August 2018 – Glasgow Museums Art Donors Group

Ernest Charteris Holford Wolff (1875-1946)

Figure. 1 Ernest Charteris Holford Wolff. Courtesy of Richard Steel.

In 1945 Ernest Charteris Holford Wolff of Fair Oak Lodge, near Eastleigh, Hants, donated an oil painting, ‘Portrait of William Johnstone of Glenorchard’ by Sir Daniel Macnee, to Glasgow Museums.

The Wolff family originally came from Hamburg, Germany, Ernest’s paternal grandfather Arnold Julius Wolff being born there in 1798. He was the son of Carl Heinrich Wolff and his wife Maria Carolina Anna and was born at Ritzebuttel a town on the Elbe belonging to Hamburg where his father had been a protestant clergyman for over thirty years. He came to England in 1828[1] and subsequently married Lucy Taylor on 23 June 1831 in Manchester Cathedral (Church of St. Mary, St. Denys and St. George). She was a minor (age 17)[2] and required her father’s consent to the marriage. Arnold was a merchant, both he and the Taylor family living in the township of Chorlton Row which was part of the parish of Manchester.[3]

Arnold was employed by the cotton trading firm of James Holford & Co., who were the largest British exporters into Russia having branches in Russia, Britain, Germany (Hamburg) and the United States.[4] It may well be that Arnold had been employed by the company in Hamburg and had transferred to their offices in Manchester, however whilst likely, there is only circumstantial evidence to support that.

He became a naturalized British citizen in 1840, having become a partner in the Holford business some time before that.[5] However the business had been experiencing liquidity issues which resulted in some of its branches being taken over by its employees or partners. In Manchester the business, operating as Holford, Sauer & Co., was dissolved in January 1840 and taken over by Wollf and another employee to become Wolff, Hasche & Co.[6] It became a member of the Manchester Royal Exchange and continued to trade at least until 1853[7] and probably beyond that date.

Arnold and Lucy continued to live in Chorlton in the Greenheys area after their marriage and by 1841 had four children, two girls and two boys,[8] a third boy being born later that year.[9] Incidentally Thomas de Quincey lived in Greenheys as a youth, his father building the area in 1791.[10]

The eldest of the three boys was Arnold Holford Wolff. He was born on the 8^th December, 1834 and baptised on the 18^th May 1835.[11] By 1861 he along with his brother Ernest Julius were living in the family home at Greenhays and were in their father’s employ as clerks,[12] presumably in his export business. He was still living there with his mother and sister Lucy Catherine in 1871,[13] his father Arnold Julius having died in 1866. Probate was granted to his three sons, the estate being valued at “under £60,000”.[14]

Figure 2 William Johnston of Glenorchard © CSG GIC Glasgow Museums Collection

Arnold Holford Wolff, described as a ‘Russian merchant’, married Jane Johnstone Crawford on the 13^th November 1872 in Edinburgh.[15] It was through his wife they ultimately came to possess the painting of William Johnston of Glenorchard, he being the brother of Jane’s mother Mary Johnstone.

The Johnstone family originated in the parish of Baldernock, then in Stirlingshire, where Thomas Johnstone and Mary Baird were married in 1803.[16] They had six children all born in Baldernock including the aforementioned William (b.1805)[17] and Mary (b.1812).[18]

William married Agnes Ewing in 1846 at Dunoon Parish Church.[19] He was a banker and had been an agent of the Commercial Bank of Scotland since 1845.[20] In 1848 he and his wife were living in the Barony Parish of Glasgow at 5 Newton Place,[21] staying there until 1858-59.[22] They became tenants of Glenorchard House around 1855 but did not permanently reside there until 1859.[23] He subsequently became the owner of the estate sometime between 1858 and 1861,[24] living there, still with the Commercial Bank, until he died.[25]

He died in 1864, not at Glenorchard, but at 200 Bath Street, Glasgow, the home of James Campbell jnr. of J & W Campbell & Co., Warehousemen.[26] The cause of death was recorded as apoplexy.[27]

