Norman and Emma May Moore Potter

 

The Norman PotterWindow

 

This window with the inscription, “In Memoriam, Norman Potter, Not Lost But Gone Before (1828–1902)”, is on your left, third from the front as you enter the sanctuary. The hand-painted and kiln-fired window depicts the empty tomb as described in Matthew 28: 1-10.

Norman Potter was born June 12, 1827, probably Java Village, NY. (According to 1900 Census he was born in Wisconsin; however, it lists his age as unknown, and he is in ill-health and unable to provide this information; therefore, it would suggest his birth state as suspicious). His parents were Edmund Potter (1789–1864) and Betsy Eddy (1790–1835). They were married about 1810. Edmund was born on December 1, 1789, in Scituate, RI and Betsy was born on the 6th of February, 1798, in Richfield Springs, New York. Betsy died on June 14, 1835, in Java Village, NY. Despite her short life, Edmund and Betsy had twelve children. They were:

(I). Alzena Potter was born July 23rd, 1811. She married Amory Barber. There were no children.

(11). Asahel Potter was born on September 14th, 1812, and died young.

(III). Nancy Potter was born on April 2nd, 1814, and died about 1841.

(IV). Maria Potter (Barber)was born December 21st, 1815. NFI.

(V). Almon Potter was born November 5th, 1817 in Wyoming County, NY. He married Martha Fields in 1856 and moved to Illinois. He died March 14th, 1900. In his obituary, it said he was one of nine children. Brother, Norman was reported as living in Dallas, TX. He came to IL around 1848.

(VI). Elizabeth Potter was born February 24th, 1820. She married Lorenzo Pearson.

(VII). Lucinda Potter (Whitney)was born November 21st, 1821. She married B. Frank Whitney. They lived in Iowa.

(VIII). Elvira Potter was born February 16th, 1824. She married Washington O. Nichols in 1846, in Kane County, IL.

(IX). Cornelia Potter was born October 15th, 1825. NFL.

(X). Norman Potter was born June 12th, 1827, and died March 20th, 1902 at Austin, Texas.

(XI). Henry W. Potter was born September 6th, 1829. He married Minerva Nourse. They lived in Titusville PA. He ran for School Director on Democratic ticket. Henry sued oil companies over his mineral rights. He had successful patents of pumps for oil production. He later was a partner with Chauncy DePew in New York in the banking business.

(XII). Anna Potter was born May 17th, 1833, and died young.

Following the death of Betsy, Edmund moved west. One report has him in Chautauqua County, New York for a time. He was eventually in Henry County, Illinois, where he died on September 4th, 1864.

Norman first married May Morey, born in Illinois. They had one child, Francis Belle Potter, born August 18, 1867, in Wisconsin. Belle’s mother’s name comes from Belle’s death certificate. What happened to Norman’s and May’s marriage is not known. There is a family tree online which says Norman was married to Ellen "Nellie" Marsh also.

Norman later married Emma Mary Moore, a divorcée, in 1872. Emma was born July 2, 1836, in Wisconsin. (Her death certificate and 1880 Census say she was born in Ohio and that she was the daughter of Dr. S. P. and Charlotte Barr Moore, both born in Pennsylvania. Emma May died October 21, 1921. She was listed as Mary in one census.

Possible early evidence of Norman Potter

In 1850, there was a spinner, Norman Potter, living in Cayuga, New York. He was not married. He was born in 1828 and listed New York as birthplace.

In 1860, there was a cloth manufacturer, Norman Potter and his wife Ellen, living in Roscoe, Winnebago, IL. Both Norman and Ellen said they are born in New York, Norman in 1828, and Ellen in 1835. No children are listed. There was an Emily Marsh, age 60, living next door.

In July 1863, a Norman Potter, registered for Civil War Draft. He listed his residence as Rockton, Winnebago, IL. He was single, a farmer and was born in New York. His age was 33, yielding an 1830 birth year. This may suggest that Ellen, listed in 1860, has died. His profession was farmer.

