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Mr. Phelps was born in Johnstown, Fulton county, New York, June 2, 1830, a son of Chester and Sally A. (Powell) Phelps, old and highly honored residents of that region. The Phelps family had lived for many years in Fulton county, the first of the name to appear there be- ing Oliver Phelps, the grandfather of George Roswell Phelps, who came to New York State from Hartford county, Connecticut, where he was born some- time after the middle of the eighteenth century, and settled first in Montgomery county and later in Fulton, in both of which he continued to follow the occupa- tion of farming to which he had been bred and trained The original Phelps farm became later the town site of the prosper- ous community of Johnstown. Chester Phelps, son of Oliver and Abigail (Brown) Phelps, and father of George Roswell Phelps, was born June 15, 1792, and died March 13, 1870. To him de- scended the farm his father had pur- chased and which was at that time
rapidly increasing in value as the commu- nity was developing and it was found to be the most available location for the town. He became a man of considerable sub- stance and added largely to his property, buying a number of farms adjacent or in the near neighborhood of his original possession and carrying on farming opera- tions on a very extensive scale Besides the general farming, he also devoted special attention to fruit raising and dairy farming and was successful in all of these branches, being known as one of the largest agriculturists in the region. As Johnstown continued to grow much of the original property was disposed of, but, nevertheless, a considerable portion of town property remained in the hands of the Phelps family, Phelps street being at one time owned and occupied by thir- teen families of the name. Chester Phelps was married to Sally A. Powell, born March 4, 1796, in Johnstown, and died September II, 1857. To them were born nine children as follows : Charles A., born August 22, 1817, died September 28, 1847 ; Gilbert, born February 9, 1819, died No- vember 16, 1900, married Anna C. Van Nostrand, of Johnstown, who bore him one daughter, Margaret; Lucius A., born March 20, 1821, died February 16, 1837; Eliza Ann, born February 24, 1823, died October 12, 1908, married Hart A. Mas- sey, of Kingston, Ontario, to whom she bore six children : Charles, George, Ches- ter, Lillian, Walter Hart and Fred Vic- tor; Sylvia Adelia, born February 24, 1825, died November 3, 1901, married Horace W. Porter, of Johnstown, and they had one child, Mervin A .; William Henry, born October 8, 1827, died Janu- ary 24, 1899, married Louisa Deming, of Perth, New York, by whom he had four children : Charles Edwin, Clara, Albert and Nettie; George Roswell, of whom further; Chester Powell, born December 16, 1832, married Alice Brown, of Johns-
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town, by whom he had two children : David and Arthur; Sarah Jane, born July 6, 1835, died April 29, 1890, married Lehman Edwards, of Johnstown, and they had no children.
The early life of George Roswell Phelps was passed in the old Phelps homestead where he was born, in his native town of Johnstown. He received his education in the public schools there, and was brought up in the occupation so long followed by his father until he became an expert farmer. He succeeded his father in the ownership of the old place and in its operation, which he conducted with great success for the remainder of his life. In the year 1899 he purchased a residence in the city of Gloversville, and there made his permanent home, travelling back and forth each day between his dwelling and his farm. Mr. Phelps was particularly interested in the question of fruit culture and made a specialty in that line on his farm, which he rapidly converted into one of the show places of the district. Small fruits and berries were the chief product and these he raised in very large quanti- ties. He was wholly devoted to his work and the greatest success crowned his efforts, and he was regarded as an au- thority on agricultural matters through- out the neighborhood.
Besides his very successful farming, Mr. Phelps had large business interests in Gloversville and here as elsewhere his affairs prospered. He was always strong- ly interested in the welfare of the com- munity and gave a great deal of his time and energies to that cause. His political affiliations were with the Prohibition party, and this cause was one of those which made the deepest appeal to him. He was very outspoken in the matter and did much to advance the interests of the party in the city. He was a life-long Methodist and for many years a member of the church of that denomination at
Gloversville, holding the office of steward for a considerable period. Mrs. Phelps is a member of the same church and has been connected for many years with the Sabbath school work as well as many other departments of the church activity, being a Sunday school teacher for forty- five years.
