www.925-1000.com

Information showing J. W. Johnston of John Street New York using the name of a then dead firm (?) known as Crown Silver Plate Company first surfaces in 1898, three years before American Silver Company (another user of the name) is formed. The Crown name has not been linked to American Silver's predecessors. For earlier history, Sterling Flatware Fashions refers to a wholesale plating company dating back to he 1850's: https://www.sterlingflatwarefashions.co ... /SPC2.html
I have no idea how they traced this back and can find no references so far. In looking at the vague name of J. W. Johnson, he is raising imported English Jersey cows in Plainfield New Jersey (linked by addresses tied together with John Street). He also appears to possibly be the President of a bank in New Jersey. With that information, a daughter of some known lineage in Monroe County is married to a J. W. Johnson of Spuyten Duyvil, and he may be the son (1 of 4) of Issac G. Johnson of the old Johnson Iron Works at Spuyten Duyvil, a major manufacture with some history in armaments....this is coincidental, but one of the earlier occupants of that John Street address was a dealer in military arms and ammunition. By 1925, we find a "layman's" book on religion written by James W. Johnson of Spuyten Duyvill, and this might be the first link to an actual name. To complicate this, a J. W. Johnson involved in Jewelers and watches turns up around 1899 in Toronto Canada, but nothing more links that name so far. Can anyone make any sense of who this J. W. Johnson may actually be, and where is he producing this flatware?

James W. (born 1863-based on auther of book) is definitely associated with the Johnson Iron Works in corporate listings: https://books.google.com/books?id=THtVA ... &q&f=false
The Standard Oil Company N.J. case shows various Johnsons of Spuyten Duyvil (including James W.) holding 9 shares each..possibly an equal division of inheritance.

Search engines are weird, but we find H. A. Rogers at 19 John Street acting as a naval supplier in 1901. This is very close to 22 John Street, and oddly enough, Crown Silver Plate Co. is an undated maker of flatware for the U.S. Navy (2 crowns surrounding the name from a group of seen samples): https://books.google.com/books?id=nQxHA ... &q&f=false

Of course, this may lead nowhere beyond coincidence. [My personal observance was the plating on the navy flatware was quite horrible and not what we might expect from high military or government standards. It would hardly seem to have come from any firms in the International Silver lineage including American Silver Company. However, the standards might have been lower in an earlier era, or the samples could have been survivors from a rejected batch.]

H. A. Rogers appears to be in railway supplies related to locomotives, more specifically glass water gauges. Rogers Locomotives is in Patterson N.J., but largely dead or dying at this time and the family has apparently left the firm. No idea if they are related to Johnson Iron Works in any way. I believe water guages were probably brass bodied, but this alone does not suggest any relationship to Bristol Brass which was tied-in to the lineage of American Silver Co.. Likely, another dead-end.

Following the background supplied by Rainwater, J .W. Johnston agent, banker, & Plainfield stockman on page 270: https://books.google.com/books?id=h0IAe ... &q&f=false

And the JC 1919 account of the 1869- firm & founder's history : https://books.google.com/books?id=tFUcA ... &q&f=false

Linking this mess to a prior question of another pesky crown mark with some reference to J. W. Johnson, Babcock et. al, and more plate companies with crowns: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=50355&p=172642#p172642

As an "Electroplater" J.W. listed at 13 John Street in 1884: https://books.google.com/books?id=hO0oA ... &q&f=false