Gideon Wanton

Gideon Wanton
Gideon Wanton grave medallion
24th and 26th Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
In office 1745–1746
Preceded by	William Greene
Succeeded by	William Greene
In office 1747–1748
Preceded by	William Greene
Succeeded by	William Greene
Personal details
Born	20 October 1693 Tiverton, Rhode Island
Died	12 September 1767 Newport, Rhode Island
Resting place	Friends' Burial Ground, Newport
Occupation	Treasurer, governor
Religion	Quaker

Gideon Wanton (20 October 1693 - 12 September 1767) was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations who served for two separate one-year terms. His father was Joseph Wanton, a shipbuilder in Tiverton, and his mother was Sarah Freeborn, the daughter of Gideon and Sarah (Brownell) Freeborn. One of his great grandfathers was William Freeborn, who signed the Portsmouth Compact, becoming a founder of Portsmouth in the Rhode Island colony. Both of Wanton's parents were Quakers, and both were public speakers within the denomination.^[1]

Wanton was admitted as a freeman to Newport in 1718, and had an active business life. Being fiscally minded, he was elected to the office of general treasurer in 1733, to which office he continued until 1744. While he was treasurer, his uncle William Wanton was the governor of the colony and his uncle John Wanton was the deputy governor.^[2] A big controversy existed in the colony at the time on whether to use paper currency or hard currency (coin). Wanton was an advocate of paper currency, and as treasurer he issued 264,000 pounds in bills of credit.^[2]

In 1745 and again in 1747, Wanton was elected as the governor of the colony, each time for a one-year term. During his two short terms the British were fighting the French, and a good part of the war was being carried out in the American colonies. The Wantons were Quakers, who generally abrogated war, but John Bartlett, the editor of the Rhode Island Colonial Records wrote, "although Mr. Wanton was a Quaker, he was a belligerent one, and fully equal to the emergency..."^[2] Most of the dealings of his two administrations concerned military and naval affairs such as raising troops, equipping privateers, and supplying war materiel.^[3]

Following his terms in office, Wanton kept active mostly in his dealings within the Friends (Quaker) society. He died on 12 September 1767, and was buried in the Friends' Burial Ground, sometimes called Governor's Cemetery, on Tilden Street in Newport.^[3]

See also

• List of colonial governors of Rhode Island
• Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

References

Bibliography

• Austin, John Osborne (1887). Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island. Albany, New York: J. Munsell's Sons. ISBN 978-0-8063-0006-1. 

• Bicknell, Thomas Williams (1920). The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 3. New York: The American Historical Society. pp. 1068–1071. Retrieved 2011-03-30. 

External links

• Find-a-grave for Gideon Wanton
• Chronological list of Rhode Island leaders
• Annals of the Redwood Library

Colonial Governors of Rhode Island Judges of Portsmouth (1638–40) Coddington Hutchinson Judge of Newport (1639–40) Coddington Governor of Newport and Portsmouth (1640–47) Coddington Chief Officer (Providence and Warwick) (1644–47) Williams Presidents of Rhode Island (Patent of 1644) (1647–63) Coggeshall J. Clarke Smith N. Easton Gorton Smith Dexter N. Easton Williams Arnold Brenton Arnold Governors of Newport and Portsmouth (Coddington Commission) (1651–54) Coddington J. Sanford Governors of Rhode Island (Royal Charter of 1663) (1663–86) Arnold Brenton Arnold N. Easton Coddington W. Clarke Arnold Coddington J. Cranston P. Sanford Coddington Jr. Bull W. Clarke Governors under Dominion of New England (1686–89) Dudley Andros Governors of Rhode Island (Royal Charter of 1663) (1690–1776) Bull J. Easton Carr W. Clarke S. Cranston Jenckes W. Wanton John Wanton R. Ward Greene G. Wanton Greene G. Wanton Greene Hopkins Greene Hopkins S. Ward Hopkins S. Ward Hopkins Lyndon Joseph Wanton Cooke Italics Gorton, Smith and Dexter were presidents of Providence and Warwick only, since Coddington had received a commission to remove Newport and Portsmouth from their jurisdiction, valid from 1651 to 1654; before and after these dates the President presided over all four towns of the colony. Dudley presided over the "Narragansett Country" only, later to become Washington County, Rhode Island; Andros subsequently presided over the entire colony.