Hawkes, T. G. (Thomas Gibbons), 1846-1913

T. G. (Thomas Gibbons) Hawkes was born to Quayle Weisted Hawkes (1810?-1913) and Jane Gibbons on September 25, 1846 in Cork, Ireland. He was one of nine sons and four daughters. His family was Protestant Anglo-Irish, but as the second oldest son, he was not entitled to inherit any family wealth. He attended Queens College in Cork and studied civil engineering. It seems that Hawkes did not work with glass until he left Ireland.

Hawkes immigrated to Brooklyn in the early 1860s and began working for Hoare & Dailey, a glass cutting firm, soon thereafter. When Hoare & Dailey followed the Corning Glass Works and relocated to Corning, New York in 1868, T. G. Hawkes moved with the company. In 1876, Hawkes married Charlotte Bissell of Corning. The couple had three children: Samuel, Charlotte Jane, and Alice Luella.

Hawkes opened his own cut glass firm in 1880. This firm, T.G. Hawkes & Co., soon became famous for quality wares. Hawkes prospered as the firm’s president and obtained a number of patents for cut glass designs. In 1903, Hawkes recruited Frederick Carder to immigrate to the United States and lead a new company, Steuben Glass Works. Most likely, Hawkes wanted to ensure that T. G. Hawkes & Co. had more control over the availability of high quality glass blanks for cutting.

At the time of his death, Hawkes had amassed a fortune. He died unexpectedly in 1913, and his son, Samuel, took over operation of T. G. Hawkes & Co.