John Bartlam
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John Bartlam (1735–1781) was a British potter who emigrated to America in 1763, and established a factory in Cainhoy, then called Cain Hoy, nine miles north of Charleston, South Carolina before moving to Camden, South Carolina. His porcelain is the earliest ever produced on American soil.
He was born in Stoke-on-Trent and worked for twelve years as a potter in Staffordshire. He married Mary Allen in 1754 and had a daughter, Honor, in 1761 and another, Betty Allen, two years later. Bartlam then emigrated in 1763.
Porcelain from South Carolina
No high quality porcelain was being produced in America at the time, only basic stoneware. Luxury porcelains with underglaze blue decoration had to be exported to wealthy colonists in America from Britain. However suitable kaolin deposits had been discovered in the 1730s in the Carolinas, and some clay was even being shipped to England from Charleston.[1] Bartlam first began his pottery enterprise in 1765 in Cain Hoy, employing African-Americans as apprentices in the business. Bartlam moved his business to Camden, South Carolina in 1772 where there were plentiful supplies of kaolin.[2] From there he exported Queen's Ware “equal in quality and appearance and can be afforded as cheap, as any imported from England.” [3] His products were regarded as a threat by Josiah Wedgwood.[1]
Allegiance in War of Independence
He was known to be a supporter of the British administration, but nevertheless joined the South Carolina militia in 1775. However he was reported as fighting on the British side. It is unknown if he was killed or executed, but he died in 1781. In 1783 the state declared him as a deceased deserter of the militia and confiscated £525 of property. After living in squalor, Mary moved to British Florida and tried to claim compensation from the British Government. She returned to Staffordshire with her daughters where she died in 1818.