Elisha R. Potter

Elisha Reynolds Potter (June 20, 1811 – April 10, 1882) was a politician and jurist from Kingston, Rhode Island. He was a justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, and served one term in the United States House of Representatives.

Elisha Reynolds Potter Jr.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Rhode Island's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	Lemuel H. Arnold
Member of the Rhode Island Senate
In office 1847–1852 1861–1863
Personal details
Born	June 20, 1811 Kingston, Rhode Island
Died	April 10, 1882 (aged 70) Kingston, Rhode Island
Resting place	Colonel Thomas Potter Cemetery in South Kingstown
Political party	Law and Order
Parents	Elisha Reynolds Potter
Residence	Kingston, Rhode Island
Occupation	Lawyer

Biography

Elisha Reynolds Potter Jr. was born in Little Rest (now Kingston), Rhode Island on June 20, 1811. His father Elisha Reynolds Potter Sr. was a lawyer who served in Congress.

He attended Kingston Academy and graduated from Harvard University in 1830. He studied law while teaching school, was admitted to the bar in 1832 and practiced in South Kingstown Township.

From 1835 to 1836 Potter was adjutant general of the state militia. He served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 1838 to 1840. He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention of 1841 to 1842.

In 1842 Potter was elected as a Law and Order Party candidate to the Twenty-eighth Congress, and he served one term, March 4, 1843 to March 3, 1845. During his term he was Chairman of the Committee on Revisal and Unfinished Business. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1844 to the Twenty-ninth Congress.

Potter served in the Rhode Island State Senate from 1847 to 1852, and again from 1861 to 1863. He was the state commissioner of public schools from 1849 to 1854.

On March 16, 1868 Potter became an associate justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, and he served until his death.[1]

He died in Kingston on April 10, 1882 and was buried in the Colonel Thomas Potter Cemetery in South Kingstown.[2]

Potter's notes and correspondence now held by the Rhode Island Historical Society "may be the best collection in the holdings of the Manuscripts Division for research on either the Dorr Rebellion or early 19th-century Rhode Island politics, including Rhode Island's role in the major national issues of the day and presidential policy-making." Potter's personally annotated copy of the printed draft of what would become the Constitution of Rhode Island is generally regarded as the best extant record, beyond the bare official minutes, of the proceedings of the 1842 constitutional convention.[3]

See also

• Tavern Hall Preservation Society

References

1. Manual - the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (1891), p. 208-13.
2. Elisha R. Potter at Find a Grave
3. "Elisha Reynolds Potter, Jr. Papers". Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts Division. Retrieved March 31, 2019.

External links

• United States Congress. "Elisha R. Potter (id: P000462)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Biography, Elisha Reynolds Potter, Jr. at Elisha Reynolds Potter, Jr. Papers, Rhode Island Historical Society. 1999.