A Treatise on

Hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of '' Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants ...

Husbandry''. Quincy was also an acting

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

of Suffolk County until the time of his death, and was referred to as "Squire" or "Justice" Quincy.

Family and personal life

Quincy married Elizabeth Wendell in 1725. Together they had nine children, including Dorothy Quincy, who married

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor o ...

; Esther Quincy, who married Jonathan Sewall; and Elizabeth Quincy, who was the mother of Samuel Sewall. After his first wife's death in 1769, Quincy married Anna Gerrish. Quincy was also a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, and was a member of Master's Lodge along with Richard Gridley. Edmund Quincy died July 4, 1788, at the age of 85. File:John Hancock painting.jpg, John Hancock File:Dorothy Quincy Hancock.jpg, Dorothy (Quincy) Hancock File:Charles Willson Peale - Portrait of Lydia Henchman Hancock - 32.021.2 - Rhode Island School of Design Museum.jpg, Lydia Henchman Hancock (1776-1777) File:Charles Willson Peale - Portrait of John George Washington Hancock - 32.021.3 - Rhode Island School of Design Museum.jpg, John George Washington Hancock (1778-1787)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quincy, Edmund (1602-1636) People of colonial Massachusetts Businesspeople from Boston Quincy family 1703 births 1788 deaths Harvard College alumni

Early life and career

Family and personal life

See also

References