FIRST GENERATION.

THOMAS POTTS, JUN., was born. in 1680, according to family tradition in Wales; as he came to Pennsylvania at a tender age, he could have retained only a faint remembrance of his home in the Old World. Brought up among the Germans, who had transplanted a bit of the father-land to Germantown, their language was to him like his native tongue; and his marriage, at the age of nineteen, to Martha Keurlis, a member of one of the twelve families who accompanied Pastorius to America, allied him still closer to their interests. He was educated as a Quaker, and from the record of his marriage it would appear that both he and Martha Keurlis were members of meeting. We know that Thomas Potts, Sen., was an active Friend, and that Peter Keurlis was nominally one, and that these young people conformed to the custom of Friends regarding marriage; they passed, as it is called, two meetings, and at a monthly meeting held at Abington the 20th of 8th mo., 1699, were formally married "in the unity of Friends." I have been unable, after diligent search, to find the original certificate of this marriage with its list of signers, and it does not appear to have been recorded in full, as

First Generation. - 77

was customary at some of the early meetings in Pennsylvania. From the time of this marriage, Thomas Potts, Jun., though under age, became interested in buying and selling land in Germantown and on the Schuylkill, and there is on record a deed dated 1707, confirming a sale he made in 1700, when a minor. He is mentioned in the Germantown records, 28th 4th mo., 1701, as releasing a person from the custody of the sheriff; but the offence could not have been a very great one in the eyes of the good people of Germantown, for the following year he was himself made sheriff, and "in the 16th day 12th mo., 1702-3, Thomas Potts, Jun., Sheriff, with others of the Corporation were attested to serve in their respective places and offices."

As there are those who may think he was very young at this date to hold this office, I would refer to the condition of Germantown as described in a letter from Pastorius dated 1698. After alluding to the laws of Philadelphia, he says, "Those in Germantown established by me are different, for, according to the privileges William Penn has given to this town, we have our own courts of justice, mayor, town council, and other officials." And in another letter he says, " The laws are administered in German, but after the English forms." German was the language universally spoken in the town, and yet English Quakers had settled within the limits of Pastorius's jurisdiction; it was therefore important that an office of this kind should be held by a person familiar with both languages. Thomas Potts, Jun., was an *enterprising young man of English ancestry and Quaker principles and by his marriage into one of the original German families he held an influential position with both parties. He lived in Germantown or the neighborhood until the death of his wife, which took place about 1716.

It was probably while his family was broken up by this affliction that he was induced by Thomas Rutter to emigrate to the Mana-

78 - First Generation.

tawny region; although I am unable to find evidence of the date of his removal thither, there are facts which lead me to believe it was previous to 1720. One of these is his second marriage with Magdelen, daughter of Israel Robeson. Andrew, the father of Israel, is mentioned in Colonial Records as living in West Jersey in 1685; but he is not named among the early English settlers in Smith's History of New Jersey. Yet in that work he appears as an owner of land there in 1687, and is mentioned as the surveyor-general of the Province. The same year he was chosen by the Proprietors as one of the eleven commissioners and trustees of West Jersey " to transact and agitate their publick affairs." I had been led to suppose that the family was of Scotch origin; but my researches into original records prove it to have been Swedish.(1) In the list of Swedes sent to Charles XI., in 1693, headed, "An accurate list of all the ,men, women, and children now found living in New-Sweden, at present Pennsylvania, on the river Delaware," Anders Robertson is put down as the head of a family of three persons. In the records of Gloria Dei, the Swedes' church at Wicaco, now Philadelphia, the name is often spelt Robisson, as it is still always pronounced in Pennsylvania, though one of the descendants of Andrew, who settled some time ago in New Bedford, Massachusetts, is, with his family, called Robeson, according to the orthography, changing the name from three syllables to two.

It is probable that Andrew Robeson left Wicaco with some of he English who arrived there to colonize New Jersey under the Duke of York's patent, not unlikely as an interpreter and surveyor; but he returned to Philadelphia, where he became one of Penn's councillors in 1693, as appears by the following minute in

(1) The Swedish colony on the Delaware was inaugurated by an edict of Gustavus Adolphus in 1626, and the first settlers came to America, according to Acrelius, in 1636, under Queen Christina.

First Generation. - 79

the records of Council at the above date: "Andrew Robeson and Robert Turner (1) did subscribe the Test, the declaration of fidelitie and the profession of the Christian faith, and afterwards did promise to perform the substance contained in the oath of a Councillor as in the presence of God, and by his Excellency's appointment took their places at the Council! board. He was also appointed the same year one of the five Provincial judges. He received large grants of land, among which was a tract at the mouth of Wissahicon, where he erected mills and made many improvements. A township opposite Amity, on the west side of the Schuylkill, bears his name; and there we find, in 1720, his second son, Israel, was settled. In March of that year the upper inhabitants of the west side of Schuylkill petition that they may not be set off into Chester County, and the document is signed by Israel Robeson, Francis Hughes, Henry Bull, John Sinclair, and forty others. In answer I find that the minutes of the Executive Council in 1721 contain the following: " The Secretary represented that he found that most of the petitioners past over Schuylkill from the settlements on the eastern side of it, which were considerable before there were any of note on the western side so high up the river; they were accordingly taxed in the township formerly called Mahanatawny, but now Amity Township, there being no practicable road between those parts and Chester." Thus we see that before 1720 Israel Robeson was living near Manatawny, and, as the first signer of the petition, the most important inhabitant on the west side. I have reason to believe that Thomas Potts's second marriage took place there about 1718,*though the attempts I have made to find the record of it have been unavailing.

Rutter appears to have held the lands purchased by him in the

(1) Robert Turner is one of the twenty-four proprietors of West Jersey mentioned in -Smith's History in 1682.

80 - First Generation.

Manatawny district to the end of his life; but immediately after his death, in 1728 - 29, 1 find certificates of various rights of land bought by Thomas Potts, and in 1730 the son of Thomas Rutter conveyed to him two hundred and fifty acres, being half of the Colebrookdale estate, on which the mansion-house was situated. The house, of which an engraving is here given, is supposed to have been erected about this time; an older one known to have been occupied by Thomas Rutter is now no longer standing. This mansion was the birthplace of many of the descendants of Thomas Potts, and is called in family records Popodickon; for several years I endeavored to determine the locality by questioning the aged members of the family and consulting old maps, but only recently, when making the inquiry of a gentleman in Pottstown whose mind is stored with memories of the past, I learned that long ago an Indian king, named Popodick, was buried under a magnificent chestnut-tree, about five hundred yards from the house. This tree is still standing and bearing nuts, though evidently of great age; at three feet from the ground it is twenty-seven feet in circumference, and it must have attained some size when the chieftain was laid under its shade. Many years ago a man ploughing near it sank with his horse several feet into the ground, and the older inhabitants who remem-' bered the tradition believed that it was the grave of Popodick which had been thus unwittingly entered; but the earth was filled in without examining the cavity, which might have disclosed some ancient relics of the aborigines. The name of this sachem is not among those of whom Penn purchased the land of his province, and the inference is that he was dead before the coming of the Quakers to this country. The tradition that he was a renowned Indian king finds confirmation in the fact that the large branch of the Manatawny which flows near his grave was -called by his name. The discoverors of iron in its vicinity named it Ironstone

First Generation. - 81

Creek, by which it is called in all the early maps,(1) and even the antiquary above mentioned did not know it by any other name; yet in the old deed of the Colebrookdale property is a plan where this stream is put down as the " Popodiceon," and the family appear to have retained the name for their own residence.

After the death of Rutter, Thomas Potts became the principal owner and manager of the iron-works in the Manatawny, carrying them on with ability and success. Living on the very frontiers of civilization, for the "Oley Hills," the boundary of Penn's purchase from the savages, ran directly back of Colebrookdale, we must not suppose that either he or his family were therefore cut off from all intercourse with the world; though the means of locomotion were at that day limited, and carriages and carriage-roads unknown, yet we know that the Schuylkill was a highway upon which boats passed easily, and that saddle-horses for both men and women were always at command, so that the forty-five miles of forest which lay between them and Philadelphia was easily traveled in a day. The interchange of hospitality with many influential families of the city, to whom they were allied by the ties of blood and friendship, no doubt prevented their forest home from being a lonely one.

When, in 1732, Franklin established the Philadelphia Library Company, Thomas Potts was one of the earliest subscribers to the project. The number was limited to fifty; in 1734 there were persons living in town who wished to have the use of the library, and only two subscribers were found who would assign their shares; one of these, says the manuscript minutes, was "Thomas Potts, who, living very remote, finds it impossible to comply with the time

(1) The library of Harvard University possesses many old maps, some of them in manuscript, collected by Ebeling, the German historian of Pennsylvania ; I have carefully examined all those relating to the settlements on the Schuylkill and its tributaries.

82 - First Generation.

of returning books." Our only wonder. is that, with the high fines imposed for delay, he should ever have attempted to avail himself of the privilege; but I mention this fact to show the communication that was kept up even at that early day between the capital and this remote residence.

