John F. Potter

Infobox Congressman
name=John Fox Potter


width=200px
state=Wisconsin
district=1st
party=Whig, Republican
term=March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1863
preceded=Daniel Wells, Jr.
succeeded=James S. Brown
date of birth=May 11, 1817
place of birth=Augusta, Maine, USA
date of death=May 18, 1899
place of death=East Troy, Wisconsin, USA
spouse=
religion=
profession=Politician, Lawyer, Judge
footnotes=

John Fox Potter nicknamed "Bowie Knife Potter" (May 11, 1817 – May 18, 1899) was a nineteenth century politician, lawyer and judge from Wisconsin.

Born in Augusta, Maine, Potter attended common schools and Phillips Exeter Academy. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1837, commencing practice in East Troy, Wisconsin. He served as a judge in Walworth County, Wisconsin from 1842 to 1846, was a delegate to the Whig National Convention in 1852 and 1856, was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1856 and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1860 and 1864. Potter was elected a Republican to the United States House of Representatives in 1856, serving from 1857 to 1863, being unsuccessful for reelection in 1862. There, he served as chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions from 1859 to 1861 and of the Committee on Public Lands from 1861 to 1863. Afterwards, he served as Consulate General of the United States in the British Provinces of North America from 1863 to 1866, residing in Montreal, Canada. Potter then returned to East Troy, Wisconsin where he practiced law until his death there on May 18, 1899. He was interned in Oak Ridge Cemetery in East Troy.

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6856328 John F. Potter] at Find A Grave
* [http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/artifacts/archives/001252.asp The Monster Knife of John Fox Potter]