John Potter

John Potter (April 7, 1787 – May 11, 1865) was an American lawyer and Whig politician from Augusta, Maine. He represented Kennebec County for two terms in the Maine House of Representatives (1835, 1836).

His eldest son was John Fox "Bowie Knife" Potter, who represented southeast Wisconsin for three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and became a minor abolitionist celebrity for standing up to a southern politician's duel threat in 1860.

John Potter was also a brother of Barrett Potter, who served as a member of the Executive Council of Massachusetts and the Maine Senate.

Biography John Potter was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire, in 1787; he was raised and educated in that area. After completing his collegiate education at Dartmouth College in 1806, he studied law in the law office of his elder brother, Barrett Potter. He was admitted to the bar in 1810, and moved to the town of Augusta, Massachusetts (now Augusta, Maine), to begin his own law practice.

John Potter's elder brother, Barrett Potter (1776–1865), served as a member of the Executive Council of Massachusetts just before the separation of the state of Maine. After the separation, he served as a member of the Maine Senate (1820–1822), then served 25 years as probate judge of Cumberland County, Maine (1822–1847).

John Potter married Caroline Fox on June 16, 1812. Caroline Fox was a daughter of prominent lawyer John Fox of Portland, Maine. With Caroline, Potter had nine children, all of whom survived him.

His eldest son was John Fox Potter (1817–1899), who represented southeast Wisconsin for three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1857–1863). John Fox Potter was nicknamed "Bowie Knife Potter" after he demanded to use the bowie knife as his weapon when he was challenged to a duel in 1860 by Virginia U.S. representative Roger A. Pryor; the duel never ultimately took place, but the affair was widely covered by political newspapers around the country, turning Potter into an abolitionist celebrity for standing up to southern threats.