Robert Carrick
Robert Carrick of Braco (aka Robin Carrick) (1737–1821) was an 18th-century Scottish banker, who was one of the richest men ever to have lived in Scotland. A cold, hard man, he was a notorious miser.
Carrick Street in central Glasgow was named in his honour in 1800.
Life
He was born in the manse of Houston, Renfrewshire, the eldest son of Rev Robert Carrick [1] and his wife Margaret Paisley. His brother John Carrick became a surgeon in Glasgow.
He entered banking as an apprentice clerk in 1752 in the Ship Bank (then owned by Dunlop, Houson & Co).[2] One of the partnersof the bank was Andrew Buchanan, an old personal friend of his father from their student days, and it is likely that Buchanan took him under his wing.
In 1775 he became manager and partner in the Ship Bank then owned by Moores Carrick & Company.[3]
Around 1785 he appears to have acquired the estates of Braco north-east of Glasgow.
He died in his private rooms over the Ship Bank (then owned by Carrick Brown & Co) on 20 June 1821. The building stood on the corner of Saltmarket and Bridgegate.[4] The building no longer exists.
When he died he left over £1 million, an outstanding fortune. This mainly passed to David Buchanan (1760–1827), nephew of Andrew Buchanan of Drumpellier, who thereafter named the family Carrick-Buchanan in respect of this windfall.[5] David was also a joint partner in the Ship Bank at the time of Carrick's death.
Despite his wealth (and due to his lack of family and lack of pre-planning to secure a grave of note) he is buried in an unmarked grave in the Ramshorn Cemetery in central Glasgow.[6]
References
- http://www.glasgowhistory.co.uk/Books/MansionHouses/MansionChapters/Mount%20Vernon.htm
- https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSA02088
- https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSA02088
- https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSB00078
- http://www.electricscotland.com/history/glasgow/glasgow3_25.htm
- The Glasgow Graveyard Guide, Jimmy Black