CERL Thesaurus

Crawford, John, bookseller, Kirkcaldy

Record IDcni00052930

URIhttp://data.cerl.org/thesaurus/cni00052930

Last Edit2014-03-14

General Note

John Crawford was born in Portmoak in Kinross-shire about 1811, the son of David Crawford who afterwards moved to Edinburgh, where he was employed as a machine-maker. He was apprenticed to George Brodie bookbinder in Kirkcaldy in 1825 or 1826, but finished his apprenticeship in Edinburgh. By 1833, he had opened a bookshop in Auchtermuchty. There he stayed 'fully three years'. In January 1836 he bought the business of George Bernard at 49 High Street Kirkcaldy. In 1852 there firm ran a circulating library. He married four times, 1st Isabella Henderson of Ceres 22 February 1833. She died on 9 January 1838. In November of the same year he married Christian Ferguson. On 4 June 1849 he married Julia Hogarth, who died 10 July 1855; and on 22 February 1859 he married a widow, Mary Nelson [or Brown]. In July 1873 he brought his sons, Walter Hall Crawford and James Hogarth Crawford into the business. The partnerhip lasted only one year, and in February 1877, he went into partnership with William Walker. John Crawford retired from business at the end of November 1881 and died in Sidcup in Kent Aughust 31 1892.