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Augustus H. Heisey
was born in Hanover, Germany in 1842. He was
brought to this country by his parents, at the age of two or three. He
was in the Civil War, attaining the rank of Major. After the war, he
went to work as a glass salesman for the R. H. Ripley Co., of Pittsburgh, PA.
The company was
sold to G. A. Duncan & Sons in 1866. In 1870, he married Susan Duncan,
the daughter of George A. Duncan. Records indicate the company was
called Geo. Duncan & Sons at that time, and was run by J. E. Duncan and
A. H. Heisey.
He remained with
the company after its assimilation into the United States Glass Co., in
1891. By the year 1895, he was making plans to build his own glass
plant in Newark, OH. Mr. Heisey, with financial help from his wife's
father and some far sighted citizens of Newark, organized the A. H.
Heisey & Co. in 1895.
By April 1895,
there were several news items in the Tribune and The Advocate,
newspapers from Newark, OH, about a "glass tableware factory" moving
from Pittsburgh to Newark. A "committee of responsible citizens" was
appointed to examine the standing of A. H. Heisey, and his proposal to
build a glass plant which would employ about 200. The committee gave
Mr. Heisey an "A1" rating.
By November, 1895,
the Newark newspapers were reporting that "the walls (of the new plant)
were all up, and the roof would be put on next week." The Newark
Advocate of November 7, 1895 reported that "work on the Heisey Plant is
rapidly progressing. It is the finest of its kind in the
United States. A large number
(of people) daily visit the construction area. Excellent material is
being used ---- the architect inspects all material before it goes into
construction of the building."
The February 27,
1896 issue reported Mr. Heisey saying an opening date of March 15 was
predicted. The reporter visited the mold shop, and reported some 20 or
more employees' busy working with molds. The April 23, 1896 issue
reported; "The A. H. Heisey & Co. starts up this morning." "The best
equipped factory in the U. S."
When son, T.
Clarence Heisey, inherited the business in 1944, it was a business with
many problems. His father had established a glass manufactory that took
pride in hand crafted glass, equal or superior to any being produced,
made in a manner not much different than that made by the ancient
Egyptians, Grecians or Romans over 2000 years ago. By 1950, bars and
restaurants were buying cheaper machine made glass, often imported.
Housewives, too, were satisfied with poorer quality, but cheaper,
machine made glass. The mass production of cheap, poor quality glass
was brought about by the invention of the "continuous tank" and the
"automatic glass press machine".
By this time, Mr.
T. C. Heisey owned less than 50% of the company, but received enough
proxies to maintain control of the company. About 1952, plans were made
and approved by stockholders, to sell the company to a private
syndicate. This fell through when Mr. Heisey would not agree to some of
the terms. Events during the last five or six years indicate a
systematic plan for the dissolution of the A. H. Heisey & Co.
Only one furnace
had been in operation for some time, when the plant was closed down on
Christmas Eve, 1957. The plant never reopened. In is heyday, it had
employed over 700 people.
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