Lupton, William (1743-1753)

Last updated on 29 March 2025

Lupton, William

St. Sepulchre, London, then Charleston, South Carolina, USA; cabinet maker and importer (fl. 1743-1753)

William Lupton was born on 31 May 1717 in the parish of St. Sepulchre, London. He was the son of John Lupton and Jane Calcott, his father a turner and member of the the Joiners' Company, apprenticed in April 1702 and made free in 1712. Generations of the Lupton family were members of the Company. 

By September 1743, William had established himself in Charleston when placing an advertisement in the local paper: 

The_South_Carolina_Gazette_1743_10_03
This is to give Notice, that "WILLIAM LUPTON, Cabinet and Chair maker from London, living next Door to Mr. Parris Sadler, in Broad Street, makes all sorts of Cabinets and Chairs in the first and newest manner,, and at the lowest prices. All Gentlemen and Ladies that will please to favour him with their custom will have their work done with the greatest care and expedition by William Lupton [South Carolina Gazette, 19 September 1743].

On 2 March 1744, he was married to Alice North at St. Philip's Church in Charleston. No children are known from the marriage.

In December 1750 he published a notice in the South Carolina Gazette, announcing that he was 'obliged to go to London': 

Lupton's advertisment detailing his imminent departure to London 1751
As I am under an indispensable necessity of settling my affairs speedily, being obliged to go for London, by next fall [1751], must desire all persons, in any shape indebted to me, to discharge the same by the first of February next, as all accounts then due and unpaid will be put into the hands of David Grame, Esq; attorney at law. I have by me a large quantity of cordial waters, which for ready money will sell much lower than usual; also some dry goods, viz., hollands, sheeting, linnen, etc., at less than the common advance [South Carolina Gazette, 10 December 1750].

By July 1751, he was apparently arranging to sell his home and workshop because on the 22 July he placed the following advertisement: 

The_South_Carolina_Gazette_1751_07_22
To be Sold on the first Tuesday in Aug next, for the benefit of my creditors, a lot with a good dwelling house upon it, 35 feet front and 148 feet deep, with good conveniences for a cabinet-maker. Any person inclined to purchase same before the day of sale may treat with William Lupton [South Carolina Gazette, 22 July 1751].

What became of William Lupton thereafter is uncertain; he may have returned to London, but there is no known evidence of him living and/or setting up in business in contemporary London tax or parish records. 

On 31 March 1753, Alice Lupton renounced her dower rights in a legal proceeding, formally relinquishing any claim to her husband's property: 

'Alice Lupton, wife of William Lupton, 'Cabinet Maker' of Charles Town, renounced dower in quarter part of lot 43 on Church Street, which said quarter part of a Town Lot of Land with the Houses and Buildings thereon was lately seized and taken up...by... Provost Marshal... and sold and conveyed to the said William Biset, Taylor of Charles Town.' At the time of the renunciation, Lupton faced legal claims from several individuals, including: 

  • John Watson, merchant of Charleston
  • Thomas Elfe, cabinet maker of Charleston
  • Thomas Hutchinson, cabinet maker of Charleston

Alice remained in Charleston. The couple had apparently divorced because on 21 October 1755, she married the cabinet maker, John Wilson, in the same congregation that she and Lupton had wed. 

A William Lupton was buried at St. George, Hanover Square in Westminster, London on 5 Oct 1767. Perhaps he was a cabinet maker who travelled across the seas to work in Charleston for a while.

Sources: DEFM; MESDA Craftsmen ID 22297; The London Archives (TLA),  England, Births and Christenings: St. Sepulchre, born 31 May 1717 and christened 9 Jun 1717; South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 5, No. 3: 2 March 1744; Charleston County, S.C., Renunciation of Dower, 1740-53, transcript, unpaged,#605, 31 March 1753., South Carolina, U.S., Compiled Marriage Index, 21 October 1755; City of Westminster Archives Centre, Westminster Church of England Parish Registers,  STG/PR/8/3, 5 October, 1767.

Source

Occupation

Material

Object