Abraham Redwood

circa 1790

Abraham Redwood (1709-1788) was born in Newport 15 February 1709. His father, Abraham Sr., and mother, Mehatable Langford, managed a large sugar plantation called "Cassada Gardens" in Antigua. During his father's first marriage the couple and their eight children traveled frequently between Antigua and New England, settling in Newport 1712-1717. The family were members of the Society of Friends and worshipped at the Meeting House in Newport. Mehetable died in 1715, and Abraham Sr.'s second wife, Patience Howland Phillips, bore him five more children. Abraham Redwood was educated in Philadelphia and inherited "Cassadra Gardens" following the death of his brother in 1724. He married Martha Coggeshall in 1726, who bore him nine children, and settled in Newport. Abraham improved the already successful sugar trade and became one of the wealthiest and most respected merchants of Newport's "Golden Age" of the eighteenth Ceutury. In 1770 the Quakers formally renounced slavery and when Abraham, always a reluctant Quaker, refused to comply, disowned him. In 1747 he gave money and books for the founding of the Redwood Library and died 7 March 1788.

oil paint on canvas

42 1/2 x 33 1/2 in. (107.1 x 85.1 cm)

Bequest of Mrs. Edward A. Grossman

PA.086