One of my favorite late eighteenth or early nineteenth century red earthenware jars from Bristol County, Massachusetts is illustrated in Figure 43 of Lura Woodside Watkins' book, Early New England Potters and Their Wares. This jar is owned as part of Nina Fletcher Little's collection at Cogswell Grant (Historic New England) in Essex, Massachusetts. This jar is also pictured in my fifth book, titled, A Celebrated Industry: The Historic Wares of Southeastern Massachusetts, Bristol County and Cape Cod: https://historicbeverly.net/product/a-celebrated-industry-the-historic-wares-of-southeastern-massachusetts-bristol-county-and-cape-cod/.
Interestingly, a somewhat similar glazed red earthenware jar from Bristol County sold last night as part of Crocker Farm's Summer 2025 sale in Sparks, Maryland. The jar sold for $2,500 plus the buyer's premium: https://www.crockerfarm.com/stoneware-auction/2025-08-08/lot-205/Exceptional-Copper-Decorated-Bristol-County-Mass-Redware-Jar-late-18th-early-19th-century/.
Red Earthenware Jars from Bristol County, Mass.
Late 18th or Early 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Made in Bristol County, Mass.
Stands 8 1/2" Tall
Published in Figure 43 in Early New England Potters and Their Wares
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Photo Courtesy: Historic New England
Another View of the Jar
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Photo Courtesy: Historic New England
Late 18th or Early 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Made in Bristol County, Mass.
Stands 8 1/2" Tall
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Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm
More Information About Isaac Upton in Adams, Berkshire County, Mass.
Additionally, I recently posted an article to this website, titled, Preserved Peirce, the Upton Brothers, Salem Village, Bristol County, East Greenwich, Etc. & the 1780s Quakers of Adams, Berkshire County, Mass., where I wrote in part, "Isaac (1736-1824) and Samuel Upton (1748-1810) were potters from from Bristol County, Massachusetts, who established a red earthenware company in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, circa 1771-1783. This business was likely tied in with Preserved Peirce or Pierce (1736-1798, a merchant in Swansea, Massachusetts, who previously traded and peddled wares for some of the potters in Bristol County.
The Upton brothers also had ties to the Salem and Danvers, Massachusetts area, seeing this is where their father, Edward Upton (1714-1772) was born, on April 16, 1714. He married Eleanor Osborn Upton (1713-1769) in Salem, on November 18, 1735. Although Isaac was born in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire in 1736 and Samuel was born in Berkley, Massachusetts in 1748. Isaac also married Phebe Pierce (1739-1782) in Swansea on December 30, 1763, who was related to Preserved Peirce.
The Upton family also had ties to Salam Village; John Upton (1620-1699), the first member of the family to be recorded in Salem in 1658, acquired land that his sons, William and Samuel Upton, later inherited in Salem Village. This land eventually became the site of the Upton Tavern in 1774. But the Upton name had no involvement with the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. John Upton was a blacksmith, and the Upton House was used as a tavern from 1774-1825.
However, I am also interested in what happened to the Upton brothers after the East Greenwich business closed; not much is documented about the final 25 years of Samuel's life, while Isaac appears in Adams, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, which is where his daughter Sarah Upton (1784-1796) was born in 1784. He married Anna Sherman (1759-1822) in Adams in 1786. This was his second marriage, where his first wife, Phebe Pierce died in 1782. Isaac then lived the remainder of his life in Adams, although the big question I have is whether he operated as a potter at all while he lived here!?
It also seems that the Friends Society (Quakers) of North Adams was established just after Isaac Upton arrived in Adams. The society was formed in 1781 and worshipped in a log cabin until 1786, when they erected a house that still stands today. According to a book written in 1885 by William F. Spear, titled, History of North Adams, Mass., 1749-1885, "The
families of David Anthony (1747-1831), Isaac Killy (1730-1814), Isaac Upton,
Joshua Lapham (1721-1799) and Adam Harkness (1750-1826) constituted the society
at its first organization."
This community seems to have operated in a similar way as did the Quakers in Bristol County and parts of Rhode Island in the eighteenth century. In fact, a number of the early settlers in the Quaker community in Adams came from this area. But what I am really curious to know is if Isaac Upton produced red earthenware in Adams; census records and other records show that Upton lived in Adams during the circa 1784-1824 period. I think this would be a significant discovery, seeing that members of the Shove family of potters in Bristol County were also involved with the Quaker Meeting House in Adams.
Isaac Upton's Family Listed in the 1790 Federal Census in Adams, Berkshire County, Mass.
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Isaac Upton's Family Listed in the 1800 Federal Census in Adams, Berkshire County, Mass.
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Isaac Upton's Family Listed in the 1810 Federal Census in Adams, Berkshire County, Mass.
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Some of the families associated with the Quaker Meeting House in Adams, Massachusetts, including many members of the Upton family, as well as the Shove family, which was a family of potters in Bristol County, Massachusetts. (courtesy "Friends Records at East Hoosuck (Adams), Mass." The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Ed. Henry E. Scott. Vol. 72. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1918)
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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