User:Jnestorius/William Dick of Braid

Sir William Dick of Braid (c.1580–December 1655) was a Scottish banker and merchant. He served as Provost of Edinburgh in 1638–40 and was granted the barony of Braid from which he took his agnomen. He was reputedly the richest man in Scotland and lent money to both James VI and the Covenanters. In 1641, Charles I knighted Dick to gain influence with the Covenanters. He went bankrupt when twelve lords who had provided surety for his loans to the Scottish government refused to repay him and were absolved of their debt by Act of the Parliament of Scotland. He went to London to argue with the Protectorate for reimbursement but was put in prison, where he died.

Descendants
Sir William had five sons: John, ZZZ, ZZZ, Alexander Dick of Heugh, and Louis.

Putative baronetcy
John Chamberlayne's 1710 edition of the Present State of Great Britain, in its list of baronetcies of Nova Scotia, includes one created for "William Dick of Braid" and noted as extinct. (It also lists the later Dick baronetcy of "Priestfield" [i.e. Prestonfield] created in 1707 for James Dick, son of Sir William's fourth son. ) On 14 March 1768, John Dick, the British consul in Leghorn, was recognised in an Edinburgh court as holder of the Dick baronetcy of Braid through his great-grandfather Louis, the fifth son of Sir William. John Dick's cause was championed by James Boswell, who had met him in Italy. After the consul died in 1805 without issue, a memorial that his claim had been invalid was issued by Charles Dick, male heir of Sir William's eldest son, another. Charles' son William was legally recognised as Sir William's male heir in 1821 and began styling himself baronet. The baronetcy was never proved in law; it was recognised by Walford's County Families, Douglas' Baronage, and Dod's and Debrett's Peerages, but not Burke's. In 1873, The Herald and Genealogist found no contemporary evidence that Sir William Dick of Braid had received a baronetcy.

1873 article
One of the prominent figures in Scottish History 1620- 1655, was the gentleman whose name heads this article. In Douglas1 Baronage, pages 268 to 274, is given a lengthy account of his descendants in five branches, each having an article appropriated to it. These notices, and others based upon them, abound in mistatements, the chief being that a Baronetcy was conferred on on Sir William, and are also defective by reason of omissions.

Putative ancestors
The allegations as to the Dicks being of Danish extraction, and that Dick in this country has the same origin as Van Dyke, or lords of the Dykes in the flat countries of Germany, may be left on one side; but the specific statement, given on the authority of Maitland's History of Edinburgh, that William de Dyck was Alderman or first Magistrate of the city A.D. 1296 is untrue. Maitland gives the name as William de Dedyk, but he is mistaken. In 1296 " William de Dederike," burgess and alderman of Edinburgh, swore fealty to Edward I. at Berwick-on-Tweed.

I have no where met with the name of Dick till late in the fifteenth century, and can trace none of them as landowners further back than the middle of the sixteenth century. The pedigree in the Baronage commences with:

I. James Dick, a merchant-burgess of Arbroath 1539, contemporary of Sir Alexander Dick, Archdeacon of Glasgow, who had a charter of some lands in Peeblesshire 1548. He was rector of Manor in that county, and the first man of the name who made any figure, but there is nothing to connect him with the Braid family or with James.

II. Alexander Dick, stated without proof or reference to be the son of the Arbroath burgess, was, we are told, a man of property in Orkney and provost of the cathedral church there. There certainly was such a person; on the 9th December 1561, Mr. Alexander Dick, Provost of Orkney, and two chaplains there, found caution to underly the law on 15th April following (or convocation and gathering of our Sovereign Lady's lieges to the number of four score persons in September last, and searching for Henry Sinclair of Strone and Mr. William Mudy with intent to slaughter them. George Crawfurd of Leifnorris in Ayrshire was surety for this turbulent ecclesiastic, which goes some way at least to show that he belonged to that shire rather than to Arbroath; I find the name in Ayrshire before this date, and there were Dicks of Barbieston near Leifnorris a little later, and afterwards Dicks of Glasnock in the same parish.

Actual ancestors
III. Mr. John Dick. This John was the father of Sir William, but no proof is oflered that he was son of the Provost. It is certainly said that he succeeded him in lands in Orkney, but I take the liberty of believing that this is arranged with the object of giving the family a continuous position as landowners in these islands, which they did not hold till later; in the rentals of 1595 and 1614 the name of Dick is not to be found.

The first connexion of this family with that quarter was in 1628, when Sir William had a tack of the crown lands there. The truth probably is, that John belonged to a respectable family of Edinburgh burgesses and lawyers.

In 1516 William Dik was a notary public there; in 1535 one of the same name was treasurer of the city; in 1539-40 John Dikke, owner of a tenement at the West Port; in 1583 Gilbert Dik, burgess of Edinburgh, writes to Sir Francis Walsingham, thanking him for the courtesies and relief granted to him in England. This Gilbert Dick or Dik was dead in 1593, having had four sons, of whom the eldest, Gilbert, inherited from his father and his brothers William and Andrew lands and tenements in Edinburgh, Leith, and Broughton.

