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 the 1756 marriage record of Joseph Osborne Junior and Mary Proctor, a union that proved essential to the long-term success of the Osborne pottery dynasty in Danvers/Peabody. Here is that story.
"...This page from the Danvers Town Records captures marriages from the 1750s, documenting the families who lived and worked in Danvers and Salem Village. The ledger includes the surnames: Andrew, Bancroft, Burton, Butler, Chapman, Collins, Cook, Dunil, Felton, Foster, Gardner, Giles, Herrick, Jefrey, Kemp, Knight, Leach, Lowell, Mack, Mansfield, Marsh, Oakes, Osborne, Prince, Proctor, Putnam, Read, Session, Shaw, Shilaber, Smith, Tarrington, Twist, Twiss, Upton, Waters, and Whitridge.
Among the names is the January 6, 1756, marriage between Joseph Osborne Junior (1726–1791) and Mary Proctor (1733–1791), perhaps the most significant union in the history of the Osborne pottery dynasty. This alliance provided the social and financial stability that allowed the family's red earthenware business to thrive for generations. Though the Osbornes were a prominent Quaker family, the ceremony was recorded in Salem Village by Reverend Peter Clark (1693–1768). Notably, Clark was the grandfather of Captain Peter Clark (1743-1826), the celebrated red earthenware potter who worked throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire: https://historicbeverly.net/product/an-influential-family-of-early-potters-the-clarks-of-new-hampshire-and-related-businesses/.
Joseph Junior was the eldest son of Joseph Osborne Senior (1702-1780), who established the family’s first pottery shop in South Danvers in 1736. By marrying into the Proctor family, Joseph Junior was now related to one of the most prominent land-owning families in Salem Village, and one of the richest families in the area.
The Proctors were a wealthy farming family who became famous for standing up against the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. The family patriarch, John Proctor (1631-1692), was a successful tavern owner who was executed after he openly called the accusers frauds. His wife and children were also arrested, but they survived and eventually cleared the family name once the hysteria ended. Over the next few decades, the Proctors moved past this tragedy and became leaders in the local community.
The concentration of kilns in South Danvers during the late 1700s and early 1800s was partly a result of the Osborne-Proctor marriage, which merged technical trade skills with significant land wealth. Access to the Proctors' extensive landholdings allowed Osborne descendants to build numerous kilns and buildings related to pottery production, creating a dedicated "pottery neighborhood" on Central Street.
This marriage effectively transitioned the pottery trade from a first-generation startup under Joseph Senior into a multi-generational business. Under Joseph Junior’s leadership, and supported by the Proctor family, the Osborne’s red earthenware production became a major part of the Danvers and Salem area economy. This specific record marks the moment the trade was secured for the next generation, as Joseph and Mary’s children would go on to operate multiple kilns throughout Danvers and Peabody. Ultimately, this document captures the exact point where the Osborne family turned into leaders as part of the New England red earthenware industry, where some of their production would eventually be called “Danvers China.”
Note: For information about some of the later production on 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/.
No comments:
Post a Comment