Thomson, Outfitters in Glasgow

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Surnames/tags: Thomson, Paisleys, Jamaica St Glasgow, Clothiers, Outfitters

Research by Alan Runciman prompted by a family story.

Contents 1 Our Thomson Family Folklore 2 Paisleys origins 3 The Thomson Connection to Paisleys: 3.1 Valuation Rolls (VRs) 3.2 Family background on the Thomson proprietors 3.3 Thomsons as tenants 3.4 Research Tangent – a 3rd Thomson family?: 3.5 Family Folklore – Considerations, Alternatives & Conclusions : 4 Timeline: 5 Ongoing Action/Research: 6 To Do 7 Notes 8 Sources

Our Thomson Family Folklore

Many years ago my mother Catherine Runciman, (nee Kirkland) mentioned that our Thomson family ^[A] had once owned the large & prestigious Glasgow department store of Paisleys. I & my brothers weren’t mature or wise enough to think to ask her to elaborate, & now the opportunity has gone. Whether she knew any greater detail is questionable. This profile documents Thomsons who have links to Paisleys. In fact 2 apparently unrelated families of Thomsons have links, with a 3rd Thomson family also operating as prestigious outfitters in close proximity. To date, no evidence is found to link any of these families to ‘our’ Thomsons to support the folklore.

Paisleys origins

Glasgow property valuation records (VRs) from the 1850s onwards record a series of Thomsons owned property at 94/96 Jamaica Street & from this property there was a Clothiers & Uniform supplier named James & William C Thomson. The retail business appears to be a family of Thomsons unrelated to the proprietor family. The business name ‘Paisleys’ came later when Peter Paisley traded from the Jamaica Street property in the 1880s onwards. Paisleys from this landmark site until around the 1970s when the property was sold off & developed as a hotel. So the Thomson family didn't 'own Paisleys' per se as the Paisley name came into being after their custodianship. However, there was a period of cross-over after the newly-named Paisleys business started about 1885 when the Thomsons continued as landlords of the property with the possibility that a family member acted as cashier in the fledgling Paisley business (discussed later).

The Thomson Connection to Paisleys:

This photo & caption is taken during the transition to Paisleys:

94/96 Jamaica Street

In Glasgow around the change.

Photo & narrative extracted from the Facebook site ‘Glasgow History’, posted as ‘Jamaica Street’ on February 27, 2010 by Chris Jones.

The large reputable Glasgow department store commanded the prime site of the Broomielaw Corner at Jamaica Street & Clyde Street from the early 1880s to 1979.

Valuation Rolls (VRs)

A study of Glasgow’s VRs reveals that for a period of 30 years (1850s-1880s) two generations of Thomsons owned the building at 94/96 Jamaica Street, commencing with a [[Thomson-15373|Neil Thomson] & his wife [Borland-1370|Helen Borland], followed eventually by their children. They appear to be purely landlords as the firm of ‘James & William C Thomson, outfitters’ are recorded as their tenants. No family connection has been found between proprietors & tenants. Property ownership prior to 1855 (the date of the first online VR) has not been researched. This would require access to the Register of Sasines in Edinburgh. It may reveal the Thomson ownership goes back further^[B]. In 1875 ‘J & WC Thomson, Clothiers’ also rented No 62 Jamaica Street as their workshop, a property owned by The Caledonian Railway Company, indicating they were manufacturers as well as retail tailors. The Thomson proprietors of the Jamaica St premises in that last VR prior to the appearance of Paisleys were recorded as:

The 1875 VR entry

Proprietors (in left-hand column):

Archibald Thomson cashier.

Robert W Thomson

Marion W Thomson or Armstrong for Archibald Thomson, 377 Bath Street

Those 3 are the adult children of Neil Thomson & Helen Borland.

Tenants (in right-hand column):

James & William C Thomson, Outfitters.

