The business was taken over by his son Thomas. Thomas continued as a watchmaker in this location until his death in 1830. These were then collected and taken to the factory for assembly.
Hundreds of outworkers were making one or two individual watch components in their cottages. The whole area around Liverpool was a hive of watchmaking activity at this time. Thomas was the founding father of what was to become a watchmaking dynasty. He worked as an outworker or journeyman watchmaker before setting up independently in Lancaster in 1811. It was during this period that the original Thomas Russell was born (1780) in Cumbria. It was a thriving cottage industry in and around Lancashire with the components sold on for watchmakers to assemble. In the 18th century farmers and agricultural employees who wanted to supplement their income during the dark winter months could produce watch components in their home workshops.
