Horatio Potter (February 9, 1802 – January 2, 1887), was an educator and the sixth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.
Dearth of biographical information Potter "shrank from public notice, left no literary monument and has, regrettably, no biography. He is scarcely mentioned in the biographies of his older brother Alonzo, Bishop of Pennsylvania, and of his nephew, Henry Codman Potter, his successor in the See of New York." His life is described in a book about the Potter family of colonial New England.
Early life and education Horatio Potter, D.D., LL.D., S.T.D. was born on February 9, 1802, the youngest of the nine children to Joseph and Anne Potter. Through his grandparents Thomas Potter and Esther Sheldon, respectively, Horatio was descended from the co-founders of Rhode Island, William Arnold and Roger Williams. The Potters were Quaker farmers who lived near Beekman (now LaGrange) in Dutchess County, New York. "Their Quaker devotion appears in the names they bestowed on their oldest son, Paraclete, and only daughter, Philadelphia." Potter spent his earliest years at the family homestead.
Paraclete Potter, Horatio's elder brother, was established in Poughkeepsie, New York, where the Poughkeepsie Academy was located. Therefore, in 1812, he had his ten-year-old brother Horatio move in with him and enroll in the Academy, which offered a better education than did the district schools in Beekman. While living with his brother, Horatio went with him to Christ Episcopal Church in Poughkeepsie, and he was impressed by the worship service. During his ten years in Poughkeepsie, Horatio "clerked at various times in his brother's book store." Horatio remained with his brother through 1822. He wanted a college education, and, with his brother Alonzo's help. Horatio went to Union College, Schenectady, New York. He graduated in 1826 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.Sister Mary Hilary, CSM, Ten Decades of Praise; The Story of the Community of Saint Mary during Its First Century CSM, Racine, WI: The DeKoven Foundation for Church Work, 1965. Chapter 3, "Genesis."
After graduation, Horatio Potter followed his older brother Alonzo into the Episcopal Church. He was confirmed by Bishop John Henry Hobart at St. Thomas' Church in New York and began studying for holy orders. Thus, Potter had no seminary training.Bourgeois (2003), 8.
Professor at Washington College: 1828–1833
Potter was ordained deacon on July 15, 1827, and priest on December 14, 1828. He served his several months diaconate at Trinity Church, Saco, Maine. In 1828, Potter was elected professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Washington College (now Trinity College), Hartford, Connecticut). While there, Potter "took an active part in plans for the enlargement of the college and the erection of its new buildings."National Cyclopedia (1898), 515.
Marriages and children Potter was twice married. His first marriage was to Mary Jane Tomlinson on September 22, 1827, with whom he had six children. On June 8, 1847, Mrs. Potter, "who had been the loved helpmeet of her husband in every good work," died.Hooper (1900), 290. She left six children, five of them under twelve. In his loss, Potter perceived "the loving purposes of God." He believed that his loss would add "earnestness and tenderness" to his "efforts to edify and console" his parishioners. Their children were as follows:Margherita Arlina Hamm, Famous Families of New York: Historical and Biographical Sketches of Families Which in Successive Generations Have Been Identified with the Development of the Nation (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902), 55. Charles Henry [born July 6, 1828; died January 30, 1830] Mary Jane [born February 23, 1830; died September 30, 1834] Anna [born September 10, 1831] David T. , Phoebe , Horatio , Robert Minturn , William Bleecker [born March 25, 1845; died July 14, 1914](Professor of Geology), and Mary Jane Potter Chauncey [born May 1, 1847; died September 9, 1936] (Mrs. Elihu Chauncey).
In 1852, Potter took a holiday in Scotland, during which he met Mary Atchison Pollock, a forty-two-year-old Scottish lady. They corresponded after his return to Albany, during which Potter proposed marriage. Pollock accepted his proposal in 1853. When she arrived in New York, Potter met her at the dock and escorted her to Trinity Church for their wedding. There were no children by this marriage.
St. Peter's Church, Albany: 1833-1854
On February 27, 1833, Potter accepted the rectorship of St. Peter's Church, Albany, New York. He was instituted as rector on Saturday, May 11, 1833. In his first sermon, preached the next day, Potter said, "My brethren, I present myself before you today as your spiritual pastor–as your servant for Jesus' sake! . . . Give me, then, my brethren, I entreat you, your sympathy, your hearty support, and above all your fervent prayers."
Potter soon "gained the respect and regard of all his parishioners," and "a high position" among the men of Albany. In all the "charitable and philanthropic" enterprises, he served not only as a "judicious adviser," but also as a financial contributor. His ability was also recognized by other clergy. Potter remained as rector of St. Peter's for twenty-one years until his election as provisional bishop of New York in 1854. During his tenure there, "he modernized the church both spiritually and physically."Hooper (1900), 255-256, 271.
The first act of modernizing the church physically was in 1834 by the purchase of a new organ.Hooper (1900), 257. This was followed in 1835 by renovating the church building: repairing the floors and pews, painting the interior, a new pulpit, addition of a vestry room, and new lamps. In 1847, a new Rectory was built.Hooper (1900), 258-259, 289.