Mr. Phelps was married on March 17, 1858, to Josephine Matilda Whitney, born April 18, 1838, a daughter of Asa Hervey and Almira Matilda (Wait) Whitney. To Mr. and Mrs. Phelps were born six children, whose births occurred in Johnstown, as follows : 1. Inez Marian, born July 15, 1859, died June 10, 1887. 2. William Edwin, born November 12, 1860; married (first) December 27, 1882, Emily Ann Banks, by whom he had two chil- dren, Jessie Marian and Harry Chester ; married (second) April 6, 1898, Jane Munns, by whom he had one child, Ray- mond Chester. 3. Warren Whitney, born August 23, 1863; married, August 30, 1884. Abbie Lansing, by whom he had one child, Florence Catherine. 4. Emma Belle, born December 28, 1865; married, February 15, 1884, Elmer J. Staley, by whom she has had one child, Harold Phelps. 5. Lillian Almira, born January II, 1870; married, April 7, 1899, John M. Smith. 6. Alma Leona, born October 26, 1877; married, September, 1910, Clifton Elliot Sanborn, and they have one son, Clifton Elliot.
POTTS, George Cumming, Man of Affairs.
The prominence men bearing the name Potts have attained in the business world is not confined to one, two or three gen- erations, but from the coming of David Potts from Wales the name has been one of the most familiar ones in Pennsylvania coal and iron annals. There it is forever preserved in the nomenclature of the
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towns of the anthracite region, Pottstown and Pottsville ranking high in commercial importance. While this branch of the family has attained high rank in New York City and State, both George Cum- ming Potts and his father, George Alex- ander Henry Potts, were born in New Jersey, as were all preceding generations.
The family name was Pott in ancient times; in 1278 it appears among parlia- mentary writ: "Robertus atte Potte, of county Surrey," as serving in military duty. At that period it was not infre- quently written Potte. Regarding the arms of the Potts family, the earliest rec- ord in the Herald's College of Arms granted to one of the name bears date 1583; given to John Potts, an eminent barrister of Lincoln's Inn. It is de- scribed: Azure, two bars or, over all a band of the second, that is, on a shield of blue are two bands of gold, making in all five horizontal bands of equal width, with the blue showing at top and bottom, and from upper left to lower right a band of same width of gold. Crest: On a mount vert, an ounce sejant ppr. collared and chained.
(I) The line of descent of the Potts family here to be set forth was instituted by David Potts, who was born about 1670, in Montgomeryshire, Wales. He was a Friend, and settled in Bristol township, Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1730. It is thought he came when a youth, the first notice of his resi- dence in America being 7 mo. 24, 1692, when signing as a bondsman for Eliza- beth Bennett, as executor of Edmund, her late husband, and his signature may be seen on file in the register's office in Phil- adelphia, Pennsylvania. As a Friend he first belonged to the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. He purchased in 1695 a tract of one hundred and fifty acres of land in Bristol township, Philadelphia county,
Pennsylvania, near Germantown ; subse- quently selling fifty acres, settling on the balance, and there resided the remainder of his life. The deed for this first pur- chase in the Potts family reads as follows : "The Commiss'rs by Patent dated 26th 9 mo., 1685, Granted 500 acres to Rob't Longshore, Purchaser in Bristol Town- ship, in the County of Philad'a, joyning in Germantown, Irenia Land, and Will'm Wilkins, of which deed dated Ist 4 mo., 1686, he sold to Samuel Bennett 200 acres, who by Deed dated 2. 4. 1695, sold 150 thereof to David Potts, who sold to Wm. Harman 50 acres now in Possession of Peter Clever." And further: "The said David Potts requests a Warr't of Resur- vey on the said 150 acres according to the True bounds of the Tract and to Cutt off 50 a's to said Harman or Clever. Ordered that a Warr't be accordingly granted for the said 50 acres to be cutt off as by agreement made between them and a Pat- ent on the Return if required, they paying the Overplus, if any." In 1716 he had a grant of one hundred acres of land in the Manor of Springfield, for which he was to pay £80. When the Friends established a Meeting in Germantown, he was trans- ferred to it, and under date of October II, 17II, he bought land there, the sellers being trustees of the Germantown Meet- ing there, and he was entrusted with im- portant matters relating thereto. He was a man of good standing in the community where he resided for so long a time, and represented Philadelphia county in the Provincial Assembly for 1728-29-30. His death occurred November 16, 1730. He made his will, November 13, 1730, which was probated November 26, 1730, and is on file in the register's office at Philadel- phia, in Will Book E, page 142. In it he wrote: "I Give & Bequeath to my son, John, the sum of Twenty Shillings money af'd he having likewise received his por-
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tion in my life time w'ch s'd money is to be paid to him in two years after my De- cease."
