The Osborn Family of South Danvers and Their Role Within New Hampshire's Early Redware Industry - South Danvers, Ma Potters Report 5

Osborn Family of South Danvers, Ma Report1

The Goldthwaites Family of South Danvers, Ma Report2 

The Southwick Family of South Danvers, Ma Report3 

Possibly Kiln Remains of Salem Village, Danvers or South Danvers Potter Report4 

 Early 19th Century New England Redware Jugs

Each Sees a Similar Form, Incised Line Decoration, Handle and Size
They Are NOT All From the Same Maker

Can you tell the difference between these three jugs? Yes - the glazes are the obvious, but potters used a variety of glaze colors to appeal to a broader marketplace. You can usually never go by glaze color alone to properly attribute an example of redware. However, don't the forms all seems similar with a few slight variations? Think about it for a minute, please read today's report and I'll tell you more about these jugs at the end of the report.

Jacob Osborn began his work in Essex County Massachusetts before the American Revolution began. He was born, trained and briefly employed under the successful Osborn family operation.

Jacob Osborn left South Danvers, Massachusetts sometime before 1775 when he reportedly finished building a home in Loudon, New Hampshire. The Osborn tradition lasted for more than a hundred years in Loudon - eventually ending in 1885. The family's operation in town is known today as Osborn Hill. 

It is thought that Jacob left Essex County to work in a less competitive environment. Danvers saw dozens of potters around the time of the American Revolution and Jacob likely wanted to get away from this work in an area that his work would be near exclusive in. He may have wanted to expand the Osborn family operation through a possible idea to monopolize much of the region and in-truth, that is what the Osborn family did in much of New Hampshire and on Massachusetts' North Shore of the early nineteenth century.

The Osborns were a family of Quakers. Quakers only married among the sect and most of the Osborn family were trained potters and with marriage - the family's tradition within New England's potter's industry only grew and continued to expand. It makes complete sense that parts of the family would eventually leave South Danvers in search of more profitable locations.

Many of the New Hampshire potters trained in the South Danvers neighborhood or were influenced by potters who did. The Osborn family is credited with working in South Danvers, Charlestown and Berkely, Massachusetts - and Exeter, Loudon, Gonic, Boscowan and Dover, New Hampshire.

No stoneware production or experimentation is known by the Osborn family. All knowledge today leads to only redware manufactories.

I recently discovered this end of the day piece in New Hampshire. I have no idea what the form's intentions or purpose were, but the shape and study opportunity intrigued me. Pieces were typically made at the end of a work day with leftover clay that were not part of the normal production. Many examples were a result of potters having fun and showing a unique vision in what they made after work. This piece may represent a small amount of clay that was not initially used - only to eventually be made into what you see. Any thoughts on what its purpose was? A child's toy? A paper weight? Merely decorative?

Mid 19th Century Redware Found in New Hampshire

Very Unusual Form

3.5 Inches Tall
Possibly An End of the Day Piece Made from Leftover Clay
Possibly a Unique Form and Size

I knew of a similar formed jug in the New Hampshire Historical Society's collection that demonstrates a likewise form. It is attributed to Elijah Lowell of Orange New Hampshire. I attribute the form I found to Elijah Lowell as well. The characteristics and makers styles are nearly unique and each shares exact features. I have no doubt each was made by the same maker. The New Hampshire Historical Society's jug descended through the Lowell family of Orange until it was donated. The donors were Elijah Lowell's son and grandson. These forms may have been intended for special occasions and only produced for such an event. I have never seen such a form outside of these two examples.

Elijah O. Lowell Redware Jug - Orange, NH

Dated 1869

5.5 Inches Tall

Descended in the Lowell Family

Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH

The Lowell Pottery operated in Orange from roughly 1818 to 1872. Isaac Lowell moved from Loudon in 1818 to establish a pottery that was nearly sixty miles to the northwest in Orange. He likely apprenticed at the Osborn pottery in Loudon.The Orange pottery business was later managed by his son Elijiah Lowell and his son, Allen Lowell.

Likely Isaac Lowell Redware Jug - Orange, NH

Circa 1820-1840

Do you have any idea where the jugs in the first photo at the top of today's report were made? I'll give you a hint - two were made in South Danvers and one in Loudon - all of which are the product of the Osborn family. 

