An Important Document Believed to Have Been Written by Peter Clark, a Colonial Potter in Massachusetts and New Hampshire

It has been almost one year since I wrote an article about the eighteenth and nineteenth century colonial New England potter, Peter Clark (1743-1826), which was published in the August 2016 edition of the New England Antiques Journal. Clark began his career on Boston's South Shore in Braintree, Massachusetts producing red earthenware as early as 1763; although, he is believed to have trained in the potter's industry in Essex County, Massachusetts. But Clark abruptly relocated his family just before the American Revolution began in January 1775, where he moved north to Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, a move that would enable his family to establish a major role in the central New Hampshire potter's industry for the next one-hundred years.

I began that article when I introduced a nineteenth century map that had recently been identified by a collector in New Hampshire - the map showed the whereabouts of the Clark Pottery in Lyndeborough, a location that has been identified today, where a large collection of kiln waste from the Clark family has been discovered.

Nevertheless, yet another piece of nineteenth century paper has emerged in the antique marketplace that is also directly related to Peter Clark. This testimony appears to have been written entirely by Clark, who drafted this document on April 2, 1810 in protest of Mr. Jaazaniah Crosby, whom wished to become pastor of Lyndeborough in 1810.

According to the book, 'The History of the Town of Lyndeborough, 1735-1905 (published 1906),' "Reverend Sewall Goodridge (1747-1809) was ordained in Lyndeborough on September 7, 1768. He had been preaching in the town for some time previous. 

Reverend Mr. Clark in his historical address says of Mr. Goodridge, 'He was a liberty loving man, and when the coming storm of the Revolution began to lower, and the oppression of the mother country and the rights of men began to be discussed all over the land and his people were not ignorant of these things, and both minister and people warmly espoused the cause of the colonies. In the second year of his pastorate, twenty-four united with the church, and there were additions almost every year for twenty years.'

The arduous duties of his parish impaired the health of Mr. Goodridge and he resigned in 1806, but the town continued him in office and voted him an annuity of one hundred dollars while he lived.

Also according to 'The History of the Town of Lyndeborough, 1735-1905,' "The most unfeigned thanks of Mrs. Goodridge and family were presented to the town for the respect shown to the memory of her late husband and their father at the adjourned meeting, March 21, 1809.

After the resignation of Mr. Goodridge, the church called three pastors in succession, Mr. Jesse Fisher, Reverend Abraham Randall and Reverand Jaazaniah Crosby. But difficulties arose concerning each of these , and none of them was installed as pastor. The Reverend Nathaniel Merrill was next called in 1811, and became pastor."

Incredibly, the hand written document that has recently emerged is directly related to the events that I just described - the document is believed to have been written by Clark, and signed by 34 different people from Lyndeborough. Not only does the document include Peter Clark's writing and signature, but it also includes the signatures of Clark's sons and grandchildren, John Clark, Jr., Peter Clark, Jr. and John Farmer Clark, who were local potters, but they were also responsible for establishing an important potter's industry in Concord, New Hampshire in the 1800s.

The documented reads, "To the inhabitants of the Town of Lyndeborough in town meeting assembled on the second day of April A.D. 1810...We the subscribers do inform you that it gives us great uneasiness to see you come forward in this way again in regard of settling Mr. Jaazaniah Crosby in the work of the ministry amongst us in this town, and we do hearby protest against paying one cent of the cost of his ordination or any part of the sums that is or may be voted to him for his settlement or salary for his support, for the following reasons: (they then go on to list the reasons)."

After studying this document, as well as Reverend Sewall Goodridge's involvement in Lyndeborough, I am now curious to learn whether Reverend Goodridge was the reason that Peter Clark left Massachusetts in 1775 in search of new opportunity in southern New Hampshire; it appears that Lyndeborough became an appealing community for Patriots to reside around the American Revolution once Goodridge was ordained in 1768.

Could Clark have been a part of the "additions" or people who united with Reverend Goodridge's church in 1775?! Was there a relationship between Clark and Reverend Goodridge prior to January 1775? I really feel this is a theory that should be further explored.

Note: Here is a link to an article that I posted on this website just after my Peter Clark article was published last summer in the New England Antiques Journal - this online article further examines Clark's role in Lyndeborough, where a group of objects that relate to Clark are explored, which are owned by the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont.

1810 Document Protesting Mr. Jaazaniah Crosby in Lyndeborough, NH

1810 Document Protesting Appointment of Mr. Jaazaniah Crosby to Pastor in Lyndeborough, NH

The Document is Believed to have Been Written by Peter Clark, Lyndeborough, NH Potter

Although the Document was Also Signed by Other New Hampshire Potters

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

 Another View of the Document

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

 Another View of the Document

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Document

Although the Document was Also Signed by Other New Hampshire Potters

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

The Signatures

View of Peter Clark's Signature Among Other Signatures

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

 Another View of the Signatures

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Signatures

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

 Another View of the Signatures

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Signatures

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

Some Information that Will be Included in Forthcoming Tenth Book: More About the Clark Family and Thomas Oliver's Estate Inventory in Salem Village from 1679

For those of you who bought my eighth book, titled, An Influential Family of Early Potters: The Clarks of New Hampshire and Related Businesses, there will be more information about the Clark family published in my forthcoming 800-900 page, tenth book, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, South Danvers, Peabody and Salem, Massachusetts. I'm hoping the book will be published sometime this fall, otherwise early next year.

