William Potter, ca 1895 to 1970, Co Dublin, Ireland

Hello. My name is Martin Potter and I live in Ireland. I am delighted to post to Potter Profiles about my paternal grandfather, William Potter.

He was a seaman and settled in the seaside town of Skerries, Co. Dublin, Ireland. He married a local girl and they had four sons: Breffni, William, Patrick, and Desmond….. Desmond was my father. William also had one daughter, Rena. There are lots of my cousins still living in the area. I would love to know more about William’s life when he was in Liverpool and to hear from any other relatives as I’m sure that there must be some for many Potters live in the Liverpool area.

William was awarded medals for saving lives at sea. In 1913 he was involved in saving 59 lives from the burning ship, Volturno, in the Atlantic. William was aboard the SS Devonian which answered the Volturno’s distress call. William was aboard lifeboat number five.

Here is a link and pictures of William and his award and medals. Please feel free to publish it!

http://www.searlecanada.org/volturno/volturno67.html

Martin Potter,  email:   kilcorky@yahoo.co.uk

** Do check out this link for there you'll find much information on this tragic event and William Potter.  

Potters in Peoria, Illinois, in 1900

According to the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, taken on 9 June 1900, in the Peoria Ward 1, Peoria, Illinois, three men surnamed Potter were among those listed as "prisoner" in one large "dwelling."

One was Sam Potter, born Jan 1874 in Illinois, parents also born in Illinois, age 26, day laborer

Another was George Potter, b. Mar 1875 in Illinois, parents also born in Illinois, age 25, cigar maker

The third was Horace Potter, born Jul 1868 in Pennsylvania, parents born in Ireland, age 31, painter

Wonder who Sam Potter, George Potter and Horace Potter belong to?? Is your Potter family missing a young man?

Grandma Google gives me this image for "Peoria prison." Is it the one where these Potters were?

Admiral Dewey Potter, buried Vermilion Co, IL, 1930

Doing some Find-A-Grave searching in the Spring Hill Cemetery, Danville, Vermilion Co, Illinois, and spotted this:

Admiral Dewey Potter

Birth: unknown

Death:  10 April 1930

Father: unknown

Mother:  Lorena Hartz Potter, 1873-1905

Children:

James Milton Potter, 1922-1996

Bobby Potter, 1930-1930

William Potter, 1930-1930

Siblings:

Admiral Dewey Potter, d. 1930

Jennie C. Potter Odle, 1891-1976

Della Mae Potter Clawson, 1893-1980

Stephen Henry Potter, 1895-1922

John Tobias Potter, 1903-1979

Robert Lincoln Potter, 1905-1975

Incription:

IN Inf  --  Tombstone in Soldiers' Circle

Note:

His twin infant sons, Bobby and William, are buried with him

Potters In Pend Oreille County, Washington, 1930s & 1940s

Marriage record:  2 May 1938, Charles A Thomas, age 28, and Luella Poetter, age 18, both of Cusick, Pend Oreille County, were married.

Marriage record:  15 Nov 1943, Waldo Eldin Guffin, of Spokane, WA, married Ruth Potter, of Spokane. 

Image courtesy of the Washington State Digital Archives, www.digitalarchives.wa.gov


By the by, the county name is pronounced "Ponderay."  Been told it's French. Cusick was a lumbering town on the Pend Oreille River.

Benjamin F. (1850-1908) & Eleanor (1853-1909) POTTER

Spotted this tombstone here in Spokane, Spokane County, Washington in the Greenwood Cemetery. The inscription is weathered but reads:  Frank Potter, 1850-1908;  Eleanor Potter, 1853-1909. (As best as I could discern.)

Doing some quick research, Benjamin F. or F. Benjamin was born in Jan 1850 in Pennsylvania; he married Eleanor ??  in 1887. Benjamin was the son of George H. and Elizabeth Potter, as found on the 25 July 1870 census of Pennsylvania. He had siblings Jacob Henry, Mariah, Amelia, John. He died on 2 Nov 1908 in Spokane.

Eleanor, according to her death certificate, was born in 1853 or 1854 in Indiana, daughter of F. Phar and Samantha Riggs.  She died on 11 Feb 1909 in the even smaller town of Elk, Spokane County, Washington.

On Benjamin's death record it shows his father's name as George and his mother's name as Benedict. On the 25 Jul 1870 census, an 85 year old Susen Benedick, b. Pennsylvania, is listed in the household.

Looks like Benjamin F. Potter served in the Civil War, the 148th PA Infantry and received a pension.

On 11 Jun 1900, the couple were living in Chattaroy, a small town about 40 miles north of Spokane but still in Spokane County. He was listed as a farmer.

As of this posting date, I found very little else on either of these Potters in the Ancestry or FamilySearch databases, or on our Washington State Digital Archives website.

(I had to wonder who gave that information as apparently this couple had no children. Listed in the 1900 census it shows 0/0 for her regarding children.)

James Potter & Mary Ann "Polly" Kirby.... Lived in McCracken Co, KY, in the mid-1800s.

This was a write-up in the Sunday, May 30, 1971 issue of the Paducah Kentucky Democrat. The article was spotlighting the upcoming reunion of the family.

"In 1830 a young married man received a land grant in McCracken County where he would build the log house that was to serve for many years as the home for his growing family.

"That man was James Potter and his wife was Mary Ann "Polly" Kirby and their 3-year-old son William.

"James and Mary Ann's twelve children were William, James, Monroe, Samuel John D., John and four daughters who died in infancy, Mary Jane, Pauline, Lizzie Nancy and Virginia, and living daughters Laura Frances (m. Oldham), and Emirella (m. Cook, then Vance).

"These pioneers, their children and grandchildren wee destined to play an important role in the growth and development of McCracken County.

"The property remained in the Potter family for 129 years; the last owner was Edd Potter, son of William, who died in 1967, having sold the property in 1959.

"James Potter, with the help of his oldest son, William, helped to hew the logs and to build the Highland Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Most of the family members were Baptists, but some were Presbyterians and Methodists.

"The plot in Hall Cemetery was purchased by son William in 1972. In it are buried James, who died in 1882; Mary Ann, who died in 1887; and William and his wife. Many other members of the Potter family are also buried in the 1/4 acre plot, some in unmarked graves.

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This copied newspaper article appeared in Potter Profiles, Volume 12, May 1987, page 23.

James Potter, 1736-1804, m. Abigail Barnes, Connecticut & New York

I called this lineage Branch 82 and it appeared in Potter Profiles, Vol. 12, 1987:

1. Dr. James Potter, 1736-1804, Sherman, CT, m. Abigail Barnes, 1743-1817.

2. William Cicero Potter, b. 1773 in Sherman, CT; d. 1856 in Orleans Co, NY; m. Nancy Anna Hubbell, 1776-1854.

3.  Herman Boerhave Potter, b. 1804 in Sherman, CT;  d. 1880 in GalesBurg, IL; m. Minerva L'Hommedieu, 1804-1892.

4.  Leander Hubbell Potter, b. 1829 in Orleans Co, NY; d. 1879 in Galesburg, IL; m. Martha Irwin, 1851-1935.

5.  Herman Hubbell Potter, b. 1879 in Galesburg, NY; d. 1966 in Madison, IN; m. Virginia Lois Wymond, 1887-1918.

6.  Charles Wymond Potter, b. 1915 in Madison, IN; m. Betty Jane Andrews.

This lineage was submitted by Charles Potter of Ocala, Florida.

Thanks to Google Images for this map showing the whereabouts of Sherman, Connecticut: