Charles Glass is the name behind Castle Lager beer, the best known product of South African Breweries (SAB).

The purpose of this project is to find Charles Glass and add him to the GENI tree. (Unless he is here already)

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Need to find ...

• Arrival in South Africa - Shipping Lists?

Before 1864

Known Facts

• Full names Charles George Glass
• Birthdate c. 1841
• Birth place - Lambeth, London (Source 1891 Census)

References found

from Craig Sheldon

The earliest reference I can find is from Eric Rosenthal's 1961 "Tankards and Tradition"

"A man named C. G. Glass— red-haired and red-faced— who had previously been brewing beer for the troops at some station in India, came to Natal, and, after the discovery of the Rand, felt that there might be a good opening for a brewery in such a rapidly-developing town."

Anne Kelk Mager's "Beer, Sociability, and Masculinity in South Africa" is the book that mentions Lisa Glass (Charles' wife).

"GLASS & Co, Ltd, brewery" is listed in the 1893 Longland's Johannesburg and District Directory

Some Speculation

Summary from notes below:

So?? Was it Charles or Lisa who was the brewer???

Does anyone have the book by Anne Kelk Mager or "Beer, Sociability, and Masculinity in South Africa"?

• Castle Lager was first introduced in 1890.( or 1886 or 1864?)
• If Charles was 20-30,when he started his brew, he was born in 1840
• He was from England.
• He came to South Africa and lived in Northern KZN.

Charles Glass References found

The following from www.familysearch.org:

Charles Trojan Glass

• South Africa, Methodist Parish Registers, 1822-1996
• baptism: 1 July 1951 Durban, Natal, South Africa
• father: Charles Trojan Glass
• mother: Valerie Doreen Glass

Charles Trojan Glass

• Father
• South Africa, Methodist Parish Registers, 1822-1996
• spouse: Valerie Doreen Glass
• child: Charles Trojan Glass

Charles Robert Gloss

• South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers, 1801-2004
• baptism: 24 April 1870 St Andrew and St Margaret, Bloemfontein and Bloemfontein Cathedral, Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa
• parents: Gustave Gloss, Myla Gloss

Charles Gluyas

• South Africa, Natal Province, Civil Marriages, 1845-1955
• marriage: 14 January 1891 Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa
• spouse: Ethel Eliza Green

Charles Gluyas

• South Africa, Natal Province, Civil Marriages, 1845-1955
• marriage: 14 January 1891 Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa
• spouse: Ethel Eliza Green

Charles Gluyas

• South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers, 1801-2004
• spouse: Eliza Ethel Gluyas
• child: Ida May Ethel Gluyas
  

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National Archives:

GSC 2/1/1/13 14 ILLIQUID CASE. CHARLES LEOPOLD SEEBER VERSUS SARAH ANN SEEBER (BORN 1871 1871

MOOC 7/1/446 106 GLASS, JOHN CHARLES. INVENTORY. 1883 1883
MOOC 6/9/201 7495 GLASS, JOHN CHARLES. DEATH NOTICE. 1883 1883
MOOC 13/1/434 79 GLASS, JOHN CHARLES. LIQUIDATION AND DISTRIBUTION ACCOUNT. 1884 1884
Pocock Collection P130 Infant son of Mrs. Charles. 0000 0000
Pocock Collection P156 Grave and tombstone of Frederick Ernest, third son of 0000 0000
Biblioteek Africana Notes and News/Africana Aantekeninge en Nuus. 0000 0000
MMK7590/1-989 Griqualand West Board of Executors. 1900 1960
C8962 Portrait of a woman: possibly Dorothy Mary Hawkins (Dim), who 0000 0000
CJC 534 CJC11 CLAIMS FOR COMPENSATION. PROTECTED BURGHERS. SPRINGFONTEIN. GORDEN 1903 1903
MHG 0 1796/49 GLASS, GORDON CHARLES. 1949 1949
MHG 0 2814/49 GLASS, CHARLES GEORGE TROJAN. 1949 1949
WLD 3685/1976 OPPOSED APPLICATION. CHARLES LIPSCHITZ VERSUS MURANO GLASS WORKS 1976 1976
MHG 4399/68 SMITH, ERNEST CHARLES. 1968 1968
MHG 0 4713/50 BAXTER, CHARLES JOHN HUNT. 1950 1950
MHG 0 1448/55 GLASS, CHARLES TROJAN. 1954 1954
WLD 0 2599/1954 ILLIQUID CASE. WORK DONE. FURMAN GLASS COMPANY (PROPRIETARY) LIMITED 1954 1954
TPD 5/1144 1492/1953 ILLIQUID CASE. DIVORCE. CHARLES TROJAN GLASS VERSUS VALERIE DOREEN 1953 1953
WLD 0 255/1934 EX PARTE APPLICATION. CHARLES GLASS. 1934 1934
TPD 0 2386/1976 OPPOSED APPLICATION. OWEN CEDRIC GLASS VERSUS CHARLES NEOPHYTOU. 1976 1976

From SAB:

http://www.sabstories.co.za/the-sab-story/the-beginning-of-a-legacy...

