My Genealogy Hound

JONATHAN E. PORTER, of Hatfield, Mass., manufacturer of the Porter lathe, was born in this town on November 22, 1849, in the house where C. Bardwell now lives. He is a son of Moses C. and Emily (Porter) Porter.

This branch of the Porter family traces its ancestral line to John Porter, who came to this country from England more than two hundred and fifty years ago, and settled in Windsor, Conn., in 1639. His will, dated April 20, 1648, and which is copied in the Colonial Records of Connecticut, vol. i., makes bequests to eight children; namely, John, James, Samuel, Nathaniel, Rebecca, Rose, Mary, Anna. Samuel, the third son, who was born in 1639 and died in 1689, was one of the first settlers in Hadley, Mass. He and his wife reared a family of ten children; namely, Samuel, Thomas, Hezekiah, John, Hannah, Mehitabel, Experience, Ichabod, Nathaniel, and Thomas. Ichabod, son of Samuel, was born June 17, 1678. He married, settled in Hatfield, and became the father of seven children: Dorcas, Mehitabel, Ichabod, Hannah, Mary, James, and Sarah.

James Porter, younger son of Ichabod, was born in Hatfield, September 19, 1714. With the exception of his service in the war of the Revolution, his life was spent in agricultural pursuits. He married Miss Eunice Belden, who bore him five children: Hannah, Jonathan, Submit, David, and Silas.

Jonathan, son of James, born in 1752, married Ruth Chapin; and they reared the following children: Reuben, Eunice, Elizabeth, Ruth, Jonathan, Samuel, Chester, and Anna. Jonathan Porter, Jr., whose birth occurred in January, 1789, started in life as a poor boy. He eventually became the owner of the place known as the E. Billings farm, and by industry and good business management he acquired a good amount of property. He was a leader in town affairs, and also took great interest in religious matters, being a member of the Congregational church. He served in the War of 1812, in which he held the rank of Major. He married in 1818 Electa Allis; and their union was blessed by the birth of five children, as follows: Moses Chapin, Henry Smith, Sophia Allis, Jonathan Dwight, and James. He died in 1864, at the age of seventy-five years, and his wife in 1855, at sixty-three years of age.

Moses C. Porter, son of Jonathan and Electa (Allis) Porter, was born December 30, 1819. Like his predecessors, he turned his attention to agriculture, purchasing the S. Bardwell place, where he engaged in farming with good results, and became a progressive and enterprising citizen of the town. In 1876 he moved to Amherst, and there lived practically retired from active business. His first wife, Emily Porter, died at thirty-seven years of age, leaving three children: Augusta A., who married Myron Graves; Jonathan E.; and Moses, who died at nine years of age. The father married for his second wife Miss Louisa B. Bridgman, who is still living. He was sixty-eight years old at the time of his death. Jonathan E. Porter received his education in Hatfield and at Powers Institute. At twenty years of age he went West, hoping to find there a more desirable place for his life work; but, his expectations not being realized, he returned home, and entered into partnership with the Prescott Pistol Company, with which he was associated for seven years. He then purchased a water-power and foundry of H. Porter. In 1876 the foundry burned down, and soon after he sold the north side and one-half of the water-power to C. S. Shattuck; and still later he sold the other side. He hired the upper story of Mr. Shattuck’s factory, and began the manufacture of the well-known Porter lathe. In the present factory, which was erected in 1884, seventy-five hands are employed; and they turn out about thirty-five machines per month. Mr. Porter does the selling, and travels as far West as Denver, Col., to which point he makes four trips yearly. Mr. Porter also rents and runs a grist-mill, where he does custom grinding, and deals in grain and hay.

Miss Mary D. Smith, who became the wife of Mr. Porter on December 13, 1871, was born February 7, 1850, and is a daughter of Silas and Eliza (Williams) Smith. Mrs. Porter’s grandfather served in the Revolutionary War. Her father was a farmer throughout his life. She was one of a family of seven children; namely, Emma E., George Y., Mary D., Frank H., Alice W., Fred L., and Kittie L. Mr. and Mrs. Porter’s union has been blessed by the birth of two children: Mary E., who was born July 3, 1877, and died on October 4 of that year; and Helen L., who was born June 27, 1878.

A faithful portrait* of Mr. Porter appears on the page opposite the beginning of the foregoing sketch of one of the old and substantial families of Hampshire County.

*Editor's note: Portrait was included in the original printed book.