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 learned about the eighteenth century Shillaber connection in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to that of the Shillabers in Danvers and the Osborn family. Here is that story.
"...The Shillaber family, Quakers of Danvers and Salem, Massachusetts, included a line of skilled red earthenware potters who helped shape early coastal New England. The lineage began with John Shillaber Senior (1643–1754), who arrived from England and settled in Salem in the late 1600s after previously living in Charlestown.
By the mid-1700s, his grandson, John Shillaber (1725–1791), was learning the trade in the Danvers/Salem area. He worked alongside his father, John Shillaber Junior (1667–1754), who had married Mary Trask (1669–1760) in Salem around 1690. The elder John likely learned the craft from either the Osborn or Kettle families.
The Shillabers were more than just business owners; they were deeply integrated into the local Quaker community. These ties were so strong that the youngest John’s granddaughter, Mary (1762–1796), eventually united the Osborn and Shillaber families when she married Joseph Osborn Junior (1757-1829) in Danvers on May 17, 1785.
In the 1760s, the youngest John decided to strike out on his own. He moved north to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he acquired land near Puddle Dock and built a house on Washington Street in 1768. He continued the family trade by opening his own red earthenware company. Records from the Portsmouth Athenaeum indicate that while his home was near the waterfront, his pottery was located at the corner of Richards Avenue and Middle Street in a less developed part of the city.
The company’s success is unknown and may have been short-lived; living on Washington Street put John in the center of the local fight for independence, as his neighborhood became a hub for patriot activity during the American Revolution. Nevertheless, he appears to have produced some slip decorated pottery. Evidence of this was found years ago on the old Shillaber property in the form of a slip decorated red earthenware chamber pot.
While the pot appears to have been fired in John’s kiln, it shares characteristics with pieces made by some of his counterparts in coastal Massachusetts. During this time, there was a steady stream of red earthenware imported from Massachusetts manufacturers, such as the Parker Pottery in Charlestown (pre-1755) and potentially the circa 1764-1799 Daniel Bayley (1729-1792) Pottery Company in Newburyport. Additionally, the chamber pot found on the Shillaber property may be related to another eighteenth century chamber pot recently recovered at the African Burial Ground in Portsmouth, a topic discussed further in Volume II."
Note: For more information about production in Portsmouth - see these previously published books:
1) 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/
2) An Influential Family of Early Potters: The Clarks of New Hampshire and Related Businesses: https://historicbeverly.net/product/an-influential-family-of-early-potters-the-clarks-of-new-hampshire-and-related-businesses/
The Shillaber and Osborn Connection: A Quaker Pottery Legacy
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