Richard Potts (July 19, 1753November 26, 1808) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

Early life and career

Potts was born in

Upper Marlboro, Maryland Upper Marlboro, officially the Town of Upper Marlboro, is the seat of Prince George's County, Maryland. Aso of the 2020 census, the population was 652. although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger. Etymology Upper Marlboro was establ ...

, and lived there until he moved with his family to the Barbados Islands in 1757. He returned to Maryland and settled in the state capital of

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

in 1761, where he studied law. He commenced the practice of law in

Frederick County, Maryland Frederick County is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Maryland. At the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 271,717. The county seat is Frederick. Frederick County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ...

in 1775. Potts served as a member of the committee of observation for Frederick County in 1776 and as military aide to the

Governor of Maryland The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

in 1777.

Law career

Potts served as clerk of the Frederick County court from 1777 to 1778, and as prosecuting attorney for Frederick, Montgomery, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Counties in 1784. He was appointed by President

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

as United States attorney for Maryland, and served from 1789 to 1791. He was a delegate to the Maryland State Convention of 1788, to vote whether Maryland should ratify the proposed

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

. Potts also served as a member of the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

in 1781, and as member of the Maryland convention which ratified the Constitution of the United States in 1788. From 1791 to 1793 and again from 1796 to 1801, Potts served as chief judge of the fifth judicial circuit of the State. He was later appointed associate justice of the

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland is the state supreme court, highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The cou ...

, a position he served in from 1801 to 1804.

Political career

Potts' political career included two terms in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

from 1779 to 1780, and again from 1787 to 1788. He declined the nomination to be elected to the

Maryland State Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...

in 1787, but served as a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

in 1792. He was elected to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Charles Carroll of Carrollton Charles Carroll (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III, was an Irish-American politician, planter, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He was the only Catholic sign ...

and served from January 10, 1793, to October 24, 1796, when he also resigned. Potts declined an appointment as Secretary of State in 1795. Potts died in Frederick in 1808, and was interred in All Saints’ Parish Cemetery until his reinterment in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, Richard 1753 births 1808 deaths People from Upper Marlboro, Maryland People of colonial Maryland Continental Congressmen from Maryland Pro-Administration Party United States senators from Maryland Federalist Party United States senators from Maryland 1792 United States presidential electors Members of the Maryland House of Delegates Judges of the Maryland Court of Appeals United States Attorneys for the District of Maryland People of Maryland in the American Revolution