This is some information that will be published in the new book: "An interesting connection found in the Salem Village Parsonage was that Reverend Peter Clark (1693-1768), who served as the minister from 1717-1768 was the grandfather of Captain Peter Clark (1743-1826) of Braintree, Massachusetts and Lyndeborough, New Hampshire. Captain Clark was an influential potter in both locations, although he was likely previously a trained potter in the South Danvers area. This success as a potter was partly a result of domestically produced red earthenware being a non-valuable commodity at the time. These objects also often had a shorter lifespan when compared to the imported wares due to more frequent use, among other reasons. As a result, these locally produced wares were often in high-demand and regularly produced because of the household needs in the Danvers, South Danvers (Peabody) and Salem area.

Captain Peter Clark’s parents were Peter Clark (1720-1747) and Anna Porter (Clark) (Faxon) (1722-1763); they were both born in Danvers, Massachusetts. The elder Clark was the son of Reverend Peter Clark of Salem Village. They were married in Salem, Massachusetts on October 3, 1741. They were then living in Braintree by 1743. The elder Peter Clark died in Braintree in 1747, and Anna Clark died in Braintree in 1763. Although she remarried Thomas Faxon (1710-1801) in Braintree on September 14, 1752. 

The Clark family eventually influenced production in a number of locations in New England in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, especially in New Hampshire and Vermont, with lesser known businesses in Orford, New Hampshire and Brownington, Vermont. The Clark family can also be traced back to Hugh Clark (1612-1693) in Watertown, Massachusetts, who migrated to Massachusetts from London, England in 1638.

(Shown below) This is Reverend Peter Clark's probate inventory from July 1768 in Salem Village; he was born in Watertown, graduated from Harvard College in Cambridge in 1712, and became the minister of the Salem Village parsonage in 1717."

Reverend Peter Clark's Probate from July 1768

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Essex County Probate Records

Reverend Peter Clark's Probate from July 1768

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Essex County Probate Records

Reverend Peter Clark's Probate from July 1768

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Essex County Probate Records

Reverend Peter Clark's Probate from July 1768

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Essex County Probate Records

Additionally, "...a notable estate inventory from Salem Village is one from 1679 from Thomas Oliver (1601-1679). Oliver was born in England in 1601, and was a passenger listed aboard the “Marey Ann of Yarmouth,” which departed England on May 13, 1637.

The "Mary Anne of Yarmouth" was a ship that sailed from Ipswich, England, to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1637, carrying passengers including those persecuted for their Puritan beliefs. The ship was captained by William Goose and left England in May, arriving in Boston on June 20th.

Oliver was living in Salem, Massachusetts by 1641, which is where his daughter Mary (b. 1641) was born. His first wife was Mary Leeman (1605-1666), who he married on January 29, 1626 in Norfolk, England. However, she passed away in 1666, and Oliver remarried Bridget Bishop (1632-1692), who was the first victim of the Salem Witch Trials in June of 1692.

Among the items listed in Thomas Oliver’s estate were “some few earth [enware] dishes.” These may have been imported wares from England, although there may have been some production in Salem during this period, as well as known production from the Drinker and Kettle families in Charlestown, Massachusetts."

Thomas Oliver's Estate Inventory from Salem Village, Mass. in 1679

Earthenware Dishes are Noted

See Article for More Information

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

Great Examples of 19th Century Pottery Made by John Betts Gregory in Clinton, NY

Earlier this month, I posted a story about John Betts Gregory, a late-eighteenth and nineteenth century potter in Norwalk, Connecticut, Long Island and Clinton, New York, In part, I wrote in that article, "In 1896, Reverend Charles Melbourne Selleck (1831-1909) wrote Norwalk, "in an attempt to bring the town's history fully to light, and to preserve and to perpetuate its mentions and memoirs. Many of these were gathered by the author while engaged in the necessarily hasty preparation of his 1886 St. Paul's Church centenary address in Norwalk, Connecticut, but most of them have since been collected, and their public presentation upon the eve of the town's quarter-millennial birth anniversary."

As part of Reverend Selleck's history of Norwalk was the life of John Betts Gregory (1782-1842), a potter who began and ended his career in Norwalk; although, I believe Reverend Selleck's recount was the first time Gregory's entire career had been published, only to be later cited in some twentieth century historical and pottery related publications.

According to Reverend Selleck, "John Betts Gregory was born in Norwalk in 1782 to Abraham and Elizabeth Gregory, who lived where the late Henry Marvin resided, on East Avenue, and south of the ancient Beacham Lane. He learned his trade (potter) of Absalom Day (1770-1843) of "Old Well (neighborhood in Norwalk)." After his marriage to Olive (1786-1883), he had a good business offer from Huntington, Long Island, which he accepted. He afterward established a pottery in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, which required a building 140x40 for his operations. He returned in 1831 to Norwalk and bought from Samuel Hanford, Half-Mile Isle, paying $325.00. He there built a kiln for the burning of earthenware and stoneware. The kiln was erected in 1832 by masons Lewis and George Raymond of "Old Well." The business was here kept up until 1840. Mr. Gregory died July 22, 1842.

Interestingly, the personalities of most early American potters are not known; however, author, Amos Delos Gridley published History of the Town of Kirkland, New York in 1874, describing the businesses of Erastus Barnes and Gregory, as well as a first-hand account he had been told by someone who knew Gregory: "Erastus Barnes established the first pottery in Clinton, his works being nearly in the rear of the late Reverend Charles Jerome's residence on College Street (Hamilton College established in 1793). He found clay of an excellent quality on the Gleason farm, near Manchester, and his business was, for those times, large and lucrative. Mr. John B. Gregory succeeded him, and carried on the same industry for several years. He was quite a recluse, being seldom seen outside of his own premises. Yet he had a genial soul, and loved to scatter jokes and bits of humor among old and young who came to inspect his works or to buy his wares. He was a devout Methodist. Placing a lump of clay on his lathe, he would set his wheel a-spinning, and, while moulding pan or jug or other vessel, would burst into some old refrain, as --

"Behold the potter and the clay !

