California Biographies Mendocino and Lake Counties, California Transcribed by Peggy Hooper This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm Source: History of Mendocino and Lake Counties, California With Biographical Sketches History by Aurelius O. Carpenter And Percy H. Millberry Illustrated, Complete In One Volume Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1914 ELIJAH RENSHAW POTTER.� That Mr. Potter was among the very earliest settlers of Round valley is attested in the fact that when he came to this district it contained forty residents, there being thirty-five men, three women and two children. Of that small company of pioneers, who endured the privations of frontier existence and met with courage the vicissi- tudes of life in a region far removed from railroads, he is perhaps the only survivor. One of the most serious obstacles which the pioneers confronted was the enmity of the Indians, who were at the time so numerous that de- termined co-operation on their part would have exterminated the white men. It was necessary to keep a vigilant outlook, lest in an unexpected hour the savages would surround a home for an attack. Mr. Potter knows much about the dangers in this direction, for he was only fifteen years of age when he fought his first battle with the red men, this being at Silver Creek, Eldorado county. Later he bore a part in other skirmishes, in which the victories of the settlers forced their enemies to seek other hunting grounds. He served m two different Indian wars, in 1851 and 1859, on account of which he draws a pension. Of course there were no schools in those days, but as families began to take up homesteads and children became numerous in the valley, it was necessary to provide buildings and teachers so that schools could be started, and in all of this forward work he bore a part. Near the Tennessee river on a farm in Jackson county, Ala., Elijah Renshaw Potter was born December 1, 1835, and from there in 1843 he was taken by his parents to Springfield, Mo. The family was poor and the neces- sity of self-support took him from school at the age of thirteen. When gold was discovered in California and messengers brought the great news to Mis- souri he was fourteen, an age when many boys would hesitate about leaving home on a long journey, perhaps never to return. With customary enthusiasm and fearlessness he joined an expedition bound for the west and on his arrival began to prospect in Placer county. He vividly recalls the wild excitement prevailing at the time of the admission of California into the Union, September 9, 1850. For ten years he was employed at hydraulic mining in Shasta county and during a part of the time he met with encouraging success. A trip of investigation to Mendocino county convinced Mr. Potter of the fertility of its soil and the value of its forests. He took up a pre-emption claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Round valley, cleared the land and began the task of cultivation, in due time proving up on the property, which he then sold. Thereupon he took up another claim a short distance from the first, and this he still owns, having much of the time devoted it to the raising of hogs and cattle. About 1908 he purchased his present home place in Covelo, where he still engages in farming. Notwithstanding his advanced age he still follows the trade of a trapper with skill and success. For four years he served as road overseer of Round valley, where from 1905 to 1909 he also filled the office of justice of the peace. Although he never studied law, he displayed considerable knowledge of the profession as justice and his decisions were characterized by impartiality and intelligence. Public affairs always have interested him and he devotes much of his leisure to the thoughtful consideration of national problems. In religion he upholds Baptist doctrines and has long been identified with the denomination. Mr. Potter was married in Ukiah in 1868 to Miss Susan M. Atkinson, born in Placer county, Cal., and they have three children, viz., P. G., Melinda (Mrs. Bucknell) and Robert A., all of Covelo.