Re: William Porter m. Polly McCauley Duncanson 1796, Culpeper Co.,VA
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In reply to:
William Porter m. Polly McCauley Duncanson 1796, Culpeper Co.,VA
Steven Cox 8/22/03
I have been reseaching a Freemason named William Porter who might possibly have been the man who married Polly McCauley Duncanson. The time is about right, and Frederickburg is really quite close to Culpeper and Orange Counties! If you think he is your Wiliam Porter, let me know. I would very much like to know more about him!
Anyway here is what I have in my notes:
PORTER, WILLIAM (? - ?)
Merchant (?)
Biographical Notes: There were several William Porters in Virginia at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the19th Centuries. But the likeliest candidate for the brother of Lodge No. 63 was a Fredericksburg merchant who flourished from the early 1790s until around 1810.
Nothing is known about him before the appearance of the following in the Virginia Herald, Thurs, 8 Nov 1792, p. 4, col. 1: “William Porter hath just received per the ship Camilla, from London, and is now opening his store house opposite the Brick Building [probably the Market House, on Caroline Street] a neat assortment of goods suitable to the present and approaching seasons, which he will sell low for cash, wheat, tobacco or corn.” He advertised several times over the next few years. Around 1804 he appears to have gone into business with merchant Richard R. Farish. “Porter & Farish have received an assortment of dry-goods, suited to the season….” Virginia Herald, Fri, 10 Aug 1804, p. 1, col. 4.
On 19 Oct 1807 a terrible fire ravaged the commercial heart of Fredericksburg, and the firm of Porter & Farish suffered heavily. See Virginia Herald, Fri, 23 October 1807, p. 3, col. 1. According to Alvey, Fredericksburg Fire of 1807, pp. 54-55, the firm, which was “located in block 30, Caroline and Amelia Streets,” reported losses totaling $10,900, including of dwelling houses belonging to both William Porter and Richard Farish, and a warehouse and stable.
William Porter was elected one of the eight Fredericksburg magistrates in March 1807. Virginia Herald, Fri, 20 March 1807, p. 3, col. 2. He was initiated into Lodge No. 63 in 1808. Thereafter he virtually disappeared from the local record; he may have left the area.
Many years later he, along with James F. Porter, and Richard and Rebecca Farish, was sued by one Reuben Kemper in Fredericksburg Court of Chancery; the nature of the dispute, and its outcome, are not known. Virginia Herald, Sat, 16 Oct 1819, p. 3, col. 4. (With reference to that suit, James F. Porter was described as “not an inhabitant of this Commonwealth.”) The ultimate fate of William Porter is not known. The nature of his relationship, if any, with lodge brother William A. Porter is not known.
Listed in Lodge No. 63 Returns: 1808 (EA).
Masonic Notes: Porter was affiliated with Lodge No. 63 for the year of 1808 only. There was a William Porter (1746-1828) was initiated into Lodge No. 4 in 1769, and who served with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Lodge at Fredericksburgh, p. 85. But it seems extremely unlikely that this was the same man who was initiated into Lodge No. 63 in 1808.
Obituary: None found.
Burial Notes: No information available.
More Replies:
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Re: William Porter m. Polly McCauley Duncanson 1796, Culpeper Co.,VA
Steven Cox 1/06/05
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Re: William Porter m. Polly McCauley Duncanson 1796, Culpeper Co.,VA
Jeffrey Garth Edmunds 1/06/05
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Re: William Porter m. Polly McCauley Duncanson 1796, Culpeper Co.,VA