Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Porter, Harvey B ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com November 10, 2007, 2:07 am Author: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County HARVEY B. PORTER, who is one of the most successful farmers of Channahon Township, was born in Newburg, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, June 1, 1860, a son of Leman and Arzelia (Benedict) Porter. He was second among five children, the eldest of whom, Alice A., is principal of the musical department in "The Western," a university for women at Oxford, Ohio. The youngest, Alta S., is the wife of Sherman Lewis, a farmer of Will County. The others, Alma R. and Edgar S., reside with their mother on the old homestead. In the house where our subject was born the birth of his father occurred November 1, 1831, and there he made his home until 1866. He then came to Will County and bought two hundred and forty acres in Channahon Township. Here he settled down to farm pursuits. The ensuing years were spent in the tilling of the soil, sowing of seed and harvesting of grain. Stock-raising, too, received some of his attention. Five years after he settled here he bought an adjoining eighty-acre tract, which made his farm one-half section in acreage. He was an educated man, a broad reader, and was well informed on all public questions. Politically an ardent Republican he did much to advance the Republican cause in his township. He was not a seeker after office, and always refused to allow his name to be used as a candidate. However, he made an exception in cases of school offices, and for some years filled the office of school trustee. He died at his homestead August 28, 1895. The grandfather of our subject, Harvey Porter, was a descendant of Puritan stock. His father served under General Washington during the Revolutionary war; in an early day he removed to New York and settled in Schoharie County, where the grandfather was born. The latter, in 1818, when a young man, went to Ohio and established his home in Cuyahoga County, where he resided until his death in 1861. During three months in the war of 1812 he served in the army, and at the time of the British attack on Fort Erie he was doing detailed duty at the Batavia arsenal, from which point the noise of cannon and the firing of guns could be distinctly heard. The mother of our subject was also of good old Revolutionary ancestry. She and her parents, Julius S. and Mary (Rogers) Benedict, were natives of Vermont, whence they removed to Ohio, settling near Bedford when she was three years of age. Her grandfather Rogers was a general in the Revolutionary war and served on Washington's staff. Mrs. Porter was born in 1829, and, though now advanced in years, is still hearty and strong. Since her husband's death she has remained with her children on the old homestead, where her declining days are brightened by the affection of her children and the esteem of her friends. After having studied for some time in the high school at Channahon our subject entered the Tri-State Normal at Angola, Ind., from which he graduated in 1888. For four months afterward he taught a district school, but pedagogy was not congenial and he sought a position more to his liking. Returning to Angola, for two years he was employed in a machine shop as a model maker. From there he went to Joliet, where he carried on a model-making shop for two years. The failing health of his father rendered his presence at the old home advisable. He went back and assumed the management of the farm. Since then he has superintended the cultivation of the land and the selling of the farm products, in which work he shows decided ability and enterprise. Politically he is a Republican and works in the interests of his party. In 1894 he was elected highway commissioner of Channahon Township, which office he filled for three years. He is a member of the Methodist Church and one of its trustees. Fraternally he is connected with Channahon Lodge No. 262, A. F. & A. M.; Kalon Camp No. 4282, M. W. A., and Channahon District Court of Honor. Additional Comments: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present, Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/porter1072gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/ File size: 4.7 Kb