Our great grandfather William Henry Coughlin was a
glassblower.
He was born in Poughkeepsie New York (August 1872) and
emigrated to Wallaceburg, Ontario in 1899 at
the age of 27. He would find employment at the Sydenham Glass Company (later to
become Dominion Glass).
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| (Wallaceburg Chimney Shop c.1908) |
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| "Glass In Canada" by Thomas B King (link below) |
The story of the glassblower in the 1800s is a fascinating
one!
These skilled men were in great demand."Glassblowers were artists who commanded
salaries incredible to most manufacturing workers. They also tended to be
highly mobile, and Wallaceburg had no trouble attracting qualified men"
The Corning Museum describes working in a glass factory in
the 1800s: "
Day after day, in the factories of the mid-1800s, teams of
skilled men blew hot glass into molds tended by boys. The work was fast and
furious. The factories were hellishly hot. And the demand for glass bottles
never stopped." Poughkeepsie, New York 1872-1899
The Poughkeepsie Glassworks may have been the place where GG
Coughlin would have received his glassblower training but we have no verified
proof at present. In fact Poughkeepsie information on the Coughlin family has
been quite difficult to locate and verify. We do know that William Henry was
baptized at St. Peters Catholic church in Poughkeepsie and we know that he sold
newspapers as a young boy in New York City. But much of the period betwen 1872
and 1899 is a mystery yet to be solved.
Glassworks in Wallaceburg, Ontario 1891 - 1913
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In 1893 the Wallaceburg Glass Works Company Limited was
incorporated.
In 1894 it became the Sydenham Glass Company.
Construction of the glassmaking factory began in 1894 and
production began in 1895.
Actual glass production started September 20, 1895. Then
came the rush of glassblowers from all parts of North America.
The company produced and shipped patent medicine bottles and
fruit jars all over North America.
By 1899 they employed 400 workers. This was close to half of
Wallaceburg's work force.
William Henry emigrated to Canada in 1899 (He was
naturalized in 1915)
In 1913, the Sydenham Glass Company merged with the Diamond Glass Company to form Dominion Glass.
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| Above: The earliest group photo of the Sydenham Glass Co. employees 1901 |
Pictured below is a summary document of the glassblowers
earnings while in the employment of the Sydenham Glass Co. of Wallaceburg for
the year 1910 to 1911.
The wages paid ranged from $1361.33 to $458.03. Great
Grandfather Coughlin earned $1039.43 (Glassblowers did not work a full year due
to the heat in summer.)
As the years passed, Dominion Glass began to move steadily
away from glassblower-craftsmen. The Coughlin family eventually moved to
Windsor (1918) because glass making had been automated. The need for skilled
glassblowers was officially over.
Sadly, the romantic figure of the nomadic glassblower
disappeared.
Great grandfather William Henry Coughlin found work at
Fords. He would live in Windsor 34 years until his death in January 1952. (The
Coughlin-Annal family is pictured below circa 1917 on the left and on the right
at Lizzie and Williams 50th wedding anniversary in 1949)
More Coughlin-Annal information will be updated at
this link
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| The Coughlin Family (circa 1917) |
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| The Coughlin Family 1949 |
Our GG Coughlin appears on the selected list of glassblowers in
"Glass In Canada" by Thomas B. King
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| "Knight's American mechanical dictionary" published 1882 |
Books
