Martha Potter

This George Potter is often incorrectly connected as a father to Potters who appear in Rhode Island during the Puritan Great Migration of 1621-40, specifically Nathaniel Potter, Robert Potter, and George Potter.

Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-155192

There is not much known about Martha, wife of George Potter of the City of London, England. She has been assumed to have been Martha Weeden, but that is unproven.

Of the at least 16 christening records of the various George Potters of London, ten of them occured at Fleet Street, and only two actually name the mother as Martha:

Will. Potterr [William Potter], son of George and Martha, baptized 2 Mar 1616 at St. Bride, Fleet Street.[1]
Nathaniel Potter, son of George and Martha Potter, baptized 7 Apr 1622 at St. Bride, Fleet Street.[2] This is not the immigrant to America who was an inhabitant of Aquidneck (the island of Rhode Island) in 1638, and on 30 April 1639 one of the twenty-nine signers of the Compact reincorporating Portsmouth or the man who married Dorothy Wilbore and died in Rhode Island about 1644 as that Nathaniel would have had to have been born before 1618 to have been showing up in records in 1638/9.
A Martha is named in the will of George Potter, sadler, January 1628/9 at St. Bride, Fleet Street, London[3].

It is unknown if the Sadler's wife is the same Martha as the Martha of the two Potter children of Fleet Street.

A George Potter, sadler of St. Sepulchre, London, had a marriage license 6 Dec 1604 to marry an Elizabeth Straunge, widow of George Straunge, in London.[4] This source also lists Benjamin Potter as a sadler at St. Sepulchre who married Elizabeth Tuttle 23 Jan 1625/6 and is possibly George's brother or son.

If George the sadler who married Elizabeth Straunge was the same George the sadler who died and left a wife named Martha, how many of George's children were Martha's and how many Elizabeth's?

'Martha Potter

Date of marriage has also been (erroneously?) reported to be circa 1607.

current theory:

m1. George Potter m2. John Potter, brother of George

see notes under daughter Susannah (Potter) Anthony for clear (mostly) explanation

links

• http://www.ourfamilyhistories.org/getperson.php?personID=I12665&tre...
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_map_of_the_colony_of_Rhod...