What you are about to read is no doubt a rambling tale, but it was and is true of so many families who lived in the south and west and who suffered through the Civil War and its turbulent aftermath. So many questions left unanswered! It is our hope that some of the readers of the following story can shed some light on the identity and ancestry of James and Susannah (Keith) Porter, Great Great Great Grandparents. The Porters certainly left their mark on the history of Grayson County, Virginia. and Grayson County, Texas. And their descendants left their mark on the West Virginia counties of Lincoln and Wayne. Some of the story is told by Dr. Frank Porter and some of it is told by Fred Porter, descendants of the Wayne County and Lincoln County, West Virginia Porters and William Creed Porter of Pottsboro, Grayson County, Texas.

Every family hopes to know their ancestors. What were their names? Where did they come from? Where did they live? Frank's branch of the Porter family is no exception. As a child, he remembered his Grandfather, Frank William Porter, telling him stories about their ancestors who lived in Virginia, but that after the Civil War had migrated to West Virginia. While several family members settled along Twelve Pole Creek in Wayne County (Frank's), others of our Porter clan (Fred's) settled in neighboring Lincoln County, West Virginia near the village of Griffithsville, along Sand Fork of Sugar Creek of Middle Fork of Mud River, near what is now the Sand Fork Missionary Baptist Church. Others in Lincoln County, settled along Upper Mud River Road, near the village of Myra, south of Hamlin.

Frank's Grandfather's brother, Gobe, believing that the Porters had owned a plantation in Virginia which had been taken by the Carpetbaggers, hired a genealogist back in the 1930s in hopes of proving this. He was prompted to do so because the Federal government had promised remuneration for any lost property. Gobe was told that too many of the Virginia county records had been destroyed after the Civil War. Consequently, no claim could be filed. But it did fill a young boy's head with curiosity to know more about his family history. 

A few years ago, Frank began in earnest to delve into the historical records. He knew the names of his Great Grandfather and Great Great Grandfather, so used this as a starting point. It did not take long to discover the identity of his Great Great Great Grandfather, James Porter. He was born in 1803 in North Carolina, possibly Wilkes County. He met Rachel Daniels who was born in Bedford, Virginia. James and Rachel were married in Grayson County, Virginia on August 24, 1823 and began to raise what was, even then, a large family. Their children were Zachariah, James Rayford [Fred's Great Great Grandfather], Susannah Elizabeth, Delila, Matilda Jane, George Washington [my Great Great Grandfather], Charlotte, Polly, and Malissa Margaret. Frank was elated and determined to find the identity of James' parents. 

Finding Frank's earliest ancestors proved to be a not so easy task. It took some time, but he eventually learned that James' parents were James Porter [1781-1830] and Susannah Elizabeth Keith [1772-1853]. At that time, he had no historical documents to support this fact. The information came from other individuals researching the Porters in Virginia. However, he later found the death certificate of James Porter [1803-1874] which identified his parents as James and Susannah. Despite years of research, Frank had been unable to prove through documentation the identity of James' (1781) parents. He knew that he lived along Elk Creek in Grayson County, Virginia. James' father died in 1830. In the inventory of his father's estate are the names of his children: Alexander, James (1803), Elizabeth, George and William. Elizabeth married Thomas Carr. She died on March 25, 1886 and is buried at the Cross Roads Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Grayson County, Virginia. Alexander married Sarah "Sallie" Roberts. After Sarah's death in Grayson County, VA, Alexander eventually moved to Granby, also known as Granby City by oldtimers, Missouri. Alexander died there in 1860 at the age of 60-61. William married Margaret Bedwell. Both William and Margaret are also buried in Grayson County, in the Old Bethel Church Cemetery. George married Rosamond Bedwell. And, of course, James married Rachel Daniels. 

After Alexander passed away in Granby, Missouri, two of his sons, William Campbell and Andrew Jackson "Jack" Porter returned to Grayson County, Virginia where they both enlisted in the Confederate Army and were both captured and sent to a POW camp in Delaware where they remained until the end of the war in 1865. Another son, William Creed Porter, enlisted in the Confederate Army in Missouri and was captured, also. Creed was sent to a POW camp in Maryland. 

After the war Creed returned to Virginia and then moved his wife and family to Grayson County, TX where he served as a constable for 30 years and is believed to have owned a hotel, The Pacific House, also known as The Creed Porter hotel. Creed is also believed to have built the first dwelling to exist in Pottsboro, Texas. Creed and his wife, Thirsie, are buried in the Georgetown Cemetery in Grayson County, TX. Creed had a long and colorful history and life in Grayson County, Texas. There are many stories about his career as a constable that have been printed in various newspapers in the Grayson County, Texas area.

Prior to the American Revolution, our Porters arrived in Wilkes County, North Carolina and settled near the Yadkin River. Their homesteads were not far from the Virginia border. Most likely, they had traveled, as did so many of these early settlers, down the old wagon trail through the Shenandoah Valley and into the upper New River Valley where land was available at a cheap price. Prior to 1800, they moved into what is now known as Grayson County, Virginia where they settled along Elk Creek and the Iron Mountain area. The early records of Grayson County mention a James and William Porter. In 1783, William was granted 63 acres on New River below Eagle Bottom. George Keith, the father of Susannah Elizabeth, was granted 80 acres on Elk Creek, a branch of New River. This places the two families in close proximity and may help to explain how James and Susannah came to know one another. Frank has come to the conclusion that it will take information from the other descendants of James and Susannah to add more information about their lives on Elk Creek. 

