EDWARD W. PORTER, who has been prominenly [sic] identified with the political affairs of Union county, resides in Marysville.  He was born on the 10th of March, 1855, in the city which is still his home, and his boyhood days were passed midst play and work and in attendance on the public schools.  On attaining his majority he entered upon his business career, and the profession to which he devoted his energies was that of school teaching.  While thus engaged he spent his leisure hours for three years reading law under the tuition of his father, who at that time was a Judge on the bench, and on the expiration of that period was admitted to the bar at Columbus, Ohio, by the Supreme Court, on the 1st of December, 1881.
     Immediately after, Mr. Porter joined his father in business, under the firm name of Porter & Porter, and the connection has since continued uninterruptedly.  With the experience and the mature judgment of the older man is combined the energy and enterprise of the younger, and the well-known law firm of Porter & Porter has gained a wide and most excellent reputation for skill and ability.
     Almost simultaneously with his law practice Edward W. Porter also entered the political field and has since been prominent in the ranks of the Republican party.  In 1886 he was nominated and elected a member of the City Council of Marysville, ––one of the youngest persons ever chosen to that office in the county seat.  The following year he was elected Prosecuting Attorney for the county and creditably served in that capacity for a term of six years.  During the time spent in that office he convicted a man by the name of Miller for murder in the first degree and succeeded in getting him hung, ––the first case of that kind on record in Union county.  For the past ten years he has been a member of the Board of Health and still fills that office.  He has frequently represented his party in convention and has served on the Executive Committee of Union county, and for three years on the Executive Committee of the Ohio Republican League.  In 1883 he was sent as a delegate from the Eighth Congressional District of Ohio, to the national convention of the Republican League, which assembled in Louisville, Kentucky.  He has repeatedly served as delegate in the State and district conventions, where his opinions are received with marked respect, for he is recognized as one of the leading politicians of this locality.
     Mr. Porter has been twice married.  On the 12th of November, 1884, in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, he led to the marriage altar Miss Della E. Miller, who died in 1887, at the age of thirty-one years.  Their only child, Dana M., a bright little lad, passed away at the age of four years.  On the 23d of April, 1890, Mr. Porter was again married, his second union being with Miss Agnes H. Davis, of Washington, District of Columbia.  They now have two sons, ––John L., born November 19, 1891; and Robert E., born January 11, 1894.  The parents are members of the Congregational Church, in which Mr. Porter has served as clerk since 1883.  They reside on South Maple street, where they have a pleasant home and the household is noted for its hospitality.
     Mr. Porter has served for two terms as president of the Union County Teachers’ Association.  Socially he is a member of B. W. Keyes Camp, No. 156, Sons of Veterans, and was elected alternate delegate-at-large to the national convention which assembled in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1889.  He has served as a member of the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Charles F. Griffin, having been appointed to the position January 1, 1890, with the rank of Colonel.  He is a member of Marysville Lodge, No. 100, K. P., and in 1883 was made an honorary member of the Phi Gamma Delta of the Ohio Wesleyan University, with which he is still connected.  Mr. Porter is a man of more than ordinary ability, with a clear, keen mind and quick perceptive powers.  He has the happy faculty of adapting himself readily to a situation, and this characteristic, added to his mental qualifications, has made him a leader in legal and political circles.
Source:  Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union & Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1895, pp. 291-292
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

H. W. PORTER is one of the leading agriculturists and representative citizens of Union township, Union county, Ohio, where his entire life has been passed and where his parents were honored pioneer settlers.  He was born on the farm upon which he now resides, in 1841, was the son of William and Hannah (Snodgrass) Porter, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania in 1803, the son of John Porter, who was a prominent resident of Erie county, that State, which was that of his nativity also, the family being of stanch old Irish stock.  John Porter was an active participant in the war of 1812, taking part in the battle on Lake Erie.
     William Porter, father of our subject, was one of the early settlers in Union county, and here, in 1827, was celebrated his marriage to Miss Hannah Snodgrass, a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Robert Snodgrass, who was of German lineage.  William Porter was an active, intelligent and progressive man, as is shown by the fact that he was one of the first to engage in the manufacturing of brick in this county, operating a kiln in the vicinity of the present village of Milford Center, when the district was hardly yet reclaimed from the wilderness.  He purchased a tract of heavily timbered land, and from the same developed the well cultivated farm which is a part of our subject’s landed estate at the present time.  He engaged largely in the manufacture of maple sugar, operating his “bush” for sixty-three years.  It is interesting to note the fact that this line of enterprise is still carried forward by his son, who derives a portion of his supplies from the same trees which the father utilized for the purpose many years ago.  Mrs. Porter died in the year which represented the centennial anniversary of our national independence, having attained the venerable age of eighty-three years, while the father of our subject lived to reach the age of eighty-six years, his death occurring in 1889.  In politics he was originally a Whig and later a Republican.  He was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church.  They had a family of seven children, of whom we offer the following record: Sabra Jane is deceased; George C. is deceased; Quincy was a soldier in the late war, and is now deceased; H. W. is the immediate subject of this review; Elizabeth G., deceased; Salina, wife of Norton Reed; and Alvin, deceased.
