“The Osborn Files” the History of the Family of Charlotte Osborn Potter, Her Children, and Her Ancestry
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“The Osborn Files” The History of the family of Charlotte Osborn Potter, Her children, and her ancestry Written and complied by Steven G. Mecham Text only is given below THE CHARLOTTE OSBORN POTTER FAMILY The children of Charlotte Osborn Potter at the time of her death remembered their mother as a kind and indulgent mother and the instrument in the hands of God of their conversion to the Gospel of Christ (1). Her story and the lives are her children are intertwined and hence this record contains an accounting of their lives. Charlotte Osborn, was born April 14, 1795 in Pawlet, Rutland County, Vermont, the eldest daughter of Justus Osborn and Susannah Dickerman(2). She was found living with her family in Pawlet, Vermont in 1800 (3), but the family moved to Pomfret Township, Niagara County, New York between 1809 or 1810 (4). She moved with her family from Chautauqua County, New York westward to Erie County, Pennsylvania, settling in Fairview Township some time between 1815 and 1816. She along with her father attended the first Methodist class held in his log cabin in Erie County, Pennsylvania in 1817(5). She met and married David Potter Jr. in Erie County, Pennsylvania in 1817 (6). They settled in then, Troy Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, which later became Avon Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania (7). In 1820, the area was still more or less frontier, so settlements and counties were in flux Their first child, Benjamin Potter was born in 1818 (8), a daughter, Esther Potter, was born in 1819 (9). Neither child lived to adulthood. David and Charlotte Potter were found living next to David’s older brother, Willis Potter and his young family in Troy Township, Cuyahoga, Ohio in 1820 (10). Another daughter, Sarah, was born to them on February 13, 1820 (11). Another son, Chester Potter, was born to this couple on 20 October 1822. Other children born in Avon Township, Lorain County Ohio, included: Lorenzo Potter, born June 24, 1824; Viana Potter, born August 22, 1825 (12). Some time about 1827 Charlotte’s brother, Jacob Osborn relocated to Lorain County, Ohio from Erie County, Pennsylvania (13). David Potter’s older brother, Willis Potter relocated to Amherst Township, Lorain County, Ohio before 1840(14). A daughter, Calista Potter, was born in 1828, in Elyria, Lorraine, Ohio, followed by a son, Newell Potter, born October 28, 1830 (15). David Potter and his family were found living next to Jacob Osborn and his family in Avon Township in 1830 (16). Amasa Potter was born January 10, 1833 (17), followed by his sister, Elizabeth Potter on December 18, 1835 (18). In 1838, David Potter moved his family from Lorain County, Ohio, to Allen County, Indiana, near present day Fort Wayne (19)(20). Here he cleared the thick woods and “made a good farm” with much effort and personal sacrifice (21). While clearing the thick woods, David Potter stumbled on some Indian artifacts, his son Amasa Potter records, “As we cleared up the farm and commenced to cultivate it, we found a small mound, in attempting to remove it, and level the land we came to a hard cement or burnt bricks. With considerable effort we succeeded in picking through it and came upon several ancient relics, all in a fair state of preservation. We found three copper kettles of about twelve quarts each, and we used them in our family for buckets for many years. We found in the same place two sets of carpenter’s tools. They were in a fair state of preservation and we cleaned them up and used them in the family many years. The metal in them was very hard, though the rust had nearly spoiled some of the small tools. There were three saws in the lot, but they were very much injured by rust. They had a heavy copper back in them which was not injured by rust. My father cleaned one of the saws so that he could use it and it was so hard that he could saw iron almost as well as wood with it. We found many stone implements that had been used for warfare, and two carpenter’s foot adzes which we cleaned up and used; also a hollowing adze for digging out canoes out of trees , which my father cleaned and gave to me. I have it through all my life and have it now as a relic, and hundreds of people have seen and handled it (22).” Charlotte’s oldest daughter, Sarah Potter, did not travel with them to Indiana. Desirous of obtaining an education, in 1836 at the age of sixteen, she became a member