Father: George H. Potts
Mother: Mariah Hendrickson
Spouse: Nancy Catherine Agnew
m: 21/Apr/1881 - Mason Co., IL
Child-1: George Leander - b: 6/Jan/1882 - Mason Co., IL
d: 9/Nov/1964 - WA
m: Rena L. Green - 12/Nov/1912? - OK
2: Jacob
Ira - b: 28/Oct/1883 - Mason Co., IL
d: 22/May/1927 - bur: White Rose Cem., Bartlesville,
Washington Co., OK
m: Elizabeth Rachel Statler - 23/May/1909
3: Lee
Agnew - b: 12/Apr/1886 - Anderson Co., KS
d: Jan/1950 - Washington Co., OK - bur: Ochelata Cem.
m: Drusilla Trine - 24/Jun/1907
4: Bessie
Nannie
5: Sylvia
May - b: 19/Jul/1890 - Anderson Co., KS
d: 31/Aug/1891 - Anderson Co., KS
6: William
McDaniel - b: 26/Apr/1892 - Anderson Co., KS
d: 5/Feb/1973 - Brazos Co., TX - bur: College
Station Cem.
m: Eris Gustavus - 26/Nov/1929
7: Jesse
Hendrickson - b: 3/Oct/1894 - Anderson Co., KS
d: 29/Aug/1981 - Oneida Co., ID - bur: Blakley
Cem., Greenwood Co., KS
m: Thelma Glee Jones - 24/Jan/1916
8: Margaret
Maria - b: 16/Jul/1897 - Anderson Co., KS
d: 26/Aug/1902 - Anderson Co., KS
Biographical Details:
Jacob Hendrickson Potts was the third surviving son of George H. and Mariah Hendrickson Potts and was born on November 1, 1852, almost certainly in Wayne Township in Fulton County, Indiana. It seems transparently evident that he was the namesake of his maternal uncle, Jacob Hendrickson, who lived close by and appears to have been a prominent citizen of the township. Accordingly, it would further seem evident that Jacob spent his childhood and youth in this locality. Even so, the population schedule of the 1880 US Census for Mason County, Illinois, reveals that at the time the census was taken, Jacob Potts was an unmarried young man employed as a general farm laborer and living in Salt Creek Township in the household of W. T. Young. Within this context, relevant census records further reveal that Jacob's two older brothers, Peter and William as well as his brother-in-law and older sister, Andrew and Marcy Potts Mohler, had moved with family members to Mason County shortly before 1870.1 At that time Jacob was still living with his parents in Indiana, but it would seem obvious that he also moved to Illinois, perhaps, two or three years later. Subsequently, Peter Potts returned with his wife, Prudence, and their children to Fulton County in the fall of 1873, but during the 1870's William had married twice in Mason County and in 1880 was still living in Illinois. Likewise, although widowed Andrew Mohler also remained in Mason County in 1880. Accordingly, Jacob Hendrickson Potts and Nancy Catherine Agnew were married in Mason County on April 21, 1881. Following their marriage they lived on a farm, probably in Salt Creek Township, and their two oldest sons, George Leander and Jacob Ira, were born while they lived in this locality. However, according to family tradition, Jacob and Nancy Potts migrated from Illinois to Kansas in 1884 or 1885 and settled near the small town of Colony located near the southern edge of Anderson County. This is confirmed by the population schedule of the 1885 Kansas State Census for Anderson County which listed the household of Jacob Potts, occupation farmer, and included his wife, Nannie, and two young sons, George and Ira, as well as his brother-in-law, Henry Agnew, aged twenty years. It is not clear why the family left relatives in Illinois and moved to Kansas, but it would seem a reasonable presumption that they felt that this would afford them substantial economic opportunity. Indeed, in the period following the Civil War available land in Kansas was rapidly settled and it is evident from the population schedule of the 1900 US Census for Anderson County, Kansas, that the Potts family remained in this locality until after the turn of the twentieth century. Even so, according to son, William McDaniel (Bill) Potts, in 1901 the family moved to nearby Iola, Kansas, county seat of Allen County. This is supported by the population schedule of the 1905 Kansas State Census for Allen County, which indicated that J. H. Potts, aged fifty-one, was resident with his family in the town of Iola and was employed as a "smelterman". As a matter of history, substantial deposits of zinc ore were discovered in the region of southeastern Kansas, southwestern Missouri, and northwestern Oklahoma, and in the period before 1900 the area rapidly became a center of the zinc industry.2 It may only be supposed that this industry provided a more secure livelihood than agriculture, since according to census records of 1910, Jacob Potts and his three older sons were all employed in the zinc industry. Moreover, Bill Potts further reported that the family moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, in 1909. Indeed, this is confirmed by the population schedule of the 1910 US Census for Washington County, Oklahoma, which indicated that Jacob H. and Nancy C. Potts were then