Nathaniel
Potter
Sr.
Born before in England
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of
Dorothy (Wilbore) Albro
— married
before 1637 [location unknown]
Descendants 
Died about
after about age 26
in Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island
Profile last modified
| Created 7 Feb 2011
This page has been accessed 6,015 times.
Contents |
Disputed Origin
It is often claimed that the Nathaniel Potter who arrived at Rhode Island in 1638 was either the Nathaniel baptized 1622 in London, the son of George Potter and Martha (Unknown),[1] but that Nathaniel was too young to have been this Nathaniel (who was an adult in 1638).
The other claimed origin for Nathaniel is a Nathaniel mentioned as son in the will of Robert Potter and Elizabeth Marshall of Newport-Pagnell, Buckinghamshire. Irene B. Wrigley summarized the Potter family data in the article "Descendants of Ichabod-2 Potter (Nathaniel-1)," Rhode Island Genealogical Register, Volume 3, Number 3, January 1981, pages 208ff.
- Robert Potter Senior of Newport-Pagnell in Buckinghamshire left a will in 1630 that named sons Robert, Nicholas, Nathaniel, and John, and daughters Susannah, Mary and Ann. However, it is not known if that son Nathaniel is the Nathaniel Potter of Rhode Island. [Note: This was a different Potter family.]
Nothing conclusively connects the immigrant Nathaniel to either of those families or locations.
Another claim is that Nathaniel Potter, Robert Potter, and George Potter, who all signed the Portsmouth compact of loyalty in 1639, were brothers. However, there is no direct evidence connecting them as relatives.
No relationship is known to exist between Nathaniel Potter and Thomas Potter, who had wife Ann, and daughter Mary born at Newport July 1664.[2]
Biography
Nathaniel Potter was presumably born before 1617 in England, as he would have been an adult when admitted to Aquidneck Island in 1638 and when signing the compact of loyalty on April 30, 1639.[3][2]
The exact location of birth and his parentage are unknown.[4]
Portsmouth, Aquidneck Island
The first evidence of Nathaniel Potter in New England was when he was admitted to Aquidneck Island on 16 July 1638 (16th: 5th: 1638).[5] On 30 April 1639, he put his mark on the compact of loyalty at Portsmouth.[6]
Nathaniel likely died about 1644.[2] John Albro, who married Nathaniel's widow, had children starting about 1645.
A deed dated 24 November 1656 involved 30 acres of land "giuen & granted by the towne of portsmouth afore sayed unto Nathaniel potter deceased, & sould and conuaied by John Albro to James Sands, & by [him and so forth]".[7]
Wife
Nathaniel married Dorothy about the time he migrated.[citation needed] Dorothy was born about 1617 and died February 19, 1696.[2]
Robert Charles Anderson on page 18 of his Great Migration sketch of John Albro states that Dorothy (surname unknown) married first Nathaniel Potter and secondly to John Albro. On page 17 where he cites "The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth", Anderson says that on 24 November 1656, thirty acres of land in Portsmouth "was given & granted by the town of Portsmouth aforesaid unto Nathaniel Potter deceased, & sold and conveyed by John Albro to James Sands..." Anderson concludes: "(This deed is apparently the only evidence for the claim that John Albro married the widow of Nathaniel Potter.)"[8]The original town records of this transaction can be found here:[7]
Children
Nathaniel was alleged to have had:
- Nathaniel b. 1637 at Portsmouth, R.I. and d. Oct 20, 1704. m. Elizabeth.[2]
- Ichabod d. 1676. m. Martha Hazard.[2]
Research Notes
- Portsmouth Compact
The Portsmouth Compact was signed on Mar 7, 1638. Anne Hutchinson and some of her followers signed the document proclaiming their intention to create a "bodie politick" based on their own principles. Their search for land led them to Roger Williams, who in turn urged them to buy Aquidneck Island from the Narragansett Indians. Now a priceless document held in the Rhode Island state archives, the Portsmouth Compact not only established the Aquidneck Island town, but also set a precedent. It was the first document to establish political and religious independence from England.
