Textile industry in Stirlingshire

[Gisele45]

Does anyone know about the textile industry in Stirlingshire in the late 18th/early 19th century?  I've recently discovered that my great great grandfather, Robert Wilson, was a calico printer in Lennoxtown in 1818.  I think he originated from Balfron and his son, my great grandfather, John Wilson, was described as a 'drawer' in the 1841 census, living in Denny.  In subsequent census returns John described himself as a 'pattern designer to a calico printer' and had moved to Glasgow by 1849. 

[apanderson]

Hello Giselle,

Welcome to Rootschat!!

Have a wee look at the following link which will give you a better understanding of the industry:

http://www.electricscotland.com/history/stirlingshire/chap40.htm

Anne

[Gisele45]

Thank you.  That makes fscinating reading!
Gisele.

[iainkennedy]

My family were calico printers in Lennoxtown from 1850 through to the mill closure in 1929. We still have a piece of calico cloth my ggf worked on. There is a definitive account of it in

The parish of Campsie: a series of biographical, ecclesiastical, historical, genealogical and industrial sketches and incidents. With "Calico printing in Campsie" appended.

by John Cameron.

ISBN 090496616X

The mill later became a nail factory before being pulled down recently.

Iain Kennedy
Glasgow
www.kennedydna.com/kons.htm