SPOILERS

Originating from England, the Braithwaites established themselves in America around 1779. By the 19th century, they had a bustling slave plantation at their manor and became one of the richest and most powerful families in the area. At the peak of their power, the Braithwaites could have committed serious crimes, including rape and murder, without fear of consequences.

In 1806, Lucile Braithwaite gave the location of a significant sum of gold to Douglas Gray, a member of the Gray family. With Lucile's permission, he stole this gold from the Braithwaites, along with additional gold from his own family, in order to fund abolitionist groups. Believing that the other stole their treasure, the two families became locked in a vicious blood feud.

The abolition of slavery in 1865, following the defeat of the South in the Civil War, significantly damaged the Braithwaites. They lost a large amount of their wealth, as did the Grays. At some point prior to 1898, the Braithwaites turned to illegally producing and selling moonshine, and became the dominant producer in Lemoyne, with the help of Maggie Fike, who used to control the moonshine business in the region but disappearing in 1892 after being caught and nearly killed by revenue agents. The Braithwaites also recruited Maggie's former cook, Danny-Lee Caton, who was looking for protection, to oversee their production.

A Life of 'Shine DLC:

In 1898, Maggie finds a new partner to help her renew her moonshine business and learns about the Braithwaites' operation. She has the protagonist sabotage them, leading to Bartholomew Braithwaite, Danny-Lee, and several armed men confronting them at their shack in an attempt to intimidate them, but their threats are waved off by Maggie.

Later, Maggie arranges a meeting with Bartholomew and Danny-Lee under the guise of making amends by providing a shipment of moonshine, and anonymously tips off Reid Hixon. When Bartholomew and Danny-Lee arrive at the meeting place to find no one, they are quickly held at gunpoint by Hixon's revenue agents. However, Bartholomew claims to have hired gunmen nearby and bribes Hixon to let him go, leaving Danny-Lee to be arrested.

In 1899, Arthur Morgan first encounters the Braithwaites when Beau Gray sends him to the Braithwaite Manor to deliver a love letter to Penelope Braithwaite. She sends a letter of her own back, which tells Beau that she plans on taking part in a women’s suffrage rally. Upon hearing this, Beau begs Arthur to convince Penelope not to do it, saying it will endanger her life. She insists on participating, and so Arthur ends up driving the stagecoach in order to give her some protection.

Hosea Matthews and Arthur later go to the Braithwaite Manor to try and sell back some of the moonshine they stole from the Lemoyne Raiders. The family are initially hostile and point guns at the pair, until Catherine Braithwaite steps in and pays them $10 for it, on the condition that they give it out for free at the Gray-owned saloon in Rhodes.

On Catherine's behalf, Sean MacGuire and Arthur later burn down the Gray family's tobacco fields at Caliga Hall, being promised gold in return. The Van der Linde gang simultaneously makes a deal with Tavish Gray to steal the Braithwaites' prized horses, a job which is carried out by Arthur, John Marston and Javier Escuella. Realizing that they have been played by the gang, the Braithwaites kidnap Jack Marston from them. In response to this, the gang launches a major assault on the manor.

Upon arrival, they are met by all the sons of Catherine, as well as their cousins and hired guns. When the Braithwaites refuse to give Jack back to the gang, the standoff descends into a large gunfight between the Braithwaite family and the gang. After all the Braithwaites are killed, the gang searches the manor for Catherine, but reinforcements soon arrive, forcing Arthur and other gang members to fight them off. Arthur and John eventually manage to break into the room where Catherine is hiding with her last remaining sons, Gareth and Gerald, whom they kill.

Catherine then refuses to say where Jack is, so Dutch van der Linde drags her down the stairs, while the rest of the gang set the manor ablaze. Once outside, Dutch questions Catherine again on Jack's whereabouts and threatens to kill her, so she finally reveals that he has been sold to Angelo Bronte in Saint Denis. The gang then departs as Catherine runs back into the burning manor in tears in an act of self-immolation and dies.

Penelope later writes to Arthur, asking him to come to Braithwaite Manor. There, she asks him to take her to the Rhodes train station, where she and Beau will elope together. Arthur takes her to Beau, whereupon the two embrace and talk about how they cannot wait to go to Boston together. While buying train tickets, they are spotted by Beau's cousins Iain and Scott Gray, who try to drag him away, but Arthur steps in and knocks them unconscious.

The three then board the train, but more problems arise: some of Penelope's relatives noticed that she took several valuable gems before embarking, and chase the train on horseback, forcing Arthur to fight them off. The train eventually arrives at the Riggs Station, where Penelope and Beau disembark and, after thanking Arthur for his help, get on a stagecoach bound for Boston. Penelope is not seen and encountered again.

* No known information about this person's character

✪ Catherine Braithwaite - Head of The Family:

Catherine displays a typical attitude of a snobbish elite from the old wealthy family. She has a strong sense of superiority, calling people whom she considers beneath her as "filth" or "scum". Naturally, what with belonging to an old plantation family, Catherine despises "Yankees", using the term as a pejorative. Still, while certainly arrogant, she is far from foolish, eventually catching on to the Van der Linde gang's machinations.

Mrs. Braithwaite is highly invested in her heritage and family, expressing fury at Dutch for murdering her sons and trying to topple the dynasty. Along this vein, she seems to prioritize her family's reputation even at the cost of their wellbeing, as she kept her disfigured and mentally ill daughter in an outhouse rather than have her sent to a sanitarium. It is implied that Catherine is also passionate about horses as she owns several expensive horses and is enraged at their disappearance; this implies either a sentimental value or a show of wealth and power.

✪ Gertrude Braithwaite - Daughter of Catherine Braithwaite:

Gertrude is an unhinged individual prone to random fits of maniacal laughter. She also seems to relish in thoughts that most would find morbid. She does not seem entirely aware and seems to have gone insane because of her isolation in the outhouse.

✪ Penelope Braithwaite - Niece of Catherine Braithwaite:

Penelope is a brave woman, as despite the fact Rhodes is hostile to the women's suffrage movement and there is a great amount of danger to women who participate in it, Penelope still lends her voice to the cause. She is deeply in love with Beau, a member of the rival Gray Family, to the point that she was willing to steal her family's jewelry and run away with him.

* Lucile Braithwaite - Member
* Gerald Braithwaite - Son of Catherine Braithwaite
* Gareth Braithwaite - Son of Catherine Braithwaite
* Bartholomew Braithwaite - Son of Catherine Braithwaite
* Unnamed Braithwaite (mentioned) - Uncle of Penelope Braithwaite

✪ Lemoyne Raiders
✪ Danny-Lee Caton - moonshine cook
✪ Arthur Morgan (formerly) - temporary associate
✪ Hosea Matthews (formerly) - temporary associate
✪ Sean MacGuire (formerly) - temporary associate
✪ Angelo Bronte - acquaintance

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