Just thought I'd summarise where I am with this very interesting set of families. It seems bankruptcy was more of a likelihood for them than not. .....he went bankrupt twice .....he went bankrupt in 1865 ...... filed for bankruptcy in 1861 ..... bankrupt 1871..... 1879 filed for bankruptcy .....
JULIAN
Another niggley item. It is somewhat mean-spirited to lay so much emphasis on the bankruptcies.
These were smallish family-owned businesses. Unlike the Enron and Hollinger executives, it was
their own money they lost. And they were operating in a far different marketplace than today's - no gov't grants, no tax incentives, no affirmative-action incentives and when they got into trouble, no taxpayer-funded bail-outs.
Bankruptcy was as constant a possibility in those times as cholera, infant mortality and the workhouse. The Gazettes and the newspapers carry thousands of bankruptcy notices.
What did these people do when that happened? They picked themselves up, tightened their belts, most often tried something else and went to work building up again.
Emphazing the bankruptcies, as you have done, implies that these were shameful people. They were not.
Cheers,
Westoe
