Harrison County Iowa Genealogy

HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY, IOWA, 1891
BIOGRAPHIES
Page 719
F. J. PORTER

F. J. PORTER, one of the pioneers of 1855, settled at Jeddo in Jefferson Township, where he remained until 1858. The village at that time consisted of George THORPE's general store, Charles BAKER's blacksmith shop, the post office kept by Owen THORPE, four frame houses and one school house. During this sojourn in Jeddo Mr. PORTER operated Owen THORPE's sawmill. In 1858 he purchased a farm in section 3, in Jefferson Township. This property was scantily improved, having but a small dwelling and thirty acres breaking done. Here he remained until 1869, during which time he made extensive improvements and finally sold for $56.25 an acre--which was a very neat price at that time. He immediately bought other property, but soon sold at an advance. He finally decided to settle on a hundred-acre tract in section 19. Boyer Township, as its location gave him school facilities as well as timber and wild pasture, which at that time was thought would never be fenced. Here he enjoyed free range for several years, but at this writing there is scarcely an open acre for miles around. The extensive commons of 1869, on which the herdman's cattle grazed, have yielded to the power of the plow, and waving fields of grain have come instead. With this hundred acres as a nucleus, he lived, labored, and accumulated lands and worldly wealth until the year 1891, when he purchased a residence in Woodbine and has temporarily moved there, for the purpose of giving his younger children the advantages of the justly celebrated normal School; leaving his farm to be carried on under the supervision of his son. His farm now consisting of eight hundred and eighty acres, all in one body, is one of the finest in the county.

Here are two hundred and sixty acres of clover and timothy, two hundred and fifty natural pasture, one hundred and twenty acres timber pasturage, and two hundred and fifty acres plow land--a farm excellently well apportioned for stock raising. Nestling under the protection of the timber is an orchard of four hundred bearing apple trees, besides cherry and plum trees and quantities of small fruit, shrubbery and plants. Forty of the one hundred twenty acres of timber is devoted to yards and hog pasture, which, owing to its natural advantages and artificial improvements, cannot be surpassed in the State.

Great care has been exercised in the location and construction of improvements--barns, sheds, cribs, etc., are substantially built and carefully painted.

The system of water supply in the yards, the wind mills and wells located at different parts of the farm, add much to the value and convenience of the place. Each eighty acres of this farm has either a good well, walled with brick or stone, or a stream of running water.

Care has always been exercised in the proper rotation of crops, and the refuse of the yards has been systematically spread over the poorest points.

To acquaint our readers with the parentage and early life of our subject, it should be stated that he was born March 22, 1838, in Canada, of Scotch and Irish parents. Here he lied until 1845, when he with his parents removed to New York City. After an eventful five years in the great metropolis, this youth enlisted in the regular army, as a fifer, and was assigned to a company bound for the frontier. While in the western country the company to which he belonged was in a brigade commanded by Gen. HARNEY, and they were stationed in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, and at one time in Old Mexico. The company to which Mr. PORTER was an attache engaged in several battles and skirmishes with the Brule Indians, and in several actions were led by that famous scout, Kit CARSON.

On his return to civil like, in 1855, Mr. PORTER was induced to stop in Harrison County, where he has since made his home, being absent only while serving a three years' volunteer period in the Civil War.

Mr. PORTER was a member of Company E, of the Sixth Iowa Cavalry, and during his enlistment served in several important capacities. The brigade to which the Sixth Iowa belonged was under command of Gen. SULLY, and served in the Missouri and Yellowstone River regions.

On the 6th of February, 1850, Mr. PORTER was married to Lucy FRANCES, who was born in Athens County, Ohio, February 9, 1840, and came with her parents to Harrison County in 1856. Of this union eleven children were born, nine of whom are living. Those who have attained their majority have all received college educations and are now successfully engaged in business or household duties.

Politically, Mr. PORTER affiliates with the Republican party. He belongs to the Masonic and Odd Fellow's fraternities and is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Considering the age of the man of whom this sketch is written, his has been a life of interesting evens; entering the regular army when a boy of but twelve summers, as a musician, and accompanying United States Army Regulars into the wildest portions of the West, encountering warlike tribes of Indians; visiting a score or more localities which since have reared large cities, both in the South, West and Northwest; plying the waters of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers a decade or more before Yankton was platted, or Omaha and Sioux City were known to the world, he has gained much knowledge of the western frontier.

Unlike most of the youth who serve in the regular army, he has had a successful business career, and now, when he is less than sixty years of age we find him in the enjoyment of a handsome property, all accumulated by his own tact and energy.

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