FEATURE

FEATURE

Heber C. Kimball:
A Mormon Potter from Western New York
by Justin W. Thomas

W
estern New York was a destination for
trailblazers in the early 19th century. Men He created some of the most
and women left their New England farms; beautiful red earthenware objects
Marylanders and Pennsylvanians traveled from the
South for this new unexplored territory. They rushed to made anywhere in New York state.
the new frontier for the area’s fertile land, establishing
farms for fruit and vegetables. Accompanying these when the region opened up for settlement following the
pioneers were potters who also traveled from New American Revolution. Solomon, however, was also in
England, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, creating an search of work and new financial opportunity.
unusual combination of production, where English and In western New York Solomon resumed trade as
German styles met on the new frontier. a blacksmith and a farmer, but he also advanced his
By 1825 the Erie Canal was opened, revolutionizing expertise as a builder. He constructed a school, two
commerce and transforming New York City into the taverns, and several private homes. He produced nearly
commercial trade capital of America. The 363-mile all of the tools that were needed in building, and also a
waterway connected the Great Lakes to the Atlantic lot of the farming equipment used in West Bloomfield
Ocean by means of the Hudson River in upstate New and the surrounding communities. Heber recalled his
York. father’s success during this time:
Along the Erie Canal in western New York is where He continued living in West Bloomfield during
the Mormon religion was founded in Palmyra, New the “last war” with England, which place was on
York, by Joseph Smith (1805-1844), who was the first the thoroughfare between Albany and Buffalo,
president of the Church of Christ, later the Church of on what was called “the public turnpike,” and on
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And less than a decade which the soldiery passed during the war (1812- Heber Kimball (1801-1868). Photo courtesy the
after its formation, this new religion inspired one of 15). It was flourishing times, there being plenty Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
the most famous potters in American history, who is of business and money, and most men in business
recognized today almost entirely for the life he lived became involved, so that when the war closed
after he retired from manufacturing household pottery. bankruptcy became common....
The Early Years Heber’s brother Charles established a pottery on his
Heber Chase Kimball (1801-1868) was born in father’s property in West Bloomfield sometime after
Sheldon, Vermont, near Lake Champlain, on June 14, the family relocated. The extent of this business is not
1801. He was the son of Solomon Farnham Kimball known, but West Bloomfield is most likely where he was
(1770-1825) and Anna Spaulding Kimball (1773-1825), taught how to make red earthenware before he owned a
who married on April 19, 1795, in Plainfield, New pottery business. It is unlikely that he learned the potter’s
Hampshire, a small town in the central part of the state craft in northern Vermont; there were few potters located
near the Vermont border. The couple had seven children in this region in the early 19th century, with the closest
including Heber. Charles Spaulding Kimball (1796- possible business being one established by Peter Clark
1830) was the first born, followed by Eliza Kimball II (1764-1851) from the Clark family of potters in New
(1797-1867), Abigail Kimball (1799-1880), Malvina Hampshire, more than 50 miles east in Brownington,
Ann Kimball (1801-1879), Solomon Farnham Kimball Vermont.
(1805-1878), and Daniel Kimball, who died shortly When the war ended Solomon chose to leave his new
after his birth in 1807. home and moved halfway between East Bloomfield and This 19th-century slip-trail-decorated red earthenware
Heber’s parents were native New Englanders; his West Bloomfield. There he bought a nice piece of land, jar, 7" high, is attributed to the Heber Kimball pottery in
Mendon, New York, 1822-32. The jar retains ties to Mormon
mother was born in Plainfield, Connecticut, and his resumed his business as a blacksmith and farmer, and
leader Joseph Smith (1805-1844) and to Mormons living in
father in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. Sometime before built a tavern, barns, and other outbuildings. He also Pennsylvania and Ohio. This type of production could have
their marriage, they each migrated with other pioneers tended to an orchard with an assorted selection of fruit been created also in Kirtland, Ohio, but there is no evidence
to northwestern Vermont near the Quebec border, where trees. It was about this time that Heber began to work of it. Photo courtesy Crocker Farm.
