Merchant, legislator. Brewton was born on January 29, 1731, in Charleston to Robert Brewton, a prosperous goldsmith, and his second wife, Mary Griffith. His grandfather Miles Brewton had immigrated to South Carolina from Barbados in 1684 and became a goldsmith and militia officer. Since his family\u2019s trade was allied to banking, young Miles was well placed for a career in finance and trade. Twice during the 1750s, he traveled to England to finish his education and establish commercial ties. Between 1756 and his death, Brewton conducted business in several partnerships and was part-owner in eight commercial vessels. His partnerships dealt largely with the exportation of domestic produce, but he also made substantial profits in the importation of slaves. On May 19, 1759, Brewton further expanded his fortune and influence by marrying Mary Izard, daughter of Joseph Izard and Ann Bull. The couple had three children. Through his marriage, numerous land grants, and purchases, Brewton accumulated a large quantity of real estate. However, he made his fortune principally as a merchant rather than as a planter, becoming one of the wealthiest men in South Carolina.<\/p>\n
In 1769 Brewton constructed a grand house on King Street and decorated it in the latest English taste. Still standing in the early twenty-first century, the structure is considered one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in America. During a visit to Charleston in 1773, the Bostonian Josiah Quincy, Jr., dined at Brewton\u2019s town house with several prominent local figures. He described Brewton as \u201ca gentleman of very large fortune\u201d and marveled at his host\u2019s conspicuous wealth. He pronounced the mansion \u201cthe grandest hall I ever beheld\u201d and its furnishings \u201cvastly pretty.\u201d In public life, Brewton was active in the Charleston Library Society and was an officer of the South Carolina Society. In his will he left a legacy of \u00a3500 sterling to support the South Carolina Society\u2019s free primary school and \u00a31,000 sterling to establish a college in South Carolina. He served as a commissioner of several public bodies in Charleston, including the Work House and Markets and the projects to build the Exchange and magazines. In 1773 he was elected vice president of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce. Brewton served in the Commons House of Assembly from 1765 until his death, representing the parishes of St. Philip\u2019s, St. John\u2019s Colleton, and St. Michael\u2019s in succession. In 1773 Lieutenant Governor William Bull recommended him for a seat on the Royal Council, but Brewton\u2019s support of antigovernment measures led him to decline the seat. In July 1774 Brewton stood as a conservative South Carolina candidate for the First Continental Congress, but he lost to the more radical Christopher Gadsden. Brewton represented the parishes of St. Philip\u2019s and St. Michael\u2019s in the First Provincial Congress in 1775 and there was elected to the Council of Safety. Lord William Campbell, the last royal governor of South Carolina, was married to Mary Brewton\u2019s first cousin, and on his arrival in Charleston in 1775 he briefly resided at Brewton\u2019s King Street mansion. Also in 1775 Brewton was reelected to the Provincial Congress for its second term, but he would not be able to serve in that body. In late August 1775, on a voyage from Charleston to Philadelphia, Brewton and his family were lost at sea. See plate 10.<\/p>\n
Edgar, Walter, and N. Louise Bailey, eds. Biographical Directory of the South Carolina House of Representatives. <\/em>Vol. 2, The Commons House of Assembly, 1692\u20131775. <\/em>Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1977.<\/p>\n Quincy, Josiah, Jr. \u201cJournal of Josiah Quincy, Junior, 1773.\u201d Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society <\/em>49 (June 1916): 424\u201381.<\/p>\n Salley, A. S., Jr. \u201cCol. Miles Brewton and Some of His Descendants.\u201d South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine <\/em>2 (April 1901): 128\u201352.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Merchant, legislator. Brewton was born on January 29, 1731, in Charleston to Robert Brewton, a prosperous goldsmith, and his second wife, Mary Griffith. His grandfather Miles Brewton had immigrated to South Carolina from Barbados in 1684 and became a goldsmith and militia officer. Since his family\u2019s trade was allied to banking, young Miles was well […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":-1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","class_list":["post-6407","entry","type-entry","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","ecms-a-z","ecms-architecture","ecms-b","ecms-business-and-industry","ecms-charleston-county","ecms-colonial-period-1670-1764","ecms-colonial-unrest-american-revolution-and-new-republic-1765-1789","ecms-encyclopedia","ecms-government-and-law","ecms-lowcountry","ecms-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n