|
James Stevenson (merchant)
  James Stevenson FRSE (1786–1866) was a Scottish merchant and philanthropist who fathered two Scottish heroines, Flora Stevenson and Louisa Stevenson,[1] the industrialist, James Cochran Stevenson[2] and architect John James Stevenson. LifeHe was born in Paisley on 28 April 1786 the son of James Stevenson, a silk gauze manufacturer, and his wife, Margaret Cochran. He was educated at Paisley Grammar School. He set up a cotton spinning mill with his older brother, Nathaniel Stevenson, first at Calton then Barrowfield, before going into partnership with the Oswald brothers[3] creating Oswald Stevenson & Co with James Oswald.[4] The family moved into central Glasgow in 1825, running the firm James Stevenson & Co, cotton brokers, from 104 Hutcheson Street.[5] James inherited the family business on his father's death in 1806. In 1844 he also became a senior partner at the Jarrow Chemical Works in South Shields: a firm supplying dyes for his cottons. In 1865 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposer was James Yong.[6] He died at home, 13 Randolph Crescent in Edinburgh on 13 June 1866.[7] Artistic recognitionHe was portrayed by Norman Macbeth and Thomas Annan photographed the portrait.[8] FamilyHe was married to Jane Stewart Shannon from Greenock. They had ten children: four sons and six daughters.[9] His brother, Nathaniel Stevenson, was father to James Croesus Stevenson.[10] References
|
||||||||||||||||||||
