Jonathan Scarth

Jonathan Scarth
Born(1772-02-18)18 February 1772
Whitby, Yorkshire, England
Died14 December 1850(1850-12-14) (aged 78)
Shropshire, England
OccupationCotton mill owner
PartnerFrances Richardson
RelativesRobert Moorsom, Constantine Richard Moorsom, Sir Frederick William Frankland, Timothy Laurence

Jonathan Scarth (18 February 1772 – 14 December 1850) was a partner in one of Manchester's early steam powered cotton mills in the late 18th century, and was an entrepreneur of the English Industrial Revolution.

Life

Jonathan Scarth was born in Whitby, Yorkshire, England, the son of Thomas Scarth, a Quaker ship owner.[1][2] (His father did not remain a Quaker however, having been disowned by the society in 1781 for refusing to sail his ships without guns for protection[3]). With funds from his father Thomas and brother-in-law Robert Moorsom, Jonathan, Richard Percival Moulson and Robert Owen (later to become the "father of English socialism") formed the Chorlton Twist Company to set up a state of the art steam powered cotton mill at Chorlton near Manchester.[4]

The partners bought a Boulton and Watt rotary steam engine for £1,492 from James Watt in 1796. The 31-inch cylinder was cast and bored by John Wilkinson, and the machine weighed 99,000 pounds.[5] James Watt Jr. wrote to Robert Owen that it was "one of the most perfect that ever passed through our hands".[4] Robert Owen's description of Jonathan and his partner Richard was less flattering: "two young men, inexperienced in the business, although they had capital".[4]

Trouble started in 1796 just as the factory was starting production. The fear of French invasion caused an international credit squeeze. Creditors could not borrow funds to pay. In January 1798 Moulson left the company, and in August of the same year Jonathan Scarth and another partner Matthew Chitty Marshall followed suit.[6][7] Undeterred, he and Marshall, with Benjamin Naylor, James Byfield and Theodore Rupp set up another cotton spinning company, "Scarth Marshall Rupp and Co." That company purchased a slightly smaller steam engine from Boulton and Watt, however it wound up in August 1801.[8] In late 1807 Jonathan was declared bankrupt.[9]

Later life

After the birth of his second daughter Frances in Manchester in 1808, Jonathan, then 36 years old, and his family moved to County Cork in Ireland.[10] He and his wife Frances had a total of ten children, including a son Robert Moorsom Scarth, named after Jonathan's brother-in-law. Jonathan recovered financially to the point that he was living on "independent means" at the time of his death in Shropshire on 14 December 1850.[10][11][12]

References

  1. ^ Young, p. 564
  2. ^ Society of Friends Meeting Records, Whitby, February 1772.
  3. ^ Allen, p. 35
  4. ^ a b c Chaloner, p. 99-100
  5. ^ "Industrial Revolution: A Documentary History. Series One: The Boulton & Watt Archive and the Matthew Boulton Papers from Birmingham Central Library. Detailed Listing - Part 3" (PDF). Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  6. ^ "Chorlton-Row, near Manchester, January 13, 1798". The London Gazette. 20 January 1798. p. 65.
  7. ^ "Chorlton-Row, near Manchester, August 9, 1798". The London Gazette. 18 September 1798. p. 894.
  8. ^ "Dissolution of Scarth, Marshall, Rupp and Co., 8 August 1801". The London Gazette. 8 August 1801. p. 980.
  9. ^ "Notice of Creditors Meeting". The London Gazette. 5 December 1807. p. 1643.
  10. ^ a b Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841. The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey, England. Class HO107. Piece 926. Book 11. St Mary, Shropshire. Enumeration District 7. Page 20.
  11. ^ England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. General Register Office, London, England. December 1850. Shrewsbury, Shropshire Vol. 18 Page 137.
  12. ^ Jonathan Scarth death certificate. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. General Register Office, London, England.

Bibliography