The fourth brother married the heiress of David Coupar, a burgess of Coupar, and had a son, Walter Dick, writer to the signet, who was a minor under the guardianship of his uncle Gilbert in 1598. To the same family belonged apparently Mr. Alexander Dick, son of Alexander Dick, writer in Edinburgh and proprietor of lands in Broughton 1638-1643. This Alexander acted as law agent of Sir William Dick.

John Dick, called (I cannot tell why) Mr. John, was a merchant-burgess of Edinburgh, and "married Margaret Stewart, descended of the ancient family of Rosythe."

This statement might have been made more definite, as Margaret was daughter by Margaret Bellenden his wife, of the family of Bellenden of Broughton, of William Stewart, writer in Edinburgh, and sister of Sir Lewis Stewart, advocate, of Kirkhill and Strathbrock, Linlithgow. They had a daughter, Katharine, omitted in the Baronage, who married Henry Morrison, merchant and bailie of Edinburgh, and had issue. The Morrisons were like the Dicks a family of wealthy merchant-burgesses of Edinburgh, and rose a little earlier.

Henry's sister Elizabeth was wife of Sir William Dick; Mr. John Dick, fiar of Braid, married the widow of his cousin-german Sir John Morrison of Dairsie, Fife; and Sir Andrew Dick of Craig house married the heiress of Henry Morrison, a rich merchant in Edinburgh, also a near relative. Alexander Morrison of Prestongrange in East Lothian, a senator of the College of Justice 1626-1631, was brother of Sir William Dick's wife. These Morrisons are repeatedly designed of Saughtonhall in the Baronage, but I cannot find that they ever held that property; after being possessed in whole or part by the families of Bellenden, Lautie, Somerville, and Mudie, it was purchased in 1660 by the ancestor of the present Sir J. G. Baird, Baronet.

Sir William himself
IV. Sir William Dick of Braid, near Edinburgh, was a merchant and banker, provost of Edinburgh 1638-1639, and represented the city in Parliament.

The references to him in the acts of Parliament, memoirs, and histories of the period are numerous, but in no instance is he styled a Baronet. He was knighted between 10th August and 17th November 1641, was a member of the Committee of Estates 1644 to 1651. It would occupy too much space to go into the details of Sir William's career; he farmed the Excise and Customs duties of the kingdom, also the import duty on wine, and was tacksman of the crown lands composing the Earldom of Orkney. A contemporary writer says that the government could not have been carried on at all, but for the enormous sums advanced by Sir William. As early as 1643 there is mention that his credit was hazarded by the non-payment of money assigned to him in part-payment of his loans, and repeated acts were passed in his favour under which he seems to have got but little; one of them has the salvo that the sum specified is to be paid as speedily as public pressing necessities permit.

For one loan of 200,000 merks, twelve of the peers of Scotland became security to Sir William, and besides the conduct of the government of the day to him, which much resembled that of some of the American Republics in our own time, a specially iniquitous transaction was carried through for their benefit. In 1647, at a time when his resources were exhausted, an act of parliament was passed to relieve those noble lords of their liability, on the ground that the money had not been borrowed for their own use but for the public service. This ruined the once wealthy banker, as he still remained bound for the sums he had borrowed on his own security to save the national credit. He became bankrupt, and made over what remained of his property to his creditors, who long held it, and carried on suits to recover the sums that the twelve peers had guaranteed; they, or their heirs, were however finally liberated from the obligations of their bond by an act of parliament 1681. As late as 1695 an act was passed to enable Sir James Stuart, late Lord Advocate, to acquire from the creditors of Sir William Dick a garden and orchard near Sir James' house in Edinburgh, which are described as having lain waste for many years, the inclosures being destroyed and most of the trees broken down.

Sir William died in London in his 76th year, a prisoner for debt, in 1655. In August 1642, while still in opulent circumstances, he had fortunately made some provision for his sons, five in number; by making over to them considerable estates in land, or sums of money.

Putative baronetcy

 * [moved from below]

This is one of the most singular assumptions that has ever taken place. No patent of baronetcy is recorded, or is in the possession of the family. Sir William Dick certainly was a man in public life in every sense of the word; a wealthy banker, a large landowner, a Member of Parliament and of the Committee of Estates, his name is everywhere to be met with, and occurs not less than ninety times in the acts of the Parliament of Scotland, but never with the style of Baronet, nor is that style given to or assumed by his descendants for a hundred and thirteen years. The only authority given for the title is "Chamberlain's State of Britain ;" this work, the proper title of which is " The Present State of England" up to 1707, and after that " The Present State of Great Britain," was a publication commenced in 1667 by Edward Chamberlayne, and carried on by himself and his son John, not annually, but sometimes at longer intervals, till 1755, containing lists of titles, and offices, and other matter. The editors no doubt fell unintentionally into the error, but their error confers no rights upon the persons whom it designates incorrectly.

