Potts, Hiram
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Potts, Hiram
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Hiram Potts worked at Davidson College as an enslaved laborer (1864-1865) and then as paid employee during the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras until his death in 1917.
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Hiram Potts’s employment history at Davidson College spanned the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow eras. Because he was born into slavery, much of his early history, including his birth date, remains unknown. His parents were Sally and Harry Potts. He was the enslaved property of Nannie Torrence and James Monroe Potts, a former Confederate officer. He grew up on the Torrence Place plantation.
In 1864, President John L. Kirkpatrick hired him as an enslaved campus employee until the end of the Civil War. Following emancipation, several Davidson college presidents and faculty employed him for assorted jobs. He also worked with the Southern Railway railroad and officially became employed as a college janitor. As a Jim Crow employee, he worked on campus as the same time when his former enslaver’s son and grandson received their Davidson College degrees. Affectionately known as “Uncle Hiram,” he left an impression on the campus community. Students mentioned him in several yearbook features and photographs, including the 1915 Local Color photographic collage in the Quips and Cranks. Occasionally, they mentioned him in the student newspaper.
Outside of the college, Potts married twice. Both Camilla Potts and Clara D. Potts preceded him in death. He also was the father of three daughters - Minerva, Mary and Agnes Potts. The latter are with his second wife Clara. His tenure at Davidson College ended with his death in January 1917. He is buried in the Christian Aid Society Cemetery on the Davidson College campus.
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1835
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January 29, 1917
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“Uncle Hiram,” The Davidsonian, January 31, 1917, 4.
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“Marriage Certificate of Hiram Potts and Clara Duck, March 13, 1884,” in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Index, 1829-2015 [database on-line] (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015).
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“Death Certificate of Hiram Potts,” in North Carolina, U.S., Deaths, 1906-1930 [database on-line], (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014).
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1898 Quips and Cranks, Davidson College, Davidson, NC.
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1901 Quips and Cranks, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
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1903 Quips and Cranks, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
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1905 Quips and Cranks, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
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1907 Quips and Cranks, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
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1912 Quips and Cranks, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
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1913 Qups and Cranks, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
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1915 Quips and Cranks, Davidson College, Davidson, NC.
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“Keep the Campus Clean,” The Davidsonian, October 18, 1916, 2.
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1860 Federal Census, Ancestry.com
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1870 Federal Census, Ancestry.com
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1880 Federal Census, Ancestry.com
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1900 Federal Census, Ancestry.com
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1910 Federal Census, Ancestry.com
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