In the early 1870s, Walter James Forbes Liddell was working in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisc., in the rail-car-building industry. In 1875, Liddell and his wife, Anna, moved from Milwaukee to Charlotte, NC. There Liddell founded Liddell Machine Co., with manufactory Charlotte Iron Works. Based on patent records, it appears that Liddell made boilers, furnaces, steam engines, hay presses, and cotton presses. By 1881 the company was also making circular sawmills. By 1884 the name was Liddell & Co. By 1889 Walter J. F. Liddell's son, Walter Scott Liddell, was running the works and Liddell & Co. and it seems that the father was no longer active. By 1890 the name had shorted to the Liddell Co. The business remained active until at least 1936.

Information Sources

• Patent records provide several data points that show the early movements of Water J. F. Liddell.
• The University of North Carolina at Charlotte library has a collection of Liddell family papers. Here is their summary:

  Papers relating to the family of Walter J. F. and Anna Brubaker Liddell, who moved to Charlotte from Wisconsin in 1875. Includes photographs, postcards depicting scenes in Charlotte and both Carolinas in the early 20th century, and photocopies of letters (1854-64) between members of the related Little and Myers families. Contains no records of the Liddell Machine Co. and other family businesses.

  Elsewhere they mention that Walter J. F. Liddell died in 1889.
• An 1879-1880 Charlotte City Directory lists Walter J. F. Liddell as residing at the corner of Trade and D; Walter S. Liddell (Liddell & Co.) resided at the same address. Liddell & Co. (Walter S. Liddell, proprietor), was the Charlotte Iron Works at the corner of Trade and A.
• A pair of 1924 patents related to cotton tampers were the only patents assigned to this company since 1920.
• The U. S. Forest Products Laboratory published a booklet dated March 1936, Operating small sawmills, methods, bibliography, and sources of equipment by C. J. Telford. A table lists the makers of various types of equipment, including circular sawmills, band sawmills, edgers, and planers. This company was listed as a maker of circular sawmills.
• There was a Forbes Liddell & Co. in Montgomery, AL. It appears that Forbes Liddell was another son of Walter J. F. An 1877 steam-engine patent was granted to Walter James Forbes Liddell and assigned to Forbes Liddell of Charlotte. A web page on the papers of Booker T. Washington says that "Forbes Liddell, founder and president of Forbes Liddell Company of Montgomery, Ala., did business with Tuskegee Institute, selling sawmill machinery, engines, and taking special orders."