In 1863, another Norman Potter registered in Rock County, Wisconsin. He was 36 and a laborer. Born in New York. In a Texas newspaper, Norman was referred to as “Colonel Potter” suggesting military service.

In 1867, Norman’s daughter, Francis Belle Potter, was born in Wisconsin, her mother was May Morey.

Sometime in the late 1860s, after the Civil War, Norman went to the newly discovered oil fields in Western Pennsylvania. This was the beginning of the oil industry in America, and fortunes could be made. Demand for oil for lighting in Great Britain led to huge exports and profits. A newspaper article labled Norman as a “heavy operator.”

In 1868, the Titusville, PA newspaper reports the death of Mrs. Norman Potter. Since Norman was there about that time, there may be some connection.

In 1870, elections were held in Uinta, Wyoming Territory:
Early 1870s County Elections

“When the second general election was held in Wyoming Territory on September 6, 1870, the gandy dancers and riotous hoodlums were mainly memories in Uinta County. Approximately 550 citizens voted for county officers, but because of election irregularities, only the county commissioners elected, Russell B. Thorpe, Sr., James Van A. Carter, and Norman Potter, and the county clerk, Alf G. Lee, were allowed to take office. The other county officers were appointed by either the territorial governor or the county commissioners. One other vote in the 1870 general election that was allowed to stand was the selection of Evanston, by one vote over Merrill, as the permanent county seat.”

In 1871, Norman Potter was living in Uinta County, Wyoming. He served as a representative in the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Wyoming. He was a member of the Republican Party and a leader in the Assembly as evidenced in the Council Journal, a few pages are given below.

Norman fell one vote short of becoming the president of the assembly.

In 1872, Houston Telegraph Newspaper, the entry appeared:

In 1874, the Dallas Weekly Herald had the following entries about Norman Potter:

On January 9, 1872, Norman and Emma Mary Moore married in Ottawa, Illinois. John Stewart, co-author of Lincoln's Secret Spies", kindly provided some details about Emma Mary Moore. He wrote, "She was married before to Allen B. Warn, the brother of Angie Warn, more commonly, but erroneously known as Kate Warn, the great Pinkerton detective in the years immediately surrounding the Civil War, and Allen and Emma (as she was known) had a son, Franklin B. Warn, in 1857, while they were still living in Rock County, Wisconsin. But Allen’s miserable ways (he had been a petty criminal, thief, swindler and con man, since he was a lad, and he never changed) finally got too much for her, and she sued for divorce at the LaSalle County Court, in Ottawa, Ill., on August 5, 1871. She’d already met Norman Potter out in the extreme SW part of Wyoming, where she was trying one last time to make her marriage to Allen Warn work in Sweetwater County, where he was blacksmithing and prospecting for the Rock Springs Coal Company, part of the Union Pacific RR. The judge granted Emma a divorce in September. Allen Warn remained out in Wyoming with his son Frank, who was then 15."

John continued, "I don’t know what happened to Allen Warn in the end. I last hear of him in 1891, out in Indian Territory, going by the name of J.R. Williams and getting an invalid’s pension. He had been in the army, during the Civil War, Company G of the 2nd Regt of Illinois Light Artillery. July 10, 1891, he filed it, under the name Allen Warn, through the legal firm of Travis & Brown, application # 1047386, certificate # 1051106, if that is of any help to you."

"Finally, Allen and Emma’s son, Frank. I last found in Iowa in 1900. Allen Warn’s uncle, Allen Webb Hurlburt, Jr., is reputed to be the discoverer of the Lost Cabin Mine in the Big Horn Mountains of what is now Wyoming."

In 1880, Norman and Emma Mary Potter were living in Ft. Worth, TX. He was a tie inspector, probably railroad ties. He listed New York as birthplace and the year of his birth as 1828. Emma listed Ohio as birthplace and birth year of 1836. Norman also appeared in an 1880 Census taken in Orange, TX. He was boarding and was married and employed as a land agent, likely for the railroad.

