Thanks to a published article by Patricia Law Hatcher, English Origin of the Potter and Beecher Families of New Haven, Connecticut, in The American Genealogist 79:28-33, the English origin of William Potter Jr. and his mother, Ann Langford, has been documented.

William Potter was born c1582, probably in Sussex, England. He married Ann Langford, 6 October 1607 at St. Thomas, Lewes, Sussex, England. They were the parents of four children, although two appear to have died young.

Children, baptized at St. Thomas, Lewes:

1. William, baptized 28 August 1608; died 6 June 1662, New Haven, Connecticut; married Frances (MNU), c1634, probably in Sussex, England.
2. John, baptized 18 February 1609/10; died c1644, so did not live through his brother’s execution; married Elizabeth (MNU), settled in New England
3. Mary, baptized 21 March 1611/12; no further record
4. Steven, baptized 1 August 1614; no further record

William Potter Sr. was buried at St. Thomas, Lewes on 14 August 1619. His widow, Ann, married (2) John Beecher, January 1619/20, also at St. Thomas, Lewes. They had two known children:

1. Isaac, born 1620-1627; married Mary, c1644-47 and settled in New England
2. Thomas, c1627; no further record

John and Ann Beecher also migrated to New England. John is thought to have died about 1637/38. Ann Langford Potter Beecher died in 1658, so did not live to see her son’s execution.

This Beecher family is the ancestral line of Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), the famous American abolitionist.