Wanton Casey (1760-1842)

Unknown artist
New England, c. 1785
Oil on canvas
Bequest of Edward P. Casey

During the American Revolution, Wanton helped to found the Kentish Guards in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. In 1779, he traveled to France to work in the mercantile trade in partnership with his father, Silas. When he returned, the economy had been devastated by the war, so Wanton rented the family farm to tenant farmers and built a house in East Greenwich. Tenant farmers worked the land for the Caseys from then on.