All Three Jugs Made Circa 1780-1840.

Two Were Made in South Danvers, Ma and One in Loudon, NH

The jugs to the right and left were made in South Danvers, Massachusetts and the middle in Loudon, New Hampshire. Each was made by a member of the Osborn family. The area of South Danvers saw very little green glaze used. It was much more commonly seen in New Hampshire - especially the darker greens. Green glazes were used in Exeter, Gonic, Chesham, Plymouth, Loudon and likely a few additional smaller areas in New Hampshire. The greens used in Massachusetts were much more striking and bright - while the greens of New Hampshire were often darker.

Likely Osborn Pottery Redware Herb Pot - Loudon, NH

Circa 1780-1820

Probably West Plymouth, NH Redware Salt

Circa 1820-1860

I always tend to believe that the industries of Massachusetts and mostly those seen before the American Revolution in Charlestown and later in Essex County were the centers of the potters industries in New England of each period. Each industry hugely influenced and trained many of the smaller potters working in New Hampshire and Maine. It was through both direct and indirect connections.

The industries south of Boston and in Rhode Island saw an Essex County influence, too.

I think today's report gives a good idea as to how the potters industry of New England was intertwined, related, influenced and really supportive of each other.

Connecticut was a state that really kept to itself and saw very little influence. The same stands true in Vermont. However, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island often saw similarities among their earthenware products and it was usually not a coincidence.

Potters of this region influenced each other and possibly borrowed techniques for almost as long as an industry has existed in New England.

Much more to come...

The Possible Partial Remains of a Danvers(port), South Danvers or Salem, Ma Potter - The Study of Early Essex County Potters: Report 4

The Osborn's - Report 1
The Goldthwaites' - Report 2
The Southwick's - Report 3

"For two centuries the name of Danvers has been associated with pottery making. At least one hundred natives of the town were clayworkers, and their shops and kilns lined the streets. They were perhaps most numerous in the Revolutionary period...soon after the establishment of the Danvers industry - Nathaniel Symonds started a family enterprise in the Northfield section of Salem. This district, midway between Salem and Danversport was the site of the clay beds. Symonds acquired land and a homestead there by gift and inheritance, and the family worked in that location for nearly one hundred years." (Lura Woodside Watkins, Early New England Potters and Their Wares)

In my continued study of the redware communities of early South Danvers (today Peabody), Danvers and Salem, Massachusetts - I have stumbled upon an area that may hold the remains of a possible potters site in Danversport, Massachusetts - a small maritime community that is associated with Danvers. Danversport is near the location of the Symonds family site that Lura Woodside Watkins writes of in her book, "Early New England Potters and Their Wares."

All the sherds I have discovered seem to have gathered within a strong concentrated area near and along the shores of the Waters River. The river likely served a number of area needs - which included a source of clay for the dozens of potters who worked about a mile away in South Danvers and Salem. There has not been much information associated with any sort of early industry in Danvers - despite the town's earth supplying a major source of clay needs. The North River also  provided a great source of clay near the Salem and South Danvers line a little further southeast from Danversport. Nearly the entire area's early industry of potters were centrally located between these two rivers.

 Waters River - Danversport, Ma

A Great Deal of Redware Sherds and Some Kiln Material Have Been Found on the River

This Part of the Water's River is Surrounded by Open Fields

 North River - Salem, Ma
Clay Source for the Early 18th and 19th Century Area Potters

North River - Salem, Ma 

A number of kiln bricks are seen and a large amount of sherds have been collected over the years on the river's edge - mixed in with river rocks, seaweed, seashells and additional remaining period household - and architectural waste. The debris is mostly concentrated on one part of the river. It is not currently known if the sherds are mostly trash deposited into the river or if an actual potter worked nearby. The kiln bricks lead me to believe a potter may have worked locally, but the bricks may have gradually moved up or down the river over many years from another location. There is a possibility the bricks are from Salem - which is very close upriver.

The kiln bricks were all found within a close range of no more than fifty feet apart - which leads me to believe the nearby open fields that look down on the river may have possibly served as a location of an early eighteenth or nineteenth century utilitarian potter's kiln.

