John Alexander Fladgate

John Alexander Fladgate (1 January 1809 - 12 December 1901), was a port wine merchant.

Fladgate was the son of Francis Fladgate (1773 - 1821), an Essex Street solicitor, friend of William Jerdan, who employed John Hamilton Reynolds from 1818 to 1820, and Maria Anne Bassett. He was christened in the church of St. Giles-in-the-Fields on 21 December 1809.

He married Margaret Collett Dalgleish on 29 August 1837 at St. Giles-in-the-Field, London and had 10 children, all of whom were born in Oporto, Portugal. He married four of his daughters to port wine shippers.

He first sailed for Oporto in 1836 but was unable to land because of bad weather. He returned to England, married and returned to Oporto the following year by way of Vigo, Spain. He was the sole partner of Taylor, Fladgate & Co., after Joseph Taylor's death in 1837. Morgan Yeatman joined the partnership in 1839 and they changed firm's name to Taylor, Fladgate, & Yeatman. This partnership was brought about by the agency of the London importer Matthew Clark, who was married to a cousin of Fladgate and a long term associate of Taylor, but Fladgate and Yeatman ceased using Clark in 1845, causing a crisis in that firm.

Today, the only direct kinship with Fladgate at Taylor, Fladgate, & Yeatman is David Fonseca Guimaraens, Winemaker and Technical Director, the son of Bruce Duncan Guimaraens and Fladgate's great-great-great nephew.

He was created Baron da Roêda of Portugal on 9 October 1872 by King Luís I of Portugal and Comendador [Knight Commander] of the Portuguese Order of Christ.

His wife Margaret died aged 83 on 1 March 1901 and Fladgate followed her soon afterwards, dying age 92, on 12 December 1901, at their residence 106 Elgin Crescent, Kensington.

...
Wikipedia