Entrepreneur. Co-founder of Crosse & Blackwell. He met Edmund Crosse in 1819 when they were apprentices at the same firm, West and Wyatt, which produced pickles, sauces and condiments. They bought out their employer in 1829 and renamed the company after themselves, expanding their line of goods by purchasing new recipes from top chefs. Two years later they received their first royal appointment. The company would be family owned for more than a century.  In 1929 it introduced Branston Pickle, which today is the most popular pickle in the United Kingdom, selling over 28 million jars a year. Crosse & Blackwell was acquired by Nestle in 1960, and the brand is now part of The J.M. Smucker Company. (bio by: gipsyeyes)  Family links:  Spouse:  Jane Ann Bernasconi Blackwell (1801 – 1870)  Children:  Thomas Francis Blackwell (____ – 1835)*  Thomas Francis Blackwell (1838 – 1907)*  William Ernest Blackwell (1862 – 1890)*  Walter Reginald Blackwell (1874 – 1912)* *Calculated relationship