Moses Porter and Martha Alvord Snell were married June 8, 1827 in North Brookfield, Massachusetts.
====================================
In 1834, with daughters Sarah Strong Porter 3 yrs old and Sophia Hitchcock Porter 5 yrs old, Moses & Martha set out for the American west from New England. They traveled first by stagecoach in NY, then by the Erie Canal to Buffalo, then by sailing ship on Lake Erie, then using horse (or oxen) and wagon to Detroit.
The Porter family then went again by sailing boat on Lake St. Clair, then up the St. Clair River leading into Lake Huron, then up and across most of the length of Lake Huron, then down through Lake Michigan, landing in southern Wisconsin (or northern Illinois), and lastly southward by wagon into what was then Ft. Dearborn (now Chicago).
The much quicker land route to Chicago was far too wild and dangerous at that time, to travel through the Indian wilderness of Ohio, Michigan or Indiana to reach Chicago, so many pioneers (like our Porters), traveled for weeks on the Great Lakes, many ships sank in the horrible weather and many eastern folks lost their lives to 'go west'.
During the trip, on Mar 11, 1834, Martha delivered a baby they named Mary Williams Porter who lived only a day. Martha recalled how the ship's Captain, crew and passengers were all so kind and they put into shore, south of St. Clair, Michigan for the burial. Martha chose a lovely spot under the trees with a view of Lake Huron.
Then it was on to many more days for the Porter family, on the stormy seas on the Great Lakes. Soon afterwards in letters to family, Martha said she would never sail again, (and indeed she never did).
The first place that Moses, Martha, Sarah and Sophia settled in 1834, after coming from Massachusetts, would become the settlement of Batavia Twp. As a town, Batavia wasn't settled/started until a decade later in 1844.
Moses & Martha built a log cabin for the family of four. Batavia was in Kane County. Kane along with Will became counties when set off from (mostly) Cook County in 1836, the year AFTER the Porters came from New England.
Moses was the first practicing (but not the 1st resident) Physician for those frontier areas around Batavia and also Frankfort in Will County, IL. He continued being a Doctor as well as a Farmer for those first 10 years in Illinois.
Sept 1835- Martha gave birth to their last child and only son- Eleazar Porter who was born in the log cabin.
====================================
Martha Alvord Snell-Porter sent this letter from Illinois, in 1836, to her 21 year old sister- Sarah Snell.
"Well dear sister I hear that you have made a visit at Hadley and have now returned to our father's house in Brookfield.
I can easily imagine the movements of the family circle about these days--when Thomas is to introduce his lovely bride as another daughter in the home of my childhood.
Oh that I were there to bid her thrice welcome--but what did I say--rather let me welcome her from this distant land to the near and dear relatives of a sister twice told.
And when in the course of events, I visit that much loved home (if I ever should) may I find that this connexion is one, which will and does, shed around our dear Parents a gladdening influence as they advance in the evening of life. To you Sarah, I need not say--be kind to this sister--consult her happiness in little things, as well as great ones. Kindness, and kindness only, have I received from her or any of her family--kindness and kindness only, may she receive from ours."
The new bride referred to as the "sister twice told"- is Lucretia Porter who would become a sister (in law) when she married, (on May 16th 1836), Martha's brother- Thomas Snell born 1829. She would also be a sister because she was the sister of Martha Alvord Snell's husband- Moses Porter born 1799.
Martha Alvord Snell-Porter and Sarah Snell's father, referred to in the letter, is the Rev. Thomas Snell born 1774. Their mother was Tirzah Strong born 1780, daughter of Martha Alvord and Judah Strong. That is why Moses and Martha named their daughter Sarah Strong Porter.
====================================
Moses, Martha, Sarah, Sophia & Eleazar, stayed in the cabin in the Batavia area of Kane Co., until at least March of 1845 (when Eleazar died there).
Moses, Martha, Sarah & Sophia probably left soon after 1845, and made their way to the new town of Hadley in the SE quadrant of Homer Twp, Will Co., IL (less than 40 miles SE from Batavia). The village of Hadley still exists in Homer Twp., in Will County and is shown on an old map on Moses' memorial page.
1849- In Hadley Village, Homer Twp (Will Co), Moses & Martha's daughter Sarah married 'neighbor' John3 J. Simpson and moved a few miles away closer to Chicago, to farm in what would be part of newly formed (1850) Orland Twp, in Cook County.
Sarah Porter's new in laws-John2 & Elcy Simpson- had come with 5 children from Geneva, NY in 1835 and were among the first pioneers to settle what would become Homer Twp in Will County.
==============================
1850 fed. census for Homer (Twp), Will Co., IL Dec 3rd
------Moses Porter 51
----- wife Martha A 44
-----(dau) Sophia H. (Hitchcock) age 20
Moses is listed as a Physician with their land valued at $2,500.
On the next census page were Moses & Martha's son in law's parents= John2 Simpson and his wife(Elcy) Palmer-Simpson.
================================
Just after the new year in 1854, at only 25 years of age, Moses & Martha's daughter Sophia died in Orland Twp., though it's not known why she died. Sophia H. , along with brother Eleazar (who died in Batavia 9 years earlier), were buried in the small Hadley Cemetery within just miles of the Porters and the Simpson family farms.
On May 12, 1856, after more than a decade in Homer Twp, Will Co., IL, Moses & Martha packed up all their belongings once again and, by horse and wagon, followed their only living child- Sarah Strong Porter and her husband John3 Simpson, to farm near the new village of Waterford, MN.
