Homer Brooke Biography

BROOKE, Homer, manufacturer and inventor, was born at Huddersfield, England, Apr. 10, 1842, son of William and Jane D. (Fisher) Brooke. In 1849 he came to the United States with his parents who settled in Jersey City, N. J., where he was educated in the public schools. He was first employed by the Jersey City Glass Co., where his father was glass engineer, and afterwards joined him in New York city in glass manufacturing and succeeded to the business. He fought in the civil war with the 37th New Jersey volunteers, participating in several notable battles, and after three years' service, resumed the manufacture of glass in New York city. Mr. Brooke became a noteworthy figure in the industry, not only as a manufacturer but as an inventor of improved devices and processes in glass making, and at the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia won an award for his exhibit in this field. In 1908 he became president of the Homer Brooke Glass Company, formed that year solely to grant licenses to glass manufacturers for utilizing his patents, and remained as such until the company was dissolved in 1926. Several of his inventions made his name known outside the trade. An early device was the glass insulator with internal screw for telegraph, telephone and electric-light pole lines, now in universal use. He also developed a special form of draft control, suited primarily to furnaces used in glass factories. Another invention revolutionized the methods of molding bottles and other glass objects by producing the automatic flowing of glass to the machines, a process which displaced "hand gathering," and greatly increased the output of bottle manufacturers. Mr. Brooke had a mental activity and sanguine temperament of the inventor and was recognized as one of the foremost glassware engineers of his day. He was a lifelong Mason, one of the oldest in New Jersey, and had long attained the 32nd degree, Scottish Rite. He was also an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic. His creed was Congregational. Mr. Brooke was married (1) Jan. 1, 1886, to Lucy Amelia, daughter of David Hoag, of East Hamburg, N. Y. ; and (2), Apr. 4, 1916, to Mary Isaphene, daughter of Henry Ives of Rennsalear city, N. Y. By the first marriage he had four children, William D. Brooke, Ludell, wife of Dr. Finnessy, Rochester, N.Y., Amy and Emily Brooke. He died in Richmond, Va., May 2nd, 1927.

Homer Brooke

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