"Ancestrees"

James COATS ^{1 2}

  General Notes:

This James began the manufacture of thread in 1824 in Paisley, Sct. The enterprise had very meager beginnings but grew to "gigantic" dimensions making Paisley famous the world over. In 1830, his sons, Peter and James joined the business and it became known as J.& P. Coats. They hired their brother Thomas, an engineer, to work for them. All of these sons became highly respected citizens, known for "kindness of heart and liberality of hand." Their father James retired when his sons joined the business. (C-1792, 1793)

According to "Rambling Recollections" by George H. Coates written before copyright dates, David Coates was the progentor of this family with his grandson John being the first to spell his name Coats. I do not know how they relate to this James specifically. (C-2114)

This is an article printed in 1935 about the J.P. Thread Company: Snippets gleaned from "Spokesman-Review" newspaper (Spokane, WA), Oct. 31,
1935

"Truth in Advertising? There was an ad by J. & P. Coats thread showing a man,
his wife, and his two children each holding signs. The man's sign says "75
buttons off," the lady's sign says "81 buttons off," the girl's sign says "96
buttons off," and the little boy's sign says "180 buttons off." The ad goes
on to say that "This family requires the average amount of button-sewing in a
year, according to a recent Home Mending survey. If you think your family
pops off too many buttons, listen to this 'The poorer the thread the more
buttons come off,' commented many a woman interviewed, "If you want to sew buttons on to stay, it pays to use J. & P Coats best 6-cord."

James married Katherine MITCHELL on 11/14/1802 in High Church, Paisley, Renfrew, SCT.