Beanpot
MAKER: Lucius Jordan (1816-1880) was born in Georgia and evidence, including an 1836 tax list from Washington County, Georgia, implies that Jordan was a free person of color and perhaps of mixed race. It is not until the 1860 census that Jordan is listed as a “Jug Maker” for his profession. His brother Elbert Jordan (b. 1818) was also listed as a “Jug Maker” in the 1860 census. The Jordans likely trained as potters under Abraham Massey (b. 1785) and/or Cyrus Cogburn (1782-1855), two of Washington County, Georgia’s prominent early potters. Both Cogburn and Massey worked as potters in Edgefield, South Carolina, at various shops including with Abner Landrum, one of the eminent shop owners in early Edgefield. Often Jordan’s shapes are ovoid and all are alkaline-glazed. He is the only Washington County potter to mark his work, incising in script his initials, “LJ” or simply “J.”
Burrison, John A. “Brothers in Clay: The Story of Georgia Folk Pottery.” Athens, GA: UGA Press, 1995.
