The 1780s was a watershed in the history of the Liverpool Earle family, as the men of one generation all died off and gave way to their sons and nephews and the husbands of their daughters. All three sons of John Earle left the scene, Thomas Sr in 1781, William Sr in 1788 and Ralph in 1790, leaving William's two sons, also confusingly called Thomas and William, to carry on the family's name in business and public affairs, Thomas continuing family tradition by being chosen as Mayor of Liverpool in 1787. Ralph's eldest son Richard (now bearing the surname of Willis) became a landowner and coal mine owner as a result of the quirks of inheritance which had left this branch of the family so wealthy, while his second son, Willis Earle, sold his brother's coal as a factor in Liverpool, and also continued to run his father's timber business. This branch of the family will be mentioned from time to time, but the main focus from now on will be on Thomas Jr and William Jr, the two sons of William Sr, who will normally be described as just Thomas & William Earle & Coy or as T. & W. Earle.

Not much is known of the education and training of these two young men, which might have helped us understand how Thomas was able to take over both his uncle's and his father's businesses when still in his twenties. One just has to assume that he was a very precocious and talented young man. We do know that he was sent to Manchester Grammar School in January 1765, when he was 11, together with a younger brother, another Ralph, who died just two years later. This was already a famous school, but it was famous for teaching classics not business. Where William went to school we do not know; not, apparently, to Manchester Grammar School, since his name does not appear in the admission register. Both sons were destined to become engaged in the slave trade, but there is no indication that either of them ever went to West Africa, let alone served as captain of a slave ship, as their father had done.