... the story of Charles Glass, Castle Lager and the very beginning of SAB’s captivating legacy.
In 1864, British-born brewer Charles Glass established Glass & Co – a small brewery in northern Natal. The discovery of the Witwatersrand reef in the Transvaal 2 years later presented Glass with money-making opportunities. Glass formed a partnership with businessmen Jim Welsh and Henry Brown Marshall where Glass was responsible for technical skill and management and Marshall and Welsh provided the capital.
Around the same time, Marshall bought a large plot of land to accommodate the influx of fortune-seekers. Dubbed ‘Marshall’s Township’, the area quickly became the business centre of town. This is where Glass established his new brewery and where, along with his wife, Lisa, they sold and brewed their beer. Glass had to import his key ingredients from England.
Glass began by selling his brews from a barrow to the hard-working prospectors. The market wasn’t quite as receptive as anticipated and it took a little while before the miners were won over by Glass’s new brew.
It was Castle beer that secured his market. In 1884 Castle was given its renowned label with a three-turreted fortress. As a result of its success Glass renamed his business ‘Castle Brewery’ and, working with a highly cooper, started making wooden kegs to sate the brand’s ever-growing distribution demand.
It wasn’t long before other brewing companies took notice of Glass’s growing success. Upon visiting the Rand, Frederick Mead of Natal Brewing Syndicate in Pietermaritzburg quickly realised the market was far larger than in Natal. Negotiations began and in July 1892 Mead purchased Castle Brewery and its trademark for £18,000.
Frederick Mead and his syndicate formed the South African Breweries - a company which grew into a "global powerhouse".

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... the controversy:

http://www.iol.co.za/business/opinion/columnists/legality-still-a-m...

Legality still a mystery at brewer of myths SAB

13 April 2011 at 09:09am

"It was Lisa Glass not Charles. Lisa was the main brewer behind the setting up of Castle Lager in 1890. According to an excellent book with the grim title of Beer, Sociability and Masculinity in South Africa, Charles was a bit of a loser.
The book’s author, Anne Kelk Mager, a professor of history at UCT, says Charles’ brewing career was “short” and marred by “domestic violence and constant bickering with his brewer wife (Lisa)”. As Mager notes, the Charles Glass story, as created by South African Breweries (SAB), “is a discourse for men about men… Women are out of place in this world of male sociability.”"

....

"The first airing of this myth was an opinion piece in Business Day yesterday by an executive director of SAB. The piece not only attempts to present SAB as the unwitting victim of the competition authorities but attempts to present Nico Pitsiladi of Big Daddy’s Group, who brought the 2004 anti-competitive complaint against SAB, as an opportunistic exploiter of the old government ban on black people trading in liquor. What is not mentioned is that Pitsiladi would only have been able to play this role with the support of SAB, which was the monopoly supplier of beer."
The new myth would have us believe SAB is a hapless victim desperate only to ensure “its products are available at affordable prices in every corner of the country”. To its enormous credit SAB is absolutely correct when it asserts, “real prices of beer in South Africa today are half of what they were 40 years ago”. Outstanding management, size and economies of scale that come with monopoly status ensure this."

Reference WIKI Castle Lager Information shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License - see Creative Commons Licenses

History

Castle Lager’s origins can be traced to the Johannesburg gold rush of 1886. Charles Glass, founder of the Castle Brewery, began selling beer to the miners after noticing a gap in the market. The new beer soon became popular amongst the prospectors of the gold rush, and in 1889 one of Johannesburg's early newspapers, the Digger's News, declared it "a phenomenal success." In 1895, on the success of Castle Lager, the South African Breweries (SAB) was founded, with its head office being the Castle Brewery. Two years later, SAB became the first industrial company to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Today, Castle Lager is brewed in nine countries and is available in over 40 countries worldwide.[ In 2000 Castle Lager was awarded in the "World's Best Bottled Lager" category at the Brewing Industry International Awards.

