James Norman Jr. Porter

James married Katajoun Baghai in Private. Katajoun was born in Private. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

James Norman Porter, 59, of Greensburg, Pa., and a native of Ellerslie, died Wednesday at Greensburg Hospital. He was a son of the late James V. and Kathryn (Raley) Porter and was employed as chief engineer for the Old Republic Insurance Company. Mr. Porter was a member of the First Methodist Church, Greensburg, Irwin Male Chorus, Western Pennsylvania Chapter American Society of Engineers, Veterans of Safety and of East Gate Lodge 216 AF & AM, Cumberland. Surviving are his widow, Virginia (Cook) Porter; a son, James N. Porter, Jr., Durham, N. C.; three daughters, Judith, Kathryn and Linda Porter, all at home; two brothers, Fred T. Porter, Hyndman, and Robert L. Porter, Anaheim, Calif.; a half-sister, Mrs. Janet Williams, Mt. Savage, and two grandsons. The body will be at the Kipple Funeral Home in Greensburg. It will be removed to the Zeigler Funeral Home, Hyndman. A service will be conducted at the funeral home Sunday at 2 p. m. with Dr. Kenneth Rutter officiating. Interment will be in Porter Cemetery, Ellerslie. The family requests expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to the Arthritis Fund. The Cumberland News, August 4, 1967

He was buried on 6 Aug 1967 in Porter Cemetery, Ellerslie, Maryland.

James married Virginia Margaret Cook in 1933. Virginia was born in 1911 in Ellerslie, Allegany County, Maryland; died on 24 Sep 2008 in Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Virginia Margaret Cook Porter, 97, formerly of Greensburg, Pa., died peacefully in her sleep Sept. 24, 2008, in Fort Collins. A native of Ellerslie, Md., she graduated from Allegany High School and studied library science at American University. In 1933, she married James Norman Porter of Ellerslie, and they moved to Pittsburgh, Pa. In 1955 the family transferred to Greensburg, where she served as financial secretary of the First Methodist Church from the death of her husband in 1967 until her retirement in 1982. Upon retirement, Virginia moved to St. Petersburg, Fla. She was active in the Pasadena United Methodist Church, singing in the choir, and volunteering at the St. Petersburg Public Library. Virginia’s later years were spent in Fort Collins, with and in the care of her daughter, Kathryn, son-in-law, Kevin and grandchildren, Douglas, Brian and Allison. At the time of her death, she resided at the Good Samaritan Village, Fort Collins. During her life, Virginia found joy in people and traveling. She was president and circle leader of the Women’s Society of the First Methodist Church of Greensburg and Worthy Matron in the Order of the Eastern Star in Pennsylvania. Proud of getting her driver’s license at 55, Virginia drove all across the nation seeing the country and visiting friends and family. She traveled in Europe and especially enjoyed England. An avid baseball fan to the end, the Atlanta Braves was her favorite team. Intellectually curious and actively interested in people and the world, throughout her long life she loved reading books and exchanging written correspondence with her many friends and relatives. She never stopped growing, learning and caring. Her prime concern was always the welfare of her family. She demonstrated a lively pride in being a Cook and a Porter and passed that on to her children. She dearly missed the companionship of the husband she lost too soon, keeping his memory alive by speaking of him each day as if he had just died. Nonetheless, in her last years she said that she was content and had no regrets, for her life had been full and was completed in the lives and families of her children. Her strength, life energy and sense of humor through many medical life trials were lessons to us all. Virginia was a woman of uncommon quality character. Departed, she abides with us. Preceded in death by her parents, John and Emma (Albright) Cook; her husband, James; and sister, Elva Fries, Virginia is lovingly remembered by her son, James N. Porter Jr. and daughter-in-law Katayoun Baghai of Montreal; daughter, Judith P. Ruffner and son-in-law Frank Ruffner of St. Petersburg; daughter, Kathryn P. Shrum and son-in-law J. Kevin Shrum of Fort Collins; and daughter, Linda R. Porter of Bellingham, Wash.; grandson, James N. Porter III and his wife Karen of Keswick, Ontario; grandson, Charles E. Porter and his wife Kimberly of Barrie, Ontario; grandsons, Douglas and Brian Shrum; granddaughter, Allison Shrum; grandson, Richard Ruffner; granddaughter, Juliet Ruffner Bender and her husband Kevin; and great-granddaughters, Carol, Jean, Julia and Hannah Porter, and Sarah and Lilly Virginia Bender. A service and burial beside her beloved husband will take place at the Porter Cemetery in Hyndman, Pa., June 3, 2009, at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please donate a gift to your local hospice organization in Virginia’s honor. March 31, 2009, Cumberland Times-News

Notes:

He died on 16 Jun 1966 at the age of 82 in Cumberland, Allegany Co., Maryland.

