LDS Missionary Database
Great-Great-Great Grandfather of Keith M. Chandler
Utah Pioneer of 1849
Written by his Granddaughter; Crystal Potter Lewis
Other history of Arnold Potter
by Ruby Potter Valantone (included below) differs somewhat.
Arnold Potter was born in Salisbury, Herkimer county, New York, January 11, 1804 the son of David and Elizabeth Vaughn Potter. I felt that I must write a little about Arnold’s parents before giving his brief history that I have.
David Potter was born in Coventry, Kent County, Rhode Island June 26, 1760 and volunteered as a soldier in the Revolutionary War before he was sixteen years old; February 1st, 1776. He served as both a volunteer and a draftee in several different companies. Some of the battles he served in are; White Plains, Tommuny Hill, and Butts hill. He received his final release in 1779. Elizabeth Vaughn Potter was born in 1763, was married to David about 1785 and the couple had the following ten children: John (1786-1817), Martin (1790-?), Willis (1791-1872), David Jr. (1793-?), Jemima (?), Polly (?), Margaret (1798-?), Erastus (1800-?), Arnold (1804-1869), Elizabeth (1807-1884).
Elizabeth Vaughn Potter died in Salisbury, New York February 5, 1831 age 68 and David died in Cotton Township, Indiana May 13, 1838 age 78.
David Moved his family from Pittstown, New York to Salisbury New York in 1802, two years before Arnold was born in 1804. Arnold spent his childhood and young manhood in Salisbury where he evidently met and married Almira Smith. Data on this marriage is lacking, there were some children but nothing is known of their birth or death dates or how many there were of them.
According to a legal item in the Salisbury records, Arnold bought a hundred acres of land near Salisbury from his father, David, for the sum of two hundred dollars on June 11, 1831. About this time David moved to Indiana where it is thought his son Martin lived.
Arnold’s wife Almira died before 1845 and Arnold joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints before that date also, but no record can be found of the exact date of either occurrence.
He married Elizabeth Ann Birch, daughter of John and Ann Craven Birch, English immigrants, and converts to the L.D.S. Church. Arnold and Elizabeth Ann received their Endowments in the Nauvoo Temple February 2, [22?] 1846.
Both of Elizabeth’s parents died before her marriage to Arnold Potter. Elizabeth Ann Birch was born March 22, 1821 in Radnorshire, Wales.
Arnold and Elizabeth Ann were Utah pioneers of 1849. They were members of Captain Luddington’s ten, of Captain Silas Richards company of fifty, and arrived in Salt Lake city October 27, 1849.
They settled in Mill Creek1, near Murray. Here their first child (as far as we have record) Wallace Edwin was born April 14, 1850. When Ed was very young they migrated to San Bernardino, California where their second child George was born in 1852: he died when just a baby.
Their third child, Mary Adaline, was born in San Bernardino September 1855.
In July 1855 Arnold received a call to go on a mission to Australia, for the L.D.S. Church. According to members of the family, Amasa Potter a nephew of Arnold’s was called at the same time. They sailed from San Francisco on the ship “What Cheer,” August 30, 1856, for Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
It took sixty-six days for the sailing vessel to reach Sydney, arriving October 26, 1856, all passengers in good health.
The Church Historian’s Office has this record: Arnold Potter was sent to labor as a missionary in New Zealand December 11, 1856 and was diligent in his labors.
He returned to San Bernardino September 1857. He was ill with some kind of fever and was delirious most of the way on the return voyage.
Early next spring, 1858 Elizabeth decided to leave Arnold and go back to Utah where she had a brother and other relatives.
Francis Brown, a member of the Mormon Battalion, with his Indian wife and two children, Ellen and George Brown, was making the journey to Utah and said that Elizabeth and children could go along with them. For some reason little Mary was left in San Bernardino, evidently with Arnold and his children by Almira Smith and Elizabeth with eight year old Wallace Edwin accompanied the Brown’s, although Elizabeth was expecting a baby and Brown’s wife was also.
