“There are but few men who are sufficiently attentive to their own thoughts and able to analyze every motive or action. Among these, Timothy Dexter was not one.” wrote Samuel L. Knapp, author of Life of Lord Timothy Dexter1
Armer with only the power of his will, and an astronomical amount of luck, self-proclaimed “Lord” Timothy Dexter managed to become one the wealthiest men in 18th century America.
I first stumbled across Dexter’s story in an article online and was so amused I decided to research further.
I now wish to inform you of the strange life of Timothy Dexter; beginning with humble origins, followed by his rise to wealth, and finally his desperate attempts to gain fame and respect.
Dexter came into the world with the disadvantage
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of poor upbringings and lack of opportunities. Dexter was born to a family of farm laborers who saw no excess of financial stability.
According to the Essex Antiquarian, a magazine published in 1903 by renowned researcher and author of Essex County history, Sidney Perley, Dexter attended school until the age of eight where he was then sent to work on a farm for six years. 2
Dexter’s lack of formal education would later come back to haunt him in his future endeavours.
In an attempt to escape the life of a farm laborer, Dexter moved to Charlestown, the center of leather dressing business in New England.
Dexter managed to secure an apprenticeship with a Boston leather desser, a job which was considered lower class, but one he would remain in until the age of 21.
Completing his apprenticeship, he moved to Newburyport with nothing more than what he could carry on his person.
The story of Dexter's rise to wealth is one composed of ill-advised gambles and sheer luck.
After moving to Newburyport, Dexter managed to meet and charm Elizabeth Frothingham, a wealthy widow nine years his senior.
This encounter brought Dexter into the ranks of the wealthy and educated upper class.
Being uneducated and of lowly decent, Dexter was ostracized by his new peers and he set off to prove himself to
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them. Desperate to be accepted, Dexter blindly followed advice from his malicious compatriots. During the Revolutionary War in 1775, the Continental dollar faced heavy inflation and lost nearly all its value. Dexter, after being jokingly suggested, spent his entire newly acquired fortune buying boatloads of worthless currency for a fraction of their face value, in hopes that the currency would be reinstated. With what could only be called a miraculous stroke of luck, Dexter’s idiotic gamble payed off, as the ratification of the Constitution in the 1790s allowed the currency to be traded in for treasury bonds at 1% of face value. Since Dexter has spent his entire fortune buying a massive amount of currency at a fraction of that, he became astronomically wealthy.
After securing his wealth, Dexter made it his new focus to garner fame and respect.
With his newly gained fortune, Dexter built himself a lavish home, decorated with the best furnishings on the market.
Dexter then hired artists to carve out more than forty giant, wooden statues of famous figures in American history.
The statues were valued at around $2000 apiece, which totaled more than twice what Dexter has payed for his entire estate.
With this, Dexter’s goal of fame was achieved for as Samuel L. Knapp, author of Life of Lord Timothy Dexter wrote “it made the bumpkins stare and gave the owner the greatest pleasure.”1
Respect, however, elluded Dexter due to his distasteful and crude nature.
Included in his collection of statues was one of himself which included an inscription boasting “I am the first in the East, the first in the West, and the greatest philosopher in the western world.”
This was painted on despite the fact Dexter had never contributed to the field of Philosophy, much less read a book on the
subject. Dexter also, despite his limited knowledge of writing and penmanship, wrote and published his own book. The book lacked any form of punctuation and was a jumbled mess of misspelled words. In conclusion, despite Timothy Dexter’s later shortcomings as a person he managed to: Overcome the adversity and limitations he had in the early portions of his life Acquire a vast fortune And gain notoriety through his frugal displays of wealth. Closing statement.
The final episode occurs seven years after the war. Dexter is now a very successful businessperson in New York City. Devlin, a business acquaintance from Detroit, makes small talk by remarking that one of his best friends in Detroit, at whose wedding Devlin ushered, was married to a woman from
Dexter, although he could have attended a state university, chose to attend an older and more prestigious university in the East. However, he struggled with his limited funds while studying there. After college, he invested in a laundry business, which he grew and eventually became very wealthy. He returned to the golf course to play with the wealthy old men he once caddied for.
Dexter denies his background as coming from the middle class and wanting to have more in life. He started as a fourteen year old golf caddie and was the best one around. Dexter one day while working thought to himself that he could have so much more than just being a golf caddie. Then and there he decided to quit his job and move on with his life. As Dexter grows up and moves out west to fulfill his dream, there is a duality inside of him that ultimately is his own downfall.
Little did Dexter know that Judy was going to play him like she has played every other man in town, dinner, dates, and get booted to the curb when she got bored. Judy preyed on Dexter’s so-called love throughout his childhood, adulthood, and his engagement with Irene. Dexter and Judy’s relationship was based off Dexter’s dream to have the prettiest girl even if she couldn’t be
Fifth Business is a fictional memoir of Dunstan Ramsay, a small town boy from Deptford, Canada whom we get to see evolve into an intellectual man looking for meaning in life. Dunstan has an innate ability to read people upon first or second meeting, but never seems to get a true read on himself. He is relatively successful financially, and is proclaimed a war hero after receiving the most prestigious English award; the Victoria Cross. He was raised well, and has an intelligence that exceeds his small-town upbringing. All these things seem like they would lead Dunstan to a happy, satisfying life. However, at the beginning of the story Dunstan goes through a major life-changing event. His best friend and biggest rival Percy hits a pregnant woman with a snowball intended for Dunstan. This sends Dunstan into a life full of guilt, eventually leading him to a life without any significant other or true friendships.
