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 this specific 1726 marriage entry for Joseph Osborne, whose establishment of a pottery in 1736 marked the official beginning of a century-long manufacturing dynasty in Danvers. Here is that story.
"...This document from the Salem Town Records formalizes marriages from 1725–1726 and contains a census of prominent local surnames, including: Bickford, Blash, Bloden, Bound, Brown, Browne, Butler, Carrel, Cheever, Coffeen, Cole, Cook, Curtis, Daniel, Day, Dodge, Dowing, Felch, Felton, Flint, Foster, Francis, Frost, Fuller, Ganson, Giles, Glover, Goldthwaite, Goodale, Gould, Griffin, Groce, Hagerman, Heal, Henfield, Henley, Herrick, Hickey, Hutchinson, Kellum, Kennel, Kenney, Knight, Lake, Lakey, Lambert, Leach, Lee, Lindall, Marsh, Marston, Moore, Moulton, Osborne, Phippen, Pickering, Pinion, Porter, Preston, Proctor, Putnam, Reed, Robbins, Rogers, Sawier, Searle, Shakerly, Skipper, Smethurst, Smith, Stiles, Tapley, Tarbox, Towles, Upton, Weaver, Whipple, White, and Williams.
These names not only represent many prominent families associated with the established Puritan church, such as the Putnams and Proctors, they also highlight the growing presence of the Quaker faith in Salem.
Among these entries is the July 12, 1726, marriage of Joseph Osborne (1702–1780) and Rachel Foster (1703–1733). Rachel was the daughter of David Foster (1665-1748) and Hannah Buxton (1665-1732), while Joseph was the grandson of John Southwick (1625-1772), a member of the persecuted Quaker family in Salem (detailed in Volume I, Chapter 6).
The union of the Buxton and Foster families documents a significant religious shift in Salem’s history. During the 1600s, these families were often torn between the ruling Puritans and the persecuted Quakers. Although early family members frequently adhered to Puritan laws to avoid legal trouble, descendants of the Buxton and Fosters families typically embraced the Quaker faith. By the time of this 1726 record, both families were officially identified as Quakers.
Interestingly, the Osborne-Foster marriage was performed in Salem Village by Reverend Peter Clark (1693–1768). Clark was the grandfather of Captain Peter Clark (1743-1826), the noted red earthenware potter who worked throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Following Rachel’s death, Joseph married Sarah Gardner (b. 1710) in 1734—a ceremony also performed by Reverend Clark. Joseph’s children from both marriages eventually established the Osborne pottery dynasty, a lineage rooted in the first business Joseph founded in Danvers in 1736."
Note: For more information about the persecution of Quakers in the 1600s - see a feature story I wrote that was published on page 10 in the December 12, 2025 issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly, titled, The Southwick Family Of Potters Of Salem & South Danvers, Mass.: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2025/12/new-published-feature-story-in-antiques.html.
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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