William McCowan

William McCowan (1838-1900). Ironmaster.

1838-1900. Ironmaster of Whitehaven.

Born 18 Apr 1838 at Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, son of John McCowan, farmer, auctioneer and inn keeper (Provost of Cumnock 1878-1881) and his wife Elizabeth née Crichton,

1870 William McCowan, manager of Portland Iron Works, Hurlford married Mary Jane Brown on 4 Oct 1870 in Kilmarnock

1871 Census - Manager coal & iron works. Resided Portland Cottage, Riccarton, Ayrshire, Scotland.

c1878 Relocated to West Cumberland to establish the Distington Hematite Iron Company, of which he was managing partner.

1881 Census – Ironmaster. Resided 1 Victoria Terrace, Whitehaven.

1883 Initial subscriber and director of Elliscales Mining Company, Dalton-in-Furness.

1884 Founding subscriber and director, Frizington Mining Company. He was chairman in 1899 when company was wound up.

1885 Founding subscriber, Haverton Hill Salt Company. (1886 reincorporated as South Durham Salt Co., sold 1888) Also a founding subscriber and director in 1888, South Durham Alkali Company, which did not trade.

1888 Initial subscriber and director, new Whitehaven Hematite Iron and Steel Company Limited.

1889 Founding subscriber and director, Muriedas Mining Company, which was wound up 1900.

1889 Founding subscriber and director, Vivian's Boring and Exploration Company.

1890 Appointed to a committee of creditors of the Moss Bay Iron and Steel Company (in liquidation) [sic] - actually the Moss Bay Hematite Iron and Steel Company Limited per London Gazette.

1891 Chairman, Whitehaven Hematite Iron and Steel Company Limited.

1891 Founding director Rodez Collieries Limited.

1891 Appointed a director of the Cleator and Workington Railway Co.

1891 Appointed a director of the reconstructed Moss Bay Hematite Iron and Steel Company Limited.

1891 Census – Ironmaster. Resided Roseneath, Moresby, Whitehaven.

1892 Chairman, Moss Bay Hematite Iron and Steel Company Limited.

1894 Founding subscriber, Southam Hematite Company Limited. .

1894 Elected a director of the troubled Solway Junction Railway Co.

1896 Chairman, Moss Bay Hematite Iron and Steel Company Limited.

1896 Founding subscriber and director, Barrow Salt Company Limited.

1896 Founding subscriber and director, (2nd) Lonsdale Hematite Iron and Steel Company.

Died 5 Mar 1900 at his home, Roseneath, Moresby, Whitehaven .

Dates unknown at present, but also a director of:-

• Crommelin Mining Co.
• Cumberland Union Bank
• George Jackson and Co.
• Harras Moor Pond Co.
• Lowca Engineering Co.
• Moresby Coal Co.
• Pallaflat Iron Ore Co.

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1900 Obituary

WILLIAM MCCOWAN died in March 1900 at his residence, Roseneath, Whitehaven, at the age of sixty-two years, after an illness of about two months' duration.

He was chairman of the Whitehaven Haematite Iron and Steel Company; of the Distington Iron Company; of the Moss Bay Iron and Steel Company; and a director of the Elliscales Mining Company; of the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway Company; and of the Barrow Saltworks Company.

He took a leading part in the industrial, political, and social affairs of West Cumberland, and was a Justice of the Peace for the county.

He was elected a member of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1884, and regularly attended its meetings.

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Obituary, West Cumberland Times, Wednesday 7 March 1900

DEATH OF MR McCOWAN OF MORESBY

We regret to announce the death of Mr Wm. McCowan, of Roseneath, Moresby, which took place on Monday afternoon. A shot time ago Mr McCowan had a paralytic seizure, but hopes of his ultimate recovery were entertained until Sunday when there was a serious relapse. His death has created profound sorrow in all quarters, the deceased gentleman being most highly esteemed and respected throughout West Cumberland where he was well-known. A perfect business man, a kind friend, and a gentleman in every sense of the word, his place will be hard to fill, and in the parish where he resided, as well as Whitehaven, he will be greatly missed. Both Mr McCowan and his family have always, during his residence in this district, taken particular interest in its welfare, and in the welfare of the people around them. In any good cause Mr McCowan was ever ready to help, whether within his own parish or outside it, and his genial and courteous bearing made him popular among all classes. He was closely connected with the majority of the important works and industries in West Cumberland, and took an active part in public affairs. Undoubtedly he was a man that this district could not afford to lose and through his death it will be the poorer in many respects.

Mr McCowan, who was 62 years of age, was a Scotchman, and came to the Whitehaven district about 27 years ago as managing director of the Distington Ironworks Company. He resided in Whitehaven for a short period, and then removed to Roseneath, where he has remained ever since. For some years he was one of Lord Lonsdale’s nominees on the old Trustee Board at Whitehaven, and in 1891 he qualified as a magistrate of the county. He was elected a member of the Cumberland County Council when that body was first established, and in that capacity he represented the Moresby division. In 1895 he was appointed an alderman, the position being one would have filled in the ordinary course till next year. As successor to Canon Rawnsley as chairman of the Highways Committee of the County Council he carried out excellent work and was instrumental in bringing about many improvements, the erection of bridges in various part of the county being accomplished under his guidance. He was greatly respected by his colleagues on the County Council, and it was with much regret that at their last meeting they heard that his absence from amongst them was owing to serious illness.

