The following was first printed in Potter Profiles, Vol. 11, March 1987. It had been shared with me by Lois Horn to go with what I had dubbed, Branch 81.
"Anthony Needham, born in Devonshire in 1628, was the son of Anthony and Jane, and was the father of Rebecca. He arrived in Salem in 1651 and Rebecca was born five years later. Back in England, under Cromwell, the Needham family had taken an active part in the Reformation movement. Their ancestry can be traced to the 12th century Norman..... "de Meet Mame".....interpreted as "deer or horses" and "park or home"..... suggesting a remote ancestor to have been a keeper of the royal deer park. Indeed, this progenitor's wife appears to have been a cousin to William the Conqueror.
"Rebecca's mother was Ann Potter, only child of Humphrey Potter, who died in the Irish Rebellion. Ann's grandfather was Sir Thomas Potter, who in 1622 had been Lord Mayor of Coventry. Possibly as a result of his title, he became an Irish landholder. We know that 19 years later he was in Dublin and became a victim of the Irish Massacre.
"Meanwhile, Humphrey Potter had married into the family of Sir Philemon O'Neale of Antrim. At the latter's death, the considerable property in northern Ireland was divided among his children, including of course the wife of Humphrey Potter. Ann Potter would have been a small child during the dire events which cost the lives of both her father and grandfather.
"Ann Potter's aunt, her father's sister Rebecca, had in the meantime come to America. The new Mrs. Rebecca Bacon of Salem, she seems to have joined the sect of Quakers. After her brother Humphrey's death, this stout-hearted woman undertook the voyage back to Ireland to claim her niece, Ann, whose mother may also have died at this point. The two sailed on Ye London Merchant.
"So Ann Potter came across the Atlantic to live in Salem with her aunt, and to become a Quaker like her aunt. In January 1655, Ann married Anthony Needham and their daughter, Rebecca, was born the following year and christened for her great-aunt, the courageous Rebecca Potter Bacon."
The sketch continued with the saga of Rebecca Needham's life; she married Michael Chapman and died early at the age of 35. Consult Vol. 11 of Potter Profiles to read it for yourself. DPP
Monday, November 25, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
Potters In Elkhart County, Indiana, Early 1800s
From "Marriages in Elkhart County, Indiana, 1830-1849," published in the Hoosier Genealogist, Vol. 11, No. 1, pps. 21-25:
James M. Potter married Clarinda Runcerman on 30 Jan 1845 (Book B, page 181)
Philander W. Potter married Laura Carr? Barr? on 13 May 1838 (Book A, page 219)
William A. Potter married Mary C. Bachelor on 13 Sep 1837 (Book A, page 193)
Eliza M. Potter m. Jonathan Rush on 24 Mar 1836 (Book A, page 132)
Eliza Rush married Aaron Skinner on 7 Oct 1839 (not stated)
Ken Heeter of Bel Air, MD, submitted this to Potter Profiles (Vol. 10, Jan 1987): "I have a letter written on 7 May 1933 from Mrs. C.R. Sparks of Berrien Springs, Michigan: Eliza Potter was born in Butler Co, Ohio in 1818. She was first married to Jonathan Rush in 1836. She married Aaron Skinner (my grandfather) in 1839. She was buried in South Bend, Indiana, in 1878. My older cousin says she remembers Grandmother's mother visiting them when she was a little girl. As nearly as we can figure it out that must have been sometime around 1868. I think she died not long after she visited there."
This is the Elkhart County courthouse in Goshen, Indiana. It was built in 1870 so the above marriages would not have been recorded in this building.......... but perhaps those early records were transferred there.