He forms his vessels as he please."

While it is relatively well known today that Gottfried Aust's circa 1773 red earthenware store sign from Salem, North Carolina is displayed at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, it is lesser known that a store sign from Gregory's business is also in existence. I recently learned about this slip-script sign from Sagamore, Massachusetts antiques dealer, Brian Cullity; Brian purchased this sign privately years ago when it appeared on Cape Cod, and he later sold it to the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum at Colonial Williamsburg. The script reads, "Ware / Plenty / Come / And Buy."

Two other pieces of pottery made by John Betts Gregory that Brian has bought and sold during his career include another slip-script dish, which reads, "Well / Made," as well as a pitcher decorated with an eagle on two sides. This pitcher is also signed "Clinton" and believed to be dated "1825," and thought to reside in a private collection today.

Great Examples of Pottery Made by John Betts Gregory in Clinton, NY

19th Century Slip-Script Store Sign Made by John Betts Gregory in Clinton, NY
Inscribed "Ware / Plenty / Come / And Buy"

Measures 16 5/16" Wide

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum

Another View of the Sign

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Brian Cullity

19th Century Slip-Script Dish Attributed to John Betts Gregory in Clinton, NY

Possibly Also Used as a Store Sign

Inscribed "Well / Made"

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Brian Cullity

19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher Decorated with Two Eagles on Either Side

Attributed to John Betts Gregory in Clinton, NY

Inscribed "Clinton" and Thought to be Dated "1825"

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Brian Cullity

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

The 19th Century Pottery of John Betts Gregory in Clinton, New York

In 1896, Reverend Charles Melbourne Selleck (1831-1909) wrote Norwalk, "in an attempt to bring the town's history fully to light, and to preserve and to perpetuate its mentions and memoirs. Many of these were gathered by the author while engaged in the necessarily hasty preparation of his 1886 St. Paul's Church centenary address in Norwalk, Connecticut, but most of them have since been collected, and their public presentation upon the eve of the town's quarter-millennial birth anniversary."

As part of Reverend Selleck's history of Norwalk was the life of John Betts Gregory (1782-1842), a potter who began and ended his career in Norwalk; although, I believe Reverend Selleck's recount was the first time Gregory's entire career had been published, only to be later cited in some twentieth century historical and pottery related publications.

According to Reverend Selleck, "John Betts Gregory was born in Norwalk in 1782 to Abraham and Elizabeth Gregory, who lived where the late Henry Marvin resided, on East Avenue, and south of the ancient Beacham Lane. He learned his trade (potter) of Absalom Day (1770-1843) of "Old Well (neighborhood in Norwalk)." After his marriage to Olive (1786-1883), he had a good business offer from Huntington, Long Island, which he accepted. He afterward established a pottery in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, which required a building 140x40 for his operations. He returned in 1831 to Norwalk and bought from Samuel Hanford, Half-Mile Isle, paying $325.00. He there built a kiln for the burning of earthenware and stoneware. The kiln was erected in 1832 by masons Lewis and George Raymond of "Old Well." The business was here kept up until 1840. Mr. Gregory died July 22, 1842."

Situated almost 50 miles east of Syracuse, New York and in between Rochester, New York and Albany, New York, the Village of Clinton was settled in 1787 by Revolutionary War Veterans and families from Plymouth, Connecticut, having been named after New York's first governor, George Clinton (1739-1812). This settlement eventually expanded into a town, joining Kirkland in the nineteenth century, but the original village was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

The reason why Gregory moved to landlocked upstate New York may have been a simple desire to operate his own pottery, but he may have also heard news of Clinton's connection to Connecticut and other areas in this part of New York.

Nevertheless, Gregory arrived in Clinton sometime around 1808-1810 with his wife and two daughters, purchasing a pottery from Erastus Barnes, Clinton's first potter. But Gregory's desire to move north may have also been a religious quest, seeing that at the time, parts of New York were engulfed with new religious movements in the early-nineteenth century, finding much of this activity in central and western upstate New York.

Aside from his family, Gregory brought along his knowledge of slip-decoration and slip-script, which he had learned from Absalom Day in Connecticut, a New Jersey trained potter who arrived in Norwalk about 1793. But he likely practiced this type of production while employed in Huntington, as well sometime around the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century.

John Betts Gregory may have been the first red earthenware potter producing slip-decorated pottery in upstate New York, a technique that was already practiced in downstate New York, and later embraced by a number of potters employed in Western New York. But he clearly manufactured a lot of wares while employed in Clinton for about 20 years, circa 1810-1829. The most notable of those objects today are the wares that were decorated with slip, but he must have produced simpler decorated pottery in the same manner. Much of this production was also likely intended for local consumption.

Unfortunately, not much is left of the Clinton Pottery today, since the Owens-Pavlot Funeral Home was built on top of the pottery in the nineteenth century, having been established in 1867.

Interestingly, the personalities of most early American potters are not known; however, author, Amos Delos Gridley published History of the Town of Kirkland, New York in 1874, describing the businesses of Erastus Barnes and Gregory, as well as a first-hand account he had been told by someone who knew Gregory: "Erastus Barnes established the first pottery in Clinton, his works being nearly in the rear of the late Reverend Charles Jerome's residence on College Street (Hamilton College established in 1793). He found clay of an excellent quality on the Gleason farm, near Manchester, and his business was, for those times, large and lucrative. Mr. John B. Gregory succeeded him, and carried on the same industry for several years. He was quite a recluse, being seldom seen outside of his own premises. Yet he had a genial soul, and loved to scatter jokes and bits of humor among old and young who came to inspect his works or to buy his wares. He was a devout Methodist. Placing a lump of clay on his lathe, he would set his wheel a-spinning, and, while moulding pan or jug or other vessel, would burst into some old refrain, as ---

"Behold the potter and the clay !

