I'm a script writer (on a hobby level but non the less). I found this YouTube video by the popular "Sam O'nella Academy" channel who does videos on strange and disturbing facts and peoples about the "dumbest rags to riches story" of Lord Timothy Dexter, a self made American business man who sold coal to Newcastle and other ridiculous business ventures always earning a profit: https://youtu.be/ChSUvdU_Sbk

This links to some articles in non scholarly historical journals and a Wikipedia article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Dexter

This repeats most of the statements of the Youtube video, also linking to some mainly unscholarly sources.

If even half of these tales are true this man would be the most perfect subject for a comedy play there ever was and I'm determined to write it. However, many seem too good to be true. Basically as the video and Wikipedia article will explain in more detail, Dexter was a fool who married rich and always fell for the bad advice of other businessmen to "ship coals to Newcastle", heating pans to the Carribbean and collected worthless continental dollars and whale bones, always to end up making a profit through a ridiculous contrivance.

This sounds like tall tales to me.

Now Dexter was a real life eccentric and his ridiculously misspelled book "a pickle for the knowing ones" was real, that much I've understood. And even if much of it is unproven I'll still likely move ahead with a draft of the play. Still, I'd like to know where I stand as far as evidence goes. Therefore I ask for your help to find if there are any concrete proofs anywhere for these crazy business ventures.

Thank you.