Brown’s wife died somewhere in what is now Nevada, of a miscarriage, and was buried there. The rest of the party went on and reached Beaver, Utah in May 1858, where on June 5, 1858, Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter, Eliza Ann [this is the first wife of Martin Weight, who latter married Jennie MCClennon Gee and were the parents of Ada Bell Weight 2].
Soon after reaching Beaver Elizabeth completed her separation from Arnold Potter according to the laws of that time and when Eliza Ann was six weeks old she [Elizabeth] was married to Francis Brown.
Arnold stayed in or near San Bernardino the rest of his life [see other Arnold Potter history, by Ruby Valantone, which says he went back to Council Bluffs] and never did see his daughter, Elizabeth Ann nor his son Edwin after Elizabeth left him.
He sent his son Edwin money from time to time and at one time he sent him a fine violin which Ed soon learned to play very skillfully.
Arnold Potter was a brilliant scholar and a gifted musician and handed these traits down to his on Edwin.
When Edwin was nineteen years old his father, Arnold died in San Bernardino August 1852, at the age of 68. [In the copied/typed document available the location is crossed out and Counsel Bluff Iowa April 2, 1872 is hand written in, in pen] He left seven hundred fifty dollars from his estate to Edwin.
Mary evidently came to Utah after her fathers death for she married a Utah Man, Welcome Chapman Jr. about 1870. [Again the typed copy has been pen changed to read; Mary came to Utah with her Mother she Married a Utah man...] She died at the age of nineteen, leaving two little daughters.
Another History of
Arnold Potter
Written by Ruby Potter Valantone
Before beginning the history of Arnold Potter, it seems fitting and proper to give a brief resume of the Potter Family in America.
Our earliest ancestor George Potter. Very little is known of him. Where or when he was born, his wife’s name, exactly when he came to New England or the date and cause of his death. We know he was admitted as an inhabitant of the Island of Aquidneck (presumably Rhode Island) [near the town of Coventry; directly west of Warwick near the center of Rhode Island, is a reservoir and town named Quidneck, Aquidneck may refer to this area] on December 6th, 1638. Later, he and twenty eight others signed the compact of loyalty to King James of England. Among the signers were Robert and Nathaniel Potter. This compact was signed April 30, 1639. Robert and Nathaniel are presumed to be brothers of George. He died under strange circumstances because on September 7th, 1640, eight men were appointed to look into the cause of his death. No further mention was made of this inquiry so he must have died a natural one. One son was born to him about 1639 or 40 and was named Abel. George’s widow married a Nicholas Niles who bound out Abel to William Daulston on February 4th, 1646, for a period of eighteen years.
Abel was born at Portsmouth, Rhode Island. He married Rachel Warner who was the daughter of John and Priscilla Holliman. The Warner line has been extended to one William Warner born about 1550, [it] also connects to a Dover line. Priscilla was the daughter of Ezekiel Holliman, who was a companion of Roger Williams [the founder of Rhode Island colony] and worked with him. They baptized each other into the Church Williams founded. The Holliman line extends to 1525, along with an Oxton line to about 1561.
Abel had eight children, the youngest Ichabod and Job (twins) were born 1692 after their father died. Nothing is known of Job’s first wife. She may have died when her son John was born about 1716. In 1725, Job married Meribah Carter and had a large family. There were three John Potter’s in Rhode Island born about the same time. Because of this, there were mistakes made by reputable genealogists. For one thing our John was given as the son of Job and Meribah. My sister Myreel and I, had corresponded with a Mr. Hubbel in Ithica, New York whose family had married into the Potters. He gave us the first inkling of John being the son of an unknown mother. A Mr. Sears did work for me and showed conclusively where all records pointed to John as the son of this unknown mother. It took much money to convince the genealogical society that they were correct. Even yet I often get a sheet from them with John listed as one of Meribah’s sons. All our earliest ancestors were admitted as free men after being in this country for a few months. Also all of them appeared to be very industrious, acquiring farms and other property. All of them also bought and sold various parcels of land, much of it being deeded to their sons, and all of them left wills. Abel moved from Providence to Coventry, Rhode Island in 1743.
