The Potter Family View Family Tree

It appears that Peter Potter was the first member of the Potter family to settle on PEI. Peter had two wives, Susanna Ellwood and Susanna Doherty, who may have been the same person. He had at least six children. The 1841 census indicates that the Potter family initially settled in the Lot 49 area, but by the 1880's had moved to Charlottetown. Peter had one son, John, that moved to Moncton, New Brunswick. Another son, James Potter, married Mary Anne Nelson. There is no existing marriage reference for James and Mary, but it can be estimated they were married circa 1860-1865. There was at least eighteen years difference in their ages. They had at least four children, and only one daughter: Peter, James George and twins Idomain and Henrietta.

Documentation of James Potter’s early life appears in the PEI newspapers in 1840-1841, when he would have been approximately seventeen years of age. These newspaper references relay that James had been found guilty of stealing money from his employer Henry Palmer. In the 1881 census, Mary is documented as a “Laundress” and as the head of the household. Living with her in Charlottetown were two of her children, George and Henrietta, as well as a Joseph Duster. The 1890 Roman Catholic census of PEI documents the family as having two separate entries. Mary lived on King Street, near Rotchford with George and Henrietta. George was listed as a “Laborer” and Henrietta as a “Servant.” Also living in the household was Ida May Weatherbie, only six months old at the time.

James is listed as living in “In the Poor House.” The 1891 census, lists James Potter as living in the household of John Allen, who was manager of the Alms House. James son, “James George” was listed as the head of the household, as well as a “Truck man.” Living with him was his mother Marey, and his sister Henrietta, who was listed as a “Servant Girl.” Ida May Weatherbie, is listed as “Ida May Potter” in 1891. George married Catherine McPhee on the 5 December 1899. By the 1901 census, James, Mary, Henrietta and Ida May do not appear in the census return. George appears to have been the only member of his family left living in Charlottetown, where he lived with his new bride Kate.

William Potter may very well have been another son of Peter Potter. It is not known exactly who William’s parents are, but in looking at this date of birth listed in the 1901 census, he very well may have been the son of Peter Potter and his second wife Amelia Carpenter. William married “Bella” Shepard on the 28 August 1876. The 1878-1879 Roman Catholic census of Charlottetown, lists William and Isabella as having lived on Rotchford Street West. The 1891 census return documents William as being a “Malster.” In 1881, their first child William Quinn Potter was born. In 1891, William was listed as a “Servant Man.” William, Isabella and William jr. all lived in Charlottetown together, but in the 1901 census, William and Isabella were living alone in Charlottetown. They were both listed as “Black” and of “African” origin.

By 1901, there were only two Potter families living in Charlottetown. Although the Potter’s do not seem to have come to the Island quite as early as some of the other Black families, they certainly maintained a presence in the Black community through to the turn of the century.