William Porterfield (bef. 1693)

Born before 1693 in Ireland

Descendants

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Biography

This profile is part of the Porterfield Name Study.

William Porterfield was the father of the oldest line of Porterfields in Maine. His parents and date of birth are unknown. ^[1][2]

William lived in Stroudberry, Maine.^[1]

William and son, William, Jr appear in the original list of tax payers of the parish of Cape Elizabeth, Maine of 1735. Father William paid a tax on real estate and property while son William only paid a poll tax.^[1]

The New England Family History (1908) suggested the follow for the origins of the Porterfield in Maine.

From whence came these persons is a mystery but conjecture places them among the band of Scotch-Irish emigrants that landed here some fifteen years anterior to the date above given. Their first descendants were somewhat peculiar in their inclinations, abounding in sociability and mirthfulness.

That date referred to above is 1735, which would place the Porterfield arrival in Maine around 1720.

More recently, Lovejoy in This Was Stroudwater (1727-1860) (1985) places his arrival in 1717-1718, most likely aboard the ship Robert:^[3]

It is believed that the first William Porterfield to settle at Stroudwater (area of Falmouth, Maine) was a descendant of the band of Scotch-Irish immigrants who came to Casco Bay in the winter of 1717-1718. Given scant help from the mainlanders, they lived in a pitiable state, verging on starvation. When spring came, their ship moved on to Massachusetts proper, leaving behind several families including the Armstrongs, Meanses, Slemonses, and Porterfields.

While Porterfield descendants remained in the area, by 1908 the Porterfield name was extinct.^[1]

His date of death is unknown but he likely died in Maine.

Family

The name of his wife is unknown. He possibly had two known children:

1. William^[1]
2. Catherine^[1]

A third Porterfield, Patrick, has been suggested as a child. See the Research Notes as to why has been removed a child of this William Porterfield.

Research Notes

William is the progenitor of one of the largest lines of Porterfields in America that have not yet been connected back to possible Scottish ancestors.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} "The Porterfield Family," New England Family History: A Magazine Devoted to the History of Families of Maine and Massachusetts 1, (1908): 19-20; digital images, Google Books,https://books.google.com/books?id=nr4UAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA12
2. ↑ Karen E. Smith Howell, "Porterfield," A Maine Family's History (http://www.oakbaydesigns.com// : accessed 2 October 2015), http://www.oakbaydesigns.com/Maine/1porterfield.htm. Note: Site not accessible as of Oct 2023. It appears the author of this site has passed away
3. ↑ Myrtle Kittridge Lovejoy, This Was Stroudwater (1727-1860) (Portland, Me: National Society of Colonial Dames of America, 1985), p. 100.