Hewitt, John, 1777-1857.

John Hewitt (1777-1857) immigrated to the United States in 1796 and worked at a foundry in Belleville, New Jersey before opening his own cabinetmaking shop in the early 1800s. He soon moved his shop from Belleville to New York City, established a branch office in Savannah, Georgia, and was shipping his furniture to the South and to foreign markets. He ran into financial problems instigated by the embargos of the War of 1812 and later by a fire at his shop, and was financially ruined by 1819 after lending money to a dishonest friend. He spent a period of time as a farmer before reestablishing himself in New York where he worked variously as a baker, lumber dealer, and manufacturer of bedsteads (which he patented). He finally returned to furniture making, going into business with his eldest son, Francis Hewitt (b.1809). John Hewitt married twice, first to Phoebe Tiemann and after her death to Ann Gurnee. He had two sons by his first wife, neither of whom survived infancy, and seven children by his second.

John Hewitt was a cabinetmaker and merchant. Born in Staffordshire, England in 1777, he was the son of a cabinetmaker. When he was in his teens, he went to work at the Soho engine works of Watts and Boulton. In 1796, Hewitt emigrated to the United States, where he worked as a drafter and pattern maker at the Schuyler Foundry, Second River, N.J. By the end of the century, he returned to cabinet-making and established a shop in New York City. A significant portion of his business came from trade in Savannah and St. Marys, Ga. In 1805 and 1806, Hewitt was in partnership with Benjamin Ansley. From 1807 to 1809, he was associated with the firm, Hewitt and Mandeville. During the remainder of his career, Hewitt's shop met with various ups and downs. He supplemented his income by jobbing lumber and manufacturing wheels and cotton gin parts. Hewitt was twice married; first to Phoebe Tieman in 1802 and then to Ann Gurnee in 1808.