HALLIDAY, WILLIAM [SSNE 787]
- Surname
- HALLIDAY, HELLEDAY, HELLIDAY, DAVIDSSON
- First name
- WILLIAM, WILHELM, WELLAM, WILLIAM DAVIDSSON (AKA GILBERT)
- Title/rank
- BURGESS
- Nationality
- SCOT
- Social status
- BURGESS
Text source
William Halliday was one of many Scottish merchants in Stockholm involved in the iron trade. He was probably the first son of John Halliday [SSNE 7358] and his wife Elisabeth, and baptised on 4 August 1641. If so, he had two brothers, Gilbert and Alexander, and two sisters Margareta and Catharina. By 1670 he became the fourth largest importer in Stockholm, taking in goods to the value of 22,573 dalers s.m. equating to a 4.65% share of the market that year. Helleday was one of a deputation of six men representing the 48 'elders' of Stockholm at a meeting with higher authorities on 27 May 1677. They thanked the magistrates for the care they took of the burgesses interests, but would not approve of the intended imposition of billeting expenses for troops in the city. By December of the same year the 48 elders were instructed to select representatives of the burgesses to the coming riksdag. Helleday and Perman were chosen. One of their tasks there was to tell how hard pressed they were in Stockholm by Robert Lichton's recruiters and all the other expenses which caused many to "stick their fingers in their eyes and take the bread out of the mouths of their children". The letters contained in Biographica give an idea of a Scottish trading network and also directly links the Scottish trading comunity in a network covering Stockholm, Copenhagen and Amsterdam. Members included William Strang [SSNE 807], Johan Strangh [SSNE 8342], Jacob Strang [SSNE 8341], David Strang [SSNE 4927], Alexander Waddell [SSNE 835], William Halliday. [Non Scots included Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie and Jurgen Schot]. According to Hellstrom, William was married to Catharina Robertsdotter Petrie and his father-in-law was Robert Petrie [SSNE 6787]. They had a daughter, Margareta who married a pastor Samuel Torling in 1696. In July 1679 he accepted one John Guthrie [SSNE 2369] from Arbroath into his service, who later adopted the Lutheran faith and became a priest in Sweden. This Guthrie went into Petrie's service upon the death of Halliday sometime in 1679? If this is the William Halliday, son of John Halliday [SSNE 7358] then he had three sons, Johan, Robert and William, and two daughters Catharina and Marta Regina. At Robert's baptism on 12 August 1671 the godparents included conciller Alexander Petrie and James Semple's wife. At William baptism on 15 August 1674 the godparents inlcuded Adam Leijel and James Leijel jr, and in place of William Guthrie the wives of Johan Funck and Christopher Boij.
Sources: Riksarkivets ämnessamlingar. Personhistoria https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/A0073901_00218#?c=&m=&s=&cv=217&xywh=481%2C867%2C6524%2C3763
Swedish Riksarkiv, Brev till Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie a) från Enskilda, undated (1); G. Hellstrom, Stockholms Stads Herdaminne, (Stockholm, 1951), p.436, pp.588-589; T. Fischer, The Scots in Sweden (Edinburgh, 1907), p.216; Leos Müller, The Merchant Houses of Stockholm, c.1640-1800 (Uppsala, 1998), pp.87, 118; C.F. Corin, Självstyre och kunglig maktpolitik inom Stockholms stadsförvaltning, 1668-1697 (Stockholm, 1958), pp.157, 201,204; Steve Murdoch, Network North: Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations in Northern Europe, 1603-1746 (Brill, Leiden, 2006), pp.164, 187, 246; Curt Haij, 'Skottar i Stockholm under 1600-talet', unpublished list of names, Hintze biblioteket, Genealogiska Föreningen, Sundbyberg, Stockholm. Thanks to Ardis Dreisbach for this last information.
Service record
- SWEDEN, STOCKHOLM
- Arrived 1641-08-04
- Departed 1679-12-31
- Capacity BURGESS, IRON MERCHANT, purpose CIVIC, MERCANTILE, TRADE