Historical records matching James Coats
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About James Coats
https://paisleythreadmill.co.uk/history/?fbclid=IwAR0sp2DGmqKY7y0GK...
James Coats (1774-1857) was descended from many generations of Paisley weavers. In 1802 he married Katherine Mitchell who employed a number of girls embroidering (tambouring) cloth. When ill health forced James to give up weaving he joined his wife in tambouring. Along with his friend James Whyte he started producing Canton Crepe Shawls. He became a partner in the firm Ross and Duncan, producers of the thread necessary to make these shawls and eventually went on to establish his own factory at Ferguslie.
As a result of Napoleon Bonaparte’s Berlin Decree in 1806 the importation of silk into Britain was curtailed. James and his brother Patrick developed a smooth cotton yarn which was used in place of silk. James’s sons, James and John, joined the family business and in 1819 started trading under the name J & J Clark & Co.
JAMES COATS
James Coats is the ninth son and the youngest of the ten children of George Coats and his wife, Katherine Haywood. He was born on 1 October 1774 and his baptism was registered on 2 October 1774, at Abbey parish in Renfrewshire, Scotland. [Registrar General for Scotland, New Register House, Edinburgh, Abbey Parish Baptisms for 1774, microfilm frame 860] Abbey Parish Baptismal Records He died on 19 August 1857 aged 82 years Darryl Lundy's Peerage: James Coats
James Coats is the founder of the thread manufacturing business which would eventually become J & P Coats, Limited, which in turn was the forerunner of Coats Viyella plc, thread manufacturers, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland [http://archiveshub.ac.uk/features/02120302.html].
James Coats set up business in 1802 and seeing that there was a market for Canton Crape, the majority of which was at that time imported from China, he set about trying to reproduce this material in his own factory. Canton Crape was made from silk, the manufacture of which had been introduced to Paisley in 1760 by Humphrey Fulton; hence both the raw material and the skilled labour were readily available. Another manufacturer, James Whyte, had also been trying to produce Canton Crape, with much the same degree of limited success as James Coats. He and Coats decided to combine their knowledge by entering into partnership, and were eventually successful in producing Canton Crape in such quantities as to virtually corner the market. As his fortunes increased so James Coats began to look to the future. He built a house in Back Row, Ferguslie, Paisley, and became a sleeping partner in the Paisley firm of Ross & Duncan, a firm of thread twisters. At the same time he acquired knowledge of the business which would be useful to him in years to come since the production of Canton crepe requires yarn which has a particular twist. When his contract with Ross & Duncan expired in 1826, James Coats built a small mill at Ferguslie, and began producing his own thread, using a 12 horsepower engine. The mill at Ferguslie was the forerunner to the larger works which J & P Coats developed on this site. On his retirement in 1830, the management of the manufacturing department was passed to his partners and his son William, and the thread business was transferred to his sons James Coats, jnr, (1803-1845) and Peter Coats (1808-1890), the firm becoming known as J & P Coats. Shortly after its inception another son, Thomas Coats (1809-1883), entered the firm as a partner [http://oldestscottishcompanies.wikispaces.com/J+and+P+Coats+Ltd . This family combination was ideal for a business undertaking. James had been a shawlmaker, Peter was an accountant, and Thomas an engineer [http://www.paisley.org.uk/history/coatsfamily.php .
Marriage and Children
James Coats married Catherine Mitchell, daughter of Peter Mitchell on 22 November 1802 and they had issue: 1. James Coat,, born 20 August 1803; 2. George Coats, born 4 December 1805; 3. Sir Peter Coats, born 18 Jully1808, died 9 March 1890; 4. Thomas Coats, born 15 October 1809, died 18 October 1883; 5. William Coats, born 9 August 1812; 6. Andrew Coats, born 22 June 1814, died 10 February 1900 Darryl Lundy's Peerage
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James Coats's Timeline
| 1774 |
October 1, 1774
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Abbey Parish, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
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October 2, 1774
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Abbey parish, Renfrewshire, Scotland (United Kingdom)
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| 1803 |
August 20, 1803
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Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
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| 1805 |
December 4, 1805
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Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
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| 1807 |
1807
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| 1808 |
July 18, 1808
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Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
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| 1809 |
October 15, 1809
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Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
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| 1811 |
November 6, 1811
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Probably, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
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| 1812 |
August 9, 1812
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Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
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