Listed as a 44-year-old "farmer" in the 1850 United States Federal Census in Sherburne, New York, Jarvis Rogers (1805-1857) and his 43-year-old wife, Hannah (b. 1807) had at least three children, although their oldest, Delos Rogers (1833-1858) was cited in the census as a seventeen-year with an occupation listed as "pottery." Delos was likely working in some capacity at the Hart family stoneware factory in Sherburne: https://www.crockerfarm.com/stoneware-auction/2023-08-04/lot-13/Outstanding-Hart-Family-Sherburne-or-Ogdensburg-New-York-Miniature-Stoneware-Presentation-Churn-and-Dasher-O-HART/.
Interestingly, Jarvis was listed in the 1855 New York State Census with a new occupation as "workman;" he may have been employed alongside his son at the Hart Stoneware Factory. He may have sought out employment to supplement his family's income, which was similar to many rural red earthenware potters in New York State in the 1800s, where they listed their primary occupation in census records as a farmer, although they were also involved with utilitarian pottery in the colder months.
Nevertheless, very little is known about Delos Rogers employment in Sherburne, seeing that he died on October 9, 1858, although there are two surviving stoneware flasks that bear his name, one of which is owned by the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit, Michigan, and dated "1855." The second example is dated "1853," which would have been the year that he turned twenty-years-old. It is likely that these were presentation objects or perhaps even for personal use, seeing that they were marked with his name.
Additionally, both flasks are decorated with a molded and applied classical design of Diana the Huntress reaching for an arrow from a quiver with one arm, the other arm atop of a small antlered deer. The figure was likely based on the Diana of Versailles, a Roman marble statue made in the 1st or 2nd century A.D. that is in the collection of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.
The applied Diana design may have also had more of a personal meaning; according to Roman mythology, the goddess was born on the island of Delos. Delos is a masculine Greek name with mythological roots. The name means “from the island of Delos,” a tiny yet incredibly sacred island in the Aegean Sea. The Ancient Greeks believed this island to be the birthplace of two important gods, Apollo and Artemis (Diana). The origin of the name may have also been a story that Jarvis and Hannah told their son Delos, and these flasks may represent the pride that he had in his first name.
Furthermore, it does not seem that Delos Rogers ever married, seeing that his tombstone in the Sherburne Quarter Cemetery, reads, "Deloss Rogers, son of J. & H. Rogers - died Oct. 9, 1858 - age 25 yr. 6 mo."
Despite the death of her husband in 1857, Hannah remained in Sherburne, where she is listed in the 1870 Federal Census with a profession of "weaver & dyer." The couple had two other children, Eliza (b. 1844) and George (b. 1841); George does not appear to have worked in the pottery industry.
However, the skill, aesthetic appeal and the personal connection of these stoneware flasks to a family, a person and a place in time in New York's history is extraordinary, which transforms these flasks into much more than just a household utilitarian object.
A Significant Example of Stoneware Production from Sherburne, New York
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