He forms his vessels as he please."

Among the best known examples of slipware produced by Gregory in Clinton is a large slip-script plate, "Why / Will You / Die," which has been published, and was owned for many years by retired New York State archaeologist and museum specialist, George Hamell. Other notable objects of interest include a slip-decorated vase with two eagles, as well as another plate inscribed, "Made / By J B G / Oct 18 1823 / Clinton," which is considered one of the earliest examples of dated and signed red earthenware from New York.

Although, a slip-script plate "Clinton / Ware" was just re-discovered in 2016 by the Clinton Historical Society. According to the museum, "While recently moving artifacts in our downstairs storeroom, trying to make better use of our space. We came across an old clock, which we thought we would plug in to see if it still worked. As it powered back to life, we noticed what we thought were clockworks wrapped in paper. 

When we moved from our room in the Kirkland Town Library in 1999, we packed things well for the move and for their storage until we got our new building organized. We suspect this plate was carefully wrapped for the move so it would make a safe trip down the street. The clock with the plate inside of it arrived and it was carefully put away, and as the clock was never used, the plate remained inside of it and has been forgotten about for the last 17 years." 

But in spite of all the more elaborate designs and presentation pieces, Gregory must have decorated objects with basic glazes and simpler designs in slip. Some of these objects might even be mistaken for production from elsewhere today. However, it may be difficult to properly identify any simple slipware from Clinton, especially without archaeology - and the fact that some/many of the designs likely closely resemble wares produced in southern Connecticut, downstate New York, eastern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. To be honest, I'm not even sure how an accurate attribution could be developed, based on only lines of slip, outside of the more elaborate decorated wares and signed pieces, but I would like to believe that any of this type of slipware dug locally was very likely made in Clinton before 1830.

Slipware Made in Clinton, NY Before, Circa 1810-1829

 19th Century Slip-Script Red Earthenware Plate
Recently Re-Discovered in Storage at the Clinton Historical Society

Attributed to John Betts Gregory in Clinton, NY

Inscribed "Clinton / Ware"

Circa 1810-1829

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Clinton Historical Society

View of the Back
Old Tag Reads, "1823," But I Don't Know the Accuracy of this Information

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Clinton Historical Society

19th Century Slip-Script Red Earthenware Plate

Made by John Betts Gregory in Clinton, NY

This is One of the Earliest Dated and Signed Pieces of Red Earthenware Known from New York

Inscribed "Made / By J B G / Oct 18 1823 / Clinton"

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Clinton and the Town of Kirkland

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Decorated with Two Eagles in Slip and Two Twisted Handles

Attributed to John Betts Gregory in Clinton, NY
Circa 1810-1823

Stands 7 1/2" Tall

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm

 Another View of the Jar

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm

 View of One Handle

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm

View of the Other Handle

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

New Published Feature Story in Antiques and The Arts Weekly: A Red Earthenware Pitcher Discovered At The Reverend Jonathan Atkinson House

This is the print version of my latest feature story published in the current August 1, 2025 issue of Antiques and The Arts Weekly, titled, A Red Earthenware Pitcher Discovered At The Reverend Jonathan Atkinson House.

Here is a link to a PDF of the August 1st issue: https://antiquesandthearts.pressreader.com/antiques-and-the-arts-weekly/20250801

Here is a link to a PDF of the article: https://www.scribd.com/document/892392861/0801-D-032-ANA-Limington

New Published Feature Story in Antiques and The Arts Weekly

New Published Feature Story

A Red Earthenware Pitcher Discovered At The Reverend Jonathan Atkinson House

August 1, 2025 Issue of Antiques and The Arts Weekly

See Article for More Information

New Published Feature Story

A Red Earthenware Pitcher Discovered At The Reverend Jonathan Atkinson House

August 1, 2025 Issue of Antiques and The Arts Weekly

See Article for More Information

New Published Feature Story

A Red Earthenware Pitcher Discovered At The Reverend Jonathan Atkinson House

August 1, 2025 Issue of Antiques and The Arts Weekly

See Article for More Information

This is the 

August 1, 2025 Issue of Antiques and The Arts Weekly

See Article for More Information

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

The 19th Century Woodman Family Red Earthenware Pottery in Poultney, Vermont

According to Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wares), "One of the first settlers of Poultney, Vermont, was an Essex County man, Samuel Woodman (1753-1828), who left Salem, Massachusetts in 1800. He is mentioned in Reverend William Bentley's (1759-1819) diary (1784-1819) from Salem under the date of June 14, 1814 (where he had returned to Salem in search of potter's supplies):

"Mr Woodman, formerly of Salem, who has four sisters married in Salem, in town from Poultney, Vermont. He could give us no history. He is a potter & is down to purchase materials for glazing his ware. He is in search of manganese in this quarter. He leant his trade in Braintree, Massachusetts, removed to Connecticut, & thence to Poultney on the river which enters at the south end of Lake Champlain. He tells me that his neighbors are chiefly from Connecticut  & from his prejudices I am inclined to believe him."

