Robert Potter (U.S. politician)
Robert Potter (* 1800 in Williamsboro, Granville County, North Carolina; † March 2, 1842 in Marshall, Texas ) was an American politician. Between 1829 and 1831 he represented the state of North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Career
The exact date of birth of Robert Potter is unknown. He attended the common schools and then served 1815-1821 as a midshipman in the U.S. Navy. After a subsequent study of law and qualifying as a lawyer in Halifax, he began to work in this profession. At the same time he embarked on a political career. Potter was a supporter of President Andrew Jackson and later became a member of the Democratic Party, founded in 1828 by this. Already 1826-1828 he was a deputy in the House of Representatives from North Carolina. In 1827 he moved his Woihnsitz and his law firm to Oxford.
In the congressional elections of 1828 Potter was in the sixth constituency of North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC chosen, where he became the successor of Daniel Turner on March 4, 1829. After a re-election, he could remain until his resignation in November 1831 in Congress. There was discussed in those years heavily on the politics of the incumbent also since 1829 President Andrew Jackson. Potter's resignation was the result of a scandal. He had two men attacked and seriously injured, who allegedly had an affair with his wife. He was then sentenced to six months in prison. In 1834 he was still again elected to the House of Representatives from North Carolina. There he was but excluded because of the aforementioned incident. He then moved to Texas, which was still a Mexican province at that time.
In Texas, he settled on a farm near Marshall in Harrison County. On 2 March 1836 he was a member of the Assembly, which proclaimed the independence of Texas. During the following Texas Revolution he was Secretary of the Navy in the Cabinet of the Interim President of the Republic of Texas, David G. Burnet. Between 1837 and 1841 he represented the Red River District in the Texas House of Representatives. Robert Potter took in 1842 at a local feud in his home, the so-called regulator - Moderator War, and part was killing near his estate by his opponents. He was later buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. The Potter County, Texas was named after him.