Potter Family Coat of Arms...... Do You Believe It?

Back in January 1987, in Volume 10 of Potter Profiles, I published a copy of the Coat of Arms for the Potter family as created by Halberts Company in Bath, Ohio. This crest showed three black 3-legged cooking pots as the principle feature. Today I did a Google image search for "potter family coat of arms" and found several different variations........ but not a one with three black cooking pots!

The Halbert's rendering explains:  "The Potter Coat of Arms illustrated at left was drawn by an heraldic artist from information officially recorded in ancient heraldic archives. Documentation for the Potter Coat of Arms design can be found in Rietstap Armorial General." I Google searched for that  and found this:

Family Crest SearchThe Best Places to find Family Crests and Coats of Arms on the Web

Rietstap's Armorial General Riestap's Armorial General is a huge collection of family crests gathered from numerous smaller armorials and all put in one multi-volume armorial. There are 130,000 or so European names listed along with a description of each names family crest. Sometimes you will also find the nationality of the owner, his title, if any, and the date of the grant. You probably don't really care about anything else. ******************************************************************** Is there a genuine Potter Coat of Arms in use today? Does any living Potter man have the right to claim and display such? In my understanding the answer is a resounding NO. I suggest you first look at the Wikipedia entry for "coats of arms" to get a foundational understanding of the subject. Coats of arms were valuable and valid in their day but that day was long, long ago.

Abijah Potter (1760-1842) & Mary Tower (1761-1861) in New Hampshire

This bit is from the History of Stark, New Hampshire, 1774-1974 published by the Stark Bicentennial Committee. ........ The Potter Family:

Abijah Potter, son of Theophilus Potter and Lois (Walker) Potter, a farmer, came to Percy with his family in 1806. He served in the Revolution and was a sergeant. He married Mary Tower, daughter of Joseph and Hepsibah (Gibbs) Tower, and their children were:  Abijah, Polly, Mark, Charlotte, Lorana, Aaron and Justus. (Lorana married John Waid, son of John and Ruth (Merriman) Waid. Their children were Mary, Caleb and Laura.)

Aijah Potter, farmer, son of Abijah and Mary (Tower) Potter, married Lydia Rowell, daughter of Daniel and Judith (French) Rowell. They had at least one son, Leonard.

Aaron Potter, farmer, son of Abijah and Mary (Tower) Potter, married Hannah Miles, daughter of Captain Daniel and Elizabeth (Smith) Miles. He served as town clerk.

Justus Potter, son of Abijah and Mary (Tower) Potter, married in 1819 Elizabeth Miles, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Smith) Miles. Their children were:  Justus, Alvira, Mary, Charles, Daniel, Hannah, Aaron, Naomi Elizabeth, Naville, Abijah and Horace. Justtus married, as his second wife, Almine Peabody, and, as this third wife, Susan (Rowell) Curren. (Naomi Elizabeth married Cyrus Thompson, son of Benjamin and Sarah (Wheeler) Thompson. They had one son, Elwin. Both father and son died in 1862 from diphtheria. Naomi remarried and moved away.)

Leonard Potter, son of Abijah and Lydia (Rowell) Potter, married Susan Cole, daughter of Andrew and Hannah (Peverly) Cole. Their children were: Freeman, Norman (who died age 15), Edwin, Elizabeth and Mary.

Justus Potter, son of Justus and Elizabeth (Miles) Potter, a farmer, married Hannah Dodge, daughter of David and Rachel Dodge. Their children were: Louisa, Olive, Lucina, Lafayette (who died in infancy), Elizabeth, Adonna and his twin, Augusta, who died in infancy. (Elizabeth married Hazen Merrill, son of Nathanial and Drusilla (Stone) Merrill. They had two children:  Irven and Susie and lived on his father's farm.)

Aaron A. Potter, son of Justus and Elizabeth (Miles) Potter, married Ella McFarland of Northumberland. Her served several terms in town office.

Abijah Potter, son of Justus and Elizabeth (Miles) Potter, married Mary Roxana Peabody, daughter of Lorenzo and Lydia Peabody of Milan. Their children were:  Flora, Iona, Leon, Iva and Royal Wilbur. (Iva married Osmar Cole, son of Hiram and Matilda Cole.)

Horace Potter, son of Justus and Elizabeth (Miles) Potter, married Elizabeth Woodward, sister of Billy Woodward. They built the house near the Jimmy Cole place and farmed. Their children were:  Elvia, Charles, Aaron, William, Elizabeth and Marcia (who died in infancy). They also raised Albert Emery, Clair and Susana Walker.