Reverend William Bentley's 1784-1819 Diary

Samuel Woodman Referenced in Reverend William Bentley's Diary

Cited Purchasing Glaze Material on June 14, 1814

Published by the Essex Institute in 1905

See Article for More Information

Courtesy: Library of Congress

Samuel Woodman Referenced in Reverend William Bentley's Diary

Cited Purchasing Glaze Material on June 14, 1814

Published by the Essex Institute in 1905

See Article for More Information

Courtesy: Library of Congress

Sameul Woodman was forty-seven when he started his pottery in Poultney. He carried it on until about 1820, when his son John (b. 1780) succeeded him. His shop stood where a bank building was later erected (thus archaeological evidence is limited). There is no documentary evidence that he made anything more substantial than "brown earthenware," as noted in the local history. His search for manganese for use in glazing corroborates this tradition."

Nevertheless, the Woodman Pottery in Poultney is another potter's business from Vermont, which is hardly recognized today even though the ouput appears to have been skilled based on a shaving cup that is owned by the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont. The cup was once owned in the early-twentieth century by famed collector, George S. McKearin and it is attributed to the Woodman Pottery.

Interestingly, the unusual combination of the cup's black exterior glaze combined with the colorful interior glaze is a style that matches a pitcher I own, which was recently found in central New Hampshire.

For as long as I have owned this pitcher, I felt it possessed an Essex County, Massachusetts influence; whereas, similar formed pitchers with a single exterior and interior glaze have been recovered from an eighteenth and early-nineteenth century privy at the Narbonne House in Salem, Massachusetts (but similar forms were also made in Portsmouth, New Hampshire). This may be evidence that Samuel Woodman originally trained at the industry in Danvers/Peabody (formerly South Danvers), Massachusetts. John Woodman would have also likely learned the potter's craft by working with his father.

I also question whether this company only produced red earthenware decorated with dark glazes, which resulted from the use of manganese. On the contrary, the only evidence Watkins may have had to work with was what was published in Reverend William Bentley's diary; however, this shaving cup clearly demonstrates the use of two glazes, which I assume may have been produced after 1820 when John Woodman operated the pottery.

Aside from the shaving cup that is attributed to the Woodmans, I have also posted pictures of another red earthenware shaving cup that I acquired in a group lot at a sale at Northeast Auctions last summer in Portsmouth. I have previously written that this cup appears like it may have originated in Essex County or was influenced by the industry in Danvers/Peabody; however, this cup may have also been made in Poultney since it shares similarities in the way it was made, as well as the dark exterior and colorful interior glazes.

Note: Earlier this week, I wrote about the Moses Bradley Pottery, circa 1790-1826, which operated at two different locations in Vermont in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Similar to the Bradley Pottery, there seems to have been a significant output that took place at the Woodman Pottery, which is not realized today. I can easily see this type of production attributed to New Hampshire, Maine and even Massachusetts based on where these type of objects are found today.

A few days ago, I also wrote, "There is a lot yet to be learned about the red earthenware made in Vermont in the 1790s and 1800s. Bradley's business is just one example of the type of production that has been somewhat forgotten in Vermont today. There were many small businesses in Vermont, which likely operated similar to some of the smaller potteries in New Hampshire and Maine. However the Farrar family is what is most known today for the red earthenware that was produced in Vermont, but there were many more potteries, who's production is not defined - and, the stoneware industry in Vermont has overshadowed much of this production for most of the research that has taken place in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries."

Red Earthenware Cup

19th Century Red Earthenwware Shaving Cup

Reportedly Made at the Woodman Pottery in Poultney, VT

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Bennington, Museum - Bennington, VT

Red Earthenware Pitcher

 19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher

Possibly Made in Poultney, VT
Stands 8 1/2" Tall
Recently Discovered in Central New Hampshire

Unusual Combination of Exterior and Interior Glazes Closely Resemble the Cup Above

Form Also Appears to Posses an Essex County, Mass. Influence
Similar Forms were also Made in Portsmouth, NH

See Article for More Information

View of the Interior Glaze

See Article for More Information

Another Red Earthenare Shaving Cup

 19th Century Red Earthenwware Shaving Cup

Possibly Made at the Woodman Pottery in Poultney, VT

Stands 4 1/2" Tall

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Bennington, Museum - Bennington, VT

View of the Interior Glaze

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

Why Will You Die: An Excellent Piece of Slip-Script Red Earthenware from John Betts Gregory in Clinton, New York

In 1896, Reverend Charles Melbourne Selleck (1831-1909) wrote Norwalk, "in an attempt to bring the town's history fully to light, and to preserve and to perpetuate its mentions and memoirs. Many of these were gathered by the author while engaged in the necessarily hasty preparation of his 1886 St. Paul's Church centenary address in Norwalk, Connecticut, but most of them have since been collected, and their public presentation upon the eve of the town's quarter-millennial birth anniversary."

As part of Reverend Selleck's history of Norwalk was the life of John Betts Gregory (1782-1842), a potter who began and ended his career in Norwalk; although, I believe Reverend Selleck's recount was the first time Gregory's entire career had been published, only to be later cited in some twentieth century historical and pottery related publications.

According to Reverend Selleck, "John Betts Gregory was born in Norwalk in 1782 to Abraham and Elizabeth Gregory, who lived where the late Henry Marvin resided, on East Avenue, and south of the ancient Beacham Lane. He learned his trade (potter) of Absalom Day (1770-1843) of "Old Well (neighborhood in Norwalk)." After his marriage to Olive (1786-1883), he had a good business offer from Huntington, Long Island, which he accepted. He afterward established a pottery in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, which required a building 140x40 for his operations. He returned in 1831 to Norwalk and bought from Samuel Hanford, Half-Mile Isle, paying $325.00. He there built a kiln for the burning of earthenware and stoneware. The kiln was erected in 1832 by masons Lewis and George Raymond of "Old Well." The business was here kept up until 1840. Mr. Gregory died July 22, 1842."

