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Lander Brothers: Silk Hosiery

On July 08, 1922, the influential trade journal, Textile World, announced that the Lander & Watson Hosiery Co. of Ellicottville, New York had opened a branch plant in Guelph Ontario. The journal later had to retract this statement. Lander and Watson Hosiery were not setting up a Canadian branch plant. Lander Brothers was an independent business founded by John Lander of Rochester and James Lander of Buffalo, who was then the secretary and business manager of the Lander & Watson Hosiery Co., – hence the error.

While little is known about John Lander, James Lander had a solid reputation in the textile business. He had been the first partner with D. W. Watson in his first textile venture in Perry, New York. In 1908, Watson and Lander was born. It grew slowly under the two men and continued to do so after Watson retired ca. 1913.

Perry, NY was left behind in 1915 for a new plant in Ellicottville, New York. Between this time and until at least 1923, James Lander filled in several positions. He was secretary, treasurer and buyer.

It is not clear whether he left behind his position in Lander & Watson for his Guelph enterprise with his brother. It is not yet known whether both Landers Brothers arrived in Guelph in 1922 to arrange for the plant. City directories for the time indicate that only John Lander and his wife, Virginia, had made their home in Guelph. They lived at 214 Queen Street.

While James and John occupied the top positions in the new firm, in 1923, Mrs. Virginia Lander became secretary-treasurer of the new enterprise. C. F. Bellman was to hold the position of superintendent. In 1925, a Gertrude Lander was to hold this position. Two years later, M. H. Elliot was serving as Secretary and Treasurer and by 1931, Nelles Jackson was in charge of the plant’s daily operations.

The Product

The Lander Brothers opened their silk hosiery factory at 22 Baker Street. The main product was ladies’ seamless silk hosiery, although Landers also produced sports hosiery (socks). To accomplish this, the factory had 12 knitting machines and 2 sewing machines. The equipment and factory ran on electricity.

By 1927, the company is listed as being on 88 Yarmouth Street at the corner of Suffolk. Its capacity had increased. The company now could boast:

  • 26 Knitting Machines
  • 8 Loopers
  • 8 Sewing Machines

1927 was also the year when two other significant events occurred. The company was incorporated. It was chartered with a capital of 1,500 preference shares of $100 each and 100,000 common shares without par value. This may have been the year the company was acquired by the Weldrest Hosiery Company – although it continued to operate as the Lander Brothers.

That same year, the company contracted to construct an addition to the plant to double its production. The new part of the building was to be 48 x 70 ft and contain several leggers and footers. It was completed in 1929. However, by this time, the company definitely had a new owner and it was moving out equipment, taking it to its plant in Mount Denis, Toronto.

Someone Was Lying

The beginning of the removal of equipment to Mount Denis did not end the operations in Guelph. It remained a functioning branch of Weldrest Hosiery. At least 45 workers  – 15 of them female, continued to be employed in the former Lander Brothers factory on Yarmouth Street.

The company continued to operate under the ownership of Weldrest into the 1930s. However, in 1933, more equipment was removed from the former Lander Brothers plant. The Mayor at the time, Beverly Robson, assured the citizens of Guelph that the plant was going to stay. He told the Guelph Mercury that the Manager, Nelles Jackson, had told him the plant was remaining. The Mayor should have perhaps looked into the situation further. John Lander, who became the President of Weldrest Hosiery in 1932, had already moved from Guelph to live in Toronto.

The writing was on the wall but someone lied. The Weldrest Hosiery Company of Toronto closed the Guelph plant in August 1934. All production was consolidated in Toronto and Mont Denis. Nelles Jackson, an employee of over four years, was included in the move. A career employer in the textile/hosiery business, he later became superintendent of the Canadian branch of Holeproof Hosiery in London, Ontario. In 1950, he moved to another supervisor position in Marengo Mills in Demopolis Atlanta.

The building became vacant for a short time. In 1935/1936, it was divided between two tenants the Universal Stamp Company operated by W. W. Tyson, and the Wallace Praig Company.

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