James M. Potter married Clarinda Runcerman on 30 Jan 1845 (Book B, page 181)
Philander W. Potter married Laura Carr? Barr? on 13 May 1838 (Book A, page 219)
William A. Potter married Mary C. Bachelor on 13 Sep 1837 (Book A, page 193)
Eliza M. Potter m. Jonathan Rush on 24 Mar 1836 (Book A, page 132)
Eliza Rush married Aaron Skinner on 7 Oct 1839 (not stated)
Ken Heeter of Bel Air, MD, submitted this to Potter Profiles (Vol. 10, Jan 1987): "I have a letter written on 7 May 1933 from Mrs. C.R. Sparks of Berrien Springs, Michigan: Eliza Potter was born in Butler Co, Ohio in 1818. She was first married to Jonathan Rush in 1836. She married Aaron Skinner (my grandfather) in 1839. She was buried in South Bend, Indiana, in 1878. My older cousin says she remembers Grandmother's mother visiting them when she was a little girl. As nearly as we can figure it out that must have been sometime around 1868. I think she died not long after she visited there."
This is the Elkhart County courthouse in Goshen, Indiana. It was built in 1870 so the above marriages would not have been recorded in this building.......... but perhaps those early records were transferred there.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Zabdiel Potter in Caroline County, Maryland, 1750+
On page 85 of The History of Caroline County, Maryland, is given a sketch on Zabdiel Potter:
"Around 1750, Zabdiel Potter came from Rhode Island and settled in Caroline County, Maryland. He died in 1761 leaving a widow and two sons, Nathaniel and Zabdiel, Jr. Nathaniel died about 1790 leaving a widow but no children. Zabdiel, Jr., was a physician and died about 1839 and had two sons:
Nathaniel became a physician and died in 1843. William became a merchant in Denton, Maryland; he married Ann Webb Richardson, a daughter of Col. William Richardson. She died 12 Sep 1836, age 64, and William Potter died 25 Nov 1847, age 76. They had both sons and daughters.
The map is from FamilySearch and highlights in green Caroline County. Is this your Zabdiel Potter?
This appeared in Potter Profiles, Vol. 10, January 1987. I did a quick Google search for the name Zabdiel Potter and found this sketch from Ancestry:
If you should visit Williston, the large brick mansion there would undoubtedly attract your attention. If you asked the history of the house and its owners, this is the story you would be told.
About the middle of the eighteenth century Zabdiel Potter, a sea captain from Rhode Island, settled at this place, building for his home a small brick house. Being an enterprising man, he soon made the place a point of commercial importance on the upper Choptank. In his honor the settlement became known as “Potter’s Landing.” Boats bound for Baltimore left the Landing laden with cargoes of tobacco and on return trips brought such supplies as the colonists had to import. While on a sea voyage in 1761, Captain Potter died leaving a widow and two sons.
Nathaniel Potter, the elder of the sons, inherited the home place known as Philips Range. During the Revolution he became a prominent figure in the country. From 1774 to 1776 he served in the Maryland Conventions, was Justice of the Orphans’ Court and first major in Staffords Company of Militia. In December ’76, Isaac McHard, who was appointed to collect food supplies in the province, engage Maj. Potter to collect, salt, and barrel all the pork he could procure for use in the army. So successful was Maj. Potter in this, that in ’78 he was appointed Caroline agent for purchasing provisions for the army. Two years after the close of the war he died leaving a widow but no children. The home at Potter’s Landing he will to his only brother.
This brother, Zabdiel Potter 2nd, was a practicing physician in the county at the outbreak of the Revolution. He was commissioned captain of the first Caroline company of the flying camp, but resigned to become surgeon’s first mate that he might utilize his medical skill where it was so greatly needed.
Dr. Potter died in 1739 [sic] and, like his father, left two sons of whom Caroline is justly proud. In his will expressed a desire that these sons should engage in trade together, but Nathaniel, the elder, preferred to follow his father’s profession. He graduated in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and later became a member of the faculty of the University of Maryland, which position he held until his death in 1843.
William, the younger son, became a merchant in Denton. He married Ann Webb, daughter of Colonel William Richardson. For four years (1797, ’98, ’99 and 1804) he represented Caroline in the lower House of the Assembly. In 1806 he became director for our county of the newly established branch of Farmer’s Bank at Annapolis in Easton.
