Alexander Masterton (1819-1878)
Yarn merchant
Alexander Masterton, yarn merchant, was born in Arbroath, Angus, where he later set up business. In August 1874, the business was declared bankrupt. His Trustees had to defend an action against them as reported below.
Genealogy
Alexander Masterton was the second of seven children born to Thomas Masterton, mill manager, and Agnes Machar, who had married in 1817 in Arbroath. Alexander Masterton belongs to the large group of Mastertons that flourished in the Forfar area. He married Jean Ferrier in 1819 in St Vigeans, and Betsy Salmond in 1863 in Coupar Angus. As yet, I have no record of any children. Neither Betsy nor Alexander survived long after the bankruptcy, Betsy in 1876 aged 50 and Alexander in August 1878 aged 58. Fuller details of his extended family can be found at this link.
Edinburgh Gazette
THE Estates of ALEXANDER MASTERTON, Flaxspinner and Flaxdresser in Arbroath, were Sequestrated on 22d August 1874, by the Sheriff of the County of Forfar. The first Deliverance is dated the 22d day of August 1874. The Meeting to elect the Trustee and the Commissioners is to be held at twelve o'clock noon, on Friday the 4th day of September 1874, within the White Hart Hotel, Arbroath.
A Composition may be offered at this Meeting; and to entitle Creditors to the first Dividend, their oaths and grounds of debt must be lodged on or before 22d December 1874. A Warrant of Protection agaisnt Arrest or Imprisonment has been granted to the Bankrupt. All future Advertisements relating to this Sequestration will be published in the Edinburgh Gazette alone.
WM. ALEXANDER, Solicitor, Arbroath, Agent.
Edinburgh Gazette
25 August 1874
Edinburgh Evening News
SCOTCH BANKRUPTS
Alexander Masterton, flaxspinner and flaxdresser in Arbroath.
Edinburgh Evening News
26 August 1874
Aberdeen Journal
(From the Edinburgh Gazette of Tuesday.)
SEQUESTRATIONS.
...Alexander Masterton, flaxspinner and flaxdresser, Arbroath.
Aberdeen Journal
Wednesday, 2nd September, 1874
Edinburgh Gazette
WILLIAM ROLLO, Banker in Arbroath, has been elected Trustee on the Estate; and James Weir, Merchant, Arbroath, George Yule, Flax Merchant, Arbroath, and William Salmond, Draper, Arbroath, have been elected Commissioners. The Examination of the Bankrupt will take place in the Sheriff Court House at Forfar, on Wednesday the 23d day of September current, at twelve o'clock noon. The Creditors will meet in the White Hart Hotel, Arbroath, on Thursday the 1st day of October next, at twelve o'clock noon.
WILLIAM ROLLO, Trustee.
Arbroath, 17th September 1874.
Edinburgh Gazette
18 September 1874
Dundee Courier
Before Sheriff Robertson yesterday at Forfar, in the sequestration of Alexander Masterton, flaxspinner and flaxdresser, Arbroath, the bankrupt deponed - I commenced business in 1867 as a flaxspinner and flaxdresser. I was successful for a few years - having a capital of nearly £1000. As I had no spinning mills in Arbroath, I hired mills to carry on my business. I account for the deficiency in my transactions by losses in business. My books are in the hands of my trustee, and they have been regularly kept. I first found I was in difficulties in 1871. During the past two years my losses have been heavier than formerly. John Harrison & Company received no assistance from me, unless my advice. I also gave them accommodation bills. I have no personal interest in the firm of Alexander Findlay, flaxdresser, Arbroath, but have had dealings together. The bill for £170 3s entered in my state of affairs is an accommodation bill for Findlay, and I received none of the proceeds. The state of affairs as produced by the trustee shows a deficiency of £4787 12s. The trustee being satisfied with the statement, the statutory oath was administered.
Dundee Courier
24 September 1874
Edinburgh Gazette
WILLIAM ROLLO, Banker in Arbroath, Trustee on the Sequestrated Estate of ALEXANDER MASTERTON, Flaxspinner and Flaxdresser in Arbroath, hereby calls a Meeting of the Creditors, to be held within the White Hart Hotel, Arbroath, on Wednesday the 4th day of November 1874, at twelve o'clock noon, to consider a report by the Trustee on certain disputed claims to portions of the Estate, connected with which legal proceedings are threatened, and to give directions to the Trustee in regard to these claims.
WILLIAM ROLLO, Trustee.
Arbroath, 23d October 1874.
Edinburgh Gazette
27 October 1874
Glasgow Herald
(Before Lord YOUNG.).
WILLIAMSON v. ROLLO.