David Potts married Alice Croasdale, who was born 8 mo. 3, 1673, and whose parents came as passengers with William Penn in the ship "Welcome," Robert Greenway, master, in 1682. Although the records of the Meeting are far from per- fect, many matters relating to this couple are ascertainable. She was the youngest daughter of Thomas and Agnes (Hathern- waite) Croasdale. They declared their in- tention of marriage with each other be- fore the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, 10 m.o. 29, 1693 (December, 1693) ; passed the Meeting the second time on II mo. 26, 1693-94 (January, 1694), and were granted a certificate to marry under the care of Middletown Monthly Meeting in Bucks county. The following is a copy of the entry in the minutes of the latter Meeting: "David Potts and Alice Croas- dale have requested to solemnize their marriage within this Meeting, because her relations mostly dwell here, and they be- longing to Philadelphia have brought a Certificate from that Monthly Meeting that testifies they have proceeded there orderly, and nothing is found against them, and also requested that they may accomplish their marriage here, which they have granted them ; so this Meeting is satisfied and grants their requests." A subsequent record shows that they were married in an orderly manner on 1 mo. 22, 1693. This date, according to the modern system of reckoning, would correspond to March 22, 1694. The following is a copy of the marriage certificate as it is recorded by the Monthly Meeting : "Whereas, David Potts and Alice Croasdale, both of Philadelphia, in the Province of Pennsyl- vania, having declared their intentions of taking each other in marriage, before sev- eral public meetings of the People of God
called Quakers, in Philadelphia, in the Province of Pennsylvania aforesaid, in America, according to the good order used amongst them, whose proceedings there- in, after deliberate consideration thereof, were approved by the said meetings ; they appearing clear of all others."
(II) John Potts, son of David and Alice (Croasdale) Potts, was born 8 mo. 8, 1696, and died in September, 1766. He learned the trade of a millwright. When grown up he settled in Upper Dublin township, later on included within the limits of Montgomery county, where he purchased a tract of land from Isaac and John Phipps, about 1748, the deed for which is recorded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, showing title back to the original grant by William Penn, in 1681; still owned (1900) by his descendants. It is located about two miles east of Fort Washington village. His will, made September 28, 1766, in many respects is quaint and reads in part as follows :
Be it remembered that I, John Potts of the Township of Upper Dublin, in the County of Philad'a and province of Pensilvania, Mill Wright, being now far advanced in Years, but yet of Sound and Disposing Mind and Memory, for which mercy and favour May I ever prais the great author of my being, and at times feel- ing the Simtoms of Mortality through the Decay of nature, but relying on the merits of my Redeemer, hope for a happy change from this life to that which is to come of Eternal Peace, and rest in Daily Expectation of such a Change. And in as much as God in his Mercy has blessed me with some worldly estate, do think Proper to make this my last will and testament in the manner following, that is to say, first of all I will that all my Just Debts and funeral Expenses be well and truly paid and Discharged.
Item, I will Devise and Bequeath unto my Dear and Loving wife Elizabeth all my Real and Personal Estate whatsoever during her natural life, giving her full Privilege to will or dispose of as much household goods as she shall see proper in her life time to either her Chil-
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dren or grand Children and after her decease. I will devise and Bequeath unto my son John the Plantation & Tract of land I now live on containing one hundred and fifty acres of land, be it more or less with all the Buildings and appurtenances thereon or any wise thereunto belonging unto him his heirs and Assigns for- ever and the remainder of my Personal estate except what is hereafter Excepted he paying the several legacies hereafter mentioned that is to say,-I will and Bequeath unto iny son Thomas my Chamber Clock and fifty Pound Lawful money of Pensilvania to be delivered and paid unto him by my Executors hereafter named within one year after my wife's Decease.
John Potts married, in July, 1726, Eliza- beth McVaugh (or McVeagh), daughter of Edmond and Alice (Dickinson) Mc- Veagh. She was born in 1699 and died I mo. 5, 1791.
