Potter, Mary

Mary Potter (DOB/DOD unknown): In 1910, Mary Potter arrived at the Illinois Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home (ISOH) in Normal, IL. Though the facility was first established to house orphans of soldiers of the American Civil War, Potter was admitted as a child of a non-veteran. A former “homer,” as residents of ISOH were sometimes referred, Potter went on to become a school teacher later in life. ***Mary Potter was portrayed as a composite character intended to serve as a representative of the residents of the original Illinois Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home and the Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children School.