John Potter Papers (Mss. Gr. 133)

The collection is organized into a Subject File. It consists of letters to and from John Potter, pocket diaries written by Julia Johnson Wells, a typescript transcription of the diaries by Charles Hoffman completed in 1978, and a pamphlet entitled Important Correspondence Between Elisha Reynolds Potter and R. G. Hazard, Esq., 1876.

While John Potter was at the New Hampton Literary Institute, his mother Angeline, wrote to her son on a weekly basis. These letters along with letters from other relatives and friends roughly span a twelve year period, 1881- 1892. There are no letters for the years 1885 - 1886.

Along with the letters to John, are six pocket diaries (1850-1855) kept by Julia Johnson Wells, wife of Thomas Potter Wells (1809-1884), banker and later Deacon of the Kingston Congregationalist Church in Kingston, RI. The connection between John and Julia is not clear from researching the materials at hand.

The letters and diaries are in excellent condition and are open for research. Related to this collection, are John's mother, Angeline's wedding dress and several hand-made quilts, ca. 1860, donated by Nancy Potter to the URI Historic Textile and Costume Collection.