After the establishment of the Minnesota Territory in 1849, Dakotah County (later Dakota County) spanned from the Mississippi River to the Missouri River. Minnesota achieved statehood in 1858--two years AFTER the Porters and the Simpsons broke virgin ground for their new family farms.
Moses & Martha Porter opened up a very large tract of land 2 miles NW of Waterford, still farmed into the 1980's by the son and daughters of Abbie Maria Simpson-Howland (who was Sarah's daughter- Moses & Martha's granddaughter). The Porters were prominent in the founding of that village.
The village of Waterford-which used to straddle the Greenvale/Waterford Twps line, is gone and Waterford is now an unincorporated community/town located northeast of the early village, only located in Waterford Twp.
The original homestead farm of John3 J. Simpson & Sarah's, (where the the last 7 of John2 & Sarah Porter's Simpson children were born), was in Greenvale Twp. It was north of Northfield City, about 2 miles NW of the Rice/Dakota county line and just across the twp line from Sarah's parents.
After giving up practicing medicine, (for the most part), Moses & wife Martha put all their efforts into running their large farm of livestock & crops. They farmed 4 miles from daughter Sarah & her husband John3 J. Simpson's farm until Moses died in 1876.
====================================
1857 MN, STATE Census, Twp #112 (Dakota Co)
------Moses Porter
------Martha Alvord
------Abbie F Snell (Martha's sister)
====================================
1870 FEDERAL census, Waterford, Dakota Co., MN
------Moses Porter
------Martha
(4 miles or so from daughter Sarah's family farm with John3 J. Simpson and the Porter's 7 grandchildren).
====================================
1875 MN TERRITORIAL census
-----Moses Porter
-----Martha
====================================
1876- Dr. Moses Porter died. He is buried at the Red Rose Cemetery.
====================================
1880 FEDERAL census, Waterford, Dakota County, MN
------Martha, age 74, widow, grandmother
------Charles Arthur Simpson (Martha & Moses' grandson, son of Sarah Strong Porter & husband John3 J. Simpson)
------Jennie (Charles' wife)
Still near farm of dau Sarah & her Simpson family.
====================================
By Dec of 1881, Martha had moved in with her granddaughter Sophia Isabella Simpson-Dodds and family (Dr. Robert Moffat Dodds and their children Martha Alice and newborn Robert Porter Dodds) in Winona, Winona Co., MN.
Sometime before she died, Martha moved back to live with her daughter Sarah & Sarah's Simpson family in Waterford.
====================================
Martha Alvord Snell died New Year's day in 1886.
====================================
Moses Porter & Martha Alvord Snell's children:
-----Martha Strong Porter born April 17, 1828 in Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA and died on July 24, 1831, Hadley, MA, @3yrs old;
-----Sarah Strong Porter born Oct 6, 1831 in Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA and died Mar 26, 1899 in Waterford Twp., Dakota Co., MN. Sarah married John3 J. Simpson born Aug 4, 1825 Geneva, Ontario Co., NY and died May 19, 1885 in Waterford Twp., Dakota Twp., MN. They had 10 children.
Sarah's Mayflower index # is 26889.
-----Sophia Hitchcock Porter born Dec 6, 1829 in Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA and died Jan 7, 1854, Orland Twp., Will Co., IL, @25yrs old;
-----Mary Williams Porter born and died May 11, 1834, on Lake Huron @ 1 day old. Buried near St Clair, on a hill, at the shore of either the St. Clair River or Lake Huron;
-----Eleazar Porter born Sept 13, 1835 in the area of Will/Kane Co., IL and died March 3, 1845 in Batavia, Kane Co., IL at just 9 & 1/2 years old.
====================================
Her obituary in the Rice County Journal, pub. Feb 13, 1886--
THE DEPARTURE OF THIS EXCELLENT WOMAN TO HER NEW HOME, "NOT MADE WITH HANDS" OCCURRED JANUARY 1, 1886, ON NEW YEAR'S EVENING. SHE EXCHANGED THE GREETINGS OF EARTHLY FRIENDS FOR THE JOYFUL WELCOME AND "HAPPY NEW YEAR" OF HEAVEN.
SHE HAD BEEN LONG SLOWLY DECLINING AND NOW THE TIME HAD COME TO GATHER IN "THE SHOCK OF CORN FULLY RIPE," AT THE AGE OF NEARLY EIGHTY.
SHE WAS BORN MARCH 5, 1806 IN NORTH BROOKFIELD, MASS., WHERE SHE GREW UP TO HOME INDUSTRY AND COMMON SCHOOLS, FINISHING HER EDUCATION AT AMHERST.
SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF THE REV. DR. SNELL, PASTOR OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS.
AND MOST BEAUTIFUL, SHE BECAME A CHRISTIAN WHEN TEN YEARS OLD, AND HER WHOLE LIFE WAS THAT OF ANOTHER MARTHA, ADORNED WITH EVERY CHRISTIAN VIRTUE.
SHE MARRIED DR. MOSES PORTER MAY 27, 1834, A CHRISTIAN YOUNG MAN OF EXCELLENCE. THEIR UNION WAS WITH WHOLE HEARTED AFFECTION, WHICH ONLY GREW RICHER TILL HIS DEATH IN 1876. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL TO HEAR HIM IN HIS LATER LIFE SO MANFULLY AND TENDERLY EXPRESS HIS APPRECIATION OF HER AS HIS "QUEEN."