In this frontier settlement, where Thomas Potts had come as a pioneer, in the prime of life, he dwelt for thirty years ; he saw all his sons and daughters married and settled -around him, and interested in the iron business, which he had assisted in establishing. Surrounded by children and grandchildren, he reached the ripe age of seventy-two years, and died at Colebrookdale early in January, 1752. His will, dated September 8, 1747, was' proven and registered at Philadelphia, January 10, 1752; it is also recorded at Reading, Berks County having been that year set off from Philadelphia County. It is here printed entire.

The signature at the head of this chapter is copied from a paper dated 1731. Another is photographed on the marriage certificate of his son. I have been unable to find any autograph of Martha, the first wife of Thomas Potts.

WILL OF THOMAS POTTS.

In the Name of God, Amen, I Thomas Potts of Colebrook Dale in the County of Philadelphia, Iron Master, being of sound and perfect Mind and Memory thanks be given unto God therefore Do make this my Last Will and Testament in manner and form following (That is to say)

Imprimis. It is my will that all my Debts and funeral Charges be first paid.

Item. I Give and Bequeath unto my Dear wife Magdalene in lieu of her Dower all my Household Goods, her Riding Horse and Saddle and a Couple of Cows such as she shall Choose out of my Stock of Cows, and during her Natural Life my nigroe Girl Elizabeth, Daughter of my Nigroe Tobias, my Mullato Fellow Jo, the sum of thirty Pounds a year to be paid her yearly, the best lower Room in my now Dwelling House with the Room above it to live in, and two Acres of meadow near ye ffurnace to keep her COWS.

Item. It's my Will that my said wife Magdalene at her decease give the Mullatoe and

First Generation. - 83

Nigroe Girl above bequeathed to her during her natural Life unto such of my Children or Grand Children as she thinks proper.

Item. I Give and Bequeath unto my Grand Daughter Sarah Potts, Daughter of Thomas Potts Junr, my son, my Riding mare and a Side Saddle.

Item. It's my will that my Executors hereinafter named or a majority of them do and I hereby empower them or a majority of them to Sell all my Lands, Messuages, Tenements and Real Estate whatsoever (a tract of Land situate in the County of Philadelphia aforesaid, which I lately purchased of Jonathan Robeson Esqr, containing two hundred and fifty acres or thereabouts, excepted) and to convey ye same or any part thereof to the Purchaser or Purchasers thereof his, her or their Heirs and assigns forever Provided always that the persons hereafter named (if they incline) shall be admitted purchasers of these parts of my Real Estate hereafter mentioned at the Prices hereafter mentioned (That is to Say) My Son Thomas Potts of my two thirds of Colebrook Dale ffurnace and Iron Mines and of the one hundred acres of I-and on which the same are and all other my Interest of in or to y, same ffurnace and Mines and Land on which ye same are and also of the one hundred Acres of Land adjoyning ye said ffurnace with the Appurtenances at Eight hundred Pounds. My Son David of the Plantation situate at Colebrook Dale aforesaid, on which I formerly lived containing two hundred and fifty Acres be the same more or less with the Appurtenances at five hundred Pounds. My Son John of One Third of Pine fforge, with the one third of the one hundred acres of Land on which the same stands and the one third of two hundred acres of Land thereto adjoyning commonly called ye Company's Land at two hundred and twenty-five pounds, Provided, Also that if my said Son Thomas, Son David and Son John dont purchase the aforesaid parts of my Real Estate at the Rates aforesaid according to the Privilege herein Given within ye term of Six Months next after my Decease, then it's my will that my said Exec" or a majority of them sell ye same part of My Sd Real Estate to any person or persons that will purchase ye same and Convey the same or any part thereof to the Purchaser or Purchasers his, her or their Heirs and assigns forever.

Item. It's my will that of the money arising from my said Real and personal Estate or either of them my sd Executors hereinafter named put out to Interest upon Land Security, the Sum of five hundred Pounds and annually receive the Interest thereof and therewith annually defray the Annuity herein before bequeathed to my said wife.

Item. I give and Devise all my Estate Real and Personal and the money thereby arising over and above the payment of my just Debts and funeral Charges, the Annuity and Legacy herein bequeathed to my said wife the Legacy bequeathed herein to my Grand Daughter Sarah, Daughter of my Son Thomas, and the sum of five hundred Pounds hereby directed to be put out to Interest unto Elizabeth Walker, Mary Clever, John Potts, Thomas Potts, and David, Potts my Children and Stephen Yorke and Edward Yorke my Grandson* s in manner following (That is to say) unto each of my said Children one Sixth part thereof, to Hold unto them & their respective heirs Exec

84 - First Generation

or Adms forever and unto my said Grandsons the other one Sixth part thereof, To Hold unto them & their Excs or Adms forever as Tennants in Common to be eaqually divided between them.

Item. After my said wife's Decease I give and Bequeath the five hundred Pounds herein before directed to be put out to Interest unto my said children Elizabeth Walker, Mary Clever, John Potts, Thomas Potts and David Potts and my said Grandsons Stephen Yorke and Edward Yorke in manner following (That is to say) unto my said Children each one Sixth part thereof and unto my said Grandsons Stephen and Edward Yorke the other Sixth part thereof to be eaqually divided between them.

Item. It's my will as the two hundred and fifty one acres of Land situate in the County of Philadelphia afd which I lately purchased of Jonathan Robeson Esq, is not yet quite paid for nor yet Conveyed that if I should dye before the same is Conveyed that my Executors pay what remains unpaid therefor out of my Estate with all Convenient Speed and that ye same be Conveyed with the apps unto my said Grandsons Stephen Yorke and Edward Yorke their Heirs and Assigns forever in Confirmation of ye Devise thereof to them herein made by the following clause.

Item. It's my will that my said Grandsons Stephen and Edward Yorke have at two hundred and fifty Pounds the tract of Land which I lately purchased of Jonathan Robeson containing two hundred and fifty one acres be the same more or less with the appurtenances, towards their one Sixth part of my Real and Personal Estate above bequeathed and Devised them To Hold unto them their heirs & assigns forever as Tennants in Common.

Lastly. I hereby Constitute make and ordain my said wife Magdalene Executrix and my Sons John Potts and Thomas Potts and my Son-in-law Thomas Yorke Executors of this my Last Will and Testament, And I do hereby utterly Disallow, Revoke and Disannul all and every other former Testaments, Wills, Legacies and Executors by me in anywise before this time named willed and bequeathed, Ratifying this and no other to be my Last Will and Testament. In Witness whereof I have hereunto put my Hand and Seal this twenty fifth Day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand Seaven hundred and forty Seaven.

THOMAS POTTS. - SEAL.

Signed, Sealed. Published, Pronounced, and Declared

(ye words [at, herein] being first interlined) and ye words

[and] twice writ in Characters, thus [&] by the said THOMAS

POTTS as his Last Will and Testament in the presence of

us, EDWARD WEST, JACOB BARNARD, ISAAC BARNARD.

I the within Named Thomas Potts, Iron Master being well pleased with my within written Will and Testament and it appearing to me that there's no Opportunity given to any dissatisfied person or persons to Defeat the Same nor for Cavilling thereat unless they should for Squabbling sake catch at the Interlineations therein or the word [and] being

First Generation - 85

twice therein written in Character thus & the said Character being enclosed in a Crotchet or parenthesis in the place where the Witness signed tho' not in the Body of my said within written Will, Therefore to prevent disputes Knowing the words [at, herein] were interlined in my said within written Will and the word [and] there writ twice in Characters thus & before my Signing Sealing and Publishing of the same Will, I do hereby allow the same Interlineations and Characters as part of the Words of my said within written Will and Testament. In Witness whereof I have hereto put my Hand and Seal the twenty eighth day of September in the year of our Lord one Thousand Seven hundred and forty seven.

THOMAS POTTS.

Signed and Sealed in the

presence of us HENRY SWITZER

DARBY SULLIVAN

EDWARD WEST.

I the within named Thomas Potts Iron Master hereby declare it to be my Will that if my Son Thomas Potts inclines to purchase my two Thirds of Colebrook Dale ffurnace and Iron Mines and the two thirds of the one hundred acres of Land on which the same are, with my Interest of in or to the same ffurnace and Mines and the one hundred acres of Land on which the same are by virtue of a Lease and the one hundred acres of Land adjoyning the sd ffurnace at Eight hundred Pounds according to the Priviledge given him by the within written Will, he shall have Eighteen Months time to pay the said Eight hundred pounds without paying any Interest for the same anything in the within written Will contained to the Contrary in any Wise notwithstanding. In Witness whereof I have hereunto put my hand and Seal the twenty Eighth day of September in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven hundred and Fourty Seven.

THOMAS POTTS. - SEAL.

Signed, Sealed, Published, Pronounced

and Declared by the said THOMAS POTTS

as part of his Last Will and Testament

in the presence of us HENRY SWITZER

DARBY SULLIVAN

EDWARD WEST.

Will & Codicils proved January 10, 1752.

86, 87, 88, First Generation

A Schedule and Appraisement of the Goods and Chattles of Thomas Potts Senior late of Colebrook Dale deceased taken this 16^th January 1752. The schedule is included in the book but not reproduced here.

SECOND GENERATION.

Children of (1) Thomas and Martha (Keurlis) Potts.

