Wives of Anthony Potter (1627-1689)

Anthony Potter, born about 1627 in England, possible son of Robert, came to the Massachusetts Colony as one of the first settlers. I trace my line back to Anthony (as dubbed Branch 1 in Potter Profiles). Anthony married twice, both times to an Elizabeth, and these two women have been scrambled more than once.

Anthony did marry first to Elizabeth Whipple, daughter of John and Sarah Whipple. She died young (perhaps in childbirth??) and Anthony married second to Elizabeth Stone, daughter of Gregory and Lydia (Cooper) Stone of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Quoting from a letter to me from Barbee Hodgkins, 1986, as published in Vol. 7 of Potter Profiles, Barbee wrote:  "About the wives of Anthony Potter. I fell into the same trap others have not been able to avoid in thinking that the mother of Anthony's children was Elizabeth Whipple. She died without producing any children. In re-reading the will of John Whipple carefully, that document offers the clue in one word. John Whipple describes Anthony Potter as "my sometime son-in-law." In the Deacon Stone Genealogy, both wives are mentioned, clearly stating that Elizabeth Whipple died in 1648 but left no children and that the mother of all Anthony's children was Elizabeth Stone."

I'm positive that a careful combing through the pages of Potter Profiles would find many submissions giving this same documenting information. Let's not any of us perpetuate this error!

Potter Cousins Connect!

I've just connect with a new Potter cousin; only a 9th cousin but who's counting?

Dale Potter Clark and I both descend from Samuel Potter; Dale comes from his son Samuel and I descend from his son David. But we're both direct Potter lines back to a common ancestor. The lineages go;

     Donna                                                             Dale
   
Francis Harold Potter  (1921-2009)                      Henry Johnson Potter  (1923-2003)
Henry Melville Potter  (1888-1952)                      Woodford Joseph Potter  (1896-1969)
Francis Matthew Potter  (1862-1894)                   Laurin Freemont Potter  (1981-1948)
Matthew J. Potter  (1838-1902)                           George Everett Potter  (1833-1918)
Matthew Potter  (1796-1875)                               James Potter  (1800-1875)
Robert Potter  (1766-1819)                                 Solomon Potter  (1749-1800)
James Potter  (1734-1815)                                   Samuel Potter  (1715-1759)
William Potter  (1715-1747)                                 Samuel Potter  (1690-1728)
David Potter  (1685-1715)                                   Samuel Potter  (1657-1714)
                                       Samuel Potter  (1656 - ?)
                                       Anthony Potter  (1627-1690)
                                       ???  Robert Potter                                  



Anybody else claim cousin-hood with us????

Potter Probates in Middlesex County, MA, 1648-1871

From Potter Profiles, Vol. 9, 1986:  here is the index to the Potter wills filed in the office of the Registrar of the Probate Court in Cambridge, Massachusetts:

Charles H. Potter,  Acton,  1860,  Admin #39615
Charles H. Potter, Concord, 1862,  Admin #39619
Edwin A. Potter, Waltham, 1864,  Admin #39616
Elizabeth Potter, Concord, 1861,  Admin #39617
Ephraim Potter, Marlborough, 1731, Admin # 17804
Ephraim Potter, Concord, 1825, Admin # 17805
Ephraim Potter, Concord, 1826,  Admin #17806
Ephraim Potter, Concord, 1831,  Guardian # 17807
Grace Potter, Concord, 1754,  Admin # 17808
Horace P. Potter,  Lowell,  1862,  Guardian 39619
Jane Potter, Concord, 1837,  Admin #17809
John C. Potter, Newton, 1870,  Will #39618
John S. Potter, Littleton, 1862,  Guardian #39619
Joseph Potter, Marlborough, 1791, Will #17810
Judah Potter, Concord, 1731,  Will #17811
Lucy Potter, Concord, 1854,  Admin #39620
Luke Potter, Concord, 1697,  Will # 17812
Luke Potter, Concord, 1737, Guardian #17813
Maria L.F. Potter, Cambridge,  1862,  Guardian #39623
Mary A. Potter, Concord,  1831,  Guardian #17807
Nathaniel Potter, Elizabeth Town NJ, 1768, Admin #17814
Samuel Potter, ???, 1677,  Inventory #17815
Samuel Potter, Concord, 1800,  Will #17816
Samuel Potter, Concord, 1832,  Admin #17817
Sarah L. Potter, Cambridge, 1861, Admin # 39621
Sarah L.C. Potter, Cambridge, 1862, Will #39621
Sibyl G. Potter, Concord, 1865, Admin #39622
Sophia E.C. Potter, Cambridge, 1862,  Guardian #39623

Hopefully this list will prove helpful to some Potter researcher.

