It all started with a marriage certificate acquired by my mother’s cousin. Mom’s ancestors arrived in America from Scotland during the mid-1800s. The marriage certificate of William McEwan and Mary Brown shows that were married in Tradeston, an area of Glasgow bounded by the Clyde River to the north.
        From the 1770s to the 1830’s the population of Glasgow soared from 30,000 to over 200,000 causing turmoil and racial segregation in the overcrowded inner city.
        Examining the information I found about Tradeston it was evident the East Side was predominantly textile working-class citizens. The West End was more residential and upper middle-class.
        By 1805 substantial growth saw the opening of the Theatre Royal on Queen Street, which by 1818 became one of the first public buildings to be gas lit. With this new growth came the sign Glasgow had become a consumer-based society. The social status and sophistication saw the city’s growth of new shops with choice never before seen in Glasgow. Imports from Europe, spices from the West Indies, tea from India and even furs from Canada, lined the streets. The city became a manufacturing haven, warehousing goods for distribution elsewhere. Development on the River Clyde made it a busy port city.
        Not to say the city did not suffer growing pains. As early as 1800 there were riots due to food shortages. The supply from public wells was lacking. By 1800’s two private water companies were all that served the districts to the north of the city. Continuing growth by the 1830’s complicated the matter.