William Wesley Potts (b. circa 1816 - d. 1875)
MSA SC 5496-930
Escaped from Baltimore City, Maryland, 1850
Biography:
William Wesley Potts escaped from slavery in 1850. When Dr. William J. Williams advertised for Potts's capture, he stated that the fugitive was likely trying to get back to his native Queen Anne's County. Williams also added that Potts was supposed to be freed in six years.1
Potts's fate after his escape remains uncertain. However, the 1870 census
for Queen Anne's County recorded an African American farmer named William
Potts, who owned $1,000 in real estate. The census recorded William Potts's
age as fifty-three, making his birth year about 1817.2 He lived
with his wife, Sarah A. Duckery,3 and their children, William,
James, John E., Joseph, Abraham, Thomas, Caroline, Emma, Henrietta, and
Charlott. Their oldest child, William, was born in 1851,4 the
year after William Wesley Potts had escaped from slavery. William Potts'
birth year, his residence in Queen Anne's County, and the birth year of
his oldest child all make him a possible match to the Potts who escaped
from slavery.
1. "Twenty-Five Dollars Reward." Baltimore Sun 5 December 1850.
2. U.S. Census Bureau (Census Record, MD) for William Potts, 1870, Queen Anne's County, Districts 1 and 2, Page 33, Line 10 [MSA SM61-277, SCM 7258].
3. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS, (Death Record, Counties), [MSA SE43-3867]. Thomas Potts, November 1, 1926, Talbot County.
4. U.S. Census Bureau (Census
Record, MD) for William Potts, 1870, Queen Anne's County, Districts 1 and
2, Page 33, Line 10 [MSA SM61-277, SCM 7258].
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