2. Elizabeth (10), b. in Germantown; m. Joseph Walker.

3. Mary (13), b. in Germantown; m. Derrick Clever.

4. John (17), b. in Germantown, 1710; m. Ruth Savage at Coventry, Chester County, Pa., April 11, 1734; d. at Pottsgrove, June 6, 1768. His w. d. at the same place, January 7, 1786.

5. Martha, d. an infant, 18th of 6 mo., 1714.

6. Martha, second of the name, d. an infant, 29th 5 mo., 1715.

Children of his second Wife, Magdelen Robeson.

7. Martha, third of the name (30), b. 1718 ; m. Thomas Yorke, 1734; she d. 1741. Her husband survived until January 24, 1764.

8. Thomas (32), b. 1720; m., first, Rebecca Rutter; second, Deborah Pyewell He d. at Colebrookdale, 1762.

9. David, b. 1722; m. Rebecca Rutter, cousin of the above, and d. s. p. at Colebrookdale, April 10, 1752.

90 - Second Generation.

2. Elizabeth (10), b. in Germantown; m. Joseph Walker.

On an old map I find the estate of Joseph Walker marked, in the Manatawny region, not far from Colebrookdale. Excepting this fact, I have been unable to learn anything of him. Elizabeth is mentioned in her father's will, and one sixth of his estate is devised to her. She received an annuity from her brother John at his death, and it is probable at that date she was a widow, Her name is signed to the marriage certificate of her brother in 1734.

3. Mary (13), was born in Germantown, and married Derrick Clever. He was a son of Pieter Clever, one of the early settlers in Germantown, of whom Dr. Keyser has given me the following account: It is a singular fact that in all the papers and writings of the settlement and drawing of the lots of land in Germantown, no mention is made of a Pieter Clever, who must have been one of the settlers or purchasers. For in a deed that I have, of date September 12, 1689, from Herman op de Graaf, attorney for Dirck Sipman, to Dirck Keyser, it describes the land as -bounded on the southeast by land of Claus Rittinghhuysen (Rittenhouse), on the northwest by a half-lot of Dirck Keyser, which he bought of Cornelus Cieuwers (Siverts), and from that or there running over on the northwest side to Pieter Clever, and further six acres in the woods next to Claus Rittinghhuysen and Pieter Clever."

He is also mentioned as serving on a jury at Germantown, October 8, 1695. Derrick Clever and his wife settled in the Manatawny region, where they remained during their respective lives. They lived in the neighborhood of Pine Forge, in which establishment he had some interest.

Mary is mentioned in her father's will, and one sixth of his estate was devised to her. Her name is appended to the marriage certificate of her brother, and spelled as here printed.

Second Generation. - 91

4. John (17), the founder of Pottstown, was born in Germantown in 1710. His mother was the daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Keurlis, (1) who had emigrated with Pastorius from Germany, an account of whose settlement in this country is given in a preceding chapter. Letters of. administration upon the estate of Peter Kerlin were granted to his widow Elizabeth, August 16, 1726; and in 1746 John Potts made a deed of land to Bernard Reser, part of the estate of his grandparents, with his sisters "Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Walker, and Mary, wife of Derrick Cleaver, as heirs-at-law of their mother, Martha Potts, one of the children of Peter Keurling of Germantown." For legal proof that John was the son of the before-named Thomas, I quote from a deed on record made by Thomas and Magdalen Potts' in 1721, which nearly forty-seven years after, in 1768, was proven by the testimony of John Potts of Pottsgrove, " he being the son of the said Thomas." The early years of John were passed in Germantown, which was at that time a village of German transplanted to the New World. The quaint houses were modelled after those in the fatherland, and German customs were reproduced on this side of the Atlantic. High Dutch, as the language was then termed, was universally spoken; and it is said that the first English preaching in the town was when Washington made it his head-quarters during the Revolution. Even as late as 1793, the year of the yellow fever in Philadelphia, it retained its German speech, and little else was heard either in street or market. After that date the influx of Philadelphians produced a decided change, and now Germantown retains few relics of its un-English origin.

(1) I follow the orthography of this name as it appears in the different documents alluded to like those of other German settlers it has undergone many changes.

92 - Second Generation.

John Potts was a mere child when en he accompanied his father to the Manatawny region, of which he was destined to become an active pioneer and proprietor during a period of almost half a century. He early became engaged in the iron-works established by his father, and carried them on with increased success.

Though by birth a Quaker, he was not brought up strictly according to Friends' principles, on account of his father's second marriage into a Swedish family, whose religion was Lutheran Episcopal; and by his own marriage he (1) forfeited his birthright. This event was celebrated April 11, 1734, at Coventry, (2) Chester County, where he was united to Ruth Savage. She was the daughter of Samuel and Anna (Rutter) Savage, and granddaughter of Thomas and Rebeccah (Staples) Rutter. The following copy of their marriage certificate is made from the original, now in the possession of one of their great-great-grandsons, which I have had photo-lithographed for this volume:

Whereas John Potts of Coalbrook Dale in the County of Philadelphia & Province of Pennsylvania, Founder, & Ruth Savage in the township of Coventry & County of Chester, in the said Province ; having with consent of parents & relations concerned, declared their intention of taking each other in marriage, by a paper fixed on the publick meeting house of Uwchlan & Coalbrook Dale where they usually meet to worship, signed by Joseph Brinton Esq. one of his majesty's justices of the Peace for the County of Chester, as the law of this Province in that case directs.

Now these are to certify all whom it may concern, that in order to accomplish these said intentions of marriage, they the said parties, being at the house of Samuel Nutt, in the township of Coventry, & County of Chester aforesaid, & in presence of the aforesaid justice & many others, met there together for that end & purpose, the 11th day of April, in the year of our Lord 1734, he the said John Potts standing up, & in a solemn manner taking the said Ruth Savage by the hand did thereby declare as followeth, I John Potts take this my friend Ruth Savage to be my wife & promise by the Lord's assistance to be unto her a

(1) According to the rule of Friends, when a member of the Society marries one not a Quaker he loses his birthright, and his children are not members of Meeting.

(2) Coventry is on the west side of the Schuylkill, about six miles from Pottsgrove.

Second Generation. - 93

faithful & loving husband, till death part us, & I desire you that are here present to be witnesses of the same.

And then & there the said Ruth Savage did in like manner declare as followeth, I Ruth Savage, take this my friend John Potts, to be my husband, & promise through the Lord's assistance to be unto him a faithful and loving wife, till Death part us.

And as further confirmation of the same, the said parties to these presents set their hands (the woman according to the custom of marriage assuming the name of her husband) & we whose names are hereunto subscribed being present at the solemnization of their said marriage & subscription in manner aforesaid, as witnesses thereunto have also to these presents, subscribed our names the day & year above written.

JOHN POTTS.(1) Groom.

RUTH POTTS. Bride.

Jos. BRINTON. Justice. He was the grandson and son of William Brinton, Sr. and Jr., who came from Staffordshire, England, in 1684, and settled in Birmingham, Chester County. Joseph was a man of more than ordinary ability, and was frequently employed in public trusts. He was a justice of the courts of Chester County from 1730 to the time of his death in 1751, and also frequently represented, the county in the Provincial Assembly.

THOMAS POTTS. Father of the groom.

MAGDALEN POTTS. Step-mother of the groom.

SAMLL NUTT. Step-father of the bride.

ANNA NUTT. Mother of the bride.

REBECCAH RUTTER. Grandmother of the bride, and widow of the first Thomas Rutter.

THOMAS SAVAGE. - Brother of the bride.

SAMUEL SAVAGE. - Brother of the bride.

JOSEPH SAVAGE. - Brother of the bride

JNO. SAVAGE. - Brother of the bride.

SAMUEL NUTT, JUN. Brother-in-law of the bride.

REBECCAH NUTT. His wife, sister of the bride.

CATHERINE SAVAGE- Sister-in-law of the bride.

ELIZABETH WALKER. Married sister of the groom.

MARY CLEVER. Married sister of the groom.

MARTHA POTTS. Step-sister of the groom, soon after married to Thomas Yorke.

THOMAS POTTS. Step-brother of the groom.

DAVID POTTS. Step-brother of the groom.

Jno. RUTTER. Uncle of the bride.

(1) To the signatures of this marriage certificate I append the different relationships of the parties, and what I have been able to learn about the other signers who were present at the ceremony.

94 - Second Generation.

MARY RUTTER. His wife.

THOMAS YOTSWATER.

THOMAS RUTTER. Uncle of the bride. He was a member of the Assembly* from Philadelphia County in 1728, and was one of the eight who retired from the House because the Speaker would not issue a writ for the election of a representative to supply the place of Sir William Keith, who had gone to England.

HENRY HOCKLEY. Husband of the bride's aunt, and member of the Assembly from Chester County in 1749, 1750, and 1751.

ESTHER HOCKLEY. Aunt of the bride.

REBECKAH RUTTER. Cousin of the bride, and afterwards the wife of one of the brothers of the groom.

JONATHAN PRICE. I have been unable to determine the relationship between the Rutters and the Prices; but as Elizabeth Price and her two sons were buried in the graveyard of the elder Rutter in Bristol Township (the stones in memory of them are the only ones now to be found), it is probable she was his sister. This may have been her husband or son.

THOMAS ROBERTS.

REINE TYSON. If this is not the Reine Tysen who came with Pastorius, it must have been his son, and probably a cousin of John Potts.

