John Coutts (merchant)
John Coutts | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1699-07-28 Montrose or Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 1751-03-23 Nola, near Naples, Italy |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, financier, Lord Provost of Edinburgh |
| Years active | 1728–1750 |
| Known for | Lord Provost of Edinburgh (1742–1744), founder of early merchant bank, ancestor of Coutts & Co. |
John Coutts (28 July 1699 – 23 March 1750) was a Scottish entrepreneur and financier who held the position of Lord Provost of Edinburgh in 1742.
Life
John Coutts was born on 28 July 1699, either in Montrose or Edinburgh, as the eldest child of Patrick Coutts (1669–1704), a merchant engaged in trade with New York, Pennsylvania, Amsterdam, France, and the Canary Islands. His mother was Jean Dunlop of Garnkirk, Patrick's first wife. Following his father's death when John was five years old, he was brought up by an uncle in Montrose and attended the Old Grammar School there. In 1713, he relocated to Edinburgh to undertake a five-year apprenticeship in commerce.
He established a commission agency and grain trading enterprise before moving into bill negotiation—a financial service that banks rarely provided at that time. Beginning in 1728, he functioned similarly to a merchant bank, collaborating with partners including Thomas Haliburton of New Mains, Archibald Trotter of Castleshiel, and his cousin Robert Ramsay of Balmain. His residence was situated on Edinburgh’s High Street near St Giles Cathedral in a notable property called the "President's Stairs."
Coutts became a member of Edinburgh’s town council in 1730 and was appointed Lord Provost in 1742, succeeding George Haliburton. His leadership lasted until 1744 and was marked by generous expenditures and elaborate banquets, alongside his patronage of the arts.
His fortune grew substantially after inheriting £20,000 from his younger brother James Coutts, a London-based merchant who passed away in 1740.
Later in life, Coutts suffered from illness and traveled to Italy for recuperation but ultimately died in Nola, near Naples, on 23 March 1751 at the age of 51.
Family
On 10 April 1730, he wed Jean Stuart, sister to his close associate Sir John Stuart of Allanbank and granddaughter of Sir John Cochrane of Ochiltree.
Jean Stuart passed away in 1736 after bearing five sons and one daughter. Among their sons were James and Thomas, who jointly established the banking firm Coutts & Co. Two other sons, John and Patrick, survived into adulthood. Following John's death in 1761 and Patrick's mental health decline, the company incorporated an external partner, Sir William Forbes, 6th Baronet, who brought expertise from the Edinburgh branch.
John’s sister married John Stephen, a merchant based in Leith.
Artistic Recognition
During his term as Lord Provost, Coutts commissioned a portrait by Allan Ramsay, which was later inherited by his descendant Baroness Burdett Coutts. This portrait was also reproduced as an etching by James Macardell.