The Variety of 19th Century Red Earthenware Recovered at the African American Meeting House in Boston

As I noted in a post from earlier this week, titled, Some More Information About Forthcoming Book: A Bristol County, Mass. Red Earthenware Pitcher Recovered at the African American Meeting House in Boston, Etc.: "All of the information in this post (about the archaeology of the African American Meeting House in Boston) will be included 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 a brief history: The African Meeting House in Boston, built in 1806, is the oldest surviving Black church building in the United States and a landmark of African American history. Originally the First African Baptist Church, it was a center for community life, serving as a church, school and a crucial hub for abolitionist and civil rights activism.

Among those involved with the building was Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), who delivered several speeches and participated in major abolitionist efforts, including the recruitment of Black soldiers for the Civil War. The building was a central hub for the nineteenth century Black community and the abolitionist movement. Among the building's involvement with the Civil War was serving as a major recruitment post for the 54th Regiment.

One of events involving Douglass was when he spoke at the African American Meeting House on May 3, 1849, which was part of a reception held for him after his return from his European speaking tour. He also gave speeches at other venues in Boston around this time, including a speech against the Mexican-American War at Faneuil Hall on May 3, 1849, among other venues in the area during the 1840s-1860s.

This is the African American Meeting House in Boston

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Photo Courtesy: National Park Service

While studying this archaeology collection some years back, I noticed a number of objects that appeared like they were made by some of the Quaker potters in Bristol County, Massachusetts and the Danvers and Salem area. Quakers were among the first white people to denounce slavery publicly and the first organization to take a collective stand against the practice. The first evidence of this belief in America happened in 1688 when four German Quakers in Germantown, Pennsylvania, organized a protest against slavery in the American colonies, known as the "Germantown Petition."

It makes sense to me that that this is where this type of pottery would have originated; all of the New England states abolished slavery in the eighteenth century, although it was gradual with Connecticut and New Hampshire, where Connecticut did not fully abolish it until 1848 and New Hampshire was not until 1857.

Nonetheless, most of these objects appear like they originated in coastal Massachusetts, while the slip decorated bowl sherds may have come from Pennsylvania, which was another big location for Quakers. Slip decorated red earthenware pans were produced in places like Bristol County and the Danvers and Salem area, but the nineteenth century archaeological context of these bowl artifacts appears to be later than when this type of production happened in coastal Massachusetts.

Red Earthenware Recovered at the African American Meeting House in Boston

19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher with a Mottled Green Glaze

Likely from Bristol County, Mass.

Recovered at the African American Meeting House in Boston

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Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Program

A View of the Handle

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Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Program

19th Century Green Glazed Lid Sherds

Likely the Remains of a Lid to Jar from Bristol County, Mass.

Recovered at the African American Meeting House in Boston

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Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Program

19th Century Red Earthenware Jug Sherds Likely from Coastal, Mass.

Possibly Made in Essex County, Mass.

Recovered at the African American Meeting House in Boston

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Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Program

19th Century Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Sherds Likely from Coastal, Mass.

Possibly Made in Essex County, Mass.

Recovered at the African American Meeting House in Boston

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Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Program

19th Century Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Sherds from an American Manufacturer

Recovered at the African American Meeting House in Boston

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Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Program

19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Bowl from an American Manufacturer

Recovered at the African American Meeting House in Boston

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Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Program

19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Pan Sherds from an American Manufacturer

Recovered at the African American Meeting House in Boston

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Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Program

A View of the Profile of the Rim

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Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Program

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