There was printed in London in 1656 The lamentable estate and distressed case of the deceased Sr William Dick in Scotland and his numerous family, and creditors for the Commonwealth. No style of Baronet here. This work, which is in folio, with illustrations, is now very rare and valuable, and has been sold at sums varying from 201. to 30l. It is illustrated by three rather well-executed engravings. The first represents Sir William on horseback at the head of a company of foot-soldiers in 1640, apparently engaged on the siege of a fortified place; the second shews him a prisoner for debt seated in chains with several members of his family surrounding him, the women and children in tears; the third gives a view of his dead body lying in a coffin but unburied. The petition of his family states that it so remained for upwards of six months, and that his children and grandchildren fifty in number had only been saved from starvation by the goodness of the Lord Protector in granting them some small help. There is always some difficulty in proving a negative, so I shall quote three formal documents in which Sir William Dick is designed Knight after the date of the alleged patent of Baronetcy.

1. A letter dated at St. Andrew's 12 Dec. 1645 from the Parliament of Scotland signed by the Earl of Crauford-Lindsay the President and addressed "To our assured Friend Sir William Dick of Braid, Knight," in which his services to his country are acknowledged, and a promise is made that all possible means shall be used to obtain money, and give him satisfaction.

2. An assignation 21 April 1646 by Captain Louis Dick, in which he designs himself "lawfull sonne to Sr Will: Dicke of Bread, Knight."

3. A Petition presented to the Parliament of England in 1656 by the family and creditors " of the late deceased Sir William Dick in Scotland, Knight."

Eldest son, John, and descendants
V. Mr. John Dick, fiar of Braid, the eldest son, was an advocate and sheriff-depute of Orkney 1628. In 1630 he had a grant of a seat in the cathedral church of St. Magnus, Kirkwall. His wife, Nicolas, widow of Sir John Morrison of Dairsie, daughter of Sir George Bruce of Carnock, younger brother of the first Lord Kinloss, is not named in the Baronage. He died in 1642, before the ruin of his father, leaving at least three sons, of whom only William is mentioned in the Baronage,—1. William; 2. John (Mr.), had, January 3rd, 1672, a ratification of his right to a seat in St. Magnus church; 3. Andrew.

VI. Mr. William Dick, styled of Braid, had a grant of an impost on tobacco after the Kestoration, but it was withdrawn after a time; it is not the case, as stated in the Baronage, that he had a pension of £132. In 1669 Parliament granted him protection against arrest for the debts for which he was liable as representative of his grandfather; this was renewed in 1672; and again in 1681 upon his petition, in which he mentions that not only had he inherited nothing from his grandfather, but that he had sacrificed £8,000 sterling, which had come to him from other relations, towards the payment of Sir William's creditors, and had little or no means of subsistence for himself and his family, who were reduced to a mean condition. In no place did he ever style himself or was styled by others Sir William, and it is very certain that if a baronetcy had been conferred on his grandfather, Mr. William Dick would have assumed the title after the Restoration. The connexion, which had long been a nominal one, of the Dicks with the estate of Braid had ceased in 1676, when a crown charter of the barony was granted to John Broun of Gorgieinilne, ancestor of the present Archibald Broun of Johnstounburn, advocate. William Dick seems to have thought himself injured by the actions of his uncle as executor of Sir William, for there is a printed petition by him without date, The Suffering Case of William Dick, Esq., Grandson and Heir of Sir William Dick, with others of his Family, by the intolerable oppression of Sir Andrew Dick, an unnaturall branch thereof; humbly tendered (for redresse) to the Honourable Members of the Parliament of England.

VII. William Dick was left an orphan at an early age. In 1695 Parliament recommend to his Majesty the case of Elizabeth Duncan relict of Mr. William Dick designed of Braid, she being a poor widow hardly able to educate her son, this William, then a boy of sixteen. In 1707 he was an ensign in the Footguards, and there is another recommendation, in which it is admitted that at the Restoration the just claims of Sir William Dick's family and creditors on the Parliament of England amounted to 36,803Z. 5s. 9d. sterling, and on the Estates of Scotland to 900,000 merks, together probably equal to 400,000/. at the present value of money.

William Dick rose to the rank of captain, was at the battle of Almanza, and afterwards settled in the state of New York, where he is said to have acquired some landed property and to have "assumed the title of Baronet as heir male of his greatgrandfather Sir William." This is not the case. He left an only child Agnes, who in 1747 was served heir general of "her father William Dick, captain in the Independent Army of the State of New York."

On Captain Dick's death the representation of the family passed to his cousin Dick of Frackafield; but, that family being altogether ignored in the Baronage, it will be more convenient to delay a statement of their descent till after the junior branches have been accounted for.


 * [Discussion of four younger brothers removed to later sections

Having cleared off all the younger members of Sir William Dick's family, I now return to the ancestor of the present representative.

VI. Captain Andrew Dick was appointed by commission dated 30th July 1669 Steward Principal and Chamberlain of Orkney and Shetland; he is in this document called son of the late Mr. John Dick fiar of Braid. He sat in Parliament for the shire in 1678; married Francisca Nairne, and was alive in 1700, when as grandson of Sir William of Braid he petitioned Parliament for a protection. In 1672 his elder brother William made over to him the seat in the Cathedral of St. Magnus acquired by their father.

VII. William Dick of Frackafield near Lerwick in Shetland was baptised at Kirkwall 1679, November 5th, his father being still steward of Orkney. His son

VIII. Robert Dick of Frackafield became head of the family, and presented a petition to the King in council praying for payment of the debts due to his ancestor Sir William. He married Jane Dickson, and left a son

IX. Charles Dick, of Frackafield, who succeeded to the estate, which was of no great value, heavily encumbered, and in 1770 his father's creditors instituted proceedings against him and obtained a decree of ranking and sale 19th July, in terms of which Frackafield was sold in 1774. During the lifetime of Consul Dick Mr. Charles Dick and his father seem to have taken no steps to establish their position, although they were aware that the Consul was a " usurper," and he is so styled in correspondence on the subject of the family rights.

After (Sir) John's death without issue, however, Mr. Charles Dick in 1805 submitted a memorial to counsel with the view of beiag served heir male to Sir William, and one of his queries is as' to the necessity of reducing the service carried through in 1768 by Mr. John Dick. After the sale of the property Charles Dick lived in London. He married Martha Montgomerie 11 Oct. 1760, and had William born 8 Dec. 1765; and Page Keble born 29 Sept. 1769.

X. Major William Dick, late of the Hon. East India Company's Service, was served heir male of his ancestor Sir William of Braid 15 Jan. 1821, and thereafter styled himself a BaronetThe evidence in support of his descent is satisfactory. It included the inventory of titles of Frackafield dated 21 July, 1774, and signed hy Thomas Miller, Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland, which proves the pedigree from Captain Andrew Dick to Charles last of Frackafield inclusive. Major Dick died 17 Dec. 1840, and was succeeded by his brother

X. (Sir) Page Keble Dick of Port Hall, near Brighton, who married Nancy daughter of Richard Partridge of Birmingham, and died in 1851 leaving an only son

XI. (Sir) Charles William Hockaday Dick, born in 1802, who according to Walford's County Families is sixth Baronet, the title having been created in 1638. Douglas's Baronage gives no date of creation. Debrett's Baronetage 1873 gives 1642 as the year of creation, and makes Sir Charles tenth holder of the title. According to Dod's Peerage and Baronetage for the current year he is the fourth Baronet in enjoyment of the honour, but eighth in order of succession. Lodge agrees with Debrett as to the date of creation. Burke's Peerage does not admit notices of this family.

A short time ago a paragraph in the " Morning Advertiser" on A Pauper Baronet stated that Sir Charles Dick is "in such poverty that he has long supported himself by acting as custodian to the Brighton Museum, and now in extreme old age is entirely destitute, —unable to do more than keep the sticks and umbrellas of visitors at the door of the gallery."

This having been copied into the "Edinburgh Courant" of 2nd March, attracted the attention of the Prestonfield family, and on the 12th that paper contained a letter from the law agents of Sir Robert Dick Cunyngham, which does not throw much light on any part of the subject. They believe in the existence of a baronetcy, are ignorant of the service in 1821, and give a wrong date for that of the Consul.

There were published at Brighton in 1864 two pamphlets: Particulars of the Claims of Sir Charles W. H. Dick, Baronet, on Her Majesty's Government for 52,4181. 12s. 4d. and 132i. per Annum and the Restoration of 16,000 Acres of Land (the land, I presume, is to be looked for in Nova Scotia); Personal Particulars of the Claims of Sir Charles W. H. Dick, Baronet, on Her Majesty's Government for 83,988?. 12s. <ld.

