M E M 0 R I A L
OF
THOMAS POTTS, JUNIOR,
WHO SETTLED IN PENNSYLVANIA;
WITH AN
HISTORIC-GENEALOGICAL ACCOUNT OF HIS DESCEANDANTS
TO THE EIGHTH GENERATION.
By
MRS. THOMAS POTTS JAMES,
MEMBER OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
CAMBRIDGE:
PRIVATELY PRINTED.
1874
P R E F A C E.
EVEN years ago I began to collect and transcribe for the information of my children, the materials for a family history, without any intention of preparing them for the press; as the work progressed, it became known to some of the descendants of Thomas Potts, who, finding that I had gathered up valuable information about the older members of the family, urged me to arrange it as a memorial and print it by subscription, that it might be' preserved in a permanent form. To this repeated request I unwillingly consented, -unwillingly, because I foresaw it would involve a great expenditure of time, care, and critical research to connect interesting facts, and put them in a narrative form; but I consented because the manuscript prepared from widely scattered papers could not be replaced if accidentally destroyed, unless copies of it were multiplied by printing.
With what labor the following pages have been put together only those engaged in similar works can judge; and yet, to quote the words of Dugdale, " I must expect no less than the censure of some, who would have it thought that they know much,. if they do hit upon anything -that I have not seen, and perhaps tax me with my negligence, or worse, for omitting it." The genealogist in Pennsylvania meets with peculiar obstacles: town records, like those of New England, are unknown; Friends' records, especially in the last century, are imperfect, and the address of clerks of the meetings difficult to obtain, yet it is due to these officers to say that they have always examined and transcribed entries at my request willingly and without remuneration. The objection of Quakers and their descendants to the erection of gravestones cuts off another source of authentic information, and the small number of genealogical books of Pennsylvanians yet printed obliges those engaged in the subject to search official records for dates and facts, even of historical families.
Although I have made every effort to obtain copies of family records, I regret to say that in some instances repeated attempts have been unavailing, and therefore a few branches of the family are incomplete.
Many genealogical books are encumbered with figures that confuse the reader instead of aiding him; but the simplicity of the arrangement of this volume must be at once seen. With all the care I have taken, errors and misprints appear, and attention is particularly directed to the Errata. To those who have loaned me valuable papers, and copied records and documents, I am under great obligations; my arduous task has been made easier by the kind aid and encouragement of many members of the family, and especially of Joseph-Potts Smith, Isaac W. Potts, and Thomas Potts James. My thanks are also due to Lloyd P. Smith, of the Philadelphia Library, for his courtesy in allowing me to examine manuscripts and rare books; to J. L. Sibley, Librarian of Harvard University; James Shrigley, of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; and to the American Philosophical Society.
ISABELLA JAMES.
94 BRATTLE, ST., CAMBRIDGE, MASS.,
Nov. 8, 1873.
EXPLANATIONS.
THE figures placed at the left-hand side of each name denote -the number of that individual, and whenever it occurs again enables the reader to turn to the place where that person is first mentioned.
The figures placed after the name in parenthesis show where that person's eldest child may be found in the next generation. The figures placed in brackets before a name refer back to the parentage of the individual.
ABBREVIATIONS.
b., born.; 1. c., in the place already cited ; w., wife or widow; ch., child or children dau., daughter; m., married ; d., died ; d. unm., died unmarried d. s. p., died without issue ; and the usual abbreviations for the different States ; when no State is designated, the reader will understand that Pennsylvania is intended.
| Chapter I (Pages 1-6); Chapter II - Germantown (History of Germantown, Pa.)(pages 6-24); Chapter III - Manatawny (History of the early iron industry in Pennsylvania)(Pages25-72); & Chapter IV (Pages 73-75) (Section One) |
| First Generation (pages 77-88) & Second Generation (Pages 89-120) (Section Two) |
| Third Generation (pages 121-245) (Section Three) |
| Fourth Generation (pages 246-400): Fourth Generation (Pages 246-277); Fifth Generation (pages 278-310); Sixth Generation (pages 311-341); Seventh Generation (pages 342-357); Eighth Generation (pages 358-360); Rutter (pages 369-371); Samuel Nutt (pages 372-374); Robert Grace (pages 375-391); James (pages 392-393) and Appendix (pages 394-400) (Section Four) |