William A. Potter, one of the pioneers of this county, was born in Lower Canada, in 1809. His
father was a native of Connecticut, his mother if New York State. His parents
moved to the latter State while the subject of our sketch was yet in his
infancy, and when about five years of age was an eye witness of the battle of
Plattsburg, of which he has a vivid recollection. He remained in New York
State until about twenty years of age, working on his father's farm; emigrated
to Ohio in 1829 and passed through Cleveland, then to a small hamlet, and
located in Portage county, Ohio, where he remained for about five years. He
then determined to go further West, and consequently the year 1835 finds him in
the wilds of Indiana, having settled in Middlebury tp., this county, where he
located some land, and underwent all the hardships and privations incident to a
pioneer's life. Indians and wolves were still quite plenty in that part of the
country, the former causing considerable trouble to the settlers at such times
as they succeeded in procuring fire water. Mr. Potter was married Sept. 13,
1837, to Mary Bachelor, daughter of one of the old settlers of the county. To this marriage was
born, Dec. 16, 1838, Joel, now a business man in this tp. Mr. Potter is an Elder in the Evangelical
Lutheran Church, and an old Jacksonian Democrat, and has been moderately
successful in business.
(History of Elkhart County, Indiana, Evansville, Ind.: Unigraphic, 1971, Page
#: 713, Family History Library (FHL), 35 North West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT
84150, USA, Film #: 897091. Reprint of Original published: Chicago: C.C.
Chapman, 1881. Source Media Type: Books/Monographs (With Film).)
