The 1789-1828 Diary of New Hampshire Red Earthenware Potter Daniel Clark

In August 2016, the New England Antiques Journal published a feature story I wrote about Peter Clark's (1743-1826) red earthenware production before and after the American Revolution in Braintree, Massachusetts and Lyndeborough, New Hampshire. Nonetheless, I just finished writing a followup to that story, which I hope will be published sometime in the future.

This next story recaps the career path of Daniel Clark (1768-1828), one of Peter's four sons, who learned the potter's craft from his father in Lyndeborough before he relocated to Concord, New Hampshire in 1791/92. The story largely concentrates on Daniel as he established the industry in Millville, an historic neighborhood in the western section of Concord. But I also focus heavily on the business after Daniel's death in 1828, as it transfers ownership to later generations of Clark family members through the 1880s.

Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins heavily emphasized the Daniel Clark Pottery, when Early New England Potters and Their Wares was published in 1950, as a result of a 1789-1828 diary kept by Clark owned by the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord. Watkins wrote that because of this book, Clark's career is likely the most detailed of any potter employed in New England in the eighteenth or nineteenth century; he wrote down about one line per day from the age of 21 until his death at the age of 60.

I also analyze the Flanders Pottery, Whittemore Pottery and Joseph Hazeltine Pottery in Concord, which in some ways were by-products of the Clark Pottery, although all three were significant businesses themselves. In fact, archaeologists excavated the site of the Hazeltine Pottery in 1982-1984, which is described today as an important archaeology site, representing the largest potter's business ever professionally excavated in New Hampshire. The remains of this business are kept today at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire.

I would also like to add that I don't think it's common to here the term "Concord pottery" referenced today, despite this industry manufacturing a significant output during the circa 1792-1885 period.

Daniel Clark's 1789--1828 Diary

18th/19th Century Diary Kept by NH Potter Daniel Clark

Dates from 1789-1828

This Diary Preserves Clark's Pottery Activity During this Period in Lyndeborough and Concord, NH

But it Also Mentions the Comings and Goings of Other Potters in Concord, NH

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society

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