Rare Find in Ohio: William Pecker Stoneware Crock Surfaces in the Nancy Goff Sale

A few days ago, a very rare example of early nineteenth century stoneware from the William Pecker (1757–1820) Pottery of South Amesbury (Merrimacport), Massachusetts, was sold in Ohio. The piece was auctioned by Amelia Jeffers as part of the Nancy Goff Collection: https://auctions.ameliajeffers.com/auction-catalog/the-lifetime-collection-of-nancy-goff-day-1_1Q8W67HY5Q?scrollPosition=44f9dd10be.

The open double-handled crock featured a stamped flower and hand-incised leaves and stem, both further embelished with circular motifs and cobalt infill. Pecker’s iconic bird stamp was impressed on the side, a design that matches archaeological evidence recovered from the site of his red earthenware and stoneware business.

Establishing the red earthenware business in Merrimacport around 1791, Pecker's stoneware production is notable for its pioneering status, as he was among the first in the region to master the distinct chemistry and higher temperature kiln firings required for this this type of pottery.

It is believed that Pecker gained his stoneware skills in Manhattan during the early 1800s, working with famous New York City pottery families like the Crolius or Remmeys. This urban training shows in his work through "Manhattan-style" open loop handles and stamped designs that were very unusual for rural New England potters at the time. He likely made this type of stoneware in Merrimacport between 1808 and 1820.

His surviving stoneware is also exceptionally rare, with only about a few dozen examples known, characterized by ovoid formed jars and jugs, as well as stamped designs, including birds, fish, flowers, and even impressions of George Washington. Tragically, his career ended abruptly in 1820 when he was killed by the collapse of one of his own kilns. Red earthenware production continued under his family through the 1880s, though the manufacture of stoneware was discontinued in Merrimacport with Pecker's death.

Nevertheless, the crock sold for $3,500 plus the buyer's premium:  https://auctions.ameliajeffers.com/auction-lot/early-and-scarce-salt-glazed-and-cobalt-highlight_44f9dd10be.

Note: For more information - see my fourth published book, titled, South Amesbury's Red Earthenware & Stoneware: The 1791-1820 William Pecker Pottery: https://historicbeverly.net/product/south-amesburys-red-earthenware-stoneware-production/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRjax5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFyZHdFSElGT2lwbVRYRWtic3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmmlgWqoec1Xp4VPGh_synkvbIDVy3ZWNe767zEp-CINp7VgLCBSR0Sj0B7p_aem_EwXgc98Xq3Bo6edwBp6tRw.

Also see a feature story I wrote for the April 23, 2023 issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly, titled, William Pecker: A Massachusetts Red Earthenware & New York City Stoneware Potter: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2023/04/new-published-story-in-antiques-arts.html.

William Pecker Stoneware Crock Surfaces in the Nancy Goff Sale

Early 19th Century Double Open Handled Stoneware Crock

Made at the William Pecker Pottery in South Amesbury (Merrimacport), Mass.

Likely 1808-1820

Stands 16" Tall

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Amelia Jeffers

A View of the Impressed Bird

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Photo Courtesy: Amelia Jeffers

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

A Register of Union: Puritan and Quaker Marriages in Seventeenth Century Salem

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 a seventeenth century Salem marriage register that demonstrates a growing acceptance towards Quakers, a group that, only a short time earlier, had been persecuted within Salem's Puritan establishment. Here is that story.

"...This historical document is a page from the Salem, Massachusetts, Vital Records, which served as the official register for the town's births and marriages during the seventeenth century. 

One of its most significant entries is the marriage record for Isaac Cook (1640-1692) and Elizabeth Buxton (1640-1690), who were married on May 3, 1664. Isaac was the son of Henry Cooke (1615-1661), an early English immigrant who arrived in Massachusetts before 1639, as part of the Great Puritan Migration.

