He was the second son of Miller Christy (1748–1820) and Ann Rist. The Christy family had a hat-making business at 35
Gracechurch Street, and Christy himself was apprenticed to a hatter. The firm developed manufacturing interests in
Bermondsey and
Stockport, and Christy was a founder of the London Joint Stock Bank. In 1824 he was a founder of Christy, Lloyd & Co, the Stockport and East Cheshire Bank, with Isaac Lloyd and two other partners. The immediate challenge of the
panic of 1825 was handled with the support of Hanbury & Co., the bank's London associates. The bank was sold in 1829, and Christy acquired capital, with which he entered the
cotton business, in Stockport and then
Droylsden. The enterprise later made a major success of the
Christy towel. silk coverings for hats were made in Stockport, and the factory there had more workers. The business dropped off later in the century, as the
beaver hat went out of style. ==Family==