IN 1834 THEY MOVED TO ILLINOIS AND IN 1856, ATTRACTED BY THE CLIMATE OF MINNESOTA, THEY CAME TO WATERFORD. THERE A LITTLE LOG HOUSE WAS THEIR HOME, BUT NO HOME WAS SWEETER. HER INTELLIGENT, STEADY MIND AND GOOD SENSE; HER INDUSTRY AND CARE; HER LARGE, WARM HEART ALWAYS ON THE OUTSIDE; HER CHEERFUL SMILE IN ALL CONDITIONS; CORDIAL HOSPITALITY AND "MEEK AND QUIET SPIRIT," ALL ADORNED A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN LIFE.
MRS. PORTER HAD SIX CHILDREN, ONE ONLY REMAINING, THE OTHERS DEPARTING IN EARLIER LIFE. ONE DIED ON THE VESSEL ON THE LAKE WHILE COMING WEST, AND THE CAPTAIN KINDLY GAVE IT BURIAL ON LANDING.
HER UNFALTERING CONFIDENCE IN HER SAVIOR CALMED EVERY TEMPEST, AND WAS THE FORTRESS OF HER STRENGTH FROM CHILDHOOD TO FOUR-SCORE. THEY, WITH A FEW NEIGHBORS, KEPT UP WEEKLY PRAYER MEETINGS AT THEIR HOME IN WATERFORD MANY EARLY YEARS. SHE WAS READY TO EVERY GOOD WORK. WHATSOEVER HER HAND COULD FIND TO DO FOR HUMAN WELFARE, WAS DONE WITH HER MIGHT TO THE FULL EXTENT OF HER ABILITY.
LIVING NEAR NORTHFIELD AND NOT HAVING RELIGIOUS ADVANTAGES IN WATERFORD, THEIR CHRISTIAN RELATIONS WERE HERE FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT.
FOR SEVERAL YEARS SHE LIVED WITH HER GRANDDAUGHTER MRS. DODDS, IN NORTHFIELD, CARING FOR THE LITTLE ONES AS THE SWEET MISSION OF HER LATER LIFE.
HER DEATH WAS CALM, SHE "FELL ASLEEP" WITH A MIND CLEAR, AND HOPES BRIGHT AS THE MORNING. A FEW HOURS BEFORE HER DEPARTURE WE CALLED TO SEE HER. SHE WAS ASKED IF THE SAVIOR WAS CLOSE WITH HER. "OH YES." THE WORDS WERE REPEATED, "I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS." "YES," SHE RESPONDED, "FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING." SO SHE DIED IN FAITH.
TO THE GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT OF HUNDREDS, THE REMARKABLE SNOW STORM DEFEATED THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FUNERAL, SO THAT A FEW FRIENDS AND RELATIVES ONLY WERE PRESENT. BUT THE BEAUTIFUL PLAN FOR HER GRANDSONS TO BE HER BEARERS WAS CARRIED OUT, AND SHE WAS TAKEN TO WATERFORD FOR BURIAL BY THE SIDE OF HER HUSBAND. "HER CHILDREN RISE UP AND CALL HER BLESSED; HER HUSBAND ALSO, AND HE PRAISES HER. GIVE HER OF THE FRUIT OF HER HANDS, AND LET HER OWN WORKS PRAISE HER IN THE GATES." A. WILLEY.
====================================
In 1834, with daughters Sarah Strong Porter 3 yrs old and Sophia Hitchcock Porter 5 yrs old, Moses & Martha set out for the American west from New England. They traveled first by stagecoach in NY, then by the Erie Canal to Buffalo, then by sailing ship on Lake Erie, then using horse (or oxen) and wagon to Detroit.
The Porter family then went again by sailing boat on Lake St. Clair, then up the St. Clair River leading into Lake Huron, then up and across most of the length of Lake Huron, then down through Lake Michigan, landing in southern Wisconsin (or northern Illinois), and lastly southward by wagon into what was then Ft. Dearborn (now Chicago).
The much quicker land route to Chicago was far too wild and dangerous at that time, to travel through the Indian wilderness of Ohio, Michigan or Indiana to reach Chicago, so many pioneers (like our Porters), traveled for weeks on the Great Lakes, many ships sank in the horrible weather and many eastern folks lost their lives to 'go west'.
During the trip, on Mar 11, 1834, Martha delivered a baby they named Mary Williams Porter who lived only a day. Martha recalled how the ship's Captain, crew and passengers were all so kind and they put into shore, south of St. Clair, Michigan for the burial. Martha chose a lovely spot under the trees with a view of Lake Huron.
Then it was on to many more days for the Porter family, on the stormy seas on the Great Lakes. Soon afterwards in letters to family, Martha said she would never sail again, (and indeed she never did).
The first place that Moses, Martha, Sarah and Sophia settled in 1834, after coming from Massachusetts, would become the settlement of Batavia Twp. As a town, Batavia wasn't settled/started until a decade later in 1844.
Moses & Martha built a log cabin for the family of four. Batavia was in Kane County. Kane along with Will became counties when set off from (mostly) Cook County in 1836, the year AFTER the Porters came from New England.
Moses was the first practicing (but not the 1st resident) Physician for those frontier areas around Batavia and also Frankfort in Will County, IL. He continued being a Doctor as well as a Farmer for those first 10 years in Illinois.
Sept 1835- Martha gave birth to their last child and only son- Eleazar Porter who was born in the log cabin.
====================================
Martha Alvord Snell-Porter sent this letter from Illinois, in 1836, to her 21 year old sister- Sarah Snell.
"Well dear sister I hear that you have made a visit at Hadley and have now returned to our father's house in Brookfield.
I can easily imagine the movements of the family circle about these days--when Thomas is to introduce his lovely bride as another daughter in the home of my childhood.
Oh that I were there to bid her thrice welcome--but what did I say--rather let me welcome her from this distant land to the near and dear relatives of a sister twice told.
