Elias Hasket Derby [SEP] place of birth
Elias Hasket Derby
Elias Hasket Derby (August 16, 1739 — September 8, 1799) was among the wealthiest and most celebrated of post-Revolutionary merchants in Salem, Massachusetts, and owner of the "Grand Turk," the first New England vessel to trade directly with China.
Biography.
Biography Early life.
Born in Salem, he was the son of sea captain and merchant Richard Derby (1712–1783), but never went to sea. At a young age he entered the counting house of his father
Hasket (Elias Jr.) to manage the firm's eastern trade from a base there. In 1788, Hasket traveled to Bombay with two ships and purchased a cargo of textiles. Hasket continued to trade in India throughout the late 1780s, eventually returning home in 1791. The Derby's then entered the India textile trade in earnest, sending no fewer that five ships over the next four years.
Derby is often referred to as "King Derby" or as America's first millionaire. However, it is improbable that Elias