John Potter Papers (Mss. Gr. 133)

Biographical note

John Potter was born in Griswold, CT in 1869 to Elisha Palmer Potter (1801-1888) and Angeline Whitford Potter (1834-1898). He attended the New Hampton Literary Institute, now known as the New Hampton School, in New Hampshire from the age of twelve to approximately twenty-one years of age. He attended Yale University but never graduated. He was eventually elected to the Connecticut Legislature where he made his first public speech in favor of the Women's Suffrage bill in 1915.

John was the couple's only child but had a half-brother, Caleb Palmer Potter (1824-1905), from his father's first marriage to Elizabeth Stanton. The family lived in Voluntown, Connecticut but had roots in Rhode Island and are related to the Potters of Kingston. Elisha Palmer was born in Richmond, RI and his wife Angeline was born in Greene, RI (in Coventry) and was working at a millenary in Providence when Elisha proposed marriage.

Perhaps the most distinguished member of the Kingston branch of the family was Elisha Reynolds Potter (1811-1882) who served as an educator, congressman, judge, historian and author. University of Rhode Island Special Collections was given a portion of Elisha Reynolds Potter's papers by William Davis Miller in the 1960's (see MSG# 12, Elisha Reynolds Potter Papers, 1798-1879). The bulk of the Potter papers are at the Rhode Island Historical Society.