He left estate valued at just over £27,100 and had set up a Trust Disposition and Settlement early in 1863 which essentially took care of his widow, his siblings where they survived, and their children, there being no children of his own marriage.[28] In particular his niece Jane (Johnstone) Crawford, the daughter of his sister Mary who had died in 1855[29], and who lived with William and his wife Agnes following her father John Crawford’s death in 1861[30], received initially £150 per quarter. On Agnes’s death he stipulated that Jane was to receive £3,000.[31]

Jane was born on the 5^th February 1849[32], the last of four children. Her parents had married in 1842,[33] John being a grocer and spirit merchant in Shettleston.[34] She continued to live with her aunt Agnes following her uncle’s death, remaining with her at Glenorchard.[35] Sometime after 1871 Agnes and Jane moved to Edinburgh living at 32 Moray Place which is where Jane’s marriage to Arnold Holford Wolff took place.[36]

Her aunt died on the 15^th March 1873 leaving Jane £5,000 and some personal items.[37] Although the Macnee painting is not specifically mentioned it is clear it came into Jane’s possession either when she married or as a bequest.

Jane and Arnold had two boys, Arnold Johnstone Wolff (b.1873)[38] and Ernest Charteris Holford Wolff who was born on the 3^rd July 1875.[39] In late 1880 Jane was widowed when Arnold senior died at the age of 46 leaving her to bring up her two young sons.

By 1891, at the age of 17, Arnold jnr. was attending the Royal Military Academy,[40] subsequently joining the Royal Engineers as a Lieutenant. He served in the Boer Wars between 1899 – 1902 gaining the Queen’s South Africa medal with clasps for the Orange Free State, Cape Colony and the Transvaal. He was also awarded the King’s South Africa medal with clasps for 1901 and 1902.[41]

He saw further service during WW1 gaining promotion eventually to Lieutenant Colonel.[42] He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in February 1916 at which time he was at his final rank on a temporary basis.[43] He retired from the army sometime after 1922 and by 1939 he and his wife Nora Gladys Platt, whom he married in 1905,[44] were living in Southampton[45]. He died there in 1941 leaving an estate valued at just under £27,500.[46]

In 1891 Ernest was living with his mother in Edinburgh, still at school,[47] subsequently going to Oxford where he graduated BA in 1897. He joined the colonial civil service that year with the Pahang Government,[48] travelling in November to take up his post on the SS Himalaya to Colombo, Ceylon, then on the SS Thames for Malaysia.[49]

Pahang was part of the Federated Malay States (FMS) which also included Selangor, Perak and Negri Sembilan. Between 1897 and 1908 he held a variety of positions within FMS becoming secretary to the British Resident of Negri Sembilan in 1901, taking on additional roles in 1904 (Sanitary Board chairman, Seremban) and 1905 (District Treasurer of Telek Anson). By 1908 he was the secretary to the Resident General of the colony. In 1923 he was appointed by the King as an Official Member of the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements.[50]

He was also a very keen sportsman being on the committees of the Selangor Polo and Golf clubs in 1909,[51] and was captain of the golf club from 1907 to 1909.[52] He won the club championship in 1907/08 and subsequently the Coronation Cup.[53]

Figure 3 Mary Lilias Wolff. Courtesy of Richard Steel.

He married Mary Lilias Alison on the 6^th December 1911 at Grange Parish Church of Scotland, Edinburgh. She was the daughter the Rev, John Alison of Edinburgh and Margaret McGeorge.[54] They had two daughters, Stella (b.?) and Alison Jean (b.1914).[55]

Ernest’s civil service career continued to progress and in 1924 he became the British Resident of Negri Sembilan, retaining that position until 1928 when he retired to Fair Oak Lodge, Hants,[56] where he lived for most of the rest of his life. In January of that year he was appointed Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (C.M.G.).[57]

He and his wife travelled home on the SS Empress of Canada, embarking from Hong Kong on the 6^th April 1928 and arriving in Victoria, British Columbia on the 6^th May for a month long tour of Canada. Following the tour they travelled home to Southampton where his brother Arnold lived at Bitterne Park.[58]

It’s not clear when the Macnee painting came into his possession. Did his mother Jane leave it directly to him or did it first go to his brother Arnold who bequeathed it to him on his death in 1941? However, on the 9^th July 1945 Ernest presented the painting to Glasgow,[59] just a few months before he died.

