88 

 JOSHUA WADDINGTON. 



Mr. Joshua Waddington was elected to the Presi- 

 idency of the St. George's Society in 1802, in suc- 

 cession to Mr. Miles Sherbrooke, and thus became 

 its fourth President. He was born at Blyth, Not- 

 tinorhamshire, Enijland, beinor the seventh son of 

 Joshua Waddington, M. A., Rector of Harworth, 

 by his wife Anne Waddington, nee Ferrand. 



Mr. Waddington married, in 1780, a daughter of 

 Mr. Elias Desbrosses, who died without issue. He 

 again married, in 1804, Gertrude Gouveneur, daugh- 

 ter of Abraham Ogden, and had issue two sons and 

 eight daughters. 



He came to America in the year 1776 at the so- 

 licitation of his brothers, William and Henry, who 

 had already established themselves in New York as 

 importers of foreign goods, arriving here on the 

 eventful 20th day of September, when one-half of 

 the city was destroyed by fire. He was sleeping in 

 the store of his elder brothers in Broad street, and 

 was awakened by the reflection of the flames from 

 Trinity Church, which was then being consumed, 

 the fire continuing to burn all that night and the 

 following day; truly his was a warm reception. The 

 elder brothers, William and Henry, eventually re- 

 tired to England, leaving a very flourishing business 

 to Joshua. From that time he stood at the head of 

 the linen importing trade of America, doing business 



