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 conducting research for the new book, I thought it was important to note that there were a number of yeomen or farmers in Danvers in the eighteenth century who may have produced red earthenware in the winter months, though most of that production is undocumented today. Here is that story.
"...In the 1700s, the landscape of Salem Village (now Danvers), Massachusetts was partially defined by its "yeoman" class, independent farmers who owned their land and formed the backbone of the local economy. Families such as the Putnam, Porter, Endicott, and Nourse (Nurse) managed extensive farmland, specializing in livestock and staple crops. The Putnams were particularly influential, often at the center of both community leadership and the social friction that preceded the American Revolution. Meanwhile, the Endicotts maintained the famous Orchard Farm, and the Nourse family cultivated acres that are now preserved as historic sites. Other established families like the Flint, Pope, Upton, Goodell, Needham, and Felton further solidified this farming circle.
Beyond standard agriculture, some of these farms may have also produced some red earthenware, helping to supplement their annual income, farming in the warmer months, while manufacturing pottery in the winter. This was a common seasonal activity for farmers to operate this way, although most eighteenth century red earthenware was unmarked and utilitarian, meaning any of this farm-based production remains undocumented today.
The Quaker faith was also part of this farming community in Danvers, where some of these families were related to the Southwicks and Osbornes. These Quaker connections often translated into business alliances; for example, the Needham and Felton families lived in close proximity to known Quaker centers, and likewise the red earthenware produced by the better-known Quaker pottery families in Danvers was undoubtedly used for daily tasks and needs by these farming families.
Among the many families mentioned, the Feltons, Trasks, Stones, and Needhams were directly linked to the Osborns. The Felton relationship began with the marriage of Joseph Osborn’s (1757–1829) daughter, Mary (1786–1851), to Amory Felton (1784–1860). Joseph himself was the son of Joseph Osborn Junior (1726–1791), a second-generation master potter, and he also married into the Shillaber family, who were potters as well: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2026/05/the-shillaber-and-osborn-connection.html.
Similarly, the Trasks and Stones intermarried with the Osborns to consolidate land and technical trade secrets. The Needhams were integrated through the local Quaker community, forming a kinship network that prioritized shared labor and business alliances. The Porters, Putnams, and Proctors were primarily elite land-owning neighbors, while they also intermarried with the Osborns over the generations..."
Note: For more information about later production at the site of the Osborn Pottery at 106 Central Street in Peabody - see my second published book, titled, The Moses B. Paige Company: The Last of the Peabody Potteries: https://historicbeverly.net/product/the-moses-b-paige-company-the-last-of-the-peabody-potteries/.
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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