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History~Todd’s Ltd

Todd’s Ltd (aka The Trinidad Arcade, the precursor to Stephens & Todd) c. 1897 ................................................................... There are different versions of how this store became the star of the Todd empire in Port-of-Spain during the 1800s.

Historian Angelo Bissessarsingh wrote that Todd was an Englishman who came to Trinidad in 1852 and started business with small dry-goods shop along Frederick Street.

In an article headlined The Trinidad Arcade published in the Trinidad Guardian in 2013, Bissessarsingh wrote: “James Todd was an Englishman who had come to the island in 1852 and commenced business in a modest way with a small dry-goods shop on rented premises at 12 Frederick Street."

According to Gerard Besson, however, James Todd was a Scotsman who came to Port-of-Spain in 1838, ten years after he had started a jewellery store in San Fernando.

In The Caribbean History Archives, Besson wrote: “Another old Scottish firm on Frederick Street was Todd. It had started off as a jewellery store in 1828 in San Fernando under the name James Todd and Sons. In 1838, James Todd relocated to Port of Spain...”

In Bissessarsingh’s account, Todd accumulated considerable wealth from cocoa export as he had purchased cocoa estates, and also took cocoa as payment for goods purchased.

“James Todd acquired several cocoa estates, especially in the rapidly developing hinterlands east of Chaguanas and in the rolling hills near the Caparo River valley. As with most other large businesses at the time, Todd's offered a line of credit to cocoa farmers that allowed them to take goods during the year without cash payment, the score being settled when the cocoa harvest was brought in. Sacks of dried beans would be valued as currency and thus the merchant was able to turn an additional profit from exporting cocoa. This activity coupled with his thriving mercantile trade made him a very affluent man indeed by the time he died in 1884.”

Besson, on the other hand, attributed the start of the Frederick Street business to Todd’s wife.

“In 1838, James Todd relocated to Port of Spain, took on a partner and went off to the sea, which ahd been his first love. The partner, however, absconded ten years later with the valuable stock. It was Jamie Todd, James’ wife, who single-handedly restarted the business. She bought some unclaimed crockery at Customs, and in the years to come,the genial businesswoman made Todd become a renowned dealer in china.”

The story, according to Bissessarsingh, continued this way:

“(Todd) had taken his son, David, into the business as a director, but tragedy struck when David died a year after his father. The reins passed to James's grandson, James B L Todd, who proved that he was very capable of assuming stewardship of the work of two generations. The younger Todd had a knack for feeling the pulse of the economy and in a time when a new middle class was emerging, he realised that there was a need for cheap, elegant furniture at reasonable cost since hitherto, the best furnishings were imported from the United States and Europe and were very expensive. Todd and Sons opened a workshop on Chacon Street, which used local woods culled right from the Todd estates. Another subsidiary, on Queen Street, was called the West End Carriage Factory, which encompassed a saddlery and blacksmith shop as well, since this was the era before motor traffic. The showpiece of the Todd empire was the store it owned on Frederick Street. In the wake of the 1895 fire it was rebuilt completely in signature George Brown style. Dubbed the Trinidad Arcade, it was one of the finest establishments in the city and occupied the entire width of the block between Frederick and Henry streets, with entrances at both ends. Schoolbooks, toys, clothing and hardware were attractively displayed along the corridor between the entrances. James B L Todd died in the 1930s, and the firm founded by his grandfather was forced to undergo several mergers and acquisitions in order to survive. Older generations would remember the establishment of Stephens and Todd, which in another incarnation was called Stephens, Fogarty's and Todd. These were names that once stood on their own as proud remembrances of a prosperous time in our history but which had all vanished by the end of the 1970s.”

Besson’s version went this way: “The Todd’s oldest son succeeded in the business, but in 1870 he died after having been bitten by a rabid dog. The two smaller sons, William and James, were still children, and Mrs. Todd took them back to Scotland for their education. An uncle named Davidson bought into the company, and the name was changed to Davidson and Todd Limited. William and James returned in 1892. William fell ill and returned to Scotland, and James Todd jnr. was the one to continue in the family business. On 4th March, 1895, the great fire of Port of Spain originated from the Todd’s business premises. It left 57 business houses and residences burnt to the ground. The damage was an estimated £750,000 - a mindboggling sum at the time. The Todd family, however, rebuilt their business again, and two of James jnr.’s children, Bill and Winnifred, took over from their father. In 1953, Stephens bought Davidson and Todd. Winnifred, who had joined the firm in 1926 and developed the china department of the business, remained with Stephens and Todd Ltd. until 1972.” . . Eventually, the company underwent several mergers and acquisitions, and was known variously as Stephens and Todd’s; Stephens, Todd & Forgathy’s; and Stephens & Johnsons.

Read Gerry Besson’s article here: http://caribbeanhistoryarchives.blogspot.com/…/scottish-bus…

Read Angelo Bissessarsingh’s article here: https://www.guardian.co.tt/…/trinidad-arcade-6.2.412032.119…

#Galleryyuhself/Trinidad and Tobago businesses in the late 19th /early 20th century #Galleryyuhself/Trinidad and Tobago history of commerce in Port-Of-Spain #Trinidad #Galleryyuhself/Gerard Besson/Angelo Bissessarsingh

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