The first Glasgow directory was published in 1783 by John Tait. This image is taken from a facsimile reprint published in 1871 by Robert Forrester. Page 33 includes surnames from Foot to Galbraith.
John Glassford of Dougalston was one of Glasgow's foremost tobacco merchants. At the time when Glasgow merchants dominated the Virginia tobacco trade he was the owner of twenty-five ships, with an estimated annual turnover of half a million pounds. In addition to buying the estate of Dougalston in Dunbartonshire he used his fortune to invest heavily in other Glasgow banks and industries, which helped ensure that the city survived the decline of the tobacco trade. He was also a patron of the Foulis Academy of Fine Arts. He built Shawfield Mansion as his town house, on the street which now bears his name, Glassford Street.
James Gordon was an apprentice to John Glassford, subsequently becoming his son-in-law.
Reference: Mitchell Library, GC 914.14351
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
directories, family history, Foulis Academy of Fine Arts, genealogy, John Tait's Directory, Shawfield Mansion, Tobacco Lords, tobacco merchants
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