President Andrew Jackson Name George Porter Succeeded by Stevens T. Mason Spouse(s) Sarah Humes Porter Political party Democratic Party | Nationality United States Children Andrew Porter Preceded by Lewis Cass Role American statesman Battles and wars War of 1812 | |
Born February 9, 1791
Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S. ( 1791-02-09 ) Resting place Elmwood Cemetery
Detroit, Michigan Relations David Rittenhouse Porter(b)
James Madison Porter(b)
Horace Porter(n) Died July 6, 1834, Detroit, Michigan, United States Parents Andrew Porter, Elizabeth Parker Porter | ||
George Bryan Porter (February 9, 1791 – July 6, 1834), was an American statesman in Pennsylvania and Territorial Governor of Michigan from August 6, 1831, until his death on July 6, 1834.
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Early life
Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, Porter attended the Morristown Academy. While he and his two brothers were preparing to enter college, there was a student "rebellion" at Princeton and many school buildings had been burned. As a result, Porter and his brothers continued their studies in their father's library rather than at Princeton.
Career
Porter was a major in the United States Army during the War of 1812. He attended Litchfield Law School in Litchfield, Connecticut and was admitted to the bar in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1813. He served as Prothonotary (Chief Court Clerk) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1818.
A lawyer in Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Porter eventually entered state politics. He served as Adjutant General from 1824-1829; became a Democratic party member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1827.
Porter was United States Marshall for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1831. Appointed by President Andrew Jackson in 1831, Porter served as the Territorial Governor of Michigan from 1832 until his death in 1834. In this role he accompanied Oneida chief Daniel Bread to the White House to ask President Jackson for alternative land arrangements for the Oneida in response to the 1831 Treaty of Washington, which along with the 1927 Treaty of Butte Morts had reduced Oneida lands by 90%. The trip was successful in that the president agreed to exchange Oneida lands for "better, more fertile" lands.
Death
Porter died while in office on July 6, 1834 (age 43 years, 147 days) during a cholera epidemic in Detroit, Michigan. He is interred at Elmwood Cemetery, in Detroit.
A portrait of Porter was unveiled in November 2015 and hangs on the second floor of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing.
Family life
Porter was married to Sarah Humes of Pennsylvania, on October 31, 1816, and had at least four children, one of whom was General Andrew Porter, one of the generals at the First Battle of Bull Run, who married Margarite Biddle of the famous Biddle family.
Porter was the son of Andrew Porter who served in the U.S. Revolutionary War, and Elizabeth Parker Porter. He was also the brother of David Rittenhouse Porter, Pennsylvania Governor, 1839–1845, and James Madison Porter, Secretary of War, 1843–1844, and the uncle of Horace Porter, U.S. Ambassador to France, 1897 - 1905.