There has been much speculation as to whether this jug was it made by someone at the Cain Pottery. At this time there is no proof that the pottery was in operation in 1826. Of course, it could have been made at a later date and incised to commemorate an earlier occurrence. Or, perhaps it was made by a potter named William Wolfe. He has been the source of much controversy due to published reports of his potting in Sullivan County. These reports have not been verified to date.

Moore indicates that a William Wolfe, son of Peter Wolfe was a potter in Washington County, Virginia between 1839 and 1840 and later in Lee County (that part which became Wise County, Virginia.). Peter also appears to have been a potter. Barber states that William operated near Blountville C. H. from 1848 to 1856, and that he produced glazed earthenware. He also notes that in 1875 Wolfe potted in Wise County, Virginia.

Ramsay states "William Wolfe made some decorated redware at Blountsville, Tennessee about 1850, before he moved across the border into Wise County, Virginia, where he changed to stoneware . . ."

Smith and Rogers could not find a William Wolfe in Sullivan County or in the general Tennessee index in 1850. They could, however, find a William Wolfe listed as a potter in the Lee County, Virginia 1850 census. It would not be the first time a potter lived in one state and continued to manufacture pottery in another state. Decker, for example, continued the Abingdon pottery operation for a year or two after he was established in Washington County, Tennessee.

Due to losing all the early Sullivan County records when the courthouse burned in 1863, Barber’s assertion cannot be easily verified.

It is even possible that the "John Wolfe" on the jug from another Wolfe family entirely. There were Wolfes in Sullivan County in 1796. There was a John Wolfe in the 1830 Hawkins County Census and a John Wolf in the 1840, 50 and 60 Sullivan County Census records.

A tempting speculation is that since William Wolfe married in 1825 he could have had a son John born in 1826, and this jug commemorates his birth. More genealogical research is definitely needed. Perhaps the strongest circumstantial support comes from Ramsay’s statement that he "made some decorated redware at Blountsville. . ." This ties into another unanswered question as to which potter brought manganese "splotched or daubed" decoration into the area.

Note: The background image is not the John Wolfe 1826 jug. However, it is an earthenware jug attributed to Tennessee.

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Barber, Edwin Atlee, Pottery and Porcelain of the United States (originally published 1893). Century House Americana, Watkins Glen, New York, 1971, p. 177.

Moore, J. Roderick, The Magazine Antiques, Earthenware potters along the Great Road in Virginia and Tennessee, Sept. 1983, pp. 536-537.

Ramsay, John, American Potters and Pottery, the Colonial Press Inc., Clinton, Mass. p.87

Smith, S. D. and Rogers, S. T. A Survey of Historic Pottery Making in Tennessee, Nashville: Research Series, No. 3, Division of Archaeology, Tennessee Department of Conservation, 1979, p. 55.

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