Freeman Potter, son of Leonard and Susan (Cole) Potter, married Lavina Rowell, daughter of Levi and Caroline (McFarland) Rowell. Their farm was on the lower part of Percy Plain. Their children were: Eva, Daisy, Harley and Nellie.

Adonna, of "Don" Potter, son of Justus and Hannah (Dodge) Potter, was a farmer, served as selectman, road agent, and representative, and was also active in church affairs. He married, first, Emma Growe, and second, Florence Skiff. Their children were Sybil and Ruth. His third wife was Adelaide Powell. Their children were:  Donald and Robert. His fourth wife was Irene Hamlin.

R. Wilbur Potter, son of Abijah and Mary (Peabody) Potter, married Jessie Lang, daughter of Emerson and Alice Lang. They had one son, Mark. His second wife was Selma Christianson, and their children were:  Roma, Carl and Norman. This third wife was Margaret Goehler, and their children were: Erma, Wilbur and Arthur.

Charlie Potter, son of Horace and Elizabeth (Woodward) Potter,  never married. He ran a blacksmith shop, worked in the woods and farmed with Albert Emery.

Aaron Potter, son of Horace and Elizabeth (Woodward) Potter, like his brother Charlie, never married. Both lived on the home place and were well known as "characters."

William Potter, son of Horace and Elizabeth Potter, married Georgia Smith. Their children were: Ellis, Lois, Vera, Leonard and Alice.

Norman Potter, son of R. Wilbur and Selma Potter, married Opal Gibson, daughter of Robert and Maude (Basset) Gibson. Norman has worked int he woods and on town roads, loves to fish. Opal worked at Granite State Rubber So. They had two sons, Carl and Norman, Jr.

Ellis Potter, son of William and Georgia Potter, married Margaret "Maggie" Collins. Their children were: William, Ellis, Jr., Eva, Elmer and George. His second wife was Olida Charest, and they had one daughter, Sandra.

Carl, or "Toby" Potter, son of Norman and Opal Potter, married Gloria Phelps. Toby works at the Groveton Mill and is serving as road agent.

Norman, or "Bud" Potter, son of Norman and Opal Potter, married Elizabeth Christopher, daughter of Columbus and Shirley (Maguire) Christopher. They had one daughter, Fawn. Their home is the old Blake schoolhouse which has been recently renovated. Bud works in the Groveton Mill and Betty has served as school treasurer.

Ellis, or "Tinker" Potter, son of Ellis and Maggie Potter, married Marjorie Palmer. They had two children. His second wife was Cecile Croteau, daughter of James and Arline (Lettre) Croteau. After her death, he married Opal Potter. They live in Stark Village and run a restaurant in Groveton.

Lyman Potter donated the land for the Percy Cemetery. His home still stands nearby and has been recently renovated. He married Judith Robbins and their children were: Lydia, Carrie (who is now 104 years old) and "Doctor" John.

(This sketch first appeared in Potter Profiles, Volume 8, 1986, page 16-18.)

Covered bridge over the Upper Ammonoosuc River in front of former paper mill in Groveton. The Percy Peaks are in the distance.

Genealogies of the Potter Family, 1888, available for Kindle

Big thanks to Potter Profiles reader Ann Marie Potter (addyam61@live.com) who shared this bit:  I'm sure most of your readers have stumbled across this, but just in case....there is a wonderful ebook available on Amazon (Kindle) called Genealogies of the Potter Families & Their Descendants in America to the Present Generation (1888, Charles E. Potter). I'm not sure what the hard cover price is but on Kindle it's only 99 cents. 

Thanks, Ann Marie, for sharing this bit.   

Herman Boerhave Potter, 1786-1804, Connecticut

HERMAN BOERHAAVE (m). Dutch doctor, theorist, lecturer and medical writer (1672-1738), of Leyden; he never came to this country.  Dr. James and Abigail (Barns) Potter of New Fairfield, Connecticut, named their youngest son Herman Boerhave Potter (1786-1804). Father and son died within days of each other; the expenses of both funerals were listed in Dr. Potter's estate papers (1804-06). Dr. Potter's inventory also included a six-volume set of Dr. Boerhaave's lectures (New Milford Probate #2149), finally distributed to son William Cicero Potter (1773-1856), who himself later named a son Herman B. Potter (Charles Edward Potter,Genealogies of the Potter Families and their Descendants in America [1888], Part 5, p. 3.) (DAR Patriot Index, Millennium Administration [2003], 3:2156 mistakenly gives Mrs. Potter's maiden name as "Boerhave," extrapolating from her youngest son's middle name without taking into account her husband's [and possibly her own] penchant for imaginative naming.)