James V. Porter, Ellerslie, Md., died June 16, 1966, at Memorial Hospital, Cumberland, Md. He was born March 27, 1884. He was the son of Norman Porter and Sara (Staier) Porter. He was married first to Kathryn Raley and second to Grace Hosselroth, both deceased. He is survived by the following: Mr. James N. Porter, Greensburg; Fred P. Porter, Hyndman; Robert L. Porter, Anaheim, Calif., and a daughter, Janet R. Williams, Ellerslie, Md. Also surviving are 13 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. He was a member of the Methodist Church in Ellerslie, the POS of A and Lodge 440, Brotherhood of RR Trainmen. The Bedford Inquirer, June 23, 1966

He was buried in Porter Cemetery, Hyndman, Bedford Co., Pennsylvania.

James, Grace and Kathryn all share a single grave marker.

James + Kathryn (Minnie) Raley. Kathryn (daughter of Albert Raley and Annie Elizabeth Shuckhart) was born on 6 Jun 1888 in Ellerslie, Allegany County, Maryland.; died in Apr 1938 in Ellerslie, Allegany County, Maryland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Notes sent by Phyllis Rosley from Gary Porter on January 10, 2015

Norman was orphaned in 1855 at age 4 and, with his three sisters, raised by relatives.

About 1870, he married Anna Stair (1850 - 1875), the daughter of Augustus Stair (originally spelled Stohr, immigrants from Hesse, Germany) and produced sons Oscar Howard and William Augustus and two daughters who apparently died at or near birth. Anna herself died prematurely of pneumonia in 1875 and two years later Norman asked Anna's sister, Sarah Stair, to marry him. She is reported to have said "not until you get a headstone for my
sister," which apparently was speedily done. Norman's marriage (on December 18, 1877) to "Sarah E. Stoer" (sic) is recorded in records of the Wellersburg Reformed Church, Somerset County, Pa. A fee of $3.00 was paid. Earlier that year (August 28) Norman's Uncle Thomas Jackson Porter and Aunt Rebecca Porter had left him 39 acres of land in Londonderry Township, Pa., including all the buildings and improvements. Later in 1877 he sold some of this land to his sister Sarah (Porter) Clites. He sold additional land to Daniel Clites (Sarah's husband) in 1890 and to Shannon Brant in 1891. Norman and Sarah produced sons Harry Robert (1878), John Ross (1882) and James Vernon (1884) and a daughter, Anna M. Porter who died in 1882 at age 2. When Sarah also died (in 1890) Norman is said to have farmed out the boys to various families, taking son John Ross to live on the Cook farm in Ellerslie, Md. Norman worked as a hosteler on the Pennsylvania Railroad and when each of his boys turned 15 he also got them jobs on the railroad. Norman served as president of the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America Lodge located in Ellerslie. He lived in a house just below the present Porter Cemetery near Stringtown, Pa. and donated the land used for the cemetery. In August 1917, Norman was living with son John Ross at John's farm in Ridgeley, West Virginia, when he fell from a peach crate onto a stake. Although treated at the Western Maryland Hospital, peritonitis set in from a lacerated bowel and a hernia, causing his death at age 66 years, 6 months, 9 days. Louis Stein was his undertaker. Norman's will, which had been signed April 11, 1907, named James Vernon as Executor and divided Norman's estate into fifth's, a fifth for each of his four living sons (Oscar, Harry, John and James), and a fifth to be divided by Clara (Lowery) Porter, (by then the widow of William Augustus) and their daughter Mildred Viola Porter.

Norman married Sarah Stair on 18 Dec 1877 in Wellersburg, Southampton Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Sarah was born in 1855; died in 1890. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Albert + Annie Elizabeth Shuckhart. Annie died in UNKNOWN. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]