And when in the course of events, I visit that much loved home (if I ever should) may I find that this connexion is one, which will and does, shed around our dear Parents a gladdening influence as they advance in the evening of life. To you Sarah, I need not say--be kind to this sister--consult her happiness in little things, as well as great ones. Kindness, and kindness only, have I received from her or any of her family--kindness and kindness only, may she receive from ours."
The new bride referred to as the "sister twice told"- is Lucretia Porter who would become a sister (in law) when she married, (on May 16th 1836), Martha's brother- Thomas Snell born 1829. She would also be a sister because she was the sister of Martha Alvord Snell's husband- Moses Porter born 1799.
Martha Alvord Snell-Porter and Sarah Snell's father, referred to in the letter, is the Rev. Thomas Snell born 1774. Their mother was Tirzah Strong born 1780, daughter of Martha Alvord and Judah Strong. That is why Moses and Martha named their daughter Sarah Strong Porter.
====================================
Moses, Martha, Sarah, Sophia & Eleazar, stayed in the cabin in the Batavia area of Kane Co., until at least March of 1845 (when Eleazar died there).
Moses, Martha, Sarah & Sophia probably left soon after 1845, and made their way to the new town of Hadley in the SE quadrant of Homer Twp, Will Co., IL (less than 40 miles SE from Batavia). The village of Hadley still exists in Homer Twp., in Will County and is shown on an old map on Moses' memorial page.
1849- In Hadley Village, Homer Twp (Will Co), Moses & Martha's daughter Sarah married 'neighbor' John3 J. Simpson and moved a few miles away closer to Chicago, to farm in what would be part of newly formed (1850) Orland Twp, in Cook County.
Sarah Porter's new in laws-John2 & Elcy Simpson- had come with 5 children from Geneva, NY in 1835 and were among the first pioneers to settle what would become Homer Twp in Will County.
==============================
1850 fed. census for Homer (Twp), Will Co., IL Dec 3rd
------Moses Porter 51
----- wife Martha A 44
-----(dau) Sophia H. (Hitchcock) age 20
Moses is listed as a Physician with their land valued at $2,500.
On the next census page were Moses & Martha's son in law's parents= John2 Simpson and his wife(Elcy) Palmer-Simpson.
================================
Just after the new year in 1854, at only 25 years of age, Moses & Martha's daughter Sophia died in Orland Twp., though it's not known why she died. Sophia H. , along with brother Eleazar (who died in Batavia 9 years earlier), were buried in the small Hadley Cemetery within just miles of the Porters and the Simpson family farms.
On May 12, 1856, after more than a decade in Homer Twp, Will Co., IL, Moses & Martha packed up all their belongings once again and, by horse and wagon, followed their only living child- Sarah Strong Porter and her husband John3 Simpson, to farm near the new village of Waterford, MN.
After the establishment of the Minnesota Territory in 1849, Dakotah County (later Dakota County) spanned from the Mississippi River to the Missouri River. Minnesota achieved statehood in 1858--two years AFTER the Porters and the Simpsons broke virgin ground for their new family farms.
Moses & Martha Porter opened up a very large tract of land 2 miles NW of Waterford, still farmed into the 1980's by the son and daughters of Abbie Maria Simpson-Howland (who was Sarah's daughter- Moses & Martha's granddaughter). The Porters were prominent in the founding of that village.
The village of Waterford-which used to straddle the Greenvale/Waterford Twps line, is gone and Waterford is now an unincorporated community/town located northeast of the early village, only located in Waterford Twp.
The original homestead farm of John3 J. Simpson & Sarah's, (where the the last 7 of John2 & Sarah Porter's Simpson children were born), was in Greenvale Twp. It was north of Northfield City, about 2 miles NW of the Rice/Dakota county line and just across the twp line from Sarah's parents.
After giving up practicing medicine, (for the most part), Moses & wife Martha put all their efforts into running their large farm of livestock & crops. They farmed 4 miles from daughter Sarah & her husband John3 J. Simpson's farm until Moses died in 1876.
====================================
1857 MN, STATE Census, Twp #112 (Dakota Co)
------Moses Porter
------Martha Alvord
------Abbie F Snell (Martha's sister)
====================================
1870 FEDERAL census, Waterford, Dakota Co., MN
------Moses Porter
------Martha
(4 miles or so from daughter Sarah's family farm with John3 J. Simpson and the Porter's 7 grandchildren).
====================================
1875 MN TERRITORIAL census
-----Moses Porter
-----Martha
====================================
1876- Dr. Moses Porter died. He is buried at the Red Rose Cemetery.
====================================
1880 FEDERAL census, Waterford, Dakota County, MN
------Martha, age 74, widow, grandmother
------Charles Arthur Simpson (Martha & Moses' grandson, son of Sarah Strong Porter & husband John3 J. Simpson)
------Jennie (Charles' wife)
Still near farm of dau Sarah & her Simpson family.
====================================
By Dec of 1881, Martha had moved in with her granddaughter Sophia Isabella Simpson-Dodds and family (Dr. Robert Moffat Dodds and their children Martha Alice and newborn Robert Porter Dodds) in Winona, Winona Co., MN.
Sometime before she died, Martha moved back to live with her daughter Sarah & Sarah's Simpson family in Waterford.
====================================
Martha Alvord Snell died New Year's day in 1886.
====================================
Moses Porter & Martha Alvord Snell's children:
-----Martha Strong Porter born April 17, 1828 in Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA and died on July 24, 1831, Hadley, MA, @3yrs old;
-----Sarah Strong Porter born Oct 6, 1831 in Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA and died Mar 26, 1899 in Waterford Twp., Dakota Co., MN. Sarah married John3 J. Simpson born Aug 4, 1825 Geneva, Ontario Co., NY and died May 19, 1885 in Waterford Twp., Dakota Twp., MN. They had 10 children.
