Son of Ephraim Roberts and Huldah Gibbs
Married Harriet McEvers, 5 Jun 1828, Winchester, Morgan, Illinois
Married Mary Jane Bigelow, 29 Sep 1852, Provo, Utah, Utah
Married Jane Eliza Graves, 11 Dec 1856, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
An Enduring Legacy, Volume One, p. 59
Pioneers Horace and Harriet McEver Roberts made their home in Provo, where Horace soon became known as "Potter Roberts" because of his trade. Although some dishes had been brought across the Plains at the time of emigration, most people were desperately short of these necessary items. Thus it was not long before President Young advised Roberts to set up a pottery shop, which he was not long in doing. It soon became known all over the country and Potter Roberts, being a fair-minded man, supplied the poor as readily as he supplied the well-to-do, accepting almost anything they offered in payment. His daughter, Laura Celestra Bell, has left us an interesting account of this important little enterprise:
"Father's potter shop was a large adobe building. He used the lower floor for crockery and the upper floor for a dance hall. The clay for the pottery was hauled up from the country with wagons and oxteams or horses. Father had what was called a potter's wheel which was turned by pedals underneath it. The wheel was level and he would put great balls of clay on it, and shape it into crocks with his hands while turning the wheel with his feet. Then he had a large sponge which he wet and washed off the loose sand and dirt. He then put the crocks on the shelf to dry. After this he glazed them with a lead glazing. People in those days used tea which they bought in caddies made of lead and paper. Father would melt these caddies in a large iron pot and burn the paper out. Then he would make a paste of flour and water and mix with the lead and glaze the pottery in that.
"After the soldiers came to Utah (Johnston's Army), he bought lead bars from them which were about eighteen inches long and as large around as my finger; he made glazing out of them instead of the tea caddies. After the glazing was finished, the crocks were put into a kiln and burned. He not only made crocks, but also plates, cups and saucers, bowls, pitchers, mugs and almost everything to use in the kitchen. If he wanted a different color he would add lamp black to the glazing mixture. The dishes were made on molds of clay. They would shrink and [p.60] could be easily lifted off. They were then sponged and glazed just as the crocks were.
"The kiln was a large room made of adobe, with a door in one end. The crockery was piled in there in such a way as to let the heat circulate all through it. The fire was built in an arch underneath the kiln, which ran the full length of the kiln. The fire was started low and gradually increased until the crockery was red hot, which took a week or ten days. Father would then close up the place where he fed the fire with sheet iron and dirt to shut out the air, and then leave it for several days to gradually cool off so the crocks would not crack.
"People for miles around knew when he was burning crockery because they could see the smoke coming from the top of the kiln. It was roofed over, but here and there a four-inch hole was left for the smoke to escape."
Married Harriet McEvers, 5 Jun 1828, Winchester, Morgan, Illinois
Married Mary Jane Bigelow, 29 Sep 1852, Provo, Utah, Utah
Married Jane Eliza Graves, 11 Dec 1856, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
An Enduring Legacy, Volume One, p. 59
Pioneers Horace and Harriet McEver Roberts made their home in Provo, where Horace soon became known as "Potter Roberts" because of his trade. Although some dishes had been brought across the Plains at the time of emigration, most people were desperately short of these necessary items. Thus it was not long before President Young advised Roberts to set up a pottery shop, which he was not long in doing. It soon became known all over the country and Potter Roberts, being a fair-minded man, supplied the poor as readily as he supplied the well-to-do, accepting almost anything they offered in payment. His daughter, Laura Celestra Bell, has left us an interesting account of this important little enterprise:
"Father's potter shop was a large adobe building. He used the lower floor for crockery and the upper floor for a dance hall. The clay for the pottery was hauled up from the country with wagons and oxteams or horses. Father had what was called a potter's wheel which was turned by pedals underneath it. The wheel was level and he would put great balls of clay on it, and shape it into crocks with his hands while turning the wheel with his feet. Then he had a large sponge which he wet and washed off the loose sand and dirt. He then put the crocks on the shelf to dry. After this he glazed them with a lead glazing. People in those days used tea which they bought in caddies made of lead and paper. Father would melt these caddies in a large iron pot and burn the paper out. Then he would make a paste of flour and water and mix with the lead and glaze the pottery in that.
"After the soldiers came to Utah (Johnston's Army), he bought lead bars from them which were about eighteen inches long and as large around as my finger; he made glazing out of them instead of the tea caddies. After the glazing was finished, the crocks were put into a kiln and burned. He not only made crocks, but also plates, cups and saucers, bowls, pitchers, mugs and almost everything to use in the kitchen. If he wanted a different color he would add lamp black to the glazing mixture. The dishes were made on molds of clay. They would shrink and [p.60] could be easily lifted off. They were then sponged and glazed just as the crocks were.
"The kiln was a large room made of adobe, with a door in one end. The crockery was piled in there in such a way as to let the heat circulate all through it. The fire was built in an arch underneath the kiln, which ran the full length of the kiln. The fire was started low and gradually increased until the crockery was red hot, which took a week or ten days. Father would then close up the place where he fed the fire with sheet iron and dirt to shut out the air, and then leave it for several days to gradually cool off so the crocks would not crack.
"People for miles around knew when he was burning crockery because they could see the smoke coming from the top of the kiln. It was roofed over, but here and there a four-inch hole was left for the smoke to escape."
