Thomas Hancock (merchant)

Thomas Hancock
Born	(1703-07-16)July 16, 1703 Lexington, Massachusetts
Died	August 1, 1764(1764-08-01) (aged 61) Boston, Massachusetts
Spouse	Lydia Hancock
Relatives	John Hancock (nephew)

Thomas Hancock (July 17, 1703 – August 1, 1764) was an American merchant 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 life and becoming the proprietor of his own 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 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 parter, the publisher and bookseller Daniel Henchman.

After his marriage to Lydia, Thomas Hancock entered into a prominent partnership with 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 sectors, becoming the proprietor of the House of Hancock firm, 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 in 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 will and testament deeded all properties owned by the House of Hancock to his nephew John Hancock and his personal mansion to Lydia.

Early life

Thomas Hancock was born on July 17, 1703, in Lexington, Massachusetts. His father, The Rev. John Hancock Sr., was a clergyman who after a one-year stint of preaching in Medford was invited in 1697 to serve as the town preacher of Lexington; Hancock Sr. served as preacher there for 55 years until his death in 1752. Thomas Hancock's mother, Elizabeth Clark, died two years after her husband in 1760.

In 1717, when Thomas Hancock was 14 years old, he was apprenticed to Boston bookseller Samuel Gerrish an indentured servant, with his contract stipulating that he remain working under Gerrish until 1724. After his indenture contract with Gerrish expired, Thomas Hancock soon opened his own bookstore in the North End of Boston, eventually expanding into the fledgling colonial publishing sector as well.

In 1730, Thomas Hancock married Lydia Henchman, the daughter of publisher and bookseller Daniel Henchman. Thomas Hancock already held a long-established relationship to Daniel prior to marrying Lydia, as the two worked as business partners in the production of paper and Thomas had previously worked for a time as a clerk in Daniel's bookstore. During this period, Thomas Hancock also ordered the construction of large mansion on Beacon Hill.

Business career

After his marriage to Lydia, Thomas Hancock entered into a partnership with prominent Boston merchant and slave trader Charles Apthorp. Thomas Hancock soon expanded his business interests beyond bookselling and publishing and, according to historian William Pencak, into "a general trade that soon involved the entire British empire." He became the proprietor of a firm known as the House of Hancock, exporting rum, whale oil and fish to Europe and the West Indies; building ships, and importing books and luxury goods from Europe.

During the War of Jenkins' Ear (1740–1744), King George's War (1744–1748), and the French and Indian War (1754–1763), Thomas Hancock made a fortune supplying British Army and Royal Navy personnel stationed in the West Indies and North America. Despite his wealth and prominence in Boston society, Thomas Hancock did not political office during this period, though he kept in close touch with leading political figures in both North America and England such as colonial agent Christopher Kilby, who facilitated his lucrative military contracts.

In 1744, after Thomas Hancock's brother John died, his nephew (also named John) was sent to live in the Hancock household, which included several servants and slaves. Since Thomas and Lydia had no children of their own, they soon became the dominant influence on John Hancock's life. After graduating from Harvard College in 1754, John Hancock started working for his uncle in the House of Hancock, learning much about his uncle's businesses during this period; he was also trained for an eventual partnership in the firm.

In 1755, 17 sloops jointed employed by Thomas Hancock and Apthorp were involved in transporting Acadians from Nova Scotia to the French colony of Louisiana during their forced removal by the British; other ships owned by the pair were employed as privateers. 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.

Later life and death

A portrait of Lydia by John Singleton Copley

In 1752, Thomas Hancock finally made a formal entrance into Massachusetts politics, taking a seat in the Governor's Council, though he "was not among its more active members." When Apthorp died in 1758, Thomas Hancock assumed total control over his deceased partners' assets, increasing his extensive wealth which was further bolstered when Daniel died in 1761 and the Henchman family properties passed into Thomas Hancock's control.

In 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.

In 1764, the Parliament of Great Britain passed the Sugar Act to raise tax from the American colonies. Thomas Hancock was infuriated about the act, believing it was were oppressive to American businessmen; he complained to a colleague in England that "we are worth Saving in this part of the world." In the same year, he commissioned a portrait of himself by John Singleton Copley, 34 years after commissioning one from John Smibert.

On August 1, 1764, Thomas Hancock suffered a stroke while entering the council chamber and died. After Thomas Hancock's death, his will and testament deeded all properties owned by the House of Hancock to John Hancock and Hancock Manor and his slaves to Lydia. Along with these inheritances, John Hancock also inherited thousands of acres of land in Massachusetts, becoming one of the wealthiest men in the Thirteen Colonies.

Legacy

After Thomas Hancock died, John gradually took less interest in the business interests of the House of Hancock, leaving the day-to-day administration of its affairs to Ezekiel Price, the secretary of the Boston branch of the Sons of Liberty. In 1771, John Hancock and Lydia were so wealthy to the point where they had 21,000 pounds combined in Massachusetts pounds (approximately 15,000 in British sterling) on loan at interest.

When Lydia died in 1771, she willed Hancock Manor and its household slaves to John Hancock, as she died childless. During this period, John Hancock become one of the leading figures of colonial resistance to British imperial polices: as historian William Pencak noted, "ironically, [John] spent much of his inherited fortune funding [Bostonian] resistance to British authority, thereby undermining the imperial connection that had been its source."

When the American Revolutionary War broke out, the mansion that Thomas Hancock had built for himself was pillaged by British soldiers during the battles of Lexington and Concord. It was subsequently occupied by British Army general Sir Henry Clinton, for whom it served as a temporary place of residence in 1775. However, the mansion was largely intact by the British and John Hancock moved back in after they departed, entertaining numerous important hosts there.

Hancock Manor continued to serve as a place of residence for John Hancock, including when he served as governor of Massachusetts, until he died in 1793, after which the Boston municipal government purchased most of his estate (including Hancock Manor) for 4,000 pounds. The mansion continued to stand until 1916, when two Boston businessmen demolished the house as part of a redevelopment project. This led to public outcry and spurred a historic preservation movement to preserve colonial-era buildings in Boston.

References

Bibliography

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