Orlando Brunson Potter

Orlando Brunson Potter (March 10, 1823 – January 2, 1894) was an American lawyer, industrialist, real estate developer, and Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York City. He is primarily recognized for his influential role in devising the framework that led to the National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864, and he served one term in Congress from 1883 to 1885 representing New York’s 11th congressional district during a significant period in American political and economic history.

Potter was born on March 10, 1823, in Charlemont, Massachusetts, the son of Samuel and Sophia Rice Potter. He attended the local district school in Charlemont before pursuing higher education at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He subsequently studied law at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In recognition of his professional and public contributions, Harvard later conferred upon him an honorary Master of Arts degree in 1867 and an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree in 1889.

After completing his legal studies, Potter was admitted to the bar on February 12, 1845, and commenced the practice of law in Boston, Massachusetts. On October 28, 1850, he married Martha Green Wiley. In May 1853, he moved to New York, where he shifted his focus from general legal practice to manufacturing and patent law. He became president of the Grover and Baker Sewing Machine Company, a position that placed him at the intersection of industrial innovation and intellectual property at a time of rapid technological advancement in the United States.

Potter’s interests extended beyond manufacturing into agriculture and real estate. He maintained a six-hundred-acre farm on the Hudson River in Ossining, New York, where he pursued agricultural enterprises. In Manhattan, he became an important figure in commercial real estate development, financing and constructing several commercial buildings. Among his most notable projects was the Potter Building in New York City, a prominent office structure that reflected contemporary advances in fireproof construction and urban commercial architecture. Later, together with Asahel Clarke Geer and his son-in-law Walter Danforth Geer, he helped form the New York Architectural Terra-Cotta Company on Long Island, which supplied architectural terra-cotta for building projects. In 1884, he purchased the site at 71 Broadway in lower Manhattan and began planning the Empire Building, a major office building that was completed after his death by his estate.

Potter is primarily known for his early and substantial contribution to the development of a national banking system in the United States. In an exhaustive letter to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase dated August 14, 1861, he outlined a detailed plan for a national banking structure that would support federal finance and stabilize the currency. Much of his proposal was incorporated into the National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864, landmark legislation that reshaped the American financial system during and after the Civil War. His work on this issue secured his reputation as a significant, if largely behind-the-scenes, architect of federal banking policy.

Potter’s direct involvement in electoral politics came later in his career. A member of the Democratic Party, he first sought election to the United States House of Representatives in 1878 but was unsuccessful in his bid for a seat in the Forty-sixth Congress. He remained active in public affairs, and in 1882 he was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-eighth Congress, serving from March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1885, as the representative of New York’s 11th congressional district. During his single term in the U.S. House of Representatives, he participated in the legislative process at a time of ongoing national debate over finance, industry, and urban growth, representing the interests of his New York City constituents. After congressional redistricting in 1884, he declined to be a candidate for renomination and returned to his business and civic pursuits.

In his later years, Potter continued to play a prominent role in New York City’s civic and institutional life. He served as a member of the Rapid Transit Commission of New York City from 1890 to 1894, contributing to early efforts to address the city’s growing transportation needs. He was also associated with Cornell University and served as a trustee of the New York Savings Bank on Bleecker Street, reflecting his ongoing engagement with educational and financial institutions. Potter died suddenly in New York City on January 2, 1894. At the time of his death, he was widely believed to have been the wealthiest man in New York City to die intestate, leaving no will to govern the disposition of his substantial estate. He was interred in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, where he is buried alongside his wife, Martha, and their three daughters: Mary, Martha, and Blanche.