The ledger also illustrates the interconnected nature of early Salem by listing several other prominent marriages from the same era. Among these are records for members of the Southwick family, such as the marriages of Sara Southwick (1644-1733) to Thomas Dunton (1645-1680) in 1671 and Mary Southwick (1646-1733) to Thomas Burton (1645-1700) in 1672. These combined entries provide some visual representation of the family lineages and community growth that defined the early Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Mary and Sara Southwick were the granddaughters of the persecuted Quaker couple Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick and the daughters of their eldest son, John. Their inclusion in these marriage records alongside Puritan families is significant, as it illustrates the gradual integration of the Southwicks into the Salem community following the intense religious persecution they faced during the 1650s and 1660s. The significance of the Southwick family is further discussed in Chapter 6 in Volume I of this book.

Additionally, like the other marriage records illustrated in Volume I, these registers list both Puritan and Quaker families. During this early period, the Quaker settlement had not yet reached the scale seen later in eighteenth century Salem and Danvers, though some of the families named in this document eventually became prominent Quaker potters in Danvers in the eighteenth century."

Note: For more information about the persecution of the Southwicks - 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.

17th Century Marriage Register from Salem, Massachusetts

Both Quaker and Puritan Families Are Included

See Article for More Information

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

The 1755 Mystery: Deciphering the Painted Date of a South Danvers or Peabody Pitcher

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 thought it was important to describe the known history of a small, black-glazed red earthenware pitcher found near Peabody, which is dated '1755. Here is that story.

"...In the nineteenth century, Salem Village in Danvers, Massachusetts, the site of the infamous 1692 Witch Trials, experienced a dramatic revival. This resurgence was fueled by a national wave of nostalgia, as well as a need for the region to find a new identity. Salem’s shipping industry was in the decline and the idea of the area’s dark past was beginning to attract visitors from all over. This movement turned a place of historical tragedy into a destination for literature and heritage.

For example, the stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) made the town’s history feel like a romantic mystery. Hawthorne reached his greatest success in 1850 with the publication of The Scarlet Letter, followed quickly by his haunted Salem masterpiece, The House of the Seven Gables, in 1851.

Second, as the 200th anniversary of the trials approached in 1892, the community began to actively preserve old landmarks and market itself as the "Witch City." By looking backward at its Puritan roots, the area was able to move forward, transforming its local heritage into a permanent part of the American imagination that still exists today.

About twenty years ago, my father, Richard Thomas, found a peculiar small, nineteenth-century black-glazed red earthenware pitcher with a glazed base near Peabody. Glazed bases are a documented style from several South Danvers and Peabody potters in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The pitcher’s hand-painted date of '1775' immediately piqued his interest. While the piece clearly does not date back to the eighteenth century, it may be a revival piece made by a later generation of Osborn potters. Alternatively, it could be a commemorative item produced in 1892 at the Moses Paige Pottery to mark the bicentennial of the 1692 Salem Village Witch Trials. Interestingly, Paige acquired the old Osborn Pottery on Central Street in the 1870s and operated it until the 1940s—a subject explored in greater detail in Volume II.

Furthermore, on January 28, 1752, Salem Village broke away from Salem to become a separate district named Danvers. By 1755, it had begun to operate as its own town, and it was officially incorporated as the Town of Danvers on June 9, 1757."

Note: The late eighteenth and/or nineteenth-century black glazed red earthenware pitcher shown below, as well as the jug, were likely produced in South Danvers or Peabody. This is the same jug I mentioned in the Preface of Volume I as an early influence on my interest in this style of pottery. 

The black glazed red earthenware sherds were collected at the site of the Osborn, Reed and Paige Pottery in Peabody, and are discussed in the book, 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/.

(Arrow) Small Black Glazed Red Earthenware Pitcher Dated '1755'

Found Years Ago Near Peabody, Mass.

All of the Other Artifacts and Pottery are also Related to Danvers/Peabody

See Article for More Information

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

Seasonal Red Earthenware Production in Danvers, Massachusetts

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 thought it was important to note that there were a number of yeomen or farmers in Danvers in the eighteenth century who may have produced red earthenware in the winter months, though most of that production is undocumented today. Here is that story.

