Born in County Derry, Ireland and settled in Charleston, South Carolina in 1758 where he became a prosperous merchant. John Torrans married Elizabeth Blanche Smith (d. 1817), daughter of William Smith (1728-1793) of New York. Elizabeth Torran's sister Margaret Smith married Alexander Rose in 1779, and her sister Catherine Smith married John Gordon in 1767. John Torrans owned vessels with both Rose and Gordon (also Charleston merchants). Torrans may have been a British loyalist like his father-in-law and his brother-in-law Alexander Rose.
Torrans was a partner in the firm Torrans, Greg, and Poaug (Greg was a London merchant); and later in Torrans, Poaug & Company. Torrans's firms were responsible for bringing a number of Huguenots (1764) to Charleston from England, and hundreds of slaves to Charleston from Africa. At the time of his death Torrans owned one-third share in a distillery.
From the description of John Torrans letters, ca. 1775. (College of Charleston). WorldCat record id: 31740161
