Thomas Brerewood (c.1670 – 22 December 1746), was a 'Gentleman Entrepreneur & Fraudster'. He was involved with the "Pitkin Affair" of 1705, a bankruptcy fraud committed with his business partner Thomas Pitkin that was surpassed in scale only by the South Sea Bubble of 1720. Brerewood was eventually pardoned and was able to rebuild his fortune. From 1741, to his death on 22 December 1746, Brerewood held office as the clerk of Baltimore County.
Early life Thomas Brerewood was born circa 1670 to a well-known Chester family. He was the son of Henry Brerewood, and a grandson of Sir Robert Brerewood.American Bankruptcy Law Journal, Vol. 84, p. 483, 2010 "The Pitkin Affair: A Study of Fraud in Early English Bankruptcy" by Professor Emily Kadens, University of Texas at Austin, School of Law, http://www.law.duke.edu/shell/cite.pl?59+Duke+L.+J.+1229+pdf He was apprenticed to his uncle, Francis Brerewood, Treasurer of Christ's Hospital, London in June 1686 and admitted to the Fishmongers' Company in 1699.
Notes
References Risk and Failure in English Business 1700-1800, Julian Hoppit, Cambridge University Press, 2002 (Dr Julian Hoppit is Astor Professor of British History at University College London)