Potter in Port Angeles Washington

This stone is for Calvin Chester Potter, born 1909 and died 1968 and is buried in the Ocean View Cemetery on the west side of Port Angeles, Washington. I took this photo while visiting family in Port Angeles. Out of respect for the family (since it is so recent) I chose not to do any research on Calvin's Potter lineage. 

I would like to point out the homemade tombstone. Tom, the caretaker of the cemetery, explained to me that  many times in the 40s, 50s, 60s and even into the 70s folks were allowed to craft their own flat stone and use pre-formed stamps to make the letters. This gravesite is visited as evidenced by the blue paint in the letters. 

Rest in peace in this beautiful oceanside place, Calvin Chester Potter.

Thomas Potter, Mayor of Coventry, England: Branch 40

When I begin gathering information and compiling it into the booklets or volumes of Potter Profiles, I arbitrarily assigned Branch numbers as lineages were shared with me. My personal line was Branch 1. By Volume 3, the numbers were up to Branch 40. By the time I ended up this project, many folks had submitted lineages that tied into Branch 40. Here is a synopsis of the beginning of that branch of the Potter family:

Volume 3, February 1985)

1. Thomas Potter, b.ca. 1568 in Coventry, England, m. 22 Aug 1598 in Coventry to Ann Fenn.

2. George Potter, b. 1606 in Coventry, m. Frances Coale in 1630 in Wolford, England; they immigrated to Rhode Island and he died there after 1647.

3.  Abel Potter, b. abt. 1640 in Portsmouth, RI, m. 1669 to Rachel Warner; he died 1692 in Warwick, RI.

4.  Job Potter, b.1692 in Cranston, RI, m. 1725 to Meribah Carter; he died 1766 in Warwick, RI.

5.  John Potter, 1731-1782, m. Phoebe...........

6.  David Potter, 1760-1838, m. Elizabeth Vaughn; he served in the Revolutionary War; d. 1838 in IN.

Submission by another (Volume 8, June 1986) carried the line down thusly:

3.  Abel Potter.

4.  John Potter, 1680-1770, m. (1) Joan Dearborne and (2) Phebe Green.

Submission by another (Volume 8, June 1986) carried the line down thusly:

3.  Abel Potter.

4.  Abel Potter, b.ca. 1682, m. (1) Rebecca Paine and (2) Martha Paine, w/o John Paine.

5.  Benjamin Potter, b. 1713, m. Jemima Williams.

6.  Zuriel Potter, 1740-1796, m. Abigail King.

7.  Thomas Potter, b. 1735, m. Esther Sheldon.

8.  Earl H. Potter, b. 1774, m. Hannah Austin Frothingham.

9.  Lorenzo Tucker Potter, 1817-1872, m. Mary Waterman Abbott.

If you desire more information (and there is way more) do click to Potter Profiles online (see button above.)

Potters in the Scriptures

Always wondered about the origin of the surname Potter. Decided to look up references in the scriptures..... and found a good dozen. Most have to do with a potter/pot making/clay/potter's wheel or with burial in a potter's field. The verse from Jeremiah 18:6 is a good example:  "O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel."

Wikipedia gives a concise definition of a potter's field:  A potter's field or common grave is a term for a place for the burial of unknown or indigent people. The expression derives from the Bible, referring to a field used for the extraction of potter's clay, which was useless for agriculture but could be used as a burial site.

An additional search for "potter surname" on Wikipedia yielded this:  "A potter is someone who makes pottery. The word potter originates from Old English pottere which was derived from medieval Latinpottarius."

What are your ideas about the origin of our surname??? 

Look up potter in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Nathaniel Frothingham Potter, 1807-1874, RI

Nathaniel Frothingham Potter was born on 15 Oct 1807 in Providence, RI, the son of Earl C. and Hannah Potter. In 1827 he married Sabrina Clark Abbott; they had five children. Nathaniel died at Nayatt, in the town of Barrington, RI, on 11 Jun 1874 and was buried at Swan Point Cemetery.

Mr. Potter's father, Earl C. Potter, was a noted builder of his day. Nathaniel learned the trade from him and at the age of 19 his first contract was the building of the Groton Monument which was considered a great undertaking for a mere lad. Subsequent to the great fire in Charleston, South Carolina, in the year 1844, he and his brothers went to that city and did an extensive business, building the Charleston Hotel and several of the finest blocks. When the Providence & Worcester Railroad was about to be built, he was entrusted with the important agency of securing the right of way. In 1847 he conceived the idea of utilizing the clay deposits near Nayatt and vigorously prosecuted the undertaking of the Narragansett Brick Company.

Source:  Potter Profiles, Vol. 8, June 1986 citing the "Transactions of the Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry, 1874 (Providence, 1875)." And Bicknell's History of Barrington.