Mr. Porter established a home of his own by his marriage on the 9th of September, 1886, to Miss Ellen Hall, the daughter of Noble P. and Margaret (Felkner) Hall, early settlers of Story county.. They are the parents of two children : Rose Ethel, the wife of John I. Fleming, of Omaha, Nebraska; and Curt C. who lives at home.
The family have always attended the Presbyterian church, of which the parents are members. The republican party has at all times had the strong support of Mr. Porter, as he considers its basic principles best adapted to the protection of home interests and industries. He has never been an active participant in politics to the extent of seeking office or desiring public honors, but fulfills his duty as a citizen by casting his ballot for the candidates of his party. He is regarded as one of the successful and substantial citizens of his township, whose business methods and high principles as well as upright life compel the respect of all.
CHRISTOPHER HARRINGTON.
Among the self-made men of Story county probably none are more worthy of the success they have attained than Christopher Harrington, the owner of one of the most productive farms in the county, which he acquired entirely through his own industry and good business judgment. He was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, July 21, 1855, a son of Christopher and Julia A. (Rouse) Harrington, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of Canada. The father was twice married, the mother of the subject of this review being his second wife. After his second marriage he took up his residence on a farm in St. Lawrence county, New York, where he lived for twenty-five or thirty years, passing away in 1876. The mother departed this life in 1891.
Christopher Harrington was reared under the kindly influences of a genial home and received his education in the common schools. He continued with his parents until twenty-one years of age and then, like many young men of the east, he decided to cast his fortunes in the Mississippi valley. Accordingly he went to De Kalb county, Illinois, where he worked upon a farm for two years, and then in 1879 removed to Story county, Iowa, and continued in farm work for another period of two years. In 1881 he began renting land and after about twelve years, having acquired sufficient capital, he bought eighty acres on section 1, Collins township, but he has never lived upon this place, as one year later he purchased the farm which he had been renting. He is now the owner of two hundred and forty acres in one body and has made many improvements, converting this into one of the most valuable properties of its size in the county.
In 1880 Mr. Harrington was united in marriage to Miss Dora A. Crouch, a daughter of Jacob Crouch, who came from West Virginia to