John Porterfield (abt. 1675 - abt. 1739)

Born about 1675 in Ballylennon, County Donegal, Ireland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 1739 at about age 64 in Pennsylvania

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Mayme Byler [send private message], Edward Erdmann [send private message], and Molly Porterfield [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Porterfield Name Study.

John Porterfield migrated from Ireland to United States.

John Porterfield was born in Ireland.

John is the progenitor of the largest line of Porterfields in America. He moved to America from Ireland with his eight children around 1730. He is often considered the first Porterfield to be in America, however, another, Porterfield, also named John first appears in the Trenton New Jersey some 30 years earlier. That John, though, died without issue. His wife is unknown. ^[1]

Children

All eight children of John have descendants that extend into the 21st century. His wife is unknown.

1. WIlliam, born about 1712
2. Charles, born about 1714
3. Robert, born about 1716
4. James, born about 1718
5. Patrick, born about 1720
6. Eleanor, born about 1722
7. John, born about 1724
8. Samuel, born about 1726

Research Notes

Two conflated John Porterfields

There were two John Porterfields that were born about 1675 and died about the around 1737 or 1738. They have been conflated or combined by some researchers.

This John Porterfield was born in Donegal, Ireland. This John had 7 sons and a daughter come to America and is the progenitor of the largest Porterfield line in the United States today. His lineage is described on page 2 (before the table of contents) and has been overlooked by some researchers.

The other John Porterfield was born in Scotland and died childless according to his will. He is the one cited in "The Porterfields" on page 11. He lived in New Jersey as a merchant until death and is found in many records of the time.

Two Parentage Theories

John Porterfield and his father William are interesting in that the only known source for their existence is a letter published in The Porterfields (1947) from Colonel George Alexander Porterfield (1822-1919) to the author in 1903.

George Alexander Porterfield's exact words were:

"We are undoubtedly descended from Alexander Porterfield and, I think, from William, the son of Alexander. After the loss of their estates, the family went first to Ireland and thence came to America, and were the first of this name to the country."^[1]

William and John have some of the most tenuous of genealogical connections of Porterfield ancestors that moved to America. Most other Porterfield ancestors have older sources closer to their life events. This connection is perhaps best considered as a family tradition.

"A Kirk without a Steeple" cites a different lineage for this John Porterfield.^[2]

Questionable Sources

FindaGrave entry of John S Porterfield (1676-1739) has the issues. It seems someone was juts buildiong an unsourced tree here:

• Middle initial of S is not in any another source. This seems incorrect
• Wife Lucretia Mary (1677-1711) is not found anywhere else and died too young to be mother. This should probably be deleted.
• Daughter mentioned as Elandra has both incorrect first and last name. Her name is Eleanor Porterfield
• No headstone has been found.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Frank Burke Porterfield, The Porterfields (Roanoke, Virginia: Multiprint Inc, 1947), p. 1, 2, digital images, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89066246737;view=1up;seq=9. Hathi Trust Digital Library (https://babel.hathitrust.org: accessed 24 October 2019).
2. ↑ Elizabeth M Main, A Kirk without a Steeple (Cordfall Ltd., 2003), p. 27.
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 22 July 2020), memorial page for John Porterfield (1676–1793), Find A Grave: Memorial #25909833, citing Atkinson Mills Methodist Cemetery, Atkinson Mills, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by rita porterfield (contributor 46994637) .