Samuel Greg was born on 26 March 1758. Coming from a long family line of wealthy business people, He became the owner of his deceased brother’s firm, Quarry Mills, at a very young age in 1782. In 1789 he married Hannah Lightbody, and with the help of her dowry of
10,000 euros, he began his own reforms of the company. He repaired the waterwheel, and built a textile mill to ensure more productivity before investing in the employment of children. By law, children could be apprenticed from the age of seven, but the Gregs preferred to take children at the age of nine or ten. He paid between £2 and £4 for each child they employed, and demanded that each child passed a medical exam and brought "two shifts, two pairs of stockings and two aprons.” The 60 young boys and 30 young girls he employed were housed in an apprentice house that was built for over 300 euros. He spent another 100 Euros for each cottage he added for his adult workers, which were built in the midst of what became known as the village of “Styal.”
The factory village, compared to the unsanitary and threatening city life, had a high reputation for being comfortable, and even luxury to those who lived there. The workers were allowed to use their wages to buy extra supplies at their own market in Styal under the ‘truck’ system – rather than paying in cash, the shopkeeper would keep a record of all purchases which would then be deducted from the mill workers’ salaries. Workers attended church every