The similarities between Jay and Dexter are quite apparent when reading each story. They both come from the Midwest and although Dexter’s family has some money, both are similar in the fact that they did not start out as wealthy, upper class men from rich families. Their hard work and determination to make their own wealth and acquire the luxuries and social status that come with it are completely by their own doing. Both men achieve their goals of the American dream at a relatively young age and are able to be a part of the high society they once observed from a distance. Their desire to amass wealth and the perks associated with it come with an ulterior motive, to win back the girls they desire that will only be with them if they have the wealth and status to bring to the table.
...e proper descriptions of Douglass’s experiences. These words also justify that he is brilliant and not no fool. His influential words in the narrative support the message of him being smarter than what some people may believe.
The institution of slavery defies the very nature of humanity, truth, and intellect from both the slave and the slave owner. Throughout the "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave; the terrible relationship between ignorance and suppression is seen time and time again with every one of his owners. Douglass is fortunate in discovering the liberating power of knowledge of which his owners are trying so diligently to conceal. With this discovery comes a "new conception" of just how evil the institution of slavery is, causing Douglass to consider the pursuit of this powerful tool. To further complicate his battle against ignorance, Douglass's pathway to enlightenment and ultimately freedom leads him to discover the many other cruel methods that his suppressors use to break the essential and most important component of humanity, the soul.
...as had a short but unique life and has managed to push himself to attain the success that he always believed he was capable of. Like any other individual’s life he surely has had his ups and downs as everyone else. Within just the first half of his life his father abandoned him and continued to beat his mother, he began both using and dealing drugs, had accidentally shot himself and even had a daughter. The second half was any less eventful then the first. Since his first child he has had three more, picked up a couple more drug habits, has been to prison, attained his GED and has become worth over 100 million dollars.With the many different aspects to both his personality and behavior many different theories from various theorist can be applied to him.
During the summers, Dexter works hard at being the best caddie at the Sherry Island Country Club. This is foretelling of the hard work he will do to change his socioeconomic status. We are shown how dedicated Dexter is by the tears in Mr. Jones' eyes on the day he decides to quit (Fitzgerald, 120). After meeting Judy Jones, Dexter developed a stronger sense of urgency to change his status. Dexter is so determined to fulfill his dream that he opts to go to a "more famous university in the East" rather than the state university that was more affordable (Fitzgerald, 122). This is an example of his determination to lift his status in the eyes of others. While speaking with Judy, he uses his prestigious university as the starting point of his life. Unfortunately for Dexter, he cannot conquer Judy Jones as he has every
With the progression of time we find Frederick Douglas begin to shift the tone to a focus within himself. The story begins to c...
Dexter and Judy could have had a fairytale ending, but in the end both of their lives were lonely and depressing. Judy wanted Dexter, but not to fall in love with her. She wanted him because she knew she could have him and wanted to prove to herself that her beauty could get a man to do anything. She convinced a man to break off an engagement with a girl he could have been happy with. She didn’t even stick around Dexter long enough for him to even propose.
Dexter had to keep himself from forgetting he cannot have Judy Jones. In the end of the story Dexter has come to a conclusion he could not have Judy, “When autumn had come and gone again, it occurred to him that he could not have Judy Jones. He had to beat this into his mind, but he convinced himself at last. He lay awake at night for a while and argued it over. He told himself the trouble and the pain she had caused him, he enumerated her glaring deficiencies as a wife”(p 974). While Dexter cared for Judy he felt that he need to forget her since he knew he could never really have her full attention. While he knew he could never have her he knew he could never have her he meet her again and falls for her all over again one last time and this time it was her that was convincing him to date once again. "I'm more beautiful than anybody else," she said brokenly, "why can't I be happy?" Her moist eyes tore at his stability--her mouth turned slowly downward with an exquisite sadness: "I'd like to marry you if you'll have me, Dexter. I suppose you think I'm not worth having, but I'll be so beautiful for you, Dexter"(p 977). While Dexter was not too sure how to feel he didn't know how to react to this, with Judy he
Dexter has been able to fly under the radar, and could undoubtedly do so until he “retires” from his serial killings. If he continues to stick to his “code” he will be able to fulfill his duty to wipe the scum of Miami off the streets. Dexter’s layered personality, ability to balance himself and intellectual thinking is something that keeps viewers coming back for more.Is it possible that Dexter’s actions would ever be accepted in the modern world? Regardless, his addicting personality makes show viewer’s reconsider the line between what is good and what is evil.
now a part of London. He had no real formal education so he was largely