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Berkhamsted William Cooper The story of Cooper's Sheep Dip, which was invented at Berkhamsted and sold world wide, is given on the Dacorum Heritage Trust site and will not be repeated here |
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Berkhamsted William Cooper The story of Cooper's Sheep Dip, which was invented at Berkhamsted and sold world wide, is given on the Dacorum Heritage Trust site and will not be repeated here |
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The Cooper Technical Bureau This company is of particular interest to me as I joined it in 1962, working as an information scientist specialising in overseas research and development in the veterinary field. This work was based in the Cooper Technical Bureau although my office was in the house Berkhamsted Hill, which was part of the research farm. |
Ephemera: The Diseases of Sheep 1895 (William Cooper & Nephew, Berkhamsted)
Martin Thompson (martinthompson50 @t myfamily.com) writes My grandfather, Edgar E Thompson 1873 - 1929, started work in June 1886 as a Clerk at William Cooper & Nephews, Manufacturing Chemists, Berkhamsted. Still working as a Clerk in 1901. Eventually became Company Secretary and left there in 1918. I have a letter on company notepaper written by R P Cooper to my grandfather on his marriage in 1896.
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William Cooper & Nephew Watch Fob
Larry Brooks (lmbrooks @t wildblue.net) of Estancia, New Mexico, USA, writes: Trying to research a Watch Fob from Wm Cooper and Nephews that I discovered while Metal Detecting. This fob advertised "Sheep Dip" & Wm Cooper and Nephews. Trying to find out what time period they were used and by whom?
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Sheep's Head Cooper Sheep Dip |
Will Cooper and Nephews 117 Illinois Street. Chicago |
I am particularly interested in your question as my first job (1962-1065) was as an information scientist with the Cooper Technical Bureau at Berkhamsted. This involved research and development liaison with the Cooper group of companies world wide and I was responsible for liaison with South Africa, Australia and the USA (based in Chicago) the later trading as William Cooper and Nephews Inc.
The question is really when and how did this watch fob get to New Mexico, and this is linked with the expansion of the Company worldwide. It is not practical to research a full history in reply to your query (although the company really deserved a major book) but you may find the following brief notes helpful.
William Cooper started manufacturing his arsenical sheep dip in Berkhamsted in the early 1850s and over the following 50 years its sales spread world-wide - at least to the many countries where sheep were farmed and sheep scab was a problem. Three nephews were involved. William Farmer Cooper joined the company in 1868 and was important in starting to develop the overseas markets. He died in 1882.Two other nephews, Herbert Cooper and Richard Powell Cooper, joined in 1880 and William Cooper died in 1885. The UK company had definitely taken the name "William Cooper & Nephews" by 1886, and I have found a 1882 trade directory entry which predates its use. I believe that the product was being marketed in the USA by this date so your key fob could be as early as about 1884. I have not been able to discover the name of the manager of the Chicago office.
It seems that the company moved on to Australia in 1892, under Henry Harrowell and I am wondering whether he was the Harry Harrowell who (aged 11) was living in Berkhamsted High Street at the time of the 1881 census. It would be interesting to know if the first manager in the Chicago office also came from the Berkhamsted area. However this takes us outside the scope of your original enquiry. [But see below - January 2011]
The UK company became a limited company (William Cooper & Nephews became William Cooper & Nephews Company Ltd) in 1920 and changed its name in 1925 to Cooper McDougall & Robertson but when I was working in the early 1960s the USA Company was trading as William Cooper and Nephews Inc. Your best bet to dating the fob would be to consult the old trade directories for Cook County, Illinois, to find out when William Cooper & Nephews were based in Illinois Street. There is at least one web site containing details of Chicago trade directories - and there may be others which allow online access.
I am sure that the company promoted their sheep dip, and later other veterinary products, actively and the fob may have been part of a promotion. There may be evidence of when they started marketing the sheep dip in New Mexico from old newspapers, agricultural magazines and trade directories from the area.
Richard Harrowell (rh @t harrowell.com), of Oberon, NSW, Australia, writes: The Henry Harrowell was not the one from Berkhamsted. The Cooper's Henry Harrowell was born about 1847 in Epsom Surrey and was probably living in Bentley Heath, Solihull, Warwick just before he came to Australia to start Coopers here at the age of about 52. His family came with him, including teenagers Roland Henry Harrowell who later Managed Coopers in Australia, and Shirley Harrowell (Male) who later managed New Zealand. I know Roland travelled to the US to set up Coopers businesses there, but I don't have any details. Henry was married to Amelia (Carey I think) and lived most of his later life in New Zealand, before returning to Sydney shortly before he passed away in 1921.
Not only does your helpful message clear up the identity of Henry Harrowell, but the information on Roland Harrowell allowed me to locate a web page on the history of Cooper Engineering, which provides some very detailed extra information, with dates on the growth of the Cooper empire worldwide. It seem that a Charles Timson of Wm Cooper and Nephews opens their American branch in Galveston, Texas, in 1890.
If you can add to the information given above tell me.
| September 2010 | Query re watch fob |