The Name Origins article, written by Julie Helen Otto, originally appeared in The Weekly Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Issue #645, July 24, 2013.

Stephen Potter, b. 1744 England/Wales; son Thomas Green Potter, b. ca. 1775 VA/SC; Wayman Henry Potter, b. 1816, SC

Hi..

After reading your Potter Profiles post on Facebook the other day, I decided to check my family tree for Potters. Lo and behold! I found some Potters in my son-in-law's family. So, I'm sending you the information for your profiles blog. 

 

My son-in-law's 6th great grandfather was Stephen Potter, born about 1744 in England or perhaps Wales. He married, about 1768 in Virginia, Jemima Green. They had at least 8 children among them, Thomas Green Potter. Some researchers report that Stephen served in the South Carolina militia from 24 May 1781 to 14 Jan 1782. Others that he was a mounted soldier in General Pickens' Brigade. He is not listed among in the DAR ancestor database. I have been able to document this assertion.

 

Their son Thomas Green Potter was born either in Virginia or in Clinton, Laurens County, South Carolina about 1775 (date calculated from tombstone). He married Elizabeth Holland, daughter of  and William Holland and Ann Wayman, 1 Dec 1814 in Clinton, Laurens County, South Carolina. Elizabeth died in 1844. There is an obituary for Thomas atwww.findagrave.com which lists him as a native of Virginia. It also states that he lived in Spartanburg and Laurens. Deacon Potter "for a period of forty years he was an exemplary member of the Methodist Episcopal Church."

 

Thomas and Elizabeth had the following children:

     Wayman Henry Potter 1816-1890

     Nancy Holland Potter 1819-1886

     Thomas Coke Potter  1821-1902

     Allen T. Potter 1824-1892

     Francis Asbury Potter 1826- 1900

     George Whitefield Potter 1828 - 1901

     Elizabeth Holland Potter 1830 - 1889

 

The 1820 Census for Spartanburg, Spartanburg, South Carolina, enumerated 7 Aug 1820, lists a Thos G Potter with a household including: 2 free white males under 10; 1 free white male 26-44; 1 free white female under 10; 1 free white female 16-25; on male slave 14-25.

 

The 1830 Census for Spartanburg enumerates a Thos G Potter household including: 2 free white males under 5; 2 white males 5-9; 3 free white males 10-14; 1 free white male 40-49; 1 free white female 10-14; 1 free white female 30-39 and 1 male slave 24-35.

 

The 1840 Census for Laurens, South Carolina lists a Thomas Potter in a household with 1 free white male 50-59; 1 free white male 20-20; 2 free white males 15-19; 2 free males 10-14; 1 free white female 10-14; 1 free white female 15-19; 1 free white female 20-29; 1 free white female 50-59; and 1 male slave 36-54.

 

The 1850 Census for Laurens, South Carolina lists a Thomas Potter, age 60, male, farmer, value of real estate 3100, birthplace Virginia. Also living in the household as  Frances A Potter, age 24, Birthplace South Carolina, male; George W. Potter, age 22, male; Elizabeth Potter, age 20 female.

 

My son-in-law's line descends from Wayman Henry Potter, born 17 Oct 1816 in Cross Anchor, Spartanburg, South Carolina. He married Elizabeth Jane Simpson about 1840 in Clinton, Laurens County, South Carolina.

The family had at least five children all born in South Carolina

     Mary J. Potter 1843

     Nancy Potter   1845

     Thomas Asbury Potter 1846-1919

     Sarah Potter 1849

     Amanda B. Potter 1854-1935

 

The family emigrated to Ouachita County, Arkansas about 1858.

 

Amanda Bailey Potter, my son-in-law's 3rd great grandmother, was born 12 Feb 1854 in South Carolina. She married Robert Weir Copeland (1852-1921) in 1874. The family made their home in Jackson, Nevada County, Arkansas and she lived in the county the rest of her life. The Copelands had six children:

     S. E. Copeland 1876

     Fannie Bailey Copeland 1879-1921

     Edgar W Copeland 1881

     Joe Bell Copeland 1884

     Amry R Copeland 1889

     Lizzie Faye Copeland 1893-1978

 

My son-in-law descends form Fannie Bailey Copeland so I do not have any additional information on Potters. Perhaps, you have information on Stephen Potter's Revolutionary War service in the South Carolina militia in your earlier Potter Profiles collection.