resident in Bartlesville, along with three unmarried sons, George L., William M., and Jesse H. In addition, the population schedule identified Jacob's occupation as "night watchman" at a zinc factory and it would seem plausible that an opportunity for such a "plum" of a job might have provided motivation for the move from Iola to Bartlesville, but this is merely speculation. In any case, census records also indicate that daughter, Bessie, and sons, Lee and Ira, remained behind in Kansas, all three having married by 1910. (However, both Lee and Ira had followed their parents to Oklahoma by 1920.) Subsequent census records confirm that Jacob and Nancy Potts remained resident in Bartlesville until Jacob's death in 1941. He was buried in the White Rose Cemetery.Source Notes and Citations:
1. The name of the wife of Andrew Mohler is problematical. In the 1850 Fulton County population schedule she was included as a three-month-old infant named "Marcia J." and in 1860 as a ten-year-old female child named "Mercy J.". Clearly, this does not represent any serious discrepancy since "Marcy" could have easily been recorded as "Mercy" by whoever collected information for the census. Alternatively, there is good evidence that her mother's paternal grandmother's name was actually Mercy, so this name could have been the correct one, although this seems, perhaps, less likely. Even so, the marriage of Margie J. Potts to Andrew Mohler was recorded in Fulton County, Indiana, in 1868 and there is little doubt that "Margie" was the daughter of George and Mariah Hendrickson Potts. Again, this suggests that "Marcy" has been incorrectly written as "Margie" and, therefore, can be attributed to clerical error in recording or transcription of civil records. Of more difficulty is the population schedule of the 1870 US Census for Mason County, Illinois, which clearly recorded the name of the wife of Andrew Mohler as "Nancy J.", aged twenty years. Since the names of William W. Potts and his wife, Rosetta, appear on the lines immediately above the Mohler family, it seems almost certain that Marcy J. Mohler has been incorrectly recorded as Nancy J. Mohler. Within this context, it seems most probable that the third surviving daughter of George H. and Mariah Hendrickson Potts was given the name "Marcia" at birth, but was called "Marcy" during her lifetime. Unfortunately, she died quite young, probably about 1875, and, therefore, few civil records concerning her exist. (unpublished notes)
back to bio.2. William E. Connelley, Secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, Lewis Pub. Co., Chicago, IL, 1918: Vol. 4, pgs. 2076-7.
"WILLIAM LANYON. More than any other the name Lanyon is distinctive of the zinc industry in Southeastern Kansas, particularly at Pittsburg. The Lanyon family had been prominent in this particular industry for several generations. To a large degree the importance of Pittsburg as a zinc manufacturing center is due to the enterprise of the Lanyons who came to this part of Kansas more than thirty years ago from their original home in Southern Wisconsin, where they had operated extensive mining and manufacturing industries.
Though he was one of the earliest of the family to take an active part in the zinc industry in Southeastern Kansas, Mr. William Lanyon gave up many of his interests in that field some years ago, and is now best known as a banker and leading citizen. He is vice president of the National Bank of Pittsburg and is now serving as mayor of the city.
He was born at Mineral Point, Wisconsin, December 26, 1862. His father William Lanyon was a native of England, where he was born in 1830. Six years after his birth his parents came to the United States and finally settled in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. He grew up there, married, and was first engaged in the grain business. Coming to Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1882, he was a pioneer in the development of the coal fields and the operation of the zinc industry, and was closely associated with those phases of the city's growth and development. However, he always kept his home at Mineral Point, Wisconsin, where he died in June, 1908. He was a republican, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and belonged to the Masons and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. William Lanyon, Sr., married Miss Maria Thomas, who was born in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, in 1837 and died there in 1914. Their children were: William; Ella, wife of Henry Vaughn, a broker in New York City; Myrtle, wife of J. A. Meserole, a retired druggist of Mineral Point; Colonel, who resides at Iola, Kansas, and was formerly closely identified with the Iola State Bank; Daisy is the wife of Thornton Posey, who is a buyer for the American Tobacco Company and lives in New York State.
