Joseph Wanton son of William and Ruth (Bryant) Wanton, and descended from Edward Wanton who was in Boston, Massachussets, as early as 1658, was born into a family prominent in Rhode Island affairs. His father was governor of Rhode Island from 1732 to 1734, his father's brother John was governor from 1734 to 1741, while a first cousin, Gideon Wanton, was governor in 1745-46 and 1747-48.
Joseph received no formal education, but acquired from his father and other residents of Newport a practical knowledge of ship-building, privateering, and other occupations associated with the sea.
Admitted a freeman of the colony in 1728, he became in 1738 a deputy collector of customs at Newport, which position he held for over ten years. From about 1759 until the collapse of the family fortunes in 1780, he engaged, with two of his sons, in general merchandising under the firm name of Joseph & William Wanton. They dealt extensively with the Browns of Providence, from whom they bought quantities of spermaceti candles for resale in America and the West Indies. To the latter islands the firm also exported fish, cheese, lumber, pork, and mutton, and from thence imported molasses and loaf sugar. Business between the Browns and the Wantons declined in 1774, probably because of the royalist leanings of the latter. Joseph Wanton was first elected governor in April 1769. Since he was both the elected executive of a charter colony and an officer bound to enforce British colonial regulations, he had a difficult time during his six-year tenure. In 1769 he had to deal with the case of the Liberty, a British sloop scuttled by a group of Newporters; and in 1772, with Daniel Horsmanden, Frederick Smythe, and Peter Oliver, the chief justices of New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, and Robert Auchmuty, judge of the vice-admiralty court at Boston, he was appointed to inquire into the affair of the Gaspee. Throughout these and other disturbances the governor succeeded reasonably well in appearing to enforce order without unduly restraining the patriot cause, with which he partially sympathized. He believed, however, that for the good of all concerned, America should remain a part of the British empire, and consequently, with the outbreak of hostilities at Lexington, he opposed further revolutionary measures. Although re-elected May 3, 1775, for another term, he declined to appear, May 4, to take the oath of office and the following day declined to sign the commissions of the troops that had been raised. The General Assembly in June suspended him from acting as governor, and on October 31 deposed him. Although Wanton lost the confidence of the patriots, he retained their respect and was not personally molested. He remained in Newport until his death in the summer of 1780, taking no further part in public affairs. A man of large build and impressive appearance, he liked expensive clothes and a bountiful table. Although he was often spoken of as a wealthy man, little of Wanton's estate survived the Revolution. His liquid assets were invested in the mercantile firm, which suffered reverses during the war, especially after 1779 when the state confiscated the property of his sons Joseph, Jr. , and William, who had openly espoused the British cause; a loan of £500 to his son-in-law, William Browne of Salem, Massachussets, later governor of Bermuda, was never repaid. His father had left the Quakers and his mother the Presbyterians at the time of their marriage; their son was an Episcopalian, a member of Trinity Church in Newport.
With no known civic background, Wanton was elected as governor of the colony in 1769, and served for six years. With the American Revolutionary War on the horizon, he was involved with a large array of issues and incidents, most notably the Gaspee Affair in 1772, where he played an important role in thwarting the crown from finding the members of the group of colonists that boarded and burned the royal schooner Gaspee. The formation of the Continental Congress took place during his administration, and he was in continuous communication with governors of other colonies. He also became a founder and trustee of the new college in the Rhode Island colony, eventually named Brown University.
His gubernatorial career resembled that of Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts, but the two men differed widely in personal characteristics. Wanton was less intellectual and less ambitious than his renowned contemporary, but he suffered adversity with greater fortitude.
On August 21, 1729, he had married Mary, daughter of John Winthrop, F. R. S. They had five daughters and three sons.