Sarah's Mayflower index # is 26889.
-----Sophia Hitchcock Porter born Dec 6, 1829 in Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA and died Jan 7, 1854, Orland Twp., Will Co., IL, @25yrs old;
-----Mary Williams Porter born and died May 11, 1834, on Lake Huron @ 1 day old. Buried near St Clair, on a hill, at the shore of either the St. Clair River or Lake Huron;
-----Eleazar Porter born Sept 13, 1835 in the area of Will/Kane Co., IL and died March 3, 1845 in Batavia, Kane Co., IL at just 9 & 1/2 years old.
====================================
Her obituary in the Rice County Journal, pub. Feb 13, 1886--
THE DEPARTURE OF THIS EXCELLENT WOMAN TO HER NEW HOME, "NOT MADE WITH HANDS" OCCURRED JANUARY 1, 1886, ON NEW YEAR'S EVENING. SHE EXCHANGED THE GREETINGS OF EARTHLY FRIENDS FOR THE JOYFUL WELCOME AND "HAPPY NEW YEAR" OF HEAVEN.
SHE HAD BEEN LONG SLOWLY DECLINING AND NOW THE TIME HAD COME TO GATHER IN "THE SHOCK OF CORN FULLY RIPE," AT THE AGE OF NEARLY EIGHTY.
SHE WAS BORN MARCH 5, 1806 IN NORTH BROOKFIELD, MASS., WHERE SHE GREW UP TO HOME INDUSTRY AND COMMON SCHOOLS, FINISHING HER EDUCATION AT AMHERST.
SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF THE REV. DR. SNELL, PASTOR OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS.
AND MOST BEAUTIFUL, SHE BECAME A CHRISTIAN WHEN TEN YEARS OLD, AND HER WHOLE LIFE WAS THAT OF ANOTHER MARTHA, ADORNED WITH EVERY CHRISTIAN VIRTUE.
SHE MARRIED DR. MOSES PORTER MAY 27, 1834, A CHRISTIAN YOUNG MAN OF EXCELLENCE. THEIR UNION WAS WITH WHOLE HEARTED AFFECTION, WHICH ONLY GREW RICHER TILL HIS DEATH IN 1876. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL TO HEAR HIM IN HIS LATER LIFE SO MANFULLY AND TENDERLY EXPRESS HIS APPRECIATION OF HER AS HIS "QUEEN."
IN 1834 THEY MOVED TO ILLINOIS AND IN 1856, ATTRACTED BY THE CLIMATE OF MINNESOTA, THEY CAME TO WATERFORD. THERE A LITTLE LOG HOUSE WAS THEIR HOME, BUT NO HOME WAS SWEETER. HER INTELLIGENT, STEADY MIND AND GOOD SENSE; HER INDUSTRY AND CARE; HER LARGE, WARM HEART ALWAYS ON THE OUTSIDE; HER CHEERFUL SMILE IN ALL CONDITIONS; CORDIAL HOSPITALITY AND "MEEK AND QUIET SPIRIT," ALL ADORNED A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN LIFE.
MRS. PORTER HAD SIX CHILDREN, ONE ONLY REMAINING, THE OTHERS DEPARTING IN EARLIER LIFE. ONE DIED ON THE VESSEL ON THE LAKE WHILE COMING WEST, AND THE CAPTAIN KINDLY GAVE IT BURIAL ON LANDING.
HER UNFALTERING CONFIDENCE IN HER SAVIOR CALMED EVERY TEMPEST, AND WAS THE FORTRESS OF HER STRENGTH FROM CHILDHOOD TO FOUR-SCORE. THEY, WITH A FEW NEIGHBORS, KEPT UP WEEKLY PRAYER MEETINGS AT THEIR HOME IN WATERFORD MANY EARLY YEARS. SHE WAS READY TO EVERY GOOD WORK. WHATSOEVER HER HAND COULD FIND TO DO FOR HUMAN WELFARE, WAS DONE WITH HER MIGHT TO THE FULL EXTENT OF HER ABILITY.
LIVING NEAR NORTHFIELD AND NOT HAVING RELIGIOUS ADVANTAGES IN WATERFORD, THEIR CHRISTIAN RELATIONS WERE HERE FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT.
FOR SEVERAL YEARS SHE LIVED WITH HER GRANDDAUGHTER MRS. DODDS, IN NORTHFIELD, CARING FOR THE LITTLE ONES AS THE SWEET MISSION OF HER LATER LIFE.
HER DEATH WAS CALM, SHE "FELL ASLEEP" WITH A MIND CLEAR, AND HOPES BRIGHT AS THE MORNING. A FEW HOURS BEFORE HER DEPARTURE WE CALLED TO SEE HER. SHE WAS ASKED IF THE SAVIOR WAS CLOSE WITH HER. "OH YES." THE WORDS WERE REPEATED, "I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS." "YES," SHE RESPONDED, "FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING." SO SHE DIED IN FAITH.
TO THE GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT OF HUNDREDS, THE REMARKABLE SNOW STORM DEFEATED THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FUNERAL, SO THAT A FEW FRIENDS AND RELATIVES ONLY WERE PRESENT. BUT THE BEAUTIFUL PLAN FOR HER GRANDSONS TO BE HER BEARERS WAS CARRIED OUT, AND SHE WAS TAKEN TO WATERFORD FOR BURIAL BY THE SIDE OF HER HUSBAND. "HER CHILDREN RISE UP AND CALL HER BLESSED; HER HUSBAND ALSO, AND HE PRAISES HER. GIVE HER OF THE FRUIT OF HER HANDS, AND LET HER OWN WORKS PRAISE HER IN THE GATES." A. WILLEY.