     H. W. Porter was reared to farm life on the old homestead, receiving such educational advantages as the district afforded, and applying himself avidiously to reading and study at home.  This discipline, with that which his years of experience in practical affairs have given him, has resulted in making him an intelligent and well informed man, and one whose judgment is discriminating and conceptions broad.  He has a fine farm of 128 acres, which is under a high state of cultivation, and provided with substantial improvements in the way of a good house and a barn 28 x 40 feet in dimensions, with all essential equipments in the line of outbuildings.
     Mr. Porter is a genial and a progressive citizen and a man honored for his integrity of purpose and his upright life.
Source:  Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union & Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1895, pp. 167-168
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

JOHN L. PORTER —It is not an easy task to describe adequately a man who has led an eminently active and busy life, and who has attained to a position of high relative distinction in the more important and exacting fields of human endeavor.  But biography finds its most perfect justification, nevertheless, in the tracing and recording of such an [sic] life history.  It is, then, with a full appreciation of all that is demanded and of the painstaking scrutiny that must be accorded each statement, and yet with a feeling of much satisfaction, that the biographer essays the task of touching briefly upon the details of such a record as that which has been the voice of the character of the honored subject whose life now comes under review.
     A native son of the Buckeye State, John L. Porter was born in Delaware county, October 10, 1828, the son of William and Eleanor (Lawrence) Porter, both of whom were natives of Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and of Scotch-Irish extraction, with a strain of Welsh blood in somewhat remote ancestry.  William Porter came to Ohio with his parents, and the family of his future wife also emigrated here about the same time, both families locating in Delaware County, where they became prominently identified with agricultural operations.  The Lawrence family was one that had long been one of considerable prominence, in which connection it may be incidentally noted that the material grandfather of our subject was for many years a member of Pennsylvania State Legislature, while his nephew, George V. Lawrence, was for years a member of Congress.
     William Porter continued to abide in Delaware county until 1848, when he came to Union county, where he continued to reside until the hour of his death, which occurred March 15, 1868, at which time he had attained the venerable age of seventy-two years.  His widow survived to attain more than three-score years and ten, which have been held as man’s allotment, her death occurring June 11, 1886, in the eighty-sixth year of her life.  The father of our subject ardently espoused the cause of the Free Soil party, and became an active worker in its ranks, being also prominent as a radical and uncompromising abolitionist, and one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the famous “underground railway” system, through which so many slaves were assisted to freedom.  He was for a number of years superintendent of the Union county Infirmary.  Religiously, he was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and was an active worker in the Sunday-school.
     William and Elnora Porter became the parents of five children, of whom we are enabled to offer the following epitomized record: Jane, who became the wife of L. Weld, died in 1875; Rosanna, married J. D. Sharp, and her demise occurred in 1877; Eleanor is the wife of Thomas E. Bowen, of New Dover, Ohio; William C. enlisted for service in the late war and met his death on the field in 1862; our subject was the third in order of birth.
     John L Porter was reared on the paternal farmstead, assisting in the work thereof during the summer months and attending the district school during the intervening winters until he attained the age of seventeen years.  He then entered Central College, in Franklin county, Ohio, where he completed a four years’ course of study, and in the spring of 1849 he came to Marysville, where, in pursuance of long cherished plans, he entered the office of Cole & Winter, under whose effective preceptorship he began reading law, completing his legal studies with Cole & Coats, and securing admission to the bar in June. 1851.  It is worthy of particular note that in his examination at this time he appeared before the Supreme Court, which was then holding its last term under the old time regime, or itinerant system, which provided for the holding of sessions in different counties in turn.  The session at whose holding our subject was admitted to the bar was held at Marysville, and his examination was conducted principally by Judge Joseph R. Swan, other members of the committee being Otway Curry, C. W. B. Allison and P. B. Cole.
     While he was prosecuting his preparatory legal studies, Mr. Porter gave his attention to school teaching during three successive winters in order to secure funds with which to defray his necessary expenses.  Having passed a satisfactory examination and been granted the privilege of practicing, for some three years he was associated in partnership with P. B. Cole, when he opened an office alone and forthwith exposed his professional “shingle” to the admiring gaze of passers-by, possessing his soul in due patience and humility as he waited for the eligible clients upon whom to begin his practice.  The initial phases of any professional career are not usually typical of “flowery beds of ease,” but our subject was qualified, was energetic, was ambitious, and above all, was determined to succeed.  The budding professional prestige was carefully nourished, and its expansion into the full bloom of success was consistently rapid.  Mr. Porter soon formed a professional partnership with P. B. Cole, an association which continued for a period of nearly three years, after which our subject was alone in his practice for a short time and then formed a partnership with Mr. J. B. Coats, which association prevailed, with slight intermissions, until August, 1862, when patriotic ardor determined Mr. Porter upon contributing his quota to the defense of his country, and the upholding of the eternal principle of right which was indisputably involved in the great fratricidal conflict which ensued.  He accordingly enlisted as a member of company A, One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and remained in the service until the close of the war, being mustered out at Columbus as First Lieutenant, receiving his discharge at the national capital, in 1865, and participating in the grand review.  His military record is one of which he may well be proud, his service on the field being valiant and his incidental labors arduous.  He was appointed Sergeant of his company before leaving Delaware, in 1862, and during the latter half of his service he acted as Sergeant Major, his superior in that office having been killed.  During the last half of his service he held commission as First Lieutenant and as such was mustered out.
