John Potts (or Pott) was a
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and Colonial Governor of Virginia at the
Jamestown settlement in the
Virginia Colony
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
in the early 17th century.
Biography
John Potts is said to have taken his degree of
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
, at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
in 1605. He was recommended as physician to the
Virginia Company of London
The London Company, officially known as the Virginia Company of London, was a division of the Virginia Company with responsibility for colonizing the east coast of North America between latitudes 34° and 41° N.
History Origins
The territor ...
by the eminent Dr.
Theodore Gulston, the founder of the
Gulstonian Lectureship of the
London College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...
. In the minutes of the Virginia Company of July 16, 1621, is the following entry:
"For so much as the Phisicons place to the Company was now become voyde by reason of the untimely death of Dr. Bohune, slaine in the fight with two Spanish Shipps of Warr the 19th of March last, Dr. Gulstone did now take occasion to recommend unto the Company for the said place one Mr. Potts, a Master of Arts, well practised in Chirurgerie and Physique, and expert also in distillinge of waters."
Dr. Potts and his wife Elizabeth sailed from London aboard the ''George'' in March 1619. The ''George'' was a 150-ton sailing vessel with
William Ewen
William Ewen (April 15, 1720 – January 24, 1777) was the first president of the Council of Safety of Georgia during the American Revolution. He is considered the state's first chief executive, although the first chief executive under a proper co ...
as the master. After a two-month passage the vessel arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, in May 1619.
In 1623, Dr. Potts gained notoriety as the individual who prepared the poison served the
Native Americans during a "peace ceremony" at Jamestown, killing 200 of them in retaliation for the
Indian Massacre of 1622
The Indian massacre of 1622, popularly known as the Jamestown massacre, took place in the English Colony of Virginia, in what is now the United States, on 22 March 1622. John Smith, though he had not been in Virginia since 1609 and was not an ey ...
which killed nearly a third of the colonists the preceding year. However, after thorough investigation, Pott was cleared of the charge and restored to his Council seat. The mystery was never solved. In 1625, he was commissioned a member of the Governor's Council, in which office he continued a number of years. In 1628 he was chosen Governor, and held the position from 1629 until the early part of 1630, when, being accused of stealing cattle, he was superseded by Sir
John Harvey John Harvey may refer to:
People Academics
* John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician
* John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...
. Pott(s) was convicted for cattle theft by the Council on July 9, 1630.
The jury for the trial, however, was totally subservient to the obvious wishes of Sir John Harvey. Pott was found guilty and confined to his plantation, Harrop, the first settlement in the area of what is now
Williamsburg, where he learned that his entire estate was to be confiscated. Further sentencing was suspended "until his Majestie's pleasure" be known. Governor Harvey now faced a sensitive political problem. He fervently desired that Pott be dishonored and banished from the colony. The physician, however, had much popular support and, in addition, his skills as a physician were still desperately required by the colony. Pott's wife rose from her sickbed and returned to England to plead her husband's case before the king. Apparently Harvey had little choice but to extricate himself from a difficult political situation as gracefully as possible. The governor therefore appealed to the king to pardon Dr. Pott, "as he was by far the best physician in the colony ... skilled in epidemicals." Pott was subsequently pardoned, his estate was returned, and he resumed his medical practice in the colony.
[Charles E. Horton, Jr. and Charles E. Horton, M.D., "John Pott: America's First Physician-Governor and Revolutionary" Vol. 59, No. 7, p. 682, September 1983]
Dr. Potts had a
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
which he called "Harrop," and which he may have so named in honor of his ancestral home. Harrop in
Cheshire, England
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county town ...
was the place of residence of some of the Potts at that period. This plantation, patented in 1631, may be related to the Harrop Parish of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
established in
James City County
James City County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,254. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the adjacent independent city of Williamsburg.
Located ...
in 1644, which years later became part of
Bruton Parish
Bruton Parish Church is located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1674 by the consolidation of two previous parishes in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Epis ...
.
On July 12, 1632, Dr. Potts obtained a patent for at the head of
Archer's Hope Creek
College Creek (formerly named Archer's Hope Creek) is located in James City County in the Virginia Peninsula area of the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia in the United States. From a point of origin near the independent city of Will ...
. Part of this land was to become a fortified palisade across the peninsula. In February, 1633, it was enacted by the General Assembly that a fortieth part of the men in "the compasse of the forest" east of Archer's Hope and Queen's Creek to
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
(essentially all of the lower peninsula) should be present "before the first day of March next" at Dr. John Potts' plantation, "newlie built," to erect houses and secure the land in that quarter.
With this labor, palisades, six miles (10 km) in length, were run from creek to creek, and, on the ridge between, a settlement to be called
Middle Plantation was made. The doctor would have certainly recognized the sanitary advantages of the country around Middle Plantation. As the ridge between the creeks was remarkably well drained, there were few
mosquitoes
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "litt ...
. The deep ravines penetrating from the north and south made the place of much strategic value. Also, the only practical road down the Peninsula was over this ridge, and this road was easily defended. At Middle Plantation, some years later, this road was later to be called
Duke of Gloucester Street
Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...
. The town of Middle Plantation was renamed
Williamsburg in 1699.
Dr. Potts is believed to have had no children, and apparently died prior to 1645.
References
Potts family history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pott, John
17th-century English medical doctors
17th-century American physicians
Colonial governors of Virginia
People from Jamestown, Virginia
Poisoners
Virginia Governor's Council members
Year of birth unknown