Moses Porter and Martha Alvord Snell were married June 8, 1827 in North Brookfield, Massachusetts.
====================================
In 1834, with daughters Sarah Strong Porter 3 yrs old and Sophia Hitchcock Porter 5 yrs old, Moses & Martha set out for the American west from New England. They traveled first by stagecoach in NY, then by the Erie Canal to Buffalo, then by sailing ship on Lake Erie, then using horse (or oxen) and wagon to Detroit.
The Porter family then went again by sailing boat on Lake St. Clair, then up the St. Clair River leading into Lake Huron, then up and across most of the length of Lake Huron, then down through Lake Michigan, landing in southern Wisconsin (or northern Illinois), and lastly southward by wagon into what was then Ft. Dearborn (now Chicago).
The much quicker land route to Chicago was far too wild and dangerous at that time, to travel through the Indian wilderness of Ohio, Michigan or Indiana to reach Chicago, so many pioneers (like our Porters), traveled for weeks on the Great Lakes, many ships sank in the horrible weather and many eastern folks lost their lives to 'go west'.
During the trip, on Mar 11, 1834, Martha delivered a baby they named Mary Williams Porter who lived only a day. Martha recalled how the ship's Captain, crew and passengers were all so kind and they put into shore, south of St. Clair, Michigan for the burial. Martha chose a lovely spot under the trees with a view of Lake Huron.
Then it was on to many more days for the Porter family, on the stormy seas on the Great Lakes. Soon afterwards in letters to family, Martha said she would never sail again, (and indeed she never did).
The first place that Moses, Martha, Sarah and Sophia settled in 1834, after coming from Massachusetts, would become the settlement of Batavia Twp. As a town, Batavia wasn't settled/started until a decade later in 1844.
Moses & Martha built a log cabin for the family of four. Batavia was in Kane County. Kane along with Will became counties when set off from (mostly) Cook County in 1836, the year AFTER the Porters came from New England.
Moses was the first practicing (but not the 1st resident) Physician for those frontier areas around Batavia and also Frankfort in Will County, IL. He continued being a Doctor as well as a Farmer for those first 10 years in Illinois.
Sept 1835- Martha gave birth to their last child and only son- Eleazar Porter who was born in the log cabin.
====================================
Martha Alvord Snell-Porter sent this letter from Illinois, in 1836, to her 21 year old sister- Sarah Snell.
"Well dear sister I hear that you have made a visit at Hadley and have now returned to our father's house in Brookfield.
I can easily imagine the movements of the family circle about these days--when Thomas is to introduce his lovely bride as another daughter in the home of my childhood.
Oh that I were there to bid her thrice welcome--but what did I say--rather let me welcome her from this distant land to the near and dear relatives of a sister twice told.
And when in the course of events, I visit that much loved home (if I ever should) may I find that this connexion is one, which will and does, shed around our dear Parents a gladdening influence as they advance in the evening of life. To you Sarah, I need not say--be kind to this sister--consult her happiness in little things, as well as great ones. Kindness, and kindness only, have I received from her or any of her family--kindness and kindness only, may she receive from ours."
The new bride referred to as the "sister twice told"- is Lucretia Porter who would become a sister (in law) when she married, (on May 16th 1836), Martha's brother- Thomas Snell born 1829. She would also be a sister because she was the sister of Martha Alvord Snell's husband- Moses Porter born 1799.
Martha Alvord Snell-Porter and Sarah Snell's father, referred to in the letter, is the Rev. Thomas Snell born 1774. Their mother was Tirzah Strong born 1780, daughter of Martha Alvord and Judah Strong. That is why Moses and Martha named their daughter Sarah Strong Porter.
====================================
Moses, Martha, Sarah, Sophia & Eleazar, stayed in the cabin in the Batavia area of Kane Co., until at least March of 1845 (when Eleazar died there).
Moses, Martha, Sarah & Sophia probably left soon after 1845, and made their way to the new town of Hadley in the SE quadrant of Homer Twp, Will Co., IL (less than 40 miles SE from Batavia). The village of Hadley still exists in Homer Twp., in Will County and is shown on an old map on Moses' memorial page.
1849- In Hadley Village, Homer Twp (Will Co), Moses & Martha's daughter Sarah married 'neighbor' John3 J. Simpson and moved a few miles away closer to Chicago, to farm in what would be part of newly formed (1850) Orland Twp, in Cook County.
Sarah Porter's new in laws-John2 & Elcy Simpson- had come with 5 children from Geneva, NY in 1835 and were among the first pioneers to settle what would become Homer Twp in Will County.
==============================
1850 fed. census for Homer (Twp), Will Co., IL Dec 3rd
------Moses Porter 51
----- wife Martha A 44
-----(dau) Sophia H. (Hitchcock) age 20
Moses is listed as a Physician with their land valued at $2,500.
On the next census page were Moses & Martha's son in law's parents= John2 Simpson and his wife(Elcy) Palmer-Simpson.
================================
Just after the new year in 1854, at only 25 years of age, Moses & Martha's daughter Sophia died in Orland Twp., though it's not known why she died. Sophia H. , along with brother Eleazar (who died in Batavia 9 years earlier), were buried in the small Hadley Cemetery within just miles of the Porters and the Simpson family farms.
