Background and Early Life
Paul Revere was born on December 21, 1737 (according to the Old Style calendar then in use). His father, Apollos
Riviore, was a native French Huguenot who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts at the age of 13 and immediately became an
apprentice to perhaps the most successful Bostonian silversmith of the early 18th century, John Coney (Triber, 7). After a
few years of living in America and before he wed Deborah Hitchborn - a member of a long-standing Boston family that owned
a shipping wharf - in 1729, Rivoire anglicized his name to the more “English-appropriate” Paul Revere. Their son, also
named Paul Revere, was the third of 12 children, although he would become the eldest surviving son before he reached
adulthood (Fischer, 297). Paul Revere grew up in the environment of the extended Hitchborn family; therefore, never
learned his father’s native language of French (Fischer, 9). At the age of 13 he left school to become an apprentice to his
father, who by this time had his own silversmith business. The silversmith trade afforded both father and son connections
with a cross-section of Boston society, which served him quite well when he became active in the American Revolution
(Triber, 16). One area in which father and son differed was religion. Though a religious young man, Paul was drawn to the
Church of England, while his father attended Puritan services (Miller, 21). Soon, the young Revere began attending the
services of the political and provocative minister Jonathan Mayhew at the Old West Church, located in Boston. Mayhew,
who would coin the notable phrase, “no taxation without representation”, was very important in the development of
the movement for liberty and independence and produced quite a following among the younger generations. (Miller, 21).
Paul’s father did not approve whatsoever, even resulting in the father and son coming to blows on more than one occasion.
However, the young Paul relented and returned to his father’s church - although he did remain friends with Mayhew, who
would continue to interest and influence many locals, including the young Paul Revere (Miller, 25).
Paul’s father died in 1754, and though he was the eldest surviving son, the younger Revere was legally too young to
officially be the master of the family silver shop (Triber, 21). Not much is known about what he did during the years
immediately following his father’s death, but two years later in February 1756 - during the French and Indian Wars - he
enlisted in the provincial army; a decision possibly made due to the feeble economy of the time, since army service did
promise consistent pay (Triber, 22). He did not stay in the army long and soon returned to Boston and assumed control of
the silver shop in his own name. Soon thereafter, on August 4, 1757, he married Sarah Orne and eight months later their
first child was born (Miller, 33).