James DeWolf

James DeWolf (March 18, 1764December 21, 1837) was a slave trader, a privateer during the War of 1812, and a state and national politician. He served as a state legislator for a total of nearly 25 years, and in the 1820s as a United States senator from Rhode Island for much of a term. Along with the slave trade, DeWolf invested in sugar and coffee plantations in Cuba and became the wealthiest man in his state. By the end of his life, he was said to be the second-richest person in the entire United States. During his lifetime, his name was usually written "James D'Wolf". Early life James DeWolf born in Bristol, Rhode Island, in 1764 to Mark Anthony DeWolf (8 November 1726 - 9 November 1793) and Abigail Hazel Potter (2 February 1726 - 7 February 1809). He had eight siblings including four brothers: Charles (1745-1820), John (1760-1841), William (1762-1829) and Levi DeWolf (1766-1848). James DeWolf went to sea at an early age, shipping as a sailor on a private armed vessel during the late years of the American Revolutionary War. He participated in several naval encounters and was captured twice by the British. Slave trade After the war, DeWolf was selected as captain of a ship in his 20s. He began to engage in commercial ventures, including slave trading, often purchasing seasoned slaves from Cuba and other ports in the West Indies and transporting them primarily to southern markets in the United States. Although Rhode Island outlawed slave trading in 1787, DeWolf and his family continued to finance and command slaving voyages to West Africa.