JAMES JEFFFRIS. A relative of the bride.

JOHN ROBERTS.

ELIZABETH JEFFERIS. A relative of the bride.

JOHN TYSON. Cousin of the groom.

ANNA HOCKLEY. Cousin of the bride.

EDWARD KEY.

HANNAH IKERLIN. As this very remarkable name is the same as that of the Prior of Ephrata, she was probably his sister.

MARY PRICE.

REBECCA PARKER.

MARY BRINTON. Probably a sister of Edward Brinton, as he had one thus named. This name was formerly pronounced Branton.

SAMUEL HALLOWAY.

ENGEL BERFPRRLE

JOSEPH PHIPPS. A member of the Provincial Assembly from Chester County in 1683.

GEORGE ASHTON. Sometimes spelled Ascheton. He was a member of Assembly from Chester County in 1723, and a justice of the Peace in 1726 ; two years after, Governor Gordon reported to the Council that he had "acted too much," and removed his name from the list. What his offence was does not appear.

(1) Colonial Records, Vol. 11. P. 201.

Second Generation. - 95

ROBERT PARKER.

JACOB TAYLOR. An eminent mathematician and Surveyor- General of Pennsylvania. He at one time kept a school at Abington, and was probably the early instructor of John Potts, and perhaps even of his father Thomas. At this date he must have been quite old, as Smith, in his "History of Delaware County," says that he was living in 1728, but very infirm, and that the date of his death is unknown. That he lived six years after that time is proved by comparing his autograph with one in the above history. Jacob Taylor is frequently mentioned in Logan's letters. He calculated the aspect of the planets when Philadelphia was founded, and expressed the result in the following lines in 1723:-

"Full forty years have now their changes made,

Since the foundation of this town was laid

When Jove and Saturn were in Leo joined,

They saw the survey of the place designed

Swift were these planets, and the world will own

Swift was the progress of the rising town.

The Lion is an active regal sign

And Sol beheld the two superiors join.

A city built with such propitious rays

Will stand to see old walls and happy days.

But kingdoms, cities, men in every state,

Are subject to vicissitudes of fate.

An envious cloud may shade the smiling morn,

Though fates ordain the beaming sun's return."

THOMAS MAYBURY. He married into the Rutter family, and was interested in forges and furnaces in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

JAMES DORNEY.

GEORGE ROGERS.

FRANCIS EDWARDS.

JAMES MALE.

JOHN WEBB.

THOMAS MENSON.

It was in 1752 that John began to' lay out a town at the confluence of the Manatawny and Schuylkill. A large tract of land in this region was already owned by the different members of his family, and it is believed that here they had early erected a forge or furnace, some remains of which a local antiquary informed me he

96 - Second Generation.

had seen near the river. The grist-mill mentioned by Governor Patrick Gordon, in 1728, as the building in which the " back inhabitants " were gathered to defend themselves from the Indians, was owned by John Potts, and is mentioned in his will. It is still standing, near the principal street, on the outskirts of the town.

A grant of land on' part of which Pottsgrove township is situated was once known as Sproegel's manor, and afterwards as Douglass's manor. Though the Potts and Rutter family had long held hundreds of acres in this vicinity, yet the actual site of Pottstown was purchased in 1752, according to the following abstract from a deed:

"On the 8th of September, 1752, John Potts of Manahawtawny, Esquire, purchased from Samuel McCall, Jr., and Ann, his wife, two tracts of land situate in Manahatawny Creek and Schuylkill River, containing together nine hundred and ninety-five acres, being part of a certain tract of 14,ooo acres granted by the Hon. John Penn, one of the Proprietors of Pennsylvania,(1) by deed June 20, 1735, unto George McCall, father of the said Samuel."

Pottsgrove was laid out, after the manner of Germantown, in one long street, a hundred feet wide, called, after the English custom, High Street. The lots were sixty feet front, extending back three hundred feet. At the end nearest the river was the mansion of the founder, looking down upon the town. The houses erected by himself and his sons are large solid stone buildings, evidently intended for succeeding generations as well as their own.

The following unfilled printed lease, found among the family papers, is copied to imitate the' original, as it will be a curiosity to the present generation of the founder's descendants, and probably even to the occupants of the lots.

(1) From this it would appear that the contending rights of the Frankfort Company and the Sproegels were in some way resumed or bought off by the Proprietors of Pennsylvania.

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"THESE are to certify that I JOHN POTTS of the City of Philadelphia Merchant, have Letten on Ground Rent forever, unto a Lot of Ground marked and numbered in the Plan of the Town of Potts-Grove, Noto hold to him the faid his Heirs and Affigns forever, under the following Conditions, That is to fay, be the faid his Heirs and Affigns, yielding and paying yearly and every Year, on the Firft Days of March and September, in

equal Payments, the Rent or Sum of Spanish Pieces of Eight (1) or Value thereof, in lawful Money of Pennsylvania, unto the faid JOHN POTTS, his Heirs and Afligns forever, to be bought of at any Time whatever, at the common Rate of Twenty Years Purchafe; and alfo building or caufing to be built on the faid Lot, one Dwelling-Houfe at leaft Twenty Feet fquare of Brick, Stone, framed or fquare Loggs, within the Space of Two Years, from the Firft Day of March next enfuing the Date hereof, at which Time the yearly Rent aforefaid, is to commence: But if Default fhall be made in building the Dwelling-Houfe aforefaid, on the faid Lot within the Space of Two Years aforefaid, then it is the true Intent and Meaning hereof, and it is hereby declared,

that the faid Agreement and every Thing thereto relating, fhall be Void and of none Effect, and that the faid Lot fhall revert to the faid JOHN POTTS, his Heirs and Affigns, as his and their own proper Estate, to all Intents and Purpofes, as if the faid Agreement had never been made; and that at the Expiration of the faid Two Years, or at any Time fooner, when the faid Buildings

fhall be erected, he the faid JOHN POTTS fhall and will make over and convey the faid Lot of Ground unto the faid his Heirs and Affigns, according to the true Intent and Meaning of thofe Prefents.WITNESS My Hand and Seal, this Day of in the Year of our LORD, 1762."

(1) A Spanish piece of eight was the Spanish silver dollar.

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Some of these rents were bought off by the lessees according to the expressed agreement, while others remained, and were collected by the grandchildren of John Potts until about fifty years ago, when the growing feeling that quitrents need not be paid increased so much that the heirs did not even attempt to collect them, or to exact in any way the fulfilment of these old leases, which have therefore in reality become a dead letter.

The original ground plan of the town was lost about seventy years ago, and, a search for it proving fruitless, early in the present century the site was resurveyed, and a new plan made, which was legalized and adopted by an act of the State Legislature.

On the western side of Manatawny Creek, near where its waters join the Schuylkill, the founder of the town built a residence for himself, an engraving of which, from a photograph, is given in this volume. During a hundred and twenty years the house has been only slightly altered, by taking down a wing on the east end and erecting a piazza in its place.

The subjoined description was written for this book by Mr. Davis, the editor of the "Montgomery Ledger," a newspaper published at Pottstown:

"The mansion of John Potts, the ancestor of the Potts family of Pottstown (formerly Pottsgrove), after whom that now flourishing borough was named, is one of the oldest, best constructed, and best preserved buildings, not only in its own locality, but in the whole valley of the Schuylkill between Philadelphia and Pottsville. It is situate in Pottsgrove Township, Montgomery County, and occupies a commanding position along the Perkiomen and Reading Turnpike, overlooking the winding Manatawny and the silvery Schuylkill and the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad; and its walls, notwithstanding they are verging towards a century and a quarter old, are as solid and substantial, apparently, as ever they were, and look as if they might resist the decaying touch of Time for another century or more. We

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search in vain about the venerable building for the date of its erection there is nothing to enlighten us, nor any records that we know of to determine the exact age of the structure. It is known, however, that John Potts laid out Pottstown (Pottsgrove) in 1752, about which time be removed here from Colebrookdale Township, Berks County, being then engaged in operating several furnaces and forges in this part of the country, which were either owned by him or owed their existence or successful management to. his means, energy, and enterprise. It is probable he commenced the erection of his mansion about 1752 or 175.3, and the work, no doubt, occupied a couple of years before completion ; for in those days the population was sparse and workmen scarce, especially builders who could execute work of a character so elegant and substantial as is found in this structure. The edifice is built of sandstone, the front in range courses. The walls are two feet thick, and the partition walls eighteen inches thick ; the wainscoting and woodwork inside being very heavy and strong. The first story is eleven and a half (11 1/2) feet high ; the second, ten (10) feet high, and from the square to the apex of the roof the height is eighteen (18) feet. The hall is ten (10) feet wide. The cellar is divided into five apartments, with strong walls and arched doorways. The roof is pierced with three large dormer-windows, and is surmounted its entire length with a balustrade observatory, from which a splendid view can be had of a portion of Berks, Chester, and Montgomery Counties, laved by the Schuylkill River. The whole building measures about 46 feet by 28 feet. There was formerly a large doorway in the back part of the house, into which it was customary to drive a cart loaded with wood to supply the kitchen fire, but this has been removed. The whole edifice tells plainly of the desire of its founder to combine in this mansion, in which he expected to spend the remainder of his days, comfort, elegance, and durability, It is probable, too, that the Indian troubles of those times had something to do with the massiveness of the walls and the strength and substantial character of- the building. It is true that at that date the principal tribes of the red men had retired farther into their native and unexplored forests ; but many of them still lingered about their favorite haunts in this part of the country, and not unfrequently hunting or scouting parties came this way, and even encamped beneath the tall shade trees of Pottsgrove,

