In the late 1860s, Alexander Hennah MARTIN became a partner in Gibb, Martin & Smith of Govan, powerloom cloth manufacturers. They operated out of Greenhaugh Weaving Factory, Govan. Is anything known about this firm?
Alexander Hennah MARTIN came up from Bradford abt 1867 where he had been working for S Bottomley & Sons at Buttershaw as a mechanic. He returned there after a stint as a grocer in Leeds. There is a story that his son 'burnt his father's business to the ground' and was sent in disgrace to New Zealand, although whether the arson occured in Glasgow or Leeds I don't know.
Prior to all this, he worked for James BOTTOMLEY, North Brierley, Bradford during the 1850s. James BOTTOMLEY could either be the senior partner in S Bottomley & Sons worsted spinners and manufacturer or my gtgtgdfather James BOTTOMLEY who owned his own eponymous company, a stuff and fancy goods manufacturer, in partnership with his son Cornelius BOTTOMLEY who is my gtgdfather.
Of all the myriad of Bottomleys in Bradford & Halifax, only Cornelius BOTTOMLEY came up to Glasgow, in 1861, being henceforward a power loom tenter. The circumstances might have been innocent but he might have been involved in dodgy dealings after his father dissolved his business partnership with him, then went bust, then gave his son all the remaining stock, ending up in York Gaol before going on trial for illegally disposing of goods after insolvency (all this taking place before more modern bankruptcy laws were introduced in 1869).
Alexander Hennah MARTIN might have been involved in all this. Did he work for Cornelius' father? Did he follow Cornelius to Glasgow?
I've found plenty of facts of his movements to Glasgow and back but nothing on the background and motives as to why he moved. It is said that Cornelius BOTTOMLEY had patents on machine improvements but I haven't found any, but I have found that Alexander Hennah MARTIN had several such patents, both in England and Scotland. Is anything known about him and his business doings in Glasgow/Govan?