William Wilson Potter

William Wilson Potter (December 18, 1792 – October 28, 1839) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania who served from 1837 until his death in 1839. Over the course of two terms in Congress, he represented the interests of his Pennsylvania constituents during a significant period in American political history marked by the later years of the Jacksonian era and the presidency of Martin Van Buren.

Potter was born on December 18, 1792, at Potters Mills, Centre County, Pennsylvania, a community associated with his family and bearing their name. He spent his early years in central Pennsylvania and pursued preparatory studies in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, which was then an emerging local center of education and law. His early education in Bellefonte prepared him for advanced study and a professional career at a time when formal schooling was becoming increasingly important for entry into the learned professions.

Continuing his education, Potter attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, one of the leading institutions of higher learning in the state. He graduated from Dickinson College, where he received the classical training typical of early nineteenth-century American colleges, an education that provided a foundation in rhetoric, law, and public affairs. Following his graduation, he turned to the study of law, a common path for college-educated men seeking public or professional advancement.

Potter studied law in Pennsylvania and was admitted to the bar in 1814. He commenced the practice of law shortly thereafter, establishing himself as an attorney in the region. Practicing in and around Bellefonte, he built a legal career that brought him local prominence and positioned him for entry into public life. His work as a lawyer in central Pennsylvania connected him with the political, commercial, and landholding interests of the area, and helped cultivate the support that would later underpin his congressional career.

A member of the Democratic Party, Potter was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-fifth Congress, serving from March 4, 1837. He was subsequently reelected to the Twenty-sixth Congress. His service in Congress thus extended from 1837 to 1841 in terms of the elected period, though he did not live to complete his second term. During his tenure in the House of Representatives, he participated in the legislative process at a time when the nation was grappling with issues such as the financial dislocation following the Panic of 1837, debates over banking and currency, and questions of internal improvements and federal power. As a Democratic representative, he aligned with the party that had been shaped by Andrew Jackson and was then led by President Martin Van Buren, and he took part in representing the interests and concerns of his Pennsylvania district within that broader partisan context.

Potter’s congressional service was cut short by his death in office. Although elected to the Twenty-sixth Congress, he died before that Congress assembled. William Wilson Potter died in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, on October 28, 1839, while still a sitting member of the House of Representatives. His death placed him among the members of the United States Congress who died in office in the nineteenth century. He was interred in Union Cemetery in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, where his burial reflected his long association with the community in which he had been educated, practiced law, and spent much of his public life.