Samuel A. Weller

Samuel Augustus Weller (April 12, 1851 – October 4, 1925), one of the pioneer pottery manufacturers of Ohio in the United States, founded the S.A. Weller Pottery in Fultonham, Ohio, in 1872. In 1882 he moved the business to Zanesville, Ohio, and for more than a half-century Weller Pottery produced both utilitarian pieces and more decorative art pottery lines.

Early life and career Samuel Augustus Weller, born in Muskingum County, Ohio, was the fourth of nine children of Jacob Weller (1816−1871) and Mary (née Fulton) Weller (1826−1914). Weller married Herminnie C. Pickens (1862−1954) on January 11, 1885, in Muskingum County, Ohio. The couple had two daughters, Louise, born in 1896, and Ethel, born in 1898.

As a young man, Weller worked in the Bluebird Pottery, a local Muskingum ceramics factory, and by 1872 had established his own factory (a log cabin and a single kiln) in Fultonham, Ohio. Using a kickwheel, he turned stoneware jars and clay flower pots on a small scale, and sold these utilitarian pieces door-to-door. One of his earliest designs combined common sewer tiles to make a milk pan, which he marketed successfully locally. The name "Lonhuda" was a combination of the first letters of three partners' surnames: William A. Long, who had been a Steubenville druggist; and two investors, W.H Hunter, editor of the Steubenville Daily Gazette, and Alfred Day, secretary of the United States Potters Association. However, there is not a consensus, according to one modern critic: "..some might call [Weller] an entrepreneur, while others would judge him to be something of an opportunistic scoundrel". Weller hired a series of talented designers and potters and profited from their work.

Charles Babcock Upjohn worked for him from 1885–1904, with the first and second Dickens lines, as well as Eocean and Corleone lines. The Dickens lines were copied from a very successful line of figurines produced by Doulton of England, based on Charles Dickens characters.

From 1898–1900 Weller employed Albert Radford, who is credited with developing Weller Matt ware.

Frederick Hurten Rhead worked for Weller from mid-1903–1904, with the Jap Birdimal line, the L'Art Nouveau line, and the third Dickens line.

Weller suffered a paralyzing stroke while on a business trip to Washington, D.C., and died there three weeks later, October 4, 1925.

In 1954, Samuel’s wife Minnie Weller died at age 92, and his Weller house contents were auctioned.