Background
His father was Joseph Wanton, a shipbuilder in Tiverton, and his mother was Sarah Freeborn, the daughter of Gideon and Sarah (Brownell) Freeborn.
His father was Joseph Wanton, a shipbuilder in Tiverton, and his mother was Sarah Freeborn, the daughter of Gideon and Sarah (Brownell) Freeborn.
Wanton was admitted as a freeman to Newport in 1718, and had an active business life. Being fiscally minded, he was elected to the office of general treasurer in 1733, to which office he continued until 1744. A big controversy existed in the colony at the time on whether to use paper currency or hard currency (coin).
Wanton was an advocate of paper currency, and as treasurer he issued 264,000 pounds in bills of cartulary-register
In 1745 and again in 1747, Wanton was elected as the governor of the colony, each time for a one-year term. During his two short terms the British were fighting the French, and a good part of the war was being carried out in the American colonies.
Following his terms in office, Wanton kept active mostly in his dealings within the Friends (Quaker) society. He died on 12 September 1767, and was buried in the Friends" Burial Ground, sometimes called Governor"s Cemetery, on Tilden Street in Newport.