Transition: Peter Paisley initially opened to trade as Paisleys sometime between 1875 (the last VR of the Thomson operating entries) and 1885 (the first Paisley VR as the tenant & occupier). However that 1885 record shows the proprietor of 94/96 Jamaica St is Archibald Thomson, Cashier, of South Muirhead, Cumbernauld . This confirms there was indeed a Thomson connection to Paisleys insomuch as he was Paisleys’ landlord. Furthermore, was his 'cashier' position perhaps within Paisleys business? Often this title was indicative of a more senior management role than that afforded in the present day, that of the principal finance officer. A modern-day example from history is the Cashier of The Bank of England. But there’s no real evidence Archibald has any experience in this role previously. For example, the most recent prior census in 1881 records him as ‘landlord income from property’. Feasibly Archibald’s position may have been part of buy-out discussions. Either way it would be fair to state, rather incompletely, that ‘the Thomsons owned Paisleys’.

Conclusion of Thomson connection:

In the first years of Paisley's involvement the Thomsons retained ownership of the Jamaica St premises but Archibald, by now the only listed proprietor, died childless in 1891. The following VR in 1895 shows proprietorship had passed to Reginald T Armstrong (RTA), son of Archibald’s deceased sister Marianne Watt Armstrong (nee Thomson). No registration of a will is evident, which is odd. The proprietorship is operated on a curator bonis^[C] basis by David Strathie, a Glasgow chartered accountant. Further research reveals RTA suffered mental incapacity throughout most of his adult life^[1]. Whether Archibald saw this as a way of providing for his incapacitated nephew or whether there were no further suitable family heirs available to inherit is questionable. In the next VR in 1905 Peter Paisley is shown as the property owner, concluding any Thomson association with the business. The same VR shows a Peter Paisley owning several shops & houses on Argyle Street which may be related to 'Paisleys Corner' at the bottom of Jamaica Street. He is also shown as proprietor of a house, garden, stables, coachhouse & offices in Langbank, Renfrewshire, so his business is flourishing.

Family background on the Thomson proprietors

The siblings’ parents, Neil Thomson & Helen Borland: Neil is described consistently in records as ‘ship captain’ or ‘master mariner’ although by 1861 (by then he’s 70 years old) Neil is a ‘Supt Emigration Officer’. Neil is from Campbeltown, Argyllshire, born 1791. He died in 1870.

Neil’s parents are Archibald Thomson & Barbara Williamson (McWilliam on her church baptism entry). Archibald, a Revenue Officer, was born in Campbeltown in 1761 to Neil Thomson & Jean Thomson (her maiden name too).

It's not certain whether the Thomson landlords of Jamaica Street involve themselves in the outfitter’s management. But the term ‘cashier’ accorded to landlord Archibald Thomson in the 1875 VR is interesting. Does this refer to a position held within the retail business? In the 1851 census son Archibald, aged 18, is a warehouseman, conceivably a post in the Thomson business. But by 1861 he’s a seaman, aged 24. As an aside, Archibald eventually married in 1886 providing some interesting information on their marriage registration. He describes himself as 45 though he’s actually 52, so his 21-year old [surname-xxx|bride] was unaware of the true gap in their ages. He described his occupation as ‘Seaman Mer(chant) Service (retired)’. He died only 5 years later in 1891. His widow later remarried.

Neil’s son Robert Watt Thomson has no records in Scotland other than his 1825 Glasgow baptism (also in the 1841 census?). He emigrated to Australia as early as 1850 (per linked WikiTree profile). Robert was always an absent landlord of Jamaica St, presumably drawing a rental income. In 1896, he was living in Sydney when sequestrated & then released from sequestration the same year. He died in 1906. He & his wife are buried in Sydney. In 1922 the funeral notice of his son, named Neil like his grandfather, states he was Robert’s 2nd son (unfortunately the first son was not named in the notice) & had worked in the General Post Office for almost 40 years.

Thomsons as tenants

Running alongside the Thomson proprietorship, James Thomson is listed at ‘92, 94 & 96 Jamaica Street, clothier, hosier & colonial outfitter’ in the 1880 Glasgow directory, indicating they were trading there until at least that year.