He died on the 23^rd April 1946 at Cheniston Compton near Winchester leaving estate to the value of £12,420, probate being granted to his wife Mary and George Eaton Stannard Cubitt.[60]

The Wolff family motto was “Res non verba” [61] which translates as “deeds not words”, which, it seems to me, all members of the family lived up to.

Note: Johnstone is spelled with or without an e in various records.

[1] National Archives. March 1840. Naturalisation of WOLFF, Arnold Julius. HO/1/16/48 http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9171229

[2] Baptisms (NCR) England & Wales. Manchester, Lancashire. 8 April 1814. TAYLOR, Lucy. Class Number: RG 4; Piece Number: 2009. Collection: Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1970. http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[3] Marriages (PR) England. Manchester, Lancashire. 23 June 1831. WOLFF, Arnold Julius and TAYLOR, Lucy. Collection: Manchester, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1930 (Cathedral). Archive Roll 699. http://www.ancestry.com

[4] Edmondson, Linda and Waldron, Peter, eds. (1992) Economy and Society in Russia and the Soviet Union, 1860 – 1930. p. 111. https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Economy+and+Society+in+Russia+and+the+Soviet+Union

[5] National Archives. March 1840. Naturalisation of WOLFF, Arnold Julius. HO/1/16/48 http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9171229

[6] London Gazette (1840) Vol.1 24 March 1840. Holford, Sauer & Co. p. 773. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CxlKAQAAMAAJ

[7] Directories. England. (1853) Directory of Manchester and Salford, 1853. p.516. Collection: UK, City and County Directories, 1766 – 1946. http://www.ancestry.com

[8] Census. 1841. England. Chorlton, Lancashire. Class: H0107; Piece: 580; Book: 19; ED: 34: Folio: 9; Page: 9; Line: 9; GSU roll: 4388732. http://www.ancestry.com

[9] Baptisms (NCR) England. Manchester, Lancashire. 13 October 1841. WOLFF, Ernest Julius. FHL Film Number223716. Collection: England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. http://www.ancestry.com

[10] British History Online. Chorlton-Upon-Medlock. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol4/pp251-254

[11] Baptisms (NCR) England. Manchester, Lancashire. 8 December 1834. WOLFF, Arnold Holford. Class Number: RG 4; Piece Number: 2009. Collection: Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1970. http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[12] Census. 1861. England. Chorlton, Lancashire. Class: RG 9; Piece: 2885; ED: 42; Folio: 21; Page: 35; GSU roll: 543044. http://www.ancestry.com

[13] Census. 1871. England. Chorlton, Lancashire. Class: RG 10; Piece: 4007; ED: 71; Folio: 11; Page: 13; GSU roll: 846104. http://www.ancestry.com

[14] Testamentary records. England. 10 April 1866. WOLFF, Arnold Julius. Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate. p. 438. Collection: England & Wales National Probate Calendar 1858-1966. http://www.ancestry.com

[15] Marriages (CR) Scotland. St George, Edinburgh. 13 November 1872. WOLFF, Arnold Holford and CRAWFORD, Jane Johnstone. 685/1 322. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[16] Marriages. (OPR) Scotland. Baldernock, Stirlingshire. 3 June 1803. JOHNSTON, Thomas and BAIRD, Mary. 471/ 10 417.

http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[17] Baptisms. (OPR) Scotland. Baldernock, Stirlingshire. 5 January 1806 JOHNSTONE, William 471/ 10 292. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[18] Baptisms (OPR) Scotland. Baldernock, Stirlingshire. 8 April 1812. JOHNSTONE, Mary. 471/ 10 311. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[19] Marriages. (OPR) Scotland. Dunoon and Kilmun. 6 October 1846. JOHNSTON, William and EWING, Agnes. 510/ 30 386. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[20] Directories. Scotland. (1845-46) Post Office Annual Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: Edward Khull. Appendix p.167. http://digital.nls.uk/83849228

[21] Directories. Scotland (1848-49) Post Office Annual Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William Collins & Co. p. 151. http://digital.nls.uk/90167004

[22] Directories. Scotland (1858-59) Post Office Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William McKenzie. p. 142. http://digital.nls.uk/90167004

[23] Directories. Scotland (1859-60) Post Office Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William McKenzie. p. 148. http://digital.nls.uk/83897776

[24] Ordnance Survey Names Book. Stirlingshire OS Names Books Vol. 3 1858-1861. OS1/32/28. http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/records

[25] Directories. Scotland (1864-65) Post Office Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William McKenzie. p. 169. http://digital.nls.uk/83927716

[26] Directories. Scotland (1864-65) Post Office Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William McKenzie. p. 88 http://digital.nls.uk/83926744

[27] Deaths (CR) Scotland. Blythswood, Glasgow. 6 December 1864. JOHNSTON, William. 644/6 569. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[28] Testamentary records. Scotland. 3 February 1865. JOHNSTON, William. Trust Disposition and settlement. Stirling Sheriff Court. SC67/36/49. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[29] Deaths. (CR) Scotland. Shettleston, Lanark. 23 December 1855. CRAWFORD, Mary. 622/3 120 http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[30] Deaths. (CR) Scotland. Shettleston, Lanark. 5 December 1861. CRAWFORD, John. 622/3 131. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[31] Testamentary records. Scotland. 3 February 1865. JOHNSTON, William. Trust Disposition and settlement. Stirling Sheriff Court. SC67/36/49. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[32] Births. (OPR) Scotland. Barony. 6 January 1849. CRAWFORD, Jane Johnston. 622/ 130 378. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[33] Marriages. (OPR) Scotland. New Kilpatrick. 3 August 1842. CRAWFORD, John and JOHNSTON, Mary. 500/ 30 277. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[34] Directories. Scotland (1855-56) Post Office Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William McKenzie. p. 690. http://digital.nls.uk/84138937

[35] Census. 1871 Scotland. Baldernock, Stirlingshire. 471/ 1/ 10. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[36] Marriages (CR) Scotland. St George, Edinburgh. 13 November 1872. WOLFF, Arnold Holford and CRAWFORD, Jane Johnstone. 685/1 322. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[37] Testamentary records. Scotland. 1 September 1873. JOHNSTON, Agnes. Trust Disposition and settlement. Edinburgh Sheriff Court Wills. SC70/4/146. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[38] Baptisms (CR) England. Manchester, Lancashire. 10 November 1873. WOLFF, Arnold Johnston. Collection: England, Non-Conformist Births and Baptisms, 1758-1912. http://www.ancestry.com

[39] Baptisms (CR) England. Manchester, Lancashire. 6 September 1875. WOLFF, Ernest Charteris Holford. Collection: England, Non-Conformist Births and Baptisms, 1758-1912. http://www.ancestry.com

[40] Census. 1891. England. Woolwich, London. Class: RG12; Piece: 534; ED: 34: Folio: 44; Page: 9; Line: 9; GSU roll: 6095644. http://www.ancestry.com

[41] War Office (Great Britain). Record of Service. WOLFF, Arnold Johnston. WO100/157 page 56, WO100/314 page 58 FindMyPast Transcription. Collection: Anglo-Boer War Records 1898-1902. http://www.findmypast.co.uk

[42] War Office (Great Britain). Record of Service. WOLFF, Arnold Johnston. Lieutenant Colonel, Royal Engineers 1922. Collection: British Army Lists, 1882-1962. http://www.ancestry.com

[43] London Gazette (1916) Supplement. 2 February 1916. Military Award, Companion of D.S.O. WOLFF, Arnold Johnston, p.1336, 1337.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29460/supplement/1337/data.pdf

[44] Marriages Index (CR) England & Wales. RD: Hampstead, London. Last Qtr. 1905. WOLFF, Arnold Johnston and PLATT, Nora Gladys. Vol.1a. p.1415. Collection: England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915. http://www.ancestry.com

[45] 1939 Register. England. Southampton, Hampshire. ‘Sandyhayes’, Thorold Road. WOLFF, Arnold Johnston. http://www.ancestry.com

[46] Testamentary records. England. 2 September 1941. WOLFF, Arnold Johnston. Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate. p. 432. Collection: England & Wales National Probate Calendar 1858-1966. http://www.ancestry.com

[47] Census. 1891 Scotland. Newington, Midlothian. 685/5 130/7. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[48] Wright, Arnold. (1908). Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya. London et al: Lloyd’s Greater Britain Publishing Company Ltd. p.128 http://seasiavisions.library.cornell.edu/catalog/seapage:233_134

