This post is another preview of my forthcoming two-volume, 1,800+ page, tenth book, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly and Salem, Massachusetts: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2026/01/update-on-new-book-book-sent-to.html.
While researching the new book, I learned of a 1696 probate record owned by a museum in Deerfield listing an earthen colander, which reminded me of an actual surviving example owned by a museum in Boston. Here is that story.
"...Displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is a slip decorated red earthenware colander, which was possibly made in Massachusetts. However, there is not much to go by in terms of archaeological evidence of this domestic form.
Interestingly, the Memorial Hall Museum in Deerfield, Massachusetts owns a probate inventory record from Edward Allen (circa 1633-1696) of Suffield (now Hartford County), Connecticut. It is dated “December 17, 1696” and includes “A two Earthen platers and a Culender.” The group is valued at 0 pounds, 5 shillings, and 0 pence (written as 0 - 5 - 0 in the right-hand columns).
Allen arrived in the Salem, Massachusetts area, where he married Sarah Kimball (1635-1696) in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts on November 24, 1658. According to historical records, "On October 30, 1678, Edward was granted 60 acres in Suffield. His three older sons were granted forty acres each by the committee charged with the settling of Suffield. In spite of this grant, Edward and his son, John (1659-1704), took an oath of allegience to the town of Ipswich on December 11, 1678. The family remained in Ipswich until the spring of 1680, but they moved to Suffield shortly thereafter. Edward was referred to as Corporal when he was chosen a selectman in Suffield on March 7, 1693."
It is unclear where the "two Earthen platers and a Culender" were made that were noted in his inventory, although there was red earthenware production in places like Salem, Gloucester and Charlestown (among other locations) before Edward arrived in Connecticut in 1680. A seventeenth century colander would have been used for draining foods like fish, rinsing grains and straining liquids, similar to its function today. They were also used for straining beverages. Colanders were also made from copper and tinned sheet iron during this period. It should be noted that Edward’s brother, James Allen (1632-1709) was the Reverend at the First Church of Boston. He studied at Oxford, and arrived at Boston on June 10, 1662."
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