John Porter

     John was born in Felsted, County Essex, England. He was christened there on 21 June 1594 in Holy Cross Church.³ John married Anna White, daughter of Robert White and Bridgit Algar, on 18 October 1620 in Messing, County Essex, England, at All Saints Church.⁴ Between 4 November 1638 and 11 April 1639, John and his wife, Anna, immigrated from Messing, County Essex, England, to New England. The date of his youngest child's baptism in England and the first date he is recorded in Connecticut.⁵ Upon arriving in New England, the family almost immediately move to Windsor,they were living adjacent to Joseph Loomis' family. The two wives, sisters, were to live here for the remainder of there lives.⁶ John's wife, Anna, died in 1647 in Windsor leaving him a widower.⁴ John made his will on 20 April 1648 at Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut.

. . .in which the testator remembered his eldest son, John Porter; his second son James Porter; the other six children, viz.:Samuel, Nathaniel, Rebecca, Rose, Mary and Anna Porter, all under twenty years of age ; his son Joseph Judson; the poor of Windsor Church; and desired his friends as overseers: Mr Warham of Windsor, Mr Goodwin of Hartford, Goodman White of same and Matthew Grant of Windsor; witnessed by Henry Clarke and Abigail Branker.⁷

John departed this life on Wednesday, 22 April 1648 in Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut.⁸ The inventory of John's estate was taken on Monday, 27 April 1648 at Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut. The inventory was carefully itemized; it gave a description of his house as having 5 rooms, a parlor with a chamber over it, a kitchen with a chamber over it and a "new Roome". The total of the inventory including both real & personal property was 470.17.0.⁹ His will was probated on 7 June 1649 at Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut.