Thomas Frank II

Brief Biography

Thomas the eldest son of Richard and Mary was born on 8th November 1738.   On 18th July 1764 he gained his freedom of the city, as a merchant, because he was the son of Richard Frank, a potter.   On 6th December 1764 Thomas Frank, a merchant of the City of Bristol, married Elizabeth (Betsy) , the daughter of Zephaniah and Abigail Fry.  They had at least two children:  Arnee, born in Old Market, on 22nd September 1776; and Abigail, also born in Old Market, on 26th March 1768.  Elizabeth died at Castle Green on 8th September 1778, aged 35. 

He was a partner, with his father, in the Redcliff Back pottery from 1766 until 1777.  In 1770 he may have become a partner in William Cookworth's Bristol porcelain factory, and according to Owen put 1000 pounds into the venture.  An advertisement in the Worcester Journal on 22nd March 1770, for painters, asked applicants to send their particulars to Thomas Frank, in Castle Street, Bristol.  He must have ceased being a partner when Richard Champion took over the factory in 1774, because Champion had no partners, in his own words he "acted alone".  It has been suggested that the capital was repaid to Frank following his financial troubles in 1778, however the only person who could have repaid it was Richard Champion and he was in financial trouble himself.  Following Champion's affairs being placed into administration, also in 1778, Frank was shown to be a creditor of Champion, but it is not known if this refers to the capital.

Frank was also a wholesale grocer.  In January 1770 Michael Edkins painted a sign for his grocery business (not 1780 as claimed by Pountney).  On the 24th Setember 1770 he took an apprentice, Henry Fry, son of Joseph Fry a soapmaker, a premiun of 150 pounds was paid.  Joseph Fry was also a chocolate maker and chemist and another partner in the porcelain venture.  Thomas Frank paid rates on a warehouse (it had been Lund's in 1752) in Castle Green in 1770, and on number 14 Castle Green for 1773-77 (it was next to the porcelain factory).  Sketchey's directory of 1775 gives him two entries: Frank Thomas, merchant, 14 Castle Green and Frank and Madox, wholesale grocers, 14 Castle Green.  the record of imports and exports suggest that he was probablya ship owner.  In 1777 he entered into a partnership with two young quakers, they were Philip Debell Tuckett and J Waring of London (Pountney).  In 1778 he became bankrupt (see below).

Imports

Date

Ship

Master

From

Cargo

5 Jan 1770

Ann

Robert Connelly

Waterford

8 hogsheads tallow

20 Jan 1770

Pitt Yacht

William Gardner

Cork

15 hogsheads tallow

15 Feb 1770

Elizabeth & Ann

Thomas Hoskins

Cork

30 hogsheads tallow

21 Mar 1770

Elizabeth

James Sinclair

Rotterdam

300 stone pots, 300 stone bottles

21 Mar 1770

Flora

William Carter

Cork

20 hogsheads tallow

26 Mar 1770

George

John Keene

Cork

10 hogsheads tallow

19 Apr 1770

Providence

Richard Tonkin

Surilla

1055 Qr. raisins

18 Jun 1770

Success

Joseph Cookson

Barbados

24 bags sugar

18 Jun 1770

Eleanor

William Groves

Barbados

42 hogsheads sugar, 100 bags ginger

23 Jun 1770

Elizabeth & Mary

Samuel Cowell

Barbados

30 hogsheads sugar, 60 bags ginger

24 Jul 1770

Milford Packet

Thomas Richards

Venice & Cephalomia

Whole cargo including pot ashes, gall, cream of tartar, argol and wine

13 Aug 1770

Nonpareil

Peter Clements

Cephalomia

A cargo of wine

14 Aug 1770

Peggy

William Morris

Barbados

10 hogsheads sugar, 126 bags ginger

8 Nov 1770

Prosper

Henry Thompson

Jamaica

4 hogsheads sugar, 20 pucnh. rum, 27 bags pimento, 60 hides

2 Mar 1775

Union

Joseph Perkins

Rotterdam

200 stone bottles

24 Mar 1775

Cieilly

Mart. Mullowney

Maryland

Flour & wheat

12 Apr 1775

John & Sarah

Thomas Blair

Dublin

Flour

26 Jun 1775

Sally

James Russell

Philadelphia

The whole cargo

27 Jun 1775

Blanchy

William Coursey

Maryland

The whole cargo

29 Jun 1775

Dolphin

James Scott

Maryland

Flour, wheat & corn

29 Jun 1775

Betsy

William Price

South Carolina

The whole cargo

24 Jul 1775

Union

Joseph Perkins

Rotterdam

Gineva

14 Aug 1775

Hope

George Robinson

Philadelphia

The whole cargo

16 Aug 1775

Prosperity

James Clifton

Philadelphia

Flour

Exports

Date

Ship

Master

To

Cargo

10 Feb 1770

Betsy

Wm Jenkins

Bilboa & Cadiz

60 barrels 8 half barrels rice

10 Feb 1770

Bremen Merchant

Henriot Beckman

Bourdeaux

8 barrels rice

16 Mar 1773

Betsy

Seymour Plant

Philadelphia

1000 pots, 51 hearths & backs, 48 baskets plates, 35 boxes tobacco pipes, 72 pieces earthenware + other cargo

23 Mar 1773

Juno

Sam Williams

Cork

4 barrels 2 half barrels rice

5 Jun 1773

Dispatch

Thomas Painter

Waterford

Mahogany, currents & rice

21 Jun 1773

Britannia Yacht

John Shaw

Cork

10 barrels rice

21 Jun 1773

Mary

Nicholas Morris

Dublin

Rice & currents

28 Jun 1773

Thomas

James Simmons

Cork

White salt

14 Aug 1773

Betsy

Seymour Hoad

Philadelphia

Various iron goods, 1 crate earthenware, gunpowder, &c.

23 Sep 1773

Isabella

Simon Bresset

Maryland

Wrought iron, &c.

23 Sep 1773

Dublin

John Leard

Dublin

100 barrles 10 hf. rice

28 Sep 1773

Dimsdale

Abraham Jones

Venice

1667 pigs lead

13 Dec 1773

Hope

William Butler

Cadiz, Gibraltar & Barcelona

51 barrels 32 hlaf barrels rice

5 Jan 1776

Bristol

John McCullom

Dublin

57 logs mahogany

17 Feb 1778

Henrietta Packet

John Bastable

Cork

67 hhds musco.  Sugar.

From William Dyer's Diary

24th March 1778.  Sir James Laroche stopped payment was at this time the town talk, and Thomas Frank, having by far contracted the greatest number of debts, having likewise stopped, at length eclipsed the former.

30th March 1778.  Mr Thomas Booth, a large creditor, made a proposal for me to manage the business of Thomas Frank, for his assignees, Wm Blake, Nathaniel Brice, John Maddox and Thomas Booth were afterwards appointed assignees.  This proved acceptable to me, being in want of employment.

3rd April 1778.  Mr Blake desired me to send for Frank's books; an office was first proposed to be taken at the Bush Tavern; but not a room there to be spared.  I thought of the parsonage house in Small Street, which was void, and had the key, in order to let for Mr Symes, with which he was much pleased, when I had advanced him.  During 6 weeks or thereabouts, I was assisted by Thomas Frank himself, & by his late clerk James Buckingham (who was the chief assistant) and Francis Allen, I think, occasionally.  I first began at Small Street office on Monday 6th April.

6th April 1778.  We applied, sometimes from 5 o'clock in the morning in order to state a proper account of Frank's affairs, to be exhibited at a meeting of the commissioners, which we completed & hereby prevented Thomas Frank, the bankrupt, being committed to Newgate, he being unable at first setting out, to produce a satisfactory account of his estate and effects, and his commitment was deemed so certain that Mr Bengough, the solicitor, had a warrant in readiness; to be signed at the time the commissioners held their meeting, but Mr Hobhouse the Quorum Commissioner was so well satisfied with the account now produced, that poor Frank who was present, escaped such punishment.  Yet the creditors who he had extremely injured were vastly incensed against him & from whom he would never obtain his certificate.

It was 4th May when Mr Blake consented to take Small Street office of Mr Symes for 12 months for Frank's affairs.  James Gadd assisted and opened account in the assignees ledger.

22nd April 1778.  Attended Mr Bengough, at Frank, Tuckett & Waring's Compting House, in Castle Green, where Mr Bengough wrote several sheets of paper from Thomas Frank's mouth who had also attended his dispositions, containing in effect, an History of his whole life, at least from his comments; right down to his bankruptcy.  This being previous to and in order to save trouble at Frank's examination, when the commission meet.

23rd April 1778.  The commission met and Thomas Frank surrendered.

24th April 1778.  The commission hold their second meeting where William Blake, Nathaniel Brice, John Maddox and Thomas Booth were chose & appointed assignees.  I shall attend both meetings.

19th May 1778.  I attended the third meeting of the commission when it was expected by many of the creditors, Frank would have been committed; but was disappointed, as stated per contra.  He had kept no cash book for several years, and his accounts in general very irregular, yet from invoices and accounts sales were properly entered, & losses ascertained, which were enormous, it was evident no kind of secreting of property could be proved.

13th June 1778.  Felix Farley's Bristol Journal announced that Thomas Frank's stock of wine would be sold at the Exchange Coffee House, by J Stephens, on the same day (not from the diary).

9th August 1778.  Died Thomas Frank's wife, daughter of Zephaniah Fry.

22nd June 1797.  Heard that Thomas Frank died in North America, the 20th October 1796.

From Sarah Fox's (Champion's) Diary Edited by Madge Dresser

Sarah Champion, in her diary, would write on March 1778: "In this month Thomas Frank became a bankrupt, but the integrity of his partners preserved, or I should rather say, was I doubt not the means of their preservation of their honour & credit, which remains entire.  This failure was so talked of that a Quaker could hardly pass the streets whilst the subject was recent, without notice.  The character T F endeavoured to maintain in Society made it more talked of, as well as his being so considerable a merchant.  But his drawing in two worthy young men as partners under false pretences, & it is most probable, only to add to his own credit, was a very faulty part of his conduct.  With my sister, I paid his poor wife a visit soon after her husband's disgrace became public.  Betsy Frank had long been in an ill state of health, but this shock seemed as if it would be too much for her feeble frame to support.  T F, whatever were his failings, was good tempered & had ever made her a kind husband.  She had long suffered much from disease, perhaps increased by her anxiety lest he should go too far in trade, which she continually laboured to prevent.  But vain & fruitless were both her anxiety & attempts."

J D Pountney refers to a Thomas Frank, who on 10th January 1784, had a country house in St Anne's, Brislington (it was subject to theft).  However it must had been a different person, as by then our Thomas was in America.  Arnee Frank (his only son) would later write (quoted by Madge Dresser): "My father was in the wholesale grocery business having become embarrassed in his affairs, his concern was broken up, & for reasons with which I was unacquainted, being then at a distant boarding school [Compton] and under 12 years of age, he left Bristol, staid a short time in London, assisting in some wholesale house there, & from thence finally left this country & settled in the state of Vermont, North America, where he carried on some very small business for a livelihood until his death in 1796."

From the Bristol Quaker Records (Men's Meeting)

20th December 1773.  Thomas Frank our clerk for the ensuing year.

4th December 1775.  Thomas Frank was appointed an elder.

23rd February 1778.  Thomas Frank agrees to continue the clerkship until the end of March, when our friend William Cowles agrees to accept thereon for the remainder of the year.

20th April 1778.  Thomas Frank and Joseph Burrow having been publicly declared bankrupt the nomination of friends to visit them thereon is left to next meeting.

4th May 1778.  Richard Ash, Jacob Player and Shurmer Bath are appointed to visit Thomas Frank & Joseph Barrow on their late failure in the payment of their just debts and report to next or some future meeting.

10th August 1778.  The friends appointed to visit Thomas Frank and Joseph Barrow or any two of them are desired by this meeting to proceed in that service.

7th September 1778.  Visiting Thomas Frank and Joseph Barrow.

16th November 1778.  Joseph player and Shurmer Bath report that they have visited Thomas Frank and they find he hath overcharged himself with business beyond his capital and did not keep proper accounts, in which he acknowledges blame, they also find his creditors are not satisfied with his conduct & they apprehend he will fall very short in payment of his just debts; said affair is continuing under the care of the same friends.

30th November 1778.  On solidly considering the case of Thomas Frank the friends appointed on that affair are desired to prepare a testimony of our discussion with him & bring the same to next or some future meeting for approbation.

14th December 1778.  The appointed friends brought a testimony of our discussion with Thomas Frank, which being twice read was approved, & is referred to the committee for reading testimony to read the same next first day morning at Fryar's Meeting.

28th December 1778.  The testimony of our disunion with Thomas Frank was read yesterday at Fryar's Meeting by Benjamin Hughes.