William James Potter Papers mssPotterwj
Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
August 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: William James Potter papers
Creator:
Potter, William J.
(William James), 1829?-1893
Identifier/Call Number: mssPotterwj
Physical Description:
12.87 Linear Feet
(11 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1846-1949
Date (bulk): 1846-1876
Abstract: The papers of the American Unitarian
clergyman, editor, and writer William James Potter.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. William James Potter papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gifts of Mrs. Stedman Hoar, 1969 and 1976.
Biographical / Historical
William James Potter (1829?-1893) was an Unitarian clergyman, theologian, and author, one
of the founders of the Free Religious Association and the editor of The Index. William James
Potter was the son of William and Anna (Aiken) Potter, a Quaker family of North Dartmouth,
Massachusetts; Potter was educated at the Friends School in Providence, Rhode Island. In the
late 1840s, he taught school in Dartmouth and Bridgeport, Massachusetts. In 1850, Potter
entered Harvard College and upon his graduation in 1854, he briefly taught at Cambridge High
School, and in 1856 entered the Harvard Divinity School though he left before graduation.
Potter then traveled to Germany, Italy, and Switzerland before returning to the United
States and, in December 1859, was ordained and installed as minister of the First
Congregational Society in New Bedford, Massachusetts; he remained with his New Bedford
congregation until his retirement in 1892. As an ardent abolitionist, Potter was a strong
supporter of the Civil War; when he was drafted in 1863, he refused an offer to let wealthy
parishioners pay a substitute. Potter was detailed as inspector of military hospitals and
was later appointed chaplain to the Convalescent camp (later Camp Distribution), near
Alexandria, Virginia. Potter was discharged in August 1864, and returned to New Bedford. In
September 1863, William James Potter married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Claghorn Babcock (-1879),
daughter of Spooner Babcock and Lydia Delano Babcock; Lizzie was a teacher and member of the
congregation. The couple had two children: Anna Aiken (1864-) (mother of Conrad Aiken), and
Alfred Claghorn (1865-1940), author and Librarian at Harvard College. Lizzie's brother
Joseph Babcock was a successful shipping entrepreneur and a first cousin, Warren Delano II
(1809-1898), was one of the nation's wealthiest men.
Scope and Contents
A collection of approximately 489 items from 1846 to 1949, it consists of personal and
family papers of William James Potter, accumulated by Elizabeth Babcock Potter. The
collection includes journals, correspondence, a letter book, commonplace book, poems,
manuscripts, and ephemera. William James Potter's journals document his early career,
preceding his New Bedford ministry; the chaplain's notebook that he kept in 1863 contains
records of inspections of hospitals and military prisons, names, cases, and addresses of the
inmates. Correspondence includes the letters exchanged between William J. Potter and
Elizabeth Potter written between 1860 and 1870. There is also Elizabeth Potter's 1859-1860
letter book and letters from Elizabeth Potter to her mother Lydia Delano Babcock written
during her visit to Algonac, the Delano estate, near Newburg, in Orange County, New York, in
the summer and fall of 1856; as well as letters written during her stay with William James
Potter at Camp Distribution, near Alexandria, Virginia, from November 1863 through May 1864.
Also included are the Potters' correspondence with his sisters Mary Ann Potter Howland, Ruth
Potter Almy, and Ruby H. Potter Tillinghast. William James Potter's correspondence with his
friends, includes correspondents John Albee, Henry W. Brown, and George W. Bartlett (the
latter discusses Maine Civil War politics), and letters from Elizabeth's numerous friends
and colleagues. Also included is a group of letters from Elizabeth's brother, James Delano
Babcock who was engaged in the shipping business and China trade, written from San
Francisco, Singapore, Yokohama, and Sitka (Alaska) between 1856 and 1876. Elizabeth Babcock
Potter's manuscripts include her commonplace book from 1858 to 1865, a 1851 autograph book,
her poetry, mostly religious, and a notebook where she recorded stories of her children from
1869 to 1875. There is also a small group of fragments containing a collection of excerpts
from sermons of Andrew Preston Peabody; various notes for sermons, religious poetry, some by
Elizabeth Babcock Potter, fragments of letters to her and her parents, including a
description of a trip to Scotland (probably by her brother James) and a vivid account of
Morgan's first raid to Kentucky in July 1862 and Perryville campaign, written by a friend of
Elizabeth's, a Kentucky teacher.
Processing Information
Processed by Olga Tsapina in 2006. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created an electronic finding
aid derived from the earlier finding aid.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by author.
General
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssHM 37115-37536, mssHM 44040-44060,
and mssHM 48939. The collection is made up of the original 1969 gift and the 1976
addenda.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Brothers and sisters -- New England
Clergy -- New England
Military chaplains -- New England
Female friendship -- New England -- History -- 19th century
Mothers and daughters -- New England
Perryville, Battle of, Perryville, Ky.,
1862
Religious poetry, American
Sailors -- Massachusetts -- New Bedford
Spouses of clergy -- New England
Travelers' writings, American -- 19th century
Unitarians -- New England
Women -- New England
Alaska -- Description and travel
Germany -- Description and
travel
Italy -- Description and
travel
Japan -- Description and
travel
Maine -- History -- Civil War,
1861-1865
New Bedford (Mass.) -- History -- 19th century
New England -- Intellectual life -- 19th
century
New England -- Church history -- 19th century
New England -- History -- 19th century
Singapore -- Description and
travel
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 --
Chaplains
United States -- History -- Civil War,
1861-1865 -- Religious aspects
United States -- History -- Civil War,
1861-1865 -- Women
Commonplace books -- New England -- 19th century
Family papers -- New England -- 19th century
Journals (accounts) -- United States -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- Civil War,
1861-1865
Personal papers -- New England -- 19th century
Poems -- United States -- 19th century
Albee, John,
1833-1915
Almy, Ruth Potter
Babcock, James Delano
Babcock, Lydia Delano
Bartlett, George W.,
-1864
Brown, H. W. (Henry W.)
Howland, Mary Ann Potter
Potter, Alfred Claghorn,
1867-1940
Potter, Elizabeth Babcock, 1832-1879
Box 1
Correspondence: Albee-Brackett
Box 4
Elizabeth Potter-Lissie W. Potter
Box 5
Lissie W. Potter-William James Potter
Box 6
William James Potter to Elizabeth Potter
1863-1864, June 5
Box 7
William James Potter to Elizabeth Potter
1864 June 8-1865 December 10
Box 8
William James Potter to Elizabeth Potter; Humphrey Smith-unidentified
authors
Box 9
William James Potter journals
1846-1856 July 17
Box 10
William James Potter journals
1857 August-1863
Box 11
Elizabeth Potter commonplace book, letter book, poems, manuscripts, fragments,
and ephemera
