Dea. Thomas Porter

Not the son of John Porter, II, of Windsor & Anna Porter

Thomas Porter, Hartford Founder
Compiled by Timothy Lester Jacobs, SDFH Genealogist

https://www.foundersofhartford.org/the-founders/thomas-porter/

THOMAS1 PORTER, DEA., HARTFORD FOUNDER was born bef. 1619 in England, and died bef. 13 Dec 1697 in Farmington, CT (inventory). He married SARAH HART 20 Nov 1644 in Hartford, CT, daughter of HARTFORD FOUNDER STEPHEN HART and _____ ______. She was born abt. 1624 in England, and died aft. 03 Mar 1690/91 in prob. Farmington, CT (named in will of husband).

The ancestry, date and place of birth, and date of emigration to the American colonies of Thomas Porter is unknown, nor is it known exactly when he arrived in Hartford, where he was granted a home lot on January 1639/40 “If the Townsmen se noe Just Cause to the Contrary: and they will accept of them uppon such Tearmes: as the Townsmen shall see Cause to propose”, and on 28 October 1640, it was ordered that he have the house lot of two acres located on the east side of the road from Centinel Hill to the Cow Pasture and the property in the Pine Field of Hartford Founder Nicholas Jennings, who had defaulted on them by removing to New Haven. He later acquired a parcel of land on the east side of the Great River; eleven acres and two roods in the Cow Pasture; one acre and two roods in the West Field; and three acres of swamp on the east side of the Great River, all of which he later sold to William Phillips.

He removed to Farmington about 1646. His will was dated 03 March 1690/1, his inventory was taken 13 December 1697, and his will was proved 03 March 1697/8.

Genealogy: no published genealogy known.

Biographical Summary:

Thomas Porter was not one of the original proprietors of Hartford, but a lot was granted to him conditionally, in Jan. 1639-40, and his name appears on W. S. Porter's map of Hartford, 1640, when his lot was on what is now Albany Ave. He married November 20, 1644, Sarah, daughter of Stephen Hart; removed to Farmington, where he and his wife joined the church, July 19, 1653; died 1697.

SOURCE: James Hammond Trumbull, editor, The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Volume 1 (Boston, Massachusetts: Edward L. Osgood, 1886), page 255. Retrieved: 3 May 2011 from Google Books

Family

Children:

• 1. Sarah (Porter) Winchell 1646 - 1725 (not named in will) Married 4/4/1664: Nathaniel Winchell 1636 - 1699 Findagrave #112875999
• 2. Thomas Porter II 1648 - 1711 (1 of 3 children named in will) Married Lois Stanley 1645 - 1711 Findagrave #120805472
• 3. Dorothea "Dorothy" (Porter) Overman 1652 - 1715 (2 of 3 named in will) Married Jacob Overman 1652 - 1715 Findagrave #67397989
• 4. Joanna (Porter) Taylor, Tudor 1653 - 1710 (not named in will) Married 11/1676: Stephen Taylor II 1644 - 1707 Married 2/7/1705: Samuel Tudor - Findagrave #113463098
• 5. Rachel (Porter) Cowles 1658 - 1743 (not named in will) Married 5/12/1685: Samuel Cowles 1662 - 1748 Findagrave #82326476
• 6. Samuel Porter 1665 - 1736 (3 of 3 named in will) Married Abigail Humphrey 1678 - 1735 Buried @ Memento Mori Cemetery/Memento Mori Burying Ground in Farmington, Hartford, CT. No Findagrave page for him or Abigail.
• 7. Mary (Porter) Royce, Langdon - (not named in will) Married 10/1/1684: Joseph Royce - Married 10/18/1714: Joseph Langdon -
• ? Ruth Porter, daughter of Thomas Porter, widow of Samuel Smith. Married 3 May 1727 to Joseph, son of John Root & Mary Kilbourne; his 2nd wife - he was Elizabeth Warner’s widower.

Note: Thomas Porter died in 1697 and his will of 3/3/1691 names only the children: Thomas, Dorothy, Samuel.[2]

Disputed Origins

”Thomas Porter was born in Felstead, Essex, England and died in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut. Sarah (Hart) Porter was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, England and died in Kensington, Hartford, Connecticut.”

Note: Thomas Porter is being detached from perported parents John Porter and his wife Anna (White) Porter. There are no documents that demonstrate the relationship. If documents to the contrary surface in the future, they may certainly be reconnected following discussion in the comments.

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• Burial: Ancient Burying Ground Hartford Hartford County Connecticut, USA Plot: Founders Monument Created by: Linda Mac Record added: Mar 05, 2009 Find A Grave Memorial# 34482685 -tcd

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References

• Updated from MyHeritage Match via daughter Ruth Root (born Porter) by SmartCopy: Sep 30 2014, 14:33:52 UTC

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• Updated from MyHeritage Match via daughter Ruth Root (born Porter) by SmartCopy: Sep 30 2014, 14:33:52 UTC
• Root Genealogical Records 1600-1870; Comprising the General History of the Root and Roots Families in America, by James Pierce Root Page 320 Archive.Org Ruth Porter, daughter of Thomas Porter, widow of Samuel Smith. Married 3 May 1727 to Joseph, son of John Root & Mary Kilbourne; his 2nd wife - he was Abigail Warner’s widower.
• https://www.foundersofhartford.org/the-founders/thomas-porter/

1. WikiTree contributors, "Thomas Porter (abt.1620-bef.1697)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Porter-172 : accessed 28 January 2024). cites
   1. Robert Charles Anderson. "The Great Migration Directory, Immigrants to New England 1620-1640, A Concise Compendium" New England Historic Genealogical Society (2015). p. 270.
   2. Timothy Lester Jacobs, compiler, Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford < Thomas Porter Link >
   3. Connecticut Historical Society, "Early Hartford Vital Records," Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society (Hartford, Conn. : Published for the Society, 1860), Vol. 14(1912):606. < Archive.org >.
   4. Hartford. First Church of Christ, Historical catalogue of the First Church in Hartford. 1633-1885 ([Hartford] Pub. by the Church, 1885) p. 235, "List of Marriages taken from the Town Records". < Archive.org >; < GoogleBooks >
   5. Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692. Vol. I-IV. Boston, MA, USA: 1860-1862.Page 464 < Archive.Org >
   6. A DIGEST OF THE EARLY CONNECTICUT PROBATE RECORDS. 1695 to 1700, Page 36
   7. Find A Grave Memorial# 34482685 NOTE: Unsourced, memorial headstone for Founders of Hartford https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34482685/thomas-porter (linked to wrong parents)
   8. Barbour, Lucius Barnes, 1982, Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut, Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc., Baltimore, Maryland and Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Inc., Glastonbury, Connecticut pp.460 < Archive.Org >
   9. The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633 - 1884. Vol. 1. 1886 < GoogleBooks > Page 255. Lists Thomas as one of the original proprietors of Hartford, his property, marriage date & name, date of joining church. Page 261 Lists Deacon Thomas Porter of Farmington.