DeForest Porter (February 2, 1840 – February 17, 1889) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...
and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who served as Associate Justice of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court from 1872 till 1882 and as Mayor of
Phoenix, Arizona Territory from 1886 till 1888.
Early life
Porter was born February 2, 1840 in
Orleans County, New York and raised in the town of
Albion
Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...
. The ninth of nine children, he was educated in public schools and the Alviam Academy before enrolling at
St. Lawrence University. Porter graduated from the university's theology school in 1861. While still in school he actively campaigned throughout New York for
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
's
1860 presidential run.
Following graduation, Porter reportedly was ordained as a
Unitarian minister. Instead of pursuing a career as a clergyman, he instead apprenticed himself at the law office of
Sanford E. Church
Sanford Elias Church (April 18, 1815 – May 14, 1880) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. He served as Lieutenant Governor of the state of New York and chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals.
Early life
Born in Milford, Ot ...
and
Noah Davis. Details of the next few years are unclear with most accounts indicating he was
admitted to the bar in 1862 and Porter being wounded at the
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...
during his service in the
Union army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
. In 1865, shortly after the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
ended, Porter married Julia Sophia Trowbridge. The marriage produced a son and they adopted a daughter.
Following the wedding, Porter and his wife lived in
Plattsmouth, Nebraska
Plattsmouth is a city and county seat of Cass County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,502 at the 2010 census.
History
The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed the mouth of the Platte River, just north of what is now Main Street Pla ...
for a short time before settling in
Brownville, Nebraska
Brownville is a village in Nemaha County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 142 at the 2020 census.
History
Established in 1854 and incorporated in 1856, Brownville was the largest town in the Nebraska Territory, with a population o ...
. There he established a legal practice and served as
assessor
An assessor may be:
* ''Assessor'' (fish), a genus of fishes
* Assessor (law), the assistant to a judge or magistrate
* Assessor (Oxford), a senior officer of the University of Oxford
* Assessor (property), an expert who calculates the value of pr ...
,
city attorney, and
county attorney. In December 1870 Porter won a
special election for a seat in the
Nebraska House of Representatives. During his term of office he was active in the
impeachment
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In ...
of governor
David Butler.
Associate Justice
President
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
nominated Porter to become an Associate Justice of the
Arizona Territorial Supreme Court
The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. Sitting in the Supreme Court building in downtown Phoenix, the court consists of a chief justice, a vice chief justice, and five associate justices. Each justice i ...
on February 20, 1872. He received
Senate confirmation
Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previo ...
three days later and arrived in
Arizona City (now Yuma, Arizona) to take his oath of office of April 12. Within days of his arrival he held his first court session.
At the end of his session he visited the
Mohave County seat in
Hardyville. During the trip he was flabbergasted by the climate and complained to
United States Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
George Henry Williams
George Henry Williams (March 26, 1823April 4, 1910) was an American judge and politician. He served as chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, was the 32nd Attorney General of the United States, and was elected Oregon's U.S. senator, and serve ...
that temperatures reached .
Only two of Porter's
opinions survive. One of these, ''Graves v. Alsap'', 1 Arizona 275 (1875), deals with the legality of a
veto override. The
U.S. Congress had passed legislation authorizing the territorial legislature to override a veto with a two-thirds vote. The judge then ruled on whether veto made about the same time as this change was made could be overridden.
On February 28, 1876, Porter was recommissioned for a second term. The next year, when
Maricopa County was added to his judicial district, he moved from Yuma to
Phoenix. Porter's first wife died in 1878. He married Lois Gertrude Cotten of Phoenix in 1880. His second marriage produced one daughter.
Porter was commissioned for a third term on November 2, 1880. During his years on the bench he suffered from heart problems that were aggravated by the region's summer heat. Regardless of these problems he was noted as a hard worker. He did not complete his third term as on June 7, 1882 Porter submitted his resignation.
Later life
During his time on the bench, Porter acquired extensive land holdings in downtown Phoenix along with mining properties throughout central Arizona. At the same time he and
Charles Silent
Charles Silent (January 1, 1842 – December 14, 1918) was a German-born American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court. After leaving the bench he entered private practice and became one of Los A ...
were active in encouraging Eastern venture capitalist's efforts to invest in the territory. In addition to his real estate holdings, Porter returned to the practice of law after leaving the bench.
By Porter's second term on the bench area residents were encouraging him to run for elected office. He turned down an opportunity to run for Territorial Delegate to Congress in 1878 due to the declining health of his first wife. Two years later he was a candidate for Territorial Delegate during Republican territorial convention but lost the party nomination to Madison W. Stewart. In 1882, Porter was the Republican nominee for Territorial Delegate. He however lost the
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
to
Granville Henderson Oury
Granville Henderson Oury (March 12, 1825 – January 11, 1891) was a nineteenth-century American politician, lawyer, judge, soldier, and miner.
Early life
Born in Abingdon, Virginia; Granville Henderson Oury and his family moved to Bowling Gre ...
6,121 to 5,141.
Porter was elected Mayor of
Phoenix in 1883. Two years later he represented
Maricopa County in the
13th Arizona Territorial Legislature
The 13th Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which began on January 12, 1885, in Prescott, Arizona. The session's accomplishments included allocation of a variety of territorial institution ...
. During the legislative session his "untiring energy and indomitable will" help ensure passage of legislation creating a territorial normal school, territorial insane asylum, and authorization of a railroad link between Phoenix and the
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
at
Maricopa
Maricopa can refer to:
Places
* Maricopa, Arizona, United States, a city
** Maricopa Freeway, a piece of I-10 in Metropolitan Phoenix
** Maricopa station, an Amtrak station in Maricopa, Arizona
* Maricopa County, Arizona, United States
* Marico ...
. The retired judge was elected to a second term as Mayor of Phoenix in 1887. This term saw the
15th Arizona Territorial Legislature
The 15th Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which began on January 21, 1889, in Prescott, Arizona, moved to Phoenix on February 7 and did not adjourn till April 11. The session is known a ...
move the territorial capital from
Prescott to Phoenix. As the session's members traveled by
Pullman coach to the new Capital, Mayor Porter helped pay for the entertainment and personally presented each of the legislators with a new
silk hat
A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally m ...
.
Porter died on February 17, 1889 while recovering from a severe bout of
erysipelas
Erysipelas () is a relatively common bacterial infection of the superficial layer of the skin ( upper dermis), extending to the superficial lymphatic vessels within the skin, characterized by a raised, well-defined, tender, bright red rash, t ...
. He received a
Masonic funeral prior to burial. He was later re-interred as Phoenix's
Greenwood Memorial Park.
Footnotes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, DeForest
1840 births
1889 deaths
Arizona pioneers
Justices of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court
Mayors of Phoenix, Arizona
Members of the Arizona Territorial Legislature
Members of the Nebraska House of Representatives
New York (state) Republicans
Nebraska Republicans
Arizona Republicans
Burials in Arizona
19th-century American politicians
People from Brownville, Nebraska
19th-century American judges