[49] Passengers Lists (1897) The Homeward Mail. Vol. XLIII, issue 2051. 13 November. WOLFF, E.C.H. p.1543. http://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/viewarticle?id=bl%2f0001712%2f18971113%2f091

[50] Edinburgh Gazette (1923). 7 August 1923. WOLFF, Ernest Charteris Holford. Appoint to Legislative Council of the Strats Settlements, p. 1105. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/13942/page/1105/data.pdf

[l51 Directory and Chronicle for Malay States et al (1909). p.1298. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=f5VEAQAAMAAJ&rdid=book-f5VEAQAAMAAJ&rdot=1

[52] Royal Selangor Golf Club (RSGC). Club Captains. https://www.rsgc.com.my/past-captains

[53] Wright, Arnold. (1908). Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya. London et al: Lloyd’s Greater Britain Publishing Company Ltd. p.128 http://seasiavisions.library.cornell.edu/catalog/seapage:233_134

[54] Marriages (CR) Scotland. Newington, Midlothian. 6 December 1911. WOLFF, Ernest, Charteris, Holford and ALISON, Mary Lilias. 685/5 247. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[55] Births Index (CR) England & Wales. RD: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. 17 July 1914. WOLFF, Alison Jeans. C44D, 4791C, Entry No. 147. Collection: England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007. http://www.ancestry.com

[56] Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1929) Armorial Families: A Directory of Gentlemen of Coat-Armour. 7^th ed. Vol.2. London: Hurst & Blackett Ltd. p. 2125. https://archive.org/stream/armorialfamilies02foxd#page/n11/mode/2up/search/wolff

[57] London Gazette (1928) Supplement. 2 January 1928. Companion of C.M.G. WOLFF, Ernest Charteris Holford, p. 5. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33343/supplement/5/data.pdf

[58] Passenger List for S.S. Empress of Canada departing Hong Kong WOLFF, Ernest Charteris Holford. 6 April 1928. Collection: Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 and Washington, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1965 http://www.ancestry.com

[59] Glasgow Museums Resource Centre.

[60] Testamentary records. England. 23 April 1946. WOLFF, Ernest Charteris Holford. Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate. p. 585. Collection: England & Wales National Probate Calendar 1858-1966. http://www.ancestry.com

[61] Fox-Davies. op. cit.

Tea and Cotton Merchant

Sir John Muir of Deanston 1828-1903

In 1888 John Muir donated to Glasgow ‘Two Strings to Her Bow’, painted by John Pettie in 1887 and which currently is on display at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. 1888 was the year of the Glasgow International Exhibition which emulated the great Exhibition of 1851 in London to promote industry, art and commerce (1) in the context of the British Empire. The £46,000 profits of the exhibition contributed to the funding of the present building which opened in 1901. Muir purchased the painting from the lucky winner of a raffle for the Exhibition Art Union, and presented it to highlight ‘…its most prominent deficiency in the department of ‘modern art’’ (2)

The painting ‘Two Strings to her Bow’ is typical of John Pettie’s style, depicting a beautiful young lady between two competing suitors. This painting has become a popular image in the advertising world for example being presented as the front cover of Georgette Heyer’s novel False Colours, a cigarette pack for soldiers during World War 11, and even on the label of a Polish lemon flavoured vodka.

Pettie, John, 1839-1893; Two Strings to Her Bow — Pettie, John; Two Strings to Her Bow. © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection

Henderson, Joseph, 1832-1908; Sir John Muir (1828-1903), Lord Provost of Glasgow (1889-1892) — Sir John Muir, Lord Provost of Glasgow (1889-1892) © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection

John was born on 26th December 1828 in Hutchesontown, Glasgow to James Muir (3), senior partner of Glasgow merchants Webster Steel & Company which had branches in Chile, South Africa and London (4). His mother was Elizabeth Brown (5), a descendent of James Finlay who founded the textile business of James Finlay and Company in Glasgow. He was educated at Glasgow High School and Glasgow University. In 1849 he joined James Finlay & Company, which had expanded to include mills at Catrine in Ayrshire in 1801, and Deanston in Stirlingshire in 1808 (the latter is now a whisky distillery). The original James Finlay founded the business in 1750 and in 1792 his son Kirkman Finlay took over as senior managing partner, the core activity being textile manufacture but later their trading activities became more important. The firm purchased competitors Wilson, Kay and Company and in 1854 opened premises in West Nile Street, Glasgow (6).

