Thomas (Potts) Pott (abt. 1634 - bef. 1683)

Born about 1634 in Llangurig Parish, Montgomeryshire, Wales [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Baset) Bennet — married about 1657 in Llangurig, Montgomeryshire, Wales [uncertain]

Descendants

Died before 1683 before about age 49 in Llangurig Parish, Montgomeryshire, Wales [uncertain]

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Biography

Thomas was a Friend (Quaker)

Thomas (Potts) Pott was born in Wales.

Thomas was probably born around 1634, possibly in Llangurig Parish in the county of Montgomeryshire, Wales. He was son of John Pott and his wife Anne Pott (who had the same surname as her husband and was probably his cousin).^[1]

Childhood

Thomas had at least eight siblings^[1][2]: John (possibly born about 1632), George (c1636), Margaret (c1638), Ales (Alice) (c1640), Elizabeth (c1642), Anne (c1644), Sarah (c1646) and one whose name is unknown. They were raised on their parents' farm in the rolling hills outside the village of Llangurig. They raised sheep and cattle, and likely traded in the nearby market-town of Llanidloes.

Thomas grew up in an age of tremendous political and religious turmoil. In 1633, King Charles I appointed William Laud as archbishop of Canterbury. Laud strongly supported hierarchical, centralised authority (Episcopacy) and doctrinal uniformity in the Church of England. Clergy who espoused other views, particularly Puritans, were ousted from ministerial positions within the Church. This conflict was a contributing cause to the first English Civil War that broke out in 1642. In 1646, the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalists, following which Parliament reformed the Church by abolishing the Episcopacy and replacing it with a form of state-mandated presbyterianism. As a result, the pendulum swung in the other direction, and clergy who failed to support the reforms, mainly advocates of Espicopacy, were systematically expelled from their positions.

In Llangurig Parish, Thomas Clark, vicar at St Curig's was ousted in 1650, and although a Puritan David Roberts held the position for a while, it remained vacant for much of the next 10 years.^[3] This unsettled state of affairs would have made parishioners in Llangurig open to, if not actively seek out, alternative options for religious observance. In 1657, George Fox, who founded the Society of Friends (or Quakers), visited Montgomeryshire, planting seeds that converted a large number of locals to his religious movement over the next two decades.

Marriage and children

Around 1657, Thomas married his wife Elizabeth (whose surname is currently unknown) probably in Montgomeryshire. They had at least 8 children, who were possibly born in the following order:

1. John (born abt. 1658-<1698)
2. Thomas (c1660-1719)
3. Jonas (c1662-1754)
4. George (c1665-1690)
5. Margaret (c1666-1723)
6. Elizabeth (c1667-1690)
7. Jane (c1668-1734)
8. David (c1670-1730)

Religious affiliation

Sometime after their marriage, and perhaps not long after George Fox's visit to Montgomeryshire, Thomas and his wife became Quakers. In 1658, Oliver Cromwell died, and soon thereafter, the Puritan Commonwealth collapsed, leading to restoration of the monarchy in 1660. Episcopacy was reinstated in the Church of England, and new laws passed against those who did not conform to the established religion. Quakers were especially targeted, as they absented themselves from Church services and, perhaps more importantly, refused to pay tithes to the Church.

Death and removal of family to Philadelphia

Thomas probably died sometime before 1683 in Montgomeryshire, Wales. In 1683, his wife Elizabeth and six of their children (other than John and George) moved to Philadelphia, where Elizabeth married Edmund Bennett in 1685.

Research notes

His grandfather's will

There are no known records that confirm the origins of the Pott family in Wales. The earliest known record that refers to any members of Thomas' family is the 1654 will of his maternal grandfather, who was also named Thomas Pott. This will confirms the following^[1]:

• Thomas' mother was Anne Pott, the "natural" daughter of Thomas Pott.
• Thomas' father was John Pott "late of Nantgwernog," which was located in Llangurig Parish about 2 miles east of the village of Llangurig. As Thomas' father had the same surname as his mother, they were likely cousins. Although the will refers to John as being "late of Nantgwernog", this appears to mean that he was residing there "of late" (i.e., currently or recently), as he died later in 1673.
• The will identifies Thomas' brother John by name and confirms that John had 8 unnamed siblings "beinge unmarried". Thomas was one of the unnamed siblings but was later identified by name in his father's will (see below).
• Thomas' grandfather left Thomas' brother John "eight Sheepe beinge in the custodie of" their father, John Pott, and gave "all the rest and residue of my sheepe which are in the Custodye of the said John Pott" to their mother Anne "wife of the said John Pott" and "eight of hyr children beinge unmarried" "to be equally divided between them". As Thomas' brother John is the only grandchild to receive a specific bequest, this may indicate that he was the oldest sibling and the only one of legal age (at least 21 years old) in 1654. Assuming John & Anne Pott were married in the early 1630s, John was likely born around 1632, and the other children thereafter.
• It seems evident that Thomas, and his parents and siblings, were living in Llangurig Parish in 1654, but it is not certain they lived there at the time of his birth. Thomas' mother had a brother named "Evan" (the Welsh form of "John"), which may indicate that she and her siblings were born in Wales, and therefore, Thomas and his siblings were also born in Wales.

His father's will

Thomas is named in the will of his father, John Pott, written 12 Feb 1672/3^[2]. This will confirms the following:

• Thomas and his living siblings are referred to in the following order: Thomas, George, Margaret, Ales, Elizabeth, Anne and Sarah (who was named executrix). Assuming the order of children set out in his father's will reflects their order of birth, Thomas was likely born around 1634.
• Neither Thomas' mother Anne, nor his brother John, nor the eighth unnamed sibling referred to in his grandfather's will above, are mentioned, which likely indicates they had already died.
• Thomas and five of his siblings (other than Sarah) were each given sixpence, while Sarah was given "one Cow, one two yeare old heifer, two yeareling calfes, one Mare, one Fillie and Eighteene sheepe with all manner of graine that is in my barne and in the ground and all the rest of my goods whatsoever upon the condition that she shall pay all my debts and legacies". This may indicate that Thomas had already received his portion of his father's property.

Date/place of birth

As noted above, assuming Thomas was the second born child to his parents, he was likely born around 1634. His FindAGrave profile records that he was born on 4 Mar 1632 in Llangurig, Wales but cites no source for this information.^[4] The surviving birth records for Llangurig Parish only begin in 1684, long after Thomas' birth.

Name & namesake

As confirmed in his father's will^[2], Thomas' surname was "Pott", not "Potts". It was only after his descendants arrived in the American colonies in the late 1600s that the letter "s" was added to the end of the name, making it "Potts".

Thomas was likely named for his mother's father, Thomas Pott (<1590-c1658).

No primary sources appear to indicate whether Thomas had a middle name. In many family trees on Ancestry.com, his "middle name" is recorded as "Maxwell", although no source is cited for this information. It appears that he is being confused with Thomas Maxwell Potts (1836-1916)^[5], who was a genealogist of the Pott/Potts family. He wrote and published "Historical Collections relating to the Potts Family" in 1901 (a link to this book is set out in "Sources" below).

Marriage to Elizabeth

Thomas's wife was named Elizabeth. There is no known record of their marriage, and her maiden name is unknown. Although many family trees record her surname as "Basset", there is no known source confirming this.

After Thomas' death in Wales, Elizabeth married Edmund Bennett on the 22nd day of the 10th month (December) 1685 at the house of John Otter near Burlington (Bristol) Pennsylvania. She died on 8 March 1707/8 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.

Religious persecution

On 5 Apr 1675, the Grand Jury at the Court of Great Sessions at Pool (now known as Welshpool) in Montgomeryshire, Wales "made presentments" against (i.e., criminally charged) forty persons, who "for the space of a haulfe a yeare and upwards last past, hath and doth absent [themselves] from [their] p'ishe church to heare divine Service and Sermon"^[6]. Amongst them were the following persons in Llangurig Parish, who were likely well-known to one another:

• "David Owen, of ye p'ishe of Llangirricke [i.e., Llangurig], in ye s'd County [of Montgomeryshire], yeom."
• "Edward Jarman, of ye p'ishe of Llangirricke, in ye s'd County, yeom." Edward was a witness to the will of Thomas' father, John Potts.^[2]
• "John Pott of ye same, yeom." John was Thomas' maternal uncle.
• "Thomas Pott of ye same, yeom., for ye like". This was Thomas.
• "Griffith Jarman of ye same, yeom., for ye like". Griffith was possibly Edward Jarman's brother.
• "D'd Jenkin of ye same, yeom., and Jane his wiefe, for ye like". David was responsible for taking an inventory of Thomas' father's estate following his death.^[7]
• "Sarah Rees of ye same, for ye like".
• "Margaret Lloyd, ye late wiefe of Edward Lloyd, of ye p'ishe of Llangirricke, in ye s'd County, wid., for ye like." William Bound, the husband of Thomas' maternal aunt Elizabeth, was overseer of the will of Margaret's husband, Edward Lloyd.^[8]
• "James Hamer, of Llangirricke [i.e., Llangurig] aforesaid, for ye like". James' son James would later marry Elizabeth Walker, whose brother Joseph would later marry Thomas' great-granddaughter, Elizabeth Potts.

Under the Act of Uniformity 1558, it was a crime to fail to attend diligently (without lawful or reasonable excuse) the established Church of England. In particular, this Act provided as follows:

“all and every person and persons inhabiting within this realm, or any other the queen's majesty's dominions, shall diligently and faithfully, having no lawful or reasonable excuse to be absent, endeavour themselves to resort to their parish church or chapel accustomed, or upon reasonable let thereof, to some usual place where common prayer and such service of God shall be used in such time of let, upon every Sunday and other days ordained and used to be kept as holy days, and then and there to abide orderly and soberly during the time of the common prayer, preachings, or other service of God there to be used and ministered; upon pain of punishment by the censures of the Church, and also upon pain that every person so offending shall forfeit for every such offence twelve pence, to be levied by the churchwardens of the parish where such offence shall be done, to the use of the poor of the same parish, of the goods, lands, and tenements of such offender, by way of distress.”

