I was surprised that the family lost their fortune due to "The merchant in town, whose hands your money was lodged, has gone off..." Were fortunes typically invested with one merchant, i.e., the merchant would have served the same purpose as a bank? I'm just curious how this worked.

Also, I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around the phrasing of this sentence in the opening of chapter 3:

"The loss of fortune to myself alone would have been trifling; the only uneasiness I felt was for my family, who were to be humble without an education to render them callous to contempt."

Can anyone enlighten me on the meaning of the latter part of this sentence? Thank you!