 Location of Kiln Bricks on the Waters River - Danversport, Ma

 Possibly Where the Bricks Are Coming From
Otherwise, They Are From the River

 More than a Dozen Bricks Resembling this Were Seen - Likely a Kiln Brick

All Likely a Part of an Early Potter's Kiln - or a Massive Fire

Many early potters used rivers that flowed to and from the Atlantic Ocean as a means of transportation to sell their wares. Whoever this possible potter was may have done the same. The Waters River is upriver from Salem - where a small handful of early potters worked. The Symonds family is not far from each. Very little information is known of the family's work.

 Interior Black Glazed Redware Sherd 

Likely an Example of Hollow Ware

Found Near the Kiln Bricks on the Waters River - Danversport, Ma

Interior and Exterior Redware Chamber Pot Sherd

Found Near the Kiln Bricks on the Waters River - Danversport, Ma

From what I have seen - the river sherds are mostly simply decorated utilitarian wares that appear in an eighteenth century texture. The forms, glazes and lack of refinement leads me to believe an eighteenth century manufacturer is possible. I should also add that this is the same location that the slip decorated plate sherd was found - that was written about in the Goldthwaites report last week.

Chambers pots and a number of hollow ware forms are mostly seen - more so than any type of flatware. There are only a small number of ceramics in plain sight and the number of redware sherds easily outnumber those - which is surprising. Most of the seen sherds demonstrate a manufacturing style that is comparable to the early potters of Charlestown, Massachusetts. There appears to be a lack of nineteenth century waste outside of only redware. The redware sherds appear mostly eighteenth century with a number of later terracotta flower pots mixed in - which were likely manufactured nearby at the Moses Paige Pottery in South Danvers.

Could Danversport have served as a location for an early potter or potters to export their wares to? If these redware remains are from the nineteenth century - it would be unlikely with such a strong nearby industry, however if eighteenth century, it may be possible. Its interesting at the least, but the presence of kiln bricks makes it more of question of a who the local potter was rather than seeing any type of imports from outside area potters.

Hopefully there will be more research and information to come about Danversport. There are a number of potters that very little information is known who worked in the South Danvers, Danvers and Salem areas - and this may likely be one of them.

The only question I will ask today is if these remains could belong to the early work of the Symonds family. Otherwise, they may be from an unknown local potter or as part of deposited early waste from area households that bordered the Waters River in a number of local communities with a strong emphasis towards Salem. The location is really open for a number of interpretations at this point with such a number of theories possible.

Stay tuned...

The Southwick Family of Potters Working in 18th and 19th Century South Danvers, Massachusetts

Osborn Family - Report 1
Goldthwaites Family - Report 2

The Southwick family is another prominent name associated with the early South Danvers (Peabody), Massachusetts redware industry. The potters are most commonly associated with a jet black glaze that occasionally sees a metallic streaking within it. A common practice seen with many of the Southwick forms are a bottom glaze on the base. This not a common trait among early utilitarian wares made by American potters, but it was seen with some products made in both South Danvers and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I have never associated any other glaze color greater than black with the Southwick tradition, but according to Harvard Professor Lura Woodside Watkins - a handful of additional colors were seen and the color black was not used more than any other early eighteenth century potter applied the color to their wares.

"As there has always been a curious tradition that the Southwicks were noted principally for a black glaze, I once made a visit to 161 Lowell Street, seeking to verify the story of the discovery of fragments. This expedition met with success. Far back on the land, near the brooks, I unearthed a quantity of shards from this pottery. I was not surprised to find glazes of all the usual colors, including a tan with brown smudges. The black was in the same proportion that would be expected in any redware dump." (Lura Woodside Watkins, Early New England Potters and Their Wares, page 65.)

The Southwick family early eighteenth century forms may have been much-more commonly seen in black, but without proper evidence - we must only go by what Watkins saw on the later eighteenth and nineteenth century site.

A sherd was found near the Osborn family sites in South Danvers that demonstrates all the expected characteristics of the Southwick family's wares, however, this sherd appeared very early through feel and glaze, indicating it may be an example of the family's earliest work.