(Sir) Charles Dick does not seem to possess the financial skill of another " claimant " whose name has recently been constantly before the public, but surely Government could not be blamed if some provision were made, even at this date, for the descendant of one who was ruined by his trust in the good faith of the authorities of his time. S * * *

Younger sons

 * [Moved from earlier]

Andrew Dick of Craighouse
V. Sir Andrew Dick of Craighouse, near Edinburgh, second son of Sir William, had lands in Orkney, and was sheriff after the death of his brother John. The statements about this Sir Andrew and his descendants are rather incorrect; it was to him that the pension of 132Z. was granted by Charles II. He was executor of his father Sir William, and had in 1681 a parliamentary protection against arrest by the creditors. His own fortune was lost by a large loan to the Earl of Morton on the security of a wadset over the lands of the Earldom of Orkney, but in 1695 after Sir Andrew's death the Earl's right to these lands was reduced, and neither interest nor principal paid. Sir Andrew in his petition to Parliament speaks of utter ruin, poverty, and imprisonment. Besides the sons mentioned he had

VI. Andrew, an advocate, who in 1683 married the Honourable Clara Ruthven, daughter and heir of James Baillie second Lord Forrester by Lady Jean Euthven his second wife daughter and coheir of Patrick Earl of Forth and Brentford, but had no children.

VI. Lewis, who was eventually heir of his father, is said to have been a captain in the army and afterwards Sir Lewis (?). In 1698 he is designed Mr. Lewis Dick in his service to his brother Andrew, and I find no trace of knighthood.

VII. Nicolas, only child of Captain George Dick, married William Hall, portioner of the Pleasance, Edinburgh.

Sir Andrew Dick of Prestonfield, Baronet, married (VIII.) Janet Dick, heir-general of her great-grandfather Sir Andrew of Craighouse, and had only two daughters, of whom the last survivor Miss Ann Dick received payment of the pension of 132/. up to the time of her death in 1845 at a very advanced age.

William Dick of Grange
V. William Dick of Grange, third son of Sir William of Braid, was a merchant in Edinburgh. The preface to the Liber Conventus S. Catherine Senensis contains notices of his property and of his wife's family. She is said by Sir Robert Douglas to be " descended of the ancient family of the Macmaths of that ilk."

There never was such a family. The lady was one of two daughters and coheirs of Edward Macmath, a merchant-burgess of Edinburgh, and widow of Thomas Bannatyne, also a merchantburgess.

Three daughters of William Dick are given, but there was another.named Elizabeth, who died unmarried. The peerage and the Records of the Family of Leslie make the Christian name of the eldest, who married James Leslie of Lumquhat, Janet, not Margaret.

VI. William Dick of Grange married twice into the noble family of Leslie, his first wife being grand-daughter of Andrew Earl of Bothes, his second, grand-daughter of Patrick Lord Lindores, and both by the death of their brothers eventually heiresses.

Anne and Janet, children of the first, inherited the estates of Newton, Birkhill, &c. in Fifeshire, from their uncle John Leslie, and sold Newton in 1698 to the Countess of Rothes. Janet possessed Birkhill: her first husband Mungo Carnegie was a son of Sir Alexander Carnegie, of Pitarrow, Baronet. She married secondly Alexander Alison, W.S. and left her property to her stepson John Alison of Birkhill

Catherine, only daughter of William Dick's second marriage, was in 1704 served heir of entail and provision general of her uncle Colonel Sir James Leslie, married J. Christie of Newhall, and had issue.

VII. William Dick of Grange died in 1757 leaving one child,

VIII. Isabel Dick of Grange, who executed an entail of the estate immediately after her father's death, and died the following year. She married Sir Andrew Lauder of Fountainhall, Baronet, and was succeeded under the entail by her third son, who assumed the surname of Dick, but on inheriting the title and estate of his father's family became Sir Andrew Dick-Lauder. Grange remains in the possession of his great-grandson Sir Thomas North Dick-Lauder, Baronet.

Alexander Dick of Heugh and later Prestonfield
V. Mr. Alexander Dick of Heugh, fourth son of Sir William of Braid, is erroneously said to have been succeeded by his eldest son Sir James of Prestonfield. He was dead in 1663, and was succeeded by his eldest son Mr. William Dick, who was living in 1687, when he was served heir general of his mother Helen, daughter of Sir James Rochead of Innerleith, Baronet. Heugh is in East Lothian, and formed part of the great estate of North Berwick, acquired in 1633 from Sir John Home by Sir William Dick at the price of 143,000 merks, and erected into a barony by crown charter in his favour 1634.

VI. James the younger son was a wealthy merchant in Edinburgh, acquired Prestonfield, Corstorphine, and other estates, of which he executed three several entails in 1699,1710, and 1720. He was Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and was created a Baronet in 1677. Having no sons, he had a renewed patent in 1707, with remainder to his heirs of entail. Lady Dick was not a daughter of Paterson of Dunmure, but of a younger son of that family.

VII. Janet Dick their only child, married Sir William Cunninghame of Caprington, co. Ayr, Baronet, and their second surviving son became—

VIII. Sir William Dick, Baronet, of Prestonfield, in terms of the entail, and of the second patent of baronetcy. On his death, without issue, in 1746, the title and estates passed to his younger brother Alexander Cuninghame of Clermiston, afterwards Sir Alexander Dick, Baronet, whose descendants are William Cathcart Smith-Cuninghame of Caprington, heir of line of Sir James Dick 1st Baronet, and Sir Robert Keith Alexander Dick-Cunyngham of Prestonfield, Baronet, who recently sold the Corstorphine estate, heir male of Janet Dick, and heir of entail of Sir James Dick.

