Thomas Brerewood facts for kids

Thomas Brerewood (born around 1670 – died December 22, 1746) was a wealthy businessman who faced a major financial scandal in 1705, known as the "Pitkin Affair." This event was a huge deal at the time, only smaller than the famous South Sea Bubble of 1720. Even after this trouble, Brerewood was eventually forgiven and managed to become successful again. He ended his life in Maryland as a respected and important person. In 1741, he became the clerk of Baltimore County, a well-paying job he held until he passed away.

Early Life

Thomas Brerewood was born around 1670 into a rich and well-known family from Chester, England. His grandfather, Sir Robert Brerewood, was a judge during the English Civil War. His family also included a famous professor, Edward Brerewood, and a mayor of Chester.

In June 1686, Thomas became an apprentice to his uncle, Francis Brerewood, who was the Treasurer of Christ's Hospital in London. Later, in 1699, Thomas joined the Fishmongers' Company. This was a very important group of merchants, and by then, its members often worked in many different businesses, not just fishing.

Business Career

By 1705, when Brerewood was in his mid-thirties, he was already quite wealthy. He had trained as a linen draper, which is someone who sells cloth. He then moved into buying and selling cloth for others and also into international trade.

As early as 1700, he started working as an army regimental agent. This was a civilian job where he acted as a paymaster for soldiers and provided their uniforms. An agent earned a good salary, but they made even more money by selling cloth to the army and lending money to officers at very high interest rates. Just one clothing order for a regiment could bring Brerewood thousands of pounds.

Before the Pitkin Affair, Brerewood worked for some of the most important army leaders. He was the paymaster for the Duke of Marlborough’s soldiers in England while Marlborough was leading the English army against the French in the Netherlands during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1712). He also worked for other important military figures, including the Duke of Northumberland, who became a special supporter of Brerewood.

To get such important jobs, Brerewood needed support from high-ranking people and enough money to pay for uniforms upfront, as it took years to get the money back from soldiers' pay. Coming from a well-known family, Brerewood had both the connections and the wealth. He had two houses in London and several properties in Chester, including shops. He traded with Europe and the American colonies and also invested in stocks. But even with all this success, Brerewood wanted more. He was always looking for new ways to make money.

The Pitkin Affair (1705)

In February 1705, Thomas Pitkin met with his business partner, Thomas Brerewood, in a London tavern. They were planning the next step of a big financial scheme. When it was discovered a few days later, it caused a huge shock in London, similar to the Bernie Madoff scandal much later. Even though they were caught quickly, it took over 40 years and several laws to sort out the mess.

After their meeting, Pitkin left London, first going to Scotland and then to Holland. His disappearance caused a financial panic, a worldwide search, and led to new laws about bankruptcy in England.

Thomas Pitkin was a wholesale cloth merchant from a middle-class family. He had a shop in London and was successful enough to marry the daughter of a rich merchant.

Brerewood and Pitkin had worked together before on a scheme involving customs duties. While Pitkin was the public face of the Pitkin Affair, many people at the time believed Brerewood was the mastermind behind it, using Pitkin as a helper.

The scheme itself was fairly simple. Pitkin, using money partly from Brerewood, paid off some of his old debts early. This made it look like he had a lot of cash after his profitable marriage. Once he had a reputation for being wealthy, Pitkin, following Brerewood's instructions, bought a huge amount of goods on credit, meaning he didn't pay for them right away. His debts were estimated to be between £50,000 and £100,000. To give you an idea, a rich merchant at that time might earn £400 to £600 a year.

As Pitkin got the goods, he secretly passed them to Brerewood. Also, before he disappeared, Pitkin transferred all his property to Brerewood. The idea was that when Pitkin's creditors (the people he owed money to) realized he had fled and tried to get their money back through bankruptcy, they would find nothing left. The plan was for Brerewood, who had all the goods, to offer to buy the creditors' debts for a small amount. The conspirators thought the creditors would be eager to get anything back and would agree. After quietly selling the goods, Brerewood would supposedly split the remaining money with Pitkin, who could then return to England without legal problems.

However, the plan didn't work out as intended. Pitkin's creditors quickly noticed his absence and became suspicious. When Pitkin didn't return, the creditors started legal action. Because the scheme was so large and involved over 140 creditors, they asked the House of Commons to pass a law against Pitkin in February 1705. They explained that they couldn't find any of Pitkin's assets and that many creditors would be ruined. They wanted Parliament to fix the problem that existing laws "had not provided sufficient Remedies for the Discovery of Frauds of this Kind." They needed a law that could force a bankrupt person to reveal and hand over their assets. The Commons then created a committee to find ways to prevent and punish such financial schemes.

The resulting law, called "An Act for the Relief of the Creditors of Thomas Pitkin, a Bankrupt," became law on March 14, 1705. Among other things, it threatened Pitkin with life in prison if he didn't return to London and cooperate. In the end, Pitkin was caught in Holland and brought back to London. He told his creditors everything, blaming Brerewood. Pitkin spent some time in prison while helping his creditors, but he never seemed to pay back any money. He later moved to a small village in East Anglia.