In 1895, Norman Potter was a Cigar and News Dealer at the Driskill Hotel. He lived at 1000 San Antonio Street.

In 1900 Census, Norman and Mary Potter were living at 1000 San Antonio Street with daughter, Belle, and son-in-law, Horace Cary Morrow (Sept 29, 1853, Preble County, Ohio–June 26, 1945, Dallas, TX). Horace was a physician. Belle was listed as born in Wisconsin-Aug 1862. Belle's death certificate, signed by her husband, Dr. Morrow, says she was born in Wisconsin on August 18. 1967 and died November 5, 193 in Austin. It also states her father, Norman Potter, was born in Pennsyvania and her mother, May Morey, was born in Illinois. Norman and Mary reported being married 26 years, putting their marriage as 1874. Since Belle was born 7 or 12 years before Norman and Mary were married, this confirms that it was a second marriage for Norman. Two grandchildren were in the house, Horace Cary Morrow Jr. (Texas July 1893–1925) and Norman Potter Morrow (Texas Aug 1894-1964). Belle reported her fathe,r Norman, was born in New York, his entry, however, said Wisconsin. No birth date is given for Norman, maybe he is ill. Horace born September 18, 1853 and died June 26, 1945. The name, Morrow, is misspelled here, listed as Marrow. The name Ellen and Emma was now replaced by Mary???

Norman died March 20, 1902 in Austin, Texas. Rev. R. J. Briggs of Methodist Church performed his service. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery.

Profession as a Young Man

Obituary in the Galveston Daily News, March 22, 1902: “Norman Potter deceased, Austin, Texas, March 21—Norman Potter, aged in years, has died at his home here, yesterday; he was well known to the visitors to Austin from all parts of the State. He conducted the news stand in the Driskill Hotel for many years. In his younger days, he was prominent in railway circles in the Northwest. He was, for a number of years, a land agent of the Union Pacific Railroad and went ahead of the construction of that line through Kansas and Wyoming and laid out many town sites for places which have since become thriving towns, particularly in Wyoming. Upon coming to Texas, he was for a time city ticket agent of the Texas and Pacific Railroad at Denison. He had been in failing health for several months and his death was not unexpected.”

Norman’s tombstone in Austin’s Oakwood Cemetery is shown at right. There is a year's difference between the window’s birthdate and the stone’s birthdate. They agree on the death year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On October 21, 1921, Emma May Potter died in Austin, TX at age of 85. The death certificate says she was born July 2, 1836, in Ohio to Dr. S. P. Moore (b. PA) and Charlotte Barr (b. PA). She is widowed at time of death. Son-in-law, Horace Morrow, was attending physician. She was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Austin. Her stone is shown here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Horace Carey Morrow

Horace C. Morrow, who likely paid for his father-in-law, Norman Potter’s, window, was the son of Richard Morrow (1807–93) and Sarah Barr (1810–76). Richard Morrow, born at Waynesville, Ohio, January 26, 1807, was the son of Andrew and Rebecca Morrow, who had moved from North Carolina in the fall of 1806. After Richard’s birth, Andrew and Rebecca moved to Jackson township. At the death of Andrew in 1847, the land went to Richard. He was an early abolitionist. Richard married Susan Barr on February 2, 1832. Their son, Horace Carey, was born September of 1853, in Ohio. His mother died August 9, 1876. Horace is shown at right.

On October 29, 1879, Dr. Horace C. Morrow married Fannie Dixon in Shelbyville, IN. Fannie was the daughter of John and Susan Toner Dixon. Fannie and Horace lived in Shelbyville, IN, with her mother, Susan Dixon (1833–?). Horace practiced medicine. Their only child died in infancy. Fannie then died April 5, 1882. Some time after thas, Horace met Francis Belle Franz Potter, daughter of Norman and stepdaughter of Emma Potter. On December 22, 1885, Horace and Belle were married. They had two sons, Norman Potter Morrow and Horace Carey Potter Jr.