James and Rachel Porter had two sons who lived to become adults: James Rayford Porter and George Washington Porter. James Rayford married Levina Pool in Virginia in 1845 and in 1860 they were living in Pike County, Kentucky. They later moved to Wayne County, West Virginia where James Rayford died in 1872 and his wife, Levina, moved to Lincoln County to live with their son, James David Porter, near Myra. George Washington married Harriet Bannion. In 1860, George and Harriet were living in Wise County, Virginia. Frank received information from Bill Porter of Coeburn, Virginia, not related to him, which helps to explain why they left Virginia. It concerns the Sand Ridge Atrocity of 1864 which involved the murder of George Wells. George married Mary Polly Daniels who was the sister of Rachel [Daniels] Porter. George was born in Grayson County on July 28, 1802. By 1850, George was living in Russell County. Among his close neighbors were James and Rachel Porter and James Rayford and Levina Porter. In 1864, George Wells was murdered by three horsemen. Shortly afterwards, the Wells family moved to Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia and James and Rachel Porter moved to West Virginia. It does not appear that James or Rachel stayed in touch with their families in Virginia.

In the late 1840's James Rayford's family packed up and moved to Russell County, Virginia where they remained for about ten years. From there, they moved to Pike County, Kentucky near Pikeville, but later settled in Lincoln County, West Virginia. James Porter, his wife, Rachel, and their son George Washington and his family moved to the Twelve Pole Creek area of Wayne County, West Virginia and established a Porter homestead. This area today is known as Porter Fork. By about 1880 they had migrated into the Union District of Wayne County, West Virginia. By 1881 George Ferguson Porter had married America Adkins and moved to Lincoln County, West Virginia. George Washington's brother, James Rayford "Rafe" Porter, had a son, James David Porter, who purchased farmland near Myra. James David (J.D.) went on to be Sheriff of Lincoln County in the late 1800's during the infamous Brumfield-McCoy Feud and was a State Senator for the State of West Virginia, District 5, dying while holding office in 1906. Rafe served in the Civil War and died right after returning to Wayne County in 1872. His wife Levina Pool Porter moved to Myra to live with their son, J.D. Porter. They and other Porters are buried in the Porter Cemetery located on what was James David's farm, near Myra, West Virginia south of Hamlin. There are also Porters buried in the Johnson Cemetery located along Upper Mud River Road also south of Hamlin and in the Sand Fork Missionary Church Cemetery on Sand Fork, near Griffithsville. All of these Porters are descended from James Rayford "Rafe" Porter.

It was George Ferguson "Fergie" Porter, James Rayford's and Levina's oldest son, who settled in Union District of Lincoln County. George first purchased 110 acres of land on Sand Fork in 1898, added another 10.5 acres and one acre in 1890 for a total of 121.5 acres. Fred believes the total acreage averaged about $3.50 per acre at the time. In 1925 his son, James Calvary Porter, purchased 50 acres next to his father. James Calvary and his wife Ella Dale Carper Porter raised ten children in thirteen years all on Sand Fork, including a set of twins, a boy and a girl. They had seven sons and three daughters. Ella Dale's mother was Polly Linville and her father was Iven (Ivan) Carper.

While George Ferguson and his other sons remained in West Virginia, in 1926, after purchasing the 50 acres in 1925, James Calvary and Ella Dale packed up their family and moved to Ross County, Ohio near Chillicothe. Signs of the Great Depression was already beginning to manifest in West Virginia. Work was becoming scarce and employment and other opportunities looked to be more promising in Ohio. The original 121.5 acres owned by George Ferguson may have changed hands recently but was in the possession of Henson Harless, Jr and Corey Harless as late as 2013. Some of the land owned by James Calvary and Ella Dale is now in the hands of Daniel Reynolds and some of it belongs to the Hoge family of Griffithsville. 

Many of the Sand Fork Porters attended the Sand Fork Elementary School on upstream from the George Ferguson (G.F.) Porter farm. They attended the Sand Fork Missionary Church which still holds services, but the Sand Fork Elementary has long been torn down and all that remains is evidence of a foundation to serve as a reminder of what use to be. In addition to educating young minds, grades one through eight, the school was also used as a polling place during election time. 

On Sunday, after church and dinner, it was not unusual to find the Sand Fork Porters in the nearby village of Yawkey, West Virginia attending a baseball game as it was a very popular sport even in those early years and it was an opportunity to visit with friends and relatives in a different setting. After working all week in the mines, for the railroad or in the oil fields they were ready for some fun and relaxation. Somewhere along the way the men found time to farm, cut timber, hunt and care for the farm animals. Of course, the ladies of the house had to cook, do laundry, sew and mend clothing and do other household chores.

We hope that you have enjoyed our story of the Porters. Of course, there was and is so much more to tell and still so many unanswered questions. We, once again, ask that anyone who can add to the story or who has any of their own unanswered questions contact -
Frank Porter at: porterbrooknative@yahoo.com or Fred Porter at: 1941goIU@gmail.com

We are particularly interested in anyone who might know about our Alexander Porter of Granby, Newton County, Missouri. and, of course, William Creed Porter of Pottsboro, Grayson County, Texas.



About the Authors: 

Dr. Frank W. Porter was born in Charleston, West Virginia in 1947. He is a direct descendent of James and Susannah Porter who lived in Grayson County, Virginia in the early 1800's. He currently resides in Pomeroy, Ohio.

Arthur F. "Fred" Porter was born in 1941 in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio. He is the son of Arthur C. Porter who was born in 1913 in Lincoln County, West Virginia. Fred was an educator for 33 years and now lives in Brown County, Indiana with his wife Kathy Ann Yoder Porter