Solomon worked as a farmer and a blacksmith, the
latter being a trade he learned from his father. He found
success in these trades until a trade embargo was issued
with Britain in the months leading up to the War of 1812.
An account of this was published in Heber’s biography
Life of Heber C. Kimball, an Apostle: The Father and
Founder of the British Mission, written by his grandson
Orson F. Whitney (1855-1931) and published in 1888.
The book was largely drawn from Kimball’s journals.
Whitney quotes Heber Kimball writing about his father:
He engaged in farming and clearing land, burning
the wood into coal and ashes; he had also a forge
and trip-hammer, in the manufacture of wrought Slip-trail-decorated sherds reportedly attributed to the Heber Kimball
iron. pottery, recovered by western New York historian J. Sheldon Fisher on
Brigham Young’s property in Mendon, New York. Photo courtesy the
About the time of the embargo, before the last Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
war with England, my father lost his property, as
it was invested in salts, potash and pearlash; the
embargo, having shut down the gate of commerce
between the United States and England, left his
property in his hands without much value.
In February 1811 the family moved to western New
York, settling in West Bloomfield, about 20 miles south Remains of a red earthenware mug
of Rochester, New York. All of the Kimball children reportedly attributed to the Heber
received an education; some began school in Sheldon Kimball pottery, recovered by J.
and continued their learning in western New York. Sheldon Fisher on Brigham Young’s
Heber’s schooling began about 1806 and continued until property in Mendon, New York.
he was 14. He also drew many of his lessons from life Photo courtesy the Church of Jesus
and nature. Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The family’s migration may have been sparked
by a religious quest. At that time parts of New York Remains of a red earthenware jug reportedly
were engulfed with new religious movements and attributed to the Heber Kimball pottery, recovered
spiritualism, and much of this activity was found in the by J. Sheldon Fisher on Brigham Young’s property
central and western part of the state. Western New York in Mendon, New York. Photo courtesy the Church
had also become enticing for adventurers and pioneers of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
 FEATURE
FEATURE
History” by Marjorie H. Rice, published in the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Ensign magazine in
October 2007, Rice relayed the story:
On September 22, 1827, two young men living
miles apart—who would later become neighbors
and best friends—each saw an astonishing vision
in the night sky. Their names were Brigham
Young and Heber C. Kimball. Heber was living
in Mendon, New York, near the Tomlinson Inn,
and Brigham was 45 miles to the east in Port
Byron.
It began, Heber said, in the eastern horizon—a
white smoke rising toward the heavens with
the sound of a mighty wind. The smoke moved
Remains of a mottled green glazed red earthenware across the sky, in the shape of a rainbow toward
jug reportedly attributed to the Heber Kimball pottery, Remains of red earthenware pans reportedly attributed the western horizon. It grew wide, then bluish
recovered by J. Sheldon Fisher on Brigham Young’s to the Heber Kimball pottery, recovered by J. Sheldon in color, and became completely transparent.
property in Mendon, New York. Photo courtesy the Fisher on Brigham Young’s property in Mendon, New As Heber watched with his family and several
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. York. Photo courtesy the Church of Jesus Christ of neighbors, a large, commanding army appeared,
Latter-day Saints.
marching in platoons across the sky from east
to west. “We could distinctly see the muskets,
bayonets and knapsacks of the men,” Heber
recorded, “and also saw their officers with their
swords and equipage, and [heard] the clashing
and jingling of their implements of war, and
could discover the forms and features of the men.
The most profound order existed throughout the
entire army; when the foremost man stepped,
every man stepped at the same time; I could
hear the steps. When the front rank reached the
western horizon a battle ensued, as we could
distinctly hear the report of arms and the rush.”
