Origins
Clemence Gaille, a vassal of William the Conqueror, was a key participant
in the Norman Conquests and was awarded land in the south of England for his allegiance.
He took to the culture of his new home quickly, unlike most of the other Norman rulers,
and took an Anglo-Saxon wife. This was the start of a strong "English" identity for the Gales.
Fortune
While riches had run in the family for years, true, accumulating wealth
Came when Baron Sylvester Gale founded Gale Textiles, a cotton and wool manufacturing
business creating many kinds of fabrics, off the laboring of the lower class
After his run in the British Cavalry, he saw that the poor were in need of work
and in his sheltered mind, he was creating that for them and helping.
After the death of his wife Sakura (childbirth, 1840), he devoted
much of his time to raising his daughter lovingly as his heir.
The Gilded Age
Duchess Susanne Gale (born 1842), daughter of Baron Sylvester, is undoubtably the most famous of the Gales.
Taking her father's company, she transformed it into something more modern and more ethical.
Gale Textiles was changed to GALE Fashion, one of the first ready-to-wear fashion companies in England.
However, while most of those companies aimed to serve upper class clientele, GALE's sought out a more middle-class, affordable range.
Most of the designs were created by Susie's close friend, Florence Hollis.(circa. 1860s)
Susie married Cassidy Goth (Steamboat)and gave birth to their only son Reznor Goth. (1870)