(III) Thomas Potts, son of John and Elizabeth (McVeagh) Potts, was born in 1729, died July 29, 1776. He was a mill- wright, and resided in Moreland township for some time. Walter Moore and his wife, Sarah, on June 22, 1753, conveyed to him, as millwright of the Manor of More- land, one-half of a certain corn mill and two parcels of land there. Later on he removed to Sussex county, New Jersey, settling in Chelsea Forge, where he pos- sessed much property, became high sheriff of Sussex county in 1772, and a member of Provincial Assembly in 1775 and 1776. Thomas Potts was a member of the Con- tinental Congress which convened in Phil- adelphia in 1776; he was in all respects a patriot, but being a member of the Society of Friends he refused to sign the Declara- tion of Independence, not wishing to co- operate in an act that meant war and bloodshed for the colonies. Thomas Potts married, January 16, 1753, Elizabeth Lu- kens, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Tyson) Lukens, who, when a widow, married Dr. John Rockhill, a widower (born March 22, 1726, died April 7, 1798),
whose descendants (by their previous marriages) intermarried.
The Lukens family was one of the most notable of the early Pennsylvania fam- ilies, and was of Holland descent. Joseph and John Lukens were brothers-in-law of Thomas Potts. The first mentioned was a lifelong resident of the Lukens estate, at Sandy Run, a man of wealth, held in high esteem for many good qualities. The latter was appointed to the responsible position of surveyor-gen- eral of Pennsylvania, under the king. Upon the agitation of the momentous question which prepared the way for American independence, he espoused the cause of the patriots and so closely was he identified with the leaders in the Revo- lutionary movement that it was in one of the apartments of his residence, in Phila- delphia, that the Declaration of Independ- ence was drawn up by Thomas Jefferson. His granddaughter, the celebrated beauty, Sally McKean, became the wife of the Marquis D'Yrugo, the first minister from Spain to the United States under the con- stitution. Elizabeth, the eldest child of Thomas and Elizabeth (Lukens) Potts, married Robert Barnhill, and among their children was a daughter Margaret, who married Cornelius V. S. Roosevelt, and had a son Theodore Roosevelt, who was the father of Theodore Roosevelt, former President of the United States.
(IV) Hugh Henry Potts, son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Lukens) Potts, was born in 1773, and died in 1842. One gains an excellent idea regarding him from a de- scription in a letter written to Thomas Maxwell Potts, the skilled and intelligent genealogist of the Potts family, by the late William John Potts. It reads: "This summer I have renewed my acquaintance with Mr. George H. Potts, of the City of New York. He is, as you are aware, first cousin to my father, and is now seventy-
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four years old,- a tall, distinguished and elegant looking man of at least six feet high, not inclined to stoutness, which characterizes two of his sons. Among Mr. George H. Potts' traditions of his father, uncles and grandfather, were sev- eral which are confirmed in part by my aunt, (Hannah) Elizabeth Potts and my uncle, Charles Clay Potts, both aged above seventy years. Hugh Potts, as he was commonly called, though his full name was Alexander Hugh, father of the said George, and brother to my grand- father, was a remarkably handsome man. One of the Robesons who had known him in his youth, possibly an old sweetheart of his, said he was the handsomest man she ever knew. The said Mary Robeson died in Philadelphia, aged about seventy years, ten or more years ago. Hugh Potts was six feet one inch high; weighed 220 pounds, and was a most powerful man. On one occasion he lifted with one hand fourteen 56-pound weights to above the knee. He held on his outstretched hand one Ramsay, sheriff of Hunterdon coun- ty, in a standing position, he being steadied by a man on each side; took him entirely across the room. He also car- ried said Ramsay, standing on his (Mr. Potts') knee, the back part of it. turned up, across the room. Mrs. Rockhill, sis- ter of Hugh Potts, was also of large frame. She was six feet in height. Thomas Potts, high sheriff of Sussex county, New Jersey, father of Hugh Potts, on one occasion had to arrest Edward Marshall, the hero of the famous Indian walk, who lived on an island in the Dela- ware, out of his jurisdiction, and was be- side no mean adversary. My great-grand- father, Thomas Potts, a large and power- ful man, took a boat and crossing over to the island where Marshall lived, bound him hand and foot, and when he landed his prisoner on the Jersey shore, served his warrant on him."
Hugh Henry Potts married Elizabeth Hughes, about the year 1800, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Captain John Hughes, a distinguished officer of the Revolution, who enlisted as a sergeant in the Sixth Pennsylvania Bat- talion, January 29, 1776, and served in various capacities to the close of the war. His position of brigade quartermaster during the years 1778 and 1779 brought him in close personal companionship with General George Washington. Hugh Henry Potts also inclined to a military career and near the close of the War of 1812 was appointed to a captaincy in the United States army.
