Lucy,

I would not discount W. H. Berry, Woodbridge, N.J., who began manufacturing
firebrick in 1845, the name changing to J.E. Berry in 1896 and still in
operation in 1909.    My source is Ries and Leighton, 1909, History of the
Clay-working industry in the United States.

Jim Murphy
Ohio State University
Columbus OH 43210

At 02:05 PM 2/5/01 -0500, SouthArc wrote:
>Hi Listmembers--
>
>Has anyone got information on a brick identified as "Berry's Premium
>Firebrick"?  We recovered samples from two early 19th century sugar boiling
>house sites in coastal Florida (ca. 1800-1836).  Sort of buff-colored, hard
>and well-made, as would be expected for firebrick.  A source and date range
>would be great.
>
>Larry Buhr, brick expert extraordinaire, came up with a later Berry group of
>brickmakers in Columbus, GA (late 19th c.), so maybe ancestors of this group?
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>                                         Lucy Wayne