100 - Second Generation.

or visited the burial-grounds of their ancestors on the banks of the river in the precincts of our own borough. Frequent difficulties, we are told, took place between these parties and the settlers, resulting in appeals to the deadly rifle and to the use of the scalping-knife ; and it may be that the Potts Mansion was made thus strong as a protection against incursions and dangers of this kind. The grounds around the building and fronting towards the river were tastefully laid out: and planted with trees, which soon grew and cast umbrageous shade over the walks and drives. These fine -rounds, however, were circumscribed considerably by the construction of the turnpike in 1811. When the mansion was completed there were few, if any, such residences, as* regards size and elegance, in Pennsylvania outside of Philadelphia; and even the city, at that date, could not boast of many superior to it. The settlers looked upon it with wonder and astonishment, and people came from the surrounding country, a distance of thirty or forty miles, to see Potts's big house. Tradition says that during the Revolutionary War, when the American army lay not far off, Washington made this mansion his stopping-place. It was then owned and occupied by a son (1) of John Potts, he having died here in 1768.

"The dwelling, with the mill and the large farm, has long since passed out of the Potts family, and is now owned by the brothers H. and J. Gabel."

Day's " Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania gives the following account of the place:

"Pottstown, formerly known as Pottsgrove, derives its name from John Potts, who had a large grant of land in this region. He owned a part of Sproegel's el's manor and the lands adjoining it to the north. West of the town, beyond the Manatawny, is a stately but antique mansion (of stone) overlooking the town, erected by him long before the Revolution ; it was then the marvel of the whole country, and people came from forty miles round merely to see it.

"Mr. Potts was an enterprising speculator in iron-works in Chester and Berks Counties. He was a descendant (2) of old Thomas Potts, who settled at

(1) His eldest son, Thomas.

(2) This statement is incorrect, but it has been so often printed, that many of the descendants of Thomas of Colebrookdale have believed he was a son of the emigrant of the same name mentioned in Smith's " History of New jersey" as one of the company of Quakers who arrived at Burlington in the ship Shield, A. D. 1678. But though this Thomas removed to Philadelphia about 1699, and died there in 1726, his only son, Thomas, remained near Burlington, and his grandson, the third Thomas, was living in Mansfield, an adjoining town, August 14, 1728. These three Thomas Pottses are the ancestors of the jersey family of the name. The elder Thomas became a Baptist in 1686, and was three times married, twice in his old age. As in the three consecutive years 1714, 1715, and 1716, he had a wife of a different name, he has been taken for three individuals, and very much mystified those genealogists who have attempted to unravel the early history of the family. His wife Ann, probably the one who came with him in the Shield, was baptized at Burlington in 1686, and died in Philadelphia, 1714; his second wife, Grace Farmer, also a Baptist, lived only a short time after her marriage; while his third wife, Alice Pusser, of the same sect, survived him.

Second Generation. - 101

Burlington in William Penn's time, and was the father of Isaac Potts, who settled at Valley Forge. This was one of his iron-works.

His son Samuel was once the owner of lands where Pottsville now is, and it came afterwards into the hands of one Pott, (1) a German, from whom Pottsville is named."

Bishop's " History of American Manufactures " thus notices this town:-

"Pottstown, at the junction of the Manatawny with the Schuylkill, derives its name from John Potts, a large land-owner at that place, and an enterprising proprietor of iron-works in Chester and Berks Counties. He was a descendant of one of the early settlers of Burlington in the days of William Penn."

The Duke de la Rochefoucault Liancourt, (2) who visited this country immediately after the French Revolution, and passed through Pottsgrove in 1795, thus describes it:

"The country about Pottsgrove is still more pleasant. The plain in which this small market town is situate is more extensive than any we have hitherto seen, and at the same time is in-the highest degree of cultivation.

(1) This family was named Putt, but -anglicized to Pott. The ancestor, Wilhelm Put, came to Pennsylvania in 1734.

(2) Travels of the Duke de Liancourt, published in London, 1799, pp. 19, 20.

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"The forest mountains (1) which are in sight on the left and in the front form beautiful borders to this landscape. In the neighborhood of Pottsgrove we again discovered the Schuylkill, which we had left near Norristown ; along its whole course' its banks are delightful, and all the land through which it passes is good. I. do not know a finer river in point of water and views.

"Pottsgrove is a market town, originally laid out by a Quaker family of the name of Pott. About forty years ago they purchased land of the State at a very low price, and sold it afterwards at a considerable profit, according as it was more or less sought after. It is now worth thirty dollars in the town, and from thirty to thirty-seven in the adjacent country.

"The family of Pott have established considerable iron forges, and by means of these much increased the fortune which they acquired by the sale of the lands. They are generally supposed to be very rich. Pottsgrove consists at present of about thirty well-built houses, and belongs to the district of Douglass, which forms a part of the county of Montgomery."

John Potts was commissioned justice of the Peace in 1745, 1749, and 1752. In. the latter year, that part of Philadelphia County where he lived was set off into Berks, and his removal eight or ten miles lower down the river brought him again into Philadelphia County; we therefore find in the minutes of Council, March, 1756, that , the Council recommending Mr. John Potts of Manatawny for a proper person for a magistrate of the county of Philadelphia, he is ordered to be put into the next General Commission," and he was so appointed in 1757. At this period the office was one of much greater importance than at present, for a justice of the peace was also a judge of the county courts, namely, Common Pleas, Quarter Sessions, and Orphans' Courts, and he was obliged to decide many important legal questions. In practice it was probably found that this office was often lodged in incompetent (2) persons, and,

(1) Alluding to the name of Pennsylvania, a wooded headland. There are some inaccuracies in the above statement, but I insert it to show the condition of the town at the latter part of the last century.

(2) In the letters of that day the fact is frequently mentioned.

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September, 1759, the Assembly passed an act entitled A Supplement to an Act for establishing Courts of judicature in this Province," by which it is supposed (for the act is not given except by title in the he printed laws) that power was conferred upon the Governor to select certain of the justices to act as judges of the Common Pleas. The following month Governor Denny appointed five judges, of which number John Potts was one. This law was not approved in England, and news of the fact was received in Philadelphia in January, 1761.

At the Council held there 28th February, 1761, after appointing justices of the peace for Philadelphia County, "five writs of supersedeas (1) were signed to forbid Thomas Yorke, Rowland Evans, John Potts, Samuel Wharton, and John Hughes, late judges of the Court of Common Pleas, exercising any of the powers granted them by

(1) "George ye third by ye grace of God of Great Britain, France & Ireland King, defender of ye faith & so forth to John Potts of the county of Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania Gentleman Greeting- Whereas by a Commission bearing date the twentieth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred & fifty-nine, under the great seal of the said Province, you the said John Potts now assigned & appointed by our late Royal Grandfather George the second King of Great Britain &c. to be one of the Judges of the County Court of Common Pleas for the said county of Philadelphia, as, in, & by the same commission (reference thereto being had) more fully & at large appears. Nevertheless know ye, that for certain Causes, specially moving us, it is our pleasure that you the said John Potts shall no longer hold exercise or enjoy the said office of one of the judges of the said County Court of Common Pleas for the Co. of Phil. And we do hereby strictly command you the said John Potts that from further acting in the said office or executing or intermeddling in any of the Powers or authority granted or expressed in the said Commission or incident or appertaining to the said Office you entirely supersede, desist & forbear, as you will answer the contrary at your Peril, the said Commission or anything, therein contained to the contrary notwithstanding. In testimony whereof we have caused the Great Seal of the said Province to be hereunto affixed. Witness James Hamilton Esq. by virtue of a Commission from Thomas Penn & Richard Penn Esquires

Head & absolute Proprietaries of the said Province & Counties of Newcastle Kent & Sussex, upon Delaware & with our Royal approbation Lieut. Gov. & Commander in Chief of the Province & County aforesaid at Philadelphia the 27th Feb. the year of our Lord 1761 & in the first year of our reign.- JAMES HAMILTON." - Col. Rec., Vol. VII I. p. 575.

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their respective commissions under the late Governor Denny, which was during good behavior, together with a warrant to affix the great seal to each of them."

That there was nothing personally against Potts in this writ of supersedeas, is proved by the fact that at the same meeting of the Council he was again commissioned justice of the Peace for Philadelphia County, which office he probably filled until his death.

For many years he continued the largest and most successful iron-master in the American Colonies, carrying on forges and furnaces, not only in Pennsylvania, but Virginia. His comprehensive business mind was devoted to all the improvements of the time, and the severity of the laws and restrictions against the American Colonies by the Lords of Trade and by acts of Parliament appear to have made him a patriot of the Franklin stamp. With the great philosopher he was on terms of intimate friendship, as Mrs. Franklin, in a letter to her husband, calls him " our Mr. Potts."

