When William Henry Potter was born on 17 September 1862, in Letcher, Kentucky, United States, his father, Abraham Potter, was 25 and his mother, Margaret Newsom, was 28. He married Didema Hall on 11 January 1884, in Potters Fork, Letcher, Kentucky, United States. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 5 daughters. He lived in Millstone, Letcher, Kentucky, United States in 1910 and Seco, Letcher, Kentucky, United States in 1920. He died on 10 February 1944, in Potters Fork, Letcher, Kentucky, United States, at the age of 81, and was buried in Kona, Letcher, Kentucky, United States.