Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Joseph Hawley, son of William, was born in 1762, in the town of Newtown, Fairfield county, and was the father of the si.\th generation of the branch of the family to which the subject of this sketch belongs. Joseph had three sons: (1) William C, born in 1789; (2) John, born in 1791, and (3) Glover, born in 1803. Of these, (i) William C. had three children: Gertrude, Jos- eph (father of Theodore, Mary, Charles, Fred- erick and Josephine) and John B. (2) John N., our subject's grandfather, is mentioned more fully below. (3) Glover had three children: William G., Martha E. and Mariette H. Hon. John N. Hawley, the grandfather of our subject, was born in 1 791, in the town of Newtown, and in early manhood settled upon the present homestead in the town of Brooklield, where he followed agricultural pursuits, his death occurring in 1862. He was a prominent man of his time and locality, serving as a mem- ber of both houses of the State Legislature, and he was also identified with religious work as a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church at Brookfield. He married (first) Harriet Norton, (second) a Miss Fairchild, and had two sons: Asa H., by first wife, and John N., by second wife. Hon. John N. Hawley, Jr., the father of our subject, was born at the homestead in Brook- field, where he spent most ol his life, agriculture being his chief occupation. Politically, he held an influential place as a Democrat, and at one time he represented his district in the lower branch of the Legislature. His education was better than ordinary, as he attended Newtown Academy in his youth, and he was especially gifted as a musician. His wife, Clarissa W., was a daughter of Ira Keeler, a leading resident of Brookfield. They had three children: Charles B., a well-known vocal musician, who married Miss Hattie Buckley, and resides in New York City; Franklin Keeler, the subject proper of our sketch; and Clara F., who married C. W. Keeler, and their family consists of two sons: David H. and Ray D. ARREN WARNER PORTER. In 1596 M'l^ there was born in Dorset, England, John Porter, and as he grew to young manhood the glowing tales of the wonders of the New W^orld thrilled his adventurous spirit, so he sailed away to found a new home and a new family on the western shores of the Atlantic, at Salem (now Danvers), Mass. He married Mary , and they became the parents of the following chil- dren: John, Samuel, Joseph, IBenjamin, Israel, Mary, Jonathan and Sarah. John Porter, emi- grant, was a man of considerable enterprise and prominence; he served as deputy to the general court of Massachusetts. His will, still preserved on the records of Essex county, shows that he died possessed of several farms — more than a thousand acres . in all — besides his homestead, which he divided among his legatees. Joseph Porter, the third in the above men- tioned family, married Anna, the daughter of Major William and Anna Hatborn, and by this marriage became the father of twelve children: Joseph, Anna, Samuel, Nathaniel, Mary, Will- iam, Eleazer, Abigail, Hepsibah, Joseph, Ruth and Mehitable. William was the representative of the third generation of the line we trace, and he married Phcebe Dorman, by whom he had the following children: Ruth, Judith, Benjamin, Seth, Anna, Phctbe, Jonathan and Jabez. The father of this family is given the title of "Dea- con " on the records. Benjamin, the third son of Deacon William Porter, married Dorothy Ashley, and became the father of a large family: Benjamin, Phebe, Moses, Micaiah, Eli, Ruth, William, Job, Seth, Daniel and Noah. The last named, and young- est in the family, was the grandfather of Warren Warner Porter, whose name opens this review, and to him and his wife, who in her maidenbood was Asenath Smith, was born one son, Noah, September 26, 1792, and died October 8, 1855. He wedded Nabby Cummings, and to them were born eleven children, namely: Elijah F., born December 19, 181 5; Reuben C, June 13, 1817; Lyman, June i, 1819; Joseph E., July 9, 1821; Ransom N., May 21, 1823; Catherine A., May 19, 1825; Royal H., August 21, 1827; Anna J., July 14, 1829; Noah Dexter, November 27, 1831; John Dexter, August 11, 1835; and Warren Warner, the subject proper of this review. Warren Warner Porter, whose long term as principal of Grammar School No. 8, at Bridge- port, has endeared him to the citizens of this growing city, is a native of New Salem, Mass., born July 27, 1837. He was educated in the district schools of his native village, at the New Salem Academy, and, also, later at the Philip's COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 67 Exeter Academy, New Hampshire. When at an age the boys of this generation are engrossed in the sports so dear to the boyish soul, our subject, just fifteen years of age, began to teach school. • His education was not yet complete, and he at- tended school some time after this. For two years he taught in the New Salem Academy, and