You’re invited to the
Quarterly Lecture Series
at the Museum!
It’s a free Program & Wine/Cheese Reception in the Moseley Art Gallery (ramp/elevator accessible)
Thursday, April 20, 2023
6:00pm – Wine/Cheese Reception
6:30pm – Program: “The Story of Robert Potter, Statesman or Scoundrel?”
 | Jefferson Historical Society & Museum 223 West Austin Street Jefferson, Texas 75657 www.jeffersonmuseum.org 903-665-2775 |
| “The Story of Robert Potter, Statesman or Scoundrel?”Presented by Sam Moseley, Esq.Local Author and Historian |  |
You are invited to come hear a fascinating presentation about the life and times of Robert Potter, and his home at Potter’s Point on Caddo Lake.
Potter’s story takes place in Northeast Texas, the new Republic, with the backdrop of the Regulator/Moderator War. Potter was a complex character – before coming to Texas he served in the State Legislature in North Carolina and served in the United States Congress.
He had to resign from Congress after attacking two men who he accused of being involved with his wife. He again served as a member of the state House of Commons from 1834 until his expulsion in January 1835 for “cheating at cards” and “for brandishing a gun and knife during a fight over a card game.”
Moving to Texas, Potter became a member of the Convention of 1836 which issued the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836. During the Texas Revolution, Potter was Secretary of the Navy in the cabinet of interim President David G. Burnet. He later represented the Red River District in the Texas Congress in 1837–1841. Because of his importance in the new Republic, Potter is buried in the Texas State Cemetery.
So was he a statesman or a scoundrel? You decide, after hearing Sam Moseley’s in-depth presentation on Robert Potter.