Governor Joseph Wanton was born in Newport, RI on August 15, 1705 and was the son of a wealthy merchant William Wanton who served as Rhode Island Governor under the Royal Charter in 1732-1733. William was the son of Edward Wanton, who emigrated from London to Boston about the year 1658. William's brother, John Wanton, was likewise a successful Newport merchant and succeeded him as Governor from 1734 through 1740.  Williams cousin, Gideon, yet another Newport merchant, was Governor of the colony in 1745 and 1747.

William Wanton was raised a Quaker and his mother, Ruth Bryant, a Presbyterian.  To make peace, they both converted into Anglican church, and raised their children in the Church of England. According to Elmer E. Cornell^AA, this fact may have influenced Wanton to be perceived as more loyalist than many of his fellow Rhode Islanders who were predominantly Baptists and Congregationalists.

The Joseph Wanton of our concern was born on August 15, 1705, the son of Governor William Wanton.  He graduated from Harvard in 1751 and then, following his family interests, he also became a successful merchant of the area.  A Joseph Wanton was the master aboard the King of Prussia, a privateer during the French and Indian War, that was captured by the French in 1758 with a cargo gold dust, rum, and 54 slaves^AB.  Many such privateers out of Newport were actually running in the slave trade. His image was captured in 1755 by John Greenwood in his famous painting "Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam"--the oringinal of "Dogs Playing Poker" genre. Surinam (Suriname) was a Dutch colony on the North coast of South America known for its slave plantations. It was a predominant trading destination for Rhode Island merchants during the 18th century who exchanged lumber, horses, rum, and African slaves for sugar, coffee, and cocoa in what is known as the Triangular Trade.

Right: Detail inset from Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam by John Greenwood (1727-1792) courtesy St. Louis Art Museum.  Left to right at table: Nicholas Cooke, Esek Hopkins, Stephen Hopkins, and Joseph Wanton (being doused with punch and vomit). Note that Wanton is bald when not wearing his powdered wig. Click to view entire image.

His family connections assisted in his rapid rise in the public service ranks, and he was elected Lieutenant-Governor of Rhode Island in 1764 and 1767 under his friend, Governor Stephen Hopkins.  In May of 1769, Joseph Wanton was chosen as successor of Governor Josias Lyndon. Wanton was not above nepotism, and quickly appointed his son, William, to the patronage job of 'naval officer', in charge of provincial customs record keeping^A1.

During his term in office, Wanton encountered the whole Gaspee Affair beginning in May of 1772. Dep. Gov. Darius Sessions petitioned the Governor to intercede on the behalf of the merchants and sea traders who were being continuously harrassed by Lt. Dudingston and the Gaspee.  Wanton wrote to Dudingston demanding to see his commission, but Dudingston refused and referred the matter to his superior, Admiral Montagu.  This led to a series of insulting and threatening letters between Wanton and Montagu over their respective authorities within the Colony of Rhode Island.  Montagu at one point threatened to "hang as pirates" any citizens of Newport attempting to interfere with the Gaspee's mission. 

Once the Gaspee had been attacked and burned in June of 1772, Wanton took certain measures to protect the Colony of Rhode Island from the impending wrath of the British government. By promptly offering a reward for information regarding the Gaspee attackers, he demonstrated that the Colony treated the matter seriously, at least on paper. The British had automatically assumed the incident occurred in Newport harbor.

Governor Wanton was appointed chairman of the special commission of inquiry set up by the British government to discover and bring to justice those persons who attacked and burned the British revenue schooner, HMS Gaspee, in 1772. It is clear, in retrospect, that Wanton desired to mitigate any damages to Rhode Island arising from the affair.  While his goal was not likely one of seeking independence from the mother nation, he most probably desired to protect the Rhode Island Charter from being rescinded by London. By demanding that he be appointed chairman of the Commission, Wanton positioned himself to be able to limit the effectiveness of the inquiry by putting his spin on any evidence presented.  While no proof of collusion can be had, it is quite likely that Wanton conspired with his Deputy Governor Darius Sessions to provide creative counter-testimony to the actual facts of the case.

