Conspiracy that Surrounds a Family Business

So I've got this idea for a story: A man inherits a business that's been in his family for hundreds of years. When he starts to inspect his new inheritance, he discovers that the business has been involved in several historical events and his family may have influenced history. I'm trying to think of a business that would have been around for centuries and could have been very influential, at least on a local level. I have two ideas:

• It could be an inn or tavern. Historically those types of establishments played a key role in politics and were where movements organized. I remember a history teacher once telling me that local militias would use taverns as their headquarters. However, the reason these establishments were so important was that it was a place where people could meet and discuss issues that concerned them. I don't think inn-keepers or tavern-owners were actively trying to influence their customers.
• It could be a business that provides expensive goods and services to powerful people, like a tailor that makes fancy suits. They could then influence these clients when they stop by.

Banks. At least in Europe, some banks are really old (See for example Monte dei Paschi di Siena) and they usually started as family business. Keep in mind though: 1) that the 'family' in this case usually means a large clan of interconnected families; 2) that their influence on political affairs was not precisely a secret; 3) that the ancient banks which still exist are very unlikely to be family business anymore.

If you want something smaller, I think that an inn would work. If the story of your family began in the 17th-18th century in Europe, than a coffee house could be a variant (the insurance company Lloyd's started as a coffee house).

An innkeeper can be influential without being the ringleader or the prime motivator. Maybe he's helping the rebels smuggle weapons, or using his cellar to store them until the time is ripe. Or perhaps he's an information broker or serves as a go-between, passing messages along.

edited 10th Jan '17 4:51:06 PM by pwiegle

Clockmaker.

Alternately, and depending on the setting, a theater prop-maker.