1676 :: Death of John Porter

On this date in our family history . . . the 6th day of September . . . in the year 1676 . . . John Porter dies in Salem Village, Massachusetts . . . he leaves a widow, Mary, and several children, including a son named Samuel, who is a 9th great-grandpa to the Keeper of this family history blog . . . according to American Biography: A New Cyclopedia, Volume 5 edited by William Richard Cutter . . .

From England came John Porter, born in 1596 . . . he built his first New England home, and there he lived until 1644, when he removed to Salem, settling in that part now Danvers. He had other lands granted him in Hingham, and held several offices of trust, both by election and appointment, and as a deputy to the General Court, May 20, 1644, represented the interests of his neighbors of the Hingham district. He also held the then very important office of constable.

Although he bought the farm of Rev. Samuel Sharp, of Salem, May 10, 1643, he did not move to Salem until the following year, and his name does not appear in the list of members until 1649. The house which he built and occupied stood, no doubt, on the Sharp farm, near the site of the Unitarian church, and there remained until destroyed by fire about 1850.


He bought several tracts of land in Salem, built a saw mill, was a man of energy and influence, well known in the colony as a public official. He again sat in the General Court in 1668, representing Salem, and finally, on September 6, 1676, passed to his reward, at his home in Salem Village. . . .


John Porter left a will dated April 28, 1673, in which he divided his property among his children, after generously providing for his widow. . . .