Henry Crimmel (February 14, 1844 – October 10, 1917) was an American glassmaker who became well known in Ohio and Indiana. A German that came with his family to America at the age of eight years, the American Civil War veteran started at the lowest level in glass making, and learned every aspect of the business.This information is from his front-page obituary in the Hartford City News - "H. Crimmel Drops Dead on Street". He was described as "prominent in the glass industry, and was well and favorably known throughout the country." Additional information can be found in the Twelfth Census of the United States (1900), which confirms that he entered the country in 1852 from Germany. A skilled glassblower known for his glassmaking expertise and the recipient of two patents, he also worked in management in at least three glass factories – and was one of the co-founders of the Novelty Glass Company (of Fostoria) and the reorganized version of Sneath Glass Company. He retired with over 50 years in the industry.
Identity and origins In 1852, the Crimmel family emigrated from the Hessen region of what is now Germany to South Wheeling, Virginia. Wheeling had a German population that may have attracted the family.According to Wheeling's Centre Market web site History of Centre Market, one out of every five residents in 1850 was born in Germany. Market Immigrants from this time period often, upon arrival in the United States, would ride trains to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and then ride in boats down the Ohio River to settle in cities along the way. An alternative route to Wheeling (from Baltimore) involved the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and/or the National Road.Although the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad did not reach Wheeling until the end of 1852, the National Road was completed from Cumberland, Maryland, to well-beyond Wheeling by 1839. Thus, immigrants arriving in Baltimore could take the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad as far west as possible, and then they could finish their journey on the National Road. By the end of 1852, the B&O Railroad service reached Wheeling. See "Primer on Emigration, Immigration & Associated Subjects", "Tips for Determining Your Ancestor's Probable Port of Arrival", and "City of Baltimore Comprehensive Master Plan – The History of Baltimore" for general information on immigration. Although Hessians had been making glass since the Middle Ages,Hessian glassmaking is exhibited in Germany's Immenhausen Glass Museum. Museum it is not known if the Crimmel family members learned glassmaking skills in Europe. However, Henry Crimmel's father and both brothers were also glassmakers.In addition, to various books and articles on glass that mention the Crimmels, the 1870 (among others) U.S. Census lists John, Henry, and Jacob Crimmel as glassblowers living at different addresses in Bellaire, Ohio (across the river from Wheeling). H.Crimmel 1880 Henry's father, Johannes, was employed in the glass business – see page 1 of A. Clyde Crimmel's The Glass Business and the Crimmels. Germans were being recruited to work in glass factories during the 1850s. By the 1870s, family members lived across the river from Wheeling in Bellaire, Ohio.
American Civil War
On December 20, 1860, the state of South Carolina adopted an ordinance to secede from the Union of the United States, and six more southern states seceded in the next three months. On April 12, 1861, the Battle of Fort Sumter marked the start of the American Civil War. More southern states rebelled and voted to secede from the union, including Virginia on April 17, 1861.See MyCivilWar.com web site. -Virginia Secedes from the Union. There are numerous books and articles written about the American Civil War. One of the more thorough writings is a three-volume set written by Shelby Foote titled The Civil War: A Narrative. These "rebel" states organized themselves into the Confederate States of America.
The city of Bellaire, located in Ohio across the Ohio River from the state of Virginia and the city Wheeling, assumed some strategic importance because of the railroads on both sides of the river and the fact that the Ohio River served as the border between the state of Ohio (pro-Union) and the state of Virginia (voted to secede from the Union). Bellaire became a staging area for Ohio and Indiana Union troops to cross into the South and move by rail using the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. There was some fear that rebels from Virginia would cross into Ohio through Bellaire. A training camp was located in the city, and numerous soldiers passed through the town to fight in the south.Camp Jefferson was the training camp located in Bellaire. See web page titled Camp Jefferson. It is therefore not surprising that 17-year-old Henry Crimmel enlisted to fight in the Civil War. Many of the workers at South Wheeling's Hobbs Glass works also enlisted.
Henry Crimmel was part of Company I of the Second Virginia Volunteer Cavalry, which fought for the Union instead of the Confederacy. The Second (West) Virginia Cavalry was composed mainly of recruits from Ohio. The governor of Ohio declined to organize this cavalry, so it was organized in Virginia. It is not extraordinary for someone that lived in southern Ohio (such as Bellaire) to identify with Wheeling, since some of those citizens of Ohio worked on the Virginia side of the river. Although the city of Wheeling was part of the state of Virginia, the city is located in the north, and there was dissent in the Wheeling area about secession.The Wheeling Convention was an important milestone for the creation of West Virginia. See "A State of Convenience: The Creation of West Virginia" web site by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History. The western portion of Virginia, which included Wheeling, eventually became a separate state known as West Virginia, which was loyal to the Union.