then for several years taught in various district schools in different towns in Massachusetts — Hardwick and South Deertield, and in the graded schools at Petersham. In 1855 he went to Illinois, which at that time was a frontier State. Vast stretches of wild prairie then occupied many portions of the State now occupied by some of the best farms in the world. Land that then sold for $2.50 and $3.00 per acre now sells for $100.00. For several years he taught school in Illinois, then in 1859, going still farther, he taught in what was known as Sand Hill Academy, near Greenwades, on the Brazos river, in Hill county, Texas. Here he found frontier life unadulterated by the fads of society. The academy was built of logs; it had no glass windows; no door. A hole sawed in the logs admitted the light, and another sawed for the entrance and exit of pupils and teacher, also, on one or two occasions, for the hogs that ran wild in the woods, and that here took refuge from the cold "northers." The chimney, sel- dom needed for fires, was built of rough stones for the first four or five feet, and then of sticks daubed with mud. A steel plow-share, sus- pended by a cord in the fireplace, served as a bell, while a hammer with a rude handle was used as the bell tongue. The seats were slabs split from trees, with wooden legs driven into the round side to give them elevation. The only desks were two long boards hung to the wall by wooden hinges and propped up by sticks when in use. The pupils had been accustomed to study aloud, after the manner of the Chinese. Yet in this primitive school Mr. Porter found some bright minds. Some of the more advanced were perusing Algebra and Latin. The rule of the preceding_^eacher had been to classify a pupil as in higher English, if he had begun to study frac- tions, which was considered a great compliment by the pupil, and gave to the instructor an extra dollar a month as tuition. Political excitement ran high, and all North- ern people were held in suspicion. A clergyman from Illinois was given a text to preach from. He spoke with moderation, advising obedience on the part of the slave, kindness and humanity on the part of the master. The doctrine was not heroic enough, hence the minister was taken out and whipped, and only rescued from the mob by being thrust into jail. Mr. Porter's age made him less an object of suspicion, as he was not supposed to take an active interest in politics. However, he was informed that a party had called at his boarding house one day during his absence, and that he must beware. He was un- der the necessity of completing his term of school in order to draw his tuition for teaching, although very distinct mutterings were heard. His mail was tampered with, though perhaps it was for- tunate for him that it was so. His brother, Hon. R. H. Porter, now of Keene, N. H., realizing the situation, wrote him a letter with the hope and expectation that it would be intercepted. In it he said, " Although you have always been a Democrat, the people of the South may not un- derstand you^ etc. , and I advise you to come North." Though democratic in the true mean- ing of the word, Mr. Porter had never voted the ticket of the Democratic party, but the letter was what Mr. Porter needed to restore confi- dence, and he was not troubled after this. The State was in a blaze of excitement before he could get away. Three men were hung in Dal- las on the day that he came through, on suspicion of stirring up a negro insurrection, and it was not until our subject had crossed the Mississippi river, and stepped on free soil, that he felt safe, and this day he sets down as one of the happiest of hislife. During this trip to Texas, he stopped some time in Kansas, in Linn county, where he located two quarter-sections of land, which he held for several years after the war, when the fuller set- tlement of the State brought them into market. Here too, he meet John Brown, the quiet-ap- pearing man, resembling General Grant in ap- pearance, who afterward aroused the country in his effort to free the slave. His farm was in close proximity to one located by Mr. Porter. The trip from Illinois to Texas and return was made on horseback, before there were any rail- roads in that part of the country, and he can give many interesting recollections of the trip through Missouri and the Indian nations. It was in i860 that he returned to Illinois, and he there taught school that winter; but when school opened in September, 1861, the young pedagogue had donned the " blue," and with sabre instead of pen he set forth, a private of the 7th Illinois Cavalry, sworn to defend, as best he could, the insulted flag of the Union. He was soon pro- moted, reaching the rank of first lieutenant, and served three years, accompanying Grierson from Lagrange, Tenn., to Baton Rouge, La. He was present at the surrender of Fort Hudson to Gen- eral Banks, and witnessed the stirring spectacle J 68 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.