Emery D. Potter has the distinction of being the first elected prosecutor of Lucas County,
as well as being the first who refused to serve. Elected to serve for the April, 1836 term of
the Lucas County Common Pleas Court, Potter was apparently as practical a businessman as he was
a preeminent attorney of his day.
According to reliable sources, Potter was elected by the citizens to serve a second term of the
1836 session of the Lucas County Common Pleas Court, succeeding Andrew Coffinberry who had been
appointed to serve during the earlier November, 1835 term of the Court. After his election, he
learned that his annual salary for the position would be $50.00, which was substantially less than
could be earned practicing law. In fact, Potter reasoned that he had already earned many times
that amount be defending criminals at trial! Potter, therefore, declined to serve in that capacity
and John Fetch was then appointed to serve in his place.
Born in 1804 in Rhode Island, he moved to the state of New York as a young child, where he remained
until he studied law and passed the New York bar exam. During the winter of 1834-1835, Potter moved
to Toledo, where he became the first attorney to open a law office in the new City of Toledo.
History tells us:
Over the store [the W.J. Daniels & Co.], reached by outside stairs, was a
large room occupied by Emery D. Potter... as a lawyer's office. This office
was much resorted to by the judge's [potter] friends, all of whom were
heartily welcomed by him--- pens, ink and paper and a seat at his long
table thrown in. It was, in fact, the most attractive looking place in town..."
[Knapp, H.S., History of the Maumee Valley, 1972, p. 546].
Following his aborted term as Lucas County Prosecutor, Potter went on to an illustrious career of
public service. He was the first Postmaster of Toledo (1836), followed by two terms as Mayor of
the new City of Toledo. Beginning in 1839, he served as the presiding judge of the (then) Common
Pleas Court for the 13th Judicial District of Ohio, encompassing ten counties. In 1843, Potter was
elected by the citizens of northwest Ohio to serve as their Representative to the U.S. Congress from
the Fifth Congressional District, during which time he worked to establish the Smithsonian Institution.
His long and distinguished career also included terms as Democratic leader to the House of
Representatives in the Ohio General Assembly as well as two terms in the Ohio Senate. A contemporary
historian said of Emery D. Potter:
His qualities as a lawyer soon became known while his active participation
in public and political affairs gave him special prominence and influence.
(Waggoner, Clark, History of the City of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio
Vol. 2, pp. 528-529.)
