When his father died on July 22, 1754, nineteen-year-old Revere could not legally operate a shop for two more years. Paul Revere likely finished school at thirteen and became his father's apprentice. His mother, Deborah Hichborn, descended from seventeenth-century English Puritan emigrants to Massachusetts. Apollos anglicized his name to Paul Revere, passing his name and goldsmith trade to his son.
1 His father, Apollos Rivoire, was a French Huguenot (Protestant) who emigrated to Boston at thirteen. A public-spirited citizen, Revere was also ambitious and often brash, traits which he embraced during both his Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary life.īorn in Boston's North End on December 21, 1734, Revere was the third of nine children and oldest surviving son. After the Revolution, he established a successful foundry and copper mill.
While many people know of Paul Revere as an ardent supporter of the American Revolution and an accomplished master silversmith, there is more to his story.