Situated almost 50 miles east of Syracuse, New York and in between Rochester, New York and Albany, New York, the Village of Clinton was settled in 1787 by Revolutionary War Veterans and families from Plymouth, Connecticut, having been named after New York's first governor, George Clinton (1739-1812). This settlement eventually expanded into a town, joining Kirkland in the nineteenth century, but the original village was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

The reason why Gregory moved to landlocked upstate New York may have been a simple desire to operate his own pottery, but he may have also heard news of Clinton's connection to Connecticut and other areas in this part of New York.

Nevertheless, Gregory arrived in Clinton sometime around 1808-1810 with his wife and two daughters, purchasing a pottery from Erastus Barnes, Clinton's first potter. But Gregory's desire to move north may have also been a religious quest, seeing that at the time, parts of New York were engulfed with new religious movements in the early-nineteenth century, finding much of this activity in central and western upstate New York.

Aside from his family, Gregory brought along his knowledge of slip-decoration and slip-script, which he had learned from Absalom Day in Connecticut, a New Jersey trained potter who arrived in Norwalk about 1793. But he likely practiced this type of production while employed in Huntington, as well sometime around the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century.

John Betts Gregory may have been the first red earthenware potter producing slip-decorated pottery in upstate New York, a technique that was already practiced in downstate New York, and later embraced by a number of potters employed in Western New York. But he clearly manufactured a lot of wares while employed in Clinton for about 20 years, circa 1810-1829. The most notable of those objects today are the wares that were decorated with slip, but he must have produced simpler decorated pottery in the same manner. Much of this production was also likely intended for local consumption.

Unfortunately, not much is left of the Clinton Pottery today, since the Owens-Pavlot Funeral Home was built on top of the pottery in the nineteenth century, having been established in 1867.

Interestingly, the personalities of most early American potters are not known; however, author, Amos Delos Gridley published History of the Town of Kirkland, New York in 1874, describing the businesses of Erastus Barnes and Gregory, as well as a first-hand account he had been told by someone who knew Gregory: "Erastus Barnes established the first pottery in Clinton, his works being nearly in the rear of the late Reverend Charles Jerome's residence on College Street (Hamilton College established in 1793). He found clay of an excellent quality on the Gleason farm, near Manchester, and his business was, for those times, large and lucrative. Mr. John B. Gregory succeeded him, and carried on the same industry for several years. He was quite a recluse, being seldom seen outside of his own premises. Yet he had a genial soul, and loved to scatter jokes and bits of humor among old and young who came to inspect his works or to buy his wares. He was a devout Methodist. Placing a lump of clay on his lathe, he would set his wheel a-spinning, and, while moulding pan or jug or other vessel, would burst into some old refrain, as --

"Behold the potter and the clay !

He forms his vessels as he please."

Among the best known examples of slipware produced by Gregory in Clinton is a religous slip-script plate, "Why / Will You / Die," which has been published, and was owned for many years by retired New York State archaeologist and museum specialist, George Hamell.

I had the opportunity to handle this slip-script plate a few weeks ago, while visiting Robesonia, Pennsylvania antiques dealer Greg Kramer, who purchased it many years ago from New York City ceramic specialist, Garrison Stradling. The plate survives in excellent condition, and is what I believe to be one of the best examples of domestic slip-script in existence today. There may also be a relationship found in the inscription on this plate and other related religious inscription used on plates and platters manufactured in Norwalk.

According to Ezekiel 23, the twenty-third chapter in the Old Testament, "Say unto them, As I live, saith Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from this way and live; turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?"

"Why Will You Die" Slip-Script Red Earthenware Plate

19th Century Slip-Script Red Earthenware Plate

Attributed to John Betts Gregory in Clinton, New York

Inscribed with the Religious Sentiment "Why Will You Die"

Formerly Owned by New York Archaeologist and Museum Specialist George Hamell

Circa 1810-1829

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Greg Kramer

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

A Trip to the Clinton, New York Historical Society and the Site of the John Betts Gregory Pottery

While traveling through upstate New York last month with my nephew Jason and niece Alexis, we stopped at the Clinton, New York Historical Society to learn more about the museum's collection of advertising slipware made at the John Betts Gregory Pottery in downtown Clinton. We were also given a tour of the site of the pottery, and learned that basically very little archaeology survives from this business today because of late-nineteenth and twentieth century development. As a result, it is almost impossible to differentiate the lesser decorated slipware made by Gregory in Clinton from what he also made in Connecticut and Long Island. But we also learned that very little is known about Gregory's simpler production without slip, and that some of his slipware in Clinton can even be mistaken for wares made in Pennsylvania.

However, despite the fact there is missing information about Gregory's production in Clinton, his story is still a fascinating subject to learn. In 1896, Reverend Charles Melbourne Selleck (1831-1909) wrote Norwalk, "in an attempt to bring the town's history fully to light, and to preserve and to perpetuate its mentions and memoirs. Many of these were gathered by the author while engaged in the necessarily hasty preparation of his 1886 St. Paul's Church centenary address in Norwalk, Connecticut, but most of them have since been collected, and their public presentation upon the eve of the town's quarter-millennial birth anniversary."

As part of Reverend Selleck's history of Norwalk was the life of John Betts Gregory (1782-1842), a potter who began and ended his career in Norwalk; although, I believe Reverend Selleck's recount was the first time Gregory's entire career had been published, only to be later cited in some twentieth century historical and pottery related publications.