Louis and later Consul (sir) John Dick
V. Louis, the youngest son of Sir William Dick of Braid, was great-grandfather of—

VIII. John Dick, H. M. Consul at Leghorn. On the 14th March 1768, this person was served heir male before a jury at Edinburgh of Sir William Dick, and thereafter was generally styled a Baronet.


 * [discussion of barontecy moved up]

(Sir) John Dick was much blamed for the share he took in the scheme by which Count Orloff entrapped by a pretended marriage and carried off from Leghorn in 1771 a beautiful adventuress who styled herself Princess Tarakanoff, and claimed to be a child of the Empress Elizabeth of Russia and Alexis Count Razumouski, to whom H. I. M. was privately married. The consul died without issue in 1805; another is added to the many errors in circulation as to the Dick family by Playfair in his British Family Antiquity and by Anderson in the Scottish Nation styling him a Knight of the Bath, an honour never conferred on Mr. Dick.

Scottish Nation
The Scottish Nation bio:
 * His only son. Sir William Dick, a banker in Edinburgh, and one of the most eminent Scotsmen of the seventeenth century, acquired considerable wealth, even in his father's lifetime, and advanced to James the Sixth six thousand pounds sterling, to defray his household expenses when his majesty held a parliament in Scotland in 1618. In 1628 he farmed the customs on wine at six thousand two hundred and twenty-two pounds sterling, and the crown rents in Orkney at three thousand pounds sterling per annum, and afterwards the excise. By his connexion with the northern islands and Denmark he introduced a most advantageous and extensive trade from the Baltic to the Frith of Forth, as well as from the Mediterranean, by which and his negociating bills of exchange from Holland, he acquired great wealth. Besides the islands of North Ronaldshay, Ormsay, &c., and his paternal inheritance in the Orkneys, he possessed many lands and baronies in Mid Lothian, East Lothian, the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, Dumfries-shire, &c., all of which were confirmed to him by no less than eight charters, under the great seal, from Charles the First. The barony of Braid in Mid Lothian, the precept of which is dated in 1631, became one of the chief titles of his family. In the beginning of 1638, he joined with the earl (afterwards the marquis) of Montrose and other loyalists, for the national covenant, and in that critical year, and also in 1639, he was elected lord provost of Edinburgh. In 1641, when Charles the First intended to visit Scotland, application was made to Sir William (then Mr.) Dick for money to defray necessary expenses, and he frankly advanced one hundred thousand merks, for which he obtained security on the king's revenue 9th August of that year. With a portion of this sum the arrears due to the Scots army appear to have been paid. In the following January he received the honour of knighthood, and subsequently was created a baronet of Nova Scotia. Some time thereafter a bill was drawn upon him by order of parliament for twenty thousand pounds sterling, which he was obliged to pay, receiving as usual government security. In 1644 he petitioned the estates for payment of a portion of the large sum owing to him, saying he was willing to take the rest by instalments, when the matter was referred to a committee. In the following March the parliament assigned him £40,000 sterling, owing "of the brotherly assistance by the parliament of England," and ordained him to have real execution upon his bond of two hundred thousand merks. They also gave him the excise of Orkney and Zetland, and also of the tobacco; but no part of that money was ever paid. In December of the same year he again petitioned parliament for payment of some portion of it, "for preserving of his credit," &c., but received only empty promises. He was then one of the committee of parliament, and up to 1651 his name appears on the committee of estates; but seeing matters carried to extremities, and obtaining no redress for himself, he soon after withdrew from public affairs. The parliamentary party, treating him as a malignant (as the loyalists were then called), subjected him to heavy fines, and obtained from him at different times the large sum of £64,934 sterling. He and his family were ultimately reduced to very indigent circumstances, and in Cromwell's time he went to London, to endeavour to procure repayment of the sum due to him, but was thrown into prison by order of the Protector, and died at Westminster, 19th December 1655, in want, it is said, of even the commonest necessaries of life. At one period he was reputed the wealthiest man in Scotland of his time, and was generally believed by his contemporaiies to have discovered the philosopher's stone! [Archaeologia Scotica, vol. i. p. 336.] In 1656 was published at London a folio pamphlet with the title of 'The lamentable case and distressed estate of the deceased Sir William Dick;' containing several copperplates; one representing Sir William on horseback, attended by guards, as lord provost of Edinburgh, superintending the unloading of one of his rich argosies at Leith; a second exhibiting him as arrested, and in the hands of bailiffs, and a third showing him dead in prison. The tract is greatly valued by collectors of rare publications, and in a note to the Heart of Mid Lothian, in which David Deans makes allusion to his "sacks of dollars," Sir Walter Scott mentions that the only copy he ever saw for sale was valued at thirty pounds.

