Early Life
Born in Leith, in Midlothian, John Gladstones was the eldest son of Thomas Gladstones (1732–1809) and Helen Neilson (1739–1806). John was the second of the family's sixteen children. Thomas Gladstones was born in Biggar, Lanarkshire, the son of a miller and farmer. Thomas moved to Leith in 1746, aged 14, to be apprenticed to a wine merchant. Thomas later became a successful corn merchant in Leith and 1762 he married Helen Neilson. Thomas Gladstones was a Whig and an elder in the Church of Scotland. He is buried in North Leith churchyard on Coburg Street.
John Gladstone followed his father into the mercantile business, working first for his father's business, before basing himself in Liverpool in 1787, where he entered the house of grain merchants Corrie & Company as a clerk. He was eventually taken into the firm as a partner, the name of the house becoming Corrie, Gladstone & Bradshaw. The business of the firm, and the wealth of its members, soon grew very large. Once he had settled in Liverpool, Gladstones dropped the final "s" from his surname, although this was not legally regularized until 1835.
Read more about this topic: Sir John Gladstone, 1st Baronet
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