Timothy Dexter (businessman)
| Timothy Dexter | |
|---|---|
Timothy Dexter
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| Born |
January 22, 1747 Malden, Massachusetts |
| Died |
October 23, 1806 (aged 59) Newburyport, Massachusetts |
| Resting place | Old Hill Burying Ground, Dexter Family Plot, Newburyport |
| Residence |
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| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Business sense, eccentricity |
| Notable work | A Pickle for the Knowing Ones or Plain Truth in a Homespun Dress (1802) |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth (Lord) Frothingham (m. 1770) |
| Children | Samuel Lord Dexter, Nancy Dexter |
Timothy Dexter (January 22, 1747 – October 23, 1806) was an American businessman noted for his writing and eccentricity.
Dexter was born in Malden, Massachusetts. He had little schooling and worked as a farm laborer at the age of 8. When he was 16, he became an apprentice to a leather-dresser. In 1769, he moved to Newburyport, Massachusetts. He married Elizabeth Frothingham, a rich widow, and bought a mansion. Some of his social contemporaries considered him unintelligent. Many of them gave him bad business advice to discredit him and make him lose his fortune.
At the end of the American Revolutionary War he bought large amounts of depreciated Continental currency that was worthless at the time. After the war was over, the U.S. government made good on the dollars. By the time trade connections resumed, he had amassed a fortune. He built two ships and began an export business to the West Indies and to Europe.
Because he was largely uneducated, his business sense was considered peculiar. He was inspired to send warming pans (used to heat sheets in the cold New England winters) for sale to the West Indies, a tropical area. His captain sold them as ladles for the local molasses industry and made a good profit. Next, Dexter sent wool mittens to the same place, where Asian merchants bought them for export to Siberia.
People jokingly told him to "ship coal to Newcastle". He did so during a miners' strike at the time, and his cargo was sold at a premium. At another time, practical jokers told him he could make money shipping gloves to the South Sea Islands. His ships arrived there in time to sell the gloves to Portuguese boats on their way to China.
He exported Bibles to the East Indies and stray cats to Caribbean islands and again made a profit; eastern missionaries were in need of the Bibles and the Caribbean welcomed a solution to rat infestation. He also hoarded whalebone by mistake, but ended up selling them profitably as a support material for corsets.
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