Great Families of Glass-makers: The "Andres"

Germanic in origin, this great family provided a considerable number of glassblowers and glass-makers to the profession.

The oldest point in this study is located not far from Lake Constance, between the Rhine and the Danube, the farthest limits of the black forest at the feet of the mountainous solid masses of the Jura Souabe.

Klosterwald, Walbertsweiler and Zwiefalten were the cities where four sons of the couple Joseph ANDRES and Ursula HOCQUEMILLER were born: Melchior, Balthasar, Jean and Antione. Their ceaseless migrations brought them into the Saar region of the Palatinate about 1725, where they started practicing their glassmaking art close to St. Ingbert and close to Hassel, in particular. This glassmaking was at the premiere bottle-factory established in the territory of the Saar. Also, window glass was manufactured there frequently in both “the Bohemian way” and in “the German way." During the existence of this factory, which was created in 1723 by family SCHORR, several layoffs occurred, in 1730 and then again in 1737. Benefiting from this temporary inactivity, certain glass-blowers of talent were lured by the advantageous offers that were made to them by the industrialists of the area of Charleroi. Melchior ANDRES was the first to come to work in the glassmaking business of Guillaume of MOREAU sometime around 1729. He was soon joined in 1734 by his two brothers, Balthasar and Jean. Their younger brother Antoine did not join them until 1752.

Established in this region, which had not been made into Belgium yet, the numerous descendants of these glass-making ANDRESES perpetuated their ancestral traditions and gave their all to the art of glassmaking.

Let us notice in the passing a certain "Frenchifying" of the patronymic name ANDRIS, which most of the time became ANDRIS(SE), but also sometimes became ANDRé. This altered form was especially used by those who worked in the furnaces of the French Ardennes in the area of Monthermé and Fumay.

The glassmakers of Monthermé were very interested in the direction of manufacturing process of old.  Two of these were members of the Andres clan, John Adam and John Gaspard, who rediscovered several of these processes.  They were both commissioned glassmakers in 1770.  John Gaspard was also commissioned to make glass at St. Quirin and at the original glass factory of Vanache where he died in 1781.

Editor's note: This article was provided to me by Jean Jaques Lannois. I am responsible for the translation except for the last paragraph, which was translated by Laura Bozzay.