Paul Moody of Richman, VA recently made a remarkable discovery of a previously unknown salt glazed crock, labeled, “BROWN & McCOY WHOLESALE DEALERS IN STONEWARE ROSEVILLE. O”. Just how this piece “fit” into the known history of the McCoy potteries was intriguing, so I began an investigation. At first it was thought that the crock was made at a pottery called Brown & McCoy, but subsequently, the following is what I found.

The “Brown” in the inscription was James E. Brown who was born in 1820. The father of James, Joseph Brown who was from Delaware, moved his family in 1837 to McLuney, Ohio, which is located in Perry County, Harrison Township about 1½-miles south of Crooksville.

James E. Brown became a well-known merchant, and both he, and later his son George Washington Brown, was quite influential in the Roseville area. Among James’ business ventures was a general merchandising store. In the Federal censuses of the late 1800’s, James listed his occupation as a merchant rather than a potter, indicating that he was not involved in making pottery, but rather a wholesale seller of it in his store. It is known from a history of the Brown family, that James employed his son G. W. Brown, and J.B. Owens at the store, and that G.W. went on to establish a pottery around 1850. In 1883, J.B. established the J.B. Owens Pottery Company.

In April 1870, a connection between the Brown family and the McCoy family occurred. The “McCoy” in this connection was James W. McCoy. J.W. was born in 1848, the same year as his family arrived in Muskingum County. His father, W. Nelson and wife Esther, had settled in Putnam, which later became a part of Zanesville.

J.W. was 22 years old in 1870 when he married Sarah (Sade) Elizabeth Brown, the daughter of James E. Brown. During the following year, J.W. and Sarah moved to Uniontown, Newton Township, Muskingum County, where he operated a dry goods store. In 1872, they moved to the community of Roseville, very near his wife’s parents. McCoy references have reported that J.W. opened a general merchandise store in Roseville in 1876, but I was always curious why he, and his wife, moved to Roseville five years earlier, and what J.W. did during that time.

It is now known that the reason he moved to Roseville was that his father-in-law offered to take him in as a partner in his mercantile business, and their partnership became known as Brown & McCoy . The Brown and McCoy business operated from 1872 until 1888. It is surprising that neither the name James Brown, nor information about the Brown & McCoy business, has appeared in a general circulation publication.

After 1888, evidently the Brown & McCoy business was sold; for James E. Brown went on to establish a furniture store on First Street in Roseville. It is not known when J.W. left the business.