Thomas Ketland

Thomas Ketland & Co. was a gun maker founded in Birmingham, England around 1760.

T. Ketland & Co. is Thomas Sr., a very successful Birmingham gun maker. He started in business around 1760, expanded into the export market around 1790, died in 1816. His business was carried on until bankrupt in 1821.The company made flintlock pistols hand guns and became successful in this field of gun manufacture.

W. Ketland is Thomas Ketland Sr's eldest son. He was originally a partner with his father and William Walker. He petitioned to liquidate his part in the firm in 1800. The partnership was dissolved in 1801. He died in 1804 but the business carried on to at least 1831. The story about an earlier W. Ketland gunmaker, going back to the 1740s (Gardner says 1715), is not verified. The directory dates are 1808 to 1831 but W. Ketland was trading under that name as early as the middle of 1801 and perhaps as early as the end of 1800. The Philadelphia Ketlands are 2nd son Thomas Jr. and John. Thomas Jr. resided in Philadelphia from 1789 to 1815. John died there in 1800. They never made guns, they were merchant princes, not mechanics and arms were only a small part of their business. Around 1801, the Ketland Co. began trading overseas and the company ceased operations around 1831.