John, the son of Job, was admitted as a free man in 1739. He married Phebe __?__ and very early began to buy and sell land. In looking over these old land transactions, the Potters seemed to be doing business with everyone in New England at that time. The Children in each family married into other well known families until almost everyone was interrelated. All of them seemed to be industrious, well known and liked and who held positions of trust in the community. Numerous deeds were found, showing the great activity of Job and John Potter. John was mentioned many times in these deeds as son of Job, thus identifying him. We only have record of four sons born to John and Phebe, but there might have been others. One son David was born in Coventry, June 26th, 1760 [and] was our direct ancestor.
When David was only sixteen years old, he was for a time in Saybrook, Connecticut where he enlisted February 1st 1776 for ten month to serve under Captain John Ely’s Company of the State Troops in the Revolutionary War. He helped for six months in building Fort Trunbull [Sp?, Fort Trumbull is in New London, Connecticut; which is very close to Saybrook, Connecticut]. Later they marched to White Plains [New York?] and were in battle there, and from there retreated to North Castle. He was discharged December 1st, 1776. In 1777, he was drafted from Coventry to serve for one month. Several times later, he was drafted to serve a month or two at a time, he was in the battle of Rhode Island, also in Butts’ Hill. In 1779 he was in Brooklyn, Windham County , Connecticut, and from here he enlisted as a paid substitute for a Doctor Baker for three months. Returning from his war services, he resided in Coventry for five or six years. He married Elizabeth Vaughn in 1785.
We have the Vaughn’s allied families back to the time when they came to New England. Some have been extended into England. The Sweet’s, Jeffrey’s and Periam’s which we have to 1400 or earlier. The mother of Elizabeth Vaughn, was Catherine Godfrey. Through her line, we have a line of Godfrey’s and a very long pedigree line of Scotts and allied lines. This line extends to ancient times in England and branches off into an extensive Spanish line back to around 900 A.D.. Another branch goes into more of English nobility. It is most interesting to study these pedigrees and to realize that we, their descendants, have a part of their blood flowing in our veins. It is to be hoped that we have inherited their better qualities. Just because they happened to be royalty does not make them more desirable as ancestors. The humblest farmer or artisan might have had more sterling qualities to pass on to us. Even so, it is pleasant to know we have these noted ancestors as part of our family tree. Studying these people is intensely interesting and I almost feel that I know them personally.
Our New England ancestors possessed the true pioneer spirit. Opening new territory, living under the stern laws of that time and imbued with the religious fervor that was everywhere. Some of our ancestors were Quakers and suffered much sever persecutions, some married into the Roger Williams family and followed him. All of them signed the Compacts that were made between King and colonizers in the New World. We can be proud of these early sturdy citizens. Many, besides our David Potter, fought for freedom in the Revolutionary War. The Potters who remained in New England became some of the country’s most valued citizens, holding positions of trust and were Doctors and men of learning. Many of them had the urge to migrate so that many went to Vermont, New York, and states farther west. Phebe, when her husband John died, went into Vermont with her son John and disposed of her property back in Coventry. It seems probable that David and Elizabeth also went into Vermont before going to New York. Before leaving Coventry, David deeded his homestead farm of one hundred sixty acres to Job Lawton on February 24th, 1791. Dower released by Elizabeth, his wife.
They first settled in Pittstown, Renssalear County, New York. They resided here from 1791 until 1802. Here the following children were born: Cathrine, Benjamin Franklin, John, Martin Willis Amasa, David Jr., and Jemima. The family next moved to Salisbury, Herkimer county, New York and lived there for thirty years. The following children were born there: Polly, Margaret, Erastas, Arnold, and Elizabeth. David’s wife, Elizabeth died here February 5th, 1831. Mr. Hunnell saw her headstone used as part of a fence at a farm there. After Elizabeth died, David went to Cotton Township, Switzerland county, Indiana to be with his son Martin. He died there May 13th, 1828.