Henry Crimmel began his military career as a private, and finished as a bugler.Because of misspellings, he is listed three times in the National Park Service Civil War Directory, as (1) Henry Cremmel; (2) Henry Crimmell; and (3) Henry Crimmil. All "three" of these soldiers are listed as part of the 2nd Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry, Company I. The National Park Service labels this regiment as a West Virginia Cavalry, which is the name used toward the end of the war. Crimmel should not be confused with the Henry Grimmel that fought in the Missouri cavalry (union) or the Henry Grimmel that fought in the Virginia Infantry (Confederate). By the end of the war, Crimmel's cavalry unit was known as Company I of the 2nd Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry. During the war, the Regiment lost a total of 196 men that were killed, mortally wounded, or died from disease. The 2nd Regiment West Virginia Cavalry served in West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland – including a battle in Lynchburg against an army under the command of Confederate General Jubal Early that involved a total of 40,000 troops. A battle in Winchester (a.k.a. Opequon) matched a total of 54,000 troops under command of General Philip Sheridan for the Union and General Jubal Early for the rebels. This Union victory is considered by many historians to be the most important battle of the Shenandoah Valley campaign.The National Park Service Civil War web site lists service for various units. Search the Regiments selecting Union, West Virginia, Cavalry, and 2. Some of the service for the 2nd Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry included battles at Lynchburg (June 17–18, 1864) and Winchester (September 19, 1864). Although Crimmel was already discharged by 1865, the 2nd West Virginia Cavalry was at Appomattox for General Robert E. Lee's surrender. Crimmel served in the cavalry from 1861 until November 1864, when he was honorably discharged. All West Virginia soldiers that served for the Union, and were honorably discharged, were awarded one of the Medals of Honor for West Virginia Soldiers.
After the war, Henry Crimmel joined the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization for Union Civil War veterans. He was the original officer of the guard for the local chapter.See page 183 of McKelvey's A Centennial History of Belmont County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens. This book was first published in 1903, and has been republished since then. Portions have been posted on the internet. His name is on at least two monuments honoring veterans of the Civil War. One is located in his original American hometown of Bellaire, Ohio. Eleven of the 41 soldiers listed on the Bellaire monument fought for West Virginia units instead of Ohio. At least two of these West Virginia soldiers (Henry Crimmel and John Robinson) were known to have worked in the glass business.See "Remembering Bellaire's Civil War Heroes" web site. John Robinson worked at the Hobbs, Brockunier & Company glass works in Wheeling before the war. He also co-founded the Belmont Glass Company, Bellaire Goblet Company, and Robinson Glass Company. (See web article by Iwen.) The other monument with Henry Crimmel's name on it is the Blackford County Civil War monument (see photos), located in Hartford City, Indiana. Mr. Crimmel spent the last 23 years of his life in Hartford City, and he is buried in the city's main cemetery.
Glassmaking – the early years
The Wheeling-Bellaire region was a good location for manufacturing because of its fuel and transportation resources. Bellaire (Belmont County) had coal, railroad service, and the Ohio River. Wheeling also had railroad service and the Ohio River. The National Road went through both cities. The first known glass factory for which Henry Crimmel worked was the Hobbs works in Wheeling, (West) Virginia.This glass works was reorganized several times under various names. In 1849, it was called Hobbs, Barnes & Company. In 1856 the name was changed to Barnes, Hobbs & Company. In 1857, it became Hobbs & Barnes. In 1863, it was named J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier & Company. In 1881, the name became Hobbs, Brockunier & Company. See "Glass – South Wheeling Glass Works" web site. Glass had been made in Wheeling as early as 1821, and there were three "glass houses" by 1886.See page 8 of Bredehoft's "Hobbs, Brockunier & Co. Glass: Identification and Value Guide". See also the "Glass – South Wheeling Glass Works" and "Glass – The Glass Houses" web sites for history on Wheeling's first glass factories and the Hobbs, Brockunier & Company. The Hobbs plant had a transportation advantage because it was located very close to the Ohio River. Henry Crimmel's brother Jacob also worked at the Hobbs plant,On page 174 of Venable's China and glass in America, Henry and Jacob Crimmel are mentioned having previously worked at the Belmont Glass Company and Hobbs, Brockunier & Company. and there is a high probability that older brother John also worked at the same plant—simply because there were not many alternatives at the time. Many years later, one of Jacob Crimmel's American Flint magazine articles described working for the Hobbs Glass Works in 1861, meaning that he was about 13 years old when he started working there.See Jake Crimmel's "Early Life in the Glass Industry" in the May 1924 edition of the American Flint. In the 1860s, duties for youngsters just getting started at glass works often involved adding coal and/or wood to furnaces.