Alexander Speirs & Co was one of Glasgow's most successful tobacco companies. Alexander Speirs, who died in the year before Tait's directory was published, used his wealth to buy estates in Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and Stirlingshire and to invest in a series of industries in the area.
William Stirling & Co established the printing and bleaching industry in Scotland, starting at the textile printworks at Dalsholm (Dawsholm) on the River Kelvin in 1750. The company expanded into overseas trade and financed the Monkland Canal.
Walter Stirling, of the same family, is best remembered for his bequest to the city in 1791 of his house in Miller Street, and his collection of books. He left his collection and £1,000 to the city to establish the famous Stirling Library, the first free public library in Scotland.
Reference: Mitchell Library, GC 914.14351
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
Alexander Speirs & Co, bleachers, calico printers, canals, directories, family history, genealogy, John Tait's Directory, libraries, Monkland Canal, River Kelvin, Sirling's Library, textile printers, William Stirling & Co
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