On June 1, 1835, the parish, having noticed Potter's impaired heath, the Vestry requested Potter to do whatever he thought best to restore his health. Following the Vestry's request, Potter spent the summer of 1835 abroad, principally in England. "He returned much refreshed."Hooper (1900), 259.
On November 7, 1837, in Alton, Illinois, a pro-slavery mob killed the abolitionist and newspaper publisher Elijah Parish Lovejoy. In response, on November 26, 1837, Potter preached a sermon in which he defended a free press and opposed slavery. Regarding the latter, he said, "Let us not refuse to think sometimes of the poor slave, whose rights to the products of his own labour, to the care of his own happiness, to the direction of his own physical, intellectual and moral energies are all invaded.... Let us not sit down contentedly with the thought, that this train of misery and guilt, this national blot, is to be perpetuated forever."
In 1837, Potter declined his election as president of Washington College (now Trinity College), Hartford, Connecticut.
On April 25, 1841, Potter was invited to deliver a Discourse on the Death of William Henry Harrison to the New York State Legislature in St. Peter's Church, after the death of President William Henry Harrison. His theme was "Uprightness and Religious Character in Rulers." Rather than a conventional eulogy, Potter's address included "a probing analysis of the evils of political life" and an "eloquent characterization" of Harrison.Hooper (1900), 274.
On July 23, 1843, Potter preached a sermon on The Stability of the Church, as Seen in Her History and in Her Principles. In the sermon, he said that "our Church occupies, let it ever be remembered, a middle ground, in regard to its doctrines, discipline and worship, between Romanism on the one side and ultra Protestantism on the other." In this statement, Potter articulated the via media position.
On January 3, 1845, Potter's bishop, Benjamin T. Onderdonk was sentenced to suspension from "the exercise of his ministry and of his office as bishop." This gave Potter the additional task of overseeing the missions in upstate New York. Later in 1845, a voyage to England was offered made to Potter. On May 26, 1845, the Vestry of St. Peter's "resolved unanimously" that their Rector should take the voyage and expressed "their high estimate of his services and character." Potter was accompanied by his wife. In England, being of the high church persuasion, he met with "several of the leaders of the Oxford Movement," such as John Keble, Isaac Williams, Edward Bouverie Pusey, George Moberly, and William Skinner, Bishop of Aberdeen. Potter returned to Albany in the autumn of 1845 "in greatly improved health and spirits."Hooper (1900), 283-284, 286-287.
In January 1849, St. Peter's faced a debt crisis, which, if not solved, would result in the loss of all of St. Peter's property including the church building and rectory. Previous vestries had paid annual deficits by selling of portions of the income producing real estate owned until all of it had been sold, leaving only the lot on which the church building and rectory were located. The 1849 Vestry took immediate action to relieve the parish's "great burden of debt." With the debt crisis resolved, St. Peter's was freed to devote "greater energy and devotion" for work by Potter and his parishioners "for the advancement of the Church in the city, and the engaging in new works of piety and mercy."Hooper (1900), 292-293, 297-298.
Potter was characterized by Joseph Hooper, who wrote A History of Saint Peter's Church in the City of Albany, as one of "the most honored and distinguished of the rectors of St. Peter's."Hooper (1900), 256. While at St. Peter's, Potter was often asked whether he would accept election as a bishop, but he "discouraged every movement toward his election" until his election as bishop of the Diocese of New York of which St. Peter's was a part.National Cyclopedia of American Biography (1898), 516.
Ministry as Bishop: New York 1854–1887 In 1854, Bishop Wainwright, the provisional bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York died after two years of strenuous work repairing "the neglect caused by the seven years' vacancy in the episcopate." At the September 1854 Diocesan Convention, Potter was elected provisional bishop. He accepted the election. In his acceptance speech, Potter pleaded with his fellow Churchmen to "try to love each other, try to banish hard words, and satirical speeches, and uncharitable judgments from the Church of God."
On Wednesday, November 22, 1854, in Trinity Church, New York City, Potter was consecrated bishop. The church was filled to overflowing and "the service was probably the most impressive and elaborate that had ever been held in the American Church.Hooper (1900), 302-303. He became bishop of a diocese in "a state of great depression and disquiet, owing to the controversies that resulted from the trial and suspension of the Bishop Onderdonk."National Cyclopedia (1898), 516. Potter's episcopate spanned "years of national division, ecclesiastical tensions between high and low church factions, and momentous economic and social changes in New York."
Bard College In 1860, St. Stephen's College at Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, was established under Potter's leadership. It was subsequently renamed Bard College. In Chapter Two ("The Professor, the Bishop, and the Country Squire: Bard College") of the History of Bard College, Potter is "the Bishop" and he is described as one of the three men "whose efforts brought the College into being." He "gave the College his unfaltering support," and he was a member of the College's original Board of Trustees.
Bard College's "Stone Row" (now used as a dormitory) was built as part of the original St. Stephen's College campus. It consists of four adjacent buildings: North Hoffman, South Hoffman, Potter, and McVickar. The Potter building was named after Bishop Horatio Potter.
Bishop Onderdonk died on April 30, 1861. With this, Potter's position changed from "provisional bishop" to Bishop of the Diocese of New York. He "discharged the duties" of this office until three years and eight months before he died.