MARGARET KENNERTY MORICE (1710-1800)
Like many tradeswomen, Margaret Morice shared her husband, John’s, business, and while their bakery on Castlegate was a single generation enterprise lasting seventy years, it was one that benefitted significantly from a combination of enterprise and location. Despite this, there is little direct evidence about her and who she was.
She was born in 1710, in the countryside around Aberdeen. Hers is a local name derived from Kennerty, near Banchory. John was born in 1705, probably in Echt near Culter. In 1734, John was admitted to the Burgess Register, so the bakery was clearly operational, and probably from about the date of their marriage in 1729.
Aberdeen was a growing and prosperous town where the expanding urban economy helped to promote a more forward-looking attitude among residents during the life of the bakery. The ‘Plainstanes’ were paved in 1751, and a new Town Hall on the Castlegate built in 1754, with the adjacent New Inn and a Freemasons’ lodge. The bakery sat at the head of the Plainstanes, in front of the Mercat Cross, which placed it at the head of Broadgate, where Marischal College and many of the bookshops lay, while the Aberdeen Journal, founded in 1746, was within a few minutes’ walk. The Morices were right in the centre of the commercial space of Aberdeen. In 1752, Morice purchased ‘the foreland, Bakehouse and Ovenhead … and all the pertinents’ facing the Merket cross on the Plainstanes, which Margaret owned when she died. This purchase marked the firm out as having achieved some level of wealth, standing and prestige.
Because women often worked side-by-side with husbands and substituted for them, some tasks were interchangeable. Margaret almost certainly handled transactions, though John always made meal purchases. She is less likely to have physically baked bread, given the heaviness of the work and the coding of baking as male; technically the town prohibited women from being bakers. From 1739, with the birth of their first child, her contribution would have been curtailed somewhat, and by 1750 they had seven children. Therefore, she would have been partly occupied with childcare. By 1758, three children had died, and we should not ignore the impact of these deaths on the family and its emotional health. Certainly, child bearing and rearing cannot be ignored, although childcare involved far less concentration of time than today. One who died was young John, whom the parents might have expected to succeed them, potentially a deep blow to their business aims.
The urban working woman was expected not only to feed and clothe her own family, but also apprentices, journeymen and live-in servants. Although many requisites had to be bought, they still required processing, so women could expect to make butter, to preserve fruits and vegetables, occasionally slaughter meat, or at least clean poultry. The records do not cover the period when her children were small, but between 1785 and 1791, Margaret paid no servant tax. So, household tasks fell to her and her daughters as they grew up. The bakery was busy enough to need extra labour though John took only three apprentices while their family was young. Between 1750 and 1761, family labour could have helped cover the workload, although the children were still quite young. David, their eldest, was groomed for a profession and was unlikely to have been able to offer much assistance. By 1761, John was 51 and Margaret was 45, and bakery work was heavy and physically demanding. From this time, John significantly increased the number of apprentices, though Margaret had probably returned to full-time bakery work.
John died in January 1770, and Margaret took charge. She continued trading as ‘Margaret Morice and Co’, until 1794, when she reverted to Kennerty. Despite seven children, including three boys, none joined the business. She deliberately utilised the business name to retain the prestige and commercial identity associated with her ‘business’ persona, developed when the partnership had built up a substantial and respected undertaking. She clearly felt confident and competent and traces of evidence substantiate that she was successful and maintained a functioning and solid concern. Since Scottish women usually kept their birth name, retaining a ‘commercial’ name is notable. She utilized the power that came with her own sense of self and identity as well as capitalizing on the strength of a business family name. If there were any doubt of who was ‘in charge’, the business name helped solidify the claim of women like Margaret Morice.
Her business strategies bear this out. She took no apprentices for ten years. For the first four, she had the labour and strength of those indentured to John. By 1774/5 they would have competed their apprenticeships and may have stayed for some years with her as journeymen, providing the strength and labour that the bakery required. She took the most senior, James Masson, into ‘copartnership’ sometime after 1773. ‘Margaret Morice and Co., bakers in Aberdeen’ added two apprentices in 1776 and 1780. The plural is significant, because it subsumed Masson who took no apprentices. Her next apprentices started when Masson announced the end of the partnership. Thomas Warrack, her first apprentice, finished in 1786 and was briefly partnered her. However, on 20 July 1787, Margaret placed her only notice in the Aberdeen Journal to indicate that, ‘Mr Warrack, who was for some time in partnership with her, having left Aberdeen, she now carries on the business by herself. She requests the continuance of their favours, and hopes by her attention to be able to give satisfaction.’ Other evidence suggests he was in debt and ‘skipped’ town. She further insisted ‘that all accounts due to M. Morice and Co. be paid in to her only’. She continued to take apprentices regularly until 1796, the last one continuing until virtually her death. As the only woman regularly recorded in the apprenticeship records, she had the distinction of being consistently described as ‘baker in Aberdeen’. This is notable since the bakers along with the weavers were seen as the most prestigious of the Seven Incorporated Trades in Aberdeen.
From scarce records, we get a picture of her business, which was clearly long-standing and central to the commercial area of Aberdeen. The regularity of apprenticeships suggests an orderly, well-run business. It was tolerated by the guild and held its own until near her death. It is likely the guild turned a blind eye, either because of the status of the shop or because she traded as Margaret Morice and Co. It is also possible that they allowed her to continue not only because of her standing as the widow of a respected burgess and colleague, but also because of her own acumen and resilience. She died in 1800 aving been partner and proprietor in the bakery business virtually ‘all the days of her life’.
