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

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

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 long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...

, accessed 20 August 2012

Career

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

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. 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, with contacts/clients in the colonies, Caribbean 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 usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...

, 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 purported eventual compensation or debt repayment, ...

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). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

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 namely the Upper House or House of Lords. From the Frame of Government of Pe ...

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 of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme Ju ...

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

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

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 William Trent (February 13, 1715–1787) was an American fur trader and merchant based in colonial Pennsylvania. He was commissioned as a captain of the Virginia Regiment in the early stages of the French and Indian War, when he served on the we ...

, born in 1715/1718, who survived to adulthood.

Later years

In 1719, Trent built a country house below the falls of the Delaware River 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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, his house was used by Hessian officers fighting for the British. In the Battle of Trenton, it was attacked by Continental Army 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 Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

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 building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. 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 1653 births Year of birth uncertain 1724 deaths Politicians from Trenton, New Jersey Members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly Members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Council Kingdom of Scotland emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania History of Trenton, New Jersey Members of the New Jersey General Assembly Speakers of the New Jersey General Assembly Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey People of colonial New Jersey