Brutus Browne

[5] Sir Thomas Browne died without progeny,[1] after which the family estates were "divided among distaffs"(Risdon).

In 1595 he took part in and invested 1,000 marks in (what proved to be) the last expedition of Drake and Hawkins, which sought to capture a Spanish treasure ship, believed to be waiting at Puerto Rico.

The Spanish shore batteries fired on the English fleet at anchor and a cannonball penetrated the great cabin of the Defiance, where Sir Francis Drake and his officers, including Browne, were at table.

[4] Browne wrote his will on board the Defiance on 19 November 1595 and commended his body to the earth or to the sea "whereof I am indifferent".

He bequeathed a diamond ring to Drake, whom he described as his "honourable and most kind good friend", as "a testimony of the honest love he owed him, and with many hearty wishes for his happy success in his voyage".