Banker/Trustee
Centurion, 1871–1897
Born 8 July 1826 in Schenectady, New York
Died 24 March 1897 in London, England
Buried Green-Wood Cemetery
, Brooklyn, New York
Proposed by William Cullen Bryant, Samuel J. Tilden, and Charles A. Joy
Elected 7 October 1871 at age forty-five
Archivist’s Note: Brother of Clarkson N. Potter, Edward T. Potter, and Howard Potter; half-brother of William A. Potter; brother-in-law of Launt Thompson; father-in-law of Robert Shaw Minturn and J. Kennedy Tod
Proposer of:
Century Memorial
The name of Howard Potter is his best eulogium. He came of a family that could say with the Rohans of France, “King I am not, Prince I would not be, Rohan I am.” He upheld, through a long and useful life, the high standards of all his kindred, and left in the business and social world of London and New York an enviable record as a prime mover in large transactions, a founder and supporter of all good works in church and charity, and a leader and arbiter in social functions, rarely excelled.
His name was a guaranty for whatever it was connected with, for it implied wisdom, integrity, ability and belief in whatever he undertook. The record of his life, interwoven as it was with that of one of the most notable families of New York, would be the history of the city for the last forty years. He was universally respected wherever he was known, but most by those who knew him best and longest.
Henry E. Howland
1898 Century Association Yearbook