In 1860 John married Margaret Kay (7), eldest daughter of Alexander Kay, then a senior partner of Finlays, and raised four sons and six daughters, all of whom were born at their townhouse at 6 Park Gardens, Glasgow.
In 1861 John was appointed as a junior partner of James Finlay & Company, along with his cousin Hugh Brown Muir and Robert Barclay, a partner in Robert Barclay & Sons, Manchester. The business had become stagnant under the management of the Finlay family and John was brought in to revitalise it. The American Civil War, which had started in that year, affected cotton supplies and Hugh Muir visited India in search of alternative quality sources, resulting in offices being opened in Bombay (Mumbai) and Calcutta (Kolkata). There were close links with Samuel Smith MP, a leading cotton broker in Liverpool and also related to the Finlay family (8).

Over the following years the two cousins increased their personal shareholding and broadened the scope of the mainly cotton based business to include insurance, shipbuilding and tea. However, tensions built up between John and Hugh and things came to a head after Hugh had dismissed a senior employee for playing chess on the sabbath (John was a member of the Free Church of Scotland). Hugh departed from the company in 1873 to form a successful business in London, and John eventually took sole control by 1883. In that year Archibald Buchan, the last of the old Finlay family, tried but failed to obtain a legal injunction to prevent Muir trading under the name of James Finlay and Company (9).

Around the time when Hugh left the business John was increasingly interested in the growing market for tea, and purchased estates in Darjeeling, Assam and Travancore in India, under the name Finlay, Muir & Company. Trade was aided by the shipbuilding connection and Muir invested in the Clan Line in Glasgow. Thomas Cayzer had been introduced to Alexander Stephen of Linthouse, a shipbuilder, and John Muir as financier. The three men, although they never learned to trust each other, entered an agreement to build two ships which became the nucleus of the Clan Line, cargo carriers with some passenger capacity. The ships were based in Calcutta (Kolkata) but Muir forced a move to Chittagong by offering huge cargoes of tea and jute (10). Contemporary opinion held that Muir was ‘the greatest bully in the trade, and the worst tempered man in Scotland’. He encouraged remaining partners in James Finlay and Company to retire in order to take overall control, earning himself in Glasgow business circles the nickname ‘cuckoo’ (11).

In 1873 John moved into the infant tea industry in India and Ceylon, buying up quality plantations, and keeping close supervision through the Calcutta office which included weekly reports, a management pattern that was later adopted throughout the industry. Two of John’s sons were involved in the Indian enterprise but John was not good at delegating. In 1898 he wrote to them ‘My advice to you both is to fall in cordially with my views and policy, even when you do not quite understand them’(12). At that time the UK tea business was channelled through London, but Muir set up various businesses to bypass London to reach new outlets in America, Canada and Russia. He invested heavily in capital developments including railway and hydro-electric schemes and telephone systems. However he was seen as a harsh employer, both to his Indian labour force and his British, mainly Scottish planters and ‘jute-wallahs’. A planter received a larger allowance for his essential horse than for a wife (13). By the 1890s Muir was the world’s major stakeholder in the growing and marketing of tea, employing some 70,000 workers on the Indian subcontinent (14).
John and Margaret had moved in 1873 to Deanston House which had been owned by John Finlay, the last of Kirkman Finlay’s sons, the house being rebuilt. In 1883 an extension was added by Glasgow architect J J Burnett in the Italianate style (15). Margaret took a great interest in the welfare of the mill workers and was a popular local figure. A memorial clock tower was erected in the village after her death in 1929 (16).

