Laurens, Henry, 1724-1792

Charleston, S.C. merchant, plantation owner, and politician. In June 1775 Laurens became president of the first Provincial Congress.

American politician.

Henry Laurens was a merchant; he was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1772.

Charleston, S.C. merchant, planter, and member of the Continental Congress.

Charleston, S.C. merchant, plantation owner, South Carolina state legislator, U.S. Continental Congressman, and U.S. diplomat.

Henry Laurens (1724-1792), South Carolina merchant-planter, was president of the Continental Congress, 1777-1779.

Revolutionary statesman.

President of the Continental Congress.

Merchant, plantation owner, state legislator, member of the Continential Congress, and diplomat, of Charleston, S.C.

Merchant, planter, and legislator in the U.S. Continental Congress; of Charleston, S.C.

American statesman and member of the Continental Congress from Charleston, South Carolina.

South Carolina merchant, planter, Revolutionary statesman, and diplomat.

President of the continental congress.

South Carolina politician; member of Continental Congress 1777-1779 (president 1777-1778), U.S. minister to Holland 1779, unofficial minister to Britain 1782-1783.

Henry Laurens was a merchant. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1772.

Henry Laurens' grandparents came to America from France in the late 17th century. The Laurens family settled in New York. Henry's father, John Laurens (also known as Jean Samuel Laurens) married Esther Grasset in 1715 or 1716. At around that time the Laurens family moved from New York to Charleston, South Carolina, where Henry Laurens was born in 1724. As the third child and the eldest son, Henry had a place of distinction in his family and was made the executor of his father's estate upon his death in 1747.

After a brief stint in London to become acquainted with the business world, Laurens settled himself in South Carolina, where he grew his business empire and became a respected merchant, trading with England and the West Indies. He also ran a large plantation on the Cooper River and was the owner of 300 slaves, and he purchased slaves from Africa and traded them in the colonies. In the 1750s Laurens held a number of local offices, and then served in the House of Assembly for much of the 1760s. When his wife Eleanor (nee Ball), whom he had married in 1750, died in 1770, he stepped away from his business pursuits and concentrated on the education of his children . While in England arranging for their schooling, Laurens became active in attempting to address some of the colonies' grievances with England.

In 1775 he was elected to the South Carolina Provincial Congress, and in 1777 he was elected to the Continental Congress, serving as its president from 1777 to 1778. Following his election to the post of Minister to Holland in 1779, Laurens sailed to Europe but was captured by the British and imprisoned in the Tower of London until the end of 1781. Following his release (in exchange for Lord Cornwallis), Laurens signed the preliminary version of the Treaty of Paris in 1782, and then returned home to South Carolina, where he had barely visited since 1777.

Although he was elected and/or appointed to various political offices, Laurens retired from public life in 1784 and lived on his plantation until his death in 1792.

Plantation owner and merchant. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Henry Laurens spent three years in England as a clerk for James Crokatt, a London merchant. In 1749 he became a partner in the Charleston firm Austin & Laurens, which became became Austin, Laurens & Appleby in 1759, dissolving in 1762. Laurens, who made a fortune in the slave and rice trades and held a number of local offices, first served in the Royal Assembly in 1757. For three years beginning in 1771 Laurens was abroad seeing to the education of his three sons. He later served in the Provincial Congress and the General Assembly.

Laurens was elected president of the Continental Congress in 1777. In 1780 while on route to the Netherlands to negotiate a treaty, Laurens was captured by the British and imprisoned in the Tower of London on a charge of high treason. After his bond was paid Laurens was exchanged for Lord Cornwallis. Among his plantations were Mepkin, New Hope, Broughton Island, Mount Tacitus, tracts in Georgia, Wright's Savannah plantation, and tracts at Long Canes (S.C.).

American Peace Commissioner.

Born in Charleston, S. C. ,1724; became clerk in a countinghouse in Charleston, later in London; returned to U.S. & engaged in business; vice-pres. of S.C. ,1776; delegate & pres of Continental congr., 1777-78; minister to Holland, 1779; with B. Franklin in Paris signed prelim. of treaty with England, Nov.30,1782; ret. to Charleston & occupied in agriculture; died there, Dec. 8,1792: (First case of cremation in the United States.) (from Appleton, with portr.) (blue index cards)

Henry Laurens (1724-1792) was a native of Charleston, S.C. Laurens served as President of the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1778.

John Laurens (1754-1782), the eldest surviving son of Henry Laurens and Eleanor Ball, was born in Charleston, S.C. Against his father's wishes, John Laurens joined the Continental Army under George Washington in 1777.