Cecily Cone Kelly,  cecilyk@aol.com

 

William Potter & Sarah Randall Married 1787 In ??

Back in 1986, when I was actively collecting and compiling Potter Profiles, I decided to look at the microfilm for all the Potters listed in the Revolutionary War Pension index.......... accordingly I spent hours scanning those films, listing out the soldiers and trying to pick out some identifying information.

Nearing the end, and looking at one of the files for William Potter (and there were several), I found a Bible record that had been sent to Washington DC most likely to support a claim. Here is the information from that Bible record page:

In the center:  William Potter was born the 3rd of September in the year of our Lord 1750 and married Sarah Randall the 30th of January in the year 1787............. Sarah Potter wife of William Potter was born the 28th day of July in the year 1766...... William Potter died December the 9th 1815 aged 55 years............. William Murray, January 5th 1804

Down the left side:  Two sons born the 5th of April 1732 the one lived eighteen hours and the other eighteen days..... one son born the 3rd of April 1792 and lived six days........... Hannah Potter was born the 17th of May in the year of our Lord 1781........ Rebekah Randall Potter born the 29th of December 1792 and died the 14th of April 1794............. born my daughter the 10th day of March and died the 21st 1795............. Rebekah Randall Potter was born the 25th day of April in the year of our Lord 1790.

Down the right side:  Sally Sherman Potter born the 9th of December in the year 1797.... William Potter, Jun. born the 12th of December in the year 1799......... Betsey Potter born the 23rd of October in the year of our Lord 1808......... Rufus Potter born the 7th day of August in the year of our Lord 1804...... Hannah Eggabroat daughter of Wm Potter died December the 11th 1835 aged 44 years.

Seems to me that there is more than one family included here. A couple married in 1787 cannot be having sons born 1732 or 1781..................... and who is William Murray?

Lorenzo Tucker Potter Buried at Beaufort National Cemetery, 1872

Donna, 

I am not related to Potter but have been researching Lorenzo Tucker Potter and his wife Eliza because of their 1870 memorials at the Beaufort National Cemetery honoring Union soldiers in the Civil War who died primarily at the Charleston Race Course prison in 1864-1865. An ancestor of mine died as a prisoner there and is, purportedly, one of the 175 soldiers names on the memorial. Eliza tended to Union soldiers at the prison.

I am writing only to see if what I have might be known/confirmed by others - I am not certain of all of this. 

Eliza McGuffin was born in Ireland to Scottish parents and a number of references suggest she was born in Scotland. I recently located the 1850 census in St Michael and St Phillip Parish (Charleston) SC where Eliza E Abbott, born Ireland, was listed with Anna Dennison 14, Julia E Dennison 5, Frederick P Dennison 3, Mary A Dennison 0 and John C Abbott 30. In the 1860 census L T (Lorenzo Tucker) Potter is listed with Eliza and Julia Potter 15, Frederick Potter 13, Mary Potter 10, Earl Potter 3, Lorence Potter 1 and Lily Potter 1. 

There are records indicating that Lorenzo Tucker Potter married Mary Waterman Abbott and she died 1846. I am postulating that Eliza McGuffin married(1) ??-?? Dennison then married(2 or 3) Lorenzo Tucker Potter about 1855 who adopted 3 children and their first child was Earl Frothingham (L T Potter's mother's maiden name) Potter.

Julia Potter died 1861 age 16 in Charleston of disease and Frederick Potter died 1863 age 16 of head injuries sustained when schoolmates wanted the Union flag in his pocket which he would not give to them. They are buried in Charleston and their names are on the one headstone.

L T Potter died 1872 and is buried in Rhode Island. In 1876 Eliza was awarded $20,000 in the legal case 'Potter vs United States' for compensation of seizure of assets at the end of the Civil War. Eliza was living in Iowa in 1895 with her son Earl and I located a record suggesting Eliza died in Massachusetts 1907. I have not been able to locate her burial location. Eliza's son, Earl, at a ceremony in Washington, DC, was presented a book, signed by Clara Barton, which honored, among others, Eliza Potter for her efforts tending to Union soldiers in Charleston.

FYI - Marshall Woodward,  email mwoodward@homesc.com

If you are able to help Marshall with his project, please do contact him.