Judge Staples notes in his Documentary History of the Destruction of the Gaspee (1990 ed, p30):

There is little room to doubt but that Gov. Wanton and the officers of the colony would have been satisfied that the authors of the mischief should remain undiscovered; although their duty as officers, and their interests required them to exhibit a great zeal and loyalty on the occasion.⁴

Although it is unlikely that his business connections with the Browns compromised his judicial integrity, nonetheless Wanton simply did not quite fit into the same category as the other four [commission judges]. True, when the Revolution came, he sided with the Crown, but even this choice has been recently somewhat qualified.[Elmer E. Comwell, "The Ordeal of Governor Joseph Wanton," Rhode Islander (Providence Sunday Journal magazine), June 9, 1974, pp. 32-39] It might not, however, "be doing great injustice to the memories and the character" of the commissioners to suggest, as Stiles did, that the inquiry was hardly to their liking and they "were inclined to interpret it in the mildest sense."[Stiles, Diary, I. 349]⁴

Joseph Wanton was annually re-elected Governor through May, 1775. By this time, however, the mood of the General Assembly had changed to favor independence from the Mother Country, and in 1775 the Assembly passed a resolution calling for an Army of Observation to be raised "to repel any insult or violence that may be offered to the inhabitants; and also, if it be necessary, for the safety and preservation of any of the colonies, to march out of this colony, and join and cooperate with the force of tlie neighboring colonies."  Wanton feared such a bold and insolent move, and he objected strongly to the passage of the resolution, which was ultimately passed over his objections.  Catherine Williams in Biography of Revolutionary Heroes: Containing the Life of Brigadier Gen. William Barton and also of Captain Stephen Olney. Providence, Published by the author, 1839, p154 states

Subsequently, Wanton was punished for not appearing to take his oath of office as the figurehead commander of this army, by the passage by the General Assembly of an act preventing him from performing his duties as Governor. Wanton appeared in June, and demanded that the oath of office should be administered to him, but, as he had not given satisfaction to the Assembly, his request or demand was not complied with.  The office of Governor was declared vacant for the time being and he was deposed from office in November 1775. As Cornell states "Those bent on revolution are not tolerant of dissent, and Wanton paid the price."^AA   Nicholas Cooke was appointed as Wanton's successor to become Governor, and served until 1778.  Mr. Cooke had become convinced that the warlike measures of the Assembly were correct, and entered heartily into all their views.  The 'Army of Observation' was ultimately raised and consisted of over 1,500 Rhode Island men led by Nathanael Greene.

Wanton continued to live in Newport, albeit, in relative obscurity.  While the British occupied Newport in December 1776 through October 1779 not much was heard from him, although he apparently did have success in marrying off some of his daughters to various Britishers.  Mohr states that,

Whatever may have been the real feeling which he favored for the English government, he committed no act which was followed by the confiscation of his estate. When the British evacuated the town, and the Americans returned to its possession, he remained without being molested during the brief period which elapsed before his death...³

1) Joseph, who was an Episcopal clergyman at or near Liverpool, England.  We note that he was part owner of the privateer ships, Charming Betty, and  Scorpion, during the French and Indian war, but as noted above many such ships were actually involved in slave-trading.  He is known to have offered his services to the Brown brothers to command a slave trading ship to the Guinea Coast in 1764.
2) William, was himself Deputy Governor of RI in 1764.  He became a customs naval officer of RI during his father's term, and later fled to Nova Scotia and became a collector of customs at St. Johns. NS.
3) John, who died when a child.
4) Ann, wife of Winthrop Saltonstall, of New London, CT
5) Mary, married Captain John Coddington.
6) Elizabeth, married Thomas Wickham of Newport.
7) Ruth, married William Brown, who was appointed by the British government Governor of Bermuda.
8) Catherine, twice married, first to a Mr. Stoddard, and secondly to Mr. Detileur, a surgeon in the British Army.

RI State Seal c1763

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^A1Gerlach, Larry R. "Charles Dudley and the Customs Quandary of Pre-Revolutionary Rhode Island."  Rhode Island History, Spring 1971, pp52-59.

¹Crane, Elaine Forman. A Dependent People: Newport, Rhode Island in the Revolutionary Era,  Fordham University Press, New York, 1992. p116.

²Lossing, Benson J. Pictoral Field Guide to the Revolution, Vol. I. Harper Brothers, New York, 1859, Chapter XXVII..

³Mohr, Ralph S. Governors for Three Hundred Years, 1638-1959, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Revised Edition. Oxford Press, 1959. p184-185

⁴Staples, William R. Documentary History of the Destruction of the Gaspee, Introduction by Richard Deasy. Rhode Island Publications Society, 1990.