An entry in the “Texas Pythian Banner-Knight," April, 1915, provides a description of his background and his professional and public service.

“A member of the State Medical Board who was recognized by a second governor of Texas as being of the quality this important office demands, Dr. H. C. Morrow is serving representative of the Homeopathic School of Medicine. Governor Colquitt secured his services during his administration and Governor Ferguson approved his predecessor's choice and tendered the place for a longer continuance in the public service.

"Dr. Morrow is a native of Prebble County, Ohio, and he is a graduate of the old Puite College of Cincinnati, which institution was later merged into the state university. He has been active in the practice of his profession for thirty-eight years, thirty five of which have been given to the alleviation of the ills of Texans. He first located in Sherman, where he remained for fourteen years, after which, he went to the state capital, where he has continued for twenty-one years. He became a member of the state board in 1912.

"A member of the State Homeopathic Association, Dr. Morrow had the honor to having been called to the presidency of the same. For ten years, he was member of the Federal Board of Pension Surgeons, his appointment coming under the McKinley administration.

"Dr. Morrow has alway been a citizen to take interest in the affairs of his home and his state, as a citizen, and he early looked upon candidate Ferguson as representing those principles in government which are of foundation quality.”

Dr. and Mrs. Morrow were strong supporters of music in Austin. He championed a new auditorium for the city. Their two sons appeared in many concerts in Austin. Both sang and played the piano. Their many social activities were reported in The Austin Statesman.

Dr. Morrow and Norman Potter were among the charter members of “The Methodist Church of Austin, Texas” who signed the Articles of Incorporation, March 21, 1901. Others included W. M. Walton, D. W. Doom, H. H. Pope, Wm. R. Neville, A. O. Watson, Joel H. B. Miller, C. C. Moore, V. G. Weed, D. H. Doom and J. P. Hamer.

Dr. Morrow died in Dallas on June 26, 1945, at the age of 92. His daughter-in-law, Mrs. Norman Potter Morrow, signed the death certificate. She was living with her husband in Arlington, VA. Norman Morrow was a major in the US Army.

On November 6, 1930, Francis Belle Potter Morrow died in Austin.
Findagrave entry says Belle was the daughter of Norman Potter and May Morey.
Ellen Potter and Mary Potter may be Emma May Potter,

Third row, right end is Norman Potter Morrow, grandson of Norman Potter. This is from the 1909 UT Cactus yearbook. He is a junior. In 1949, he wrote a Masters thesis, Price’s Missouri Expedition, 1864. At the time, Norman Morrow was a retired colonel from the United States Army. He served from 1912–47. He died at Brooke General Hospital in San Antonio, TX, on December 10, 1964. He was born August 5, 1890. He is named for his maternal grandfather, Norman Potter.

Norman Potter's grandson.

Stone of Dr. H. C. Morrow, Norman Potter's son-in-law.

Norman Potter’s brother, Almon B., is at right end of front row in photo above. 1890, Maringo, Illinois
Back row, L to R: Ben Potter, Leon H. Potter, Leon's wife, Minnette Andrew,
Front row: Esther Betsy Wright Potter, Helen Irene Potter, Almon B. Potter

 

Some additional information which may be related to Norman Potter.

Potter, Ida J. April 14, 1899 –July 20 1947
Ollis W. April 1, 1879 October 16, 1948
Ida Jane Richardson
She is the daughter of Bryant Ross Richardson and Mary A.
married April 17, 1900 Camp County, Texas
Potter, Almon L. February 14, 1901 –July 27, 1989
Bessie A. August 10, 1910 August 16, 2000
Almon Lafayette Potter and Bessie Alice Farris
Potter, Norman Clarence October 2, 1953–September 13, (barb1977
He is the son of Marvin Potter and Fayrine Osmon
He is the grandson of Harry A. Osmon and Judie Jewel Pilgrim