Chamber Pot?

Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • Nov 17, 2014

This spring, thanks to a generous grant, we were able to replace the cedar board fence behind the Mitchell House that was in long need of replacement. It was likely from the late 1960s and did its part for a very long time. Part of the area where this fence runs was once the home of “Neighbor North” as the Peleg Mitchell Junior family called it. Neighbor North was the Mitchell family outhouse and was located in the north part of the backyard. Mary Mitchell, wife of Peleg Jr, surrounded it with nasturtiums in summer and Peleg himself planted a grape vine that grew over it (I mentioned this is a previous post).


As with any digging in the Mitchell House yard, or even a hard rain, pottery shards are often revealed and as you might know from another previous post, I love pottery shards. As you can see in this image, there is an overwhelming amount of one design of pottery and we can assume it is all from the same piece. Since it is in the area of Neighbor North, I believe this may be the remains of a chamber pot that was brought in the morning to be emptied in the outhouse but never made it back into the Mitchell House because it was dropped or accidentally shattered during the process of emptying. These are the white, blue, and brown striped shards. I have also found a straight, thick piece that could be a portion of the handle of a chamber pot. You can see other pieces too in this image. They could be chips from other chamber pots that were damaged in their emptying process or were discarded in the outhouse hole when broken. Or, simply, other pottery pieces that were tossed behind the outhouse when they were damaged beyond use or could not be made into a “make-do.” What’s a “make-do” you ask? Now that is for another blog. But keep this in mind, even the simplest and smallest piece of “trash” can tell you something about the people who came before us and what the site it is found in was used for or even the economic status of a family. A little piece of trash can be another woman’s treasure – in many ways, including knowledge!


JNLF

Recent Posts

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger 25 Mar, 2024
I have a thing for lichens and mosses. For a curator, of a historic house museum and one who also does stone monument conservation, probably not something you would think but. They are little microcosms of life full or all sorts of tiny things – and a small feast for birds looking for what they hold (insects). I am not here to identify this for you. I am here to have you appreciate its beauty. This large and lovely piece I found at the Coffin School on Winter Street laying on the brick path just before the front portico. To better appreciate it in a photograph, I put it up (temporarily) on one of the marble footings of the Coffin School’s columns. It is a stunner. Maria Mitchell took daily nature walks and was a naturalist as well. Her father, William, led daily nature walks for his students. It highlights the importance of observing things that you also might think do not matter, like this lichen. Next time you are our and about, try and look closely at how beautiful it is and how many chickadees might be clinging to the lichen and moss on a fence or the side of a house as they mine it for goodies! JNLF
By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger 18 Mar, 2024
March 21. {1855} I have held to tears just behind my eyelids for a month, not being able to cry because of the danger of affecting mother and being ready to do so, at every moment. I felt when this year came in, a sinking of the heart, as if it had more duties for me, than I could well go through with. I did not think of the many trials to which in less than three months I must be subjected. Maria started off 1855 with heartache and fear. Several of her close friends died – two of them within four days of one another. Her mother’ Lydia, in failing health went through a very serious bout which caused Maria “great anxiety” as she served as her nurse and caregiver. Happily, Lydia made it through though her health continued to decline over many years. I assume she may have had some form of dementia or possibly even Parkinson’s Disease or perhaps a stroke to start that then kept her in a state of deterioration as years went on. But those things were not as defined, or in some cases, well known or understood then. Lydia would die in 1861, so her family’s care of her, especially Maria’s, must have been some help in keeping her with them. JNLF
By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger 11 Mar, 2024
I have posted this during Women’s History Month before but because it is March and again Women’s History Month, I think it’s worth repeating. It’s clever and helps to tell an important story in women’s history while giving it a bit of a 21st century twist. It comes via the National Women’s History Project. http://soomopublishing.com/suffrage/ JNLF
Show More
Share by: