Moreton Frewen (8 May 1853 – 2 September 1924), nicknamed "Mortal Ruin", was a British entrepreneur and writer on

monetary reform Monetary reform is any movement or theory that proposes a system of supplying money and financing the economy that is different from the current system. Monetary reformers may advocate any of the following, among other proposals: * A return to ...

, who served briefly as a Member of Parliament (MP).

Early life

Frewen was born on 8 May 1853 at Brickwall House, near Northiam, East Sussex. He was the fifth son of Thomas Frewen (1811–1870), MP for South Leicestershire, and the third son of Helen Louisa (née Homan; 1821–1901). He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he gained his BA in 1877.

Career

Frewen was a charming adventurer from an old

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is t ...

family.Maume, Patrick: ''The long Gestation, Irish Nationalist Life 1891–1918'', "Who’s Who" p. 228, Gill & Macmillan (1999) He was known as a fine shot, often invited to shoot at Sandringham by the Prince of Wales, the future

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

; a good horseman who taught

Lillie Langtry Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe (née Le Breton, formerly Langtry; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer. Born on the isla ...

to ride; and a keen fisherman. He gambled most of his inheritance on a two-horse race, declaring he would go to America if he lost - which he did. He journeyed to

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

during the cattle boom in the 1870s and 1880s. He founded an enormous ranch at Kaycee in Wyoming, where he built the first two-storey building in the state. There he established the Frewen Brothers Cattle Company, which later went public as the Powder River Cattle Company Ltd. During his stay from 1879–1886 and, later, his many visits to America, he shook hands with every president from Ulysses Grant to

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. He met and married an American heiress, Clara Jerome in New York. They returned together to the Wyoming ranch but then Clara miscarried a child and she never returned to the euphemistically named Castle Frewen. Her husband, together with his brother Richard, soldiered on until the catastrophically cold winter of 1885-1886 wiped out his herd: the cattle died of thirst, being unable to break the ice in the rivers and lakes. Moreton's brother-in-law

Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895) was a British aristocrat and politician. Churchill was a Tory radical who coined the term "One-nation conservatism, Tory democracy". He participated in the creation ...

, Winston's father, recommended him to the Nizam of Hyderabad, then the world's richest man, to sort out the corruption and theft in his court. Moreton spent two years there from 1887-1889 and succeeded in re-organising the Nizam's finances whilst routing out the miscreants. He left with the Nizam's thanks, having made many friends, including Salar Jung II, the Prime Minister of

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

State, for whom he found a wife in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. Returning to the United Kingdom, where he owned homes in London and Innishannon in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

(then part of

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

), Frewen served as Vice President of the Imperial Federation League. He wrote on

tariff reform Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

and other economic matters and was an advocate of

bimetallism Bimetallism, also known as the bimetallic standard, is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent to certain quantities of two metals, typically gold and silver, creating a fixed Exchange rate, rate of ...

. He became involved in Irish affairs through inheriting the 3,000 acres Innishannon estate from his brother Richard, who was drowned at sea; and through his friendships with Lord Dunraven and Timothy Healy (MP).

Member of Parliament

He was elected unopposed at the December 1910 general election as an All-for-Ireland League MP for North East Cork, taking his seat 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 ...

of the

. He resigned on 5 July 1911 because his seat was needed for Healy and because of his reactionary public statements: his opposition to the Parliament Bill to remove the legislative veto of the House of Lords was proving a political liability. Later he signed the British Covenant in support of Ulster, while continuing to engage in political intrigues.

Personal life

In 1881, he married Clarita "Clara" Jerome (1851–1935), daughter of the wealthy American financier Leonard Jerome, and sister to

's wife Jennie.Kehoe, Elizabeth: ''The Titled Americans: Three American sisters and the British aristocratic world into which they married'', Atlantic Monthly Press (2004), He was therefore an uncle (by marriage) to

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. Together, Moreton and Clara were the parents of two surviving sons and a daughter: * Hugh Moreton Frewen (1883–1967) * Captain Oswald Moreton Frewen (1887–1958) * Clare Consuelo Frewen (1885–1970) Frewen died on 2 September 1924 at his residence Brede Place, Brede, East Sussex.

Works

*''The economic crisis'', 1888 *''Melton Mowbray, and other memories'', 1924

In popular culture

* Frewen figures prominently in the novel ''Mortal Ruin'' by John Malcolm.

References

External links

* *
Andrea Downing: Moreton Frewen (Mortal Ruin)
with photos *
Moreton Frewen Papers
at

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

at the

American Heritage Center The American Heritage Center is the University of Wyoming's repository of manuscripts, rare books, and the university archives. Its collections focus on Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West (including politics, settlement, Native Americans, and W ...

Digital Collection of Moreton Frewen Papers
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frewen, Moreton 1853 births 1924 deaths People educated at Eton College British economists Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Cork constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1910–1918 All-for-Ireland League MPs Politicians from County Cork Remittance men