Brigham Young, Heber Kimball, and others were
inspired by this vision and equally mystified by its
Various sherds reportedly attributed to the Heber meaning, although they were certain that it was a
Remains of a mottled green glazed red earthenware message from God. The following year Brigham Young
Kimball pottery, recovered by J. Sheldon Fisher on
object, possibly a mug, reportedly attributed to the Heber and his wife moved to Mendon and lived next door to
Brigham Young’s property in Mendon, New York. Photo
Kimball pottery, recovered by J. Sheldon Fisher on
courtesy the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Heber Kimball and his family. Brigham joined other
Brigham Young’s property in Mendon, New York. Photo
courtesy the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. family members who were already living in Mendon
and built a mill shop on his father’s property.
Heber’s first interaction with the Mormon religion
occurred at some point in 1831—after he had joined the
local Baptist church—when he met a group of Mormon
elders who had traveled to Victor from Pennsylvania,
as is recorded in his 1888 biography. In the course of
time Kimball, Young, and others traveled together
to Pennsylvania to learn more about this church, and
they became enamored of the religion. Kimball soon
converted. He was baptized and confirmed a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1832
in a small stream in the woods about one mile from
his pottery business. The following year he began his
pilgrimage to the headquarters of the church in Kirtland,
Black and dark brown glazed sherds reportedly attributed Ohio. Heber and his family remained there for several
to the Heber Kimball pottery, recovered by J. Sheldon years, and he set up a pottery in 1834, but the longevity
Fisher on Brigham Young’s property in Mendon, New and any success of this business is entirely unknown.
York. Photo courtesy the Church of Jesus Christ of On July 24, 1847, Kimball arrived in Salt Lake City,
Latter-day Saints. Utah, with the first group of Mormon pioneers led by
Brigham Young. They had moved west to escape any
discrimination because of their religion and found the
Large red earthenware flowerpot attributed Salt Lake City valley to be a location where they could
to the Heber Kimball pottery by western New openly practice their faith without any prejudice.
York historian J. Sheldon Fisher. Photo courtesy The actual wares made at the Kimball pottery in
Historic Valentown Museum. western New York have been largely forgotten through
the years. There is strong documentation identifying
can be positively attributed to Charles Kimball Heber as a red earthenware potter from around 1822 to
today. Heber wrote in his journal that this is where 1832, but what these objects looked like is somewhat
he apprenticed and then later worked for wages. In of a mystery. His grandson Whitney wrote: “Heber
Remains of a red earthenware pan reportedly attributed to
the Heber Kimball pottery, recovered by J. Sheldon Fisher
1822 Heber purchased the business from his brother continued to prosper in business working in his pottery
on Brigham Young’s property in Mendon, New York. and produced wares for the local western New York in summer, and at his forge in winter.”
Photo courtesy the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day marketplace. Kimball was truly a country potter. His livelihood
Saints. The year 1822 was a momentous one for Heber. during these years largely depended on pottery sales.
Not only did he purchase his own pottery, but he also There is no evidence of how he sold his pottery, whether
at his father’s blacksmith shop, but he was unable to married Vilate Murray (1806-1867) of Victor, New he peddled it himself or occasionally sold it through a
find employment there by 1820 because of his father’s York. This marriage changed his life and legacy, for merchant. The lack of published advertising suggests
continued financial difficulties. Only a few years later Vilate was a niece of Brigham Young (1801-1877). that it was all sold locally, similar to how his father had
Heber’s mother, Anna, died, and a few months after her Young was originally from Whitingham, Vermont, a operated.
death Solomon passed away at the age of 55. small town in the southwestern corner of the state. Outside of the research of New York state
Potter Turned Mormon As had the Kimball family, his family also migrated archaeologist and museum specialist George Hamell,
Faced with the difficulty of finding employment, to western New York. Brigham Young and Heber there has been very little accurately published material
Heber decided to live with his brother Charles, who Kimball became neighbors and great friends in about this aspect of Kimball’s life. He is cited as being a
had moved to Mendon, New York. Charles taught him Mendon, where Heber would eventually serve as potter by a group of late 19th- and 20th-century authors,
about the production of red earthenware. Mendon was one of the original 12 apostles in the Church of Jesus but there has never been any specific information,
settled in 1788, and most of the early settlers came from Christ of Latter-day Saints and first counselor for archaeology, or illustrations demonstrating how any of
Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and elsewhere in more than two decades to Brigham Young. this production appeared.
