John Porter

John Porter (bp. 1594–1648)

Anne White (bp. 1600–1647)

John was probably the son of John Porter, baptized on 21 June 1594 at Holy Cross, Felsted, co. Essex. [1][2] John Porter, Sr. died on 21 April 1648 in Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut. [3] John Porter of Felsted married Anne White on 18 October 1620 at All Saints, Messing, co. Essex. [1][2]

Anne, the daughter of Robert and Bridget (Algar) White, was baptized on 13 July 1600 at Shalford, co. Essex. [1][2] John Sr.'s wife died in 1647 in Windsor. [3] She was the sister of Elder John White.

John Porter's English Ancestry

Thomas Vessey of Little Baddow, co. Essex was probably born about 1530. [2] He probably died after 1587. [2]

Children of Thomas Vessey:

i. John Vessey was baptized and buried on 21 December 1560 in Little Baddow. [2]

ii. Sybil Vessey was baptized on 30 November 1561 in Little Baddow.

iii. Thomas Vessey was baptized on 12 February 1564/5 in Little Baddow. [2] He was probably the Thomas who was buried there on 6 August 1639. [2]

iv. Susan Vessey was baptized on 10 March 1566/7 in Little Baddow. [2] She married Geore Semer (Seymour) of Woodham Ferrers, co. Essex on 2 August 1585. [2]

John Porter was probably born shortly before 1560. [2] He died between 30 May 1623 and 26 November 1625. He married Sybil Vessey, the daughter of Thomas Vessey of Little Baddow, on 12 September 1587 in St. Mary the Virgin, Little Baddow. [2][10] She was baptized on 30 November 1561. [2]

John Porter, yeoman of Felsted, made his will on 30 May 1623; it was proved on 26 November 1625. He mentioned his wife Sybil and his children Francis, Thomas, John, William, and Rose of the of ___ Wendford (Underwood?). [10]

Thomas Brett, gentleman of Terling, co. Essex made his will on 15 January 1615/6; it was proved on 13 November 1616. He named his sister Frances Pynchon and her eight children—including William of Springfield. He also left his cousin (nephew?) Mr. John Porter his tenement called Philles in Little Baddow. This must be the John here. [11]

Children of John Porter and Sybil Vessey:

i. Francis Porter was probably born about 1588. He died between 8 May 1635 (will) and 26 May 1635 (probate) in Felsted. He married Joan ___.

ii. Thomas Porter was probably born about 1590. [2] He was living in Felsted in 1635. [2]

iii. Margaret Porter was baptized on 17 May 1593 in Felsted. [2] She apparently died before 30 May 1623.

iv. John Porter was baptized on 21 June 1594.

v. William Porter

vi. Rose Porter married ___ Wentford (Underwood?).

John, Sr., came from England and settled in Windsor in 1639. [3]

John and Anne (White) Porter, the parents of Rebecca Porter, were of Windsor, Connecticut. [4]

Anne White's English Ancestry

William Algar (Allgar) was buried on 2 August 1575 in Shalford. [13]

Robert White was buried on 17 June 1617 in Messing, co. Essex. [12] He married Bridget Algar on 24 June 1585. [12] Bridget, the daughter of William Algar, was baptized on 11 March 1562 in Shalford, co. Essex. [12][13]

"Robert was a rich man." [13] He appears to have lived in Shalford, co. Essex from his marriage to Bridget until a few months before his death. [13]

Robert's will mentisons his wife Bridget; sons Daniel, Nathaniel and John (his youngest child); married daughters Sarah, Mary and Elizabeth; and two unmarried daughters, Bridget and Anna. [13]

Children of Robert White and Bridget Algar who came to New England:

i. Mary White was born on 24 August 1590 in Shalford.[7][12] She died on 23 August 1652 in Windsor. [7][12] She married Joseph Loomis of Braintree, co. Essex, on 30 June 1614 in Shalford. [12] He died on 25 November 1658 in Windsor. [12]

Mary was an ancestress of President Filmore. [7][12]

ii. Elizabeth White married William Goodwin of Cambridge, Hartford, Hadley and Farmington. [1]

iii. Anne White

iv. John White came to New England [1]

John was a deputy from Windsor to the Connecticut legislature in Augut 1639, October 1646, and May 1647. [5]

John Porter of Windsor made his will on 20 April 1648. He left his eldest son, John Porter, 100 pounds; his second son, James Porter, 60 pounds; his other six children, Samuel Porter, Nathaniel, Rebecca, Rose, Mary and Anne [Hannah] Porter each 30 pounds, to be paid at age 20. He referred to his son Joseph Judgson. Inventory was taken on 27 April 1648 and it amountd to £470-17-00. By 7 March 1650 one of the younger daughters [Rose] had died and there was an adjustment of the elder daughters' [Anne's and Sarah's] portions. [6]

