William Forsyth

Who was William Forsyth?

William Forsyth, was a Scottish merchant.

Forsyth was born in 1722 at Cromarty, where his father, a native of Morayshire, had settled as a shopkeeper. He made good progress at the town school, then taught by David Macculloch, not only in the ordinary branches, but in the classics. Forsyth spent some time in a London counting-house, but, his father dying suddenly, he was called home, and had to take the place of head of the family at the early age of seventeen. Cromarty was then in a low state. The herring had deserted the coast, and there was no trade. Forsyth, however, saw that the old town had some special advantages. There was a fine harbour, and ready access to the surrounding districts, not only by the roads, but by the firths of Dornoch, Dingwall, and Inverness. He therefore formed the bold and original idea of making it a depôt of supplies for all the country round, and this plan he carried out with energy and success for many years. He brought flax and other commodities from Holland. He traded with Leith and London, and was the first to introduce coal, called by the country people ‘black stones.’ On the suggestion of his old schoolfellow, Dr. Hossack of Greenwich, he started the manufacture of kelp. He also employed many of the people in their own homes in spinning and weaving in connection with the British Linen Company, of which he was the first agent in the north, and encouraged fishing and farming industries.