His landed estate, consisting of nearly four thousand acres in different parts of Pennsylvania, was probably more highly improved than any other in the thirteen Colonies, with mines, forges, furnaces, grist-mills, saw-mills, farms, and tenants of town lots, besides several houses in Philadelphia, one of which, with stores and wharves, was valued at L2,000. He lived in great dignity at his stately house called Pottsgrove, surrounded by his large family of sons and daughters, and connected by birth and marriage with many of the oldest and most important families in Philadelphia.

Though thirty-six miles from the city by the road, very constant intercourse with it seems to have been kept up, both in a social and business way, several of the sons having their winter residences in town, and passing the summer near their father. The beautiful country seat of Stowe, two miles from Pottstown, was built as the summer home of some of the family; and before the Revolution it

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was owned by John, oh Jr., the Tory, and was confiscated as the property of a loyalist.

John Potts died June 6, and the the following obituary appeared in the " Pennsylvania Gazette," (1) published in Philadelphia, June 16, 1768:

"After a long and tedious illness, died on the 6th instant, at his house at Pottsgrove, John Potts, Esq., a gentleman of unblemished honor and integrity, known, beloved, lamented.

'Such this man was who now from earth remov'd

At length enjoys the liberty he lov'd.'"

His body was interred in the family graveyard, and thirteen children followed it to its final resting-place.

A handsome flat marble slab marks the spot, and is inscribed as follows

Here lieth the body of

John Potts

who departed this life

the 6th day of June 1768."

A place is left upon it to insert the name of his wife, who survived him many years; and although there is no doubt that she rests beside him, no record of her burial has been placed upon it.

She died at Pottsgrove on Saturday, January 7, 1786.

The following notice appeared in the " Pennsylvania journal and Weekly Advertiser of Wednesday, January 11, 1786, published in Philadelphia:

"On Saturday morning last departed this life, aged seventy years, after a short but severe illness, which she sustained with true resignation, Mrs. Ruth Potts, relict of John Potts, Esq., of Pottsgrove. If the tenderest performance

(1) In the last century it was pot customary to announce deaths or marriages in the Philadelphia newspapers, except those of persons of importance.

106 - Second Generation.

of maternal duties, the most generous exercise of benevolence and charity to her fellow-creatures, and the purest piety to her God, deserve to be lamented, then is the circle of her mourners numerous indeed."

As there are a great number of the descendants of John Potts living, who, it is believed, will be interested in reading his will, it is here printed entire, with the inventory, which affords a curious record of the prices of many articles at that period.

WILL OF JOHN POTTS.

In the Name of God Amen.

I John Potts of Pottsgrove in the County of Philadelphia & (1) Province of Pennsylvania Gentleman being of sound mind memory & understanding & considering the uncertainty of this life do make & publish this my last will & testament in manner & form following (that is to say)

Imprimis. I order & direct that my Executor hereinafter named do pay my just debts & legacies within a reasonable time after my decease.

Item. The plantation whereon I live containing about 495 acres of land on the west side of Manatawny creek with the building & all the appurtenances thereunto belonging I do value & appraise at the sum of six thousand pounds (2) & I do order & empower my Executor herein after nominated to convey the same in fee simple unto such Child as shall be willing & desirous of taking the same at that valuation my eldest son to have the first offer & choice.& in case of his refusal my other children to have the right of preemption according to priority of Birth.

Item. All that tract of land beginning at the Fording place on the East side of Manatawny Creek & running from thence by a straight line on the West side of the road leadin- to Schuylkill & Manatawny Creek, & from thence to Schuylkill is to be deemed conveyed as part of the afsd plantation.

Item. As to my Lands, Buildings &c. on the East side of the sd Manatawny Creek containing about 640 acres I order & direct as follows, viz. :

The Grist Mill & Saw Mill with six acres of meadow now rented with the mills & piece of land to extend from the meadow at the mill race & from thence to -the street (in the town of Pottsgrove) back of a certain John Horn's garden fence, thence along the said street to the Brew-House lot, thence down the west side of said lot to the extent thereof & from thence east sixty feet to the main cross Street (in the sd town of Pottsgrove) leading to the Ferry on Schuylkill & from thence up the several courses thereof to the place of beginning, & I do hereby order & empower my Executor

(1) And is here printed in character for brevity.

(2) This house and the appurtenances, with 225 acres, was sold in May, 1868, for $ 53,000.

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herein after appointed to convey in fee simple the said Mills, (which I do value & appraise at the sum Of 1,750 pounds) Meadow & piece of Lana above described unto any of my children who shall incline to hold the same at the above valuation, my eldest son to have the first offer & choice & in case of his refusal my other children to have the right of preemption according to seniority.

Item. It is my will & I order & empower my Executor hereinafter appointed to grant by deed unto the purchaser of the afsd Mills & his heirs & assigns free liberty & use of the water as the same is now used & enjoyed & also liberty to enter & cleanse the race & mend the dam as occasion my require.

Item. It is my will & I do order & direct that at all times when the water in Manatawny Creek is low, the Saw mill on the plantation whereon I live shall not work so ;is to take the water from the Grist Mill, on the east side of Manatawny Creek. And it is my will also & I do order & direct that the Grist Mill on the plantation where I now live shall not work when the water is low, so as to prevent the Grist Mill on the east side of Manatawny Creek from working. But the said Grist mills shall in such cases have an equal use of the water alternately.

Item. I order & direct that within a convenient time after my decease my Executor hereinafter named shall sell &dispose of the residue of my said tract of 640 acres of land on the cast side of Manatawny Creek with all the houses, buildings, lots, rents hereditaments and appurtenances whatsoever. But if any of my children shall desire to purchase the same or part thereof, It is my will & I order & direct that in such case my Executor shall with the assistance of two judicious freeholders reasonably value & appraise the same & grant the same to such child or children in fee simple for such reasonable price as my said Executor & the two freeholders shall determine upon.

Item. Whereas I stand seized in fee simple of a Forge in the county of Berks by the name of Pine Forge with the following tract of land thereunto belonging Viz. 300 acres which I purchased from Mary Rees, 150 acres which I bought from Seeny Savage, 200 acres 'which I bought from John Jones, 150 acres which I bought from Marcus Hulings Jr. 125 acres which I bought from Thomas Coombe, 255 acres which I bought from the Trustees of the Loan Office, & 100 acres whereon the said house now stands ; containing in the whole 1280 acres of land.

It is my will & I order & direct my Executor within a convenient time after my decease to make sale of the said Forge and lands with the buildings, hereditaments & appurtenances unto the same belonging & I do empower & authorize my Executor hereinafter named to make-& execute good and sufficient deed or deeds to the purchaser or purchasers thereof in fee simple.

Item. I give & devise unto my Son-in-law Thomas Rutter & unto his heirs & assigns forever my comer lot of ground in the town of Reading fronting on Penn St & bounded westerly by Callowhill Street & eastward by a lot of ground now in the tenure of James Whitehead.

Item. It is my will & I do hereby direct & empower my Executor hereinafter named to make sale of all my lands near the said town of Reading which I hold in company with Benjamin Lightfoot.

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Item. It is my will & I order & direct my executor hereafter named to make sale of my two tracts of land, the one containing 194 acres & the other containing about 100 acres situate & being in the County of Berks adjoining lands of George Adam Weidner & commonly known by the name of the Flat.

Item. Whereas I am seized of about 105 acres of patented land & about 250 acres not patented adjoining lands of Mathias Swetser & Christian Behry in Chester County which I purchased from Jon" Seeley, it is my will & I do order & direct that the same land shall be granted & conveyed by my Executor hereinafter named unto such of my children as shall take my Plantation whereon I dwell at the valuation hereinbefore mentioned in fee simple he paying unto my said Executor such a reasonable price for the same as my said. Executor & two judicious Freeholders whom he shall call to his assistance shall adjudge & determine the same to be worth. But if any of my children shall purchase from my said Executor my plantation & lands on the east -side of Manatawny Creek then & in such case it is my will & I do order & direct that my Executor shall convey & grant unto such child so purchasing an equal & proportionable part of the said two tracts of land in manner & form afsd to the intent that. each of my said plantations may be supplied with timber.

Item. Whereas I am seized of about 200 acres of land in Chester County afsd lying between where William Butler lives & the great Road leading to French Creek. It is my will & I do order & direct that my Executor hereinafter named grant & convey the same in the same manner & for the same purposes as is above directed concerning the above lands I bought from Jonas Seely.

Item. Whereas I stand seized of a certain Grist Mill in the County of Philadelphia known by the name of the Valley Mill & of a small piece of ground thereunto belonging bounded & described as follows, Viz. beginning at the Valley Creek where the Great road crosses it, thence along the same road towards Philadelphia by the Gardens to the fence of the field on the North side of the said road fence along the said fence to the barn-yard, thence along the fence between the garden & said barn-yard to the road leading to Schuylkill thence along the same road to the other side of the barnyard next Schuylkill & thence up the barn-yard fence through the field to the middle of the old orchard in the Hollow, thence by a straight line to Schuylkill thence up Schuylkill to the mouth of the Valley Creek to the place of beginning. And whereas I have also a tract of land supposed to contain about 40 acres situate & lying between the Great Road leading from the Valley Creek to Philadelphia & a road leading to the plantations of a certain David Stephen & whereas I have also reserved & am entitled unto for me my heirs & assigns forever the free use & benefit of the water running to the said mill with full liberty of cleansing & repairing the Race & amending & keeping in repair the dam at all times when necessary, It is my will & I do hereby order & direct my Executor hereafter named within a convenient time after my decease to make sale of the said Mill & Lands with the privileges above mentioned & all & singular other the Hereditaments & appurtenances whatsoever thereunto belonging.

