18 June 1935: Mary Potter arrives in Washington DC

Mary Potter kept a set of postcards in an envelope with the label "First Impressions of Washington." For some reason, she never mailed the cards.  She stayed the first night in the Lee House hotel, and kept these post cards and some stationery which later was used by George to write a letter.  She had already reported for work at the Department of Agriculture.

Card to Dora Potter Bremercamp, Mary's aunt.  Mary had stayed with Dora for a while in E. St. Louis. Dorothy Potter ("Dot") is evidently visiting Dora but will be back in Cabool soon.

Another card not sent to Mildred Lee, evidently Mary's landlady in St. Louis while Mary was working at a bank.

The travel arrangements which Mary Potter had made to Washington were preserved: receipts and timetables in her scrapbook show that  Mary had paid $18.00 for a ticket on the Pennsylvania Railroad #66 express, "The American," which left St. Louis on 9:00 AM Central time on June 16, 1935 and arrived in Pittsburgh about twelve-and-a-half hours later at 10:40 PM Eastern time.  The connecting train to Washington DC, #533, left Pittsburgh at 6:00 AM and arrived at Washington DC at 7:30 AM on June 17, as the postcard to Dora tells us.  Mary reported to work immediately.  At least "The American" was fully air-conditioned and had all amenities available, although Mary probably did not pay for such luxuries.

13 June 1817: George's great-grandfather George Valentine, whaler, comes ashore.

Two hundred years ago today, third great-grandfather George Claghorn Valentine returned from a ten-month whaling voyage on the brig Sally to the whaling grounds off the coast of Africa (probably south of Maderia).  He had signed on at age 18, the youngest member of the crew. He never went whaling again, instead moving to Collins, NY in 1835 with his wife (Mary Green, married 1821) and six children (four more were later born in NY).

A whaling brig christened Sally
(probably not the same one mentioned below)

This was not a particularly successful whaling voyage.  The captain, Fred Arthur, got ill and left the ship at some point. The remaining 13 crew members continued on but returned with only 250 barrels of whale oil, probably from ten or fiftten baleen ("right") whales.  The per-crew share, or "lay" is not listed for the Sally nor is anyone's rank below captain.  George probably got little, either way.

Note:  I believe the return date in the following Federal tables (13 June)
rather than the 16 June in this transcription, for what difference that makes.
Credit: New Bedford (MA) Library whaling archives

Detail of right-hand facing page of federal fisheries report, continuation of Sally's entry is underlined.

Source: Starbuck, A.: "History of the American Whale Fishery from its Earliest Days to the year 1876"
pages 218 and 219 (details) on https:archive.org/details/historyofamerica00star

Detail of left-hand page of federal fisheries report; Sally's entry  is underlined

1 June 1875: Truman Potter's Farm, Eden, NY

Mary Jane Valentine Potter, wife of Truman Potter
Photo from jacki Neitzke's collection

In 1875, while grandfather George Potter was being a baby down on his father David "Max" Potter's farm near French Creek, NY, David's father, mother and brothers were living about 70 miles north in Eden, Erie County, NY.

The New York agricultural census of 1875 took place on 1 June in both French Creek and Erie.  The tabulation of David Potter's farm was shown in the 10 April blog post commemorating George's 60th birthday.


Here, for comparison if nothing else, are the data for George's grandfather Truman Potter's farm in Eden NY.

The location of the farm is known from this 1866 atlas of Eden County.  Truman Potter's house is underlined in orange (at the intersection of today's Eden-Evans Center Road and Hemlock Road). The Valentine property underlined in blue is by 1875 in the charge of Truman's brother-in-law George C. Valentine, the elderly George Claghorn Valentine (the one-time whaler) having moved in with a daughter Harriet Valentine Hale and her family a bit west in Evans, NY.

credit: HistoricMapWorks.com, fair use claimed on this tiny excerpt of the map for genealogical purposes.
The cemetery at the right edge of the photo is where this generation ended up, for the most part.

In 1875, Truman Potter (53) still has sons George (23), Millard (17), Franklin (19), and Clinton (9) at home, so he has much more in the way of helpers than David "Max" (25) and Mary (19) with their babies and one hired man on his farm.

Truman Potter's farm was about three times as large as David's at 75 acres, of which 60 were "improved" and 10 in "wood and timber" with 5 "unimproved".  The value of the farm was $3750, with buildings $400 and stock $469 with $100 in tools and implements.  He had had gross sales of $300 in 1874 (about $6500 in current dollars, to the extent such comparisons are meaningful, and a total value for the farm and contents approaching $80,000 in current dollars).

The Truman Potter family had powed 10 acres in 1874 and 12 in 1875, from which they had harvestd 46 bushels of winter wheat, 104 bushels of oats, 140 bushels of potatoes.  There were 60 apple trees, yielding 110 bushels of fruit, some of which turned into 4 barrels of cider (presumably the hard kind).

