Joseph Adamson
Joseph Adamson (1843-1920) of Joseph Adamson and Co
Had son Daniel Adamson (1869-1930)
1920 Obituary [1]
JOSEPH ADAMSON was born at Shildon, Durham, on 22nd May 1843, and in 1858 was apprenticed to his uncle, Daniel Adamson, of Dukinfield, with whom he continued until 1873.
He started as a boilermaker at Hyde in partnership with the late Mr. Henry Booth, in September 1874.
In September 1887 the partnership was dissolved, and in April 1902 his two sons, Mr. Daniel and Mr. Harold Adamson, joined him in partnership. The business, starting in a small way, gradually grew, necessitating extensive additions.
In 1884 he introduced hydraulic plate flanging for the general boiler trade, and this became a very important part of the firm's operations.
Ten years later he commenced the manufacture of electric travelling cranes in which an extensive business is done, and the firm was the first in the district to adopt electric motive power, the electricity being generated at the works.
He was a director of several companies, and some years ago was managing director of the North Lincolnshire Iron Co.
He was one of the oldest Members of the Institution, having been elected a Member in 1871, on the Council of which his elder son, Daniel, is a Member.
In 1908 he became President of the Manchester Association of Engineers; he was also a Member of the Iron and Steel Institute, and of the Institute of Metals. He was a man of strong personality, characterized by fearlessness and directness of expression, and was always ready to assist those who appealed to him for guidance.
His death took place after a brief illness at his residence in Hyde, on 14th August 1920, at the age of seventy-seven.
1920 Obituary [2]
JOSEPH ADAMSON died at his residence, Oaklands, Hyde, Cheshire, on August 14, 1920, in his seventy-eighth year.
He was apprenticed in 1858 to his uncle, Daniel Adamson, and after five years became shop foreman, from which position he was ultimately promoted until he had the entire responsibility for the technical and commercial management of the firm.
He subsequently started in business as a boiler-maker in partnership with Mr. Henry Booth in 1874, the title of the firm being Joseph Adamson & Co. The works, which were at Hyde, have since been considerably extended. He was one of the oldest members of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
He was also a member of the Institute of Metals - the title of which he claimed to have originated - and was President of the Manchester Association of Engineers in 1907-8.
He was elected a member of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1890.
1920 Obituary [3]
JOSEPH ADAMSON, the founder of the firm of Joseph Adamson & Co., Engineers, Hyde, near Manchester, died on August 14, 1920.
Mr. Adamson was born in 1843, and after having been educated by private tuition, in 1858 he was apprenticed under his uncle, the late Mr. Daniel Adamson, in the firm of Daniel Adamson & Co. In 1863 he was made shop foreman.
In 1865 he had charge of the drawing office and the works, remaining with the firm until 1873 in sole charge, when he left to start business on his own account. Mr. Adamson was, of course, associated with the adoption of steel for boiler work in place of iron, the then new material having been adopted by the firm of Messrs. Daniel Adamson in 1858, although the cost of steel was then comparatively high. In 1874 the present firm was started by Mr. Joseph Adamson in partnership with Mr. Henry Booth, who retired from it in 1887.
He was an original member of the Institute of Metals, the title of which he claimed to have originated.