Name: Taft, James Scolly (1844-1923)
Title: Governor, Monadnock Colony, No. 107, 1888
Mayor, City of Keene, 1903, 1904
Other Names: Taft, J. S.
Taft, James S.
Born: 07/16/1844
Birthplace: Nelson, NH
Died: 12/22/1923
Death Location: Keene, NH
Residence: Nelson, NH 1844, 1850,1860
Keene, NH 1866, 1867, 1870; 1870, 1880, 1920
Nationality: American
Occupation: Partner, Retail Millinery and Fancy Dry Goods, M. N. Taft & Co., Keene, 1866-67
Pottery manufacturer -- co-founder and co-owner of The Hampshire Pottery of the J. S. Taft & Co., along with his uncle, James Burnap (1816-1894), 1871-1916
Father: Taft, Asa (1805-1863)
Mother: Burnap, Nancy (1810-1887)
Relations: Siblings:
Taft, Marietta Nancy (1830-1918); milliner; partner with Joseph S. Taft, M. N. Taft & Co., 1866-1867
Taft, William H. (c.1834-; b. MA; farmer)
Taft, Charles C. (c.1837-; b. MA)
Taft, Amoretta/Emerette (c.1850-; b. NH; m. Cadmon Robertson; res. Keene, NH)
Grandparents: Sally Whitney and Pius Upton Burnap
Spouse: Helen Ann Ball (1845-1925), January 9, 1872
Notes: SEE ALSO: Maker/Artist field -- Taft, J. S.
SEE ALSO (sister): Taft, Emoretta
SEE ALSO (brother-in-law): Robertson, Cadmon
Paul Evans, Art Pottery of the United States: An Encyclopedia of Producers and Their Marks. (New York: Scribner, 1974), 128-132.
Simon G. Griffin. A History of the Town of Keene from 1732, when the Township was Granted by Massachusetts, to 1874, When it Became a City. With Events of Interest in the History of the City From 1874 to 1904 by Frank H. Whitcomb. (Keene, NH: Sentinel Printing Company, 1904), 536, 681, 683, 687, 691, 701, 708, 710, 714.
Hampshire Pottery, J. S. Taft & Company, Keene, N. H., U. S. A. One of the Celebrated Potteries of the World. Keene, NH: Hampshire Art Press, c. 1904 (NHHS Library)
Hampshire Pottery 1871-1923. Manchester, NH: Currier Gallery of Art, 1986.
Introducing Hampshire Pottery, J. S. Taft & Company, Keene, New Hampshire. Keene, NH: J. A. Wright & Company, c. 1904. (NHHS Library)
A. Harold Kendall, "Hampshire Pottery," It's Time for Antiques, New Hampshire Profiles, April 1964, 85-86.
Lura Woodside Watkins, Early New England Potters and Their Wares. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1950), 117, 230-231.
"Copartnership, M. N. Taft & Co.", Advertisement, New Hampshire Sentinel, Kenne, NH, April 5, 1866, 3.
"Springfield Dye House" Advertisement, New Hampshire Sentinel, Keene, NH, September 5, 1867, 3.
Vital Records, New Hampshire State Archives
Woodlawn Cemetery, Keene, NH