My Genealogy Hound

HON. CALVIN BRITTAIN POTTER, attorney-at-law and an influential citizen of St. Joseph, was born in Brownville, Jefferson County, N. Y., July 15, 1837. He is the grandson of Maj.-Gen. Calvin Brittain, of Jefferson County, N. Y., and the nephew of Maj. Calvin Brittain, who was delegate to Congress from the Territory of Michigan, member of the convention that framed the constitution of Michigan, member of the House of Representatives, State Senator, Lieutenant-Governor, and original proprietor, with others, of the town of St. Joseph.

When about one year old our subject was brought by his parents, Frederick A. and Isabella (Brittain) Potter, to St. Joseph, Mich., and in 1839 was taken from this city to the county of Jefferson, Wis. There he received a common-school education and grew to a sturdy, self-reliant manhood. His literary studies finished, he entered the law school at Albany, N. Y., in 1859, and in May of the following year was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Among his classmates was the Hon. William F. Vilas, United States Senator from Wisconsin. After leaving the law school, Mr. Potter studied in the office of Judges Wright and Robinson, Albany, N. Y., until 1861.

In June of the above-named year, shortly after the first shot had been fired on Ft. Sumter, Mr. Potter enlisted in the services of his country, becoming a member of Company B, Eighteenth New York Infantry. With his regiment he marched to the front and participated in many of the decisive engagements of the war. At the first battle of Bull Run he was captured by the enemy and held a prisoner in Richmond until January, 1862, when he was freed in the first exchange of prisoners. He participated in McClellan’s campaign on the Peninsula, and narrowly escaped capture at Gaines’ Mills. In all the campaigns of the Army of the Potomac he bore his part as a patriotic, valiant soldier, doing all in his power to preserve the Old Flag. In June, 1863, he was honorably discharged, at the expiration of his term of enlistment.

Purchasing a scholarship in Eastman’s Commercial College at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., Mr. Potter entered that institution a short time after his return from the war and conducted his studies with diligence and success until September, 1863. However, he could not be content while the safety of the Union was endangered, and his patriotic spirit urged him to re-enlist for service in the army. This time he became a member of the Fifty-second New York Infantry, and under the command of Gen. Grant participated in the campaign from the Rapidan to Petersburg. In July, 1864, while in front of Petersburg, he was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Forty-fifth United States Infantry; and in January, 1865, he was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant. In the assault on Ft. Harrison he was wounded by a shell, but fortunately the injuries, while painful, did not prove serious. At the expiration of his period of enlistment, he was honorably discharged, in November of 1865. In January of the following year he was again commissioned Second Lieutenant, but did not accept.

Returning to Eastman College, Mr. Potter remained there until June, 1866, when he returned to St. Joseph, Mich., and commenced to practice law, the firm name being Winslow & Potter. Later he was in partnership with a brother for about fifteen years, the title of the firm being Potter & Potter. In 1872 he removed to Kalamazoo, this State, and for one year conducted a general legal practice in that city, being in partnership with Hon. Henry F. Severens, present Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan. In 1878 he returned to St. Joseph, where he has since devoted his attention to practice in the courts of the city and county.

At various times Mr. Potter has been chosen to occupy positions of trust and responsibility within the gift of his fellow-citizens. In 1874 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives and cast the deciding vote which defeated Mr. Chandler and elected Mr. Christiancy to the United States Senate. He served for one term as a member of the Democratic State Central Committee. He was the Democratic candidate for Prosecuting Attorney, Judge of Probate Court, and Judge of Circuit Court, but, Berrien County being strongly Republican, he suffered defeat with the remainder of the Democratic ticket. He has served St. Joseph as City Attorney, and his services in that office were important, especially from April, 1891, to April, 1892, when he was largely instrumental in securing the system of water works and the electric street railway for the city of St. Joseph.

On the corner of Church and Pleasant Streets, St. Joseph, Mr. Potter has an attractive and elegant residence. He was married in February, 1868, to Miss Julia A. Dougherty, of Berrien Springs. They have four sons, and with the eldest the firm of Potter & Potter is continued.