A Quaker Historical Record Placing Phebe Osborn of the Osborn and Shove Families of Potters in Chester, Pennsylvania on May 7, 1773

Another subject that will be covered in my forthcoming 700-900 page, tenth book, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, South Danvers, Peabody and Salem Massachusetts, is the Osborn family's influence on red earthenware production in Bristol County, Massachusetts before the American Revolution. I also recently came across a Quaker record placing Phebe Osborn in Chester, Pennsylvania in 1773; she married into the Shove family of potters of Berkley, Bristol County, Massachusetts in 1739. This record is significant, seeing that Chester is where the Quakers held their first meeting in Pennsylvania in 1675.

Nonetheless, this is an excerpt from Chapter 3 that is about the Osborn family in my forthcoming book: "...The Osborn family of the South Danvers (Peabody) and Salem, Massachusetts area was intertwined through marriage with the Shove family of Berkley, Bristol County, Massachusetts. These were all Quaker potting families that married within their faith.

The first marriage between these families was when Paul Osborn (1704-1760) of South Danvers (and Salem) married Elizabeth Shove about 1730; she was the daughter of Edward Shove (1680-1746), who was born in Dighton, Massachusetts.

Elizabeth’s brother, Theophilus Shove (1715-1796) then married Paul's sister, Philadelphia Osborn (1718-1792) in Salem on January 18, 1736. Another one of Elizabeth's brothers, Reverend Edward Shove Jr. (1716-1778) followed this marriage by marrying another one of Paul’s sisters, Phebe Oborn (1720-1775) in Salem on April 12, 1739.

Paul, Philadelphia and Phebe were the children of Samuel Osborn Sr. (1675-1756) of Salem, Massachusetts; they were also related to William Osborn, who is cited in historical documents as, “In 1639 we read that ten acres were given Laurence Southwick by the town of Salem to carry on the business of making glass and red earthenware with Annanias Concklin, Obadiah Holmes and William Osborne, to each of whom land was given near Strong Water Brook, near the boundary line between Salem town and the Middle Precinct, which lay between Salem and Salem Village at that time, as it does between Salem and Danvers today.”

According to the U.S. Quaker Meeting House Records, 1681-1935, Phebe Osborn Shove was living in Chester, Pennsylvania on May 7, 1773. This is notable since the colony of Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn in 1682, as a safe place for Quakers to live and practice their faith. Quakers held their first religious meeting at Upland (now Chester) in 1675, and they came to Pennsylvania in great numbers after William Penn received his Charter.

Nonetheless, Phebe died in Danvers, Massachusetts in 1775, although this relationship between the Quakers in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania before the American Revolution is certainly an important connection, and further supports the significance of the red earthenware jar retaining its original lid from Bristol County shown below, whereas the lid is adorned with a Quaker hat. Phebe’s husband was also a reverend..."

Additionally, it is likely that Paul Osborn established red earthenware production in Berkley in the late 1730s; he may have trained Edward Jr. and Theophilus. But seeing that they were both married in Salem in the 1730s, then they may have also learned the potter's craft from the Osborn family in the Salem area or perhaps even been influenced by other local potters, who were impacted by production in Salem Village during the circa 1687-1709 period: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2025/03/the-1687-1709-james-kettle-pottery-in.html.

The Osborn and Shove Families of Essex County and Bristol County, Mass.

Likely 18th Century Red Earthenware Sherds

Most of the Sherds are Adorned with Slip

Recovered at the Site of the Osborn and Shove Pottery in Berkley, Bristol County, Mass

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Photo Courtesy: Brian Cullity - Slipped & Glazed: Regional American Redware, 1991

This Document Says Phebe Osborn was in Chester, PA on May 7, 1773

Chester is Where the First Quaker Meeting was Held in PA in 1675

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Photo Courtesy: U.S. Quaker Meeting House Records, 1681-1935

This Historically Important Red Earthenware Jar is from Bristol County, Mass.

The Finial on the Lid is a Quaker Hat

It was Made for a Specific Purpose

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Reverend Edward Shove Jr.'s Probate, Dated October 26, 1775

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