The North-Carolinian. [volume] (Fayetteville [N.C.]) 1839-1861, 1854-09-02
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INTERESTING SkETCHES OF RICH MEN.
BY VINCENT NOLTE.


BY VINCENT NoLTE.
IkNe House Of Barring n Baothers-IHe History
Of the Family.
q will take this opportunity of saying some
wing about the Barring family, particularly its
fHost distinguished members, Sir Francis and his
lecond son Alexander, as we'll as the honorable
lief of the Amsterdam house, Mr. Henry Hope,
Jom have already named The last OF these,
}4sen / first made his acquaintance had reached
lis seventieth year, and was somewhat deaf.
TIC had never; been married. 1t he who
&zpened the way for the autocratic power of
ussa under the Empress Catharine H., to
90 confidence of the then wca1thest capitalists
! f(q Europe the Dutch, and thereby laid the
foundation of Russian credit. Always treated
| by the Empress with great distinction, he had
been honored with the gift, from her own hand,
of her portrait, the full size of life This pic
ture occupied the place of honor III the superb
gallery of paintings fitted up by him in his palace
1T Hnys ten Bosch" (now royal pleasure
palace, which he had built i'll the woods of
Harlem. Upon his emigration to England, he
had taken this Splendid gallery, entirely com
posed of cabinet pieces, with him, and had the
pleasure of seeing it frequently at his residence
in Cavendish square To the tone of refined
gentleman and man Of the world he united
certain affability which spoke to and won every
heart. The whole-soued cordiality with which
in the city, or his country seat, Eastsheeu, in
the neighborhood of Richmond has always re-
manned fresh in my memory. Yet secret
| trouble seemed to be weighing his mind
This annoyance from the notorious rela-
tions of his niece, Mad. Williams Hope, with a
Dutch officer of dragons 10y the name of Dopf
[ had attracted his confidence, and he day
seized me suddenly by the hand, led me to the
| window, and could not restrain his tears as he
told me he must close the door of his house
| against her if she ventured to bring this man
with her to England The larger part of his
considerable fortune, which he had bequeathed
to Henry, the eldest of this niece and who
died unmarried passed. at the decease of the
latter, to Adrian, the second son, who left no
male heirs, but from whom it descended to
! Francis the third son, born several years after
wards This third inheritor is the rich and
well-known Mr. Hope, now settled in Paris, and
the only surviving member of that branch of the
Whole family.
/ A close examination into the origin of the
i Barring family traces it back to certain Peter
| Barring who lived in the years from 1860 to
! 1910, at Groningcn in the Dutch province of
| Overyssel. One of his ancestors, under the
lname Of Francis Barring was pastor of the
| Lutheran church at Bremen and in that capt.
! ~ sitvna- called to London, where among others
l-he had named John. The latter. well
acquainted with clotl-making, settled at Lark
beer, i'll Devonshire, and there put up estab-
lishment for the manufacture Of that article
He had five chdren-four sons, John, Thomas,
Francis, Charles, and daue hter, called Eliza
beth. Two of the sons, John and Francis es-
tablshed themselves under the firm of j Ohm and
Francis Barring, at London, originally with Il
view of facilitating their fathers trade in dis
posing of his goods, and SO to be in Il posi-
| ton to import the raw material to be required,
such wood, dye-stnffs, &c, themselves direct
ly from abroad. Thus was established the house
which--after the withdrawal of the elder brother
John, who retired to Exetcr-gradualy under
the firm-name of Francis Barring & Co., and
eventually, under the firn-name of Barring
Brothers & Co., to the highest rank OF
mercantile emnence in the commerce of the world
Sir Francis, who, under the Ministry of the
! Count Sheburn, father of the present Marquis
of Landsowne, had become his intimate friend
and adviser in financial ma tiers, having in the
/ year 1893 received the title of Baronct, was
already styled by the latter the Prince of Mcr
chants. lie had become somewhat feeble, and
very deaf, when first got personally acquaint-
/ ed with him.
! On the occasion of one of my visits to him
he told me that he had kept at his business for
thirty years before he considered himself en-
titled to keep an equipage. Upon another
occasion, when | spoke to him of my project in
establishing myself in New-Oreans, after the
termination of my mission he remarked
&c sually, my young friend, that commission
! business is the best iii which the commissions
take this directon"-here he made a motion
with his hands if throwing something to-
wards him-"but where the business goes thus "
--motoning if he throwing something
from him. This amounted to saving, in other
words, that receiving consignments better
business than executing commissions. Three OF
his sons, Thomas, Alexander and Henry en-
tered the London establishment; but the first
who was intended to have carried OH the fathers
name, after the death Of the latter on the 18th
! Of September, 1910, assumed the name of Sil
Thomas, and withdrew from the house, as the
third also found occasion to do at later period
The latter passionately fond of play, ane
indulged in it with so much success that Ii,
several times broke ''Entreprse Generate de-
Jeux,'' of Paris. But the sight of Que of the
heads ofsuch a house, one night after another
in the great gambling establishments, produced
| a bad effect; and if it did not impair hi
credit, it in no slight degree damaged his re
| spectability. This felt at headquarters
and an understanding come to for his with
drawal from the firm.
Alexander Barring, the second son OF 81
Francis, had received portion of his education
I in Hanau had then completed it in England
and commenced his mercantile career in th'
house of Messrs Hope, where frlendshil
Il snrnn, mn between him and Mr. 2. G. La Laboucbere
4 which led to the latters marriage at late
fneriod with his sister, Maria Barring Whei
the Messrs Hope retired to England in conse
ouence of the occupation of Holland by tht
j revolutionary French army, under Piehegru
s. and after Alexander Barring left the house, hi