 William Stacy was born in Gloucester , Massachusetts in 1734 and died in Marietta , Ohio in 1802 . Slightly different years of birth and death have been reported . Stacy grew up in Gloucester on the coast of Massachusetts and worked as a shoemaker , a trade learned from his father ; he may also have worked in the seafaring business . William Stacy married Sarah Day in 1754 . Subsequently , during 1757 , they moved away from the coast to New Salem in western Massachusetts , and raised a large family . Stacy took up farming and continued his work as a shoemaker . He also became a commercial banker , loaning money at interest before there were any banks in the area . His customers were from New Salem and other towns in the Province of Massachusetts Bay . By the time of his early middle age , William Stacy was living a comfortable life ; he was successful and widely known . During 1775 , at the age of 41 , William Stacy 's life changed with the onset of friction between the Thirteen Colonies and the British Empire . 
