|
William Trent (1715 – c. 1787) was a 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 western frontier with the young Lt. Colonel George Washington. Trent led an advance group who built forts and improved roads for troop access and defense of the western territory. He was later promoted to the rank of major. Trent had gone into fur trading by 1740, aided by capital from his father, a wealthy shipping merchant of Philadelphia who was the founder of Trenton, New Jersey. The younger Trent took on George Croghan, an Irish immigrant, as his partner, as he was effective in developing trading networks with Native Americans. In 1744, Trent purchased vast lands in the Ohio Country west of the Appalachian Mountains. From then through the 1780s, he was a key figure in encouraging westward expansion by Anglo-American settlers past the Appalachian barrier, as he wanted to sell his land in parcels for development. ==Early life and education== Trent was born in 1715 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (then described as western Pennsylvania in historic accounts) as the youngest child and son of William Trent, a prominent merchant and trader in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and his second wife, Mary Coddington, who was 25 years younger than her husband. The second son born to Mary Coddington Trent, William was her only child to survive to adulthood. Her first son died in infancy. Trent's father had four children with his first wife, Mary Burge Trent, who had died in 1708. They were James, John, Maurice, and Mary Trent.〔(''The William Trent (d. 1724) Ledger, 1703-1709'' ), Historical Society of Pennsylvania, accessed 20 August 2012〕 Trent senior founded Trenton, New Jersey by buying a large tract of land in 1714 below the falls of the Delaware River and developing his country house there. Moving to the new site in 1721 with his family, Trent also platted the town around his house. The young Trent grew up with his father's wealth, gained from trading and shipping in furs, dry goods and slaves, with merchants and interests in the North American and Caribbean colonies, and England. His father had interests in 40 ships.〔 His father served in the provincial governments in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William Trent」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|