John Potts (c. 1710 – 6 June 1768) was the founder of the town of Pottstown, Pennsylvania.History of Pottstown from Pottstown Official Website
(accessed March 30, 2011) He was also an ironmaster, merchant, and English Quaker. John Potts, oldest son of Thomas and Martha (Keurlis) Potts, was born about 1710, probably in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. He married Ruth Savage, daughter of Samuel and Ann (Rutter) Savage, on 11 April 1734. The marriage was accomplished after the manner of Friends, though not under their care or jurisdiction. John and Ruth had the following children: Thomas, b. 1735, Samuel, b. 1736; John, b. 1738; Martha, b. 1739–40; David, b. 1741; Joseph, b. 1742; Jonathan, b. 1745; Anna, b. 1747;

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...

, b. 1750; James, b. 1752; Rebeccah, b. 1755; Jesse, b. c. 1757; Ruth, b. 1759. John Potts, like his father, was an enterprising businessman, and for many years was the largest and most successful iron-master in the American Colonies, operating mines, furnaces and forges in Pennsylvania and Virginia. He long filled the office of Justice of the Peace, and was also a Judge of the Court

Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

. In 1752, he purchased two tracts of land at the confluence of the

Manatawny Creek Manatawny Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keystone Can ...

and

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...

, aggregating nearly 1,000 acres. There he laid out the town of Pottstown.

Pottsgrove Manor

In 1752, Potts built a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

style home, Pottsgrove Manor, in Pottstown, which was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1974. The house has been restored and is now an 18th-century

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

owned by Montgomery County.

References

External links

History of PottstownPottsgrove Manor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, John People of colonial Pennsylvania 1710 births Year of death unknown 1768 deaths Colonial American merchants 18th-century Quakers