There were six milk cows in 1874 and seven in 1875 with 2 heifer calves in 1874 but none in 1875.  Milk was sent to the factory in unspecified units of 6 in 1874 and 7 in 1875. They produced 150 pounds of butter, in which they were much outdone by David's farm with 200 pounds from only two cows.

The cows were supported on 22 acres of pasture (30 in 1874) and 16 acres of meadow (14 in 1874) with 25 tons of hay gotten in during 1874.

The State of New York did not ask about chickens, pigs or other small animals, or about the production from home gardening, or about the horses which were surely needed to work the land.

Google Maps view of the site of Truman Potter's farm, looking in from the intersection of the two fronting roads.
Hemlock Road is the one running into the center distance.  There is an old house beyond the trees, but no nearly old enough to have housed these ancestors.

Confused yet?...George Henry Potter's immediate ancestors.  Ancestry.com tree.

Truman Potter, his children and their spouses:

-Truman POTTER (31)             b. 21 May 1822                   d.  7 Sep 1881

 s-Mary Jane VALENTINE (30)     b.  1 Jul 1831   m.  2 Jan 1848  d. 26 Aug 1904

  |-Maria M POTTER (48)         b.  8 Dec 1848                   d.        1925

  | s-Albert J. READ (355)      b.    Dec 1847   m.        1875  d.        1920

  |-David Henry POTTER (21)     b. 30 Mar 1850                   d.  2 Apr 1912

  | s-Mary M  HASBROUCK (20)    b.  9 May 1855   m. 25 Dec 1871  d. 28 Apr 1912

  |-George H POTTER (49)        b.    Feb 1852                   d.        1928

  | s-Emily M KESTER (357)      b.    May 1858   m.        1878  d.        1935

  |-Emma Jane POTTER (47)       b. 22 Feb 1854                   d. 22 Sep 1887

  | s-Burwell E HAWKINS (366)   b. 11 Jul 1849   m.        1889  d.  7 Nov 1934

  |-Franklin POTTER (51)        b.    Feb 1856                   d.        1916

  | s-Ellen PHILLIPPI (360)     b.    Jul 1858   m.        1878  d.        1942

  |-Millard POTTER (50)         b.        1858                   d.        1882

  |-Clinton POTTER (52)         b.  5 Oct 1865                   d. 27 Jun 1922

  | s-Eliza PHILLIPPI (365)     b.    Mar 1863   m.        1882  d.  8 Mar 1921

Mail Call: 27 May 1935 (Telegram from DC)

Telegram from Washington DC to Mary Potter in St. Louis confirming a job offer in Washington, DC on acceptable terms: $1440 per year and at least one year job security.

Telegraph form for response to above offer:
"P.L. Gladmon Chief Appointment Divn. Wash . DC.  Will accept appointment. Report June 17. Not married"

23 May 1935: Dorothy Potter graduates from Cabool High

Today in 1935, Dorothy Potter graduated from Cabool High School.  She was at loose ends after graduation and got a bit wild, as we will read in upcoming letters.  This program was originally posted by someone on the Cabool Early Residents group on Facebook; I have misplaced the original contributor's name for which apologies are offered.

Mail Call: 22 May 1935 (George)

Mary Potter in St. Louis, 1935

George Potter in Cabool, MO to his daughter Mary in St Louis.

Dave, Dorothy and Elaine ("Soph") are off to the the Cabool Junior-Senior Banquet or other dates as Dorothy will soon graduate..

Mary has been working on getting a permanent job in Washington DC for several months, and a suitable offer is about to come in...

George gives an un-subtle reminder of the need for cash on the farm; he is obligated to give the "dark side" of the story lest Mary think the farm is "too nice a place."

"Em" is George's sister Emma Potter Parker back in Corry, PA

Comment on back of the above letter....

Mary Potter in St. Louis, 1935 (street photographer)
on back:
"ain't it a mess?"
"ain't it a mess?"

Decoder for family members mentioned in letters: blue is to/from, red are mentions.  Crossouts are either deceased (Bessie Johnson, parents David and Mary) or out-of-contact and never mentioned.

