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DALE, DAVID,
an eminent manufacturer, the son of a grocer, was born at Stewarton,
January 6, 1739. He worked as a weaver in Paisley till 1761, when he went
to Glasgow, and became clerk in the shop of Mr. Alston, a silk mercer. He
first commenced dealing in linen yean, and, in connection with a Mr.
M’Intosh, in 1775 established the first works in Scotland for dyeing
cotton Turkey-red. After being a partner in a manufactory of inkles and
tapes, he was, by Sir Richard Arkwright and Co. appointed agent for the
sale of their cotton yarn, and in 1785, began to erect mills at New
Lanark, the first of the kind in Scotland for spinning cotton wool into
yarn. He established schools for the education of his workers, and
throughout his life he was distinguished for his benevolence and public
spirit. He died March 17, 1806. Mr. Dale originated and regularly preached
to an independent religious sect in Glasgow. His son-in-law, Mr. Robert
Owen, celebrated in his day for his visionary notions and socialist
projects, ceased to have any connexion with the New Lanark works in 1827,
and died in 1858. |
