Thomas Carpenter ( glassmaker ) Thomas Carpenter , born November 2 , 1752 at Salem , New Jersey , died July 7 , 1847 at Carpenter ' s Landing , New Jersey , was an early American glassmaker and devout Quaker who , at significant spiritual and personal risk , found an important way to assist the American Revolutionary War , serving in the militia and the New Jersey Continental Line as what would today be called a logistics officer and earning the title of " Fighting Quaker . " After the war , he contributed significantly to the rise of New Jersey glass production . Family . Carpenter was the sixth child and second son of Preston Carpenter ( 1721 - 1785 ) and Hannah Smith ( 1723 - abt 1766 ? ) . Carpenter served an apprenticeship in an auction store at Front and South Street in Philadelphia . As auctions were then prohibited within city limits , they were held at the southern city limits . Carpenter learned to pack , transport , issue , auction , then repack and re - transport many wagons several times each week . On April 13 , 1774 he married Mary Tonkin ( 1748 - 1822 ) at St . Mary ' s Church , Burlington , Salem County , New Jersey . Mary had been raised an Episcopalian but later converted to the Society of Friends . They had at least three children who lived to maturity . In the book " Samuel Carpenter and his Descendants " , Thomas Carpenter is described as " about 5 ' 10 " high , with a large frame but not corpulent , erect , well - formed , with a fine ruddy complexion . His eyes were blue , hair thin , but not bald , originally brown , and though tinged with gray , never became white . His affable and genial manners , anecdotes , and reminiscences made his society very attractive . He was fond of reading , intelligent , and self - possessed . " The same book refers to Mary Tonkin Carpenter as " a little below medium height , with dark hazel eyes , brown hair , and a fine clear brunette complexion . Her figure was good , erect , well - proportioned , inclined to , and she is reputed to have been very handsome . " Thomas and Mary are interred in the Friend ' s Burial Grounds next to the Friend ' s Meeting House at Woodbury , N . J . Their graves adjoin each other on the north side of the enclosure , about midway , near the boundary fence , each designated with a small marble marker with their name on its top . In 1912 , a stone retaining wall was placed there for the protection of the graves . Carpenter was the great grandson of Samuel Carpenter ( 1649 - 1714 ) , Deputy Governor of colonial Pennsylvania . In 1771 he transferred his church membership from the Salem , New Jersey Friends Meeting House to the Philadelphia Friends Meeting House . He returned to New Jersey prior to April 13 , 1774 , the date on which he married in Salem to Mary Tonkin of Gloucester County , New Jersey . Revolutionary conflict . Carpenter was a member of the Society of Friends , or Quaker s which influenced , and distinguishes , his non - combat service in the Revolutionary War . Because of their refusal to pay military taxes or fight in the war , Quakers , who had been generally admired for their honesty and simple living in the North American colonies , were looked upon differently when the Revolutionary War broke out , and some were exiled for their beliefs . Some Quakers chose to support the wartime effort , resulting in rifts within the Friends religion ; some enlisted for military service , and were expelled from the Society . Some provided financial aid , medical assistance , or supplies at the individual or community level , and a few like Carpenter found ways to assist the combat effort at higher levels without bearing arms , as he did by serving in legal , financial , and logistical roles at the highest levels within a rebelling colony which bore a key central role in the Revolutionary War . In late 1776 , Carpenter was in a dilemma . As a Quaker , he was sworn to non - violence . He had a desire to assist , but not fight . In some manner he found a compromise . On March 19 , 1777 he was commissioned paymaster of the militia units from Salem and Gloucester Counties . His earlier work in transporting auction material helped him in his military duties involving logistics . Carpenter served as an Ensign and Adjutant in Colonel Samuel Dick ' s Regiment , 1776 - 1778 , and Paymaster for the New Jersey Militia . Later he was appointed Quartermaster of the First Battalion , New Jersey Continental Line , serving again under his friend Colonel Dick and others from 1778 through 1782 . Carpenter ' s positional rank of Quartermaster in the New Jersey line unit was equal to the rank of colonel , which clarifies why he was called Colonel after the war . During the American retreat from the banks of the Assunpink Creek on January 3 , 1777 in the Second Battle of Trenton , Carpenter withdrew all of his supplies and assisted another unit to do likewise and then , exhausted , camped with them . He ‘ loaned ’ his coat to an officer who had misplaced his and bedded down in his blanket . Later that night , a messenger awoke them and informed them that they were now stragglers because the rest of the army had retreated . Suffering from the bitter cold without his coat , Carpenter made his way back to his unit . His actions helped General George Washington continue the fight threatening the rear area of the British forces . After the fighting at the Battle of Princeton , Carpenter and Colonel Dick , who was a physician , went to the aid of their friend Brigadier General Hugh Mercer who had been beaten and bayoneted seven times then left for dead . After talking to Doctor Benjamin Rush , they acknowledged that infection would end their friend ’ s life . They visited and did what they could , but Mercer died on January 12 , 1777 . An example of a surviving document mentioning Carpenter is a dispatch dated at Burlington , Jan . 17 , 1780 from Light - horse Harry Lee to “ Thomas Carpenter , purchasing commissioner " reading in part , “ I have written to the Magistrates of Salem County begging them to aid you … ” and ends with , “ For God ’ s sake perform this business with all possible dispatch . ” Post - revolution . In 1785 Carpenter moved to Cooper ’ s Point and started a mercantile business . About two years later he formed a partnership with Thomas Heston , his wife ’ s nephew by marriage and moved to Carpenter ' s Landing , New Jersey where he engaged in the manufacture of glass , and later at Glassboro , New Jersey with Colonel Thomas Heston . The partners were described as " two " fighting Quakers " who had given gallant service for the American cause in the Revolution . " On May 18 , 1808 , after Heston ' s death and the retirement of Thomas Carpenter , Carpenter ' s son Edward acquired his father ' s share of the original Glassboro glassworks and the firm of Heston & Carpenter became known as Edward Carpenter & Co . , Olive Works . He became one of the historic figures in the history of Glassboro and in the art and craft of glass making — the Heritage Glass Museum , founded in 1979 to celebrate glass blowing and glass art and noteworthy people in the history of glass making , includes him on its " Who We Are " webpage . In 1787 , Carpenter bought and restored a house in Mantua Township once owned by Restore Eastlack , who died in 1773 . This indicates the original portion of the house was built during or prior to 1773 . Carpenter added a southern half and a second story and lived there until his death in 1847 . Today , it is known as the " Thomas Carpenter House . " While it is in private hands , the timber framed , two and one half story house is considered a historical site by Gloucester County , New Jersey and the Library of Congress . The house is located at the southwest corner of Main and Martel Streets in Mantua , New Jersey . The house does not seem to be registered with the National Register of Historic Places , but it has a Historic American Buildings Survey number : " HABS NJ - 68 " and a Library of Congress call number of " HABS NJ , 8 - MANT , 1 - "