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��RICHARD POTTER.
��located all the servants' offices, after the manner of the South, and there, also, were all the sleeping-rooms.
Mr. Potter carried on extensive farm- ing operations, raised excellent crops, and cultivated choice breeds of cattle, horses and swine ; raising great numbers of the latter. The grounds about his house were tastefully laid out. well kept, and ornamented with a great variety and profusion of shrubs and flowers, of which both he and his wife were passionately fond.
Both of them affected considerable dis- play in dress, selecting rare and costly materials of foreign make, distinguished for rich and brilliant colors. In this each followed the characteristics of the peo- ple from which they sprung.
Stephen Fellows assured me that Pot- ter told him that Mrs. Potter was a full- blooded Penobscot-Indian squaw. If he did it was but one of his freaks of humor. No one, acquainted with the characteris- tics of the native American women, would probably ever have mistaken her for one of them. According to Mr. Goodwin, she was, when in her prime, a finely-formed, beautiful and graceful woman, who had an easy carriage, bright and expressive eyes, danced charmingly, and knew how to dress. She was intel- ligent, refined, well informed, engaging in her manners and conversation, and proud as a princess. She had a rich voice, and was a sweet singer. All the authorities above quoted agree without hesitation in declaring her a native of In- dia. It seems to have been always so understood by those who knew her best, and they had their information from her and her husband. Where, nobody knows, but somewhere in his travels, most likely while in Europe, Potter came across this brilliant and fascinating daughter of the East, and married her. He was fond and proud of her and cher- ished her with loyal affection, even after she had contracted habits which dis- graced both herself and him.
They had an only son and an only daughter. The former was a spendthrift and a drunkard; the latter a half-idiot, given to uncontrollable lewdness. It is
��said that the perpetual and untold shame and anguish of the proud and sensitive mother, because of the conduct and con- dition of her children, drove her to seek " some nepenthe to her soul " in the ob- livion of constant inebriation. Certain it is chat she became disqualified for all duties, either in public or at home ; caused her husband immeasurable trouble; in- dulged in scandalous extravagance, com- pelling him to seek remedy at law to pre- vent her from running him ruinously in debt; that her charming beauty and quick intelligence were utterly wrecked ; and that she died the victim of her own indulgence.
With unqualified confidence the same authorities all assert that Richard Potter was a native of one of the French West India Islands, the Franklin and Hindu stones to the contrary notwithstanding. His hair was soft and handsome, but it testified to his African extraction. He was once turned out of a hotel in Mo- bile, while Thompson of Andover trav- eled with him, by a landlord who would - not entertain a " nigger." Potter did not deny the charge, removed to another hotel, performed twelve nights in the town, and carried off $4,800 in silver, in a nail cask, as the net result. Learning that there was danger of being waylaid, he gave out that he was going to a certain place on a certain day, and departed the night previous in the opposite direc- tion. He was often called a mulatto, and never contradicted the aspersion. His
characteristics raise a strong suspicion of Creole origin.
He was proud, high spirited, courte- ous in deportment, independent, the soul of honor, generous and brave. As a cit- izen of Andover, to which town he came to remove his wife and children from the influences of city life, he was public spirited, honorable in business .prompt to pay, a kind neighbor and trusted friend. He was kind and liberal to the poor, and an early mover in the cause of temper- ance. He was a man of rare executive ability, of endless native resources, and possessed a mind enriched by experience, and well stored with information. His
wit was fertile, quick as thought and sharp as steel.
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