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James Franklin Seagle learned to throw pots from his father, Daniel Seagle, who was one of the earliest potters in the Catawba Valley. When his father died, James Franklin took over the family pottery, eventually expanding it into a thriving business that at times employed as many as ten people.

Charles C. Cole ran a successful pottery from 1937 until his death in 1967, specializing in decorative pieces for the tourist trade. After Cole died, his family continued to operate his pottery for six more years.

The Craven family is one of the most notable North Carolina potting dynasties, beginning with Peter Craven (circa 1712–1791), who moved to North Carolina around 1745. John Anderson Craven and his three brothers, William Nicholas, Jacob Dorris, and Thomas Wesley, learned how to pot from their father, the Reverend Anderson Craven (1801–1872). John Anderson worked in partnership with his father throughout his life, while his brothers left home to start their own pottery workshops once they reached adulthood. Note the three bands of incised lines that decorate this jar. John Anderson and his brothers often employed this decorative motif, which they borrowed from the Fox family, another North Carolina dynasty of potters and one to whom they were related by marriage.

The family dynasties of North Carolina potters not only helped to keep the craft alive, but to ensure continuity in techniques and craftsmanship as well as introduce artistic innovations in succeeding generations. This jug manifests the New England roots of the Webster family. Its high shoulder, high belly, and narrow base are typical of eighteenth-century Connecticut jugs. Edward moved to North Carolina in 1819, and his brother Chester followed nine years later.

The Craven family is one of the most notable North Carolina potting dynasties, beginning with Peter Craven (circa 1712-1791), who moved to North Carolina around 1745. Sixth-generation Craven potter Isaac Franklin Craven was the son of Jacob Dorris Craven and brother to Daniel Zebedee, all potters. Isaac worked at his father’s shop in Moore County until he married. He then opened his own workshop in Randolph County. The old masking tape label on the side of this jug reads “Tar Bill Maness,” and the jug still contains tar and is coated with tar on its surface. Bill Maness was a local tar producer.

Davis Pennington Brown (1895-1967) and his brother, Evan Javan Brown (1897-1980) moved to North Carolina in 1923 and established a pottery in Arden. They initially produced utilitarian wares but gradually changed over to art pottery. Evan’s son, also named Evan, was a potter too.

James Franklin Seagle learned to throw pots from his father, Daniel Seagle, who was one of the earliest potters in the Catawba Valley. When his father died, James Franklin took over the family pottery, eventually expanding it into a thriving business that at times employed as many as ten people.

At age thirteen, William Henry Crisco apprenticed with Jacob Dorris Craven, a fifth generation potter from the Craven family, one of the most notable North Carolina potting dynasties. Crisco eventually built his own pottery and continued to produce pots until he was in his eighties. In 1969, his log cabin pottery was dismantled and moved to the Smithsonian Institution.

North State Pottery was founded in 1924 by Rebecca Palmer Cooper (1886-1924), who was assisted in its operation by her husband, Henry (1886-1959). The Coopers were not potters and originally employed others to throw pots. The pottery made mostly art wares and produced especially fine glazes.