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Item. It is my will & I do hereby order & direct my Executor hereinafter named to make sale of my plantation & tract of about 96 acres of land which I bought from George Palmer situate near the Falls of Schuylkill a convenient time after my decease.

Item. I give & devise unto my son David & unto his heirs and assigns forever my house & lot in Water St. in the city of Philadelphia wherein my son David now lives (which I purchased from James Child) with the wharf A- stores thereunto belonging he paying unto my Executor the sum of two thousand pounds, & in case neither my son David (or on my his refusal) none of my other children will take the said premises at that valuation it is my will & I order & direct my Executor to make sale thereof for the best price that can be got for the same.

Item. It is my will & I order & direct my Executor hereinafter named to make sale of a certain house & lot of ground which I bought from Thomas Rutter situate on Second St. in the city of Philadelphia & adjoining Church Alley together with all the buildings & appurtenances thereunto belonging. And if any of my children shall choose to purchase the same, I order & direct my Executor hereinafter named to convey it to such Child for a reasonable price to be ascertained & fixed by my said Executor & two judicious Freeholders as is hereinbefore mentioned.

Item. It is my will & I do order & direct my Executor hereinafter named to sell my two small tracts of land adjoining - Schinkel in Chester County containing about 47 acres.

Item. Whereas I have a tract of 212 acres of Land in York County for the sale of which I entered into covenants with a certain Samuel Harris & at the same time promised the said Harris to wait for the purchase money three or four years upon his paying annually the interest thereof

It is my will & I do hereby order & empower my Executor hereinafter named to convey the said tract of land in fee simple unto the said Samuel Harris upon his performance of the covenants on his part contained in the articles of agreement between us, but if the said Harris shall not comply with his agreement & pay off the purchase money I empower & direct my Executor to make sale of the said tract of land hereditaments & appurtens thereunto belonging.

Item. Whereas I purchased from William Allen Esq. an old right for 100 acres of land which was to be located upon a bank of iron ore at the Path Valley in the Co. of Cumberland for myself John Hughes & John Armstrong in company, & whereas a large quantity of land was surveyed near the same place for the use of the said company, it is my will & I order & direct my Executor to secure & manage the same for the general benefit of my estate or make the sale thereof as he shall judge most proper & advantageous.

Item. As to my estate in the Colony of Virginia which I hold in company with John Lesher & Lewis Stephen & which is now under the management of the said Lesher, it is my will & I do order & direct that the Iron works now erecting on the said Estate by Sd company be carried on by my Executor hereinafter named for the general benefit & advantage of all my children until my youngest Son shall attain the age of 21

110 - Second Generation.

years. But if at any time hereafter during the minority of my said youngest Son a majority of my sons of full age shall agree & determine it to be for the advantage of my children that the same shall be sold in such case I hereby order & empower my Executor to make sale of all my said lands & other Estate whatsoever in the said Colony of Virginia. And I do hereby in that case give full power & authority unto my Executor hereinafter named by good & sufficient Deed or Deeds well & truly to grant convey the same unto such person or persons as shall purchase the same or any part thereof fee simple. And in case any of my children shall incline to purchase the same I order & direct my Executor to grant the same lands & premises unto such child for such price as my said Executor & two judicious freeholders shall deem the same to be worth but not until after a majority of my sons of full age shall adjudge it best to sell the same.

Whereas I have agreed & bargained with my sons Samuel & John for the sale of all my estate interest & title of in & to Warwick furnace & the lands ores hereditaments & appurtenances thereunto belonging in the County of Chester & of all my estate interest & title of in & to the Valley Forge with the lands hereditaments & appurtenances thereto belonging (the Valley Mill & the lands & privileges hereinbefore mentioned only excepted) in the Counties of Philadelphia & Chester for the sum of four thousand five hundred pounds which said sum of money should have been paid to me the 1st day of April A. D. 1765 with interest from that time : It is my will &- I do give & devise for the consideration afsd Unto my Sons Samuel & John & unto their heirs & assigns forever all my estate title interest property claim & demand whatsoever of into & out of the said Furnace forge land hereditaments & appurtenances thereunto respectively belonging (except as before excepted) they paying the residue of the said four thousand five hundred pounds with the interest as afsd

Item. I give & devise unto my beloved wife Ruth the yearly sum of two hundred pounds during her natural life to be paid to her by my Executor hereafter named by Quarterly payments. I also give & devise unto my said wife during her natural life my house & lots in Pottsgrove wherein my son Samuel lately dwelt with the buildings thereunto belonging I also give unto my said wife during her natural life any two of my three negro girls Margaret Nancy & Flora, together with such & so much household furniture as she shall want with two cows & a horse to be chosen out of my stock. And it is my will that the same legacies so given to my said wife shall be & I do declare the same to be in full lieu & satisfaction of all dower or right of Thirds.

Item. I give & devise unto my sister Elizabeth Walker the sum of ten pounds yearly & every year during her natural life to be paid to her by my Executor hereinafter named.

Item. I give & bequeath unto my son Thomas seven hundred & fifty pounds to be paid to him over & above his distributive share of my estate.

Item. I give & bequeath to my son David the like sum of seven hundred and fifty pounds over & above his distributive share of my estate.

Item. I give & bequeath unto each of my sons Samuel, Joseph, Isaac, James & Jesse the sum of two hundred & fifty pounds to be paid to them respectively over & above their respective share of my estate.

Second Generation. - 111

My reasons for giving my sons- Thomas & David more than either of my other children is in consideration of the heavy loss which my son Thomas sustained by Thomas Yorke's failing in trade,.& in consideration of a hurt which my son David received by a stroke of a mare. And the reasons why I have given my sons John & Jonathan less than my other sons is on account of the extraordinary expense I have been put to for their education, & I have given my sons more than my daughters being of opinion that as sons they are justly entitled to more.

Item. I give unto Son Thomas my gold watch, being the child of my youth.

Item. It is my will & I order that my negroes shall not he sold at public sale but appraised & divided among my children or to such of them as shall agree & choose them.

Item. I order that whoever of my sons shall take my plantation whereon I live shall pay to his brothers & sisters their respective shares of the six thousand pounds at which I hive valued it within six years after my decease without interest & by equal annual payments.

Item. I order in case of my son David (or on his refusal any of my other children) who shall take the house wharf & stores hereinbefore valued at two thousand pounds shall pay to his brothers & sisters their respective share of the said Two thousand pounds within four years after my decease without interest by equal annual payments.

Item. Whereas I have already advanced & given unto my son Thomas the -sum of one thousand & twelve pounds, unto my son Samuel the sum of one thousand & twelve pounds, unto my son John the sum of one thousand & twelve pounds, unto my son David the sum of one thousand one hundred pounds, unto my son Joseph the sum of twelve hundred & thirty pounds, unto my daughter Martha Rutter the sum of nine hundred & fifty pounds, and unto my son Jonathan the sum of five hundred pounds.

It is my will & I do order & direct that the said sums of money so advanced by me to them respectively shall be deemed & taken as part of their several & respective shares of my estate & that they be charged respectively therewith.

Item. It is my will & I do order& direct that all my estate real &-personal be equally divided share & share alike by & between all my children except the legacies herein before particularly bequeathed.

Item. It is my will & I do order & direct that if any of my children die in his or her minority the share of such child so dying shall be equally divided by and between his or her surviving brothers and sisters.

Item. it is my will & I do order & direct that as soon as may be after my decease all sums of money which shall be collected by my Executor from the sale of my lands or otherwise shall be divided & the shares of my children of full age be paid to them respectively & the shares of my minor children put out to interest on good security.

Item. It is my will & I order & direct that my minor children be brought up & educated Out of my general estate until a dividend be made without any deduction to be made from the share of such minor children, & from & after such dividend then my minor children shall be maintained & educated out of the interest money arising from the share of such dividend.

112 - Second Generation.

Item. I do by these presents constitute nominate & appoint my son Samuel to be my sole Executor of this my last will & testament, & I do give by these presents unto my said Executor full & ample power & authority to grant bargain & sell all & singular the premises hereinbefore mentioned in manner hereinbefore directed & deed or deeds for the same or every part thereof in fee simple to give & grant & execute hereby ratifying & confirming this as my last will & testament & utterly revoking all other will or wills by me heretofore made.

Item. Whereas my said Son Samuel whom I have made & constituted Executor of this my last will & testament is considerably indebted to me it- is my will & I do hereby declare that my appointing him my Executor shall not be taken or deemed as an extinguishment or gift of the said debt but it is my will that be shall pay & account for the same together with the rest of my estate.

To remove any suspicions or uneasiness which any of my children may entertain from my appointing my son Samuel my Executor in preference to the rest I here mention my reasons, because he is more particularly acquainted with the state of my affairs & being so near me & not being so deeply engaged in business as my other children he will be more at liberty to attend to the affairs of my estate & bring them to a more speedy settlement.

