Ethelreda Baxter (22 October 1883 – 16 August 1963) was a Scottish cook and businesswoman. She was a second generation member of the family that established the Baxters food processing company, based in Fochabers, Moray.[1][2]

Family life

Baxter was born in Roseisle, Moray, the daughter of a farmer, Andrew Adam, and his wife Elizabeth Farquar. She trained as a nurse and in 1914, tended a patient, William Baxter, whom she subsequently married. He was the son of George and Margaret Baxter, the founders of the original Baxters grocery shop in Fochabers.[1][2]

Career

Initially a nurse, Baxter joined her husband in business, and in 1916 they opened a factory near the River Spey to make preserves from locally sourced products.[3] She then took charge of managing the factory, purchasing the fruit, hiring the workforce and devising new recipes.[1][2] Baxter's guidance ensured that the product range widened to include soups and canned and bottled fruits.[4] Her husband travelled widely, promoting the products, and the couple eventually began selling to customers in London, America and throughout the British Empire, including the royal household itself.[1][2]

Death

Baxter died in 1963 in Elgin, Moray. She was 79.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Oxford DNB article: Baxter, William Alexander". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/54540. Retrieved 8 December 2016. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Ethelreda Baxter | Mapping Memorials to Women in Scotland". womenofscotland.org.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "A New Factory". Baxters. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Ethel Baxter: Biography on Undiscovered Scotland". Retrieved 8 December 2016.
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