William Lanyon received his early education in the public schools of Mineral Point, Wisconsin, graduating from the high school in 1882. In the fall of the same year he arrived in Pittsburg, and thenceforward was closely identified with the great Lanyon zinc smelters until 1908. The Lanyon Company also had zinc works at Iola. Several years ago these industries were sold to the United Zinc Company. Mr. Lanyon then built a zinc plant at Neodesha, Kansas, but finally sold that. He is still treasurer of the Pittsburg Zinc Company. After retiring from the zinc business largely he returned to Pittsburg and bought an interest in the National Bank of Pittsburg, of which he is now vice president.
Politically he is a republican. He served eight years altogether as member of the city council and as city commissioner. In April, 1915, he was elected mayor and is handling the affairs of the city in a very progressive and enlightened manner. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, to Pittsburg Lodge No. 187, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Pittsburg Chapter No. 58, Royal Arch Masons, Pittsburg Commandery No. 29, Knights Templar, Mirza Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Pittsburg, and to Valley of Wichita Consistory No. 1 of the Scottish Rite. Everything connected with Pittsburg's welfare finds a ready and generous supporter in Mr. Lanyon. He has been a working member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Retailers Association, and also belongs to the Country Club and the Kansas Bankers Association.
In 1883 at Mineral Point, his native town, he married Miss Amelia Spratley, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Spratley. Her father, who was a merchant, is now deceased and her mother still lives in Mineral Point. Mr. and Mrs. Lanyon have four children: Roy, who is employed in the zinc business at Bartlesville, Oklahoma; Lynnett is the wife of A. C. Ellsworth, who operates a steam shovel in the mines about Pittsburg; Wilma is a graduate of the Pittsburg High School and is now attending the Belmont Seminary for Young Women at Nashville, Tennessee; Helen is a senior in the Pittsburg High School." (Carolyn Ward (tr), skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1918ks/biol/lanyonw.html, 2003.)
back to bio.
Additional Citations:
3. 1880 US Census Population Schedule for Mason County, Illinois, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 439B, (microfilm: roll T9_235; img. 260).4. 1900 US Census Population Schedule for Anderson County, Kansas, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 284B, (microfilm: roll T623_470; img. 80).
5. 1910 US Census Population Schedule for Washington County, Oklahoma, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 75B, (microfilm: roll T624_1276; img. 153).
6. 1920 US Census Population Schedule for Washington County, Oklahoma, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 114B, (microfilm: roll T625_1490; img. 227).
7. 1930 US Census Population Schedule for Washington County, Oklahoma, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 119A, (microfilm: roll T626_1938; img. 240).
8. 1940 US Census Population Schedule for Washington County, Oklahoma, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 155A, (microfilm: roll T627_3339; img. 313).
9. 1885 Kansas State Census Population Schedule for Anderson County, Kansas State Historical Soc., 6425 SW Sixth Ave., Topeka, KS, 66615: pg. 35, (microfilm: roll 1885_K3; imgs. 477-8).
10. 1905 Kansas State Census Population Schedule for Allen County, Kansas State Historical Soc., 6425 SW Sixth Ave., Topeka, KS, 66615: pg. 35, (microfilm: roll 1905_K1; imgs. 533-4).
11. Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Illinois State Archives & Illinois Genealogical Society, Springfield, IL, 2014. ("Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900", www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases/marriage.html)
12. Karen Smith Woods and Kimberley Inman,"White Rose Cemetery", Bartlesville, OK, 74003. (Anonymous, "City of Bartlesville", www.cityofbartlesville.org/departments/cemetery/index.htm, 2005.)
13. White Rose Cemetery, Washington County, Oklahoma (www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=99793&CScn=White+Rose&CScntry=4&CSst=38&CScnty=2201&, continuously updated).
14. Ochelata Cemetery, Washington County, Oklahoma (www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=99140&CScn=Ochelata&CScntry=4&CSst=38&, continuously updated).
15. College Station Cemetery, Brazos County, Texas (www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2976&CScn=college+station&CScntry=4&CSst=46&, continuously updated).
16. Blakely Cemetery, Greenwood County, Kansas (www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=92045&CScn=Blakely&CScntry=4&CSst=18&, continuously updated).