Merchant is an extremely vague term in early America. Sometimes it meant someone was a peddler or small time shop keeper. Other times it meant someone owned ships and was a major importer and exporter. Some Jewish men (such as Aaron Lopez) engaged in the slave trade, but many merchants of all religious had some ties to the triangle trade. Often men will put the epithet “merchant” on their gravestones as a badge of honor. It also appears in wills.
