share pictures of our family and stories passed down from generation to generation. Many of these
stories that our parents and grandparents have told us are being lost as the generations pass on.
So I invite you as a guest to post a story or a picture to share with future generations.
I hope to share with you a picture or a story that I have been told each day.
So here we go!
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| Thomas & Maria (Matkin) Pott |
On the left is a picture of my
Great Grandparents on my mom's side
of the family, Thomas & Maria (Matkin) Pott.
It was taken about 1910 while they were visiting family in England.
 John Jr. Pott - b: 1829 (Circa- 1870-1880) |
To the left is a picture of John Jr. Pott who was my Great Great Grandfather and the father of Thomas Pott. I believe that Thomas and Maria brought the portrait with them when they immigrated to Canada in 1892. John would be the father of Francis, Thomas, John, Mary & Sarah Pott.
John Pott Jr. 1829 –1897
John Pott Jr. was christened on Sunday July 5, 1829 so we can suggest that he was born in the early part of 1829 at Yoxall, Staffordshire, England and was the son of John Pott Sr. and Hannah (Buckley). This has been verified with a parish entry. We see on John Jr.’s marriage certificate to his second wife Mary (Shippley) Woolley his father’s name is listed as John Pott which helps to verify his fathers name.
Here's an interesting story about the picture and the portrait of John Pott above. While clearing out the farm house to move my dad after the passing of my mom I came across the two foot portrait of a man. At the time I was not aware who it was and at first I had taken the old dirty picture frame and put it on the go to the garbage pile. Each time I walked by it I thought I should keep it because of the old frame, so finally I decided to put the picture in my car to keep. When I arrived home I put it in the garage and after a couple weeks my wife asked me when was I going to do something with that old picture, as she was tired of having this person staring at her each time she pulled into the garage.
So being the good husband I am I went out and turned the portrait over. Over the next week I had a call from a distant relative, a Granddaughter of John Pott (John Pott who came to Canada a few years later was brother to Thomas Pott), telling me that she had a copy of a book she had written about her family tree. While visiting with her, I was flipping through the book and noticed the picture of the man with his dog and thought I had seen this gentleman before. I continued with the visit and didn't give the picture another thought. That evening as I was reading through the book I came across the picture again which indicated it was a picture of John Pott the father to John, Thomas and Francis Pott, therefore making him my Great Great Grandfather, and I had the same thoughts as earlier but nothing clicked.
While laying in bed that night the light bulb in my head came on so I jumped out of bed and ran out to the garage. I turned the old frame over and began to clean the glass to expose a better view of the man in the picture. Low and behold it was the same person. With excitement I dashed inside, announcing to my forgiving family, that I had discovered to whom the portrait was. It was a close up portrait of the man with his dog, my Great Great Grandfather. For some reason the rest of my family was not as excited as I was at that moment.
My Mom had commented when I was quite young that it was a family member but I did not remember whom she had said. Need less to say the portrait no longer hangs in the garage upside down but is proudly displayed on a wall in our rec room. A treasure that almost ended up in the garbage hill, lost forever.
So being the good husband I am I went out and turned the portrait over. Over the next week I had a call from a distant relative, a Granddaughter of John Pott (John Pott who came to Canada a few years later was brother to Thomas Pott), telling me that she had a copy of a book she had written about her family tree. While visiting with her, I was flipping through the book and noticed the picture of the man with his dog and thought I had seen this gentleman before. I continued with the visit and didn't give the picture another thought. That evening as I was reading through the book I came across the picture again which indicated it was a picture of John Pott the father to John, Thomas and Francis Pott, therefore making him my Great Great Grandfather, and I had the same thoughts as earlier but nothing clicked.
While laying in bed that night the light bulb in my head came on so I jumped out of bed and ran out to the garage. I turned the old frame over and began to clean the glass to expose a better view of the man in the picture. Low and behold it was the same person. With excitement I dashed inside, announcing to my forgiving family, that I had discovered to whom the portrait was. It was a close up portrait of the man with his dog, my Great Great Grandfather. For some reason the rest of my family was not as excited as I was at that moment.
My Mom had commented when I was quite young that it was a family member but I did not remember whom she had said. Need less to say the portrait no longer hangs in the garage upside down but is proudly displayed on a wall in our rec room. A treasure that almost ended up in the garbage hill, lost forever.
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