The Southwick Pottery in Peabody, Massachusetts, and Its Relationship to Lawrence Southwick in Salem, Massachusetts Before 1660

This is a black-glazed jar that I recently discovered on the New Hampshire seacoast, which was likely made in Peabody, Massachusetts, possibly in the eighteenth-century. The fluid glaze, clay color and the way the foot was manufactured matches an object that is attributed to the Southwick Pottery in Peabody (formerly known as South Danvers) in the 1700's. Although, I have recently discovered that fluid glazes were also produced at the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, circa 1740-1860.

The big difference found in these two jars is how the rims were manufactured; the Peabody Historical Society's jar was made with a lid, while the jar that I discovered was intended to be sealed across the top with a tied cloth. However, this appears to have been two different styles that were made at the same pottery in Peabody, possibly the Southwick Pottery.

Interestingly, the Southwick family was similar to the Osborns in Peabody, where this family of Quakers also expanded into New Hampshire. The family had ties to the Peter Clark Pottery in Lyndeborough, New Hampshire and a community in southwestern New Hampshire known as "Pottersville" in Dublin/Chesham, New Hampshire. Ultimately, there were at least thirteen family members involved with the potter's trade in Peabody in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries.

According to Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins, "Not the least important among the South Danvers (today known as Peabody) craftsman are the Southwicks, also of Quaker descent. They stemmed from Lawrence Southwick (circa 1594-1660), who, on account of his religion, was banished from Salem, Massachusetts in the dead of winter. 

Joseph and William of the fifth generation were both potters and both lived on Lowell Street; Joseph at No. 151, where his kiln and shop stood in 1786, and William at No. 161.

Joseph was blessed with four daughters, but William had a son, William Southwick, Jr., who became a potter, and he in turn had three sons, William Southwick, Jedebiah Kilbourn Southwick, and James Chapman Southwick, who followed the family calling."

It fascinates me that this potter's business was directly related to Lawrence Southwick, where according to the 'Salem Patch,' "Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick immigrated to Salem with four of their six children in 1637. Lawrence was perhaps the first glassmaker in America and set up his works in what became known as the Glass House Field in the present day Aborn Street area. 

The Southwicks converted to the Society of Friends and hosted two Quaker preachers in their home in 1657. They were promptly arrested for this crime and jailed. Lawrence, since he was still a member of the First Church, was released, while his wife remained jailed for seven weeks and was whipped and fined  40 shillings (a substantial fine) for having a document written by the Quaker missionaries. 

Realizing that a 1656 law was not slowing the arrival of Quakers, the legislature passed a new law calling for cutting off an ear, branding, and boring a hole in the tongue for returning after banishment, in addition to fines, whipping and banishment. This did not stem the flow of missionaries who were making converts in the colony. The legislature, fed up with the banished returning to witness to these unjust laws, added a death sentence to those returning after banishment. This lead to four executions on Boston Common. King Charles II eventually intervened in 1661 and ordered the persecution of Quakers to end. 

The Southwicks and their son, Joshua were again arrested in 1658 for being Quakers and not attending proper church services. They were imprisoned for twenty weeks and fined. Unable to pay the fines, some of their property was seized and sold, reducing them to dire circumstances. 

In 1659, two of their children, a daughter, Provided, and son, Daniel, were ordered to be sold as slaves in Barbados to pay the fines. No merchant captain agreed to transport them, so they were allowed to stay until a captain willing to transport and sell them could be found. The poet, John Greenleaf Whittier immortalized this confrontation in his poem, 'Cassandra Southwick.'

While public sentiment was shifting in favor of leniency to the Quakers, the leaders refused to back down from this 'threat.' Impoverished and banished, the Southwick family went to Shelter Island in New York in the winter of 1659-60. Reacting to this privation, both Cassandra and Lawrence died within days of each other.

The persistent persecution of the Southwicks is often cited as one of the worst cases of religious discrimination in Puritan Massachusetts. Here was an elderly couple, deprived of their freedom and estate, prosecuted retroactively by laws passed while they were imprisoned, banished, penniless in the dead of winter, which caused their deaths. This case is most notable in that they were not zealous missionaries, but residents who chose to follow a new path."

A huge potter's industry was established in South Danvers (today known as Peabody) in the eighteenth-century, which saw more than one-hundred Quaker potters employed on the Peabody/Salem line. A number of the objects that these Quaker potters produced were purchased by residents living in Salem. Nonetheless, the history of the Southwick family should make the wares made at the Southwick Pottery more desired today.

Location of Joseph Southwick's Pottery in Peabody, Mass.

Location of Joseph Southwick's Pottery in Peabody, Mass. in 1786

 151 Lowell Street, Peabody, Mass.

 View of the Sign on the House

 151 Lowell Street, Peabody, Mass.

The House is on the National Register

 151 Lowell Street, Peabody, Mass.

Jar Attributed to the Southwick Pottery in Peabody, Mass.

18th Century Red Earthenware Jar Attributed to the Soutwick Pottery in Peabody, Mass.

Circa 1786-1800

Stands 6 7/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Peabody, Mass. Historical Society

Jar Found on New Hampshire Seacoast

18th/19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Attributed to the Southwick Pottery in Peabody, Mass.

Circa 1786-1820

Stands 8 1/4" Tall

Recently Found on the New Hampshire Seacoast

Production Matches the Jar Owned by the Peabody, Mass. Historical Society

 View of the Interior

 View of the Base

Another View of the Base

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...