New York state. Interestingly, Heber Kimball and Brigham Young For instance, Heber Kimball’s great-great-grandson
By 1820 Charles had his new business up and both witnessed the same vision in the sky before Stanley B. Kimball (1926-2003), a professor of history
running. Unfortunately, there is no known pottery that they ever met. In the article “Living in a Chapter of at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville,
FEATURE
FEATURE

Jar attributed to the Heber Kimball pottery that was Jar attributed to the Heber Kimball pottery that was
reportedly purchased brand new from the pottery, 1822- reportedly purchased brand new from the pottery,
32, by ancestors of J. Sheldon Fisher. Photo courtesy the 1822-32, by ancestors of J. Sheldon Fisher. Photo This 19th-century slip-trail-decorated red
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. courtesy the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day earthenware jar that is missing its lid was acquired
Saints. about 1870 from Heber Kimball’s son Solomon
Farnham Kimball. Solomon Kimball said it had
wrote in 1981 in the book Heber C. Kimball: Mormon While Fisher was working at the site from 1972 to been made by his father. The form and decoration
Patriarch and Pioneer: 1977, the homeowner at some point told him that when are a nearly perfect match to a jar with ties to
As a potter Heber took pains to obtain good clay, he bought the property the attic of the house was filled Mormon leader Joseph Smith. Photo courtesy the
even if it meant hauling it a great distance, and on with Young’s furniture; he made chairs, trunks, even Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
a good day could turn out twenty dozen milk pans. chests of drawers and tables, as well as handy household
Apparently he specialized in common brownware equipment similar to that of the Shakers. These jars along with the archaeology from the
made from fine-textured clay burned to a very Over time the site produced a great selection of artifacts Brigham Young site had been displayed at the Historic
high degree and covered by a hard brown glaze. related to Young’s business, including old wood, nails, Valentown Museum in Victor. The museum was
It was used mainly for simple kitchen and table and tools but also shoes, glassware, imported ceramics, created by J. Sheldon Fisher and his wife, Lillian, after
items—jars, crocks, pitchers, bottles, mugs, pots, and food scrap remains. But along with that came a group they purchased the building in 1940. The building was
milk pans, cups, churns, and plates. Despite his of locally made red earthenware, almost all of which can constructed by Levi Valentine in 1879 and designed to
great output, no completely authenticated piece of be attributed to production in Rochester, West Bloomfield, be used as a commercial and community building. But
Heber’s work has been found. and Mendon. Also recovered were the remains of a black- the Fishers converted it into a museum featuring the
Archaeology of Brigham Young’s Property glazed red earthenware teapot that closely resemble history of the Rochester area, much of which is still on
and Surviving Objects archaeological findings from the site of the pottery of display. However, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
In the collection of the Church History Museum operated Thomas Crafts (1781-1861) in Whately, Massachusetts. day Saints purchased all of the archaeological artifacts
by the Church History Department of the Church of Jesus From the collection of Lura Woodside Watkins (1897- and the two surviving jars from Fisher in 1984.
Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City are the 1982), those remains are now at the National Museum The church also owns Heber Kimball’s toolbox
archaeological records from Brigham Young’s property of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in as well as a three-colored slip-trail-decorated red
in Mendon. This property was located less than one mile Washington, D.C. The remains were cited and illustrated earthenware jar missing its lid. Only a few years after
from the site of Heber Kimball’s property and pottery. when Watkins published the landmark book Early New Heber’s death, the jar had been donated by his son
J. Sheldon Fisher (1907-2002), a western New York England Potters and Their Wares in 1950, identifying the Solomon Farnham Kimball (1847-1920) to the Deseret
historian, excavated the site of Young’s house in the 1970s Crafts teapots as a style of production shipped all over Museum, now owned by the church. Solomon said his
and uncovered a variety of locally made red earthenware. the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions during the 1821- father had made the jar. Likely unaware of any wares
All of the archaeological records were eventually 33 period, the same time frame that Young occupied the still existing in western New York, Solomon thought
purchased by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day property. that it was the only piece of pottery that existed from
Saints, and although there was no official archaeological Other artifacts recovered by Fisher include wares Heber. The trailed slip found on this jar is similar
report, Fisher eventually published his research and some attributed to the pottery of Nathaniel Rochester (1752- to that on artifacts collected on Brigham Young’s
findings in an article, “Brigham Young as a Mendon 1831) in Rochester and a red earthenware candle mold property.
Craftsman: A Study of Historical Archaeology,” in the and other pottery remains from the pottery operated by A second jar recently surfaced that is nearly a perfect
October 1980 issue of New York History, published by Alvin Wilcox (1800-1862) in West Bloomfield. match to the jar once owned by Solomon Farnham
the Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, New York: Some of the artifacts that Fisher attributed to the Kimball. This jar is decorated in different colors, but
Like the other founders of the Mormon Church, Kimball pottery in Mendon are decorated in a mottled the form is identical, and it possesses its original lid.
Brigham Young has been studied as a spiritual green glaze, a style that is commonly attributed to New The jar retains ancestral ties to Mormon leader Joseph
leader and as an administrator. That he earned England. These forms include a jug, while other artifacts Smith (1805-1844) as well as to Mormons living in
his bread in his early years as a carpenter and in are decorated with trailed slip. There were also the Pennsylvania and Ohio. The style of the trailed slip
other homely tasks has been mentioned only in remains of pans, mugs, and other jugs decorated with is comparable to that on pottery manufactured in
passing by his biographers, and his workaday life colorful glazes. There were even the remains of some Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina in the
in Mendon, New York, where he was living when wares decorated entirely in manganese, appearing black late 18th and early 19th centuries.
he became interested in Mormonism, has not been or dark brown in color, such as a milk pan, possibly like In the collection of the Livingston County Historical
studied at all. that described by Professor Stanley Kimball in 1981. Society Museum in Geneseo, New York, is a double-
One reason for this neglect is the lack of Fisher wrote that he planned to conduct an archaeological handled jar with a bunghole used to remove the jar’s
historical sources for Young’s earlier years. After dig in the 1980s at the site of the Kimball pottery in contents. The origin of this jar had been an enigma
he joined the Mormon Church in 1832 he began to Mendon, but there is no record of this happening. There for decades even though it has a strong attribution to
keep a journal. And from that time to the end of his have been rumors about it, but local longtime historians, western New York. Recent research has found that the
life, he and his contemporaries left a clear record archaeologists, museum specialists, and the Church of construction and glaze of this piece of pottery are in
of his activities. It is not surprising that there are no Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have no evidence that keeping with the two mottled green glazed jars owned
similar accounts of Brigham’s youth and his years this took place. In fact, the site of the Kimball pottery has by the church. “Ice Cream” is prominently inscribed
as a young carpenter and builder in Mendon. He never been publicly identified. in cursive across the front of the jar, and it is covered
had not yet distinguished himself from the general Fisher’s connection to Heber Kimball went far beyond in small amounts of kaolin slip decoration, a style of
population of farmers and artisans who then an excavation. Fisher’s ancestors date back to the early ornamental design known from Heber Kimball and
inhabited western New York. days of Mendon’s history; two pieces of existing red a few other potters in western New York, although
Having determined the site of Young’s house earthenware from Heber Kimball were purchased brand Kimball appears to be the only potter in western New
and shop, I obtained exclusive digging rights new by his ancestors directly from the pottery and York who applied any type of trailed slip.