The Thomsons who give this separate firm its name of James & William C Thomson are also siblings. James & [Thomson-4439|William C Thomson] appear as a 12-year-old & 10-year old respectively on the 1851 census. Also William appears in the 1871 census as follows:

At 10 Regent Park Terrace, William C Thomson, Head, married, age 30, master clothier, employing 18 men, 7 women & 2 boys, born Glasgow. Wife, Jane, age 27, born Hamilton. There is a servant but no family.

Despite censuses in 1841 & 1851 recording ages revealing William C was born in 1840 in Glasgow, no baptism is evident. However a William Charles Thomson, recorded as ‘Tailor & Clothier (Master), married Jeannie Dunn in 1865. He also declared he was aged 25 & his parents were William Charles Thomson & Agnes Black, just the lead needed to research the family further. The father William C Sr was also described as a ‘Tailor & Clothier (Master) on the marriage registration.

James Thomson is too common a name for practical online research on Scotland's People. A day pass visit to the Registrar of Scotland in Edinburgh (or a closer associated office) is a better option. In such situations often an alternative & useful starting point is to pick up pointers from WikiTree & online trees of other family researchers but at the time of writing there appear to be no leads to other family members. This is unusual but perhaps there are very few living descendants.

No connection has been found between tenants James & William C and their Thomson proprietors. Unfortunately none of the Thomsons listed - proprietors or retailers - have been proven to connect to the Thomsons on the Crooks lineage, the initiating subject of this research.

Research Tangent – a 3rd Thomson family?:

There is an article written about a reputable outfitters named James Thomson & Sons operating from St Vincent St, Glasgow. They too specialise in uniforms, notably Navy uniforms. It appears to be an unconnected coincidence but nevertheless worth noting should it turn out otherwise. The accompanying footnote^[E] is extracted from http://www.glasgowwestaddress.co.uk/1888_Book/Index_of_firms_1888.htm

In 1875 VR James & William J Thomson are listed as proprietors of the St Vincent St premises. The Thomsons occupy Number 86 as ‘James Thomson & Son Clothing’. William J(oseph) married Mary Risk in 1865 and his parents are James Thomson & Janet Hamilton. This confirms they are not the same pair as are at Jamaica St, though that’s not to say there is no relationship as little is known of their parents James & Janet other than they married in Gorbals, Glasgow in 1834.

Family Folklore – Considerations, Alternatives & Conclusions :

• At a stretch Peter Paisley may be connected by marriage or parentage to the ‘Crooks’ Thomson family. No baptisms have been found which point to potential candidates so this possibility has not been pursued further.
• Perhaps James and/or William C Thomson were offered director or senior manager positions in the new Paisleys company to help bed in relationships with organisations with whom they'd had an authorised status eg for supply of Naval uniforms etc & wider supply chain. Similarly Archibald from the proprietor family could have been offered such a role as cashier a description attached to him in a VR. To avoid confusion, would one not expect if the cashier position was outwith the business listed, then the unconnected business would be named?

• It is established that a Thomson family were landlords of the property at Broomielaw Corner from which Paisleys later traded.

• It is also established that there was a Thomson Outfitters business retailing from what was to become ‘Paisleys Corner’.

• No link has been made between the two Thomson families associated with the premises i.e. no connection made between landlord and tenants.
• Unfortunately no evidence was found to substantiate that either of ‘the Thomsons who once owned Paisleys’ (proprietors or outfitters) have a connection to our ‘Crooks’ Thomsons.

• It is deemed unlikely that a link exists waiting to be found between the landlord family of Thomsons from Campbeltown & our family as their background & location are far removed from our Lesmahagow/Crooks background. However this is hampered by our lack of ancestral/sibling knowledge about our own ancestral couple John Thomson & Christian Goodlet. If there is a link to be found it will be to this couple’s generation or John’s parents. Any further back is probably too distant time-wise.
• It’s more likely any connection will lie with the outfitters James & William C Thomson to the Crooks Thomsons. Currently, insufficient facts are known about the two families at the appropriate time (mid to late 1700s) to draw a conclusion. Part of the jigsaw is learning more about ‘Crooks’ John Thomson. No evidence of a suitable John appears in the Jamaica Street families. An obvious missing space is a connection between him & the parents/grandparents of James T of the St Vincent Street business. (Of course, currently the latter has no connection established to Paisleys either.)