"...In the 1700s, the landscape of Salem Village (now Danvers), Massachusetts was partially defined by its "yeoman" class, independent farmers who owned their land and formed the backbone of the local economy. Families such as the Putnam, Porter, Endicott, and Nourse (Nurse) managed extensive farmland, specializing in livestock and staple crops. The Putnams were particularly influential, often at the center of both community leadership and the social friction that preceded the American Revolution. Meanwhile, the Endicotts maintained the famous Orchard Farm, and the Nourse family cultivated acres that are now preserved as historic sites. Other established families like the Flint, Pope, Upton, Goodell, Needham, and Felton further solidified this farming circle.

Beyond standard agriculture, some of these farms may have also produced some red earthenware, helping to supplement their annual income, farming in the warmer months, while manufacturing pottery in the winter. This was a common seasonal activity for farmers to operate this way, although most eighteenth century red earthenware was unmarked and utilitarian, meaning any of this farm-based production remains undocumented today.

The Quaker faith was also part of this farming community in Danvers, where some of these families were related to the Southwicks and Osbornes. These Quaker connections often translated into business alliances; for example, the Needham and Felton families lived in close proximity to known Quaker centers, and likewise the red earthenware produced by the better-known Quaker pottery families in Danvers was undoubtedly used for daily tasks and needs by these farming families. 

Among the many families mentioned, the Feltons, Trasks, Stones, and Needhams were directly linked to the Osborns. The Felton relationship began with the marriage of Joseph Osborn’s (1757–1829) daughter, Mary (1786–1851), to Amory Felton (1784–1860). Joseph himself was the son of Joseph Osborn Junior (1726–1791), a second-generation master potter, and he also married into the Shillaber family, who were potters as well: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2026/05/the-shillaber-and-osborn-connection.html.

Similarly, the Trasks and Stones intermarried with the Osborns to consolidate land and technical trade secrets. The Needhams were integrated through the local Quaker community, forming a kinship network that prioritized shared labor and business alliances. The Porters, Putnams, and Proctors were primarily elite land-owning neighbors, while they also intermarried with the Osborns over the generations..."

Note: For more information about later production at the site of the Osborn Pottery at 106 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/.

This is an AI-Generated Image of a Danvers Farm in 1760

There May be Some Undocumented Red Earthenware Production with Danvers Farmers

See Article for More Information

This is an AI-Generated Image of a Danvers Farm in 1790

There May be Some Undocumented Red Earthenware Production with Danvers Farmers

See Article for More Information

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

The Shillaber and Osborn Connection: A Quaker Pottery Legacy

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

The House Built by John Shillaber (1725-1791) on Washington Street in Portsmouth

The House was Built Circa 1768

He Acquired the Land About 1766

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Hollis Brodrick

The Front Door's Handle

The Top Features the Initials "JS"

While the Bottom is Inscribed with the Year "1766"

Shillaber Acquired the Land in 1766

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Hollis Brodrick

This Eighteenth Century Chamber Pot was Recovered on the Property

Adorned with Some Slip Decoration

It was Probably Made at the John Shillaber Pottery in Portsmouth

Circa 1760s-1770s

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Hollis Brodrick

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

The Osborn Family Records: Mapping a Century of Master Potters

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 my new book, I came across many of the Osborn family records from South Danvers (now Peabody), Massachusetts, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. While not all families are represented, the existing records really demonstrate the depth and influence of this Quaker family of potters. Here is that story.

"...To demonstrate the extent and influence of the Osborn family, these records are important witnesses to the multi-generational Osborn family pottery dynasty that defined the industrial landscape of Danvers and Peabody, Massachusetts throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The lineage began with Joseph Osborn (1702–1780), who established his pottery in 1736; by the time the individuals in these documents were active, the Osborns were the most prominent family among the region's dozens of active potteries. 

