In 1831 John Marshall, purchased land in what is now the border of Williamstown in Gloucester County and Winslow Twp. in Camden County. His Daughter Elizabeth had married Frederick Stanger son of Phillip who was one of the brothers that worked at Johannes Stengers (Stangers) glass works in Glassboro between 1780 and 1783. The name of the small village where the factory was to be built was called Seven Causeways. This later was known as Brooklyn and later on as Old Brooklyn. Marshall had constructed a saw mill over the Four Mile Branch creek. He also erected a gristmill nearby and supplied it with power by damming up the Great Egg Harbor River. The two mills collectively became known as Marshall's Mills. The gristmill failed due to a sever drought in the early 1830s. The saw mill was prosperous as heavy thick pines abound in the area.
The name Brooklyn is an anglicized name of the Dutch name Breuckelen, which was a small village in Holland, and means a broken upland or marshy land. This description fits well with this area around New Brooklyn. About the year 1829, Marshall's son-in-law, Frederick Stanger, began constructing a glass works between the sawmill and gristmill.He built the factory very similar to the one in Glassboro he had worked at as a 15 year old for Colonels Heston and Carpenter . John Marshall was the majority owner of this partnership and Frederick Stanger was the practical glass maker who was to oversee the daily operations of the factory.Fredrick hired his second cousin Thomas Wriggins Stanger to help in the factory. Fredericks father Phillip and Thomas's Grandfather Christian were very important glass factory workers, and owner operators from the late 1700s through the early 1800s. The first furnace was completed and ready for blast in September of 1831.The early output of this factory was window glass and utilitarian hollow ware.While on a trip to Philadelphia by stage coach Frederick became trapped in the wilderness during a blizzard. He contracted a pneumonia and was soon dead at the young age of 45.
The story of Frederick Stangers early life is a tragic one. He met his first wife Ann Marshall in Port Elizabeth while founding a glass works with his Uncle Jacob and his father Phillip called the Union Glass works in 1809.It was while he resided in Cumberland County in Southern New Jersey he met his first wife Ann Marshall daughter of Randall Marshall who bought a 1/4 interest in the Union Works on June 6th 1811. first business partner in a glass factory in 1806. Tragedy struck in 1815 when young Ann Marshall died giving birth to her daughter Ann.For Frederick and Randall this was a serious blow to their well being. It was tough enough to run a glass factory early in the 19th century without having such a unfortunate untimely death of a young wife and a daughter.It was this one event that triggered Frederick's next move but first he would gain another Marshall as a Father-in-law as he would marry Elizabeth Marshall daughter of John Marshall Randalls brother.This marriage has made it difficult to say the least for genealogical historians tracing the Stanger and Marshall family roots.
Shown below are fragments of hollow ware and window glass found at the factory site in 2011 near the Atlantic City expressway. The colors found were light to dark aqua,blue aqua to a pale green to a deep blue green to a dark green and amber. Judging from the glass fragments I found these glass works produced porter bottles,medicine vials,chestnut flasks and Deni-Johns. No charted historical flasks were thought to have been made at this factory as far as we know but they may have as workers ,molds and factory ownerships changed hands quite often.
1857 Map of the village of New Brooklyn
You can see on the map below from the year 1857 two glass works in the small village. The one in the red vein on the map is the original 1831 Thomas Stanger and John Marshall Glass works. The glass works to the left of the bold name NEW BROOKLYN are the Isabella glass works of Thomas Stanger. The glass fragments and shards shown above are from the first 1831 works.
1861 map of the village of New Brooklyn
On this map from the year 1861 the Northern original glass works are no longer shown and the other glass works are now called the Isabella Glass works of Thomas Stanger. Notice all of the property The Marshall and Stanger families owned. Glass factory's were a two edged sword they could make you rich in a instant and take it all away just as quickly.