Arthur Francis Stoddard

[1] He moved to New York State in 1833 to work alongside his maternal uncle, Arthur Tappan, a silk merchant.

He then became a partner in the New York firm of Peter Denny Importers, and began a series of trade visits to Britain.

Although originally intending to settle in London, the voyage arrived in Greenock and he decided to stay in Paisley, Renfrewshire and worked in Glasgow as a commission agent at Princes Square.

[2] In 1853, he moved to Elderslie, Renfrewshire where he was first introduced to carpet-making at the nearby Patrickbank Mill, owned by brothers John and Robert Roland.

[citation needed] In 1870 his son Frederick Stoddard and his son-in-law Charles Bine Renshaw had taken over operational control of the carpet business and Arthur stood back.