BIO: Porter Family; Buffalo, Erie co., NY.
Surname: Porter, Taylor, Dunlap, Breckenridge, Miller, Morris

Transcribed by W. David Samuelsen

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MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY NEW YORK
VOLUME I, BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL, ILLUSTRATED, PUB. 1906-8

THE PORTER FAMILY. Illustrious in the annals of the Niagara Frontier the name
Porter has also a distinguished place in Colonial history and in that of the
Revolutionary epoch. The well-known Porter family of Western New York is of
Norman-English ancestry. Its descent is traced from William de la Grande, a
Norman knight, who acquired land at the time of the Conquest, near Kenilworth,
England. His son Roger (or Ralph) was "Grand Porteur" to Henry I., and from
that office the name of Porter is derived.

John Porter, sixteenth in descent from William de la Grande, was the founder
of the Porter family in America. He came to this country from England in. 1637
and settled in Windsor, Conn. His son Samuel, was a merchant and lived in
Hartford, Conn., and afterward in Hadley, Mass. Nathaniel Porter, son of
Samuel, joined the army in time expedition against Canada in 1708-9. He was
the father of Nathaniel Buell Porter, who was a merchant in Lebanon, Conn.
Col. Joshua Porter, son of Nathaniel Buell Porter, graduated from Yale College
in 1754. Early in life he settled in Salisbury, Litehfield County, Conn. He
served for more than forty sessions as a member of the State Legislature, was
Judge of Comnion Pleas thirteen years, and Probate Judge thirty-seven years.
As Colonel of the 14th Connecticut Regiment, he participated in the battles of
Long Island, White Plains, Saratoga, Monmouth and other engagements in the
Revolution.

GEN. PETER BUELL PORTER, son of Col. Joshua Porter, was one of the greatest
military leaders of the War of 1812. He was as eminent in civil affairs as in
soldiership and in the Perspective of history, stands forth as the central
figure of the memorable military and civic dramas enacted on the Niagara
Frontier during the first three decades of the last century.

Among the dauntless, indefatigable toilers of that formative epoch none left a
deeper impress on this section of the State than Peter Buell Porter, soldier
and statesman.

Gen. Porter was born in Salisbury, Conrn, August 14th, 1773. He was educated
at Yale College, graduating in 1791, and studied law with Judge Reeves in
Litchfleid, Conn. In 1795 he removed to Canandaigua, N. Y., and the same year
was admitted to the bar. In 1797, he was elected Clerk of Ontario County, and
in 1802, was chosen a member of the State Legislature. When later elected to
Congress he was Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, and in this
capacity he advocated with great force and eloquence the necessity of war with
Great Britain, also presenting a report in favor of a declaration of war. In
1810 he removed to Black Rock, and the same year he was a member of the
committee to investigate the route of the proposed Erie Canal, of which
project he was always an able and earnest supporter.

Upon war being declared, Mr. Porter left Congress and recruited a brigade of
New York and Pennsylvania troops. In 1812 he was appointed
Quartermaster-General of the New York State Militia, and upon the election of
Governor Tompkins he was commissioned by the latter Major-General of New York
State troops. General Porter’s part in the campaign of 1813 began with the
occupation of Fort George, when he acted as volunteer Aide-de-Camp to the
Aiiierican commander, Gen. Lewis, later being placed in command of the troops
and Seneca warriors gathered at Buffalo. Afterward in several engagements he
led the Indians to victory. He was known among the red men as “Conashustah,”
and they had a current saying, “Where Conashtustah leads we follow.” Gen.
Porter was one of the principal officers of the American army which, after the
burning of Buffalo by the British and Indians in 1813, reoccupied the place
and in 1814 prepared for the invasion of Canada. When the march on Canada
began, Gen. Porter was in command of a volunteer brigade, reconnoitered Fort
Erie and assisted in concerting the plan which resulted in its surrender. The
battle of Chippewa was the. first, during the War of 1812, in which a large
force of Butish regulars was defeated in the open field, and was one of the
most decisive engagements of the war. The next act of the great drama of the
Niagara Frontier was the siege of Fort Erie, and to General Porter was
committed the formidable task of relieving the fortress He ac  complished it,
and the achievenient was the crowning one of his military career, there being
no other case in history where a besieging army had been routed by one sortie.
The raising of the siege of Fort Erie practically closed the war on the
Niagara Frontier. To Gen. Porter's skill and valor high honors were accorded.
in 1811 Congress voted him a gold medal, and the State of New York presented
him a sword. The Governor of New York brevetted him Major-General, and in
1813, President Madison commissioned him Major-General of the United States
Army, also appointing him Commander-in-Chief, but the latter position he
declined.

In 1815 Gen. Porter was made Secretary of state, but declined the place,
desiring to serve out the rest of his term in Congress. In 1816 he was
appointed one of the Commissioners, under the treaty of Ghent, to determine
the boundary line between the United States and Canada. In 1821 he was chosen
one of the Regents of the University of the State of New York. In 1828 he
became Secretary of War in President John Quincy Adams' Cabinet, his
administration of the affairs of the War Department being marked by the strong
practical efficiency characteristic of the man. Besides his military and
public life, Gen. Porter has an important share in the business development of
Western New York. He was senior member of the firm of Porter, Barton &
Company, of Black Rock.

