On June 22nd 1820 Robert Hemingray was born near Johnstown in Conamaugh Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. His father, William Hemingray, was engaged in making salt at the time.
During 1825 or there about, William Hemingray moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and opened a “general store” on Second street near Smithfield street. He later moved the store and family residence to the corner of Fourth and Smithfield streets.
On November 22nd 1832
William Hemingray died by drowning in the canal at the Second street
locks. Robert Hemingray was thus
orphaned at the age of 11. The
court assigned guardians for each of the children under age 18.
Robert’s half brother, William, continued to operate the store for a
period of time; however, it had to be sold in order to settle their father’s
estate and pay family debts. There
can be no doubt that Robert Hemingray attended school but the extent of his
education is unknown.
In June 1835 Robert Hemingray, a minor under 14 years of age, petitioned the Orphan’s Court, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, to appoint a guardian for his interests. The court appointed Samuel Roseburg as his guardian.
On June 6th 1842 Robert Hemingray, at age 22, married Mary E. Carroll of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Prior to 1845 Robert Hemingray was employed at the Philips Glass Works. It is unknown how long he was employed or what his position was while working for Philips.
On April 16th 1845 The Great Fire of 1845 burns the preponderance of the commercial and residential area of Pittsburgh. The Philips Glass Works was included in the area destroyed. It is most probable that the residence of Robert Hemingray was also burned.
On April 30th 1846 Allegheny County Court, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, records pertaining to “the matter of the distribution of the proceeds of sale among the heirs of the said William Hemingray, dec’d, and the lien creditors of said heirs” reveal that Samuel J. Hemingray was living in Louisville, Kentucky, and Robert Hemingray was living in Pittsburgh at the time. Each of the eight heirs of William Hemingray was to receive $202.64 for the sale of the home and store. Lien creditors received $63.39 from Samuel J. Hemingray’s share and the total amount of Robert Hemingray’s share. It should also be noted that Robert McGill and John White, guardian of Mary Hemingray, received the total amount of her share.
On April 5th 1848 Ralph Gray and Robert Hemingray signed a five-year lease for a small half-lot on Hammond Street (Hammond Street, originally known as Mayor’s Alley; ran from Third to Fourth, between Main and Sycamore) in Cincinnati, Ohio. They soon begin manufacturing glass at this location under the name of Gray & Hemingray Glass Works. Anthony Gray, Ralph’s younger brother, and Samuel Hemingray, one of Robert’s older brothers, were employed as “glass blower” and “book-keeper,” respectively. It is interesting to note that Anthony Gray had married Susan Carroll, a sister of Robert Hemingray’s wife.
On August 12th 1850 Ralph Gray and Robert Hemingray signed a five-year lease for the adjoining half-lot on Hammond Street which enabled them to expand their operation.
In 1850, The Williams’ Cincinnati Directory and Business Advertiser for 1850 - 51 (printed in 1850) included a Gray & Hemingray advertisement which suggested that they carried a line of “telegraph glasses and lightning rod insulators.” The style of the referenced telegraph insulators is unknown; however, it is probable that they were making lightning rod insulators for James Spratt.
In 1851 Charles Cist stated in his Sketches and Statistics of Cincinnati in 1851: “Gray & Hemingray .... insulators, which are made for lightning rods and for telegraph lines, here and at Pittsburgh; which place is entirely supplied from this point.”
On August 20 1852
Ralph Gray and Robert Hemingray purchased property in Covington,
Kentucky, on the alley west of Madison and north of Second.
The manufacturing operations were moved from Hammond Street to Covington
as soon as the furnaces had been completed.
The company was advertised as the Gray & Hemingray Glass Works
although some Kenton County records make reference to the “Covington Glass
Works.”
In 1852 An advertisement in Gray’s Cincinnati Business Mirror & City Advertiser suggested that Gray & Hemingray were manufacturing “Telegraph Glasses and Lightning Rod Insulators.” The advertisement included a sketch of an interior view of the glass works.
In 1857 The Gray & Hemingray glass works became Gray, Hemingray & Brothers, thus recognizing Ralph’s brother, Anthony Gray, and Robert’s brother, Samuel Hemingray. Anthony and Samuel, however, remained as employees rather than becoming equal partners.
In 1859 Charles Cist included in his Sketches and Statistics of Cincinnati in 1859: “Gray, Hemingray & Bros., . . . telegraph glasses, and lightning rod insulators.”
Thanks to Glenn Drummond for this and much more Hemingray historical information included in this timeline.