The pursuer here is William Williamson, yarn merchant, Kirkcaldy; and the defender is William Rollo, banker, Arbroath, trustee on the sequestrated estate of Alexander Masterton, yarn merchant, Arbroath. The conclusions of the action are for two sums, £367 16s and £257 11s 8d, with legal interest. The pursuer states that for some years prior to Masterton's bankruptcy, he (the bankrupt) was in the practice of sending flax from Arbroath to Dysart, for the purpose of being spun into yarns at the mill of Messrs T. Millie & Son, and the spinners held a general order from the bankrupt to give delivery of the yarns as soon as manufactured to the pursuer. On 12th August, 1874, the pursuer remitted to Masterton (who became bankrupt on 22nd August, the defender being appointed trustee on 4th September following) two acceptances for £500 each, at one and two months. These acceptances were to account of the price and on the security of two parcels of yarn, to the delivery and possession of which, and to the proceeds thereof, the pursuer was entitled. The first parcel consisted of 4000 spindles, which he had arranged to sell to McInnes, Carmichael & Co., merchants, Markinch; and the other parcel consisted of 5000 spindles, which had been sold to R. Tullis & Co., Markinch.
As soon as the bankrupt received the bills, and before McInnes, Carmichael & Co. had time to remove the yarns from the mill, he fraudulently intercepted the delivery thereof or any further yarns to the pursuer, or his order, by telegraphing to Millie & Son consequently refused to part with the goods, and the defender, on his appointment as trustee, seized them as belonging to the sequestrated estate. By this means the pursuer was deprived of the possession of the two parcels of yarn, on the security and to account of which the two bills were accepted, and having been prevented from realising the proceeds thereof now claims the two sums in question. In defence it is stated that the pursuer merely acted as agent for the bankrupt, that the bills granted had no reference to the yarns in question, and that the pursuer had in his hands funds belonging to the sequestrated estates to the amount of between £800 and £900.
The record was closed to-day
Counsel for the Pursuer - Mr Guthrie Smith. Agent - David Hunter, S.S.C.
Councel for the Defender - Mr Balfour. Agents - Rhind & Lindsay, W.S.
Glasgow Herald
Friday, 18th December 1874
Edinburgh Gazette
WILLIAM ROLLO, Banker in Arbroath, Trustee on the Sequestrated Estate of ALEXANDER MASTERTON, Flaxspinner and Flaxdresser in Arbroath, hereby intimates that the Commissioners have postponed a Dividend until the recurrence of another statutory period.
WILLIAM ROLLO, Trustee.
Arbroath, 6th January 1875.
Edinburgh Gazette
8 January 1875
The pursuer, a yarn merchant in Kirkcaldy, in this action sued the defender, banker in Arbroath, as trustee on the sequestrated estate of Alex. Masterton, yarn merchant there, for payment of two sums of £367, 16s. and £257, 11s. 8d. respectively - the price of two parcels of yarn. The case was at proof on Saturday, and counsel were heard on the evidence to-day. It appeared that for some years previous to the bankruptcy of Masterton, which occurred on 22d August last, Masterton used to send flax to the spinning-mill of T. Millie & Son, Dysart, under an order of delivery to the pursuer on the flax being manufactured into the yarn. The pursuer was in use to make advances on these parcels of yarn to Masterton; and on 12th August last he remitted to Masterton two acceptances for £500 each, to account of the price of the two parcels of yarn in question, and on their security. The first was a parcel of 4000 spindles, and the other one of 5000 spindles, and the pursuer had arranged to sell both to other firms. On receiving the advances, Masterton stopped delivery of the yarn to pursuer or the parties to whom he had sold it, meaning to keep both advances and yarn; and the defender, who was appointed trustee on 4th September, seized the yarn as belonging to the bankrupt estate. The defender stated and pleaded that the pursuer merely acted as agent for Masterton; also, that the bills granted had no reference to the yarns in question; and that the pursuer had in his hands between £800 and £900 belonging to the bankrupt estate.
His LORDSHIP, in deciding the case, sustained the pursuer's claim to a lien over the yarn, holding that under a letter from Masterton of 19th October 1872 to the spinners, the yarn was held by them for the pursuer, so long as the letter remained unrevoked. This view gave the pursuer sufficient possession to constitute a lien over the goods for the two advances made on their security. After the pursuer had made advances on the faith of the security of the goods, either directly or by accepting bills, it ceased to be in the power of the bankrupt to prejudice the pursuer's possession by revoking the order, which, when matters remained entire, it was quite in his power to revoke. And when bankruptcy supervened, the trustee took the property just as it stood in the person of the bankrupt. But the claim of lien, in respect to the sum which should now be paid, could not go beyond the amount realised by the trustee for the yarns which he sold, under deduction of the expenses of the sale. The pursuer's liability for the spinning of the yarn extended only to the yarns which he sold under the arrangement, the benefit of which he was now getting under this judgement.
In regard to the pursuer's liability under the spinning account, as to which a discussion arose, parties were allowed to put in a minute with a view to adjusting the matters in dispute.
Counsel for the Pursuer - Mr Guthrie Smith. Agent - David Hunter, S.S.C.
Counsel for the Defenders - Mr Balfour and Mr Pearson. Agents - Rhind & Lindsay, W.S.
The Scotsman
14th January, 1875
Glasgow Herald
(Before Lord YOUNG.).
