POTTER

There is an old story of some Australlian Potter brothers that came to the Caribbean and settled in Anegada, Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic/Hati) and the British Virgin Islands (Tortola). I am researching the history of the Potters in Tortola and trying to find if there is any truth to this story and find the fathers of my great great grandfather Richard "Masah" Potter of Tortola, BVI.

I am also searching for info on ancestors from Anegada. My great grandfathers name is: Cowbert 'Gassie' Potter and he married Marie Vetele Vanterpool. That is all I know. Have you been able to find out more about the Potters?

I doubt either of you will read this 7 years after it was first posted, but I'm also trying to trace my Potter ancestors from the BVI. One of my ancestors was called John Potter, he was a coloured man and moved to Liverpool, England about 1800. He was quite a well educated man who could read and write, as he started a family bible which still survives. He also purchased a rather expensive grandfather clock which still exists too and is owned by another of his descendants.

I have a picture of one of John's daughters and she is fairly white, but I know from a newspaper article that John was coloured, so my guess is he must have been mixed race. Were the Potters originally a white family perhaps?

I have DNA matches in Anegada but can't find any information that would help me to figure out who John's parents are, unfortunately. Does anyone know anything more about John or the Potter family from that time period?

I think you and I must be related.

Cowbert Gassie Potter was the son of Joseph Alfred Potter and Isabella Creque.