Shoe Buckles

PeriodCirca 1770 - 1780

Place MadeNew York or New Jersey, U.S.A.

MediumSilver, steel

Dimensions3 × 2.25 × 0.75 in. (7.6 × 5.7 × 1.9 cm)

ClassificationsAccessories, Men's

Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1932

Object number241

DescriptionA pair of men's shoe buckles, with steel prong and bar and silver buckle frames, ornamented with small floral motifs spaced along the rims. One of the prongs appears to have been replaced due to breakage.
NotesLieutenant General James Morgan was born on December 29, 1756, one of nine children of Captain James Morgan and Margaret Evertson. He served as an officer in the New Jersey Line during the American Revolution, and later served as a General in the local New Jersey Militia unit in South Amboy. Morgan inherited a great deal of property from his father, including the stoneware pottery in the Amboy area. The Morgan family intermarried several times to other stoneware potters. James Morgan's sister Susannah married potter Jacob Van Wickle, while sister Mary married Thomas Warne, also a stoneware potter. Although it is certainly likely that Morgan learned the stoneware trade from his father, the General did not personally make stoneware pieces. Instead, he focused his considerable skills on the financial and business components. Morgan was not only involved in running the successful pottery, but also in real estate, farming, and politics. Morgan was a representative in the general assembly in Philadelphia from 1794 to 1799, and was elected to the Twelfth Congress from 1811-1813. James Morgan married twice, first to Catherine Van Brackle, second to Ann S. Van Wickle. He died in 1822.

Collections