Records of The Clark Thread Co, thread manufacturers, Newark, New Jersey, USA and George A Clark & Bros Inc, selling agents, Newark, New Jersey, USA
- Reference:GB 248 UGD 199/5
- Dates of Creation:1897-1940
- Name of Creator:
- Language of Material:English
- Physical Description:2 volumes, 1 typescript, 8 pages of loose notesThere are no physical characteristics that affect the use of this material
Scope and Content
- Minutes of George A Clark & Bros Inc 1897-1917;
- Minutes of Clark Thread Co 1910-1915;
- Merger papers, 1917;
- Typescript of a song, c20th century.
Administrative / Biographical History
George A Clark & Bros Inc, selling agents, Newark, New Jersey, USA, was formed to act as the sole and exclusive agent of The Clark Thread Co, thread manufacturers, Newark, New Jersey, USA.
George A Clark (1824-1873) was the second son of John Clark, one of the founders of J & J Clark & Co, thread manufacturers, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland (which later became Clark & Co Ltd, thread manufacturers, Paisley). George Clark had formed the company, Kerr & Co Ltd, cotton manufacturers and selling agents, Paisley, with his brother-in-law, Peter Kerr, in 1850 . He moved to America six years later with his brothers Alexander (1837-1877) and William, acting as import agents for companies, Kerr & Clark, thread manufacturers, Paisley, and J & J Clark & Co, thread manufacturers, Paisley. He stayed during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and formed with Alexander and William the Passaic Thread Co, thread manufacturers, Newark, New Jersey, USA, with a capital of&36;750,000 in 1865 , in order to overcome the increased American tariffs on imported thread. The name changed in 1866 to The Clark Thread Co, and the capital was increased to&36;1 million to help finance a new mill. The base was in Newark, New Jersey, USA. The purpose of the company was the manufacturing and selling in New Jersey of spool sewing cotton, yarns, thread and other such products. George also became a partner in Clark & Co Ltd, thread manufacturers, Paisley, in the same year. Alexander took over control of The Clark Thread Co after George died, but died himself soon thereafter. John, James and Stewart Clark then became directors and moved the financial control to Paisley, Scotland. William remained in America to oversee the management of the business until his death in 1912.
In 1917, the company was merged with The Clark Mile-End Spool Cotton Co, also based in Newark, shares of which were owned by Clark & Co. In the same year, Clark Thread Co purchased the American business of James Chadwick & Bros, cotton manufacturers, Bolton, England. In 1934, Kerr & Co were appointed as their agents in regard to the purchase of raw materials for the mills. In 1937, shares owned by Clark & Co were transferred to I P Clarke & Co Ltd, thread manufacturers, Leicester, England. A year later, the stock of Clark Thread Co was decreased from&36;18,000,000 to&36;9,000,000 with shares decreasing in value from&36;100 to&36;50 each. The Clark Thread Co was purchased at the end of the nineteenth century by J & P Coats Ltd, thread manufacturers, Paisley, when the latter amalgamated with Clark & Co in 1896 .
William Campbell Clark (1841-1902) and John William Clark, sons of John Clark, started the firm George A Clark & Bros Inc, selling agents, together with Richard V Lindabury, in 1897 , with a capital stock of&36;100,000. Their base was in Newark, New Jersey, with an office in Glasgow, Scotland. The two Clark brothers held the majority of the 100 shares, with Richard Lindabury transferring some of his to Robert Brown Symington, Robert Cumming and William Wilson, all of whom, along with the Clark brothers, were made directors. The firm was to act as the sole and exclusive agent of Clark Thread Co; Clark Thread Co in return were only to sell to George A Clark & Bros. Clark & Co held the majority of the shares in George A Clark & Bros, which was dissolved, by agreement of the board, in 1917 after all its shares in the Clark Thread Co were transferred to Clark & Co.
Arrangement
This material is arranged into series, which consist of numbers of items related by format and/or function. Within series the items are generally arranged chronologically
Access Information
Open
Acquisition Information
Indefinite loan : J & P Coats : Glasgow : c1984
Indefinite loan : Coats Viyella plc : London: 1991 : ACCN 0146 (Additional Deposit)
Indefinite loan : via Business Archives Council in Scotland : 1993 : ACCN 0198 (Additional Deposit)
Indefinite loan : 1995 : ACCN 0240 (Additional Deposit)
Indefinite loan : 1996 : ACCN 0255 (Additional Deposit)
Indefinite loan : Coats Viyella plc : Swinton, Manchester: 2000 : ACCNs 1887, 1925, 1926, 1996
Indefinite loan : ACCN 0054
Other Finding Aids
Digital file level list available in searchroom
Manual file level list available at the National Registers of Archives in Edinburgh (NRA(S)2576) and London (NRA20914)
Alternative Form Available
No known copies
Conditions Governing Use
Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the University Archivist
Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use & condition of documents
Appraisal Information
This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 248 procedures
Custodial History
Held by J & P Coats Ltd
Accruals
None expected
Related Material
GB 248 UGD 199/1 Records of J & P Coats Ltd and CoatsPatons Ltd
GB 248 UGD 199/6 Records of Clark & Co Ltd
GB 248 UGD 199/8 Records of I P Clark & Co Ltd
GB 248 UGD 199/20 Records of Kerr & Co Ltd
GB 248 UGD 199/26 Records of James Chadwick & Bros Ltd
See source list on Textiles available via Glagsow University Archive Services homepage at http://www.archives.gla.ac.uk
GB604 NRA 20914 minutes, registers, annual reports, receipt and cheque books, letterbooks: 1880-1969 (Paisley Museum, Art Gallery and Coats Observatory, Scotland)
Bibliography
No known publications using this material
Additional Information
This material is original
No alterations made to date
Subjects
Corporate Names
Geographical Names