Muir Deanston House — Deanston House (as a hotel, probably 1950’s) -from a postcard in authors possession

With his Indian empire secured John turned to civic affairs. He was elected a baillie of Glasgow town council in 1886 and as Lord provost in 1889-92, and received a baronetcy in 1893. He became a Liberal-Unionist in 1886 and was active in Glasgow and Perthshire, a JP in Lanarkshire as well as Deputy Lieutenant of the counties of Ayrshire and Lanark. During his term as Lord Provost he presided over the extension of Glasgow City boundaries, adding 10,000 to the population, extended electricity and gas works, and oversaw the building of St Andrew’s Halls. The 1888 Glasgow International Exhibition provided a focus for philanthropic work when he donated £15,000 and was Convenor of the Indian and Ceylon section. He was also appointed chairman of the association entrusted with the duty of erecting the building (17).

Sir John Muir suffered two strokes, one in 1901 in Glasgow and another at Deanston House where he died on 6th August 1903 (18). He left an estate of £862,802 but with much of his wealth invested as capital in James Finlay and Company and various offshoots, it is thought that his true worth was considerably greater (19). The Finlay business continues today, its core business continuing in growing and processing tea products in India and Africa, with its headquarters moving from Glasgow to London a few years ago.
Alexander Kay Muir (1868-1951), John’s eldest son became second baronet, and continued to manage James Finlay and Company after his fathers death, modernising and converting the haphazard collection of companies into a private company, owned by members of the extended Muir family. Just before he retired in 1926 he sent planters from Southern India and Ceylon to open the first large scale tea plantations in Kenya, and the name continues there producing tea products. He lived at his Blair Drummond estate with his second wife, Nadejda Constanza Irenea Garilla Euphrosyne, eldest daughter of Dmitry Stancioff, former premier of Bulgaria, which appears to have been a very happy marriage and they enjoyed the regular company of King Boris of Bulgaria. Sir Alexander Kay died in 1951 and his wife in 1957, and the baronetcy devolved on his nephew John Harling Muir, the son of his late brother James Finlay Muir (20).

Lavery, John, 1856-1941; John Muir of Deanston (1828-1903), 1st Bt, Lord Provost of Glasgow (1889-1892) — John Muir of Deanston by John Lavery © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection

Lavery, John, 1856-1941; State Visit of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria to the Glasgow International Exhibition, 1888 — State Visit of her Majesty, Queen Victoria to the Glasgow International Exhibition 1888 ©CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection

Glasgow Museums also hold a sketch portrait of John Muir, often referred to as John Muir of Deanston . The sketch was painted by John Lavery, a leading ‘Glasgow Boy’ artist, as one of many individual portraits incorporated into his ‘State Visit of Queen Victoria to the Glasgow International Exhibition 1888’. Muir became Lord provost the following year in succession to Sir John King who is portrayed in the purple robes.

(1) Perilla Kinchin and Juliet Kinchin, Glasgow’s great Exhibitions, ISBN 0-9513124-0-5

(2) Glasgow City Council Minutes, Mitchell Library

(3) births, 644/02 0040 0187 Gorbals, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

(4) Webster Steel & Co, piece goods manufacturers, https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/data/gb248-ugd091/26

(5) births, 644/02 0040 0187 Gorbals, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

(6) Oxford Dictionary of national Biography, http://wwwoxforddnb.com/articles/52/52088

(7) marriages, 646/02 0083, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

(8) Ancestors of David Robarts-Sir John Muir, http://www.stepneyrobarts.co.uk/406htm

(9) Oxford Dictionary of national Biography, http://wwwoxforddnb.com/articles/52/52088

(10) Oxford Dictionary of national Biography, http://wwwoxforddnb.com/articles/52/52088

(11) Ancestors of David Robarts-Sir John Muir, http://www.stepneyrobarts.co.uk/406htm

(12) Ancestors of David Robarts-Sir John Muir, http://www.stepneyrobarts.co.uk/406htm

(13) Oxford Dictionary of national Biography, http://wwwoxforddnb.com/articles/52/52088

(14) Gowans and Gray, The Lord provosts of Glasgow 1833-1902, Mitchell library

(15) John J Burnett, architect, http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=100033

(16) https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/doune/deanston/index.html

(17) Ancestors of David Robarts-Sir John Muir, http://www.stepneyrobarts.co.uk/406htm

(18) death, 362/00 0034, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

(19) Ancestors of David Robarts-Sir John Muir, http://www.stepneyrobarts.co.uk/406htm

(20) Oxford Dictionary of national Biography, http://wwwoxforddnb.com/articles/52/52088