And I bet we have all gone diving for our sewing boxes,!! I did, straight into the model 66 Singer sewing machine(treadle), still in working order with all attachments,and found one reel of Clark & Co and two of J &P Coats Ltd. So I take it from these, that this would have been before the amalgamation???Interesting. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roxanne Neel" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 1:15 AM Subject: Re: [Renfrew] Coats & Clarks > Ken ~ Oh my goodness, I still have spools of Coats & Clarks thread from > years ago when I used to sew! I assumed it was made in America... > Thank you for the information! > Roxanne Neel > Cedarpines Park, California, USA > > > Ken Mathieson wrote: > >>Hi Heather, >> >>The connection between Paisley and Guadalajara is that Paisley was once >>the >>World's leading town for the manufacture of sewing thread. There were 2 >>huge >>family businesses, the Clarks and the Coats, which eventually merged as >>United Thread Mills Ltd, a subsidiary of J & P Coats Ltd, which is now >>part >>of the Coats Viyella Tootal group. By the end of the 19th century, lots of >>countries were erecting tariff barriers to limit imports and foster local >>industry. Mexico was one such, and one of the Paisley companies set up a >>mill there (I'm not sure which), but in the 1960s & 70s when I worked for >>Coats, they had a mill in Guadalajara and another in Mexico City, as well >>as >>in countless other places around the world. Some googling should yield >>further info. >> >>I hope this helps, >> >>Ken Mathieson, >>Uddingston SCT >> >> >> >> >> >>----- Original Message ----- >>From: "Mariposa Obsidian" <[email protected]> >>To: <[email protected]> >>Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2006 8:28 PM >>Subject: Re: [Renfrew] Muir, jamison, Orr >> >> >> >>>Hi: Could someone place look ont the early census for me (Paisley) and >>> >>see if you can find the families of: >> >>> Joseph Johnston (b. 1832 in Paisley, Scotland) >>> Jean Young (b. 1838 in Paisley, Scotland). >>> >>> They both died in 1896 in Guadalajara Mexico. >>> >>> I am trying to research the family and find out how they ended up in >>> >>Guadalajara of all places! >> >>> Thanks! >>> >>> Heather Hess nee Wilson >>> >>> >>> >>>Cualli Tonalli! >>>Mariposita Obsidiana, P.A. >>> >>>http://www.thelensflare.com/u_mariposa.php >>>http://mariposadreaming.blogspot.com/ >>> >>>"I am an amateur and I intend to stay that way for the rest of my >>>life." - >>> >>Andre Kertesz, Hungary, 1930 >> >>>--------------------------------- >>>Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs.Try it free. >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >> >> > >

It's funny that the name Viyella should come up. My second great uncle Alexander James McNab was one of the principles in developing the practical manufacture of the thread called Viyella, in his mill at 171 Boden Street Glasgow. This building still existed as late as the 1970's and in fact I've looked at the aerial photos in Google Earth and it still appears to be there. Part of the story is quoted below. David Rorer Renison McNab & Co., Powerloom Cloth Manufacturers of Glasgow In 1863 Alexander James McNab and William Renison founded Renison McNab & Co., Powerloom Cloth Manufacturers, on Hosier Street, in the Bridgeton district of Glasgow. Later they appear to have built a new building at 140 Boden St. Renison McNab & Co specialized in weaving cloth on commission, utilizing power driven looms. One of their yarn suppliers was William Hollins & Company, Ltd of Derby, England, which had developed a specialty yarn known as Viyella. Unlike other yarns, Viyella was not made of a single fiber, but was a combination of wool and cotton fibers. Renison McNab & Co was one of the firms called upon to solve the problem of weaving this yarn into cloth. The problem with combining wool and cotton fibers in the same yarn is that different sizings were normally used for these fibers. The trick to successfully weaving the mixed fiber yarn was finding a sizing that would work well with both cotton and wool. Renison McNab & Co was one of the first mills to solve this problem and satisfactorily weave it into cloth for Hollins. Eventually, in order to ensure the quality of the cloth woven from it's yarn; Hollins purchased the Boden St Mill, in 1900, from Alexander McNab who by then was operating it as a sole proprietor. The mill was taken into the Hollins organization and there cloth was manufactured for the company for over three quarters of the 20th century. The Alexander McNab name was continued as the distributor of unbranded cloth on a wholesale basis until at least the 1950's. > >> > >>The connection between