Guide to the Records of the Glass Bottle Blowers Association, Local #94 (Pittsburgh PA), 1892-1954
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Records of the Glass Bottle Blowers Association, Local #94 (Pittsburgh PA)
- Creator
- Glass Bottle Blowers Association, Local #94 (Pittsburgh PA)
- Collection Number
- MSS#346
- Extent
- 2.0 cubic feet (4 boxes)
- Date
- 1892-1954
- Abstract
- The Glass Bottle Blowers Association (G.B.B.A.) local #94 was a local union in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The GBBA was a fraternity of workers who were led by local unions who were in return led by elected shop stewards, local union officers, and members who worked closely with the GBBA International to protect the interests of all GBBA members and their families. These records include by-laws, correspondence, financial material, ledgers, membership cards and other miscellaneous material pertaining to the GBBA, GBBA local #94, W.H. Hamilton & Co., J.T. & A. Hamilton Co. and Seaboard Glass Bottle Co.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History of the Glass Bottle Blowers Association (G.B.B.A.), Local #94
GBBA local #94 was a local union in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At this time it is unclear when this union actually began. The present day international union, the GMP, has record that local #94 existed from 1943-1948 yet from the collection itself, there is evidence of union activity prior to 1943. This is indicated by the material found within the records. What complicates this matter is the fact that this material cannot be distinguished from the three or possibly more companies that may have been unionized in Pittsburgh under a local #94. The glass companies in which this collection draws from are the W.H. Hamilton & Company, the J.T. & A. Hamilton Company and Seaboard Glass Bottle Company.
The GBBA was founded in 1842 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Over the years, along with several mergers, the GBBA has become the Glass, Molders, Pottery Plastics & Allied Workers International Union or GMP. The GMP is currently located in Media, Pennsylvania. The GBBA was a fraternity of workers who were led by local unions who were in return led by elected shop stewards, local union officers, and members who worked closely with the GBBA International to protect the interests of all GBBA members and their families.
John W. Heisler was the local #94 union President from 1943 to 1944 and also for the year 1947 until the union was dissolved in Pittsburgh. He was also the local union Recording Secretary at the same time as he was President. Mr. Heisler also served as Financial Secretary from 1945 to 1946. Little is known about local #94 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and not much is known about the W.H. Hamilton & Co., J.T. & A. Hamilton Company and Seaboard Glass Bottle Co.
The W.H. Hamilton & Co. was started in 1863 and manufactured flint glass vials and bottles. Examples included high-grade flint prescription bottles and flint glass milk bottles. Their works were located at Railroad and Twentieth and Twenty-first Streets. Their offices were at first separate and were located in downtown Pittsburgh but later moved to the site of the works. In 1898, the factory moved to Charleroi, Pennsylvania on Monongahela Division, Pennsylvania Railroad while their offices remained in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh city directories last listing for this company is in 1908. It appears that it was here, at the family business of W.H. Hamilton & Co., that James T. Hamilton and Alexander M. Hamilton might have got their start in the glass industry.
The Pittsburgh city directory shows that during 1880 two brothers, James T. and Alexander M. Hamilton founded the J.T. & A. Hamilton Company at Twenty-sixth and Railroad Street, Allegheny Valley Railroad. The glass house manufactured flint glass bottles such as beverage, mineral and milk bottles, prescription vials, flasks and candy jars. Bottle marks that were used at first included an "H" in a triangle and later "J T & A H". Sometime around the turn of the century, the company expanded by adding a plant in Butler, Pennsylvania. The second glass house, known as the Hamilton Bottle Works, remained opened until 1919.
In 1943 Knox bought the J.T. & A. Hamilton Co. and the company was renamed the Seaboard Glass Bottle Company. The business remained at the same location and according to the Pittsburgh city directory, R.R. Underwood was listed as President, E.A. Schrag as 1st Vice-President and J.T. Hamilton as 2nd Vice-President. The company continued to manufacture glass containers and their trademark became an "S" in a keystone symbol. According to the Pittsburgh city directories, the Seaboard Glass Bottle Company remained in business until 1947-1948.
Scope and Content Notes
These records include by-laws, correspondence, financial material, ledgers, membership cards and other miscellaneous material pertaining to the GBBA, GBBA local #94, W.H. Hamilton & Co., J.T. & A. Hamilton Co. and Seaboard Glass Bottle Co. The records were collected by John W. Heisler while serving on various posts in local #94 and all are believed to be related to local #94. This collection, which spans from 1892-1954 is sparse and lacks many important details of local union #94. Information is also lacking on the other possibly involved local unions and of the day-to-day operations of the three respective glass factories.
Arrangement
The Glass Bottle Blowers Association, Local #94 Records are arranged in three series. Series have been designated and arranged by hierarchy, yielding an order as follows: National Union Materials, Local Union #94 and Miscellaneous records.
The Glass Bottle Blowers Association, Local #94 Records are housed in four archival boxes. Each series is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These records came in one accession on July 11, 2001.
Acc# 2001.0144 Gift of John Heisler, Jr.
Preferred Citation
Records of the Glass Bottle Blowers Association, Local #94 (Pittsburgh PA), 1892-1954, MSS #346, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Robert O. Stakeley on October 20, 2001.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Robert O. Stakeley on June 25, 2002.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.
Subjects
- Glass Bottle Blowers Association, Local #94 (Pittsburgh PA)
- J.T. & A. Hamilton Co.(Pittsburgh, Pa)
- W.H. Hamilton & Co.(Pittsburgh, Pa)
- Seaboard Glass Bottle Co.(Pittsburgh, Pa)
- Hamilton, Alexander M.
- Hamilton, James T.
- Heisler, John W.
- Strip District (Pittsburgh, Pa) -- industry
- glass -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Glass blowing and working
- Glass Bottle Blowers Association (GBBA)
- glass containers -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- glass factories -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- glass manufacture -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- glass trade -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- glassware -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- glass-workers -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Trade-unions -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- wages -- glass-workers -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Glass Collection