Timothy Hopkins Porter (November 28, 1785 – December 16, 1845) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

Born in

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 202 ...

New Haven County, Connecticut New Haven County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connecticut. Two of the state's top 5 largest cities, New ...

, he was the son of Dr. Timothy Porter (1735–1792) and Margaret (Skinner) Porter (1739–1813). After completing preparatory studies, he then studied law, was admitted to the bar and practiced in Hamilton, New York (now the City of Olean). On November 8, 1811, he married Lucy Moore, and they had twelve children. He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

( Allegany and

Steuben Steuben or Von Steuben most commonly refers to Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730–1794), Prussian-American military officer, or to a number of things named for him in the United States. It may also refer to: Places *Steuben Township, Marshall C ...

Co.) in

1816 This year was known as the ''Year Without a Summer'', because of low temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, possibly the result of the Mount Tambora volcanic eruption in Indonesia in 1815, causing severe global cooling, catastrophic in s ...

and 1816–17. He was First Judge of the Cattaraugus County Court from 1817 to 1820. He was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(8th D.) in

1823 Events January–March * January 22 – By secret treaty signed at the Congress of Verona, the Quintuple Alliance gives France a mandate to invade Spain for the purpose of restoring Ferdinand VII (who has been captured by armed revolutio ...

. He was District Attorney of Cattaraugus County from 1824 to 1827. In

1824 May 7: The almost completely deaf Beethoven premieres his Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven) , Ninth Symphony Events January–March * January 8 – After much controversy, Michael Faraday is finally elected as a member of the Royal Society, ...

, he was elected a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

, but did not attend the meeting of the New York Electoral College, and William Mann, of

Schoharie County Schoharie County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,714, making it the state's fifth-least populous county. The county seat is Schoharie. "Schoharie" comes from a Mohawk word meaning "f ...

was appointed to fill the vacancy. Porter was elected as an Adams candidate to the

19th United States Congress The 19th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1825, ...

, holding office from March 4, 1825, to March 3, 1827. He was again a member of the State Senate (8th D.) from 1828 to 1831, sitting in the 51st, 52nd, 53rd and

54th New York State Legislature The 54th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4 to April 26, 1831, during the third year of Enos T. Throop's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provisi ...

s; and of the State Assembly (Cattaraugus Co.) in

1838 Events January–March * January 10 – A fire destroys Lloyd's Coffee House and the Royal Exchange in London. * January 11 – At Morristown, New Jersey, Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale give the first public demonstration o ...

and

1840 Events January–March * January 3 – One of the predecessor papers of the ''Herald Sun'' of Melbourne, Australia, ''The Port Phillip Herald'', is founded. * January 10 – Uniform Penny Post is introduced in the United Kingdom. * Janua ...

. He died in Olean,

Cattaraugus County Cattaraugus County (locally known as Catt County) is a county in Western New York, with one side bordering Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2020 census, the population was 77,042. The county seat is Little Valley. The county was created ...

, New York and was buried at the Mount View Cemetery in Olean.

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 71, 125, 127ff, 144, 190f, 220, 223, 298, 326 and 358; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
''Original Portraits and Biographies of the Old Pioneers and Congressmen of Cattaraugus County''
compiled by John Manley (1857; pages 102f)
''The History of Waterbury, Connecticut''
by Henry Bronson ( pages 520ff)
Timothy H. Porter
at Ancestry.com

transcribed from the ''Cattaraugus Republican'' (issue of December 22, 1845)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Timothy Hopkins 1785 births 1845 deaths 19th-century American politicians 1824 United States presidential electors County district attorneys in New York (state) Members of the New York State Assembly National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) New York (state) state senators People from Olean, New York Politicians from Waterbury, Connecticut