On May 12, 1856, after more than a decade in Homer Twp, Will Co., IL, Moses & Martha packed up all their belongings once again and, by horse and wagon, followed their only living child- Sarah Strong Porter and her husband John3 Simpson, to farm near the new village of Waterford, MN.
After the establishment of the Minnesota Territory in 1849, Dakotah County (later Dakota County) spanned from the Mississippi River to the Missouri River. Minnesota achieved statehood in 1858--two years AFTER the Porters and the Simpsons broke virgin ground for their new family farms.
Moses & Martha Porter opened up a very large tract of land 2 miles NW of Waterford, still farmed into the 1980's by the son and daughters of Abbie Maria Simpson-Howland (who was Sarah's daughter- Moses & Martha's granddaughter). The Porters were prominent in the founding of that village.
The village of Waterford-which used to straddle the Greenvale/Waterford Twps line, is gone and Waterford is now an unincorporated community/town located northeast of the early village, only located in Waterford Twp.
The original homestead farm of John3 J. Simpson & Sarah's, (where the the last 7 of John2 & Sarah Porter's Simpson children were born), was in Greenvale Twp. It was north of Northfield City, about 2 miles NW of the Rice/Dakota county line and just across the twp line from Sarah's parents.
After giving up practicing medicine, (for the most part), Moses & wife Martha put all their efforts into running their large farm of livestock & crops. They farmed 4 miles from daughter Sarah & her husband John3 J. Simpson's farm until Moses died in 1876.
====================================
1857 MN, STATE Census, Twp #112 (Dakota Co)
------Moses Porter
------Martha Alvord
------Abbie F Snell (Martha's sister)
====================================
1870 FEDERAL census, Waterford, Dakota Co., MN
------Moses Porter
------Martha
(4 miles or so from daughter Sarah's family farm with John3 J. Simpson and the Porter's 7 grandchildren).
====================================
1875 MN TERRITORIAL census
-----Moses Porter
-----Martha
====================================
1876- Dr. Moses Porter died. He is buried at the Red Rose Cemetery.
====================================
1880 FEDERAL census, Waterford, Dakota County, MN
------Martha, age 74, widow, grandmother
------Charles Arthur Simpson (Martha & Moses' grandson, son of Sarah Strong Porter & husband John3 J. Simpson)
------Jennie (Charles' wife)
Still near farm of dau Sarah & her Simpson family.
====================================
By Dec of 1881, Martha had moved in with her granddaughter Sophia Isabella Simpson-Dodds and family (Dr. Robert Moffat Dodds and their children Martha Alice and newborn Robert Porter Dodds) in Winona, Winona Co., MN.
Sometime before she died, Martha moved back to live with her daughter Sarah & Sarah's Simpson family in Waterford.
====================================
Martha Alvord Snell died New Year's day in 1886.
====================================
Moses Porter & Martha Alvord Snell's children:
-----Martha Strong Porter born April 17, 1828 in Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA and died on July 24, 1831, Hadley, MA, @3yrs old;
-----Sarah Strong Porter born Oct 6, 1831 in Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA and died Mar 26, 1899 in Waterford Twp., Dakota Co., MN. Sarah married John3 J. Simpson born Aug 4, 1825 Geneva, Ontario Co., NY and died May 19, 1885 in Waterford Twp., Dakota Twp., MN. They had 10 children.
Sarah's Mayflower index # is 26889.
-----Sophia Hitchcock Porter born Dec 6, 1829 in Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA and died Jan 7, 1854, Orland Twp., Will Co., IL, @25yrs old;
-----Mary Williams Porter born and died May 11, 1834, on Lake Huron @ 1 day old. Buried near St Clair, on a hill, at the shore of either the St. Clair River or Lake Huron;
-----Eleazar Porter born Sept 13, 1835 in the area of Will/Kane Co., IL and died March 3, 1845 in Batavia, Kane Co., IL at just 9 & 1/2 years old.
====================================
Her obituary in the Rice County Journal, pub. Feb 13, 1886--
THE DEPARTURE OF THIS EXCELLENT WOMAN TO HER NEW HOME, "NOT MADE WITH HANDS" OCCURRED JANUARY 1, 1886, ON NEW YEAR'S EVENING. SHE EXCHANGED THE GREETINGS OF EARTHLY FRIENDS FOR THE JOYFUL WELCOME AND "HAPPY NEW YEAR" OF HEAVEN.
SHE HAD BEEN LONG SLOWLY DECLINING AND NOW THE TIME HAD COME TO GATHER IN "THE SHOCK OF CORN FULLY RIPE," AT THE AGE OF NEARLY EIGHTY.
SHE WAS BORN MARCH 5, 1806 IN NORTH BROOKFIELD, MASS., WHERE SHE GREW UP TO HOME INDUSTRY AND COMMON SCHOOLS, FINISHING HER EDUCATION AT AMHERST.
SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF THE REV. DR. SNELL, PASTOR OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS.
AND MOST BEAUTIFUL, SHE BECAME A CHRISTIAN WHEN TEN YEARS OLD, AND HER WHOLE LIFE WAS THAT OF ANOTHER MARTHA, ADORNED WITH EVERY CHRISTIAN VIRTUE.
SHE MARRIED DR. MOSES PORTER MAY 27, 1834, A CHRISTIAN YOUNG MAN OF EXCELLENCE. THEIR UNION WAS WITH WHOLE HEARTED AFFECTION, WHICH ONLY GREW RICHER TILL HIS DEATH IN 1876. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL TO HEAR HIM IN HIS LATER LIFE SO MANFULLY AND TENDERLY EXPRESS HIS APPRECIATION OF HER AS HIS "QUEEN."
