The Orphan Who Was Chosen Before He Knew

In 1�788, a nine-year-old boy named William was living in a cramped London orphanage, scrubbing floors and mending shoes for his supper. He had no idea that across the city, a wealthy merchant named Henry Thornton had already written his name into a ledger — not of debts, but of provision. Thornton, a devout Christian and member of the Clapham Sect, had visited the orphanage months earlier and quietly arranged for William's education, apprenticeship, and future care.…