Josiah Hayden and Dawson, Warren & Hyde

In 1839, Josiah enlisted the expertise of Andrew Adams, hailing from Middletown, Connecticut, to serve as the foreman for his steel pen manufacturing. They established operations within a section of the Hayden button factory. Josiah remained actively involved in the business until 1845 when he decided to sell the steel pen enterprise to the Thayer brothers, Williston and William Ezra. Subsequently, the Thayer brothers relocated the business to Williamsburg village.

After selling his steel pen business to the Thayer brothers, Josiah partnered with Rollin L. Dawson from Syracuse, N.Y. to establish a gold pen production at the same factory. He pursued this venture until 1848, when he decided to transfer ownership of the business to Dawson and two local individuals who had previously collaborated with him in his different entrepreneurial endeavors.

From 1848 onwards, Dawson, Warren & Hyde took charge of producing gold pens and expanded their offerings to include pen and pencil cases, pen holders, and even exquisite jewelry. They continued to operate in this line of business at least until the 1860s.

In 1855, Dawson, Warren & Hyde produced a quantity of 80,000 gold pens.