in 1972 from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hutchinson, had descended through Fisher’s family. The jars are In Retrospect
who then owned the property, and began an embellished with bright mottled green glazes similar to Once he arrived in Salt Lake City, Heber Kimball
archaeological investigation that would lead to some of the sherds found on Brigham Young’s property, became involved with many important events in
additional information about Brigham Young’s which is considered an uncommon glaze from the red the history of Utah and the church. Among those
years in Mendon. earthenware potters in western New York. achievements was serving as the first lieutenant
 FEATURE
FEATURE

This 19th-century red earthenware bottle Slip-trail-decorated red earthenware jar,

found just outside of Mendon, New York, is possibly made at the Heber Kimball pottery,
decorated in a glaze that closely resembles purchased from an old estate in Scottsville,
glazes on sherds reportedly attributed to the New York, not far from Mendon, New York.
Heber Kimball’s toolbox. Photo courtesy the Church of Jesus Christ Heber Kimball pottery that were recovered Photo courtesy collection of Gene Pratt.
of Latter-day Saints. from the site of Brigham Young’s property.
Photo courtesy collection of Gene Pratt.

governor of the Utah Territory from 1851 to 1858. Kimball was clearly a talented and influential and slipware that he produced in the small town of Mendon
Thereafter he is not thought to have engaged in the person. He died an unexpected death on June 22, in the 1820s and early 1830s is just beginning to receive its
manufacture of any pottery. His duties with the church, 1868, at the age of 67 from injuries sustained during a long overdue recognition. It is a style of production
government, and Brigham Young kept him busy. carriage accident. It has now been more than 150 years that should never be forgotten again.
Kimball agreed to take part in plural marriages, which since that tragedy took place, and the red earthenware
was a part of church doctrine at that time. He married 43
women throughout his lifetime and had 66 children by
17 of his wives. Most likely he did not teach any of his
children how to manufacture pottery.
No need to fight over it.
But even though Kimball found a higher calling, he
never forgot the life he had lived as a potter. In later There’s enough M.A.D. to go around.
sermons Kimball compared the shaping of his own life
by the Lord “to the molding of malleable clay with his If you’ve never subscribed before,
own hands,” a common theme found in many of his
sermons.
we have a great deal for first-time subscribers:
In a sermon given by Heber Kimball on April 2,
1854, a portion of which is published in the article “The Get 16 issues for the price of 12 issues,
(U.S. Subscribers Only)
only $43
Potter and the Clay” in the January 2011 issue of Ensign
magazine, Kimball said:
Comparing us to clay that is in the hands of the
potter, if that clay is passive, I have power as a
potter to mold it and make it into a vessel unto
honor. Who is to mold these vessels? Is it God
Himself in person, or is it His servants, His
potters, or journeymen, in company with those
He has placed to oversee the work? The Great
Master Potter dictates His servants, and it is for
them to carry out His purposes, and make vessels
according to His designs; and when they have
done the work, they deliver it up to the Master for
His acceptance; and if their works are not good,
He does not accept them; the only works He
accepts, are those that are prepared according to
the design He gave. God will not be trifled with;
neither will His servants; their words have got to
be fulfilled, and they are the men that are to mold
you, and tell you what shape to move in....
Religion and faith was certainly intertwined with red
earthenware and stoneware production all over America
from its infancy through the late 19th century. Religious
influence is found in pottery made by black slaves in the
South and in wares made by the Amish and Mennonites
in Pennsylvania, the Quakers in New England, and all
points in between. But the story of Heber Kimball, the
Baptist potter, then the Mormon, is unlike the life of any
other American potter.
Heber Kimball may be most recognized today for
his involvement as a church leader and his role in Limited time offer.
forming the state of Utah. However, his life as a young First-time subscribers only.
man should also be celebrated, especially his pottery
production. As a potter and an artist living in western
New York, he created some of the most beautiful red Call today
earthenware objects made anywhere in New York state.
His fame from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 1-800-752-8521
Saints may account for why this production has been
partially eclipsed by his later life.