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Thomas Brand Hollis (1719 – 9 September 1804), born Thomas Brand, was a British political radical and dissenter.


Early life

Thomas Brand was born the only son of Timothy Brand, a mercer of Ingatestone,
Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
, and his wife Sarah Michell of Rickling. He was educated at Brentwood School and
Felsted School (Keep your Faith) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Chris Townsend , r_head ...
. He attended the
University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...
. There he was a friend of Richard Baron: both were nonconformists influenced by Francis Hutcheson. He turned down the chance to study at the
Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...
in 1741, but did befriend the political philosopher and writer Thomas Hollis through the inns of court. In 1748–9 Brand toured Europe with Hollis,. He made further European travels from 1750 to 1753. In June 1756 he was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...
.


Heir to Thomas Hollis

On his death in 1774, Hollis left his estate, at
Corscombe Corscombe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset, in the Dorset Council administrative area. The parish includes the small settlements of Benville and Toller Whelme to the south and in the 2011 census had a population o ...
and Halstock in
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
, to Brand on condition that Brand added the name of Hollis to his own name.


Political activity

Brand Hollis sided with the revolutionary activity in Great Britain's American colonies. He corresponded with
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...
and
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
, and had Jefferson's
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was drafted in 1777 by Thomas Jefferson in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and introduced into the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond in 1779. On January 16, 1786, the Assembly enacted the statute into the s ...
reprinted in a local newspaper, the ''Chelmsford Gazette''. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 1782. In 1774 Brand Hollis was briefly elected to Parliament as the member for Hindon, Wiltshire, by spending 15 guineas per vote. On petition the election was declared void due to bribery by the winning candidates. He and his fellow candidate, Richard Smith, were prosecuted, fined one thousand marks, and imprisoned for six months. In a rerun of the election Brand Hollis withdrew his name but Smith was re-elected. Brand Hollis was in 1780 a founder of the Society for Constitutional Information, and a local member of the Yorkshire Association. He worked with John Jebb on a plan for electoral reform, radical and incorporating ideas from James Burgh. He became a Unitarian, and campaigned against the Test Acts.


The Hyde

Brand Hollis resided at The Hyde, a country house in Essex bought by his father in 1718, and improved for him in 1761 by William Chambers. In July 1786, he entertained there his friend
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
, the first American ambassador to the Court of St. James's. Adams stayed for several days, as recorded in his memoirs.


Death and aftermath

On his death in 1804 Brand Hollis left Corscombe and his own property in Ingatestone to John Disney, a personal friend. Disney erected a monument to him in Ingatestone Church, and published his ''Memoirs of Thomas Brand Hollis'' in 1808. The Hyde was demolished in 1965, following damage in a fire.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollis, Thomas Brand 1719 births 1804 deaths People from Ingatestone Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Glasgow Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1774–1780 Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the Royal Society British politicians convicted of crimes