If you ask people what word they associate with “potter” most everyone of a certain age will say “Harry”. The boy wizard has a huge fan following. Others with different interests will reply “artisan” or “craftsman” or simply “someone who makes pottery”. If you are deep into Tavistock history, your answer is Schuler and Collins and Dwyer and Smith.

The Perth County Gazeteer and Business Directory from 1878-1879 tells us “The Tavistock Pottery was established in 1876 and employs five hands, turning out from $3,000 to $4,000 worth of goods annually. Wendlin Schuler, proprietor”. Schuler’s ad in the Gazeteer makes special note that they are manufacturers of flint, enameled and common earthenware.

While everything sounds quite progressive and positive, that wasn’t the case. Life wasn’t easy for Wendlin. His father, also named Wendlin Schuler, is listed on various documents as a minister, school teacher and operator of an inn. By the time son Wendlin arrived on the scene in 1852 the family had immigrated from the US and was living in New Hamburg. Four years later, father Wendlin died. Mother Susanna married a carpenter, Herman Schmidt, who subsequently went to work at the Boehler pottery in New Hamburg. This would have a profound impact on the life of Wendlin’s older brother, Henry, and young Wendlin.

Brother Henry, 10 years older than Wendlin, began his long career as an Ontario potter of distinction in New Hamburg. In 1867 Henry moved to Paris to work for a local potter, J.M. Marlett, and after Marlett’s death, formed a partnership with Peter McGlade. The 1871 census shows Wendlin, then 18 years old, living in Paris and serving as a potter’s apprentice to brother Henry.

When he was 21 Wendlin married Annie Collins in a small ceremony in Brantford. One of the witnesses was Thomas Collins, Annie’s brother. Thomas was … you guessed it … a potter. He, too, is listed in the earlier-referenced Perth County Gazeteer for the Village of Tavistock presumably, but not known for certain, working for Wendlin.

In 1876 Wendlin purchased 1/5 of an acre of land from Adam Mohr who was, at the time, selling part of his farmland to create a new housing development in Tavistock. The majority of the lots for sale on what is now Adam Street and Decew Street were sold on November 4, 1876 which would certainly suggest a public auction sale. Wendlin Schuler purchased Lot No. 12 which today is 38 Adam Street. The Registry Office records do not tell us the purchase price but do note that Wendlin immediately took out a mortgage for $600. As it was a new development he would have had to construct a dwelling for his family and a structure for his pottery business.

In 1877 Wendlin and Annie welcomed daughter Nora (Hanorah) into their family. Nora was the second of 9 children and the only one born in Tavistock.

While the pottery business certainly sounded successful, a review of the Registry Office records suggests otherwise. The mortgage was but the first in a series of liens and loans. The word “default” crops up too many times. The last default was in June of 1879.

By 1880 Wendlin is in Paris working for brother Henry. A colourful writer would suggest a midnight move out of Tavistock to escape his creditors but that would be colourful commentary and may not be actual fact. Wendlin worked with Henry in the pottery business in Paris until 1884 at which time they moved to Brantford and began a long association with the Brantford Stoneware factory. Wendlin died in 1932.

Back to Tavistock. The mortgage holder of the Adam Street property sold the property in 1879 to Anthony Smith and Thomas Dwyer … the next potters in our village. While little can be found about Anthony Smith, Thomas Dwyer is a different story. Dwyer is listed in the Oxford County Directory in 1881. He married a local girl, Matilda Love, a daughter of James and Caroline (Lindby or Lindley) in East Zorra. The wedding certificate, dated 1883, shows him as a potter living in Tavistock. By 1886 he, too, is in Paris with a subsequent move to Brantford. Shades of Schuler and Collins. Thomas Dwyer died in 1943.

The property on Adam Street that housed the potters was deeded to William Zelley, an oil cloth maker.

While our story ends in the late 1880s, owners of the property found pottery shards for years afterwards … a testament to earlier times.

Note: The jugs in the photo represent three noteworthy businesses in our village from days long gone. Krug & Falk operated a general store where Home Hardware stands today. Ernst & Wilker also had a general store where D&D Homestyle Cuisine & Cafe is now. John M. Klein, another general store, was located on the site of the Post Office. The shards are from the pottery on Adam Street.