Eleanor Mosley
Eleanor Mosley (or Elinor Mosely; 1700–?) was an English milliner and a member in the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. Mosley successfully ran her own millinery business as a single woman in eighteenth-century London. Life and career Eleanor Mosley was the daughter of a successful apothecary in York, England. In April 1718, when she was seventeen years old, she was entered into an apprenticeship to George Tyler and his wife, Lucy. The apprenticeship was registered with the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, of which George Tyler was a registered member or master. Between 1714 and 1725, George and Lucy Tyler took on six young women as apprentices. Since George Tyler was registered as a clockmaker with the Clockmakers' Company, it is likely these young women were actually apprenticed to his wife Lucy. In 1727, Mosley completed her apprenticeship, became a member, or mistress, in her own right of the Clockmakers' Company, and set up her own business in London. That same year, she took on her own sister, Catherine, as an apprentice and one month later took a second apprentice, Mary Bate, the daughter of a clergyman from Kent. She was paid £50 for each girl. At least two other of Mosley's sisters were also milliners - Elizabeth, who was apprenticed to a milliner in York; and Dorothy, who eventually took over Mosley's business. Mosley moved her business to a rented shop on Lombard Street in 1729 and in 1736 was able to purchase her own property on nearby Gracechurch Street. She lived and worked at this location with her apprentices for at least a decade. This area of London around Lombard and Gracechurch Streets was the principal market area of the city and home to wealthy merchants such as goldsmiths, mercers, apothecaries, and bankers. In 1732, Mosley took on her third apprentice, Mary Newton, the daughter of a London goldsmith. Eleanor's first two apprentices completed their apprenticeships in 1734 and she then took on her fourth apprentice that same year. She took on two apprentices in 1738 and her seventh, and final, registered apprentice in 1739. Eleanor apparently was the sole proprietor of her business, as no other names were recorded on the tax roles as business partner or co-owner. In addition to her apprentices, Eleanor probably had domestic servants to run her household and possibly other shop assistants. The Clockmakers' Company recorded Mosley's marriage in 1747 (although she may have actually married in 1744), when she was in her forties. Mosley's marriage happened rather late in life, however it was not unheard of in this time period. Although the property on Gracechurch Street remained in her maiden name, after 1744 she no longer lived there. The name of Mosley's husband was not recorded in the Clockmakers' Company registers and it is unknown whether she continued in business in another location, took on any more apprentices, or even remained in London. It would not have been unusual for Mosley to have remained in business of some sort after her marriage, as