In 1809 he retired from business and returned to Potter’s Landing, where he had the year previously completed the main building of the present mansion. Here he probably expected to spend the rest of his life in farming, which seems to have been his chief delight, but the War of 1812 changed these plans. During this conflict he became Brigadier General of the Maryland Militia. General Potter three times served on the Governor’s Council and in the years 1816 and 1831, being the first named, was next to the governor in state administration.
In the rear of the mansion two marble slabs bear these inscriptions:
“Sacred to the memory of Ann W. Potter who departed this life 12th Sept. 1836, Aged 64 years.”A few years after the death of General Potter, his sons having died and his daughters married, the property at Potter’s Landing was purchased by Colonel John Arthur Willis. During the Civil War four companies of the First Eastern Shore Regiment of Maryland Volunteers were raised at Potter’s Landing, it having been Colonel Willis who initiated the formation of this regiment. In later years the name of Potter Town was changed to Williston in memory of the Colonel and his family.
“General William Potter who departed this life Nov. 25, 1847 in the 76th year of his age.”
Potter’s Landing was for over a century the leading shipping port of Caroline County. During the lives of General Potter and Colonel Willis lines of sailing vessels plied between this wharf and Baltimore, and until the close of the last century, travel between that city and the central part of Caroline was entirely by boats, all of which stopped at this landing. The wharf is still used by the farmers of the neighborhood as a shipping point for their freight.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Thomas Potter, 1791-1865, War of 1812 from Tennessee
In Potter Profiles, Volume 10, January 1987, page 8, I published this bit. I had found this bit in Ansearchin News for Jan/Mar 1972. It was a bit contributed by Alfred C. Potter:
Thomas Potter, Christian Minister, born in 1791, died 24 January 1865, served in the War of 1812 from Overton County, Tennessee. He was a Pvt. in the company of Capt. William Evans, 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Militia, under the command of Col. Copeland. He was discharged at Fayetteville, Tennessee, on 16 May 1814.
He married Elizabeth Wilkerson, born 1793 and died 26 May 1868. She was the daughter of Thomas Wilkerson and a Mrs. Pemberton.
The couple had seven children: Phoeba, born 1818; William, born 1819; John, born 1822; Henry, born 1824; Elisha, born 1826; Bennata, born 1828; and Elijah, born 1830.
Thomas Potter left Jackson County, Tennessee, and went to Montgomery County, Illinois and then to Dallas County, Missouri in 1823. He returned to Montgomery County, Illinois, and then to Green County, Missouri in 1820.
Both Thomas and Elizabeth are buried in a private family plot twelve miles east of Springfield, Missouri.
I hope this query-bit will be of help to some Potter/Wilkerson researcher. Good luck.
Thomas Potter, Christian Minister, born in 1791, died 24 January 1865, served in the War of 1812 from Overton County, Tennessee. He was a Pvt. in the company of Capt. William Evans, 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Militia, under the command of Col. Copeland. He was discharged at Fayetteville, Tennessee, on 16 May 1814.
He married Elizabeth Wilkerson, born 1793 and died 26 May 1868. She was the daughter of Thomas Wilkerson and a Mrs. Pemberton.
The couple had seven children: Phoeba, born 1818; William, born 1819; John, born 1822; Henry, born 1824; Elisha, born 1826; Bennata, born 1828; and Elijah, born 1830.
Thomas Potter left Jackson County, Tennessee, and went to Montgomery County, Illinois and then to Dallas County, Missouri in 1823. He returned to Montgomery County, Illinois, and then to Green County, Missouri in 1820.
Both Thomas and Elizabeth are buried in a private family plot twelve miles east of Springfield, Missouri.
I hope this query-bit will be of help to some Potter/Wilkerson researcher. Good luck.
Monday, September 16, 2013
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 | |
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Sunday, August 18, 2013
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.)
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.
Monday, August 12, 2013
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.
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