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William Walton (1706–1768) was the son of Captain William and Mary (Santford) Walton. He followed his father into the shipping and mercantile business and became a prominent figure in the colony of New York, serving as a member of the New York General Assembly (1751–58) and of the Governor's Council (1758–68). He was one of the founders and a trustee of the New York Society Library and a member of the Board of Trade from 1758 until his death in 1768. The family of William Walton acquired its fortune in part through an advantageous contract to furnish provisions and supplies to the Spaniards at St. Augustine, Florida. His father, the captain, was an enterprising builder of vessels, as well as a shipper of goods; and appears also to have sailed his own vessels on trading voyages to the West Indies and to the Spanish Main. William the son married Cornelia, daughter of Dr. William Beekman and Catharine Peters de la Noy, on January 27, 1731. His brother Jacob had, five years previously, married Maria, the sister of Dr. William Beekman, and daughter of Gerard Beekman and Magdalen Abeel. The two brothers were in partnership until the death of Jacob, in 1749. A son of the latter, whose name was William also, became the favorite and heir of the uncle. It was he, the younger William Walton, who in 1757, married the daughter of Lt. Governor De Lancey, whose fortune was equal to his own. William Walton (the elder) was genial and a brilliant conversationalist. Dining was his principal pleasure, and he entertained many important personages from Europe when they visited New York. He was regarded as the first merchant of his time, and as a prominent legislator and an honored counselor. He died childless in 1768. ==Walton family enterprise== For more than a hundred years the Walton family of merchants held the first place among the shipping magnates of New York City. The Waltons were of English origin, and probably came from the county of Norfolk. Two families of the name appear at about the same period, the one in New York, the other in Richmond County, Staten Island. In the New York branch of the family the name William was carried through a full century. The first William Walton of whom mention is made, was born in the latter part of the 17th century, about 1665. In 1698 he was admitted a Freeman of the City, and in the same year he married Mary Santford. In the Census of 1703 he is recorded as the head of a family, composed of "1 Male, 1 Female, 2 Children, and 1 Negro". His name appears upon the list of subscriptions towards finishing the steeple of Trinity Church in 1711. On October 13, 1712, Andrew Faneuil, Charles Crommelin, Abraham Van Hoorn and William Walton, merchants of New York and owners of the sloop ''Swallow'', Rene Het, Master, petitioned Governor Hunter for leave to convoy French prisoners to the French West Indies, under a flag of truce. In 1717 and 1721, Walton imported hundreds of slaves in partnership with Nathan Simson of New York and Richard Janeway of London. In 1727 Walton was cited to appear at the office of the Secretary of the Colony, with an inventory of the estate of his son Thomas, deceased. About this time he purchased several lots on Water Street, and established a shipyard. But he was not only a builder of vessels or a shipper of goods; apparently he sailed his own vessels on his trading voyages to the West Indies and the Spanish Main. In April, 1734, an advertisement of the removal of the printer of the New York Gazette shows "Captain Walton" to have resided at that period in Hanover Square. Historical consensus states that the origin of the fortunes of this enterprising family was the preference of trade given, early in the 18th century, to Captain Walton by the Spaniards of St. Augustine and the West Indies.〔Foy 2008, p. 303〕 John Pintard relates it as tradition, and John Fanning Watson, in his ''Annals and Occurrences of New York City and State'' (1846), tells the same. The printing of the ''Colonial Manuscripts of New York'' removed all doubt. In a letter of Lt. Governor Clarke to the Duke of Newcastle, dated New York, June 2, 1738, in which he announces the receipt of news that a Spanish land and naval force was arrived at St. Augustine from Cuba in order to make a descent upon Georgia, occurs this passage: The Council were of opinion that there was sufficient cause to embargo Kip and Griffith sloops—both owned by one William Walton, of this town, who, as I am informed, has supplied that place for many years by contract. He protested against the Custom House officers for refusing to clear ships. Captain Walton thought it hard that his vessels entering and clearing for Carolina (as they always do for some English port) should be embargoed, while other vessells that enter for the same place should be suffered to depart; but I can not think it either hard or unjust, Walton being the only person in this place whom the Spaniards permit to trade at Augustine, where he has a Factor who has resided there many years. The factor, or agent, was the notorious land dealer and smuggler, Jesse Fish. In 1741, Walton's slave, Jupiter, was indicted for his participation in the New York Conspiracy of 1741. On May 25, 1747, ''The New-York Gazette, Revived in The Weekly Post Boy'', contained a notice of the death of the old seaman and entrepreneur at age 82: "Saturday last, departed this life, Capt. William Walton, a very eminent merchant in this city." His wife survived him many years. Hugh Gaine's ''New York Mercury'' of September 12, 1768, among the obituaries, announces, "The 3rd instant, Madam Walton, of this city in the 90th year of her age." Thus William Walton, by his wife Mary Santford, left two sons, Jacob and William, the latter of whom rose quickly to posts of great distinction in the colony, and added largely to the family wealth. William Walton, the younger of the sons, appears also as sailing his father's vessels. He thus acquired the title of captain, by which he is sometimes called. In the ''New York Weekly Post Boy'' of June 11, 1744, among the Inward Entries is the report of the ship ''Mermaid'', William Walton (master), from North Carolina, and among the Clearances on the 6 February, 174 £-6, that of the ship ''William and Mary'', William Walton (master), for Curaçao. Whether this was the father or the son is not certain; but it is unlikely that the father would have exposed himself in sea-voyages at his advanced age. After their father's death, the two brothers formed a partnership: on the 26th May, 1747, Jacob and William Walton appear as merchants and owners of the ship ''Mary Magdalen]]. They continued the profitable business established by their enterprising father, and enjoyed the "preferences" which had been granted to him by the Spaniards of South America and Cuba. The brothers further united their interests by matrimonial alliances with the same family. As appears by the records of the Dutch Reformed Church, Jacob Walton married on May 14, 1726, Maria, daughter of Gerard Beekman and Magdalen Abeel, and William Walton, on January 27, 1731, married Cornelia, daughter of Dr. William Beekman and Catharine Peters de la Noy. Cornelia was the niece of the woman who had married the elder brother. The partnership of the two brothers was soon ended by the death of Jacob, the elder, on October 17, 1749. He was then in his 47th year, and left behind him a large family to the care of their uncle William, who had no children of his own. The surviving brother, still among the leading merchants of the city, continued to carry on the business of the family in partnership with some of his nephews, as the firm of William Walton & Company. On the 17th December, 1757, Walton applied for a commission as Captain of the ship ''William and Mary'', 10 guns; and on the March 24, 1762, the firm made the same request for Capt. Jonathan Lawrence, of the sloop ''Live Oak'', 10 guns. While thus adding to their fleet of vessels, they kept up the lucrative trade with the southern ports of the continent, the Spanish West Indies, and the Spanish Main. Their old friends in Spanish Florida still gave them the sole preference of their trade. On June 3, 1757, Lt. Governor De Lancey informed the Lords of Trade that Sir Charles Hardy (the Governor) had desired him to transmit to their Lordships "copies of the Memorial of Mr. Walton to him, of the 29th of January, praying leave to continue supplies to the Spanish Garrison at St. Augustine, according to his Contract with the Government and Royal Officers." 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 Walton (merchant)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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