In testimony of this being my last will & testament I have hereunto set my hand &

seal this 24th day of April 1767.

JOHN POTTS.L. S.

Signed sealed published & declared by the said

JOHN POTTS as in & for his last will & testament

in the presence of us (the words "during the minority

of my said youngest son" in the 7th page &

the words " at public sale " & 11 without interest "

on the 10th page & the words " or her " on the 11th

page having been first interlined.)

Wm DEWEES JUS.

THOMAS DEWEES JUS.

DAVID POTTS Jus.

Philadelphia June 16th 1768. Personally appeared Thomas Dewees & David Potts two of the witnesses to the foregoing will and on oath did declare that they saw and heard John Potts the testator therein named sign seal publish & declare the same will for and as his last will and testament, and that at the doing thereof be was of sound and disposing mind, memory and understanding to the best of their knowledge and belief

Coram

BENJAMIN CHEW - Reg Gen

Exr Affd4 June 16th 1768

1767

Copy of the will of John Potts of Pottsgrove decd

Recorded at Philadelphia Book 0. Page 245

Executed April 23 d 1767

Proved June 16th 1768

Second Generation. - 113

Philadelphia ss. Personally came before me Enoch Davis Esq. one of His Majesty's justices &c. for the said County, Henry Pawling Esq. & George Douglass Esq,. who being duly sworn on the Holy Evangelist & Mr. Thomas Hockley on his solemn affirmation that they will make a true & concianable appraisement & inventory of all & singular the personal estate of John Potts Esq. late of Douglass township in the County aforesaid deceased to the best of their skill & knowledge.

Subscribed before me the 20th of June 1768 EN0CH DAVIS

inventory taken as follows, Vizt

HENRY PAWLING

GEORGE DOUGLASS

THOS HOCKLEY

Second Generation. - 117

7. Martha Potts (30) was born about 1720, and when only sixteen years of age she was married to Thomas Yorke. He had come from Yorkshire, England, when a young man, and went up to the iron-works on the Manatawny to act as a clerk to her father. "This eminent family," says Burke, has been for many generations seated in the county of York, and ever maintained a leading position amongst its great landed proprietors. Bewerly Hall, near Ripon, was the family seat." Sir John Yorke, Knt., was Lord Mayor of London, and was one of the trustees named in the will of Richard Whittington (so well known in nursery story) to manage his hospital. He had ten sons, two of whom, Edward and Edmund, became vice-admirals in the English Navy, and received the honor of knighthood. There is little doubt that Thomas was descended from one of the sons above named. He seems to have been interested in the vessels owned by the Province, as I find in 1761 he is empowered to sell the Province ship, and hold a sort of admiralty court. His eldest son was named Edward, and was. wounded in a naval engagement early in the Revolution. He was connected with Lord Gambier, one of the Lords of the Admiralty in England. All the above facts point towards this descent.

Thomas Yorke was appointed justice of the Peace in 1745. In 1759 he was selected by Governor Denny as one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas, and, like his brother-in-law, John Potts, was superseded by the writ issued in 1761. In 1747 he was lieutenant-colonel of a regiment raised for the defense of the Province in the French and Indian war.

In 1757 and 1758 he represented Berks County in the Provincial Assembly; he afterwards removed to Philadelphia.

Martha died about 1741, leaving two sons, and her husband married for his second wife her cousin Margaret Robeson, who dying, he contracted a marriage with Mary Robeson,* the niece of the second.

(1) Her sister married Lord Gambier of the British Navy. General Reidesel mentions in his letters that when the vessels with the Hessian troops lay off Spithead, he dined with Lord de Gambier, Commissary of the Docks of the city of Portsmouth. This must have been James Gambier of the Board of Admiralty, and the husband of Miss Robeson, whose title was one of courtesy. He was uncle to Lord Gambier, who was elevated to the peerage in 1807.

118 - Second Generation.

Thomas Yorke died June 24, 1764, and is buried among the Robeson family in Perkiomen churchyard. The following is the inscription on his tombstone:

"In memory of

Thomas Yorke, Esq'r

Who departed this life June

the 23 d 1764 aged 56 years."

I am informed by the Rector of this church (St. James) that the old parish register is lost, and I am unable to say whether the grave at his right hand, without a stone, is that of Martha or his second or third wife. He had issue by each wife, and left nine children. I give the descent only of the children of Martha, the first wife.

8. Thomas Potts (32) 2) born about 1721. He was brought up at Colebrookdale, and early interested in the iron-works there. By his marriage in 1742 with Rebeccah, daughter of Thomas and Mary Catherine Rutter, he became part owner of that place, with his father. By the early death of Thomas Rutter, Jr., his daughter and young son of the same name inherited a large property there. In his will, dated 1734, and proved the same year, she is mentioned as under six-teen years of age, and is appointed executrix, from which we must infer that she possessed some business ability. He left her "all those 500 acres of land lying between the river Scbuylkill and Manatawny."

Rebeccah's mother was of Huguenot descent, if not actually born in France; her maiden name I have been unable to learn.

Thomas Potts, at the death of his father, in 1752, complied with the terms of his will, and purchased the two thirds of Colebrookdale Furnace, and part of the land and mines, at L800. He continued to reside there and carry on those works until his death.

Rebeccah dying soon after 1750, he married for a second wife, Deborah, daughter of William Pyewell, (1) a distinguished merchant of Philadelphia

(1) William Pyewell was an active member of Christ Church, Philadelphia, and for a long series of years one of its wardens. He is buried with his wife and mother in the graveyard of that, church. The partly defaced inscription on his tombstone is as follows:

In memory of

Mary Katherine Pyewell

wife of William Pyewell

_____ the 24 176_

Mrs. Catherine Py____

. . . . . . . . . . .

____________1765

William Pyewell

who departed this life

March the 24th 1769

Aged 84 years."

The record of the church states that William Pyewell's wife was buried 24th September, 1762.

Second Generation. - 119

She was a step-sister of his first wife, for Mr. Pyewell had married Mary Catherine, the widow of Thomas Rutter, before March, 1738, as at that date he, with his wife, filed the account of the estate of the deceased.

Thomas Potts's name is signed to the marriage certificate of his brother John, and he appears to have also written that of his younger brother David. In legal documents he is called junior, as his father had been. He died at Colebrookdale, April 21, 1762. His widow married, for a second husband, Caleb Hughes.

WILL OF [8] THOMAS POTTS.

Be it remembered that I Thomas Potts of Colebrookdale do make this my last Will Testament in manner following that is to say first I order my part of Spring Forge with lands thereunto belonging & my part of Mount Pleasant Lands with my Plantation & Lands between Schuylkill & Manatawny to be sold & the money arising therefrom after my just debts are paid to be divided among my seven children, reserving fifty pounds more for each of my sons than my daughters And it is my will that my house in Philadelphia be sold & divided amongst my first wife's children after my Daughter Magdalena arrives at the age of 18 years, & I order my part of the Furnace (1) with lands together with the house & lands I now live on to be rented out till my son David arrives at the age of 21 years, & then if he inclines to rent to have the refusal, & it is my will that my Mother be paid out of the rent of my Furnace 30 pounds a year, it being the money ordered by my Father's will, which money I undertook to pay during her life, and I further order that my Mother have privilege to cut fire-wood off my land adjoining the furnace during her life.

(1) Meaning Colebrookdale.

120 -. Second Generation.

It is my will that my beloved wife Deborah Potts receive the rent of my furnace for bringing up my children till the youngest arrives at the age of 14 years at which time I order my Executors hereafter named to sell the same if they think it will be most to the advantage of my wife & children, and I do constitute & appoint my beloved friends William Dewees sr. (of Whitemarsh) esq. & Thomas Rutter to be my Executors to this my last will & testament.

In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & Seal this 20th day of April 1762.

THOMAS POTTS.

witnesses

DERRICK CLEAVER

LEWIS WALKER Proved at Reading Berks Co.

JOHN CLEAVER 26th, day of April, A. D. 1762.

9. David Potts, born about 1722, was brought up at Colebrookdale. In 1743 his father gave him possession of one full and undivided sixth part in a certain furnace and forge commonly called Mount Pleasant, and of and in several tracts of land thereunto belonging." This place was on Perkiomen Creek, about thirteen miles above Pottstown, and is now the terminus of the branch railroad from that borough through Colebrookdale and Boyertown. No remains of this old furnace and forge are now visible; but from the time David was of age until his death, he probably carried on this establishment, which was advantageously situated. Spring Forge, which he also owned, lay between Mount Pleasant and Colebrookdale. He also received by his father's will " a plantation situate at Colebrookdale on which I formerly lived, containing 250 acres be the same more or less with the appurtenances at L500."

David married Rebeccah, daughter of John and Mary Rutter, and granddaughter of the first Thomas Rutter. Her father died in 1735, and this daughter and his son Thomas are mentioned in his will; also "my iron-works called Colebrookdale and forge called Rutter's Forge." David died very soon after his father, April 18, 1752. Letters of administration to his estate were granted to his widow Rebeccah, and the inventory filed describes his interest in Mount Pleasant Furnace and Spring Forge. He died without issue.

It will be. seen by the preceding account that the three sons of Thomas Potts married the daughters of three different children of the first Thomas Rutter.