Paisley and Guadalajara is that Paisley was once > >>the > >>World's leading town for the manufacture of sewing thread. There were 2 > >>huge > >>family businesses, the Clarks and the Coats, which eventually merged as > >>United Thread Mills Ltd, a subsidiary of J & P Coats Ltd, which is now > >>part > >>of the Coats Viyella Tootal group. By the end of the 19th century, lots of > >>countries were erecting tariff barriers to limit imports and foster local > >>industry. Mexico was one such, and one of the Paisley companies set up a > >>mill there (I'm not sure which), but in the 1960s & 70s when I worked for > >>Coats, they had a mill in Guadalajara and another in Mexico City, as well > >>as > >>in countless other places around the world. Some googling should yield > >>further info. > >> > >>I hope this helps, > >> > >>Ken Mathieson, > >>Uddingston SCT

Hi Wayne, From memory, the 2 firms amalgamated in the early 20th century, but a Google search can probably turn up precise info. However, the names of the original firms and their logos have been preserved for branding and trade mark reasons ever since, so I doubt very much whether your threads are antiques. Clark had an anchor as its logo, and its threads were made at Anchor Mills in the centre of Paisley. Coats had their mill at Ferguslie, in Paisley's west end, and their insignia was a looped chain. These logos were used world-wide. Both mills are now gone, although some of the old buildings have been converted for other uses. Indeed, Coats do not manufacture thread in the UK at all now. It's all imported from Germany. Regards, Ken Mathieson ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wayne R Abel" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 1:35 AM Subject: Re: [Renfrew] Coats & Clarks > And I bet we have all gone diving for our sewing boxes,!! I did, straight > into the model 66 Singer sewing machine(treadle), still in working order > with all attachments,and found one reel of Clark & Co and two of J &P Coats > Ltd. So I take it from these, that this would have been before the > amalgamation???Interesting. > Wayne > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Roxanne Neel" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 1:15 AM > Subject: Re: [Renfrew] Coats & Clarks > > > > Ken ~ Oh my goodness, I still have spools of Coats & Clarks thread from > > years ago when I used to sew! I assumed it was made in America... > > Thank you for the information! > > Roxanne Neel > > Cedarpines Park, California, USA > > > > > > Ken Mathieson wrote: > > > >>Hi Heather, > >> > >>The connection between Paisley and Guadalajara is that Paisley was once > >>the > >>World's leading town for the manufacture of sewing thread. There were 2 > >>huge > >>family businesses, the Clarks and the Coats, which eventually merged as > >>United Thread Mills Ltd, a subsidiary of J & P Coats Ltd, which is now > >>part > >>of the Coats Viyella Tootal group. By the end of the 19th century, lots of > >>countries were erecting tariff barriers to limit imports and foster local > >>industry. Mexico was one such, and one of the Paisley companies set up a > >>mill there (I'm not sure which), but in the 1960s & 70s when I worked for > >>Coats, they had a mill in Guadalajara and another in Mexico City, as well > >>as > >>in countless other places around the world. Some googling should yield > >>further info. > >> > >>I hope this helps, > >> > >>Ken Mathieson, > >>Uddingston SCT > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >>----- Original Message ----- > >>From: "Mariposa Obsidian" <[email protected]> > >>To: <[email protected]> > >>Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2006 8:28 PM > >>Subject: Re: [Renfrew] Muir, jamison, Orr > >> > >> > >> > >>>Hi: Could someone place look ont the early census for me (Paisley) and > >>> > >>see if you can find the families of: > >> > >>> Joseph Johnston (b. 1832 in Paisley, Scotland) > >>> Jean Young (b. 1838 in Paisley, Scotland). > >>> > >>> They both died in 1896 in Guadalajara Mexico. > >>> > >>> I am trying to research the family and find out how they ended up in > >>> > >>Guadalajara of all places! > >> > >>> Thanks! > >>> > >>> Heather Hess nee Wilson > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>>Cualli Tonalli! > >>>Mariposita Obsidiana, P.A. > >>> > >>>http://www.thelensflare.com/u_mariposa.php > >>>http://mariposadreaming.blogspot.com/ > >>> > >>>"I am an amateur and I intend to stay that way for the rest of my > >>>life." - > >>> > >>Andre Kertesz, Hungary, 1930 > >> > >>>--------------------------------- > >>>Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs.Try it free. > >>> > >>> > >>> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > > > > >