Alonzo Potter (July 6, 1800 – July 4, 1865) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States who served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Potter "identified himself with all the best interests of society."
Early life
Potter was born on July 6, 1800, in Beekman, New York. He was the sixth child of Anna and Joseph Potter, who was a farmer. His ancestors emigrated from England to Portsmouth, Rhode Island, in the mid-seventeenth century. Through his grandparents Thomas Potter and Esther Sheldon, respectively, Alonzo was descended from the co-founders of Rhode Island, William Arnold and Roger Williams. There have been in the Potter family two brothers who were bishops in the Episcopal Church: Alonzo Potter was bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania and his younger brother Horatio Potter was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Alonzo's son Henry Codman Potter, successor to Bishop Horatio Potter in New York, was a third.
Education
The child Alonzo first attended the district school in his hometown. Although he was a "bright" student, he did not care for reading until he read The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Potter was so taken with the story that he could not put it down except for eating and sleeping. He later said that from then on, "I took pleasure in books."
When Potter was twelve years old, he entered an academy in Poughkeepsie, New York. Within three years, his teacher said that, "by capacity and scholarship," Potter was ready for college. At age fifteen, Potter passed the entrance examination and enrolled in Union College in Schenectady, New York. In 1818, at age eighteen, he graduated with honors, and he "won the prize of college ambition." At his graduation, he gave the Valedictory Oration.
After graduating from Union College, Potter moved to Philadelphia to be with his brother, who was a bookseller. During this time, his interest in books continued. He also became interested in the Episcopal Church.
Religious convictions
During his time in Philadelphia with his brother, Potter's "religious convictions became so decided" that he joined the Episcopal Church. He had not been baptized, so he requested and received it in St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia. Later, In Christ Church, Philadelphia, he was confirmed by Bishop White. Shortly after that, Potter decided that he wanted to be ordained in the Episcopal Church. He began theological studies under the direction of the Rev. Dr. Samuel H. Turner, afterward for many years a distinguished Professor in the General Theological Seminary. He continued studying theology after he returned to Union College as a Tutor.
While still in Philadelphia before he returned to Union College, he gave instruction to "colored persons." This action foreshadowed his later concern as a bishop for "equal rights and opportunities in Church and State to all sorts and conditions of men."
Union College: 1821–1826
In 1821, after his time with his brother in Philadelphia, Potter returned to Union College as a Tutor and soon became "Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy."
While he was teaching at Union College, Potter was ordained Deacon in 1822 by Bishop John Henry Hobart. When he was twenty-four years old, he was ordained Priest in 1824 by Bishop Thomas Church Brownell. Shortly after he was ordained, Potter gathered "a little congregation of blacks in Schenectady" and became their minister.
In 1823, Potter published his first book. It was A Tractate on Logarithms, by which he came known "as a proficient mathematician."
In 1825, Geneva College, now Hobart College, offered the twenty-five-year-old Potter its presidency. However, he declined the offer.
Marriages
Potter married three times: first to Sarah Maria Nott, next to her first cousin, Sarah Benedict, and last to Frances Seton.
Sarah Maria Nott Potter
In 1824, Potter married Sarah Maria Nott. She was the only daughter of Eliphalet Nott, President of Union College. On March 16, 1839, Sarah Nott Potter died about four hours after giving birth to her seventh child and only daughter. Potter described his wife's many virtues: "she gave herself, seemingly without a pang, to her household, to her friends, and to anyone whom she could make more happy." She was "a centre of delight to all who knew her."