Staff Writer

At one time, Union County was home to three pottery families who often left their special marks on the quality pieces they created.

Examples of works of these families can be found in a display at the Union County Museum. The display recently grew by several pieces with donations from B.F. Kennedy in memory of his wife, Myrna, an avid pottery collector.

Museum executive director Ola Jean Kelly said the three families who had potteries in Union County were Boyles, Whelchel and Owensby. With just a little knowledge, a person can look at the pottery pieces and tell to which family they belong. The Boyles often put initials on their pieces and Whelchel pottery is often determined by a floral decoration.

“You can usually tell a Whelchel piece by this design,” she said. “We understand Mrs. Whelchel was a quilter and this was one of her favorite designs.”

Pottery was used to store foods and liquids before the mass production of glass began, with most local potteries ceasing operations in the 1920s and 1930s. One of the last uses of pottery was in the transfer of whiskey.

According to the an article by the late Rochelle Boyle in “Union County Heritage,” Holland born Dr. Francis Whelchel and his wife, Ann Stokman, of Irish birth, settled about 25 miles north of Union in Union County in the early 1700s. The area is now the Corinth Community of Cherokee County and called by some older residents as “Boyle's Jug Factory Place.”

Whelchel and his wife had four sons and three daughters. Whelchel and his four sons served in the Revolutionary War and one son, William, was killed.

Dr. Francis Whelchel Jr. and his wife, Judith, had one daughter, Mary, born on June 19, 1793. She married Thomas Owensby, born Aug. 9, 1796. Thomas was a pottery maker and operated a pottery business which later was known as Boyle's Jug Factory. The business ceased operation in 1937.

Thomas Owensby and his wife, Mary, had six sons and three daughters. Their daughter, Sarah Bertine Owensby, born Oct. 11, 1832, married Aylie Boyle, born June 30, 1819. Sarah learned the art of pottery. During the Civil War, she and her husband assisted her father in the manufacture of crockery ware for the Confederate Army.

Aylie and Sarah had four sons and one daughter. Two sons, Robert Lawrence and Aylie Jr. became potters. Robert was considered the most skilled turner since his grandfather's day. All the Boyle sons worked in the business with their parents and all remained at home except Aylie, who married.

Aylie Boyle Jr. and his wife, Lula, had four sons and three daughters. His sons, Rochelle, Squire, John T. and Hall carried on the pottery business until 1937.

Owensby and Boyle secured clay from banks in the community to make pottery. When two or more clays were mixed or blended together the clay was easier to work and also made a better product.

The largest jar every turned by hand from the Boyle factory, 14 gallons, was made by Thomas Owensby Sr. on July 12, 1834. Another jug made by him had the following inscription, “August the 30, 1864-made and sold at a low price for Confederate money.”

A whiskey jug made and shaped to fit under the seat of a buggy, turned by Robert L. Boyle, a grandson, had the following written on it: “From Jenkins Distillery, Grover, North Carolina.” It was made in the 1880s. A small jug turned by Sarah Owensby Boyle for her grandson about 1907 was the last piece of pottery she made, when she was 75.

(The Union County Museum is open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Saturday from 2-5 p.m. )