Family Search, England records

Charles Glass

• Head
• England and Wales Census, 1871
• birth: 1836 Landford, Devonshire
• residence: 1871 Sandford, Devonshire, England
• other: Crediton, Cheriton Fitzpaine
• spouse: Eliza Glass
• children: Mary Glass, William Glass

Charles F Glass

• Head
• England and Wales Census, 1901
• birth: 1848 Wellington, Somersetshire
• residence: 31 March 1901 Wellington, Somersetshire, England
• spouse: Elizabeth Glass
• children: Ernest C Glass, Wilson S Glass

Charles George Glass

• Head
• England and Wales Census, 1901
• birth: 1841 Lambeth, London
• residence: 31 March 1901 Camberwell, London, Middlesex, England
• spouse: Eliza Glass
• children: Charles G Trojan Glass, Ruby Glass
• other: Charlotte Amelia Johnson

Charles Glass

• Head
• England and Wales Census, 1901
• birth: 1845 Sandford, Devonshire
• residence: 31 March 1901 Sandford, Devonshire, England
• spouse: Eliza Glass

Charles Glass

• Head
• England and Wales Census, 1891
• birth: 1836 Devonshire, England
• residence: 1891 Sandford, Devon, England
• spouse: Eliza Glass

Charles F Glass

• Head
• England and Wales Census, 1891
• birth: 1848 Somersetshire, England
• residence: 1891 Wellington, Somerset, England
• spouse: Elizabeth Glass
• children: Alice M Glass, Ernest C Glass, Wilson S Glass

Charles Glass

• Head
• England and Wales Census, 1881
• birth: 1836 Sandford, Devon, England
• residence: 1881 Sandford, Devon, England
• spouse: Eliza Glass
• child: Ellen Glass

Charles F Glass

• Head
• England and Wales Census, 1881
• birth: 1847 Wellington, Somerset, England
• residence: 1881 Wellington, Somerset, England
• spouse: Elizabeth Glass
• child: Alice M Glass

Charles Glass

• Father
• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
• spouse: Eliza Ann
• child: William John Glass

Charles George Glass

• Father
• Great Britain, Births and Baptisms, 1571-1977
• spouse: Eliza Chaslim Glass
• child: Charles George Trojan Glass

Charles George Glass

• Father
• Great Britain, Births and Baptisms, 1571-1977
• spouse: Eliza Chaslim
• child: Charles George Trojan Glass

Charles Glass En* gland Marriages, 1538–1973

• marriage: 28 December 1844 St. Marylebone, Middlesex, England
• father: David Glass
• spouse: Elizabeth Kirkland
• other: James Potts

Charles Glass

• England Marriages, 1538–1973
• marriage: 25 March 1859 Lympstone, Devon, England
• spouse: Eliza Anne Coblly

William Charles Glass

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
• christening: 16 April 1837 St. Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey, Surrey, England
• residence: Bermondsey, Surrey, England
• father: James Glass
• mother: Sarah Glass

Willm Charles Glass

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
• christening: 16 April 1837 SAINT MARY MAGDALENE, BERMONDSEY, LONDON, ENGLAND
• father: James Glass
• mother: Sarah

Charles Alexander Glass

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
• christening: 25 December 1837 CATHERINGTON, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND
• father: Henry Glass
• mother: Maria

Charles Glass

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
• christening: 26 March 1837 Thatcham, Berkshire, England
• residence: Thatcham, Berkshire, England
• father: David Glass
• mother: Sarah Glass

Charles Glass

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
• birth: 30 March 1834
• christening: 18 May 1834 ANDOVER, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND
• residence: 1834 Andover, Hampshire, England
• father: John Glass
• mother: Sarah

Charles Alexander Glass

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
• christening: 25 December 1837 Catherington, Hampshire, England
• residence: Catherington, Hampshire, England
• father: Henry Glass
• mother: Maria

William Charles Glass

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
• christening: 16 April 1837 Bermondsey, Surrey, England
• residence: Bermondsey, Surrey, England
• father: James Glass
• mother: Sarah

Charles Adams Glass

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
• christening: 25 June 1838 St. Peter's, Liverpool, Lancashire, England
• residence: Liverpool, Lancashire, England
• father: William Glass
• mother: Mary Ann

Charles Glass

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
• christening: 21 June 1846 Cliffe-Pypard, Wiltshire, England
• residence: Cliffe-Pypard, Wiltshire, England
• father: John Glass
• mother: Elizabeth

Charles Glass

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
• christening: 26 December 1835 SANDFORD, DEVON, ENGLAND
• father: James Glass
• mother: Mary

Charles Adams Glass

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
• birth: 14 June 1838
• christening: 25 June 1838 SAINT PETER, LIVERPOOL, LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND
• father: William Glass
• mother: Mary Ann

Charles Glass

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
• christening: 30 January 1837 Thatcham, Berkshire, England
• residence: Thatcham, Berkshire, England
• father: David Glass
• mother: Sarah Glass

Charles Glass

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
• birth: 4 August 1846
• christening: 6 September 1846 ANDOVER, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND
• residence: 1846 Andover, Hampshire, England
• father: George Glass
• mother: Elizabeth

Charles Glass

• England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977
• christening: 14 September 1835 Penkhull, Staffordshire
• father: William Glass
• mother: Maria Glass
  

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