PORTER, George Sr. born 1858

PORTER

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 1/14/2023 at 13:01:07

George Porter Sr.
born January 1, 1858

Pioneer Who Broke Hayes Twp. Prairie, now a 50 Year Mason
There wasn’t such a thing as a First-baby-of-the-year contest even thought of, eighty years ago in Toronto, Canada or else our fellow citizen, George Porter Sr., might easily have qualified for the gifts offered by the merchants and professional men for the year of grace, 1858. Mr. Porter was born on New Year’s day of that year and attained his eightieth birthday last Saturday, January first. For 62 years he has been a resident of Ida County and is one of the few men living in this community whose arrival ante-dated the building of the railway through this county.
Mr. Porter was recently honored by Kane Lodge No. 377 A.F. & A.M. for his membership of 50 years in that order and received a certificate for his long membership. He became a member on July 14, 1887 in the old Masonic hall located over John Bleakly’s store, now occupied by E. A. Swanke. George Porter was the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Porter, natives of Scotland, who after coming to this country lived in Toronto a few years. They then moved to Clarence, Iowa, where they settled and the father followed his trade as harness maker. In 1875, Mr. Porter, a lad of 17, came to Ida County, bringing with him a horse, team of mules; harness made by his father and a John Deere breaking plow and stared breaking prairie on the farm purchased by his father the year before. It was a half mile south of Hayes center now known as the Ferguson place. Settlements were few and far apart and the land was mostly unbroken prairie. At this time, the village of Ida was in existence and the land where Ida Grove now stands was a patch of hazel brush. There was no railroad, so supplies and lumber had to be brought from Vail. Mr. Porter hauled the lumber for the first home from Vail. It was a rude structure, 16 by 24 and a story and a half high.
In 1880 he was married to Victoria Parks of Boone and the next year they purchased a farm in section 20, Hayes township from Frank Burns which Mr. Porter still owns. This land was also prairie. But being endowed with the pioneer spirit, he labored hard to convert the virgin prairie into tillable land and establish a home. Besides this he did breaking for other early settlers in Hayes and the “Swede settlement.” Mr. Porter recalls instances in the early eighties which show the uncertainty of the wheat crop in those days. One year his wheat averaged 22 ½ bushels per acres and he received $1.05 per bushel. The next year he had 60 acres that made three bushels to the acre and was mostly smut. Successfully they fought the battles of pioneer life and after close to forty years on the farm they retired and moved to Ida Grove. Mrs. Porter passed away January 12, 1922. Mr. Porter has three children all living, Mrs. Ethel Lawhead of Windom, Minn., Mrs. Nettie Batchelor, Petersen, Ia., and George Jr. of Sioux City. Source: Ida County Pioneer Record, Ida Grove, Iowa, Thurs., Jan 6, 1938, p.1