William
Douglas, mill owner
William Douglas (28 Feb 1745-30 Jan 1810) was the head of the firm
of William Douglas and Co., cotton spinners and merchants. He
served the office of constable of Manchester in 1780. He is
sometimes referred to as William Douglas of Pembleton.
William, Of the Old Hall, Pendleton, Lancashire, was the son and 7th child of
John Douglas (d. 1762) of St.
George's, Hanover Square, an innkeeper of the Hercules Pillars in
Hyde Park Road, London, and Mary Gardiner (d. 1766).
Of nine
siblings only the three boys survived. After the deaths of his
parents he brought up by his younger brother
James (1753–1819) in
Manchester, where James belatedly attended Manchester grammar
school. He was in business with his other brother,
Thomas (qv).
William Douglas, later to be known as Black Douglas
because of his harsh treatment of pauper children, set up water
powered hoist mill at the Pendleton Old Hall Site in 1780. Freedom
from Arkwright restrictions resulted in an increase in the size of
water powered mills. A letter in 1792 mentions 3,000 to 4,000
spindles at Douglas Mills. Douglas chiefly supplied the master
manufacturers with twist and warps, which were then distributed to
the handloom weavers. In 1782 the Douglas Mills were constructing
textile looms.
In 1786, he employed 5 girl and 3 boy
apprentices from St Giles in the Fields; in 1795 there were 15 and
12 from St Luke, Chelsea. He 'employed and paid a clergyman of the
Church of England to instruct them in their Bible catechism and
other religious duties on Sunday'. It is not clear from where these
children came, but pauper children from as far away as Glasgow were
placed in the Lancashire mills. William Douglas had, in 1795,
apprenticed to him Mary Anne Finch from St Anne's Parish,
Westminster, with 'hours of labour seldom exeed(ing) 12 hours a day'
- and 'never at night'.
He married Mary Hargreave, daughter
of George Hargreave and Mary Marsden and had 5 children. He is
described as 'a key player' in the cotton industry and amassed a
fortune. In the history of the Hargreave family, he is described as
a banker, possibly Messrs. Douglas, Smalley & Co, in Holywell,
established by his son John.
He died 30 Jan 1810 at Pembleton Hall, and was
succeeded by his son, John Douglas of Gyrn, a cotton spinner in Holywell, Flintshire.
The attached pdf contains additional information about William
Douglas.
By this account, he was not a very nice man!
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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