The various local works and business concerns with which he was connected as a director, include the Moss Bay Ironworks, the Lowca Engineering Company, the Whitehaven Hematite Iron and Steel Company, Cleator Moor, the Distington Hematite Iron Company, the Vivian Diamond Boring Co., the Elliscales Mining Company, the Pallaflat Iron Ore Co., Ltd., the Moresby Coal Company, Jackson’s Tobacconist Company, Whitehaven, the Cleator and Workington Railway, and the Cumberland Union Bank. When the Whitehaven Hematite and Iron and Steel Company and the Moss Bay Ironworks Company were reformed, Mr McCowan was elected as chairman of the directors, and he was also chairman of George Jackson and Company, named in the above list. He was also associated with other branches of trade and commerce.

In politics he was a Conservative, and at the time of his death was vice-president of the Whitehaven Conservative Association, at one time he was also being chairman of the Parton Conservative Association. He was likewise president of the Whitehaven Curling Club, being, himself, a most enthusiastic curler. Some time back, Mr McCowan filled the position of chairman of the Moresby Parish Council and had acted in a like capacity in connection with the Moresby and Parton Joint Burial Committee. He leaves a widow and a family of four sons and two daughters. The funeral will take place on Friday, when the remains will be interred in Moresby Churchyard.

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Obituary, Cumberland Pacquet, 8th March 1900

Mr McCowan was one of the sons of Scotland, who migrated to this district some years ago in connection with the iron works enterprise. It may be mentioned here that he was born at Cumnock, Ayrshire, in which town his father was for some years Provost. After leaving school in the early fifties he began his career in the service of the firm, well-known as the "Bairds of Gartsherrie". His first appointment was at Messrs Bairds Ironworks in Muirkirk. There he was employed in the firm's estate offices in Aberdeenshire. Rising step by step he afterwards filled important positions at several of their extensive works, and mineral fields in Ayrshire, for instance, at Dalry Ironworks and at those in Portland, near Kilmarnock. From early life he was known for activity and business qualities, and eventually proved to be an energetic, shrewd, keen-sighted business man, and his employers were not slow to notice this in placing him in positions of responsibility.

In 1878, Mr McCowan, along with a number of Ayrshire gentlemen, formed a company and erected the Distington Ironworks. Taking the managing directorship of that concern, Mr McCowan came to Whitehaven, and with his family resided at Corkickle. He removed some eighteen years ago to Roseneath, Moresby, and has occupied that pretty place ever since. From his first appearance in this district, Mr McCowan made a good impression, and at once took a prominent position, making many friends wherever he went, and enjoying confidence and respect.

By degrees he became connected with many local ventures, as may be understood when it is known that he was either chairman or director of the following: Distington Haemetite Iron Co., Ltd, Southern Haemetite Co., Ltd [sic], Vivian's Boring and Exploration Co. Ltd, Lowca Engineering Co., Ltd, Moss Bay Haemetite Co., Ltd, Elliscales Mining Co., Ltd, Muriedas Mining Co., Ltd, Cleator and Workington Junction Railway Co., Crommelin Mining Co., Ltd, Geo. Jackson and Co., Ltd, Harris Moor Pond Co., Ltd, Whitehaven Iron and Steel Co., Ltd, Moresby Coal Co., Ltd, St Helen's Colliery Co., Ltd, and others.

Mr McCowan took considerable interest in public matters, and was both a County Magistrate and County Council Alderman, and in the latter capacity held, the responsible post of Chairman of the Highways and Bridges Committee. He was Chairman of Moresby Parish Council, on the Joint Burial Board and some years ago was a trustee of the Town and Harbour of Whitehaven. Mr McCowan was an active supporter of the Conservative cause, and a member of the Executive for the Western Division, and vice-president of the Whitehaven Conservative Association. He was a member of the Whitehaven Club Limited, when it was in existence, and of the West Cumberland Club. In public and private life Mr McCowan was most popular, endearing himself to all he came into contact with by his bright and cheering and genial manner. Although a keen man of business, he was an enthusiastic curler, and during the most recent frost his familiar face and voice were missed by all who took part in that past time in this locality. He was approachable by everybody who needed his advice or sympathy.

He was a good husband, a kind father, and a true friend. He was looked up to and respected by every class of society, and the tradesmen with who he did business were pleased to see him enter their doors. There was nothing small or mean about him. On the contrary, he was always the gentleman, and the esteem in which he was held was noticeable in the general interest taken in his illness, and the profound regret manifested through his death. He was a thoroughly up-to-date man, and small as the matter may be to mention, he was the first in this district to use india rubber tyres on the wheels of his carriages. Mr McCowan was remarkably fond of his domestic circle, and manifested much concern in the pursuits and pleasures of his children. He was proud indeed of his eldest son, in obtaining the position, of land steward to the Marquis of Salisbury. He was taken all round, and acquisition to the wide district he lived in, and his peaceful departure leaves sorrow in many hearts. He was an honest, straightforward man, and of such as can be truthfully described as "the noblest work of God".

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