Timeline:

A timeline featuring the Thomson families is summarised Timeline: Thomson Outfitters in Glasgow

Ongoing Action/Research:

By publishing on WikiTree & an online family tree we may ‘meet’ family descendants of the Paisleys Thomsons & discover descendants. Perhaps to give us clues to our own family gaps around John Thomson & our ‘Crooks Thomson’ family. A tree is maintained on My Heritage at https://www.myheritage.com/site-1620599152/thomson-outfitters-in-glasgow .

To Do

[WIP] Create WT personal profiles for the Thomson proprietors & outfitters. A search on WikiTree reveals the following profiles already exist: William Charles Thomson & his wife Jeannie Dunn

Notes

[A] Our earliest (known) Thomson ancestor on this line is John Thomson born around the 1760s. His baptism cannot be separated from the large number of records which exist for that name. To be involved with the Paisleys business it is likely that our connection will be from sibling descendants form John's generation or his children. One of his sons, James, established a nursery in Edinburgh which he named Crooks, in honour of a family relation of that surname. For identification in this article the line is referred to as the Crooks Thomsons.

[B] The appearance of Helen’s name as a joint proprietor in a time when almost all property was male owned is interesting. Perhaps this is a clue that the property was owned by her father/family prior to 1855 and left to her & her husband? Her father is described in her baptism record as a grain merchant so it’s not impossible he owned a multi-storey mill/store on the dockside of the Clyde. This conjecture can be resolved by the Sasines.

[C]In Scots law, a curator bonis is a legal representative appointed by a court to manage the finances, property, or estate affairs of another person unable to do so because of mental or physical incapacity.

[D] RTA is the son of the deceased Marianne Watt Thomson who was under age at Archibald’s death. However the existence of a curator bonis is evidence that Reginald was mentally incapacitated when his uncle Archibald died. Unfortunately censuses of 1901, 1911 & 1921 (the latest released at time of writing) disclose he is a resident – ‘inmate’ is the term used - at Gartnavel Royal Lunatic Asylum, Glasgow. In 1851 RTA was recorded aged 18 as an insurance clerk so it seems his incapacity developed sometime later or as the result of an accident.

[E]'James Thomson & Son

Messrs. James Thomson & Son, Clothiers, 84 & 86 St. Vincent Street.—

One of the foremost among the many notable Glasgovian houses whose names have become closely and creditably identified with the development of the clothing trade is that of Messrs. James Thomson & Son, of the above address. This is now the oldest clothing business existent in the city, its history dating back to the third decade of the eighteenth century ; and a memorable incident in its records is that which chronicles the fact that the establishment was sacked and plundered by the Highland troops of Prince Charlie, in 1745, when the Young Pretender secured a vast amount of much needed clothing for his men from the weavers and merchants of Glasgow.

The business was formerly known as Ewing & Wingate, and the title so familiar to all Glasgovians has obtained for the past thirty years, under the proprietorship of Mr. James Thomson. The present premises have been occupied for about fifteen years. Therein is shown one of the finest and most complete stocks of distinctly superior tailoring, and the costume fabrics and materials in Glasgow. The specialities of the house consist in pulpit gowns, ladies' riding habits, military and naval uniforms, liveries and costumes, with every branch of gentlemen's tailoring ; and all goods supplied are exclusively of the very best quality.

The firm employ none but the best and most skilful workmen, and enjoy a reputation of the first order of eminence. They hold a special appointment as robe makers to the University. The business is conducted with marked ability and judgement in its every department, and the patronage of the most distinguished circles has always been retained.'

Sources

1. ↑ Censuses of 1901, 1911 & 1921 record Reginald in Royal Asylum Gartnavel, Glasgow. In the 1881 census he was employed as an engineer’s clerk, which suggests in early adulthood his problems either developed or he suffered an accident