Writer is connected to artisan

In reading about a slave known simply as Dave, a potter from Edgefield, S.C., Leonard Todd made an amazing discovery.

Mr. Todd, the author of Carolina Clay: The Life and Legend of the Slave Potter Dave, became interested in Dave in 2000 after reading an article about an exhibit of the potter's work. Mr. Todd, who was living in New York at the time, said he recognized the names of Dave's owners in the article as being his own ancestors. After visiting the exhibit, Mr. Todd set out to find out more about the potter.

"Though excellent scholarship had been focused on Dave, I could see that much was still unknown about him," he told nearly 60 people who attended the first lecture in the Augusta Museum of History's 2009 Brown Bag series Jan. 7.

Mr. Todd and his wife moved from New York to Edgefield to research Dave's life and his pottery.

Mr. Todd used his family records, archives from the state and Edgefield County and inscriptions on Dave's works in writing the book, he said.

"The pottery was very helpful because many of them included words and phrases that related to his life in some way," he said. "They are like a journal."

Despite extensive research, there's still more to be learned about Dave, Mr. Todd said.

"I hope that descendents of Dave will come forward and help put together the missing pieces," he said. "I believe there's still more to be added to Dave's story."

The museum's Brown Bag series features an educational lecture each month on a different history-related topic.

For more information on upcoming lectures, call (706) 722-8454 or visit www.augustamuseum.org.

Reach Nikasha Dicks at (706) 823-3336 or nikasha.dicks@augustchronicle.com.