Brerewood didn't give up easily. Even though creditors identified him as a partner in the scheme and the House of Lords ordered his arrest in March 1705, he still managed to save some of the money. He hired a lawyer to negotiate with Pitkin's creditors. The lawyer convinced them to accept a small payment in September 1705, saying that was all Brerewood could pay. But the creditors eventually found out that Brerewood had much more of the hidden money than he had claimed. In April 1707, they got another law passed against him. This law made all of Brerewood's property responsible for Pitkin's debts, again with the threat of life in prison.

But the story continued. Brerewood fled to Livorno, Italy. His creditors found him there in December 1707 and, at great expense, brought him back to London for trial. In March 1709, he was found guilty of "Defrauding Mr. Pitkins Creditors" and sentenced as the law required. However, by November, he was freed with a royal pardon. This happened after he agreed to pay the creditors an additional amount of money. The London Gazette announced this agreement and the pardon in November 1709.

Brerewood's Bankers, Coggs and Dann

The story still wasn't over, because Brerewood had arranged for his bankers, Coggs and Dann, to pay his debt. Pitkin's creditors then went after the bankers, which led to their financial ruin.

John Coggs and John Dann were Goldsmiths, and like many goldsmiths in London at that time, they also worked as bankers. John Coggs had been a well-known banker for over 40 years and had a reputation for being reliable. Around 1700, Brerewood started keeping an account with Coggs and Dann. It seems Brerewood mostly dealt with the less experienced Dann. Dann had a past as a coxswain (a boat operator) for the famous pirate Henry Every and had joined Coggs to make his finances legitimate.

The problem was that Brerewood owed Coggs and Dann over £49,000. This was more money than he owed to all of Pitkin's creditors combined, and it was more money than he could pay. The bankers realized they couldn't save their business. On January 12, 1710, they announced in the newspaper that they were bankrupt and would stop all payments.

The list of people who lost money when the bank failed shows how important this event was. Many noble and important people, including the Duke of Marlborough, the Duke of Norfolk, and the Duke of Newcastle, were owed large sums. In total, 217 people were owed £54,079. John Coggs died shortly after, a broken man. John Dann worked with the bank's trustees to sell off the bank's assets over the years. For this, he and his family received small payments. He died in 1722. Another banking firm, Messrs. Child & Co., took over most of Coggs & Dann's business.

The most surprising part of the story is perhaps what happened to Thomas Brerewood. In colonial Maryland history, he is remembered (ironically) as "a man of considerable force and integrity." He seemed to recover very well from the Pitkin disaster. He had never actually given up all his assets. He continued to lease his house in St. James's Square until 1726, even though the owner had been trying to kick him out since 1710. By 1731, he was living in Horton, Buckinghamshire, likely in the grand home of his son, Thomas Jr., and his wife. Brerewood had been fully cleared by the 1709 agreement, which allowed him to rebuild his wealth. And he seemed to do just that.

Family Life

In 1713, Brerewood was listed as a supporter of a two-volume book of Latin poetry, alongside many noble and important men. He seems to have educated his two sons like gentlemen. In 1716, he married his daughter, Henrietta, to the theater producer John Rich (producer), who created English Pantomime.

Francis Brerewood, the younger son, was an artist and architect. Both he and his brother, Thomas, supported the composer George Frideric Handel. Thomas Jr. even translated one of Handel's songs into English. However, neither son was very good at managing their money. Francis died poor in 1781, having struggled financially for at least 30 years. Thomas Jr. was in financial trouble by 1728. In 1738, he would use a law for people who couldn't pay their debts. Before that, his father, Thomas Brerewood Sr., tried to save him from his creditors, even though he didn't seem to think highly of his son. This effort led to a new career for Brerewood Sr.

A New Career in the Colonies

This new opportunity came about because in September 1716, Thomas Jr., then in his early twenties, married Charlotte Calvert. She was the 14-year-old daughter of the fourth Lord Baltimore, Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore. Her family might not have approved of the marriage, as the couple had a secret wedding in Fleet Prison, which wasn't publicly announced until February of the next year.

In July 1731, Charlotte inherited 10,000 acres of land in northern Maryland called My Lady's Manor. The next month, Charlotte and her husband gave the land to Brerewood. The idea was that he would use the property to pay off Thomas Jr.'s creditors, and Brerewood himself was likely the biggest creditor. To better organize the property, Brerewood, who was then in his early sixties, went to Maryland. He would spend the rest of his life there.

He is believed to have been a clever and successful land manager. He divided the property into smaller lots, found tenants (people who would rent the land), and insisted they pay their debts. He also founded a short-lived town called Charlotte Town on the site of what is now Monkton, Maryland. This completed his journey back to being an important person. In 1741, Brerewood became the clerk of Baltimore County, a well-paying job he held until his death on December 22, 1746.