 Early 18th Century Redware Sherd

Seen Near the Osborn Family Sites in South Danvers, Ma

 Likely Southwick Pottery Redware Herb Pot - Peabody, Ma

Late 18th Century

 Likey Southwick Pottery Redware Jug - Peabody, Ma

Late 18th to Early 19th Century

Joseph and William Southwick were both potters under the family name located on Lowell Street in South Danvers. I recently visited both of their sites to see if any remains of either eighteenth century workshop were noticeable.

Joseph worked at 151 Lowell Street. His shop operated until near or just after the third quarter of the eighteenth century. The home is currently on the National Historic Register. Pottery remains on the property are likely, but the amount is not known. I did not see any obvious sherds.

John Southwick House Where Joseph Southwick Operated His Redware Business

151 Lowell Stree - Peabody, Ma

 Likely the Original Molding and a Period Door are Seen

 The House Was Built Circa 1660

The House is Seen Listed on the National Historic Register

The most prominent of potters under the Southwick name was William. He operated his business and possibly a kiln at 161 Lowell Street. A newer home is now seen on this site and there are no obvious remains of William's operation. His site is about one city block from 151 Lowell Street. It is not likely that  both sites were operating simultaneously, but there is some overlap - so the idea of multiple kiln operating under the Southwick family business is possible.

William Southwick's Operation Used to Be Seen on this Property

A Later House is Now Present

161 Lowell Street - Peabody, Ma

At least 13 Southwick family members are known to have joined the potters craft working in South Danvers. Three eventually left to work in an area known as "Pottersville" or the Chesham region of New Hampshire. There are also ties to Lyndeboro, New Hampshire and likely the Clark family tradition that happened in that town of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. 

The forms manufactured by family members in South Danvers and New Hampshire are extremely similar in form, but with an obvious simple glaze characteristic. Do you know what it is? I am not going to share. It was told to me by an established Massachusetts potter and I would rather not be the one who releases this information. 

The Southwicks worked of the the same period as the early and later Osborn family members in South Danvers. There was roughly a one mile distance that separated the two neighborhoods. I believe an obvious influence within the Southwick wares is seen from the Osborn family. The business output of both was similar and jugs have a nearly exact form with a variation within the interior glaze. 

There is much to be learned of the Southwick's operation. Many of the colored glazes that Watkins describes are not known. I have never personally seen anything outside of the black glazes the family is known for. Have you ever seen any? Beyond this - I would like to hear more information of the family's business and about their wares. Do you have anything to add?

There is much more to come of the potters industry of South Danvers, Salem and all related areas.

Stay tuned...

The Goldthwaites Family of Potters Working Within 18th and 19th Century South Danvers, Massachusetts

Part 1 - The Osborn Family


"Another family of potters who were settled early in the town (South Danvers, Massachusetts) were the Goldthwaites...(The family is known for working at a number of locations in South Danvers)...It would be tedious to enumerate all of these men, especially in view of the fact that so little of their prodigious output has survived. A few pieces of Danvers pottery may be seen in the rooms of the Peabody Historical Society on Washington Street, while a considerable collection of Essex County ware is on view at the Essex Institute in Salem (now the Peabody Essex Museum). These examples cannot be identified as the work of individual craftsman, but may be considered as partially representative of the industry that once flourished in the locality."

Essex County, Massachusetts Redware Jar - Potter Unknown

Likely Late 18th Century

"It will be noted that no example with slip decoration is in either collection, and, indeed, ware so ornamented seems to be unknown in present-day Peabody." (Lura Woodside Watkins, Early New England Potters and Their Wares, page 66)

Relatively little information is known of the work created by the Goldthwaites family of potters working in early South Danvers, Massachusetts. At least four family members are known to have made a living within the Essex County potters industry of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. I do not believe any intact or broken examples of redware have ever been properly attributed to the work of this family. According to Lura Woodside Watkins the family worked on the corner of Main and Holten Streets - and at a number of locations on Lowell Street. I recently visited two of these addresses to only see later construction in its place.

The residence of Daniel Goldthwaites has been replaced by a brick structure - likely an apartment building. A parking lot and mechanics garage now sits atop the home of Nathaniel Goldthwaites. Both of these men were potters. It is not known if either owned a kiln on their property.

