My forthcoming tenth book—a two-volume work spanning more than 1,900 pages—is titled An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly and Salem, Massachusetts. This new publication will expand significantly on the life and career of Peter Clark (1743–1826), who is unquestionably one of the most vital figures in the eighteenth and nineteenth century New England pottery trade.
While my eighth book, An Influential Family of Early Potters: The Clarks of New Hampshire and Related Businesses, largely analyzed his family’s production in New Hampshire, Clark’s vast influence actually began in Danvers, Massachusetts. From there, he established a business in Braintree in the 1760s before going on to shape early pottery production in Hartford, Connecticut, and across New Hampshire and Vermont.
With the book’s release quickly approaching, I made one final trip recently to the Salem Village Parsonage Site in Danvers to ensure no detail was missed. There, one historical marker clearly details the architectural history of the property under the potter's grandfather, Reverend Peter Clark (1693-1768), who became the village minister in 1717. The marker notes that by the early 1730s, the 1681 parsonage had fallen into such poor condition that Reverend Clark urged the community to either renovate or rebuild. This culminated in a January 1734 town vote to demolish the old lean-to and erect a two-and-a-half-story addition on the back west side of the house. Crucially, this very property serves as a dark focal point in American history; it was in this original 1681 parsonage structure that the Salem Witch Trials originally ignited in 1692, under the tenure of Reverend Samuel Parris (1653-1720). This profound layer of historical evolution adds immense depth to the physical landscape the Clark family would later inhabit.
For more information about the Clark family - see my eighth book, though this family will also be highlighted in my eleventh book that is currently an ongoing project, titled, A Monumental History: Stories of Red Earthenware Production in Western Massachusetts, the Berkshires and Vermont: https://historicbeverly.net/product/an-influential-family-of-early-potters-the-clarks-of-new-hampshire-and-related-businesses/.
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Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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