Son of Ephraim Roberts and Huldah Gibbs
Married Harriet McEvers, 5 Jun 1828, Winchester, Morgan, Illinois
Married Mary Jane Bigelow, 29 Sep 1852, Provo, Utah, Utah
Married Jane Eliza Graves, 11 Dec 1856, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
An Enduring Legacy, Volume One, p. 59
Pioneers Horace and Harriet McEver Roberts made their home in Provo, where Horace soon became known as "Potter Roberts" because of his trade. Although some dishes had been brought across the Plains at the time of emigration, most people were desperately short of these necessary items. Thus it was not long before President Young advised Roberts to set up a pottery shop, which he was not long in doing. It soon became known all over the country and Potter Roberts, being a fair-minded man, supplied the poor as readily as he supplied the well-to-do, accepting almost anything they offered in payment. His daughter, Laura Celestra Bell, has left us an interesting account of this important little enterprise:
"Father's potter shop was a large adobe building. He used the lower floor for crockery and the upper floor for a dance hall. The clay for the pottery was hauled up from the country with wagons and oxteams or horses. Father had what was called a potter's wheel which was turned by pedals underneath it. The wheel was level and he would put great balls of clay on it, and shape it into crocks with his hands while turning the wheel with his feet. Then he had a large sponge which he wet and washed off the loose sand and dirt. He then put the crocks on the shelf to dry. After this he glazed them with a lead glazing. People in those days used tea which they bought in caddies made of lead and paper. Father would melt these caddies in a large iron pot and burn the paper out. Then he would make a paste of flour and water and mix with the lead and glaze the pottery in that.
"After the soldiers came to Utah (Johnston's Army), he bought lead bars from them which were about eighteen inches long and as large around as my finger; he made glazing out of them instead of the tea caddies. After the glazing was finished, the crocks were put into a kiln and burned. He not only made crocks, but also plates, cups and saucers, bowls, pitchers, mugs and almost everything to use in the kitchen. If he wanted a different color he would add lamp black to the glazing mixture. The dishes were made on molds of clay. They would shrink and [p.60] could be easily lifted off. They were then sponged and glazed just as the crocks were.
"The kiln was a large room made of adobe, with a door in one end. The crockery was piled in there in such a way as to let the heat circulate all through it. The fire was built in an arch underneath the kiln, which ran the full length of the kiln. The fire was started low and gradually increased until the crockery was red hot, which took a week or ten days. Father would then close up the place where he fed the fire with sheet iron and dirt to shut out the air, and then leave it for several days to gradually cool off so the crocks would not crack.
"People for miles around knew when he was burning crockery because they could see the smoke coming from the top of the kiln. It was roofed over, but here and there a four-inch hole was left for the smoke to escape."
Married Harriet McEvers, 5 Jun 1828, Winchester, Morgan, Illinois
Married Mary Jane Bigelow, 29 Sep 1852, Provo, Utah, Utah
Married Jane Eliza Graves, 11 Dec 1856, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
An Enduring Legacy, Volume One, p. 59
Pioneers Horace and Harriet McEver Roberts made their home in Provo, where Horace soon became known as "Potter Roberts" because of his trade. Although some dishes had been brought across the Plains at the time of emigration, most people were desperately short of these necessary items. Thus it was not long before President Young advised Roberts to set up a pottery shop, which he was not long in doing. It soon became known all over the country and Potter Roberts, being a fair-minded man, supplied the poor as readily as he supplied the well-to-do, accepting almost anything they offered in payment. His daughter, Laura Celestra Bell, has left us an interesting account of this important little enterprise:
"Father's potter shop was a large adobe building. He used the lower floor for crockery and the upper floor for a dance hall. The clay for the pottery was hauled up from the country with wagons and oxteams or horses. Father had what was called a potter's wheel which was turned by pedals underneath it. The wheel was level and he would put great balls of clay on it, and shape it into crocks with his hands while turning the wheel with his feet. Then he had a large sponge which he wet and washed off the loose sand and dirt. He then put the crocks on the shelf to dry. After this he glazed them with a lead glazing. People in those days used tea which they bought in caddies made of lead and paper. Father would melt these caddies in a large iron pot and burn the paper out. Then he would make a paste of flour and water and mix with the lead and glaze the pottery in that.
"After the soldiers came to Utah (Johnston's Army), he bought lead bars from them which were about eighteen inches long and as large around as my finger; he made glazing out of them instead of the tea caddies. After the glazing was finished, the crocks were put into a kiln and burned. He not only made crocks, but also plates, cups and saucers, bowls, pitchers, mugs and almost everything to use in the kitchen. If he wanted a different color he would add lamp black to the glazing mixture. The dishes were made on molds of clay. They would shrink and [p.60] could be easily lifted off. They were then sponged and glazed just as the crocks were.
"The kiln was a large room made of adobe, with a door in one end. The crockery was piled in there in such a way as to let the heat circulate all through it. The fire was built in an arch underneath the kiln, which ran the full length of the kiln. The fire was started low and gradually increased until the crockery was red hot, which took a week or ten days. Father would then close up the place where he fed the fire with sheet iron and dirt to shut out the air, and then leave it for several days to gradually cool off so the crocks would not crack.
"People for miles around knew when he was burning crockery because they could see the smoke coming from the top of the kiln. It was roofed over, but here and there a four-inch hole was left for the smoke to escape."
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