GLOVER, Henry B.

H.B. Glover. Photo courtesy: Bob Reding

Glover's home at 1098 Locust circa 1876.

This house at 658 Fenelon Place was constructed by the Cannon brothers in 1857-58. The home was purchased by H. B. Glover who added a mansard roof and an addition for $5,000 in 1870. (1)

Glover, Henry B. (Newtown, CN, July 24, 1837--Dec. 1914). Glover came to Iowa in 1856. He established H. B. GLOVER COMPANY, his dry-goods business, in 1860 and carried out a retail and wholesale trade for several years. In 1876 he gave up the retail department and the following year entered the manufacturing of overalls, pants and vests. (2)

The H. B. Glover Company, one of the first manufacturers of men's wear west of Chicago, was also one of the oldest companies of its type in the nation. The company began large-scale manufacturing of clothing in 1876. The company pioneered adjustable pajamas, sweat-proof pockets, and a "pocketeer" in overalls to provide many pockets for holding tools. The company had the first full color double spread advertisement of any product in a nationally known magazine in the December 3, 1927, issue of the Saturday Evening Post. The company was also one of the first clothing manufacturers to locate in the Midwest rather than one of the coasts. (3)

A strike at the company in 1890 was the basis of a book entitled 7 1/2 Cents, written by Richard BISSELL, son of the company president, Frederick E. BISSELL. The story was made into the hit musical "Pajama Game." Henry married Sarah Elizabeth Curtis. (4)

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Source:

1. Dubuque Iowa Architectural Survey, 1978-1979. Online: http://weblink.cityofdubuque.org/WebLink8/1/doc/17983/Page5.aspx

2. Oldt, Franklin T., The History of Dubuque County, Iowa, Chicago: Western Historical Company 1880, p. 794

3. Linwood Legacies. Online: http://www.linwoodlegacies.org/henry-b-glover.html

4. Ibid.