Part of the reason that I believe William Jackson's (d. 1829) circa 1811-1815 red earthenware business in Lynn (Saugus), Massachusetts is significant is because of the way that he approached the company, which reminds me of a similar approach with Isaac (1692-1742) and Grace Parker's (1697-1754) stoneware enterprise in Charlestown, Massachusetts, circa 1741-1745. The Parker's had little precedented success with the manufacture and sale of stoneware, although the Parker Pottery advertised in the Boston Gazette in 1745 that they had produced forty different forms. This was likely an attempt to gain a large share of the stoneware market in the Boston area; the ad read in part, “…blue and white stone ware of forty different forms…” However, the stoneware company ceased production about 1746 and subsequently was announced for sale in the Boston Gazette (see below).
It was a similar situation with William Jackson, who arrived from England in 1808, and established a red earthenware business in Lynn (Saugus) in 1811, although he was not the potter; he likely recruited a potter or potters from the area, perhaps from the Danvers and Salem, Massachusetts area. The business was located a short distance from the site of the seventeenth century Saugus Iron Works. Jackson advertised a wide variety of forms in the Boston Gazette in 1811 and 1814, although it was around 1815 that he had apparently given up on the business and moved onto other business ventures.
Jackson then got into politics; he was a signer of a petition in 1814 that requested that Lynn's Second Parish be set off as a separate town, known as Westport (see below). The plan was abandoned, however the following year the Second Parish separated from Lynn and became the Town of Saugus. Saugus' first town meeting was held on March 13, 1815 and Jackson was elected Saugus' first Town Moderator (see below). In 1827 and 1828, Jackson represented Saugus in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
As I noted in a post from earlier this week, titled, The Circa 1811-1815 William Jackson Pottery of Lynn (Saugus), Massachusetts, the information that Lura Woodside Watkins published in Early New England Potters and Their Wares about William Jackson's pottery business came from the 1915 book, History of Saugus, Massachusetts...so I think this is a subject that deserves more attention today. Other than a few short paragraphs, the business has received little attention since the nineteenth century.
The only documented example of Jackson’s pottery known to exist today is a red earthenware jar that originally had a lid; the jar did have a lid when it was originally published in 1974, but it is unclear what happened to it. The jar is adorned in brushed manganese decoration with some incised lines applied on the rim and the around the shoulder. The jar is also stamped on the base “Jackson."
The shape of the jar is similar to some styles produced in North Yarmouth, Maine in the 1800s, although it is unknown if there is any connection. Similar shapes may have also been made in Salem, as well as South Danvers (Peabody), etc. In fact, there is a similar shaped jar in the collection of the Peabody Historical Society that was made in South Danvers so that may indicate there is a connection between Jackson's business and the Danvers and Salem area.
Nonetheless, I feel the jar marked "Jackson" is an important piece of Boston area red earthenware from both a historic pottery angle, as well as local nineteenth century political history. I actually underbid the jar when it sold at Crocker Farm in 2021 for $4,200 including the buyer's premium, whereas it is owned privately in New England today: https://www.crockerfarm.com/stoneware-auction/2021-08-06/lot-100/Exceedingly-Rare-and-Important-Saugus-MA-Redware-Jar-Marked-JACKSON-circa-1811/.
Note: All of this information will be included and illustrated in my forthcoming two-volume, tenth book, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, South Danvers, Peabody and Salem, Massachusetts.
For more information about circa 1741-1745 stoneware production in Charlestown - see my third book, titled, The Dawn of Independence, the Death of an Industry: The Pottery of Charlestown, Massachusetts: https://historicbeverly.net/product/the-dawn-of-independence-the-death-of-an-industry/.
For more information about production in North Yarmouth, Maine - see my seventh book, titled, From One Town Came Many: The Red Earthenware Industry of Ancient North Yarmouth, Maine: https://historicbeverly.net/product/from-one-town-came-many-the-red-earthenware-industry-of-ancient-north-yarmouth-maine/.
The Circa 1811-1815 William Jackson Pottery
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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