According to Reverend Selleck, "John Betts Gregory was born in Norwalk in 1782 to Abraham and Elizabeth Gregory, who lived where the late Henry Marvin resided, on East Avenue, and south of the ancient Beacham Lane. He learned his trade (potter) of Absalom Day (1770-1843) of "Old Well (neighborhood in Norwalk)." After his marriage to Olive (1786-1883), he had a good business offer from Huntington, Long Island, which he accepted. He afterward established a pottery in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, which required a building 140x40 for his operations. He returned in 1831 to Norwalk and bought from Samuel Hanford, Half-Mile Isle, paying $325.00. He there built a kiln for the burning of earthenware and stoneware. The kiln was erected in 1832 by masons Lewis and George Raymond of "Old Well." The business was here kept up until 1840. Mr. Gregory died July 22, 1842."

Situated almost 50 miles east of Syracuse, New York and in between Rochester, New York and Albany, New York, the Village of Clinton was settled in 1787 by Revolutionary War Veterans and families from Plymouth, Connecticut, having been named after New York's first governor, George Clinton (1739-1812). This settlement eventually expanded into a town, joining Kirkland in the nineteenth century, but the original village was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

The reason why Gregory moved to landlocked upstate New York may have been a simple desire to operate his own pottery, but he may have also heard news of Clinton's connection to Connecticut and other areas in this part of New York. There may have also been a financial incentive to move.

Nevertheless, Gregory arrived in Clinton sometime around 1808-1810 with his wife and two daughters, purchasing a pottery from Erastus Barnes, Clinton's first potter. But Gregory's desire to move north may have also been a religious quest, seeing that at the time, parts of New York were engulfed with new religious movements in the early-nineteenth century, finding much of this activity in central and western upstate New York.

Aside from his family, Gregory brought along his knowledge of slip-decoration and slip-script, which he had learned from Absalom Day in Connecticut, a New Jersey trained potter who arrived in Norwalk about 1793. But he likely practiced this type of production while employed in Huntington, as well sometime around the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century.

John Betts Gregory may have been the first red earthenware potter producing slip-decorated pottery in upstate New York, a technique that was already practiced in downstate New York, and later embraced by a number of potters employed in Western New York. But he clearly manufactured a lot of wares while employed in Clinton for about 20 years, circa 1810-1829. The most notable of those objects today are the wares that were decorated with slip, but he must have produced simpler decorated pottery in the same manner. Much of this production was also likely intended for local consumption.

Unfortunately, not much is left of the Clinton Pottery today, since the Owens-Pavlot Funeral Home was built on top of the pottery in the nineteenth century and also occupying Betts' home, having been established in 1867.

Interestingly, the personalities of most early American potters are not known; however, author, Amos Delos Gridley published History of the Town of Kirkland, New York in 1874, describing the businesses of Erastus Barnes and Gregory, as well as a first-hand account he had been told by someone who knew Gregory: "Erastus Barnes established the first pottery in Clinton, his works being nearly in the rear of the late Reverend Charles Jerome's residence on College Street (Hamilton College established in 1793). He found clay of an excellent quality on the Gleason farm, near Manchester, and his business was, for those times, large and lucrative. Mr. John B. Gregory succeeded him, and carried on the same industry for several years. He was quite a recluse, being seldom seen outside of his own premises. Yet he had a genial soul, and loved to scatter jokes and bits of humor among old and young who came to inspect his works or to buy his wares. He was a devout Methodist. Placing a lump of clay on his lathe, he would set his wheel a-spinning, and, while moulding pan or jug or other vessel, would burst into some old refrain, as --

"Behold the potter and the clay !

He forms his vessels as he please."

Among the best known examples of slipware produced by Gregory in Clinton is a large slip-script plate, "Why / Will You / Die," which has been published, and was owned for many years by retired New York State archaeologist and museum specialist, George Hamell. Other notable objects of interest include a slip-decorated vase with two eagles, as well as another plate inscribed, "Made / By J B G / Oct 18 1823 / Clinton" (see below), which is considered one of the earliest examples of dated and signed red earthenware from New York.

John Betts Gregory's Pottery in Clinton, New York

My Nephew Jason and Niece Alexis Outside the Clinton, NY Historical Society

See Article for More Information

My Niece Alexis Admiring Two Pieces of Advertising Slipware

Red Earthenware Made by John Gregory Betts in Clinton, NY

See Article for More Information

The Site of John Betts Gregory's Pottery in Clinton,  NY

See Article for More Information

The Site of John Betts Gregory's Pottery in Clinton,  NY

See Article for More Information

Sign on the House Once Owned by John Betts Gregory in Clinton, NY

See Article for More Information

The Site of John Betts Gregory's Pottery in Clinton,  NY

See Article for More Information

Building Behind the Site of the John Betts Gregory Pottery in Clinton,  NY

Most of the Archaeology was Likely Removed Because of this Type of Construction

See Article for More Information

Some Red Earthenware Artifacts Found Behind the Site of the John Betts Gregory Pottery

See Article for More Information

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

19th Century Slip Script Red Earthenware Advertising Pitcher from Clinton, New York Sells at New Haven Auctions in Connecticut

I have written extensively on this website about the slip script red earthenware advertising plates manufactured by John Betts Gregory (1782-1842) in Clinton, New York, circa 1810-1829; those pieces include objects in private collections along with others owned by the Clinton, New York Historical Society, which I visited in August of 2019 with my nephew Jason and niece Alexis.

Although, this red earthenware pitcher is in my opinion among the two most important  pieces of Gregory's production in existence today, the other being a multi-colored slip script plate inscribed "Why Will You Die," that was formerly owned by New York archaeologist and museum specialist George Hamell, and now in the inventory of Robesonia, Pennsylvania antiques dealer Greg Kramer.

