William T

William T. Pottenger is my great grandfather. I am very lucky to have the following account of his life, written by one of his sons. While it is just a bare itinerary, it gives us a good idea of life as a farmer searching for good land to farm. It also gives us a starting place to look for more information about him in the public records. I will include some I have found in end notes. - Judy

Facts in the life of Grandpa (William T. Pottenger) as told by his son James

A very mischievous boy, he liked hunting better than school; probably completed third or fourth grade due to poor teachers, lickings, etc. He was self-educated, mostly by reading history and the Bible, etc. He was a good farmer, good neighbor, and well liked by all .

He was kicked in the head by a horse when 4 years old while living at La Porte, Indiana on his fathers farm. He played with his father’s half brother, Jim Pottenger.[i] He often stayed at his Grandfather's and with Uncle Kinkade.

William enlisted for the Civil War at the age of 15, with his half cousin, Willie J. Pottenger. His half cousin was not accepted so he went to Governor Morton and told his real age and the Governor sent him home. He enlisted again the next year and served through the war, including the battles of Chattanooga, Chicamauga, Lookout Mt. and Sherman’s march to the Sea, under General Thomas.[ii]

William married March 17, 1870, at 20 years of age, to Zipporah Herrick, daughter of James Herrick, of Twinsburg, Ohio, three months after he met her. She was the school teacher in the Kankakee, Illinois country school, and lived at his fathers home, Dr. Wilson T. Pottenger. She continued to teach school after they were married and also after James was born. William worked for his father for one year after they were married.

They moved to Littleton, Colorado, between Denver and Colorado Springs, for one year. Their first baby died at birth and they returned to Kankakee, Illinois. In 1873, Belle was born in the old stone house, and they moved to Kansas for 3 years. Crops were good, the potatoes were large, and they burned corn for fuel. While there, William killed 4 geese with one shot. In 1876 they came back to Kankakee before James was born, and lived 4 years on the old homestead. In 1878, Nellie was born there. They moved to a farm near Ashkum for two years, and in 1881, William was born there. They lived one year on the Graham farm west of Kankakee, on the first corner south of Bevins. James was 6 years old. They moved to the William’s farm, 2 miles east of Bonfield, for two years. On May 22nd, 1884, Avery was born on the William’s farm. Grandma Walters told the children she found him in the hedge. They lived 3 years on the Piers farm, and Lloyd was born there on April 22, 1887. Fishing was good there. In 1888, William bought a farm called Barrens’ farm of 120 acres 3 miles east of Bonfield, one mile south of Albert Smith and Mother’s only sister, Mary Herrick. They lived there for 7 years. This was near to his father, and near to the Christodelphians, the original branch of the Christian Church.

On March 15, 1890, Laura was born. William had his greatest success in farming, He had 18 cows, eggs were 10 cents a dozen and butter was 12 cents per pound. In 1895, William sold Barrens farm and bought Pottenger’s farm of 60 acres, just north of the Blue Flame factory on the edge of Kankakee. 80 acres had been sold to Mike Butz. They lived there 2 years and sold the farm for $100 per acre, the first farm to sell for that much. They moved to the Lacy farm for one year, one mile north of Aroma Park.

In 1896, Nellie married Charles Woodruff and moved to Ohio. Laura was 7 years old. In 1898 they moved to the Powell Farm north of Aroma Park , in Limestone County, and stayed there two years, then to the Butz Farm for 7 years. William farmed it 8 years, James farmed it 1 year. Belle was married there to Wolliscroft.

In 1909, James purchased the Nursery Farm and his father and mother lived with him. Lloyd was in college. Their mother died in 1811. Father married Cora Herrick in 1915, widow of David Herrick, brother of Mother’s father, and lived with her 17 years until he died, April 17, 1927, in Oberlin, Ohio. He is buried in Kankakee, Illinois..[iii]

[i]In the 1860 Census, there is a listing for Saml Potinger, 66 years of age, a farmer born in Kentucky. His wife, Caroline M., is 49, and also born in Kentucky. They have children Phoebe, 13 and James, 11, both born in Indiana. Jim would probably have been born in 1849, and therefore, slightly younger than William.

[ii] According to William’s Civil war file, he enrolled as a private in Capt. Miller’s Co, 128 Reg’t Indiana Inf. at 18 years of age, on February, 23, 1864, in Westville, for a period of 3 years. He listed as his residence, Richland, Miami County, Cong. Dist. 9. He was paid a bounty of $60. His description stated he was 5’7” in height, with a ruddy complexion, hazel eyes, dark hair, born in Decatur, IN, and occupation, farmer. His Muster-in Roll was dated March 7, 1864 in Michigan City, IN. On Nov. & Dec., 1865, he was listed as absent on his company muster roll, and for remarks it stated Orderly, Freedman’s Bureau, Morganton, NC. His Muster-out Roll was dated April 10, 1866, in Raleigh, NC, and he was still 18 years of age.

William’s 128th Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry was organized at Michigan City, IN, December 15, 1863 to March 7, 1864. It mustered in March 18, 1864, and left the state for Nashville, TN on March 23. It was attached to the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 23rd Army Corps, Army of the Ohio, to June, 1864. It was attached to the 4th Brigade, 3rd Division, 23rd Army Corps. to August, 1864, and to the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, 23rd Army Corps, to December, 1864, and back to the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 23rd Army Corps, Army of the Ohio to February, 1865, and Dept. of North Carolina, to April, 1866. The Regiment lost during service 4 officers and 27 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 1 officer and 122 enlisted men by disease.

Since William was born on April 17, 1848, he was actually not quite 16 when he joined for duty on Feb 23, 1864, claiming he was 18. William evidently passed his 16th birthday with his regiment on the march to Charleston, TN from April 5-24, 1864. His file did not include information of an earlier enlistment. Perhaps verification of that story could be found in Governor Morton’s papers.

[iii] There are some things that aren’t clear to me about the above story. Who was grandma Walters? Walters isn’t a name that I have heard connected to the family. Also, the mention of “Mary Herrick” as Zipporah Herrick’s only sister is confusing if it means she was the wife of Albert Smith. I was told that Zipporah Herrick was orphaned and moved from Ohio to Kankakee to help her sister, who married a Chatfield and who later moved to Colorado. The Chatfield Reservoir in Colorado is named after that family. There is a letter written by one of William’s sons while visiting the Chatfields in Colorado. When William and Zipporah were married and moved to Colorado, they moved to be near Zipporah’s sister. According to the ancestry chart, Zipporah Herrick was born in 1846, and her parents both died in 1849, which bears out the story of her being an orphan.