TOWN OF PEATTSBURGH. 



369 



Smith, Samuel, lOlst N. Y. Vols. 



Smith, Oscar. 



Stedman, Julius, 10th N. Y. Cav. 



Stanton, Clark, 1st N. Y. Cav. 



Skinner, Arthur, 161st N. Y. Vols. 



Stanton, Stephen. 



Thayer, A. P. 



Terry, Z. J., Co. C, 188th N. Y. Vols. 



Turner, Peter. 



Thayer, Ely. 



Tuthill, Charles, 22d N. Y. Cav. 



Thayer, Martin. 



Thayer, Mortimer. 



Upthegrove, Clark. 



Van Tuyl, Benjamin, 161st N. Y. Vols. 



Van Tuyl, John, 10th N. Y. Cav. 



Van Housen, Israel, 101st N. Y. Vols. 



Van Arden, George. 



Vanderwalker, John. 



Wales, Frank, Co. C, 188th N. Y. Vols. 



Waldo, G. H., Co. C, 188th N. Y. Vols. 



Walters, Al., Co. C, 188th N. Y. Vols. 



Wigden, Benjamin, 14th R. I. H. Art. 



Wigden, William, 14th R. I. H. Art. 



Wigden, Martin, 20th N. Y. Vols. 



Whitehead, Aaron, Co. G, 107th N. Y, Vols. 



Watkins, J. J., Co. C, 188th N. Y. Vols. 



Williams, F., 101st N. Y. Vols. 



Wilcox, C. H., 16l8t N. Y. Vols. 



Waldo, Edmund, 189th N. Y. Vols. 



Wheaton, Marvin, Co. B, 176th N. Y. Vols. 



Wheaton, George. 



Wheaton, Alvin S. 



Youngs, Martin, 126th N. Y. Vols, and 10th Cav, 



-» ■ < •>■ 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



HON. ROBERT PORTER. 



Hon. Robert Porter was the son of Noah Porter and 

 Mary Lewis, who were married May 11, 1764. He was 

 born at Farmington, Conn., Oct. 6, 1773. By means of 

 records preserved in the family his genealogy can be traced 

 back, through four generations, to Robert Porter, who was 

 " the son of a clergyman in England. He was among the 

 first emigration to this country, and one of the eighty-four 

 proprietors of the town of Farmington." 



Noah Porter, the father of the subject of this sketch, 

 was for many years a deacon of the church of Farmington. 

 He was distinguished for his acquaintance with the Scrip- 

 tures, gifts in prayer, and disposition to do good, particu- 

 larly his zeal for the promotion of missions. After a vig- 

 orous and serene old age, greatly endeared to his children 

 and respected by all who knew him, he died, Jan. 6, 1818, 

 aged eighty-four years. 



Dr. Noah Porter, who was for sixty years pastor of the 

 first church of Farmington, Conn., the father of President 

 Noah Porter, of Yale College, was a brother of the subject 

 of this sketch. 



Hon. Robert Porter graduated at Yale College in 1795. 

 He subsequently spent two years in studying theology 

 under the tuition of Rev. Dr. Charles Backus, of Somers, 

 Conn., and was then licensed to preach. During the suc- 

 ceeding four years he preached almost constantly in various 

 congregations in the State of Connecticut and performed 

 two tours of missionary service under appointments from 

 the Missionary Society of Connecticut. On the 28th of 

 November, 1799, he was married to Roxanna Root, of 

 Litchfield, Conn. 

 47 



In 1801 he became Principal of " Hamilton Oneida 

 Academy" (now Hamilton College), at Clinton, N. Y., and 

 having purchased a cottage and small farm near the acad- 

 emy, he removed his family to that place. During his four 

 years' residence at Clinton, in addition to his duties as pre- 

 ceptor, he preached almost constantly in vacant congrega- 

 tions, of which there were a number in the vicinity. His 

 example of integrity, of neighborly courtesy, of enterprise, 

 and enthusiasm for the higher moral pursuits left an im- 

 press on the character of the place which it still retains. 



Prof. Edward North, of Hamilton College, says, " While 

 a resident of Clinton, Principal Porter made his home in a 

 cottage that is now the oldest residence on the college hill- 

 side. One of the apple-trees grafted by him, more than 

 seventy-five years ago, stands to-day. It measures fifteen 

 feet in girth, and is still a vigorous and productive tree." 



In the spring of 1806, Mr. Porter removed with his fam- 

 ily to Prattsburgh. At that time the site of this village 

 was almost an unbroken forest. He purchased of Sir 

 James Pulteney lots Nos. 44, 54, and 67, upon which a 

 large part of the village is now located. He erected the 

 first grist-mill in town and many other substantial buildings, 

 some of which are yet among the best in the village. He 

 planted extensive orchards of choice fruit, and where they 

 have not been removed to make way for improvements they 

 still continue to be the most productive and valuable in town. 



The records of the town of Prattsburgh show that all the 

 most responsible ofiices within its bounds have from time 

 to time been filled by him. For many years he was justice 

 of the peace, supervisor, etc., and in 1814 he was placed 

 on the bench as associate county judge, a position which 

 he filled with credit to himself. 



He was a liberal contributor towards all town improve- 

 ments, and was foremost in the origin, building, and sup- 

 port of the Franklin Academy and the Presbyterian church, 

 and was the largest contributor towards the erection of these 

 buildings. The ground upon which the Presbyterian church 

 was built was given by him. He also deeded to the reli- 

 gious society the open square nearly in front of the church 

 to be kept open as a play-ground. He was the first pre- 

 siding ofiicer of the board of trustees of the academy, — a 

 position he retained for many years. He lived to see this 

 institution in its most flourishing days, — the resort of an 

 advanced class of students, who gladly availed themselves 

 of its superior advantages for obtaining a thorough prepara- 

 tion for college. Some of the students of those days, among 

 whom were Dr. S. M. Campbell, of Rochester, and Dr. J. 

 M. Manning, of Boston, frequently sought his aid on the 

 knotty points of their Latin and Greek, and readily ob- 

 tained the assistance they sought. 



He was fond of his family, and mingled much with his 

 children in their sports. He had an exuberance of fun, 

 was fond of good jokes, and had a store of them constantly 

 ready for suitable occasions. He brought with him some 

 funds beyond what he invested in lands and mills, which, 

 being loaned, was at that day of great value to the commu- 

 nity. He was kind to the unfortjunate poor, but had no 

 patience with men of indolent habits. He was fond of 

 society, a man of chaste feelings and habits, and enjoyed 

 entertaining his friends at his own house. 



