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History of
Cass County, Iowa P Unless otherwise noted, biographies submitted by Dick Barton. JOSHUA PORCH was born in Holmes county, Ohio , February 14, 1839 . His parents, David and Catharine (Hess) Porch, reared a family of eight children, all of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Porch are now living in Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio . Joshua Porch, the subject of this sketch, received his education in the schools of his native county. He was married to Maria Smith, a native of Ohio , by whom he has one son, Elmer C. Mr. Porch came to Cass county in 1874 and is one of the early settlers, and a worthy and respected citizen. He has a fine farm with two hundred acres of land under cultivation. Edward
Porter came to Cass county in September, 1855, and settled in Round Grove, now a
part of Edna township, and located on the farm owned by William S. Townsend, who
was one of the first settlers in Cass county.
Edward lived in a small log cabin until 1870, when he built a nice frame
house, in which he now resides.
Mr. Porter was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, on the 1st of
February, 1813.
When about ten years of age he moved with his father to Richland county,
Ohio, and there remained until about twenty years of age.
In the fall of 1833, he moved to Macon county, Illinois, where his father
died, leaving Edward to support the family.
Edward remained in that county until 1835, when he removed to Stark
county, Illinois, and there remained a short time, when he came to Iowa, and has
since made this his home.
Mr. Porter was married in Stark county, Illinois, on the 25th of October,
1838, to Clarissa Powell, a native of New York state.
They have had thirteen children, eight of whom are now living -
Elizabeth, Jane, Amelia, Isaiah, Alice, John, Rosa and William.
Daniel W., the eldest son, enlisted in 1862, in the Twenty-third Iowa
Infantry, and died in the service.
Mr. Porter's mother died in 1883, in Stark county, Illinois, at the age
of ninety-six years.... The
first marriage in Edna was that of John Dyer and Mary e. Porter, daughter of
Edward and Clarissa (Powell) Porter, at the home of the bride's parents.
Judge Dickerson performed the ceremony.
These parties are both dead. William
M. Porter was born in Shelby county, Indiana, on the 28th of June, 1844.
His father, Merritt Porter, was a farmer, and died when William was but
two weeks old.
At an early age his mother died, and William went to live with an uncle,
William Duckworth, where he remained until the breaking out of the war, when he
enlisted in company F, Seventieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served in the
engagements at Resaca, Pine Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, and was with Sherman
through Georgia and the Carolinas, besides many skirmishes.
In June, 1865, he received an honorable discharge and returned home,
where he was engaged in farming.
In 1868, he went to Jasper county, Iowa, and was there engaged in farming
until 1882, when he came to Cass county and purchased one hundred and sixty
acres of land on section 9, Massena township, where he owns one of the finest
farms in the county.
He was married in 1868 to Martha Cameron, who died in March, 1879,
leaving a family of five children to mourn her departure - Merritt, Effie,
Elmer, Arthur and Nettie.
Mr. Porter was married again, in 1880, to Sarah Roots, a native of
Kentucky.
They have two children - Letta May and Ezra. |