Hector Turnbull (businessman) facts for kids

This is a small portrait of Hector Turnbull. It was painted on ivory and has a label on the back. The label says he was the grandfather of George Turnbull and died in 1788.

Hector Turnbull (1733 – 1788) was an important person in the linen industry in Perthshire, Scotland. He helped create and run special places called bleachfields. These were large outdoor areas where linen cloth was made white and clean.

Hector was born in 1733. His family lived on a farm called Blackadder Mains. This farm was near the Blackadder Water river in southern Berwickshire, Scotland.

Early Work and Moving to Luncarty

Hector first worked at a bleachfield in Saltoun, East Lothian. This bleachfield belonged to the British Linen Company. In 1753, he moved to a place called Luncarty. Luncarty is near the city of Perth.

In Luncarty, Hector became a business partner with William Sandeman. William was preparing a large area of land to become bleachfields. At first, they prepared about 12 acres (4.8 hectares) of land. By 1790, the Luncarty bleachfields had grown a lot. They covered about 80 acres (32 hectares). These fields processed a huge amount of cloth every year. They cleaned about 500,000 square yards (418,000 square meters) of linen!

Family Life

Hector Turnbull married twice and had a very large family.

First Marriage

On December 7, 1756, Hector married Agnes Glas. Agnes was the daughter of John Glas. John Glas was the founder of a religious group called the Glasites. Hector and Agnes had four children together before she passed away.

Second Marriage

Hector married Mary Walker on October 28, 1761. They had many more children, a total of 16!

Some of Hector's children married children from his business partner, William Sandeman. This created strong family ties between the two important linen families. One of Hector's sons, William Turnbull, later started his own bleachfield. This new bleachfield was located at Huntingtower.

Hector also had a grandson named George Turnbull. George became a famous civil engineer. In the 1850s, he was the Chief Engineer for building the very first railway in eastern India. Hector Turnbull passed away in 1788. His brother, Lieutenant Colonel George Turnbull, was a soldier who fought in America.