Michael Potter was a covenanter. He graduated from Edinburgh on 27 July 1663. He was licensed to preach the gospel in the year 1673. He was a tutor to the family of George, the Laird of Dunglass of that ilk. He was ordained by presbytery for the adherents in the parish of St. Ninians in 1673. He was elected a schoolmaster to

Culross Culross (/ˈkurəs/) (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cuileann Ros'', 'holly point or promontory') is a village and former royal burgh, and parish, in Fife, Scotland. According to the 2006 estimate, the village has a population of 395. Originally, Culross ...

by the magistrates. This led to them being summoned before the Privy Council in 1677.

Retreat to Holland

After this, the fury of the persecution drove him to Holland for shelter at two different times.

Arrest

He returned from his second retreat to that country in 1680, and was apprehended about November 1681 in his own house at Borrowstounness, whence he was carried to

Blackness Castle Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by Sir George Crichton in the 1440s. At this time, Blacknes ...

the first night, and the next day to the tolbooth of Edinburgh. There he continued a close prisoner till early in the year 1683, when by the orders of the Council he was carried to the

Bass Rock The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), ( gd, Creag nam Bathais or gd, Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcan ...

for keeping

conventicles A conventicle originally signified no more than an assembly, and was frequently used by ancient writers for a church. At a semantic level ''conventicle'' is only a good Latinized synonym of the Greek word church, and points to Jesus' promise in M ...

, for disorderly ordination, and for refusing to engage to live orderly in future. He entered this dungeon in February, 1683; preaching at conventicles was his only crime. Potter was imprisoned in Edinburgh and on the

and was only released on 17 March 1685 under Act of Banishment thereby leaving the kingdom. However after remaining quiet at home he gained the liberty granted by

King James VII James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

which relieved him from the necessity of obeying the sentence.

On release

After the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

, he was first minister of

Bo'ness Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Falki ...

from 7 December 1687, and then of

Dunblane Cathedral Dunblane Cathedral is the larger of the two Church of Scotland parish churches serving Dunblane, near the city of Stirling, in central Scotland. The lower half of the tower is pre- Romanesque from the 11th century, and was originally free-standi ...

1692; he was also a member of the assembly that year. He died in 1718 sometime between 28 October and 25 November aged 76. The New Statistical Account lists him as being called to

Ecclesmachan Ecclesmachan (Gaelic: ''Eaglais Mhachain'') (Welsh: ''Eglwys Machan'') (NT058736) is an historic village in West Lothian. It lies just north of Uphall on the B8046 road. The village is notable for its medieval origin parish church. As at 2001, ...

in 1693 before he was called to Dunblane. He had a son, Michael Potter (1670-1743), who was first minister at

Kippen Kippen is a village in west Stirlingshire, Scotland. It lies between the Gargunnock Hills and the Fintry Hills and overlooks the River Forth, Carse of Forth to the north. The village is west of Stirling and north of Glasgow. It is south-east ...

, and afterwards in 1740 filled the long empty chair vacated by Mr John Simson in 1729 as Professor of Divinity in the University of Glasgow, but did not long fill that chair, having died in November 1743. His granddaughter married

James Baine James Baine (1710–1790) was one of the ministers of the secession from the Church of Scotland which took the name of the Relief Church. Life Baine was the son of the parish minister of Bonhill, Dumbartonshire, and born in the manse there in 171 ...

, of the

Relief Church The Relief Church (or Presbytery of Relief) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination founded in 1761. In 1847 it united with the United Secession Church to form the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland. In relation to the history of the Church ...

Bibliography

*Wodrow's History *New Statistical Account of Scotland, ii. *Crichton's Memoirs of Blackadder *Dickson's Emeralds Chased in Gold.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Michael 17th-century Presbyterian ministers Covenanters Year of birth uncertain 1718 deaths Scottish prisoners and detainees Covenanting Prisoners of the Bass Rock 17th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland