Posted by Gary Porter on October 23, 19101 at 14:51:43:
In Reply to: Looking for more Porters posted by Robin Ratcliff on January 19, 19101 at 07:21:19:
: My grandfather was someone who I never knew and that side of the family is a mystery.I know that Collison Porter approx born 1755 ? in North Carolina and died aprox. 1840-50 ? in Clark Co,IN .Nancy J.(?)Porter wife born 1771 in Maryland and died approx 1850-53 is the last info I can find.Any ideas??
Response by Gary Porter, Toronto, Canada
: As far as I can tell the first two Porters in North America arrived at the Jamestown Settlement in Virginia in the very early days of the colony. Their names were Peter and Abram or Abraham. They arrived in the early 1620's, about the same time as the Puritans landed in New England. The movement of some Porters to North Carolina seems logical. My part of the Porter family came to Canada after the American Revolution. They supported the British. They arrived here in 1785 and settled east of Toronto. From what I can tell, Porters fought on both sides of the War of 1812, on the American and British sides. They also fought on both sides of the Civil War. General Horace Porter was a member of the staff of General Ulysses (Sam) Grant and Admiral David E. Porter support Grants seige of Vicksburg on the Mississippi.
I have seen mention of Porters in the army of the Confederacy, including the Army of Northern Virginia commanded by General Robert Edward Lee.
However, I don't have any details about the Porters fighting for the South.
Interestingly, not all the Porters can to Virginia. Some were still in England. It seems that there were Porters in all three armies that invaded Normany on D Day in 1944. (American, British and Canadian.