In Episode 399 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger visit Potter Place in Andover, New Hampshire, to see the final resting place of America’s first professional magician. Richard Potter died in 1835, but not before he grew rich and famous from his magic act. He sold out shows in both the north and south, which was all the more impressive considering he was also a Black man. For his final trick… Potter isn’t buried where he was originally placed in the ground.
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Produced and hosted by: Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger
Edited by: Ray Auger
Theme Music by: John Judd
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The grave of Richard Potter – America’s First Professional Magician in Andover, New Hampshire.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
*A note on the text: Please forgive punctuation, spelling, and grammar mistakes. Like us, the transcripts ain’t perfect.
[OUTDOOR SOUNDS]
[SHUFFLING CARDS]
JEFF: Ray, pick a card. Any card.
RAY: Oh man… is this a magic trick, Jeff?
JEFF: It is! I have a couple of go-to card tricks. Nothing up my sleeve.
RAY: Fine. I’ll take this one.
JEFF: Okay, now put it back in the deck anywhere.
RAY: Okay.
JEFF: I’ll shuffle again. Quick flip. And your card should right here at the top. Is your card the six of diamonds?
RAY: It is! Okay, how’d you do that?
JEFF: Magic.
RAY: Fine. I’m guessing we didn’t come to this quiet spot in Andover, New Hampshire, to just do card tricks.
JEFF: No, we didn’t. We came here to explore the life of someone buried right over there in the corner of the lot.
RAY: Okay. We’re standing near the historic Potter Place Railroad Station where there’s a little fenced-in area and some graves. We’re in front of the grave of Richard Potter. It says he died in 1835.
JEFF: This is who we came to see, Ray. Richard Potter isn’t only the first in New Hampshire when it comes to his profession. He’s the first in all of the United States. We’ve come to Andover to pay our respects to the first American-born professional magician.
[INTRO]
JEFF: I’m Jeff Belanger. Welcome to episode 399 of the New England Legends podcast.
RAY: And I’m Ray Auger. Thanks for joining us on our mission to chronicle every legend in New England one story at a time. We’re always on the hunt for eccentrics, ghosts, monsters, and the just plain weird. Did you know most of our story leads come from you? This one did. Thanks to Justin Margadonna for emailing us about it. If you’ve got a story you think we should check out, you can email us anytime through our website.
JEFF: We’ll explore the life and magical times of Richard Potter right after this word from our sponsor.
SPONSOR
RAY: So the rest of Richard Potter’s headstone says: The Celebrated Ventriloquist who died September 20, 1835. Aged 52 years.
JEFF: He wasn’t just a magician and ventriloquist, he was also a hypnotist.
RAY: One of those all-around entertainers.
JEFF: He was definitely that. Today, it wouldn’t surprise you to hear about a touring magician/ventriloquist/hypnotist. But the early 1800s was a different time. Keep in mind vaudeville didn’t start until the 1890s.
RAY: Good point.
JEFF: There’s something else about him that’s worth noting.
RAY: What’s that?
JEFF: It’s always awkward to talk about race. But it’s worth noting that Potter was black and is widely considered the first black celebrity in the United States.
RAY: Considering he died three decades before slavery was made illegal in the U.S., it seems like it’s an important part of his story.
JEFF: Right?! He was a touring celebrity in a time when slavery was still legal. He was born in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. And I’d love to tell you all about his family, but I can’t.
RAY: Why’s that?
JEFF: Because there’s not much out there besides rumors. For example, one version of his backstory suggested that his father was Sir Charles Henry Frankland, a tax collector for the Port of Boston. And his mother was a slave. The only problem with that story is that Frankland died about ten years before Richard Potter was born.
RAY: So that rules him out, I guess.
JEFF: Another story says Potter’s father was a clergyman. Potter seemed to like his vague backstory. He never did much to set the record straight or stop people from speculating.
RAY: As we’ve learned, when people don’t have all the answers, legends grow.
JEFF: So true. So Potter found success against all odds in the north and the south. To find out how it happened, let’s head back to the year 1811.
[TRANSITION]
RAY: It’s June of 1811, and tensions are still hot between this new nation called the United States, and England. Some think another war could be brewing. Here in New Hampshire, people could us a good distraction.
JEFF: Enter John Rannie. Rannie is a Scottish ventriloquist and magician who first came to the United States in 1800. He tours local towns and cities offering his tricks and entertainment for whatever money he can make. While touring through New England, Rannie took on an assistant named Richard Potter.
