John POTTS

                   Presumably of Wales. Came to America as a young lad, with his uncle Thomas Potts, and settled in PA. He with the Robeson father and sons, engaged in the iron industry. He built the Potts Mansion, in 1730, which he called "Popodicon;" on land at Colebrookdale.
He was the founder of the dynasty of ironmasters who contributed to the beginnings of the PA steel industry.
Pottstown and Pottsville, PA are named for Thomas' descendants. Some of them greatly contributed greatly to the Revolution. Washington's Headquarters at Valley Forge and the house that Robert E. Lee grew up in were built by Potts. There are a Robeson Township and a town named Robesonia in Berk's County also. Since POTTS and SPATZ are both originally German (though the Potts's lived in Wales before coming to PA), and SPATZ is pronounced "shpots" in German. One expert wondered if the common misspellings and misinterpretations of the German names of the time might play a part. Berks County was settled mostly by Germans, and the German heritage is still strong there. Perhaps English speaking officials got it wrong. The connections are intriguing but obviously not conclusive.
The POTTS were a highly intermarried family and ancestors of Theodore Roosevelt. There are extensive genealogies of both families, both available at the Historical Society of PA in Philadelphia.