 Daniel Goldthwaites Lived on this Property at One Time

19th Century Construction has Replaced the Original Structure

Nathaniel Goldthwaites Lived On This Property at One Time

It has been replaced by a parking lot and a mechanics garage

Another View of the Parking Lot that Sits Atop of Nathaniel Goldthwaites Original Property

There is basically no known pottery to even begin a discussion of the Goldthwaites' work, however, out of pure curiosity, I quickly explored the edge of the property at the back the parking lot and to my surprise - there were early redware sherds. The earth had been disturbed, but the ground was likely original to the property. I doubt it was fill. The trees and bushes were native to the property for a number of years. The trees were likely seedlings in the same area that large trees stood in replace of today.

There was nothing that would lead me to believe this land hand been trucked in at any time. I didn't expect to see anything, but to my surprise - I saw a few examples of eighteenth century redware that included an example which demonstrated slip decoration.

18th Century Slip Decorated Redware Shard

18th Century Redware Rim Shard

Both Found in Peabody, Ma

Watkins wrote that there is no clear evidence suggesting any type of redware illustrating the use of slip decoration known of the early potter's industry in Peabody. While this lone sherd is hardly enough evidence to support any such claim that there was in-fact - a potter or multiple potters working with slip - it is encouraging to see an obvious sherd on the site of where an actual South Danvers potter may have worked. 

Could the Goldthwaites family have worked in slip? It is difficult to say they did, but  - it is still tough to discredit the idea, too. There really is not enough evidence to support either claim. Much more needs to be learned of the area's industry and each potter before any such characteristics are attributed to Essex County. There is information known of the manufacturing styles of the early industry, but there is likely much more still to be discovered.

The Goldthwaites family is known to have been involved with the local Essex County potters industry, but beyond that is a mystery. It can be assumed they made a number of utilitarian wares that are common for the period. The business was located about a mile away from the "Osborn Neighborhood" near the Salem, Massachusetts line.

I know of a river in Danvers, Massachusetts that flows from the Atlantic Ocean where low and high tides are seen. Much of the area's trash was disposed of in this river at earlier times. There is an enormous amount of domestic and likely local redware sherds from various makers seen on the muddy banks. Most appear eighteenth century - with traces of nineteenth century mixed in. 

I recently walked the shores of this river and I found the ensuing slip decorated redware plate with traces of green on top of the yellow. The technique is not a style I have ever seen before. It does not correspond to any of the known styles used in Charlestown, Massachusetts; the Bayley family of Newburyport, Massachusetts or any of the early Connecticut potters who worked in slip. I believe this sherd to be from a local South Danvers area potter. My only proof to support my theory is no evidence in any of the early New England archaeological collections which I have studied - show evidence that this sherd could have been a product of those potters or any related to those industries. That rules out most of New England.

This sherd may prove an important study into the potters craft of early Essex County. What do you think?

Slip Decorated Redware Plate Sherd

Possible Local Manufacturer

Mid to Late 18th Century

Danvers, Ma Shoreline

 Danvers, Ma River

The sherd is large enough that its manufacturing style can be compared to others of the period. I compared the sherd to a pair of slip decorated plates made by Thomas Seymour in eighteenth century Hartford, Connecticut. Each plates' manufacturing styles were very similar. Based on this information - I strongly believe this plate was made by an eighteenth century manufacturer.

Watkins says there is no proof of an industry that produced any type of slip in South Danvers, but that doesn't mean she said there was no slip decoration. Both of these discovered sherds may possibly be actual proof. Could the Goldthwaites family be responsible? Could this be an introductory look into the work of the Goldthwaites? It can be assumed that some of the South Danvers families made similar wares to other businesses in the area - and many of the potters working north and south of South Danvers did in-fact, work with slip. Could that mean that slip may have been made in South Danvers, but possibly on a much lesser level? Could the Goldthwaites be responsible for some it? I think these sherds are open for a variety of discussion and interpretations.

There will be a number of additional reports to follow of the potters industry in South Danvers that include the Kettle family, the Wilson family, the Cook family and a variety of information on the more than one hundred potters who worked in the Peabody, Danvers and the Salem areas of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Stay tuned...

The Osborn Family Kiln and Shop Area of 18th and 19th Century South Danvers, Massachusetts

The Osborn name is synonymous with the early redware industry of South Danvers, Massachusetts (today known as Peabody). The industry began in the early eighteenth century with Joseph Osborn and grew to a company at the center of the Essex County earthenware industry. The Osborn family is New England's largest family of potters with dozens of names tied in with the potters craft on Boston's North Shore, New Hampshire and throughout New England. The Osborn business was centrally located in Peabody with many of the potters opening their shops to the north, south, west and east of it.

Osborn Family Redware Pitcher (Likely John Osborn) - Peabody, Ma

Late 18th Century

Yesterday, I visited the area I like to refer to as the "Osborn Neighborhood" of Peabody, Massachusetts. I was curious to see what the one-time operation of more than a dozen family members and a number of additional apprentices, traveling potters and employees once saw as an important part of their New England heritage.

This will be an ongoing series as I plan to revisit many of the areas Harvard Professor Lura Woodside Watkins once studied - for her book, "Early New England Potters and Their Wares. Additionally, I will introduce a number of potters sites that she did not discuss allowing me to formally introduced important new potters. I have put a lot of research into this subject. My online reports will not provide a detailed account of all my findings, but rather - a brief overview of what I will hopefully be saving for future writing. I will also not provide exact street addresses or locations to any of these sites.

The Osborn family are likely Essex County's most successful pottery shop. The business began in the early eighteenth century by Joseph Osborn and continued well into the twentieth century when it ended abruptly in the 1940s with a massive fire. The location now serves many housing needs for the greater Peabody and Salem, Masschusetts areas and for locals who play soccer.

Up until the early 1860s - the shop remained under Osborn family ownership when it was sold to the potter, Joseph Reed - who later sold it to the potter, Moses Paige and then a pair of Italian potters saw ownership in the final years of the business. The shop can be considered a huge success up through Moses Paige's company. The potter Joseph Reed owned a home in the "Osborn Neighborhood" - where most of the family homes no longer stand. However, many of the newer homes likely stand on a number of homes that Osborn family members once called home.  This area was all open land at one time and it now appears as an urban environment. The back yards likely have an abundance of remains from this business - and homeowners probably have no idea of the history each lives on top of now.

 Osborn Neighborhood - Street View 1 - Peabody, Ma

  Osborn Neighborhood - Street View 2 - Peabody, Ma

As I drove south from Newburyport, Massachusetts - I had the addresses of two Osborn homes that I hoped were still standing. I soon found out that the home of Joseph Osborn, a Victorian home still stood - while the former home of Amos Osborn was now a parking lot. As far I could see - the Joseph Osborn house was the only home still standing of the more than dozen Osborn potters who worked in this area at one time.

 Former Home of Joseph Osborn with Likely Original Barn and Weathervane

Appears of the Victorian Period

Peabody, Ma

Osborn was a19th Century Potter 

There was More than One Osborn Named "Joseph"

 Interesting Wood Work on the Joseph Osborn Home

Likely the Original Entrance to the Home

The Home Appears to Have Been Preserved 

Parking Lot of Where Amos Osborn's Home Once Stood - Peabody, Ma

In plain sight within the open dirt in front of the Joseph Osborn house - were examples of early redware that were likely made across the street - where the Osborn shop once stood. It was quite exciting to even see redware sherds being used as fill for the driveway.

 Glazed Redware Sherd

Likely from the Osborn Pottery - Peabody, Ma

 Nicely Glazed Redware Rim Sherd with a Stoneware Sherd (Not Related to the Pottery)

Likely from the Osborn Pottery - Peabody, Ma

Unglazed Redware Sherd 

Likely from the Osborn Pottery - Peabody, Ma

The former home of the potter, Joseph Reed, which no longer stands - was seen at one time directly across the street from the Joseph Osborn house. There is now a street sign there that reads, "Osborn Terrace." The house that now stands was likely built near the turn of the twentieth century. Redware sherds were easily seen near this property, too.