Walter Scott
My father saw them toom the sacks of dollars out o’ Provost Dick’s window intill the carts that carried them to the army at Dunse Law ; and if ye winna believe his testimony, there is the window itsell still standing in the Luckenbooths
 * p. 280:


 * Note XII., p. 280 . — Sir William Dick of Braid.:

This gentleman formed a striking example of the instability of human prosperity. He was once the wealthiest man of his time in Scotland, a merchant in an extensive line of commerce, and a farmer of the public revenue ; insomuch that, about 1640, he estimated his fortune at two hundred thousand pounds sterling. Sir William Dick was a zealous Covenanter ; and in the memorable year 1641, he lent the Scottish Convention of Estates one hundred thousand merks at once, and thereby enabled them to support and pay their army, which must otherwise have broken to pieces. He afterwards advanced L. 20,000 for the service of King Charles, during the usurpation ; and having, by owning the royal cause, provoked the displeasure of the ruling party, he was fleeced of more money, amounting in all to L. 65,000 sterling.

Being in this manner reduced to indigence, he went to London to try to recover some part of the sums which had been lent on government security. Instead of receiving any satisfaction, the Scottish Croesus was thrown into prison, in which he died, 19th December, 1655. It is said his death was hastened by the want of common necessaries. But this statement is somewhat exaggerated, if it be true, as is commonly said, that though he was not supplied with bread, he had plenty of piecrust, thence called a Sir William Dick’s necessity.”

The changes of fortune are commemorated in a folic pamphlet entitled, u The lamentable state of the deceased Sir William Dick.” It contains several copper-plates, one representing Sir William on horseback, and attended with guards as Lord Provost of Edinburgh, superintending the unloading of one of his rich argosies. A second exhibiting him as arrested, and in the hands of the bailiffs. A third presents him dead in prison. The tract is esteemed highly valuable by collectors of prints. The only copy I ever saw upon sale, was rated at L.30.

==The lamentable State of the deceased Sir William Dick == The strange vicissitudes of human life, and especially those of the calamitous kind, were never more frequent than in the eventful reign of Charles I. If we except the fate of that monarch, they were, perhaps, in no instance more signally exemplified than in that of sir William Dick, who was lord provost of Edinburgh, and a very eminent merchant, with a fortune, as he fays himself, of upwards of 50,000l. Having the means, he did not want the inclination, to assist his countrymen, the covenanters, with large sums of money to defray the necessary expences of the war; but they failing in their payments, he so far overstrained his credit, that his bills were returned protested, and he was totally ruined. He hereupon earnestly applied for relief to the parliaments of England and Scotland. According to his state of the account, there were due to him from England 56,803l, from Scotland 28,131l, in all, 64,934l, for the payment of which he had warrants granted on the chamber of London, in 1641; on the English customs, in 1645 and 1644; on the cavaliers estates, in 1646; and on the excise of wine in Scotland, 1651. It appears by lord Loudon the chancellor of Scotland's letters to the English house of commons, and to the commissioners in London, 1644, that there was a clear balance due to Dick of 31,000l from that nation. Notwithstanding these warrants for repayment, and the application of the Scots to their brethren in England, he had only recovered 1000l in 1653, after sixteen years solicitation, during which time he was reduced to so great streights, that he was arrested for some small debts contracted for his necessary subsistence, and, as it seems, died in prison, 19 Dec. 1655, aged 75. Hence we may learn, that however loudly republicans may talk of liberty, they can be guilty of as flagrant violations of common justice as the most despotic princes, when the political necessity of the state calls, or only serves as a plausible pretence for it.'