The family's expansion during the mid-eighteenth century is documented through the records of Joseph Osborn Junior (1726–1791), Abel Osborn (1746-1806), James Osborn (1738–1810), and Samuel Osborn (1742–1814). This generation helped master the production of red earthenware that became a staple across New England.

As the lineage progressed into the nineteenth century, records for Jonathan Osborn (1763–1833), Daniel Osborn (1768–1826), and Richard Osborn (1769–1826) show the family reaching the peak of its influence in the Beverly, Danvers and Salem area. 

Ultimately, this family dynasty produced at least seventeen master potters bearing the Osborn name, many of whom operated their own kilns or exported their skills to establish new pottery centers in places like New Hampshire.

However, while these records show several key branches, they do not tell the whole story. Other important family members, like Israel (1739-1790) and Aaron Osborn (1742-1803), also ran potteries but are not included in these specific records.

Additionally, these records do not show Jacob Osborn (1750-1824), who moved north to establish a business in Loudon, New Hampshire, which grew into family potteries in places like Boscawen and Gonic, New Hampshire..."

Nevertheless, each of these family records are described in detail in the captions in my forthcoming book!

Note: For more information about later production at the site of the Osborn Pottery at 106 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/.

The Osborn Family Records: Mapping a Century of Master Potters

This is an AI-Generated Image of South Danvers, Mass. in 1790

See Article for More Information

Part of the Osborn Family Records from the 18th and 19th Centuries

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Essex County Probate Records

Part of the Osborn Family Records from the 18th and 19th Centuries

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Essex County Probate Records

Part of the Osborn Family Records from the 18th and 19th Centuries

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Essex County Probate Records

Part of the Osborn Family Records from the 18th and 19th Centuries

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Essex County Probate Records

Part of the Osborn Family Records from the 18th and 19th Centuries

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Essex County Probate Records

Part of the Osborn Family Records from the 18th and 19th Centuries

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Essex County Probate Records

Part of the Osborn Family Records from the 18th and 19th Centuries

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Essex County Probate Records

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

A Potter's Legacy: The Will and Probate of Amos Osborn

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 my new book, I came across the probate records and will of Amos Osborn, a third-generation master potter in South Danvers (Peabody). Here is the information about this document that will be included in the book.

"...Amos Osborn (1773–1836) was a third-generation potter in the prolific Quaker Osborn family of potters, which dominated the red earthenware industry in South Danvers, (now modern-day Peabody), Massachusetts. The family’s potting tradition was established by his grandfather, Joseph Osborn (1702-1780), in the 1730s and continued by his father, Joseph Osborn Junior (1726-1804), before Amos took over the business. Operating out of a prominent establishment at 106 Central Street, Amos was part of a thriving industrial red earthenware community, where at the height of his business, the Beverly, Danvers and Salem, Massachusetts area was home to dozens of kilns, making it one of the largest production centers of red earthenware in the United States.

Amos was also a central figure in the local Quaker community, and his probate records reflect a man of status who was deeply concerned with the "harmony and friendship" of his Quaker family and friends. After his death in 1836, his shop remained under the control of his family until it was sold to Joseph Reed (1809-1884) in the 1850s, eventually becoming the well-known Moses B. Paige (ca. 1847/48-1941) Pottery in the 1870s. 

This last will and testament reads, "I Amos Osborn, of Danvers in the county of Essex and commonwealth of Massachusetts, potter, by the mercy of God, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, but of feeble health, and admonished by repeated complaints of the uncertainty of life and the continuance thereof, and feeling a desire so to arrange my worldly concerns, as best to promote the happiness, comfort, harmony and friendship of those, who look to me, as their friend and protector, do make and publish this my last will and testament; hereby revoking all former wills by me at any time made..."

Nonetheless, the full probate file will be published in my forthcoming book; this section will include a detailed inventory of Amos Osborn's pottery shop and estate.

Note: For more information about later production at the location of Amos Osborn's shop - 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/.

Last Will and Testament of Amos Osborn of South Danvers (Peabody), Mass.

Amos was a Third Generation Master Potter

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Essex County Probate Records

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