During
that time, salt glaze pottery was being introduced from European traditions
using the rich vein of clay that ran through the area. The Criscow (the beginning
of the Americanizing of the name) family was beginning to grow as well where
marriages were taking place between other immigrant families nearby. The
first documented potter coming from this family was "Big John" Crisco.
He made the salt glaze wares of the period that were used by the local community
for storage. The Craven family, who are credited with beginning the salt
glaze era during that time, were also expanding into the Moore County region
of NC. JD Craven, known as the “father of production salt glaze wares” agreed
to take in Big John's cousin and George's grandson, Henry, as an apprentice.
At age 13, Henry Crisco (Chris's great-grandfather,) moved in with the Craven’s
and began his pottery career. While at the Craven pottery, Henry learned to
fire groundhog style kilns that sat low to the ground on a bed of dirt, turn
utilitarian wares, and mix clay. While working with the Craven's, he also worked
with a timber company and accumulated land for pay where by the age of 18 he
owned the land beside the Craven's and came to own thousand of acres throughout
the region. During Henry’s life, like most potters of the era, he wore
many hats such as farmer, timber worker, commissary owner, and Justice of the
Peace. At his own location, he, his future sons, and extended family members,
such as cousins JR Crisco and DD Chrisco, helped to supply the surrounding communities..
Similar to farming, the pottery industry was a family affair and the whole family
worked in the business from time to time. Henry sold his wares in NC that were
delivered by wagons on Old Plank Road, the major road in this rural community.
Pottery from Seagrove was also in demand overseas where it was hauled to Wilmington
to be shipped out to Europe and other destinations. Potters in the community
were beginning to stamp their pots with their names to differentiate between
themselves, and even though Henry saw no need for the extra flourish, he thought
it would be good for business. He stamped his "W.H. Crisco" to denote
it was made from his hands. With several Henry Crisco’s in the area by
then, he added the "W" himself for postal service refere
nce with his name evolving into “William Henry” through Seagrove history books.
The pottery business went well for this tightly networked community for a while,
however, it suffered a major blow when the Industrial Revolution hit with its
new glass and tin. Luckily with other irons in the fire, Henry's pottery business
was able to preserver and he competed directly in this new market for many years.
By the time the demand for utilitarian pottery was beginning to significantly
decline, Henry was entering his sixth decade of life. During that time, the
Busbees, founders of Jugtown Pottery, asked potters who had kilns to help supply
their Village tea shop in NY. Henry agreed to this in the beginning. but
as a new tourist market emerged in smaller, colorful wares from several potteries
he remained committed to the salt glaze pots he had made his entire life. Henry
turned well into his eighties and fired his last kiln around 1938. His youngest
son, Clyde Chriscoe (Chris's grandfather), inherited the family homestead and
closed the family shop in 1944 after Henry's death.
By the time Henry’s shop was closed, Clyde and his brothers had scattered
to different professions. Clyde farmed the land on the Chriscoe homestead
while raising his own family. Why Clyde, nor his brothers or sisters, didn’t
continue in pottery is still up for debate. Some family stories have him
favoring pure traditionalist forms and salt glaze with refusing to make
"toy pots," but it most likely came down to an economic decision.
However Clyde’s wife, Ometa, niece to Bascom King and the Cole family, went
to work with her cousins at JB Cole’s Pottery in the 1960's making clay
animals and bookends in a repetitive production market. In 1969, Clyde
was approached by the Smithsonian Museum for acquisition of Henry’s shop
to display in the American History Museum in Washington, DC. The log shop
was dismantled and hauled with its contents to the National Archives in
the 1970's. Henry's groundhog kiln had long since fallen in and was
left on the property in Seagrove. Henry's many grandchildren remember running
across the old kiln throwing in salt for their “Grandpa” and having one
of the “worst jobs in the world" of making clay balls, which some have
attributed to squelching their interest in becoming a potter. There was
also little value placed on "old pots" in the area at the time
and many at the Chriscoe's were used as target practice with others placed
under porches.
During the seventies, there were not more than a dozen potteries in business
in Seagrove. By the early 1980’s, pottery had a newfound resurgence in part
due to the hard work of people such as Dorothy and Walter Auman. Some of
their many contributions include extensively promoting this area and partnering
with the community college systems to help train the next local pool of
potters. Potteries were beginning to open at a faster pace as the economy
grew and their efforts were beginning to pay off. During that time, Clyde’s
son, Graham Chriscoe returned to pottery after a career in construction.
Mack Chrisco also opened his shop Chrisco Pottery in the early eighties.
Clyde’s daughter, Juanita Chriscoe Luther went to help her older brother,
Graham, in his new pottery shop in the late 1980’s. Juanita and her husband,
Horace, then opened their own studio in their basement, Luther Pottery,
where their son Chris got his start in 1991.