In 1818 Gen. Porter married Laetitia Preston Breckenridge, who was of Scotch
and English ancestry, being a daughter of John Breckenridge, a descendant of
Alexander Breckenridge, who was among the early settlers of the Blue Ridge
Region of Virginia. The children of Gen. Porter were Elizabeth L., who was
born April 19, 1823, and died January 28, 1876, and Peter A. Porter.

Gen. Porter removed to Niagara Falls in 1839, and lived there during the rest
of his life, his death occurring March 10, 1844.

COL. PETER AUGUSTUS PORTER, son of Gen. Peter Bueli Porter, in a brief but
heroic career nobly maintained the traditions of patriotism, and valor which
were his by inheritance, and sealed with his life his devotion t.o his
country.

Col. Porter was born in 1827 at Black Rock, Erie County, N. Y. After a careful
preparatory education he graduated from Harvard College in 1845, later going
to Germany where he studied at the universities of Heidelberg and Breslau till
1849. On his return to the United States until the beginning of the Civil War,
he took an active part in the business and social life of Niagara Falls. In
1861 he was elected a member of the New York Legislature, and the same year,
after he had joined the army, was tendered the nomination of his party for
Secretary of State. A brilliant political career was opening before him, but
the national crisis was with him a consideration paramount to all others, and
he declined the civic honors within his grasp.

The military career of Col. Porter began in 1861, when he raised a regiment
which was organized as the 129th New York Volunteer Infantry. In 1863 it
became the 8th New York Heavy Artillery, of which he was conimissioned
Colonel. At his earnest solicitation he was sent with his troops to the front
in 1864, the regiment being incorporated with the Army of the Potomac, under
General Grant, and took part in all the battles of the Wilderness campaign,
and Cold Harbor. In this terrible battle Col. Porter met his death. He fell
pierced by six bullets, while gallantly leading his regiment up to the rebel
entrenchments. For two days Col. Porter's body lay in front of the
enemy’s works, and could not be recovered. On the second night five brave
soldiers of his command bore back his remains to the Union lines.

Col. Porter was married March 30, 1852, to Mary Cabell Preston Breckenridge,
daughter of Rev. John Breckenridge, and Margaret Miller. The issue of the
marriage was one son, Peter A. Porter, born October 10, 1853. Mrs. Porter died
August 4, 1854, and on November 9, 1859, Col. Porter married for his second
wife Josephine M. Morris, daughter of George Morris, of Charleston, S. C.
Their children were Laetitia H. Porter, born February 16, 1861, died October
17, 1864, and George M. Porter, born on the 7th of July, 1863.

HON. PETER AUGUSTUS PORTER, son of Col. Peter A. Porter, is one of the leading
men of the State, and has long been a central figure in the political,
industrial and civic affairs of Western New York. Mr. Porter has the
incentives to achievement which are the natural possession of the descendants
of so illustrious a line, and has worthily maintained the prestige of the
distinguished name he bears. Public spirit is one of his salient
characteristics, and he is signally identifie.l, both as a legislator and a
citizen, with the development of the power resources of Niagara Falls.

Mr. Porter was born at Niagara Falls, N. Y., October 10, 1853. he was educated
at St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H., and at Yale College, graduating from the
latter in 1874. His college course was followed by extensive foreign travel.
On returning from abroad Mr. Porter actively identified himself with the
business and municipal interests of Niagara Falls, his enterprise and
initiative soon making themselves manifest as factors in the upbuilding of
that city.

In 1886 Mr. Porter was elected a member of the Legislature, and the following
year was reelected. As Assemblyman he introduced and brought about the passage
of the celebrated Niagara Tunnel Bill, which gave the sanction of the State to
the utilization of the cataract for the development of electric power. The
effect of this legislation has been far-reaching, the law and its outcome
marking a menmorabie epoch in the industrial world. In the fall of 1906, Mr.
Porter was nominated for Congress in the 34th District on an independent
Republican ticket, being indorsed by the Democrats and the Independence
League. His adversary was James W. Wadsworth, who for many successive terms
had been returned to Congress from the district, and the normal majority which
Mr. Porter would be obliged to overcome was estimated at from 7,000 13,000.
Mr. Porter was elected by heavy pluralities, the rest being a significant
tribute to him as a leader and a decisive indorsement of his policy.

Mr. Porter has always taken a deep interest in the wonderful conquest of
nature at Niagara Falls. He was a prime mover in the negotiations incident to
the establishment power plants at the Falls, and his tact and counsel material
aided to reconcile conflicting interests. As an author he did much to place
the project in a correct light, to enlist capital and to supply the public
with accurate information. Mr. Porter has been a lifelong student of the
antiquities of the Niagara Frontier, and is a distinguished contributor to the
literature of that topic. His library relating to the subject the most
extensive of its kind in the country.

Mr. Porter is a prominent member of the Buffalo Historical Society and belongs
to many other organizations.

February 3, 1877, Mr. Porter married Alice Adele Taylor, daughter of Virgil
Corydon Taylor and Harriett C. (Dunlap). Mrs. Porter is of an ancient family
of English and Puritan lineage, being descended from Richard Taylor, who came
from England to Massachusetts Colony in 1643. The children of the marriage are
Peter A. Porter, Jr., born November 16, 1877; Cabell Breckenridge Porter, born
April 8, 1881, and Preston Buell Porter, born March 13, 1891.