John Banister (1707-1767)

He was born in Boston and became a leading merchant in Newport, trading with England, the West Indies (notably the Bay of Honduras) and elsewhere. He also engaged in privateering and the slave trade. In 1752, he held one of the last public slave auctions in Rhode Island, describing them in advertisements as "the finest cargo of slaves ever brought into New England". Towards the end of his life, he moved to Middletown, R.I., where he died, survived by one son.