William Young (1749 - 1820)
The following information comes from a cousin, Thomas Kennedy of Auldgirth Dumfries. He is a grandson of Thomas Kennedy (b.1838), brother of my great great grandmother Janet Stuart Kennedy (1830 - 1908).
His father, also William Young married Christian McCorkle. It appears as if their only child was William Young of Delftfield, born 11th May, 1749; died 31st August, 1820, buried on the 4th September. His death was recorded in the Glasgow Herald on the 8th:
"On the 31st ult., justly regretted, in the 72nd year of his age, at the Caledonian Pottery, Glasgow, Mr. William Young, for many years acting partner of that concern."
According to my great-aunt Mrs. Walker, he had a pottery at Dullatur and he invented putting gold ornamentation onto china cups - in fact she has at least one cup and several saucers.
It is very interesting to note that Delftfield was the site of Glasgow's first large scale pottery. Its history is recorded in an old Statistical Account of Glasgow:
"Like some of the early textile industries, the art of pottery manufacture reached Scotland from Holland, Glasgow's first large scale pottery being founded by Dutch craftsmen in the mid eighteenth century. It was situated near the Broomielaw and was known by the name of Delftfield. Founded in 1748, it is believed to have been the first pottery in Scotland."
This is very interesting as William Young (1749 - 1820) was known as William Young of Delftfield. There seems to be a strong family connection with the pottery industry here and I think that his father, also William Young, was probably involved in the pottery at Delftfield - hence his son's name, William Young of Delftfield.
From The Glasgow Story website:
"A porcelain tea service attributed by provenance to the Delftfield Pottery Co and dating to the early 19th century [in the Burrell Collection]."
"The Delftfield Pottery developed several new product lines in the 1790s, including porcelain. The new wares were a response to the introduction of similar products by rival potteries. This porcelain tea service is part of the Watt bequest which was donated to Glasgow Museums in 1954 and which was associated with descendants of William Young (d 1820), a senior partner in the pottery during its later years. For this reason, and also because of the style and decoration of the pieces, experts believe that this tea service may have been made at the Delftfield Pottery between 1810 and 1820."
I am told by Diana Connell, a pottery researcher, that the above piece from the Glasgow Story website, showing a tea service from the Watt bequest, is not Delftfield, but Paris porcelain. Regarding William Young, Diana writes:
William Young joined Delftfield in 1760 (as an apprentice, he would have been eleven or twelve years old), and worked his way through the company, becoming clerk about 1787. This was a very important job in a pottery at that date, and involved a lot more than just administration. He then became manager in 1790, and also became a partner in the company that same year. He then introduced new lines styles and products to the factory output. He remained a partner with the Delftfield company until about 1816, and died a few years later in 1820. James Watt was also a partner at Delftfield, for many years and he died in 1819.
Regarding Dullatur she writes:
In 1810, the Delftfield Company, decided to purchase the Caledonian pottery at Townhead, Glasgow, and sell off the old Broomielaw site, where Delftfield pottery was. The Caledonian pottery was almost a new building at that time. If William Young, did at any time reside at Dullater, then he could have travelled to the Caledonian pottery, on the canal, via Kirkintilloch, and right into Glasgow. Each pottery had a manager's house, and he may have stayed there only one or two days per week. When Gibert Hamilton was M.D at Delftfield, he often stayed at Glenarbuck house, which is near Old Kilpatrick. James Watt also stayed here, and meetings of the company were held here, so William Young would have been involved as well.
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