(V) George Alexander Henry Potts, son of Hugh Henry and Elizabeth (Hughes) Potts, was born September 22, 1811, died in New York City, on April 28, 1888. He was born on his father's estate on the Delaware river in Bucks county, Penn- sylvania. Bereft of his mother by death in 1813, he found a home in Pittstown, Hunterdon county, New Jersey, in the family of his father's sister, Mrs. Judge Rockhill. In 1829 he removed to Potts- ville, Pennsylvania, and at once engaged in mining operations, and from 1834 to 1845 was the most extensive individual coal operator in the region. He erected the first engine for mining coal below the water level ever set up in Pennsylvania ; he also built the first boat which was em- ployed to convey coal from the Schuylkill region direct to New York City. In 1853 George A. H. Potts removed to New York City and became the head of the New York branch of the wholesale coal and iron firm of Lewis Audenried & Com- pany. On the death of Mr. Audenried in 1874 this firm was dissolved, Mr. Potts retiring, and the business has since been continued by his sons, Frederic A. Potts and William Rockhill Potts, and still later by his grandson, Frederic A. Potts. George A. H. Potts was one of the origi-
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nal incorporators of the National Park Bank, and its president from September, 1879, to the time of his death in 1888. In person he was above the medium height and of striking personal appearance.
On September 19, 1832, he married (first) Emily Dilworth Cumming, at Pottsville, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of George M. Cumming, who was born March 15, 1813, and died in 1857. On July 2, 1863, he married (sec- ond) Helen Blendina Hard. She was born at Albion, New York, October 17, 1837, and was the daughter of Judge Gideon Hard. George A. H. Potts re- sided on Madison avenue, New York City, and had a summer home and farm at Som- erville, New Jersey.
(VI) George Cumming Potts, eldest son of George Alexander Henry and Emily Dilworth (Cumming) Potts, was born at Pottsville, Pennsylvania, August 3, 1834, died at his home in Culver Road, Rochester, New York, Sunday, May 7, 1916. George C. Potts, after obtaining a good education, was taught the detail of coal production and mine operation at his father's mines, was engaged in coal min- ing at Locustdale, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, operating the Potts Col- liery, in 1852, but later withdrew to be- come a member of the stock brokerage firm, R. Ellis & Company, of Philadel- phia. He spent many years in business prior to becoming general northern coal salesagent for the Philadelphia & Read- ing Coal and Iron Company, his territory Northern New York and Canada. In 1893 he moved to Rochester as represent- ative of that company and until 1912 was engaged in the duties pertaining to the re- sponsible position he held. In 1912 he retired, the best known coal and iron agent in the northern tier of States. He was a man of strong mind and body, had been connected with coal business almost
from boyhood and inherited a capacity for business operation from his distinguished father, who had also guided his first ven- tures. His acquaintance was widely scat- tered and he was a well known figure on the Philadelphia and New York Ex- changes, he being a member of both. He was bold in his operations, yet always kept within the bounds of his judgment and accurate knowledge. He was rated a wise and honorable man of business, one whose word it was always safe to rely upon.
Mr. Potts was a Democrat in politics, but took little active part in public affairs. In Rochester he was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Genesee Val- ley, the Rochester and the Rochester Whist clubs. His Philadelphia club was the Philadelphia, his New York City club, the Union. Before locating in Rochester, he had been an active member of the Lighthouse Club of Currituck, North Car- olina. He was ever fond of sport, and particularly partial to horses and hunting, taking active part in such out-of-doors recreation even after the years warned him to desist. He was in his eighty-sec- ond year when he died and until within six months of his last illness could have been considered a man hale and hearty.
Mr. Potts married (first) in 1852, Mary Dallas, daughter of Judge Dallas, who died the same year. He married (sec- ond) December 4, 1863, Mary Laurette Eustis, born at Milton, Massachusetts, January 14, 1845, died at Pottsville, Penn- sylvania, November 4, 1868, daughter of Alexander Brook and Aurore (Grelaud) Eustis. He married (third) Nancy (Wheaton) Phillips, who survives him. She is a daughter of David R. and Mary (Galusha) Wheaton, of Western New York, the former named born 1817, a pio- neer in that section of the State, and the latter named in Exeter, Otsego county,
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