DNB
DICK, Sir WILLIAM (1580?–1655), provost of Edinburgh, was the only son of John Dick, a large proprietor in the Orkneys, who had acquired considerable wealth by trading with Denmark, and becoming a favourite of James VI, had taken up his residence in his later years in Edinburgh. The son in 1618 advanced 6,000l. to defray the household expenses of James VI when he held a parliament in Scotland in 1618. Through his influence with the government he greatly increased his wealth by farming the customs and excise; he extended the trade of the Firth of Forth with the Baltic and Mediterranean ports, and he had a lucrative business in negotiating bills of exchange. Besides his extensive estates in the Orkneys, he acquired several properties in the south of Scotland, including in 1631 the barony of Braid in Midlothian. He was elected lord provost of Edinburgh in the critical years 1638–9, and was a zealous covenanter. His fortune about this time was estimated at 200,000l., and the Scottish estates were chiefly indebted to his advances for the support of the army to maintain the cause of the covenant. For the equipment of the forces of Montrose, despatched to the north of Scotland in 1639, he advanced two hundred thousand merks, and he was equally liberal in his advances for the southern army under Leslie. Sir Walter Scott, in the ‘Heart of Midlothian,’ represents David Deans as affirming that his ‘father saw them toom the sacks of dollars out o' Provost Dick's window intill the carts that carried them to the army at Dunse Law.’ When Charles I visited Scotland in 1641, a hundred thousand merks were borrowed from Dick to defray the expenses, for which he obtained security on the king's revenue. In the following January he received the honour of knighthood, and shortly afterwards he was created a baronet of Nova Scotia. On 19 June 1644 he presented a petition to the estates desiring payment of a portion of the sum of 840,000 merks then due to him, expressing his willingness to take the remainder by instalments (Balfour, Annals, iii. 189), and after the matter had been under consideration for some time by a committee, the parliament assigned him 40,000l. sterling, ‘owing of the brotherly assistance by the parliament of England,’ and ordained him to have real execution upon his bond of two hundred thousand merks, in addition to which they assigned him the excise of Orkney and Shetland, and also of the tobacco (ib. 291). These resolutions seem, however, to have had no practical effect, and in December he again entreated them to ‘take some serious notice of the debts owing to him by the public’ (ib. 329). On 31 Jan. 1646 he was chosen one of the committee of estates as representing Edinburgh. When the lord provost of Edinburgh and several eminent citizens paid a visit to Cromwell at Moray House in October 1645, ‘Old Sir William Dick in name of the rest made a great oration’ (Rushworth, Historical Collection, pt. iv. p. 1295). He advanced 20,000l.. for the service of Charles II in 1650, and he was one of the committee of estates during the war with Cromwell. By the parliamentary party he was therefore treated as a malignant, and subjected to heavy fines, amounting in all to 64,934l. Being reduced almost to indigence, he went to London to obtain payment of the moneys lent by him on government security, the total of which then amounted to 160,854l. (Lamentable State of Sir William Dick). His petition of 1 March 1653 was referred to the Irish and Scotch committee (State Papers, Dom. Ser. 1652–1653, p. 196), and a second petition of 3 July to the committee at Haberdashers' Hall (ib. 376), the result being that all he ever received was 1,000l. in August of that year. Continuing his residence in London to prosecute his claims, he was more than once imprisoned for small debts. The common statement that he was thrown into prison by Cromwell is, however, erroneous, as is also the further assertion that he died in prison. His death took place at his lodgings in Westminster, 19 Dec. 1655, aged 75. Such were the straits to which he had been reduced, that money could not be raised sufficient to give him a decent funeral. The house of Sir William Dick in Edinburgh was situated in High Street, between Byre's and Advocates' Closes, and was subsequently occupied by the Earl of Kintore. By his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of John Morrison of Preston Grange and Saughton Hall, he had five sons and two daughters. His fourth son, Alexander, was father of James Dick, created a Nova Scotia baronet in 1677, M.P. for Edinburgh 1681–2, provost of Edinburgh 1682–3, and a favourite of the Duke of York. He died in 1728, aged 85. By his wife, Anne Paterson, he had a daughter, Janet, married to Sir William Cunyngham, whose sons assumed the name of Dick [see Dick, Alexander, and Dick, Anne, Lady].
 * [The Lamentable Estate and Distressed Case of Sir William Dick, published in 1657, contains the petition of his family and other papers, the originals of which are included in the Lauderdale Papers, Addit. MS. 23113. His case is set forth in verse as well as in prose, and is pathetically illustrated by three copperplates, one representing him on horseback superintending the unloading of one of his rich argosies, the second as fettered in prison, and the third as lying in his coffin surrounded by disconsolate friends who do not know how to dispose of the body. The tract, of which there is a copy in the British Museum, is much valued by collectors, and has been sold for 52l. 10s.; Acts of the Parliament of Scotland; Balfour's Annals; Spalding's Memorials; Gordon's Scots Affairs; State Papers, Dom. Ser. 1652-3; Douglas's Baronage of Scotland, i. 269-70; Notes and Queries, 3rd ser. vi. 457.]

Burke's Peerage
1865 ed.:
 * Sir William Dick. This gentleman, adopting from his youth the profession of commerce, became one of the most eminent bankers in Scotland, and acquired considerable wealth, even before the decease of his father, which appears by his advancing to the king £6000 sterling, to defray the household expenses when his majesty held a parliament in Scotland, in 1618. In 1628, he farmed the customs on wine, at £6222 sterling, and the crown rents in Orkney, at £3000 sterling per annum, and afterwards the excise. Mr. Dick, was elected lord-provost of Edinburgh in 1638 and 1639; and after receiving the honour of knighthood in 1646, was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia. Sir William was fined by the parliamentarians, as a malignant, in no less a sum than £64,934; and afterwards coming to London to demand payment of moneys he had previously advanced upon government security, he was thrown into prison by the usurper Cromwell, and d. at Westminster, 19 Dec. 1655, when the baronetcy passed to his grandson, but was not, we believe, assumed by that gentleman.