Former Location of Home of the Potter, Joseph Reed - Peabody, Ma

Reed's Home No Longer Stands

Lura Woodside Watkins credits the Osborn kiln and shop to be where a huge community century and housing development now stands, however, I have a feeling there may have been a number of kilns located throughout this neighborhood. A group of community service buildings were built on top of the old Osborn land that Watkins refers to.

 Community Center of Where the Osborn Site Likely Once Stood - Peabody, Ma

Osborn Redware Business Operated Here from the 18th thru the 20th Centuries

 Peter A. Torigian Community Life Center Sign - Peabody, Ma
There are Multiple Buildings

 Community Center in Peabody, Ma

Community Center Buildings in Peabody, Ma

The perimeter of the community center buildings and soccer field provided a number of redware sherds that included an obvious black glazed early example that was even glazed on the bottom. This was a technique mostly seen by Portsmouth, New Hampshire potters and William Southwick - an eighteenth century potter who worked about a mile away. The black sherd may have been the work of Southwick or the earliest Osborn family potters. Terracotta flower pot sherds were seen, too - which were a major product of the Moses Paige Pottery near the turn of the twentieth century.

 South Danvers, Ma Redware Black Sherd

Possibly William Southwick

Early 18th Century

Glazed on the Bottom

 Likely Moses Paige Pottery Flower Pot Sherds - Peabody, Ma

Late 19th Century

A hill on the property of an apartment development near the land of where Amos Osborn once had a home - revealed a number of redware sherds. The earth was covered with pine needles from the pine trees that stood directly above. I pulled some of the pine needles away and all I saw where glazed redware sherds. I have a feeling this hill may be full of sherds and possibly the location or near a kiln that Amos Osborn may have operated in the mid nineteenth century.

 Penelope Apartments in Peabody, Ma

Near the Home of Amos Osborn

 Hill on Property Showed a Number of Redware Sherds

 Redware and Stoneware Sherds

19th Century

 Possibly a Redware Tile

Probably 19th Century

 Redware Sherds 

19th Century

Redware Sherd Glazed Only on Interior

Early to Mid 19th Century

I have a redware jar at home that is exact in glaze, clay type and form to the reddish-brown glazed sherd above. It was found in southern Maine, but I have no-doubt that I can now attribute it to the nineteenth century Osborn pottery or perhaps Joseph Reed's business in Peabody.

Osborn Pottery Or Joseph Reed Redware Jar - Peabody, Ma

Early to Mid 19th Century

Glaze is Exact to the Sherd Above

(Flash made this jar's glaze appear lighter than it really is)

There is a school that borders the property of Joseph Reed's home - unfortunately, I did not photograph it. I walked the perimeter of the property and it was littered with a number of redware sherds. I saw this terracotta form which appeared unusual to me. It may have been an attempt to imitate the Grecian vases that were largely produced in Revere and to a smaller degree in Beverly, Massachusetts. The sherd seen in Peabody was likely the small remains of a huge jar. Its skill was much less than the Grecian sherds found recently in Beverly.

 Terracotta Sherd with Interesting Incised Decoration

Found Near the One Time Property of the Potter Joseph Reed - Peabody, Ma
Likely 1870s

Heavy Terracotta Rim Sherd

 Found Near the One Time Property of the Potter Joseph Reed - Peabody, Ma
Possibly 1870s

Without much effort - roughly fifty or sixty redware sherds were seen. Many displaying nicely applied glazes that I have never seen before associated with Peabody or South Danvers, Massachusetts.

The "Osborn Neighborhood" is easily a qualified candidate for an archaeological dig. For roughly one block sherds were easily seen - that leads me to believe the land is rich with sherds and possibly kiln artifacts. Unfortunatly - an archaeological dig is unlikely with such a variety of land ownership between privately held lots, school land and city ownership. It would however, be interesting to see. The Osborn kiln and business area are as an important as any single potters business as there is in New England. The business began many years before the American Revolution and continued successfully well into the twentieth century.

The industry that revolved around the Osborn shop can be compared the to community that lived in Charlestown, Massachusetts before the American Revolution. I have visited most the potters sites of South Danvers, Massachusetts and I plan a report for each this week. I have possibly found important information about one of the families that previously nothing was known about.

It should be a fun week!

Stay tuned for all of this and much more...