WILLIAMSON v. ROLLO.
The pursuer in this action is William Williamson, yarn merchant, Kirkcaldy, and the defender is William Rollo, banker, Arbroath, trustee on the sequestrated estate of Alexander Masterton, yarn merchant, Arbroath. The conclusions of the action are for two sums, £367 16s and £257 11s 8d, with legal interest. It seems that the bankrupt was in the practice of sending flax to Dysart to be spun, and that the spinners held a general order to give delivery of the yarns as soon as manufactured to pursuer, who made advances to Masterton on account of these yarns. In August last, ten days before Masterton became bankrupt, the pursuer remitted to him two acceptances for £500 each, on the faith of two parcels of yarns.
As soon as the bills had been received, Masterton intercepted the delivery of the yarns to the pursuer, his object, as the pursuer alleges, being to keep both the bills and the goods. On the defender's appointment as trustee on Masterton's estate, he seized the goods for behoof of the creditors, and the present action was raised to obtain apyment of £625 7s 8d, being the amount due by Masterton after making certain deductions.
Last week, Lord Young held that the bankrupt was not entitled to cancel the order when he did it, and that the pursuer had a lien over the goods in the mill. The case was then continued that parties might arrange as to the accounts, and today a minute was put in for the defender, which showed that the sums realised from the yarns claimed by the trustee amounted to £589 6s 8d, that the expense of realising was £182 7s, and that the balance, to which the pursuer was entitled was £406 19s 8d. To-day Lord Young decerned for that amount, with expenses, and delivered an opinion that the expense of spinning these yarns formed a proper deduction from the price realised. On the question debated by the pursuer's counsel as to his liability for the other spinning accounts, and which counsel said he was willing to accept conditionally on his lien extending over goods, other than the two parcels, the Lord Ordinary said that question was not raised under the contract. He was not required to decide that point in this case, and he could not say he should be prepared to decide in any case that the pursuer had a lien over other yarns in the mill for a spinning account for the manufacture of other yarns which the pursuer had received and sold under the contract.
Counsel for the Pursuer - Mr Guthrie Smith. Agent - David Hunter, S.S.C.
Councel for the Defender - Mr Balfour. Agents - Rhind & Lindsay, W.S.
Glasgow Herald
Saturday, 23rd January 1875
Edinburgh Gazette
WILLIAM ROLLO, Banker in Arbroath, Trustee on the Sequestrated Estate of ALEXANDER MASTERTON, Flaxspinner and Flaxdresser in Arbroath, hereby intimates that an account of his intromissions with the funds of the Estate, brought down to 22d ultimo, has been made up and audited by the Commissioners, in terms of the Statute, and that they have postponed the declaration of a Dividend till the next statutory period, and dispensed with sending circulars to the Creditors.
WILLIAM ROLLO, Trustee.
Arbroath, 5th May 1875.
Edinburgh Gazette
7 May 1875
WILLIAM ROLLO, Banker, Arbroath, Trustee on the Sequestrated Estate of ALEXANDER MASTERTON, Flaxspinner and Flaxdresser in Arbroath, hereby calls a Meeting of the Creditors, to be held within the Office of Messrs. Chapel & Alexander, Solicitors, 62 High Street, Arbroath, on Monday the 19th day of June next, at twelve o'clock noon, to consider as to an application for the Trustee's discharge.
WILLIAM ROLLO, Trustee.
Arbroath, 25th May 1876.
Edinburgh Gazette
26 May 1876
WILLIAM ROLLO, Banker, Arbroath, Trustee on the Sequestrated Estate of ALEXANDER MASTERTON, Flaxspinner and Flaxdresser in Arbroath, hereby calls a Meeting of the Creditors, to be held within the Office of Messrs. Chapel & Alexander, Solicitors, No. 62 High Street, Arbroath, on Wednesday the 23rd day of May next, at twelve o'clock noon, to consider as to an application for his discharge as a Trustee.
WILLIAM ROLLO, Trustee.
Arbroath, 27th April 1877.
Edinburgh Gazette
1 May 1877
Evening Telegraph
ARBROATH - Report on persons keeping dogs without licenses: Alexander Masterton, Lindsay Street was fined 25s, with a recommendation to a further mitigation, as defendant had been seized with paralysis in the beginning of the year and the matter had been overlooked.
Evening Telegraph
25 June 1878
ARBROATH - SUDDEN DEATH OF A MERCHANT.- The death of Mr Masterton, waste merchant, took place suddenly yesterday morning at his residence in Lindsay Street. Mr Masterton suffered last winter from a protracted illness, but had recovered so far as to be able to move about and attend to business. He retired to rest on Saturday evening apparently in his usual health. Between one and two o'clock his niece heard him cry, and on reaching his bedroom found him in a dying state. Before she had time to call for assistance he expired. Mr Masterton, who has long been connected with the staple trade of Arbroath, was a man of ability and shrewdness, and of a genial disposition.
Evening Telegraph
6 August 1878