Background
Anthony Sharp, the son of Thomas Sharp, was born in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England in January 1643.
Anthony Sharp, the son of Thomas Sharp, was born in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England in January 1643.
In the summer or early fall of 1669, due to persecution of his Quaker religious beliefs, he fled from Gloucestershire and moved to Dublin and engaged in the woolen trade, in which he was highly successful. By 1680, he employed about 500 workers in the trade and in 1688, the weavers’ guild elected him master. Anthony Sharp was active in the Dublin Quaker Community.
Anthony Sharp was one of the original shareholders of West New Jersey in 1677.
Subsequently, when William Penn purchased land in East Jersey, Sharp also became an owner of property there as well. Not wishing to emigrate himself due to his successful woolen business, Sharp remained in Dublin.
Anthony Sharp financed the Quaker colony established in New Jersey in 1681. Anthony Sharp"s father (born about 1603 in Tetbury, Gloucester, England) married Anthony"s mother, Elizabeth Hookham on 27 November 1628 in Gloucester.
Elizabeth Hookham was born about 1607 in Gloucester.
They had 7 children William, Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Anthony, Isaac, Anis, and Thomas.