John Porterfield (abt. 1675 - 1738)

Born about 1675 in Duchall, Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Died 1738 at about age 63 in Trenton, Burlington, New Jersey

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Biography

This profile is part of the Porterfield Name Study.

John was born about 1675. He was the son of William Porterfield and Annabel Stewart. He passed away in 1738.

John moved to the New Jersey and established himself in business there and was a member of the Presbyterian Church in Trenton New Jersey. One source mentions he was a merchant in nearby Philadelphia.^[1]

Will

From: "The Porterfields (1947)":

New Jersey Archives, Vol. 30, p. 383: "John Porterfield, merchant of Trenton, New Jersey, by will dated 1735, leaves property to brother and nephews in Scotland." Hall's History of the Presbyterian Church in Trenton pp. 72-73: "John Porterfield died in 1738. His will, dated three years before, describes him 'of Trenton, merchant', and devises a thousand acres on the south branch of the Raritan, and other property in east New Jersey, 'late recovered from John Drummond, Earl of Melfort', one of the noble proprietaries. It mentions his brother Alexander of Duchall, in Scotland, and a nephew, William Rallston of the shire of Ayr and 'Boyd Porterfield, grandson to my brother'. He bequeathed to another nephew, William Farquhar, 'chirurgeon of Brunswick, all my interest in one third part of the forge at Trenton'. (This will, as a photostatic copy shows, was written by John Porterfield, the devisor himself, and is very legibly written and properly arranged, in excellent language....)^[2]

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 numerous Porterfield researchers.

This John 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.

The other 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.

Questionable Sources

1. FindaGrave entry of John Stewart Porterfield (1676-1793) - This entry has numerous issues. ^[3]
   1. The John that lived in Trenton died without children. This profile has two children.
   2. There is no documentation for a middle name of Stewart. Middle names were uncommon at this time for Scottish natives.
   3. A wife of Lucretia Mary (O'Mary) of Ireland is mentioned in the text. No documentation has been found for this wife.

Sources

1. ↑ John Birnie, Account of the Families of Birnie and Hamilton of Broomhill (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Printing Company, 1838), p. 35, digital images, https://books.google.com/books?id=4chrAAAAMAAJ&vq=porterfield&pg=PA35#v=onepage&q=porterfield&f=false. Accessed 22 July 2020).
2. ↑ Frank Burke Porterfield, The Porterfields (Roanoke, Virginia: Multiprint Inc, 1947), p. 11, digital images, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89066246737;view=1up;seq=19. Hathi Trust Digital Library (https://babel.hathitrust.org: accessed 22 July 2020).
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 22 July 2020), memorial page for John Stewart Porterfield (1675–1728), Find A Grave: Memorial #161999026; Maintained by Candice Linney Foster Tucker (contributor 47194186) Body lost or destroyed.