John and Anne were ancestors of presidents Grant, Cleveland, and Ford [7]

Children of John Porter and Anne White: Baptisms of the first nine from the parish registers of Holy Cross, Felsted. [1]

i. Anne Porter was baptized on 22 September 1621. She married William Gayler, Jr. (William Gaylord, duplicate record) on 24 February 1641 in Windsor. [1][3]

ii. John Porter was baptized on 9 February 1622/3 in Felsted. [8] He died on 2 August 1688. [8] He married Mary Stanley by 1659. [1][8] Mary, the daughter of Thomas and Bennett (Tritton), was baptized on 2 February 1640 in Ashford, Kent. [1] She died on 13 September 1688 in Windsor. [1][8]

John was the four times great-grandparent of John Brown, who led the raid on Harper's Ferry. See the chart. [8]

iii. Sarah Porter was baptized on 15 March 1624. She died in March 1696/7 in Stratford. [1] She married Joseph Judson of Stratford and Milford on 24 October 1650. [1]

iv. James Porter was bapatized on 20 February 1627.

v. Rebecca Porter was baptized on 16 September 1630 in Felsted, county Essex. She died on 9 January 1682/3 in Saybrook. She married first John Clark. She married second ___ Spencer.

vi. Samuel Porter was baptized on 26 May 1632. He was buried on 15 July 1632 at Holy Cross, Felsted. [1]

vii. Rose Porter was baptized on 24 June 1633. She died in 1648 in Windsor. [3] She was buried on 12 May 1648. [3]

viii. Samuel Porter was baptized on 2 June 1635. He died on 6 September 1689 in Hadley. [1] He married Hannah Stanley, the sister of his brother John's wife. [1] She died on 18 December

ix. Mary Porter was baptized on 1 October 1637. She married Samuel Grant on 27 May 1658 in Windsor. [1][3]

x. Nathaniel Porter, the son of John, Sr., was born on 19 July 1740 in Windsor. [3] He died in January 1678/80 in Stratford. [1] He married Hannah Groves. [1] He married Elizabeth Baldwin. [1]

xi. Hannah Porter, the daughter of John, Sr., was born on 4 September 1642 in Windsor. [3] She was baptized the same day. [3] She and her baby were killed by Indians on 19 September 1677. [1] She married John Coleman of Deerfield on 29 May 1663. [1]

Hannah is called Anne in her father's will. [1]

Note: The Anne Porter, daughter of John and Anna, baptized on 4 November 1638 in Messing is apparently the daughter of John Porter, gentleman of Messing, and Anne Waller, his wife, married at All Hallows in the Wall, London on 22 November 1637. [9]

Endnotes:

1. Winifred Lovering Holman, "John Porter of Windsor," The American Genealogist 16 (1939): 49–53.

2. John Insley Coddington, "John Porter of Windsor, Conn., and His Parents, Further Notes," The American Genealogist 18 (1941): 56.

3. "Connecticut: Vital Records (The Barbour Collection), 1630–1870," database with images, AmericanAncestors.org > Windsor, 237–41.

4. Donald Lines Jacobus, Hale, House and Related Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley (Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2001), 496.

5. "New Haven, CT: Families of Ancient New Haven," AmericanAncestors.org, 4: 996.

6. "Connecticut: Early Probate Records, 1635–1730," digitized books, AmericanAncestors.org, originally published as Charles W. Manwaring, A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records (Hartford: R. S. Peck & Co. Printers, 1904), vol. 1, 29–30.

7. Gary Boyd Roberts, "American Presidential Ancestry," The American Genealogist 61 (1985): 171–9.

8. George E. McCracken, "John Brown's Body, The American Genealogist 35 (1959): 19-28

9. "Notes," The American Genealogist 16 (1939): 122.

10. John Insley Coddington, "John Porter of Windsor, Conn., and His Parents," The American Genealogist 17 (1940): 86.

11. John Insley Coddington, "Notes and Addenda to 'Hale, House, and Related Families'," The American Genealogist 29 (1953): 205–11.

12. Gary Boyd Roberts, "Ancestry of Millard Fillmore," The American Genealogist 63 (1988): 46–55.

13. A Descendant, "The Children of Robert White of Messing, co. Essex, who Settled in Hartford and Windsor," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 55 (1909): 22–31.

Last revised: 10-Aug-2023