Samuel Touchet
Touchet, Samuel (c.1705–1773), merchant and politician
c1705 Born the eldest son of Thomas Touchet (d. 1745), a merchant and manufacturer of Manchester, and his wife, Mary, née Sworton.
The Manchester Touchets began with Thomas, a pin maker of Warrington, who married well, moved to Manchester, and became the town's wealthiest merchant and manufacturer of linen and cotton goods.
Samuel Touchet's business career prospered with interests in the import of raw cotton from the Levant and the West Indies, and linen yarn from Europe. He was so successful in the import of cotton that he was suspected by the Manchester manufacturers of seeking a monopoly. His ambitions in this regard are unclear, but an attempted alliance in the early 1740s with Lewis Paul, the inventor of the first roller-spinning machine, could have given him a monopoly of cotton spinning by means of powered machines.
Samuel Touchet had Marvells Mill until 1755, but made no profit.
1761 His business career had foundered in the financial crisis of that year, and attempts to stave off the creditors finally failed in 1763.
Touchet died suddenly of apoplexy on 28 May 1773 at his house in Westminster
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] DNB