Editing Henry Laurens (section)

==Early life and education==
Laurens's forebears were [[Huguenots]] who fled France after the [[Edict of Nantes]] was revoked in 1685. His grandfather Andre Laurens left earlier, in 1682, and eventually made his way to America, settling first in New York City and then [[Charleston, South Carolina]]. Andre's son John married Hester (or Esther) Grasset, also a Huguenot refugee. Henry was their third child and eldest son. John Laurens became a saddler, and his business eventually grew to be the largest of its kind in the colonies.<ref name="enc">{{cite encyclopedia  |entry=Laurens, Henry (1724–1792) |encyclopedia=American Eras |publisher=Encyclopedia.com |chapter-url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/laurens-henry-1724-1792 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422202040/https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/us-history-biographies/henry-laurens |archive-date=2018-04-22 }}</ref>

In 1744, Laurens was sent to London to augment his business training.<ref name="enc"/> This took place in the company of [[Richard Oswald (merchant)|Richard Oswald]].<ref>Gillespie, p.20</ref> His father died in 1747, bequeathing a considerable estate to 23-year-old Henry.<ref name="enc"/>