William Wagener Porter (May 5, 1856 – November 16, 1928) was an American attorney and legal author. He was a graduate of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in the class of 1875 and admitted to the Philadelphia Bar in 1877. He served as associate justice of the

Superior Court of Pennsylvania The Superior Court of Pennsylvania is one of two Pennsylvania intermediate appellate courts (the other being the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania). It is based in Harrisburg. Jurisdiction The Superior Court hears appeals in criminal and most ...

from 1897 to 1903. Porter was instrumental in founding the

Society of the Descendants of the Schwenkfeldian Exiles The Schwenkfelder Church () is a small American Christianity, Christian body rooted in the 16th-century Protestant Reformation teachings of Caspar Schwenckfeld, Caspar Schwenkfeld von Ossig (1489–1561). History Although followers have held t ...

, and belonged to the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

, the

Sons of the Revolution Sons of the Revolution is a hereditary society which was founded in 1876 and educates the public about the American Revolution. The General Society Sons of the Revolution headquarters is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation located at Willia ...

, the

Merion Cricket Club Merion Cricket Club is a private club in Haverford, Pennsylvania, founded in 1865. The current clubhouse is its sixth, the last four having been designed by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness and his partner, Allen Evans, who was also a founder ...

, and the Presbyterian Social Union. He served as vice president of the

Union League of Philadelphia The Union League of Philadelphia is a private club founded in 1862 by the Old Philadelphians as a patriotic society to support the policies of Abraham Lincoln. As of 2022, the club has over 4,000 members. Its main building was built in 1865 and ...

. He died in 1928 and is buried at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

in Philadelphia.

Works

The Legal Responsibilities of Clergymen Who Solemnize Marriages in Pennsylvania
(Philadelphia: Kay and Brothers, 1885)
A Treatise on the Law of Bills of Lading
(Philadelphia: Kay and Brothers, 1891) *Girard the Citizen: An Address (1904) *Professional Compensation: The Right and Its Enforcement *The Present Status of the Legal Profession (1907) *Address delivered by the Honorable William Wagener Porter at a Meeting of the Society of the Schwenkfeldian Exiles October Eighth, 1921. *A Consideration of Some of the Opportunities and Obligations of the Lawyer of To-day: An Address (undated)

References

*''Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania'', volume 3, pp. 1300–1304. *"William Wagener Porter: In Memoriam," ''The Exile Herald'', Volume 6, Number 1, February 1929, pp. 5–7. 1856 births 1928 deaths University of Pennsylvania alumni Lawyers from Philadelphia Judges of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lawyers American people of German descent 19th-century American lawyers {{Pennsylvania-state-judge-stub