Entry written by Deborah Simonton
Further reading
Deborah Simonton (2017) ‘”All the Days of their Lives”: The lifecycle of a family business’ in J. Heinonen and K. Vainio-Korhonen, eds, Women in Business Families: From past to present.
She was born in 1710, in the countryside around Aberdeen. Hers is a local name derived from Kennerty, near Banchory. John was born in 1705, probably in Echt near Culter. In 1734, John was admitted to the Burgess Register, so the bakery was clearly operational, and probably from about the date of their marriage in 1729.
Aberdeen was a growing and prosperous town where the expanding urban economy helped to promote a more forward-looking attitude among residents during the life of the bakery. The ‘Plainstanes’ were paved in 1751, and a new Town Hall on the Castlegate built in 1754, with the adjacent New Inn and a Freemasons’ lodge. The bakery sat at the head of the Plainstanes, in front of the Mercat Cross, which placed it at the head of Broadgate, where Marischal College and many of the bookshops lay, while the Aberdeen Journal, founded in 1746, was within a few minutes’ walk. The Morices were right in the centre of the commercial space of Aberdeen. In 1752, Morice purchased ‘the foreland, Bakehouse and Ovenhead … and all the pertinents’ facing the Merket cross on the Plainstanes, which Margaret owned when she died. This purchase marked the firm out as having achieved some level of wealth, standing and prestige.
Because women often worked side-by-side with husbands and substituted for them, some tasks were interchangeable. Margaret almost certainly handled transactions, though John always made meal purchases. She is less likely to have physically baked bread, given the heaviness of the work and the coding of baking as male; technically the town prohibited women from being bakers. From 1739, with the birth of their first child, her contribution would have been curtailed somewhat, and by 1750 they had seven children. Therefore, she would have been partly occupied with childcare. By 1758, three children had died, and we should not ignore the impact of these deaths on the family and its emotional health. Certainly, child bearing and rearing cannot be ignored, although childcare involved far less concentration of time than today. One who died was young John, whom the parents might have expected to succeed them, potentially a deep blow to their business aims.
The urban working woman was expected not only to feed and clothe her own family, but also apprentices, journeymen and live-in servants. Although many requisites had to be bought, they still required processing, so women could expect to make butter, to preserve fruits and vegetables, occasionally slaughter meat, or at least clean poultry. The records do not cover the period when her children were small, but between 1785 and 1791, Margaret paid no servant tax. So, household tasks fell to her and her daughters as they grew up. The bakery was busy enough to need extra labour though John took only three apprentices while their family was young. Between 1750 and 1761, family labour could have helped cover the workload, although the children were still quite young. David, their eldest, was groomed for a profession and was unlikely to have been able to offer much assistance. By 1761, John was 51 and Margaret was 45, and bakery work was heavy and physically demanding. From this time, John significantly increased the number of apprentices, though Margaret had probably returned to full-time bakery work.
John died in January 1770, and Margaret took charge. She continued trading as ‘Margaret Morice and Co’, until 1794, when she reverted to Kennerty. Despite seven children, including three boys, none joined the business. She deliberately utilised the business name to retain the prestige and commercial identity associated with her ‘business’ persona, developed when the partnership had built up a substantial and respected undertaking. She clearly felt confident and competent and traces of evidence substantiate that she was successful and maintained a functioning and solid concern. Since Scottish women usually kept their birth name, retaining a ‘commercial’ name is notable. She utilized the power that came with her own sense of self and identity as well as capitalizing on the strength of a business family name. If there were any doubt of who was ‘in charge’, the business name helped solidify the claim of women like Margaret Morice.
Her business strategies bear this out. She took no apprentices for ten years. For the first four, she had the labour and strength of those indentured to John. By 1774/5 they would have competed their apprenticeships and may have stayed for some years with her as journeymen, providing the strength and labour that the bakery required. She took the most senior, James Masson, into ‘copartnership’ sometime after 1773. ‘Margaret Morice and Co., bakers in Aberdeen’ added two apprentices in 1776 and 1780. The plural is significant, because it subsumed Masson who took no apprentices. Her next apprentices started when Masson announced the end of the partnership. Thomas Warrack, her first apprentice, finished in 1786 and was briefly partnered her. However, on 20 July 1787, Margaret placed her only notice in the Aberdeen Journal to indicate that, ‘Mr Warrack, who was for some time in partnership with her, having left Aberdeen, she now carries on the business by herself. She requests the continuance of their favours, and hopes by her attention to be able to give satisfaction.’ Other evidence suggests he was in debt and ‘skipped’ town. She further insisted ‘that all accounts due to M. Morice and Co. be paid in to her only’. She continued to take apprentices regularly until 1796, the last one continuing until virtually her death. As the only woman regularly recorded in the apprenticeship records, she had the distinction of being consistently described as ‘baker in Aberdeen’. This is notable since the bakers along with the weavers were seen as the most prestigious of the Seven Incorporated Trades in Aberdeen.
From scarce records, we get a picture of her business, which was clearly long-standing and central to the commercial area of Aberdeen. The regularity of apprenticeships suggests an orderly, well-run business. It was tolerated by the guild and held its own until near her death. It is likely the guild turned a blind eye, either because of the status of the shop or because she traded as Margaret Morice and Co. It is also possible that they allowed her to continue not only because of her standing as the widow of a respected burgess and colleague, but also because of her own acumen and resilience. She died in 1800 aving been partner and proprietor in the bakery business virtually ‘all the days of her life’.
Entry written by Deborah Simonton
Further reading
Deborah Simonton (2017) ‘”All the Days of their Lives”: The lifecycle of a family business’ in J. Heinonen and K. Vainio-Korhonen, eds, Women in Business Families: From past to present.
