William Fairlie (merchant) explained

William Fairlie (1754–1825) was a Scottish merchant in Bengal.

Life

He was the third son of John Fairlie and his wife Agnes Mure or Muir.[1] He came to India in the early 1780s, remaining there until 1812, and was associated with the "Fairlie House" in Calcutta, an agency that traded under a succession of names.[2] He initially went into partnership with John Fergusson in 1782.[3] They operated as free merchants, not beholden to the British East India Company.[4]

The house was also on good terms with David Scott & Co. of London, run by David Scott, and Fairlie became a partner in it.[5]

Enterprises

In a legal case of the 1840s, it was argued that Fairlie had participated in four successive firms based in Calcutta:[6]

The last of these was succeeded in 1818 by Fergusson, Clark & Co.[6]

From 1793 Fairlie, with Scott and his son, ran for about 20 years a business empire operating in London, New York, India, China and South-East Asia.[7] Fairlie, Bonham & Co., involving Fairlie, H. Bonham and John Innes, was a London house, a successor to Scott, Bonham, Hartwell, Innes & Co.[8] [9]

Family

Fairlie married Margaret Ogilvy, daughter of John Ogilvy of Murtle. Their children included:[1]

Coodham House

After Fairlie's death, his widow Margaret began construction on Coodham House, near Symington, South Ayrshire, which she named "Williamfield". It became the family seat.[1] [11] It later belonged to William Houldsworth.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Burke . Bernard . A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland . 1871 . Harrison . 416 . I . en.
  2. Book: Greenberg . Michael . British Trade and the Opening of China 1800-1842 . 1969 . CUP Archive . 35–36 . en.
  3. Book: Powell . Avril Ann . Scottish Orientalists and India: The Muir Brothers, Religion, Education and Empire . 2010 . Boydell & Brewer . 978-1-84383-579-0 . 23 . en.
  4. Book: Cage . R. A. . The Scots Abroad: Labour, Capital, Enterprise, 1750-1914 . 12 October 2021 . Routledge . 978-1-000-44159-8 . 160 . en.
  5. Book: Singh . S. B. . European Agency Houses In Bengal 1783-1833 . 1966 . 11 .
  6. Book: House of Lords . Reports of Cases Heard and Decided in the House of Lords on Appeals and Writs of Error: During the Sessions 1831[-1846] ]. 1843 . J. & W. T. Clarke . 123 . VIII . en.
  7. Tomlinson . B. R. . From Campsie to Kedgeree: Scottish Enterprise, Asian Trade and the Company Raj . Modern Asian Studies . 2002 . 36 . 4 . 786 . 3876474 . 0026-749X.
  8. Book: Lords . Great Britain Parliament House of . Reports of Cases Heard and Decided in the House of Lords on Appeals and Writs of Error: During the Sessions 1831[-1846]]. V . 1841 . J. & W. T. Clarke . 499 . en.
  9. Web site: Innes, John (1767-1838), of 9 Broad Street Buildings, London, History of Parliament Online . www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  10. Book: Burke . Bernard . A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland . 1894 . Harrison . 978-0-394-48726-7 . 616 . en.
  11. Book: Barczewski . Stephanie . Country Houses and the British Empire, 1700–1930 . 1 February 2017 . Manchester University Press . 978-1-5261-1753-3 . 103 . en.
  12. Book: Adamson . Archibald R. . Rambles Through the Land of Burns . 1879 . Dunlop & Drennan . 4 . en.