Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens (March 6, 1724 [O.S. February 24, 1723] – December 8, 1792) was an American Founding Father, merchant, slave trader, and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laurens succeeded John Hancock as its president. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and, as president, presided over its passage.
Henry Laurens | |
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Laurens depicted by Lemuel Francis Abbott, 1781 or 1784 | |
| 5th President of the Continental Congress | |
| In office November 1, 1777 – December 9, 1778 | |
| Preceded by | John Hancock |
| Succeeded by | John Jay |
| Vice President of South Carolina | |
| In office March 26, 1776 – June 27, 1777 | |
| President | John Rutledge |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | James Parsons |
| President of the South Carolina Committee on Safety | |
| In office January 9, 1775 – March 26, 1776 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Preceded by | William Campbell As governor of South Carolina |
| Succeeded by | John Rutledge As president of South Carolina |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 6, 1724 Charleston, Province of South Carolina |
| Died | December 8, 1792 (aged 68) Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Spouse | Eleanor Ball (m. 1750; b. 1731 – d. 1770) |
| Children | John Laurens Martha Laurens Ramsay Henry Laurens, Jr. James Laurens Mary Eleanor Laurens Pinckney |
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Laurens had earned great wealth as a partner in the largest slave-trading house in North America, Austin and Laurens. In the 1750s alone, this Charleston firm oversaw the sale of more than 8,000 enslaved Africans. Laurens served for a time as vice president of South Carolina and as the United States minister to the Netherlands during the Revolutionary War. He was captured at sea by the British and imprisoned for a little more than a year in the Tower of London. His oldest son, John Laurens, was an aide-de-camp to George Washington and a colonel in the Continental Army.