-David Henry POTTER              b. 30 Mar 1850                 
 s-Mary Minerva HASBROUCK        b.  9 May 1855  m. 25 Dec 1871
  |-May Olivia POTTER            b.  4 Nov 1872   
  | s-Earl Brown                 b.  7 Apr 1870  m.  9 Mar 1890
  |-George Henry POTTER          b. 10 Apr 1875  
  | s-Gladys Effie HENRY         b. 25 Sep 1888  m.  8 Jul 1909
  |  |-Mary POTTER               b. 24 May 1911                 
  |  |-G Elaine POTTER  "Soph"   b. 13 Aug 1914         
  |  |-Dorothy J POTTER "Dot"    b. 17 Mar 1916  
  |  |-David M POTTER   "Dave"   b. 21 Aug 1918 
  |  |-Florence POTTER "Flapper" b. 30 Jun 1921
  |  |-Marjorie A POTTER "Peg"   b. 23 Dec 1923
  |-Emma Jane POTTER "Em"        b. 26 Feb 1878
  | s-Silas W PARKER "Si"        b. 14 Feb 1873  m. 25 Dec 1895  
  |  |-Lucille PARKER            b. 25 Dec 1897                 
  |-Charles William POTTER       b. 20 Sep 1880         
  | s-Alyce E SNYDER             b. 27 Jan 1884  m. 22 Sep 1906  
  |  |-Allyce Clare POTTER       b. 16 Jan 1910  
  |  |-Marjorie Janet POTTER     b. 19 Feb 1911                  
  |  |-Celeste POTTER            b. 30 Nov 1914                 
  |-Alice Marie POTTER           b. 14 Dec 1883         
  | s-Dwight Louis COWLIN        b.  4 Mar 1875  m. 17 Aug 1903 
  |  |-Bessie COWLIN             b. 13 Jul 1904         
  |  |-Alice COWLIN              b. 21 Sep 1906  
  |-Bessie Luena POTTER          b. 16 Mar 1886 
  | s-Charles A. JOHNSON         b.  8 Jan 1884  m. 22 Jan 1909 
  |  |-Lillian D. JOHNSON        b.  5 Apr 1909         
  |  |-Walter D. JOHNSON         b. 22 Dec 1911 
  |-Dora E BREMERKAMP            b. 10 Jun 1892
  | s-Walter H BREMERKAMP        b. 27 Mar 1897  m.    Sep 1922
  |  |-Robert E BREMERKAMP       b. 16 Feb 1925

4 May 1900: Eden NY School #8 Graduation

On this day in 1900, a ceremony took place at Eden (NY) School #8.  

Eden School End-of-year program
From the collection of Jackie Neitski with many thanks.

Great-grandfather David Potter is the "Collector" for the school district, while his younger brother Clinton Potter (1865-1922) is "Trustee".  Two of David Potter's daughters, Bessie (age 14) and Dora (age 7) were enrolled in the school as documented on the right hand page.  With one teacher and 32 children this was clearly a one-room schoolhouse.

David Potter and family had moved to Eden from Corry, PA sometime after 1892 (Dora was born in Corry) and will be back in Corry, PA before 1905 (they are absent from the 1905 New York State Census; David Potter's mother Mary Jane Valentine Potter had died in 1904).

Both Clinton Potter and another brother, Franklin Potter, were married to Phillippi sisters and the children on the list with those names were their nieces or nephews, while Vellam and Yager also are found on the family tree. Mr. Arthur Black, Teacher, can be located in the census records; he was around 21 years old in 1900.

Clinton Potter and unknown boy; Clinton and Eliza Potter had one daughter.
Back: "Here is a couple of bums and a pony for the children"

Clinton Potter on right is labelled,  the others are unidentified.
Might be brothers George and Franklin (older than Clinton by 13 and 9 years, respectively)
Back:  "George, these are the three outlaws of N.Y. State, I guess you know all of them? Can you bet it?

The Potter family is almost all living in Eden, Erie County, NY  in 1900, as documented in the Federal Census of June 16, 1900.  This looks to me like an "eldercare" situation, or at least operating the elder's farm(s), but there is no way to know for certain.

In one household near Eden:

George Potter (age 25), lives with his parents David "Max" Potter (50), and Mary Minerva Potter (45) and his younger sisters Bessie (14) and Dora (7). David Potter's occupation is "farmer", and George is "farm labor."

In another household a few doors away:

George's older sister May Potter Brown (27) with her husband Earl Brown (30) and three children (9, 4, and 3).  The Browns had been living near Chicago between 1890 and 1896 and will move back to Chicago by 1910.  The Brown household includes George's younger sister, Alice Potter (17).  I suppose Alice is helping with childcare.  Alice will get married in Chicago in 1903.  Earl Brown is working as a "telephone inst(aller)"

In another household nearby:

George's grandmother, Mary Jane Valentine Potter (widow, age 68) who will live until 1904.

George's brother Charles William Potter (19) is working in Pomfret, NY as a "factory hand" and living in a boarding house with a Phillippi cousin. He will move to Chicago and marry  by 1906.

George's sister Emma Potter Parker (22), her husband Silas (27) and daughter Lucille (2) live back in Corry PA at 103 Essex Street. Silas works as a machinist.

Meanwhile, in Eden, NY, Clinton Potter told the 1900 Census canvasser that his line of work was "capitalist"