The Mystery Home or Barn - Near Ebenezer Morrison's Pottery Site

Ebenezer Morrison Report 1
Daniel Bayley Report

The eighteenth-century Newburyport, Massachusetts potter, Ebenezer Morrison has been an area of interest for me as of late. Very little is known of his work. He reportedly worked across the street from Daniel Bayley and the Old North Church in the latter years of the 1700s. Each made similar utilitarian wares that included dye and lard pots; kitchenware; hollow ware and some tableware. Sherds excavated from a construction site near where the Morrison kiln site may have once stood - have revealed a use of slip decoration that was a common decorative characteristic of many eighteenth-century potters, including the work of Daniel Bayley. The similarities between Bayley and Morrison in technique, form and use of slip may have been a contribution from two of Daniel Bayley's relatives who trained under Bayley, but were later employed by Morrison.

As indicated in my first report - I have been curiously walking around the Old Hill Burial Ground in Newburyport looking for any type of evidence that may indicate a kiln or potter's workshop at one time.

Harvard Professor Lura Woodside Watkins research has suggested Morrison's kiln was near the cemetery or possibly located on property that is now cemetery owned land. I have walked the grounds of this cemetery on many occasions and there is no evidence that I can see to support her research, but there is no appropriate evidence to discredit her idea either.

Earlier this week, I was out for a bike ride and I decided to check out a construction site that borders a later part of the cemetery. A steep hill falls down from the cemetery to the construction site where a number of early twentieth-century homes have been taken down. An earlier building still stands. It is unclear if the city has given permission to further demolish the building - since crews have apparently halted their demolition and any further work on the site. I sure hope the home or barn does not come down. It appears early. I do not know the history of it at this time.

Building Near Old Hill Burial Ground Under Demolition

Demolition May Have Been Halted by the City - Newburyport, Ma

Building Appears Early 19th Century

Is it a barn? House?

Back End of Building

Side of Building

More From Side of Building

Demolition Debris in Front of Building

It is Not Clear if All Debris is from this Building

 Close-Up of Debris

 

 Second Floor of Interior of Building

 Third Floor of Interior of Building

First Floor of Interior of Building

Much of the ground surrounding the construction site had a lot of the earth disturbed and artifacts can easily be seen. I looked around for a bit and it appeared to me that with the amount of bricks, late nineteenth to twentieth-century bottles, late nineteenth-century ceramics and such - that a privy may have been disturbed. Either that, or the property had a great deal of trash on it just below the surface level.

Newburyport, Ma Construction Site

Piles of Bricks and Late 19th Century Artifacts

There Are a Number of Dirt Piles

Ground Covered in Bricks and Smaller Artifacts

Protruding out of one of the dirt piles that backhoes had created on the site - was an obvious example of redware. Much of the dirt was being removed by dump trucks and the remainder is what has been left behind while the site is at a standstill.

At first, I thought the redware was a complete form, but after carefully removing it - I realized it was broken. It did not appear to fit in with the rest of the late nineteenth to twentieth-century artifacts. This example of redware appeared much earlier. Morrison's site is purportedly somewhere up the hill that leads to the cemetery that I have previously visited.

Redware Sherds Found on Construction Site in Newburyport, Ma

Either 18th or 19th Century and Possibly from a Local  Potter

I carefully examined the redware sherds and they appeared primitive to me - especially the over-exaggerated base. The freckled brown glaze reminded me of a passage that Watkins included in her book, "Early New England Potters and Their Wares" - where she wrote of a brown glaze that Morrison was apparently known for by the people of Newburyport of the period.

Watkins credits Sarah Ann Emery, "In my childhood, Frog pond was the center of a tangled wilderness of alder and other bushes, and at the upper end there was a frightful ravine. Near this gully stood the gun house, where the cannon belonging to the artillery company was kept. Back on the heights stood an ancient windmill...Back of the pond was located quite an extensive pottery for the manufacture of brown glazed earthenware." (Watkins, Early New England Potters and Their Wares, 1968, page 60)

Daniel Bayley is known for a similar chocolate-brown glaze that he used within the interior of his hollow ware and on the exterior of additional forms. A similar glaze can be seen demonstrated on the right mug below.

Reportedly a Pair of Daniel Bayley Redware Mugs - Newburyport, Ma

Late 18th Century

Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc - Boston

Could the sherds I found represent the work of Ebenezer Morrison - whose forms, glazes and technique were similar to Bayley's work? Could the mugs pictured above that Skinner attributed to Bayley actually be the work of Morrison? Are the sherds the work of Daniel Bayley rather than Morrison - or are they the work of a Bayley trained relatives employed by Morrison? These I feel - are all good questions.

I personally feel the sherds represent Morrison's work. They just coincidentally happen to appear out of place with the number of later artifacts that surrounded them. The sherds may have been buried at this site long before any of the other artifacts or homes were there. They may have been dumped in this part of Newburyport with many other sherds. Those sherds may have been trucked off or may still be in the ground. It is not currently known. There is  really no explanation at this time for how the sherds I found - ended up where they were found exposed on the construction site.

There will hopefully be much more on Morrison's work in time. I am planning a trip to the Smithsonian (among other stops) this fall and I plan on studying the hundreds of Bayley sherds from the Watkins collection. I also hope to study the Morrison sherds.

In the meantime - what do you think of these sherds? Any idea on the form? Are they eighteenth-century or later? Are they a product of Newburyport's one-time redware industry?

It should be noted again that the actually kiln site of Morrison has never been found with a proper representation of kiln bricks, wasters and kiln furniture. It is likely still in the ground near the Old Hill Burial Ground in Newburyort.

On a side note - I am not a person who supports the demolition of old homes. If you want to live in a new home - don't buy an old one to tear down. Buy an old one if you want to live in an old home. I am not sure why this particular home may potentially be taken down, but the interior structure looks fine to me. It appears to need a great deal of work, but I think it is worth saving. I don't know why Newburyport would sign off on it to be torn down. Maybe that is why construction has stopped? Maybe the city does not agree?

What do you think about the destruction of early American homes? In most cases, I do not agree.

Much more to come...