Misplaced Pages

William Henry Porter (January 8, 1861 – November 30, 1926) was a prominent banker in New York City. Porter became president of Chemical National Bank in 1903 and was one of the founders and directors of the Bankers Trust Company of New York. 1908, Porter was elected to serve as president of the New York Clearing House and later became a partner in the firm J.P. Morgan & Co..

Early life

Porter was born at Middlebury, Vermont on January 8, 1861. He was a son of William Trowbridge Porter (1838–1898) and Martha Elizabeth (née Samson) Porter (1837–1917).

Porter was educated at Middlebury Academy and the Saratoga High School.

Career

His first banking employment was as a junior clerk in the Fifth Avenue Bank of New York, where he stayed for eight years. In 1886, Porter left the Fifth Avenue Bank of New York to become cashier of the Chase National Bank. In 1893, after seven years as vice president of the Chase National Bank, Porter was elected vice president of the Chemical National Bank in 1898.

Upon the death of George G. Williams in May 1903, Porter became president of Chemical National Bank. Also in 1903, Porter was one of the founders and directors of the Bankers Trust Company of New York. Porter was also a trustee of the Guaranty Trust Company of New York.

On October 6, 1908, Porter was elected to serve as president of the New York Clearing House. Porter also served as treasurer and member of the executive committee of Chamber of Commerce.

In 1910, Porter left Chemical to become a partner in the firm J.P. Morgan & Co.

Personal life

Porter was married to Esther Jackson (1862–1934), a daughter of James Jackson. Together, they lived in a townhouse at 45 East 68th Street in Manhattan and had a country home in Glen Cove on Long Island. They were the parents of:

• James Jackson Porter (1891–1918), a 1911 graduate of Princeton University and 1914 graduate of Harvard Law School who practiced law with White & Case before he was killed in action during the Meuse–Argonne offensive near Brielles in France.
• Helen Porter (1897–1969), who married Richard Leech Davisson. They divorced and she married Paul Pryibil in 1928. In 1938, they built a mansion in Glen Cove, New York known as Bogheid. Pryibil died in 1947.

Porter died while walking with his wife along Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn on November 30, 1926. After a funeral at Central Presbyterian Church on Madison Avenue, he was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx. His estate was left to his wife (who died in 1934), daughter and grandchildren along with various bequests to Middlebury College and several churches.

Legacy

Porter helped to fund the creation of the Porter Medical Center in Middlebury, Vermont.

References

1. ^ "W.H. PORTER DEAD; STRICKEN IN STREET; Member of J.P. Morgan & Co. Had Stepped From an Auto for Walk With His Wife". The New York Times. 1 December 1926. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
2. Van Pelt, Daniel (1898). Leslie's History of the Greater New York: Encyclopedia of New York biography and genealogy. Arkell Publishing Company. p. 159. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
3. Revolution, Daughters of the American (1928). Lineage Book, Vol. 103. Daughters of the American Revolution. p. 239. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
4. ^ "G.W. PERKINS TO BE EQUITABLE TRUSTEE; Retires from J.P. Morgan & Co. to Take the Place Left Vacant Since Cleveland's Death". The New York Times. 10 December 1910. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
5. "CHEMICAL BANK'S NEW OFFICIAL; William H. Porter of the Chase National to be Its Vice President". The New York Times. 4 December 1898. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
6. Leonard, John William; Marquis, Albert Nelson (1908). Who's who in America. Marquis Who's Who. p. 1509. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
7. NY Times, October 7, 1908
8. "Obituary". The New York Times. 21 October 1918. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
9. Times, Special to Tile Ntw York (23 August 1969). "Mrs. Paul Pryibil". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
10. "Mrs. Helen Porter Davisson and Paul Pryibil Married in Ceremonies Here and in Florida". The New York Times. 12 October 1928. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
11. TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (6 March 1938). "OWNERS OF ESTATES BUILD NEW HOMES; Many Residences on North Shore of Long Island Will Be Opened After Easter. EARLY PARTIES EXPECTED Colonel Roosevelt and Bertron Fashestock Among Those Taking Occupancy View of Sound and Bay Paul Pryibils Build Home Marshall Field Buys Land OWNERS OF ESTATES BUILD NEW HOMES". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
12. Miller, Tom (30 November 2012). "A Queen Anne Survivor at No. 23 East 69th Street". Daytonian in Manhattan. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
13. "Paul Pryibil, Broker, Exchange Member". The New York Times. 30 December 1947. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
14. "MORGAN PARTNER HONORED; Bankers and Business Men Pay Tribute to Late W.H. Porter". The New York Times. 10 December 1926. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
15. "W. H. Porter's Rites Tomorrow". The New York Times. 2 December 1926. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
16. "To Attend W, H. Porter's Funeral. I". The New York Times. 3 December 1926. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
17. "W.H. PORTER'S WILL AIDS WIDOW CHIEFLY; She Gets Third of Estate of Morgan Partner as Well as Residuary Portion. $1,350,000 DISPOSED OF Trusts Established for Child and Four Grandchildren -- Funds for Middlebury College, Churches". The New York Times. 15 December 1926. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
18. "History". www.portermedical.org. Porter Medical Center. Retrieved 20 August 2020.

External links

• William Henry Porter at Find a Grave

• 1861 births
• 1926 deaths
• American bankers
• JPMorgan Chase people
• Middlebury College alumni
• People from Middlebury, Vermont