William Porterfield (abt. 1751 - aft. 1783)

Born about 1751 in Abercorn Estate, Ballylennon, County Donegal, Ireland

Descendants

Died after 1783 after about age 32 in County Donegal, Ireland

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Biography

This profile is part of the Porterfield Name Study.

William Porterfield was born in 1751 in Donegal County, Ireland^[1] His three sons, Alexander, John, and James, immigrated from County Donegal, Ireland to America in 1801. Their father is presumed to have stayed in his native Ireland where he lived his entire life in County Donegal, Ireland. Many Porterfields are found in County Donegal. The 3 brothers first came to Pennsylvania and later settled in Belmont County, Ohio. ^[2]

Research Notes

There is another WIlliam Porterfield born in Virginia a few years earlier, around 1745, whose father William emigrated from County Donegal to America by 1730. These families would seem to be distantly related, but that branch came to America about 70 years earlier than this William's sons.

Some trees from Ancestry.com have these two Williams conflated into one.

Sources

1. ↑ Christopher E. Brennen, Badge Family Chronicles, Appendix 11B. Porterfield Families. Porterfield Families, http://brennen.caltech.edu/badger/apdx11b.htm
2. ↑ Frank Burke Porterfield, The Porterfields (Roanoke, Virginia: Multiprint Inc, 1947), p. 305, digital images, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89066246737;view=1up;seq=313. Hathi Trust Digital Library (https://babel.hathitrust.org: accessed 8 June 2019).