Porter Family Papers, 1773-1874, undated
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Not requestable
Scope and Content Note
The Porter family papers document business and personal relationships among Porter family members of Danvers, Massachusetts. The Porters were pioneers in the shoe making industry. The collection includes correspondence, legal documents, and several hundred accounts and receipts documenting the early daysof the shoe manufacturing industry in Danvers, Massachusetts.
Folders 1-6 contain correspondence of Porter family members. They include letters to Zerubbabel (1759-1845), Sarah (1763-1835), Col. Warren (1789-1861), and Jonathan (1763-1851), and letters from Col. Warren. Most letters deal with business or financial matters. Folder 8 contains 18 legal documents pertaining to several Porters, including Benjamin (1725-1810), Joseph (1740-1805), Zerubbabel (1759-1845), Lydia (1762-1838), Sarah (1763-1835). Benjamin (1766-1854), Daniel (1771-1852), Jonathan (1763-1851), William (b. 1782), Col. Warren (1789-1861), Alfred (1792-1826), and Moses (1794-1858). The documents include deeds, powers of attorney, wills, and court summons.
Folders 9 and 14 contain approximately 500 accounts, invoices, receipts, and agreements. Most pertain to Zerubbabel Porter and provide a detailed account of his shoe manufacturing business. Later accounts (after about 1815) belong to Warren Porter, Jonathan Porter, or Sarah Porter.
Dates
- Creation: 1773-1874, undated
Creator
- Porter family (Family)
Restrictions on Access
This collection is open for research use.
Biographical Sketches
The Porter family was descended from John Porter (1596-1676), who settled in Salem, now Danvers, Massachusetts, in 1644. Zerubbabel Porter was a sixth generation descendant of John Porter. He was born in Danvers in 1759, the son of Benjamin and Sarah (Rea) Porter. He wasthe first shoe manufacturer in Danvers and the first to conceive the idea of making up a large lot of shoes and sending them off to find a market. He and his wife Mary (Endicott) Porter had two sons: Warren and Alfred. Zerrubbabel Porter died on November 11, 1845.
Colonel Warren Porter was born on September 30, 1789, the son of Zerubbabel and Mary Porter. He was a Lieutenant in the war of 1812 and after the war he was a Lieutenant Colonel. He was active in the shoe industry as a tanner and Morocco dresser. He and his wife, Ann (Welch) Porter, had six children – Mary, Alfred, Warren Jr., Matilda, John Welch, and Charles. Colonel Warren Porter died on July 20, 1861.
Extent
0.5 linear feet (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Porter family papers document business and personal relationships among Porter family members of Danvers, Massachusetts.
Physical Location
Phillips Library Stacks
Provenance
This material was purchased in 2012 (acc # 2012.039).
Processing Information
Collection processed by Lee Jacoby, January 2013.
Subject
- Porter, Benjamin, 1726-1810 (Person)
- Porter, Sarah, 1763-1835 (Person)
- Porter, Warren, 1789-1861 (Person)
- Porter, Zerubbabel, 1759-1845 (Person)
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- PORTER FAMILY PAPERS, 1773-1874, undated
- Author
- Processed by: Lee Jacoby; machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Phillips Library Repository