RAY: Potter loves everything about watching Rannie perform. The way he works the crowd. The Way the audience ooos and ahhhs at the tricks. When Rannie is on stage, he’s on another level. Serving as his assistant, Potter picks up some of the tricks. And Rannie is all too happy to have a protégée.
JEFF: So Potter tours with Rannie as his assistant, all the while learning showmanship, magic, ventriloquism, and even hypnotism. But Potter still makes time for love. Back in 1808 he married Sally Harris of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Potter claims Harris was a Penobscot Indian. The couple go on to have three children together. Still, Rannie’s show continued which had Potter on the road with him. Recently, Rannie made a big decision. He’s has had a great run. He’s performed in Europe and the Americas, and getting on in years, he decides it’s time to retire and head home to Scotland. Rannie knows Potter has talent, and he’s been well-trained. It’s time for Potter to step out on the stage himself.
[LADIES AND GENTLEMAN… ]
RAY: And so he does. Soon Potter has audiences on the edge of their seats with his performance. By his side is his assistant, and wife Sally. Potter brings members of the audience up on stage for a hypnosis demonstration
[CLUCKING LIKE A CHICKEN]
RAY: And soon has respectable townsfolk behaving like chickens on stage.
JEFF: Potter is good, too! The more he performs, the more word spreads. People line up to buy tickets. Potter is so good… he’s getting rich.
RAY: Fame and fortune suit Richard Potter. He’s toured all through the northeast, but now he’s turning his attention to the south.
JEFF: Pennsylvania abolished slavery in 1780. New Hampshire and Massachusetts followed suit in 1783, Connecticut and Rhode Island did the same in 1784. The northeast has allowed Potter to travel freely. Given his prestige and fortune, he’s committed to building his audience in the southern states.
RAY: For the most part, southern audiences love his show just as much as they do in the north. Potter is a natural entertainer. Though the audiences love him, he still has some issues traveling.
JEFF: Oh?
RAY: While performing in Mobile, Alabama, where he made thousands of dollars in a single weekend, he was denied a room at the nicest hotel in town because of the color of his skin.
JEFF: Potter views these events as speed bumps. The show must go on. Plus, he figures if the audiences are cheering for his entertainment, maybe he can change the hearts and minds just a little bit in lands where slavery drives a big part of the economy.
RAY: A few years pass. America has just been through another war with the British. Though the times were turbulent for the country, Potter did well. It’s now May of 1814, and Potter is in Andover, New Hampshire.
JEFF: Potter is rich and famous, and looking to build himself a palace. He purchases 175 acres of land, and construction begins on his mansion.
[SAWING, HAMMERING]
JEFF: Within a few months, a grand mansion takes shape on this big estate. He’s hired artists to sculpt life-sized carvings of people standing on pillars, the grounds are well-manicured, and soon this king of magic has a castle to call his own.
RAY: The estate is known by everyone as Potter’s Place. It IS a castle for when Potter isn’t touring or performing. On the farm he grows peas, rye, and flax. He also keeps herds of cattle and pigs.
JEFF: As time passes, Potter is clearly a celebrity. People stop him in the street, and his shows are sold out. Though he’s successful, back home he’s had his tragedies. His daughter died very young. Then in 1816, one of his sons was killed in an accident. He was run over by a wagon.
RAY: Through the tragedies at home, Potter pressed on performing right up until his death in 1835. He was buried in the corner of his property. The following year, his wife also died and was buried next to her husband. And that brings us back to today.
[TRANSITION]
JEFF: The grave we’re standing before today here in Andover, is NOT the original burial place of Richard Potter and his wife.
RAY: No?
JEFF: Back in the 1840s, the railroad came through. The graves were too close to the planned tracks and station so they were moved just a short distance away to where they are right now.
RAY: And today you can still see the Potter Place Railroad Station just a short distance from where we’re standing. It’s a great historic building in town.
JEFF: Back in 1956, Grace Metalious wrote a novel called Peyton Place. The book was a huge hit and is still widely read. The main character Samuel Peyton was inspired by the real Richard Potter and Potter Place.
RAY: That’s really cool. I had never heard of Richard Poter before today, but clearly this guy was a big deal.
JEFF: He was a big deal during a time when people with his skin color mostly tried to not draw too much attention to themselves. But he was a natural performer, he was good at his craft, and he left behind a legacy and a legend.
[OUTTRO]
RAY: That he did. And that brings us to After the Legend where we take a closer look at this week’s story and sometimes veer off course.
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To see some pictures related to this week’s story, click on the link in our episode description, or go to our website and click on Episode 399.
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Until next time remember… the bizarre is closer than you think.