Arnold the subject of this sketch, was born January 11th, 1804 in Salisbury. We know nothing of his early life except that about 1822, he married Almira Smith, birth and parentage unknown. They were the parents of five children. The first one was born in St. Lawrence County New York and the others were born in Herkimer county. Harriet, born August 8th, 1824; William, May 30th, 1826; Ann, July 25th, 1828; Sarah Delight, September 9th, 1830; John H., November 9th, 1832. His wife died perhaps after the last child was born. What Arnold did after his wife died [and before 1939] is not known, nor where he went. There is only one item known about him. On June 11th, 1831, he bought from his father in Salisbury, one hundred acres of land and paid him two hundred dollars. We only have knowledge of one of his family, Sarah Delight, who married William Mangum and went to Utah. Her Great Granddaughter Delta I.M. Hale now lives in Blackfoot Idaho. She knows nothing of the other children.
Arnold heard the message of the gospel while he still lived in New York and was baptized a member of the Church November 13th, 1839. He believed implicitly in the principles of the Church and became an ardent missionary. He traveled out to Ohio, where his nephew Amasa Potter was living at that time and taught them the gospel. We also found mention of him being in Sullivan county Indiana about this time. We think he must have gone to Nauvoo before too long, as he was there in 1843 when he married our grandmother Elizabeth Ann Birch. She, with her mother and two brothers had come from Radonshire, Wales, to Nauvoo in 1841. We have found Birches and Craven’s back to around 1620.
Elizabeth was almost twenty tears younger than Arnold and it seems the marriage, at least on her part, was one of convenience and necessity, rather than deep love. Weather any of Arnold’s children were with them, we do not know. Both Arnold and Elizabeth were in Nauvoo during the last trying days of the church the and the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum.
They took out their endowments in the Nauvoo Temple February 2nd, 1846, but weren’t sealed to each other. When they left the stricken city and had proceeded into Iowa, Elizabeth’s mother, Ann Craven Birch, died and was buried in Lee county Iowa. They stopped somewhere with the company of saints and from there Arnold made a trip into Salt Lake city. He left the Elk Horn on June 1st, 1848 and arrived in Salt Lake the 20th to 24th of September 1848. The next year he went back and he and Elizabeth made the long trip together. Through the courtesy of the Historical Society in Salt Lake, I was able to get some information on the trip.
They came in the third company of that year under Captain Silas Richards. There were one hundred wagons. They left the Elk Horn river about July 10th, 1849. They had a stampede on July 29th, but it wasn’t serious. Captain Richards discovered a new ford across the Loup river opposite an old Pawnee village, better than the others. They forded one hundred wagons, cattle sheep etc., in one half day. They found a man who had wandered away from another company and saved him. They were at Independence Rock on September 23rd. They were in a terrific snowstorm October 2nd. They had twenty-two head of cattle frozen there. They camped at Fort Bridger about October 20th and arrived in Salt Lake October 27th, 1849.
They first settled at Mill Creek1 near Murray. Here their first child, Wallace Edwin was born April 14th, 1850. When just a child, his parents made another long trip down to San Bernardino, California, with a group of saints under the leadership of Elders Amasa Lyman and Charles C. Rich who went there to build up another city as a stopping place for people coming from Los Angeles to Salt Lake.
A boy George A. was born to them April 25th, 1853, but he died as a baby. Their third child, Mary Adelinea was born September 7th, 1855. March 16th, 1856, Arnold was called to go on a mission to Australia and New Zealand. With several others and his nephew Amasa Potter, they embarked from San Francisco August 30, 1856 on the ship “What Cheer” bound for Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They arrived October 26, 1856. They were in good health. Arnold Potter stayed in Sydney until some other Elders came and then went to New Zealand.
Eighteen months later, he returned home a very sick man. He reached San Bernardino September 18th, 1857. The extreme zeal that he put into his missionary work, as well as his sickness left him with mental delusions about religion. He claimed to have received new revelations about the church and that Christ had come back into his body. He attempted to preach his new beliefs to the people there in San Bernardino and managed to get a few followers. Finally, he was dis‑fellowshipped from the church. Most of this information was received from the Journal history of the town. The majority of the people returned to Utah the fall of 1857 as President young had called them back because of the threat of war from Johnston’s Army, camped in Wyoming. So we had no more information about Arnold Potter from that source.
