So you’ve been doing your family tree and have found out that your ancestor had their own business. Maybe they were self-employed, ran a shop, or had a much larger operation. There are some records you can use to find out more about their business.
Records created by a Business
The archives will only hold detailed records created by a business, such as accounts, report, correspondence, etc, if the business or someone who inherited the records of the business gave them to us. For example, we hold the Draffen’s collection as they were deposited here by Debenhams when they bought the company. You can search our list of deposited collections via our Subject Index, which can be found on our website.
Registered Incorporated Companies
Companies house started in 1844 under the Joint Stock Companies Act. Under this law businesses could registered as incorporated. This includes PLC and LTD companies. Its unlikely that small family businesses were registered but it is worth looking. Files relating to companies that have been dissolved for more than 20 years are either held at the National Archives in London or are destroyed. For more recent dissolutions or ongoing companies records are still held at Companies House. For more information see this guide.
Licensing
Many businesses required some form of licence from the Council to operate. The most obvious being a pub or off-licence, but we also hold records of:
- hackney carriages and private cabs.
- dancing licences
- theatres, music halls etc
- public entertainment and cinemas
- gunpowder stores and explosives
- cowkeepers and dairymen,
- purveyors of milk
- street porters traders
- dog tracks
- lotteries and gaming
- performing animals
- pet shops
- chimney sweeps
- pawnbrokers
- billiard tables
- margarine dealers
- brokers and money lenders
- public refreshment
- window cleaners
These all have different covering dates and include different information. Its likely they just contain a name, address (business or home) and date of award of the licence. You may also find information about a licence being transferred or cancelled.
Directories
Directories are useful places to look for those who ran a business. Directories were like the yellow pages or google of the day. Unless you wanted to rely on word of mouth, then being listed in the directory was the best way for people to find out about your business. A directory lists people and businesses, in an alphabetical list, by address and by profession/trade. Not everyone was listed, but if you had an established building with premises you would want to be listed in the directory. Directories are held at the archives or at the Local History library in the Wellgate Library.
Valuation Rolls
Valuation rolls were produced every year from 1855 for the purposes of calculating the amount of rates that each person owed the council – think of it as a forerunner to the council tax. The valuation rolls list every property in the council area, along with the name of the owner, the tenant or occupier and their occupation, along with the calculated value or rent on the property. We hold valuation rolls from 1895 onwards. In some cases there are annotations to the entries which can tell you when they took on the lease. The valuation roll will help to show the value of the property and therefore show if when a business moves if it is going up in terms of value and therefore if the business is doing well. These records are not indexed by name at the archives but are in address order. Some valuation rolls have been indexed by name and are searchable through www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk.
Newspapers
Newspapers are a great place to look for information about a business or business owner. They could be advertising their goods and services, moving to new premises or interesting events at the business. There could be articles about the people – the owner, the staff, the customers etc. There could be reports of accidents and crimes committed in or near the business premises or even disputes with other businesses. You can view back copies of newspapers at the Local History Centre in the Wellgate Library or online on the British Newspaper Archive – this is a subscription site but you can use it for free at any Dundee library or here at the archives.
Public Contracts
As well as supplying the general public, many businesses provided goods and services to local institutions. This often led to lucrative contracts which would result in big orders. Now whilst most of these contracts don’t survive records such as minutes and accounts of the Council, the School Board and the Parish Council will show you who was supplying the Council with timber, the schools with stationery and the poorhouse with food and clothing. These sorts of records won’t be indexed by company name so you would need to look through the minutes to see if the company is mentioned. Unless you have an idea that the business supplied the authority then it could be a long fruitless search. Some of the contracts might also be reported in the local press (see the section above about Newspapers)
If you would like to visit the archives to view any of these records please contact us.
The Dundee City Archives Blog 
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