Thanks to the research of New York historian Warren Broderick, the identity of a red earthenware potter named Abel Wadsworth will finally be brought to light, as part of my forthcoming eleventh book, titled, A Monumental History: Stories of Red Earthenware Production in Western Massachusetts, the Berkshires and Vermont. Wadsworth lived for a time in Bennington, Vermont, where he worked as a potter, while some slip decorated red earthenware appears to have been produced as part of Bennington's early pottery history. In fact, the one documented style of slip is in some ways similar in technique to some of the early styles produced by Seth Goodwin (1772-1828) and Nathaniel Seymour (1763-1849) in West Hartford, Connecticut, etc. Both Norton and Wadsworth were originally from Connecticut with Wadsworth living in Bennington, as early as 1792
until the 1810-1817 period.
Nonetheless, a peculiar late eighteenth or early nineteenth century two-color slip decorated red earthenware jar with its original lid appeared in the antiques trade in New England about ten to fifteen years ago, by way of Brian Cullity, who is an antiques dealer on Cape Cod and the former curator at the Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich, Massachusetts. The style of the slip on the jar closely resembles a late eighteenth century slip decorated red earthenware jug owned by the Bennington Museum in Vermont, which was reportedly made by a potter named Abel Wadsworth (born 1770), while working at the Captain John Norton (1758-1828) Pottery in Bennington: https://bennington.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/8C2E8DE8-1D89-4026-AC61-477129442410.
There are also a small group of related slip decorated red earthenware jars known of a different shape that are adorned with the same floral slip technique as the jug owned by the Bennington Museum, including one now in the collection of the Vermont Historical Society. However, the lidded jar adds more to the history of this type of production in Vermont, retaining on old note of documented ownership attached to the base, reading, “Florence B. Dickinson / Benson, Vermont.”
Florence Bascom Dickinson (1868-1939) was born in Benson, Rutland County, Vermont on December 3, 1868. Her parents were Albert (1841-1927) and Helen Bascom Dickinson (1843-1933), both natives of Benson who were married on October 7, 1867.
Albert was a farmer before 1890; the couple had six children: Florence was the oldest, followed by Fannie (1870-1958), John (1872-1941), Benjamin (1874-1940), Charles (1876-1946) and Colleen (1883-1931). Charles is the only family member who appears to have traveled outside of Vermont, living in North Dakota, according to the 1930 and 1940 United States Federal Censuses. All of the other brothers and sisters remained in Vermont, most living their entire lives in Rutland County.
The Dickinson name was found in parts of Rutland County in the nineteenth century with family members employed as farmers, carpenters, among other laboring professions. Albert Dickinson became a senator, as part of Vermont's legislature in the 1890s and later a postmaster in Benson.
Descendants of Florence and her parents can be traced back to Berkshire County and Hampshire County, Massachusetts, as well as the Hartford and Wethersfield, Connecticut area in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. The family dates back to Nathaniel Dickinson (1601-1676), who arrived in America in the 1630s. He first lived in Watertown, Massachusetts; he was then living in Springfield, Massachusetts by 1661 before he died in Hadley, Hampshire County, Massachusetts on June 16, 1676.
Florence is listed in the 1880 United States Federal Census in Benson as an eleven-year-old student, while later censuses in the twentieth century list her as a nurse. She was never married and died in Benson in 1939.
The history of this jar prior to Florence's ownership is not known, although this was not an incredibly wealthy family or a family who seemed to have collected early American antiques. This jar may have been a Dickinson family heirloom that predated Florence owning it in Rutland County, possibly given to her by her parents, etc., seeing that she was the oldest child.
Florence B. Dickenson’s Two-Color Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Jar
Late 18th or Early 19th C. Two-Color Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Jar
The Lid is Original
Owned by Florence B. Dickinson (1868-1939) of Benson, Vermont
Possibly Owned by Earlier Members of the Dickinson Family
Possibly Made in Bennington, Vermont
Stands 11" Tall with the Lid
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Another View of the Jar
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Another View of the Jar
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Label Adhered to the Base
Reads "Florence B. Dickinson / Benson, Vermont"
This is a Late 19th Century Picture of Three of the Dickinson Sisters
(Arrow) This is Florence B. Dickinson with Her Sisters
Colleen (1883-1931) is Pictured in the Middle
Fanny (1870-1958) is Pictured to the Right
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Florence B. Dickinson Listed as an 11-Year-Old "Student" in Benson, Vermont
This is from the 1880 United States Federal Census
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Florence B. Dickinson Listed as a 51-Year-Old "Nurse" in Benson, Vermont
This is from the 1920 United States Federal Census
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This is Albert Dickinson (1841-1927)
He was a Farmer, a Senator and a Postmaster
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Albert Dickinson Listed as a 19-Year Old "Farm Laborer" in Benson, Vermont
He Worked on his Father's Farm; Isaac Dickinson (1793-1885)
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Albert Dickinson Listed a "Farmer" in Benson, Vermont
This is from the 1870 United States Federal Census
A 1-Year-Old Florence is also Cited
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Albert Dickinson Listed as a "Postmaster" in Benson, Vermont
This is from the 1910 United States Federal Census
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