- Wife not Wilbore
It is often stated without source that Nathaniel's wife was Dorothy Wilbore. This may have come from conflating Nathaniel Potter who married Joanna Wilbore at Little Compton in 1701.
- The biography of Nathaniel Potter was provided in the book "Ancestral Lines, Third Edition" compiled by Carl Boyer 3rd, published by the compiler in Santa Clarita, California in 1998.
Sources
- ↑ London Metropolitan Archives, St Bride Fleet Street, Transcript of register of baptisms, 1587 - 1626, P69/BRI/A/016/MS06545, Item 001. Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812. London, England London Metropolitan Archives.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 John Osborne Austin. "The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island: comprising three generations of settlers who came before 1690: with many families carried to the fourth generation" J. Munsell's sons, Albany.91887). pp 354-357.see at archive.org
- ↑ John Russell Bartlett. "Records of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in New England." A. C. Greene and Brothers, Providence. (1856). pp 90, 91.see at archive.org
- ↑ Robert Charles Anderson. "The Great Migration Directory, Immigrants to New England, 1620-1640, A Concise Compendium" New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA, (2015) p. 270.
- ↑ Chapin, Howard. Documentary History of Rhode Island (Preston and Rounds Co., Providence, 1916), vol. 2, p. 117
- ↑ The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth (Providence, R. I.: E. L. Freeman & Sons, 1901) pp. 1-2, citing p. 7 of the original town records; image of p. 2 at InternetArchive.org.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Amos Perry, Clarence Saunders. "The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth"E. L. Freeman & sons, Providence, R. I. (1901) p. 353, #270.see at archive.org
- ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles; Sanborn, George F. Jr.; Sanborn, Melinde L. (1999). The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England 1634–1635. Vol. I A–B. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society. ISBN 0-88082-110-8, pp 17, 18.subscription
See also:
- Potter Family -George and Martha Potter http://ourhistorytold.wikidot.com/fgs1
- Stu Wilson's Family Tree
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- Nathaniel Potter (Aquidneck Island 1638) should be PGM Jan 18, 2022.
Unmerged matches › Nathaniel Potter Sr (abt.1610-bef.1644)
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P > Potter > Nathaniel Potter Sr.
Categories: Signers of the 2nd Portsmouth Compact
It is significant that Nathaniel Potter of Rhode Island named a son Robert.
Finally, as Robert Potter's second surviving son Nicholas Potter settled in Lynn, Mass. in 1634 or 1635, what would be more normal than that his landless younger brother (then 18 or19 years old) would have accompanied Nicholas to Massachusetts Bay (or followed him there a year or two later), and then moved on to Rhode Island as a settlement opportunity opened up there?
There is no further trace of Nathaniel or of any of the other members of the Robert Potter family in Stratford St. Mary. As Stratford St. Mary was then a center of the woolen trade (see its Wikipedia article), evidently Robert found work there for a time, but ultimately returned to Newport Pagnell as the trade declined in Stratford.
Elizabeth, c. 1632; Dionisia, c. 4 May 1634; Nathaniel, c. 30 June 1637
Perhaps others can find additional records to determine if this Nathaniel Potter is worthy of any further consideration as a possible match or kinsman of Nathaniel-1 Potter of Portsmouth.
edited by Perry Streeter
See notes in the Life Sketch and also click on list of sources
See also: https://gw.geneanet.org/tdowling?lang=en&pz=timothy michael&nz=dowling&p=nathaniel&n=potter&oc=2
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Potter-1469#_note-8
you might want to recheck the death date of this Nathaniel (there are records saying George Potters children died in England) It is very common (for some reason) for people to mix these 2 different Nathaniel's up. This is a totally different Nathaniel than the one who died in R.I.
http://www.portsmouthhistorycenterarchive.org/items/show/154
From Sue Rousseau & Colleen LeComte Reference/YA Librarians Portsmouth Free Public Library 2658 East Main Road Portsmouth, RI 02871
Another interesting note. There is an Old Cemetery on the Land Discovered in 1900, it was named the Brownell Lot. The oldest (Legible) Headstone is dated 1666. Nathaniel dief there beforestone carvers arrived so his plot MAY be there.....but is unmarked.