Background
He was the son of William Rathbone III and Rachel Rutter, and was a Liverpool ship-owner and merchant, involved in the organisation of American trade with Liverpool.
He was the son of William Rathbone III and Rachel Rutter, and was a Liverpool ship-owner and merchant, involved in the organisation of American trade with Liverpool.
He would never join another religious body, though he occasionally worshiped with local Unitarian congregations. They had eight children:
William Rathbone V (1787–1868)
Richard Rathbone (1788–1860)
Hannah Mary (1791–1865)
Joseph (1793–1794)
Theophilus (1795–1798)
Theodore Woolman (1798–1863)
Benson (1800–1834)
Basil (1802–1804)
In 1788, he leased the family house and estate of Greenbank, then part of the Toxteth Park estate, to serve as a country retreat for his young family, and purchased the freehold of the house in 1809. Rathbone died on 11 February 1809, and was buried at Liverpool Friends" Burial Ground.