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• 1 2018-12-07T16:25:22+00:00 Colonel Thomas Heston 3 plain 2018-12-16T14:50:36+00:00

  
  
  Colonel Thomas Heston made a large impact on how Glassboro is today. The Colonel was born to Zebulon and Dorothy Heston, who were originally from Heston village in Middlesex County, England. They moved to Barnstable Bay, Massachusetts in 1684 and then they would later move to Mercer County in New Jersey. They would eventually settle Wrightstown, Bucks County, PA in 1707. Here Zebulon and Dorothy would have their five sons, Jesse, Jacob, Edward, Isaac, and Thomas. The Heston family were all Quakers. Three of the five sons fought in the Revolutionary War and were called “the Fighting Quakers.” Edward rose through the rankings fairly quickly and became colonel. What he was most famous for in the war was warning General Potter about the surprise Cornwallis attack. Isaac entered the war when his property was seized during the British occupation of Philadelphia. By refusing to pledge allegiance to the British crown and joining the Philadelphia Silk Stocking Company, he joined the fight for Independence. Colonel Heston was definitely the most notable brother, both during the war and after the victory. He joined the fight when he enrolled in the Quaker Company, which was a military unit during the war. On December 25, 1776, the Quaker Company was under the control of General George Washington. On this day, the crossing of the Delaware River occurred, where they had a surprise attack on the resting Hessian garrison. On January 2, 1777, the Colonel participated in the route of the British garrison in Princeton. Colonel Heston also participated in two famous battles, the Battle of Princeton and the Battle of Trenton.

  After the war, Colonel Heston moved to New Jersey, in what is today Glassboro. Here he partnered with Thomas Carpenter when they purchased the Stanger Glassworks. Heston was in charge of the operations of the factory. He resumed a leadership role once again when he managed the whole Heston-Carpenter Glassworks. Under his leadership, the glassworks factory was able to grow and more workers were hired. The once-failing factory was resurrected under Heston. Colonel Heston also purchased the tavern, which is where the Franklin House stood. Here Heston could relax and drink with his friends. In one instance of this, Heston and his friends from the Fox Hunting Club collaborated to name the small town Glassboro. They honored its reason for existence, which was glass. His friends argued with him to name the town Hestonville, but Heston won the fight against naming the town after him.

  Colonel Heston took on many more different roles from being the owner of the successful Glassworks and tavern owner. In 1792, Heston was appointed as one of Gloucester County’s justices of the peace by Governor William Paterson. Heston was also appointed the leader of Gloucester County’s militia in 1793.

  Colonel Heston was married to Hannah Clayton. They had a total of nine children together. Their only son, Thomas Heston, passed away at the age of 14. Bathsheba was their most notable daughter since she married Ebenezer Whitney, who continued the glassmaking tradition.  

  Heston passed away on October 13, 1802. He was given a full military funeral to honor all his work in the Revolutionary War and his time in the Gloucester County militia.