     It is possible in this connection to revert in only a cursory way to our subject’s military career, but the same can scarcely be passed without more definite mention than has been thus far accorded.  His command was first engaged in following the famous raider, Morgan, and after a time they proceeded to Nashville, Tennessee, remaining in that State about ten months, within which period Sergeant Porter was appointed First Assistant Provost Marshal, in which position he served two months.  The principal engagements in which he participated may be enumerated as follows: Perryville, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Buzzard’s Roost Gap, Atlanta, Jonesborough and Bentonville.  While on their way to Savannah, they had several light skirmishes with Wilson; at Kenesaw Mountain, our subject relates that he was so close to the rebel lines that he could feel the heat of the fire from the guns of the enemy.  At Peach Tree Creek there was a call for volunteers to relieve the picket line, and Mr. Porter was one of the first to respond, taking eighteen men under his command and all being compelled to make a run of several hundred yards under open and constant fire in order to make the post.  This one service is indicatory of the courage, brilliancy and dash which were characteristic of our subject during his military career.  He was also at Chickamauga, but here he was left on detail to guard the commissary’s stores, at Bridgeport, Tennessee.  This battle (that of Chickamauga,) was the only engagement in which his regiment participated that he did not take an active part.  At the battle of Bentonville he was wounded in the right arm while making a guard detail.
     After the close of the war Mr. Porter returned to Marysville, and formed a professional partnership with Colonel James Sterling and this association was not dissolved until our subject was elected to the bench, as will be noted later on.  This firm stood as the representative law firm of the county, and in the work of securing extra bounties for soldiers it undoubtedly did a larger and more effective service than all other lawyers and agents in the county rendered in conjunction.  In 1855 Mr. Porter had been elected Prosecuting Attorney of the county, was chosen as his own successor two years later, and was again elected to the office in 1865, succeeding himself in 1867, and being again chosen in 1873, serving in all ten years, his last nomination and election having been brought about almost without his knowledge.  In the fall of 1876, he was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and served on the bench until February 12, 1882.  In this exacting office he was eminently judicial, seeing all sides of a question at once, and selecting the right side with a promptness that indicates intuitive wisdom.  His rulings were at all times just and impartial.  A man of inflexible principles, he was never known to sacrifice what he considers right to any rule of expediency.  Other honorable official preferments have come to Judge Porter in more specifically a local sense: he was Mayor of the city in 1854; has twice served as member of the Common Council, and for a time was a member of the County Board of School Examiners.  In his political proclivities and adherency the Judge is a stanch Republican and one of the leaders in local political affairs.  Touching the present business association of Judge Porter, it may be said that in 1882 he admitted to partnership in his legal practice his son, Edward W., who had pursued the study of law under the preceptorship of his father and secured admission to the bar in 1881.  He is a young man of much natural talent, conspicuous professional ability and devoted to his work.  The firm of Porter & Porter stands forth most unmistakably as one of if not the strongest of legal associations in the county, retaining a representative clientage, and holding marked and recognized precedence.
     The marriage of Judge Porter was consummated in Delaware county, April 11, 1852, when he was united to Miss Anna R. Benton, daughter of the late Edward Benton, a prominent resident of that county.  Judge and Mrs. Porter had three sons who lived to attain mature years, and one daughter, who died in infancy.  Edward W. is associated with his father in the law practice, and whose history is given in another place.  Deruelle S., who has been connected with the Pension Department in a clerical capacity for the past twelve years, having, during the past three Congresses, been assigned to detail work with the Committee on Invalid Pensions.  In 1888, at the request of the chairman of the Pension Committee of the lower house, he was delegated by the Secretary of the Interior as advisory clerk to said committee, and afterwards was one of two chosen to codify the pension laws: he married Miss Mattie P. Bethel, daughter of Union Bethel, of Evansville, Indiana, and they have two children.  Dana C., the Judge’s youngest son, died August 19, 1889, at the age of twenty-four years; he was a graduate of the Ohio Wesleyan University, class of 1884; taught in the public schools of Marysville for about two years, after which he went West for the benefit of his health, accepting a position as assistant superintendent of the public schools of Pueblo, Colorado, and remaining there one year, after which he returned home to soon after meet an untimely demise.
     In his fraternal relations, Judge Porter is prominently identified with the Grand Army of the Republic, being a member of Ransom Reed Post, No. 113, of Marysville.
     Touching in conclusion points that have more particular reference to the subjective characteristics of the Judge, we may say that he is exceedingly quick, seeming never to hesitate in judgment, and always ready in argument or repartee.  He is genial, urbane and large-hearted, has an irrepressible spirit of camaraderie, a pleasing raconteur, seldom failing to win the regard of any person who conies in contact with him, and always ready to do a kindness for a friend or stranger.
Source:  Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union & Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1895, pp. 70-73
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.