Ralph Wallace Porter

Ralph Wallace Porter was a semi-invalid. It is likely he had had been born with cyanosis due to a congenital cardiac or pulmonary defect, which caused incomplete oxygenation of the blood. This malady was known as blue baby syndrome. Ralph was more or less confined to the family estate in Higganum, Connecticut his entire life. He did manage to sing in the choir of the Higganum Congregational Church. On the family estate he tended his chickens (a few of which he would slaughter almost on a daily basis for friends and family), painted, and chronicled the comings and goings of his healthy siblings. His companions were the servants on the estate, such as Albert.

Ralph’s 1912 diary--he turned 28 on January 13 of that year--reveals an extraordinarily rural lifestyle, particularly as his father (Wallace Porter) had a substantial interest in and ran the D. & H. Scovil Hoe Company, which Ralph and his siblings referred to as “the Shop.” Ralph and his brothers enjoyed hunting rabbits, which they would track with the ferrets. These ferrets had been ordered by Ralph from Ohio. In the winter, Ralph enjoyed watching the men cut ice on the pond and transport the blocks to the ice house. From time to time Albert and Ralph would take Brownie, the family horse, up to Middletown to be shod. On February 3 they would have been found spearing eels together down at the river (Connecticut River). Ralph reported in his February 15 diary entry that there was no more milk as the cows had “gone dry.” On February 19 he wrote: ‘I have lost all my bees except one swarm in and old box hive.” The next day he reported that John “hauled the wood down to the windmill got over six cords.” On the 17th of March he heard a song sparrow, and on the 19th a meadow lark. “Some heard the peep frogs last night.” On April 5, his brothers Hez (who was latter killed in action in the First World War) and Whit went trouting. They took Brownie. They got four little ones. Said they spent most of the time driving around the country. Took Rock (the family dog) with them and the last they saw of him he was chasing rabbits. "I set a hen tonight" was a common entry in his diary. On April 8, Ralph reported that one of his hens had "broke off from setting spoiling all the eggs." On April 10, Albert and Ralph "set out 30 peach trees" over in Ralph's hen yards. That day "Pa" set out some rose bushes as well. On April 12, while Albert was raking the yard Ralph was cleaning his ferret cages. On April 15 Ralph gets word of the sinking of the Titanic: "A great sea disaster last night. Titanic had a collision with an an iceberg and sunk. Loss of life from 1,200 to 1,500." On the afternoon of April 19 Peck would have been found "trimming the apple trees." On April 23 and 24, Selma, one of the female servants had spent April 23 and 24 cleaning the top and third stories of the house. On the afternoon of April 25, Ralph "set out some lettuce." We learn from an April 29 diary entry that "the hawks are taking Albert's chicks off fast." On May 2, John, another hired hand, planted "the oats." On May 5, Ralph wrote" Tommy came down with a friend from Hartford today in a Cadillac Car. It is a fine car. Wish Pa had one like it." On May 18, Ralph attended a Drum Corps meeting. On March 21, Charlie Barker, the leader of the Corps, had died. Charlie was missed by Ralph. Up until the 1990s, the drummers in the Higganum Memorial Day parade would pause and drum over Charlie's grave in his honor. "We put the cow over in the lot with Brownie today. They are good friends," wrote Ralph on May 22. June 8 saw Ralph watching the "Higganums" get trounced in baseball by a team from Cromwell. Albert pitched for the Higganums."It was a bum game." June 1912 saw everyone trouting almost every day. Meanwhile Ralph was busy tending the family vegetable garden. Sept. 24, 1912 (Tuesday): "They all went away to school this morning. Only Pa, Aunt Alice, and I left." Oct 15, 192 (Tuesday): "Teddy Roosevelt was shot last night but was not badly injured." Oct. 17, 1912 (Thursday): "We went to Whit's to a squirrel supper tonight. We had five of them." Nov. 6, 2012: "Three cheers for WILSON. The Dems made a clean sweep all around." Nov. 21, 2012 (Thursday): "Albert is smoking his bacon this afternoon." Dec. 16, 1912 (Monday): Ralph wrote: " Our dear loving father left us about three o'clock this afternoon." Ralph W. Porter's 1912 diary is in the possession of Charles E. Rounds, Jr., 107 Mt. Vernon St., Boston, MA (2013). One of Ralph's water colors (two chickens) hangs on a wall in 107 Mt. Vernon Street.

Jan. 22, 1913 (Wednesday), Ralph makes the following entry in his 1913 diary: "Buster went to cat Paradise today."

Jan. 13, 1914 ((Tuesday), Ralph makes the following entry in his 1914 diary: "I am feeling bum today. Phil and Esther put me to bed this noon. Doctor came twice today. My birthday, am 30 years old but feel like .30 cents." Outside is was clear and cold. The temperture was 8 below zero.

July 31, 1914 (Friday), Ralph makes the following entry in his 1914 diary: "They dug Brownie's grave this morning and put her in it tonight."