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 57 includes surnames from Paterson to Reid.
James Ritchie & Co imported tobacco from Virginia and re-exported it to France. James Ritchie owned estates at Craigton in Lanarkshire and Busby in Renfrewshire. He also had an interest in the Greenock Ropework Co. His firm suffered from the disruption of the tobacco trade during the American War of Independence.
Henry Riddell was another prominent tobacco merchant. Son of a lawyer, he was related by marriage to John Glassford of Dougalston, with whose firm he had a long association. Riddell was one of the first directors of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and was its president in 1792-1793 and 1800-1801. He was a director of the Sacred Music Institution, "designed to promote a taste in sacred music".
Reference: Mitchell Library, GC 914.14351
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
American War of Independence, directories, family history, genealogy, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Greenock Ropework Co, James Ritchie & Co, John Tait's Directory, sacred music, Sacred Music Institution, Tobacco Lords, tobacco merchants, tobacco trade
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