Working at a Faience Factory

As I had birth, marriage and death records translated, it was interesting to note that often the occupations of the participants were noted. Many expected occupations were mentioned like shoemakers and farmers. There was one that originally tripped up the volunteer translator -- garncarz -- or potter. As more translations were done, the word faience, or a type of pottery was mentioned. I thought it was an interesting occupation and hoped to someday learn more about it. Slowly pieces came together. I learned from one new found “cousin” that Zamoyski was the name of a baron who owned the lands in the area. Then I saw something about Zamoyski starting a faience factory. I started looking more earnestly for information about Polish pottery. It seemed worthwhile to know more since two of the four 4x great grandfathers--all born in the late 1700s on my Anthony’s maternal side were potters, one was even a foreman at a faience factory. Blazej Wisniewski (and his brother-in-law Bartlomiej Szczesnicki) and Maciej Wiciejewski (and his father Jakub Wiciejewski) were all potters. A third 4x grandfather was a shoemaker but potters were witnesses at major family events so they knew them at least. The 4th of the group was a furrier Within the Lublin region in the 18th century until the mid-19th century, there were factories in four areas that were established by Polish magnates, including in Tomaszów Lubelski. They were built to compete with imported products. The factories started out making imitations but then they hired artists that created original designs. A popular color was blue. Different factories produced different products such as pottery, porcelain dishes and stoneware. In Tomaszów Lubelski, in the Zamość Estate, a faience and porcelain factory was begun in 1794 by Alexander August Zamoyski, age 24 and a ceramist, Franciszek Mezer. They established a contract where a square and buildings were signed over to the business. “The manufactory buildings were located on Lwowska Street - it was the only paved road in the city - on both sides. In the period of its greatest prosperity, 50 employees were employed here. For the first 12 years, until 1806, only earthenware was produced”. Local forests were available for the fuel and the clay was brought in from Wolowska, near Lviv, approximately 150 miles away. The local clay was useful only to produce faience, not porcelain. Faience is “fine tin-glazed pottery.” A glaze was developed that allowed for decorative painting to be added which was a major innovation in the history of pottery. It required a kiln producing temperatures above 1,830 degrees F (1,000 C.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faience In 1806, the factory began to produce porcelain and their profits increased yearly until 1809. Utensils, vases and items for pharmacy use were among the products manufactured. They were famous for their artists creating cups with pictures of famous historical and contemporary figures. The products were sold widely in Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, and Moldavia. Things began to change after The Duchy of Warsaw was created in July of 1807. By October, Tomaszow Lubelski was located within the Duchy as the boundaries of the country were changed. The raw clay was now located behind a border requiring an additional border tax which added to the cost of the clay and transportation. Additionally, markets that were available for sales became unavailable. Franciszek Mezer left the company and his brother-in-law Tadewusz Zianski and son Karol became the managers. By 1810 the value of the products was further reduced and continued to decline. According to family records, Blazej Wisniewski was a foreman of a faience factory, likely this one. His father, Mateusz, was a grave digger and it looks like this was a better opportunity for Blazej. Later records indicate he was a grave digger like his father so the demise of the faience industry in Tomaszow Lubelski likely had an effect on his career. Blazej’s brother-in-law Bartlomiej Szczesnicki was also a potter and fellow potters Filip Zawalski, Jan Lisikiewicz and Stefan Okopcinski were witnesses for his marriage. Maciej Wiciejewski(4x great grandfather) and Jakub Wiciejewski, his father (5x great grandfather) were also potters and Maciej was referred to as “renowned” in an 1819 record. Maciej Glowacki was a potter who was a declarant for the birth of one of Antoni Kurkiewicz’s (another 4th great grandfather) children. By 1827, the factory was no longer in operation. A few examples of the faience and porcelain made in Tomaszow still exist in a museum in Tomaszów Lubelski, as well as a few other museums and a private collection. Check out Polish Family History for images of the location and links (they don't work in this blog.)