John Porter

John Porter of Dorset may have been a brother of Richard Porter who settled in Weymouth, Mass., 1635, the same year that John Porter settled in Hingham, three miles distant. Stephen Lincoln ancestor of Wm. Ensign Lincoln, and John Porter ancestor of his wife Mary Buel(Porter) Lincoln, were both living in Hingham, Mass., 1638-1644.

John Porter was born in Dorset (Dorchester), England, in 1596 and died in Salem, Mass., September 6, 1676; he sailed in the ship "Susan & Ellen" with his wife Mary, March 20, 1635, from Weymouth, England, and settled in Hingham, Mass., where he was granted a house lot September 1, 1637, on what was later East Street. This was probably one of the original thirty lots for homes, close together for protection from the Indians and not far from the Old Meeting House, and here he probably built his first dwelling on this side of the ocean. On September 2, 1637, he was also granted a seven acre home lot, a five acre planting lot, a thirty-eight acre great lot on the east side of the river, four acres of salt marsh, three acres fresh meadow, five acres at Plain Neck, two at Turkey Meadows; and March 1638, four acres upland and twenty acres meadow land, which had to be relinquished because found to belong to the town of Nantasket. According to tradition he was on of Hingham's quota of six men in the Pequod war of 1637. He moved to Salem, Mass., or to Wenham near Salem in 1644. He was a tanner and the remains of his tannery were discovered "a few years since"-which now means a good many years ago. This tannery is claimed to have been the first in New England. The records of Massachusetts Bay concerning the trial of his son reveal the fact that John Porter exported at least two shipments of leather to the Barbados. He came across Massachusetts Bay, probably in a canoe, passing from Salem up river and landing at the creek in the "Plains." His house was probably a one story log cabin near the site of the house afterward built by him a little to the east of the main road through the village. His wife Mary "joined church" in Salem May 5, 1644; she died at Salem, 1676; She was thirty-three years old on arrival at Salem and her son was a baby in arms; she was possibly a sister of John Endicott since John Porter and Governor Endicott were boys together in England. John Porter at the time of his death was the largest landowner in Salem Village; he bought a farm of 300 acres December 3, 1643, while a resident of Hingham "at five shillings per acre of elder Samuel Sharpe in Danvers north of Mr. Skelton's 500 acres of Samuel Downing for 70 pounds and a firkin of butter"; he gave this farm to his son Joseph for a wedding present in 1663; he also bought land from Skelton heirs, Simon Bradstreet, William and Richard Haynes, and Massey, Barney and Watson. His land was in what is now Danvers, Salem, Wenham, Topsfield and Beverly. His house lasted over two hundred years and was burned down September 19, 1865. In 1640 he was elected assessor to value horses, mares, cows, oxen, goats, and pigs; in 1641 constable; in 1644 member of the General Court in Hingham. He was known as "farmer Porter," and was a sergeant in the militia. He was elected in 1649, in which year he joined church (in Salem), one of the "Seven Men" (Selectment) and was re-elected many years(to 1671). The act required "that the select men "that the selectmen of every town in the colony should see among other things that the boys who were set to keep the cattle be set with some implements withal, as spinning or knitting, that there be no drones amongst us." In 1668 he was again elected a member of the General Court. He was always loyal to his church. He received his inspiration form the daily reading of the Bible in the home and constant attendance upon the service of the little church in Salem; this is described as twenty-five feet long, with gallery, a chimney for heating twelve feet wide at one end of the room, lighted by six windows, two on each side and two on the end; its walls of one and one-half inch plank and boards matched so as to afford protection from the Indians.

Some of the descendants of John Porter are members of the Baptist Church, but we trust they will not bear a grudge against our ancestor in that his hame is recorded as one who voted against the Baptists in the General Court. We find this record in 1668: "Whereas Thomas Gold and others, obstinate and turbulent Anabaptists, have combined themselves with others into a pretended church, making us all unbaptised persons and infant baptism a nulitee. If they fail to heed this notice, after sixty days, he or they shall be apprehended to prison, there to remain without bail till they give to the Governor security that they will leave the colony never to return."

From Porter Proceedings.
This "Thomas Gold" is almost beyond doubt Thomas Gould of Salem Village(see Gould Genealogy), two of whose descendants in the sixth generation, Elizabeth Freeman Gould and Charles Duren Gould married Lincolns of the seventh generation, Joshua Lincoln and Sophia Lincoln. There was, however, another Thomas Gould of Noddle's Island (East Boston) who founded the First Baptist Church of Boston, 1665.

Samuel Porter and Sarah Porter information came from Lincoln, Pearce, Porter & Related Families; B12 D22 p. 213; record no. 929273; L638L2; LDS submitted by Robert L. Ashby, American Fork Utah. The temple Ordinance Data Sheet has a number 1567; Confirms Mary Endicott, but spelled Condicott, obviously a difficulty in interpreting hand writing.