Port and Symington Family

Author:

Richard Mayson

Report:

26

Page:

50

Year:

1999

Subject Matter:

British Community and Family History

Excerpt:

The Symington Family are relative newcomers to Oporto. Andrew James Symington arrived there from Glasgow in 1882. Originally intending to work for the Graham family's textile firm, he was immediately attracted to the Port trade and became a keen taster. In 1905 he became a partner in Warre & Co. and within a few years he was its sole owner. In 1912 George Warre decided to return to England and invited Symington to run the Portuguese end of Dow's. Following Warre's death a year later, Symington took a 30% stake in Dow's. The article follows the family since then, including discussion of the difficulties faced, such as an outbreak of plague, the assassination of King Carlos, phylloxera, the turbulence at the end of the Estado Novo and, of course, the two World Wars. 

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