In writing to Salt Lake about the above, brother Alvin G. Smith said, “the fact that Arnold Potter journeyed across the plains in 1849 and then crossed over the desert to California and then as a voluntary missionary went to New Zealand, establishes him as a hardy pioneer. The untold hardships and adjustments required of a person undertaking such treks is explanation, if not excuse, for many a failure at the end of a hard trail. We call them failures, but when all the facts are unfolded, a merciful judge may interpret it in another light.” therefore, I don’t judge, but have a deep compassion for my grandfather Arnold Potter. If we knew everything about his life, we might more readily see why his mind broke the way it did.
In the spring of 1858, his wife Elizabeth, with the two children Wallace Edwin and Mary Adeline, left San Bernardino, in company with the Brown Family, and perhaps others, to return to Utah. Arnold gave her a good outfit for the trip, but it still proved a most difficult one, Brown’s wife had a miscarriage and she and the baby died on the way and were buried in Nevada. When others got to Beaver, Utah, Elizabeth gave birth to a baby girl, Eliza Ann July 5th, 1858 [this is the first wife of Martin Weight, who latter married Jennie MCClennon Gee and were the parents of Ada Bell Weight 2]. Elizabeth had separated from Arnold and she married Francis Brown six weeks laterb.
Now, Arnold was alone in San Bernardino. He remained for a few months, then began a trip back to where the early saints had been. Through a friend of mine, whose sister had married a Potter out in Iowa, I was able to learn a few more facts about his later life. A paper called the Nonpareil and issued in Council Bluffs, Iowa, had one story of him. That he had lived in Salt Lake for a while after leaving California. There were several articles about him in the paper and in some books because he was known on account of his eccentric ways. From the story printed at the time of his death, it said he first went to Independence Missouri, but people were quite hostile to him there. From there, he and his followers went to a small town called Saint Marys—twelve miles south of Council Bluffs. A flood from the river washed this town away and they moved into Council Bluffs. Here, he lived with a family by the name of Kimball, near fifteenth and sixth avenue. The people here were very fond of him. He was kind to children and seemed a quite nice old man. Unfortunately, he was the butt of thoughtless people and always took it sadly. He dressed in white robes. He had white hair, was rather stocky in build and medium height. He was a scholar, very intelligent and a fine musician.
The family had always maintained that he had remained in California for he sometimes sent gifts to his son Edwin—one time a fine violin and another time seven hundred and fifty dollars. According to the Nonpareil story, he had no money, his followers took care of him. I suppose we will never know the complete truth.
He died in Council Bluffs April 2nd, 1872 and was buried in the Fairview Cemetery there. I went with Leta Harris (this relative of the Potters) to this cemetery, but could not find his gravestone. In the older part of the cemetery many of the markers had fallen down and others, being made of soft sandstone, showed no traces of the names that ha been carved on them. We know, however, from his obituary in the paper, that he was buried there. Also from the Potters who still live there in that vicinity, for they had heard of him often.
His services were conducted on a beautiful spring day, the flowers beginning to bloom everywhere and the song of the birds singing his funeral song. The earth was bathed in the sun’s warmth and all nature seemed to say “Goodby Arnold. Someday, we will understand. Until then, we judge you not.”
a: Crystal spelled name Adaline, genealogy records also recorded it as Adiline
b: note previous statement that Arnold and Elizabeth had not been sealed.
1; Mill Creek; a community of Salt Lake City which is located at the mouth of Mill Creek Canyon on the east end of the valley at about 3800 South. The Creek in the canyon was named at the first conference of the Mormon Church in Utah.
2; Eliza Ann Potter was known through her life as Brown instead of Potter. She became the first wife of Martin Weight [my Great Grandfather through my Mother] who latter also married Jennie MCClennon Gee, who were the parents of Ada Bell Weight, my Mothers Mother. Mary married Welcome Chapman Jr. who was Harriet Kempton’s (Marys Sister In ‑ Law’s) Uncle.