William James Potter (Feb. 1, 1829 - Dec. 21, 1893), Unitarian clergyman, theologian, and author, one of the founders of the Free Religious Association and the editor of the Index. Son of William and Anna (Aiken) Potter, a Quaker family of North Dartmouth, Mass., Potter was educated at the Friends School in Providence, R.I. In the late 1840, he taught school in Dartmouth and Bridgeport, Mass. In 1850, he entered Harvard College. Upon his graduation in 1854, he briefly taught at Cambridge High School, and in 1856 entered the Harvard Divinity School which he soon left to travel to Germany, Italy, Switzerland. Potter returned to the United States, and in December 1895 became the First Congregational Society in New Bedford, Mass. He remained with the New Bedford congregation until his retirement in 1892. As an ardent abolitionist, Potter was a strong supporter of the war. When he was drafted in 1863, he refused an offer to let wealthy parishioners buy a substitute. Potter was detailed as inspector of military hospitals and was later appointed chaplain to the Convalescent camp (later Camp Distribution), near Alexandria, Va. He was discharged in August 1864, and returned to New Bedford. In September 1863, he married Elizabeth Claghorn Babcock (d. 1879), a teacher and a member of the congregation. Elizabeth (Lizzie) was daughter of Spooner Babcock and Lydia Delano Babcock; her brother Joseph was a successful shipping entrepreneur and a first cousin, Warren Delano II (1809-1898), one of the nation's wealthiest men. The couple had children: Anna Aiken (b. 1864) (mother of Conrad Aiken), and Alfred Claghorn (1865-1940), author and the librarian at Harvard College.
From the description of Papers of William James Potter, 1846-1949 (bulk 1846-1876). (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 123473290
