Their story began in western England, in an area called the Potteries, because of its hundreds of glassblowing and dishware-making factories.  In the mid-1800's, Henry Dooley was a cup and plate maker who resided in the Potteries.  He married Maria Barnish, who transferred designs onto dishes.

     This was a time of high unemployment and long hours and low pay when there were jobs to be had.  A trade union newspaper sprang up called The Potter's Examiner and Workman's Advocate, which was edited by William Evans.

     Evans wrote passionate and persuasive articles suggesting that potters emigrate to America.  He wrote, "Abandon the factory for the farm.... Fly to the most liberal institution of present man; to the untaxed plains, rivers, and lakes of a free country."

     With persuasion such as this, the idea took hold, and in 1844, the Potters' Joint Stock Emigration Society and Savings Fund was set up.  The goal was to raise money to buy land in the United States, in the territory of Wisconsin.

     The plan created a wave of fascination with America.  Children in the Potteries were named 'America' and streets were renamed 'America' and 'Madison.'

     "Emigration seems to be the all-absorbing subject with potters at the present time.  It becomes the chief topic of conversation at the inns, in the market, in the workshop," observed The Examiner.

     In 1846, three men called "trustees" were sent to America to buy 10 parcels of land.  Each would go to 10 families who would be selected in lottery.  The trustees were supposed to clear the land, build houses and set up stores of provisions for the newcomers.

     These men went to Washington, DC to find out about buying land.  First, they were sent to Iowa, but they said, "Oh no, this land is not suitable!"  They tried again, and this time they were sent to Wisconsin.  Here, in the Town of Scott, Columbia County, they purchased 1,640 acres of land and named it Pottersville.

     The first 10 families - 44 people - crossed the Atlantic in 1847, leaving  Easter week amid a big sendoff that included thousands of people and a band.

     Many weeks later, they were met by trustee James Hammond in Milwaukee. There, Henry and Maria Dooley buried their 2-1/2 year old daughter, Elizabeth, who had died on the journey.

     Fortunately for the families, they arrived in the summer.  They were shocked at the harshness of Wisconsin life in the 1800's and discouraged by the unkempt promises waiting for them in Columbia County.  No land was cleared, no provisions were stored, and only four houses were started.

     The first year's food supply was extremely scarce and some of the immigrants had to live at Fort Winnebago near Portage to survive.

     The Dooley family moved in with Canadian settler, Robert McConochie.  Maria kept house in the 14-by-16-foot log cabin for their board and Henry cut wood to earn an income for his family. 

     Later Henry would say it was a good time in his life - working outdoors and discovering his new home in Columbia County.  He applied for citizenship in 1848 and was finally granted his request in 1871, seven years before his death. 

     The Dooleys became successful farmers, raised their family and built a comfortable home in Pottersville.  Nothing remains of these original dwellings. The last Pottersville home was torn down in 1989.

     Maria was the last original Potteries emigrant still living in the area when she died at the age of 71 years.  Some of this first group of immigrants returned to England, others struck out West and several stayed in the Town of Scott.

     Marjorie Summers, who also lives on this homestead land along Highway 33, is the great-great-granddaughter of glassblowers Benjamin and Elizabeth Hopkins. The Hopkins' family carefully brought six glass goblets from The Potteries, one of which is kept like new at the Myrtle Lintner Spear Museum in Pardeeville.

     Like Jerred, Sommers is descended from the potters through her father, Carl Deakin.  Also like Jerred, Sommer's ancestors farmed the land and were eventually buried at the Rosendale Cemetery located on Highway 33. Pottersville was eventually called Rosendale because so many wild roses grew there.

     Today, although many of the tombstones are faded, you can still read many of the names of the original families:  Dooley, Deakin, Hopkins, Copeland, Bradshaw, Sawyer, Hammond, and Alcock.  These were the people who won the lottery in the smoke-shrouded Potteries and struck out for the new world.

     In the wake of discouraging letters home and major money problems, the potters' Emigration Society was disbanded in the 1850's. 

     Other potters also settled in the Portage area at a later date, which created some confusion when the state of Wisconsin was asked to put up a historical marker at the original Pottersville site.

     On the other side of the Atlantic, tourism officials in the Potteries city of Stoke-on-Trent made a festive event of the 150th anniversary of this event. A local English couple, for example, won a trip to tour the state of Wisconsin.

     "The ballot in 1846 was the opportunity of a lifetime for some people," said Stoke-on-Trent tourism officer, Jane Randall, "and we wanted the competition to revolve around a lottery which would provide one lucky winner the holiday of a lifetime."

     The process of manufacturing beautiful china and earthenware in the Potteries has remained mostly unchanged for 200 years.  Today, as it was when the Dooley's left England in 1847, a single blue plate design can still take over four months to engrave.

     Today a red granite gravestone stamped "Dooley" marks the burial site of Henry and Maria Dooley in the Rosendale Cemetery located on Highway 33 between Pardeeville and Cambria.

     A historical plaque commissioned by Jean Jerred marks the first potter's settlement.  It is located on Crown Road northeast of Pardeeville.  It simply states: "The Potters Emigration Society of Staffordshire, England bought 1,640 acres of land in 1846 and called it Pottersville.  The unions chose ten families to settle this area of Scott Township in 1847."
 

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