John Whitson (c. 1558 – 1629) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

merchant and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

at various times between 1605 and 1626. He also founded The Red Maid's School.

Life

Whitson grew up in

Clearwell Clearwell (anciently "Clower-Wall" etc.) is a village and former ancient manor in the Forest of Dean, West Gloucestershire, England. Situated 3 miles south of Coleford and 2.5 miles east of the Welsh border (with Monmouthshire), a recent surv ...

in the Forest of Dean, and came to Bristol to start his career. Apprenticed to Nicholas Cutt, a member of the

Society of Merchant Venturers The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild which went on to fund the 15th-century voyage of John Cabot to Canada. In 1552, it gained a mono ...

in 1570, he lived in a house on Corn Street. Cutt died in 1582, and it is presumed Whitson continued to work for his widow, Bridget, whom he married in 1585. They had their first child 8 months later. Following the wedding, John Whitson became a wealthy merchant in his own right. Whitson was a merchant and alderman of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. He was

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

in 1589 and became

Lord Mayor of Bristol The position of Lord Mayor of Bristol was conferred on the city in June 1899 (effective 15 November 1899) as part of the Queen's Birthday Honours and was confirmed by letters patent dated 1 April 1974. Prior to November 1899 the position of Ma ...

for the first time in 1603. Whitson had shares in two ships, the ''Maryflower'' and the ''Seabrake'' (which would later give their names to houses at

The Red Maids' School Redmaids' High School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for girls in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, England. The school is a member of the Girls' Schools Association and the Head is a member of the Headmasters' and Headm ...

), that brought home enemy prizes in the 1590s. Whitson decided that the prize cargo had belonged to poor sailors attempting to supplement their income with extra trade, so rather than stealing from the poor, he sold his share of the prize and gave the money to the almshouses of Bristol. In 1605, he was elected Member of Parliament for

in a by-election to replace Sir George Snigge who was raised to the Bench. During this time, Whitson also helped to re-establish and govern the

which had become moribund in the later sixteenth century. Whitson’s first wife died in 1608 and he remarried within the year to Magdalen Hynde, the widow of a London merchant, William Hynde. He was re-elected MP for Bristol in 1614 and he was Mayor of Bristol in 1616. Whitson married his third wife (and third widow), Rachel Aubrey, in 1617, she outlived him. In 1621 he was re-elected MP for Bristol. He was elected MP for Bristol again in 1625 and 1626. In 1627 he gave a charity of £500 to be divided between five young men being "meer merchants", and an unspecified number of handicraft tradesmen and freemen of Bristol. W R Williams Parliamentary History of the County of Gloucester
/ref> Whitson was hurt by a fall from his horse, his head hitting an upturned nail by a Blacksmiths, which was the supposed cause of his death at the age of 71. He was buried at St Nicholas' Church on 9 March 1629 and, as he was Captain of the trained bands of the city, they attended his body to the church and the musketeers fired three volleys over his grave. His monument in St Nicholas described him as "a worthy pattern to all who came after him". Whitson’s will gave specific instructions for provision for "one woman … and forty poor women children" who were to be taught English and sew, to attend church, and were bound to their teacher for eight years. Each child was to "go appareled in red cloth", as per the boys educated at the

Queen Elizabeth's Hospital Queen Elizabeth's Hospital (also known as QEH) is a 7–18 private boys' day school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1586. QEH is named after its original patron, Queen Elizabeth I. Known traditionally as "The City School", Queen Eliz ...

school, thus founding

as the oldest girls’ school in the country.

Bibliography

John Eden (ed.), ''A Pious Meditation, composed in the seventeenth century, by John Whitson, Alderman of the City of Bristol to which is subjoined some account of the author by the late Mr. George Symes Catcott, with additional memoirs collected by the present editor'' (Bristol, 1829)Patrick McGrath, ''John Whitson and the Merchant Community of Bristol'' (Bristol Historical Association pamphlet, no. 25, 1970), 23 pp.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitson, John 1550s births 1629 deaths High sheriffs of Bristol Year of birth uncertain Mayors of Bristol Members of the Parliament of England for Bristol 17th-century English merchants English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 Deaths by horse-riding accident in England People from Forest of Dean District Members of the Society of Merchant Venturers Businesspeople from Bristol

Life

Archives

Bibliography

References