18th Century Red Earthenware Recovered at the Site of the Issac Royall House and Slave Quarters in Medford, Massachusetts

Last week, I wrote about roughly 700 red earthenware sherds, many of which were milk pans that were recovered by archaeologists in 1996 at the circa 1694 Paine House at Greenwood Farm in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Archaeologists also later discovered an eighteenth milk room or dairy inside the house, which likely accounted for a number of the milk pans.

Nevertheless, a number of red earthenware milk pans were also recovered at the seventeenth and eighteenth century Issac Royall House and Slave Quarters in Medford, Massachusetts.

According to the Royall House and Slave Quarters Museum, "The Royall House and Slave Quarters sits on property purchased in 1732 by Isaac Royall, Sr. (1672-1739). Born to parents of modest means in Maine, Royall moved with his family to Dorchester, Massachusetts, when he was three years old. He became a merchant mariner and at 28 established a sugar cane plantation on the West Indies island of Antigua.

Trading in sugar cane and enslaved people, he amassed a great fortune. In 1737, he purchased a farm and a property of 500 acres in Medford, Massachusetts. On the northeastern portion of the property, near the Mystic River, stood a two and one half story brick house built about 1690 that Royall, Sr. expanded upon.

Following Isaac Royal, Sr.'s death in 1739, his son, Isaac Royall, Jr. (1719-1781) inherited the immense estate at the age of 20. Royal, Jr. was also apparently sympathetic to the Patriotic cause even though his wealth was based on strong ties to powerful Loyalist families and the English crown. He left Medford three days before the Battle of Lexington, and failing to secure passage to Antigua, sailed to Nova Scotia where he remained for a year. He then joined family members in England, where he died of smallpox in 1781."

All of the following eighteenth century red earthenware artifacts were recovered from the Slave Quarters portion of the property. The milk pans and cream pots likely represent dairy production on the estate before 1781.

Incredibly, archaeologists recovered 53 milk pans and 33 cream pots from the area that surrounds the Slave Quarters. The 1739 probate inventory also listed 18 milk pans in the kitchen and 20 cows on the property.

Some of the milk pans recovered in Medford also closely resemble a milk pan recovered by archaeologists in neighboring Charlestown, Massachusetts as part of the archaeology in the 1980s for Boston's Big Dig Project.

The milk pan recovered in Charlestown was found in an eighteenth century privy at the site of the Three Cranes Tavern, and thought to have been made at one of the businesses in Charlestown before 1775. I also want to note that I would not be surprised to learn that most of the domestic colonial red earthenware found at the Royall Mansion and Slave Quarters in Medford had originated in Charlestown.

Note: The milk pans that I have posted are all colonial Massachusetts in origin, but also notice how these objects could easily be mistaken for nineteenth century production in New England. Seeing this makes me wonder how many eighteenth century pans survive today from coastal Massachusetts that are mistaken for wares made in northern England in the 1800s.

Red Earthenware Recovered on Property of Royall House and Slave Quarters

18th Century Red Earthenware Milk Pan

Recovered at the Site of the Isaac Royall House and Slave Quarters in Medford, Mass.

A Total of 53 Milk Pans Were Recovered on the Property

Produced Before 1781

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Isaac Royal House and Slave Quarters Museum

18th Century Red Earthenware Milk Pan

Recovered at the Site of the Isaac Royall House and Slave Quarters in Medford, Mass.

A Total of 53 Milk Pans Were Recovered on the Property

Produced Before 1781

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Isaac Royal House and Slave Quarters Museum

18th Century Red Earthenware Cream Pots

Recovered at the Site of the Isaac Royall House and Slave Quarters in Medford, Mass.

A Total of 33 Milk Pans Were Recovered on the Property

Produced Before 1781

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Isaac Royal House and Slave Quarters Museum

Red Earthenware Milk Pan Recovered in Charlestown, Mass.

18th Century Red Earthenware Milk Pan

Recovered from an 18th Century Privy at the Site of the Three Cranes Tavern in Charlestown, Mass.

Likely Manufactured in Charlestown, Mass.

May Be Related to the Milk Pans Shown Above

Produced Before 1775

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department

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