Portrait and biographical album of Ingham and Livingston counties, Michigan, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties ... the governors of the state and of all the presidents of the United States.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.

the industrial system of the college. During his
Secretaryship he prepared and published a general
index of the agricultural reports of Michigan from
1849 to 1888, inclusive. This work has been appreciated by all who have had occasion to refer to
these volumes.
In connection with this biography will be found
a lithographic portrait of Mr. Reynolds.
QFBERT M. PORTER. He of whom we
write was born in Hillsdale Courty, this
State, in the township of Litchfield, December 12, 1851. Ile was only sixteen years of
age when he started out in life for himself and
was engaged in clerking in a drug store at Quincy.
Thence he was employed in a dry-goods store
where he remained for three years and was then
clerk in the dry-goods house at Litchfield, remaining there also two years. His advent into Williamston, Ingham County, was made in 1875 and
since that time he has here made his residence.
On first coming to Williamston our subject
was engaged as a clerk in a dry-goods store
and remained there for six years. He then came
into the hardware store in the year of 1881 as
clerk for Mr. Jessup and has since been engaged
here. In 1878 Mr. Porter was married in Williamston to Flora J. Clark, a daughter of Henry Clark,
the mother being Margrette (Shaw) Clark. They
were natives of Leroy, Genesee County, N. Y.
This union, which has been a very happy one
has resulted in the birth of two children
Clarence H. and Howard C., both of whom are
at home. Mr. Porter is a Master Mason, being a
member of Williamston Lodge, No. 153. Politically
he is a Democrat and has held office under his
party in the village of Williamston for the past
two years. Tie has been Township Clerk for six
years and is the present incumbent of that position.
Our subject's father, Robert M. Porter, was one of
the founders of Albion College and he of whom
we write holds a life scholarship there and also a
life scholarship in Hillsdale College which was pur

chased by his father. A brother of the senior
Robert M. Porter, was a Representative in the
United States congress from Minnesota and a
brother of our subject's mother, Jacob Stokes, was
a member of the Treasury Department of the
United States.
It will not be out of place to here give a somewhat extended notice of the parents of the gentleman of whom we are writing. His father was
Robert M. Porter, a native of Lancaster, Pa., who,
in an early day, came to Calhoun County, Mich.
and followed milling in Homer for a number of
years. He afterward went to Litchfield, Hillsdale
County, and there ran a mill known as that of
Fowler & Porter. He then went to Scipio Township and was the proprietor of a large establishment known as the Porter Mills. Later he went
to Burr Oak, St. Joseph County, and there ran a
mill and finally located in Quincy, Branch County,
and was there engaged in the milling business with
a Mr. Rogers, continuing in this connection until
his decease, which occurred in 1883.
Robert Porter, Sr. was married, in l:hiladelphia,
to Miss Fanny Stokes, a native of that city. She
died in 1859 in Scipio Township, Hillsdale County,
Mich. To this couple were born four children-,Jacob M., Ienry C., Harriet, Robert M. a n(i
Fremont C. Our subject's father was nearly all
his life engaged in milling. He was a Master
Mason which was greatly to his advantage in pioneer days.
/ -
Q ORTON M. MONROE. A goodly number of. ) veterans of the late war that were drawn
I from Ingham County still survive and offer
a bright example to the young men who are coming up to-day of the disinterested loyalty that
prompted them to throw all into the balance with
the chances of war, for at that time there was no
assurance, in fact apparently small chance, of any
remuneration for services and it was certain that
many would sacrifice their lives. Our subject was