of the Oberlin Institute, as it was called then. Her parents, being poor and blessed with a large family, she was obliged to support herself. This she did by teaching school and by working in the families of the professors that taught at the Institute (23). She remained in Avon Township and attended Oberlin College (24)between 1837 and 1842 (25). The Potter family was found living in Cedar Creek Township, Allen County, Indiana in 1840 (26). It was here that their youngest son, Leonard, was born October 22, 1840. In 1841, Elder Arnold Potter (27), an LDS missionary, from Nauvoo, Illinois (28), came preaching in Allen County, Indiana. David Potter, his brother, and wife Charlotte went to hear him preach and were convinced that he taught the true gospel of Jesus Christ. They were baptized into the Church in 1841(29). Later four of their children were baptized into the Church the same year (30). Heavy persecution commenced for the Saints, so David Potter sold his home and moved to Nauvoo City, Ill., where the Saints were building up a fine city on the banks of the Mississippi river (31). Amasa Potter’s journal account recorded that the family moved to Nauvoo in 1842 (32). Charles Lamone Green (33), father of Allen Madison Green (future husband of Viana Potter) joined the Mormon Church in Allen County, Indiana in 1832 and resided there until relocating to Morey’s settlement, Illinois in 1841 (34). It is highly probably that the Green and Potter families may have known each other while living in Allen County, Indiana. The Charles Green family had relocated to Montrose, Lee County, Iowa in 1843. It was here that Charles Green’s son, Allen Madison Green (35), met and married Viena Potter in about 1843. While living in the Nauvoo area, David and Charlotte Potter and their family became well acquainted with the Prophet Joseph Smith. Of the family’s first meeting with the Prophet, AmasaPotter wrote: “In the year 1842 I was moving with my parents from Indiana to Nauvoo, Illinois, and one bright sunny day as we came within three miles of the city we met a buggy with two men in it. The buggy turned out of the road and stopped. My father [David Potter Jr.] was driving out team and he stopped the horses. The man in the buggy asked if we were going to Nauvoo. Father replied that we were. The gentleman in the buggy said, “No doubt you have heard of Joseph Smith the Prophet”. Mother [Charlotte Osborn Potter] then answered, “We have come five hundred miles to see him.” “I am that man!”, replied the person in the buggy who acted as spokesman, and then called us all up to the side of the buggy, and shook hands with us, and gave Father some instructions about where to go to purchase some land and to settle near the City (36).” When the Prophet spoke outdoors, he often began his talks by asking the Saints to pray for the wind or rain to be calmed until he got through speaking. At a conference held in Nauvoo on April 8, 1843, the Prophet began an address by saying: “I have three requests to make of the congregation: The first is, that all who have faith will exercise it and pray the Lord to calm the wind; for as it blows now, I cannot speak long without seriously injuring my health; the next is that I may have your prayers that the Lord will strengthen my lungs, so that I may be able to make you all hear; and the third is, that you will pray for the Holy Ghost to rest upon me, so as to enable me to declare those things that are true (37).” On one occasion Amasa Potter recalled being present at a powerful sermon when the Prophet Joseph preached to a large group of Saints in Nauvoo: “When [the Prophet] had spoken about thirty minutes there came up a heavy wind and storm. The dust was so dense that we could not see each other any distance, and some of the people were leaving when Joseph called out to them to stop and let their prayers ascend to Almighty God that the winds may cease blowing and the rain stop falling, and it should be so. In a very few minutes the winds and rain ceased and the elements became as calm as a summer’s morning. The storm divided and sent on the north and south of the city and we could see in the distance the trees and shrubs waving in the wind, while where we were it was quiet for one hour, and during that time one of the greatest sermons that ever fell from the Prophet’s lips were preached on the great subject of the dead” (38). Charlotte’s eldest daughter, Sarah, married David Wirt (39) who also attended Oberlin college (40) on April 3, 1845 at Oberlin College, in Lorain County, Ohio by Professor Carles G.