Migration

Whether Thomas died in Wales or migrated with his wife, Elizabeth and several of their children (Thomas, Jonas, Jane, Margaret, Elizabeth and David) to Pennsylvania in 1683 is unknown. Two of their sons, John and George, remained in Wales with their families.

In 1684, his wife, Elizabeth Potts and his daughter, Jane Potts were granted a warrant for 100 acres of land in Tredyffrin, Chester County, Pennsylvania.^[9] This indicates that Elizabeth was already widowed at that time.

“Historical Collections Relating to the Potts Family”

“The parentage of Jonas Potts has not been proven. However, Thomas Maxwell Potts, following along the lines of an earlier researcher, William John Potts, gave careful study to the signing of marriage certificates, business transactions, and where the various Potts lived in relation to each other and came to the conclusion that the early Potts around Philadelphia were related, even though exact relationships were not established. They were convinced that Thomas Potts (the miller), Jonas Potts, and David Potts, all of Philadelphia County, were brothers; and that they also had a brother, John Potts of Wales whose orphan children were sent to PA in 1699. They figured the parents of these men were Thomas Potts, of Llangerrig, Wales, a Quaker who was persecuted, and his wife Elizabeth. Thomas died in Wales and his widow came to Pennsylvania with her children”. See Ancestor #440 for more details. (p. 282, 301, 302)……excerpted

Sources

Footnotes:

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Will of Thomas Pott Sr (<1590-1658), 11 Aug 1654, Llangurig parish. Church in Wales, diocese of Bangor, Episcopal Consistory Court. Aberystwyth, Wales : National Library of Wales, 1980. Ancestry.com (requires subscription). This will is transcribed on pp. 59-60 of Historical Collections relating to the Potts Family (see full citation below).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Will of John Pott Sr (c1608-1673), 12 Feb 1672/3, Llangurig parish. Church in Wales, diocese of Bangor, Episcopal Consistory Court. Aberystwyth, Wales : National Library of Wales, 1980 (No. B1673-69-W/I). Ancestry.com (requires subscription). His will is transcribed on his WikiTree profile page and on pp. 61-62 of Historical Collections relating to the Potts Family (see full citation below).
3. ↑ See, Quakerism in West Montgomeryshire (full citation below), at p. 46.
4. ↑ Thomas Potts Sr (1632-84), profile on FindAGrave.com (accessed 29 Dec 2023).
5. ↑ Thomas Maxwell Potts (1836-1916), profile on FindAGrave.com (accessed 16 Nov 2023).
6. ↑ See Montgomeryshire Gaol Files (full citation below) at pp. 229-30.
7. ↑ The inventory of John Pott's estate dated 18 Feb 1672/3 is transcribed on his WikiTree profile page and on pp. 62-63 of Historical Collections relating to the Potts Family (see full citation below).
8. ↑ Will of Edward Lloyd, 16 Dec 1672, Llangurig parish. Church in Wales, diocese of Bangor, Episcopal Consistory Court. Aberystwyth, Wales : National Library of Wales. Ancestry.com (requires subscription).
9. ↑ Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society History Quarterly, Digital Archives. January 1982, Vol. 20, No. 1, page 10, https://tehistory.org/hqda/html/v20/v20n1p003.html.

See also:

• Morris, E. Ronald, B.A. Quakerism in West Montgomeryshire, published at pp. 45-65 in Powys-Land Club. "The Montgomeryshire Collections: The Transactions of the Powys-Land Club (Vol. LVI, Part 1, 1959)". Newport, England: Advertiser Printing Works, 1961 (referred to herein as "Quakerism in West Montgomeryshire"). Archive.org (accessed 8 Feb 2024).
• Potts, Thomas Maxwell. "Historical Collections relating to the Potts Family in Great Britain and America with a Historic-Genealogy of the Descendants of David Potts, an early Anglo-Welsh Settler of Pennsylvania, including contributions by the late William John Potts". Cambridge MA: privately printed, 1901 (referred to herein as "Historical Collections relating to the Potts Family"). Archive.org (accessed 16 Nov 2023).
• Williams, R. (F.R.Hist.S), "Montgomeryshire Nonconformity: Extracts from Gaol Files, with Notes", published at pp. 201-32 in Powys-Land Club. "Collections Historical & Archaeological relating to Montgomeryshire and it Borders (Vol. XXIV)". London: Whiting & Co, 1890 (referred to herein as "Montgomeryshire Gaol Files"). Archive.org (accessed 23 Dec 2023).
• The Pott Family of Llangirig. Contains biographies of Thomas and Elizabeth Pott and their children (with sources). TakingTheLongerView.org (accessed 9 Jan 2024).
• Descendants of Thomas Pott, selectively edited beyond third generation to family of David Potts and Elizabeth Luna Potts and their descendants in Kentucky and deep Southern Illinois. HeriTech.com (accessed 14 Mar 2020).
• Thomas Pott, profile on FamilySearch.org (requires free registration).
• Thomas Potts, profile on Geni.com.