This pitcher just sold last weekend at New Haven Auctions in New Haven, Connecticut; it is decorated on each side with an eagle and also inscribed in slip along the base, "Clinton Ware."  The pitcher has previously been owned twice by Sagamore, Massachusetts antiques dealer Brian Cullity, and it was consigned to the auction by the Walton family from such business enterprises as Walmart. The pitcher sold for $8,500 plus the auction premiums.

This is from one of the previous articles I posted about Gregory: In 1896, Reverend Charles Melbourne Selleck (1831-1909) wrote Norwalk, "in an attempt to bring the town's history fully to light, and to preserve and to perpetuate its mentions and memoirs. Many of these were gathered by the author while engaged in the necessarily hasty preparation of his 1886 St. Paul's Church centenary address in Norwalk, Connecticut, but most of them have since been collected, and their public presentation upon the eve of the town's quarter-millennial birth anniversary."

As part of Reverend Selleck's history of Norwalk was the life of John Betts Gregory (1782-1842), a potter who began and ended his career in Norwalk; although, I believe Reverend Selleck's recount was the first time Gregory's entire career had been published, only to be later cited in some twentieth century historical and pottery related publications.

According to Reverend Selleck, "John Betts Gregory was born in Norwalk in 1782 to Abraham and Elizabeth Gregory, who lived where the late Henry Marvin resided, on East Avenue, and south of the ancient Beacham Lane. He learned his trade (potter) of Absalom Day (1770-1843) of "Old Well (neighborhood in Norwalk)." After his marriage to Olive (1786-1883), he had a good business offer from Huntington, Long Island, which he accepted. He afterward established a pottery in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, which required a building 140x40 for his operations. He returned in 1831 to Norwalk and bought from Samuel Hanford, Half-Mile Isle, paying $325.00. He there built a kiln for the burning of earthenware and stoneware. The kiln was erected in 1832 by masons Lewis and George Raymond of "Old Well." The business was here kept up until 1840. Mr. Gregory died July 22, 1842."

Situated almost 50 miles east of Syracuse, New York and in between Rochester, New York and Albany, New York, the Village of Clinton was settled in 1787 by Revolutionary War Veterans and families from Plymouth, Connecticut, having been named after New York's first governor, George Clinton (1739-1812). This settlement eventually expanded into a town, joining Kirkland in the nineteenth century, but the original village was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

The reason why Gregory moved to landlocked upstate New York may have been a simple desire to operate his own pottery, but he may have also heard news of Clinton's connection to Connecticut and other areas in this part of New York. There may have also been a financial incentive to move.

Nevertheless, Gregory arrived in Clinton sometime around 1808-1810 with his wife and two daughters, purchasing a pottery from Erastus Barnes, Clinton's first potter. But Gregory's desire to move north may have also been a religious quest, seeing that at the time, parts of New York were engulfed with new religious movements in the early-nineteenth century, finding much of this activity in central and western upstate New York.

Aside from his family, Gregory brought along his knowledge of slip-decoration and slip-script, which he had learned from Absalom Day in Connecticut, a New Jersey trained potter who arrived in Norwalk about 1793. But he likely practiced this type of production while employed in Huntington, as well sometime around the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century.

John Betts Gregory may have been the first red earthenware potter producing slip-decorated pottery in upstate New York, a technique that was already practiced in downstate New York, and later embraced by a number of potters employed in Western New York. But he clearly manufactured a lot of wares while employed in Clinton for about 20 years, circa 1810-1829. The most notable of those objects today are the wares that were decorated with slip, but he must have produced simpler decorated pottery in the same manner. Much of this production was also likely intended for local consumption.

Unfortunately, not much is left of the Clinton Pottery today, since the Owens-Pavlot Funeral Home was built on top of the pottery in the nineteenth century and also occupying Betts' home, having been established in 1867.

Interestingly, the personalities of most early American potters are not known; however, author, Amos Delos Gridley published History of the Town of Kirkland, New York in 1874, describing the businesses of Erastus Barnes and Gregory, as well as a first-hand account he had been told by someone who knew Gregory: "Erastus Barnes established the first pottery in Clinton, his works being nearly in the rear of the late Reverend Charles Jerome's residence on College Street (Hamilton College established in 1793). He found clay of an excellent quality on the Gleason farm, near Manchester, and his business was, for those times, large and lucrative. Mr. John B. Gregory succeeded him, and carried on the same industry for several years. He was quite a recluse, being seldom seen outside of his own premises. Yet he had a genial soul, and loved to scatter jokes and bits of humor among old and young who came to inspect his works or to buy his wares. He was a devout Methodist. Placing a lump of clay on his lathe, he would set his wheel a-spinning, and, while moulding pan or jug or other vessel, would burst into some old refrain, as --

"Behold the potter and the clay !

He forms his vessels as he please."

Among the best known examples of slipware produced by Gregory in Clinton is a large slip-script plate, "Why / Will You / Die," which has been published, and was owned for many years by retired New York State archaeologist and museum specialist, George Hamell. Other notable objects of interest include a slip-decorated vase with two eagles, as well as another plate inscribed, "Made / By J B G / Oct 18 1823 / Clinton," which is considered one of the earliest examples of dated and signed red earthenware from New York.

19th Century Slip Script Red Earthenware Advertising Pitcher from Clinton, New York

19th Century Red Earthenware Slip Script Advertising Pitcher

Attributed to the John Betts Gregory Pottery in Clinton, N.Y.

Circa 1810-1829

Stands 8 1/2" Tall

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New Haven Auctions

Another View of the Pitcher

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New Haven Auctions

Another View of the Pitcher

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New Haven Auctions

View of the  Handle

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New Haven Auctions

View of the Base

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New Haven Auctions

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...