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 44 includes surnames from Marshall to Murdoch.
James McDowall was a partner in the firm of Alexander Houston & Co, which had extensive interests in the West Indies and particularly with the sugar trade. He suffered considerable financial loss when the firm collapsed in 1895. McDowall had two terms of office as Lord Provost, 1790-92 and 1796-98.
Peter Murdoch was a merchant and sugar refiner, a partner in the Glasgow Arms Bank and in Robert Bogle & Co. For fifty years he was a prominent member of the Hodge Podge Club, originally a literary, debating and drinking club founded in 1750 by a group of the city’s leading businessmen.
Reference: Mitchell Library, GC 914.14351
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
Alexander Houston & Co, directories, family history, genealogy, Glasgow Arms Bank, Hodge Podge Club, John Tait's Directory, lord provosts, Robert Bogle & Co, sugar merchants