IN 1834 THEY MOVED TO ILLINOIS AND IN 1856, ATTRACTED BY THE CLIMATE OF MINNESOTA, THEY CAME TO WATERFORD. THERE A LITTLE LOG HOUSE WAS THEIR HOME, BUT NO HOME WAS SWEETER. HER INTELLIGENT, STEADY MIND AND GOOD SENSE; HER INDUSTRY AND CARE; HER LARGE, WARM HEART ALWAYS ON THE OUTSIDE; HER CHEERFUL SMILE IN ALL CONDITIONS; CORDIAL HOSPITALITY AND "MEEK AND QUIET SPIRIT," ALL ADORNED A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN LIFE.
MRS. PORTER HAD SIX CHILDREN, ONE ONLY REMAINING, THE OTHERS DEPARTING IN EARLIER LIFE. ONE DIED ON THE VESSEL ON THE LAKE WHILE COMING WEST, AND THE CAPTAIN KINDLY GAVE IT BURIAL ON LANDING.
HER UNFALTERING CONFIDENCE IN HER SAVIOR CALMED EVERY TEMPEST, AND WAS THE FORTRESS OF HER STRENGTH FROM CHILDHOOD TO FOUR-SCORE. THEY, WITH A FEW NEIGHBORS, KEPT UP WEEKLY PRAYER MEETINGS AT THEIR HOME IN WATERFORD MANY EARLY YEARS. SHE WAS READY TO EVERY GOOD WORK. WHATSOEVER HER HAND COULD FIND TO DO FOR HUMAN WELFARE, WAS DONE WITH HER MIGHT TO THE FULL EXTENT OF HER ABILITY.
LIVING NEAR NORTHFIELD AND NOT HAVING RELIGIOUS ADVANTAGES IN WATERFORD, THEIR CHRISTIAN RELATIONS WERE HERE FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT.
FOR SEVERAL YEARS SHE LIVED WITH HER GRANDDAUGHTER MRS. DODDS, IN NORTHFIELD, CARING FOR THE LITTLE ONES AS THE SWEET MISSION OF HER LATER LIFE.
HER DEATH WAS CALM, SHE "FELL ASLEEP" WITH A MIND CLEAR, AND HOPES BRIGHT AS THE MORNING. A FEW HOURS BEFORE HER DEPARTURE WE CALLED TO SEE HER. SHE WAS ASKED IF THE SAVIOR WAS CLOSE WITH HER. "OH YES." THE WORDS WERE REPEATED, "I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS." "YES," SHE RESPONDED, "FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING." SO SHE DIED IN FAITH.
TO THE GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT OF HUNDREDS, THE REMARKABLE SNOW STORM DEFEATED THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FUNERAL, SO THAT A FEW FRIENDS AND RELATIVES ONLY WERE PRESENT. BUT THE BEAUTIFUL PLAN FOR HER GRANDSONS TO BE HER BEARERS WAS CARRIED OUT, AND SHE WAS TAKEN TO WATERFORD FOR BURIAL BY THE SIDE OF HER HUSBAND. "HER CHILDREN RISE UP AND CALL HER BLESSED; HER HUSBAND ALSO, AND HE PRAISES HER. GIVE HER OF THE FRUIT OF HER HANDS, AND LET HER OWN WORKS PRAISE HER IN THE GATES." A. WILLEY.
====================================
In 1834, with daughters Sarah Strong Porter 3 yrs old and Sophia Hitchcock Porter 5 yrs old, Moses & Martha set out for the American west from New England. They traveled first by stagecoach in NY, then by the Erie Canal to Buffalo, then by sailing ship on Lake Erie, then using horse (or oxen) and wagon to Detroit.
The Porter family then went again by sailing boat on Lake St. Clair, then up the St. Clair River leading into Lake Huron, then up and across most of the length of Lake Huron, then down through Lake Michigan, landing in southern Wisconsin (or northern Illinois), and lastly southward by wagon into what was then Ft. Dearborn (now Chicago).
The much quicker land route to Chicago was far too wild and dangerous at that time, to travel through the Indian wilderness of Ohio, Michigan or Indiana to reach Chicago, so many pioneers (like our Porters), traveled for weeks on the Great Lakes, many ships sank in the horrible weather and many eastern folks lost their lives to 'go west'.
During the trip, on Mar 11, 1834, Martha delivered a baby they named Mary Williams Porter who lived only a day. Martha recalled how the ship's Captain, crew and passengers were all so kind and they put into shore, south of St. Clair, Michigan for the burial. Martha chose a lovely spot under the trees with a view of Lake Huron.
Then it was on to many more days for the Porter family, on the stormy seas on the Great Lakes. Soon afterwards in letters to family, Martha said she would never sail again, (and indeed she never did).
The first place that Moses, Martha, Sarah and Sophia settled in 1834, after coming from Massachusetts, would become the settlement of Batavia Twp. As a town, Batavia wasn't settled/started until a decade later in 1844.
Moses & Martha built a log cabin for the family of four. Batavia was in Kane County. Kane along with Will became counties when set off from (mostly) Cook County in 1836, the year AFTER the Porters came from New England.
Moses was the first practicing (but not the 1st resident) Physician for those frontier areas around Batavia and also Frankfort in Will County, IL. He continued being a Doctor as well as a Farmer for those first 10 years in Illinois.
Sept 1835- Martha gave birth to their last child and only son- Eleazar Porter who was born in the log cabin.
====================================
Martha Alvord Snell-Porter sent this letter from Illinois, in 1836, to her 21 year old sister- Sarah Snell.
"Well dear sister I hear that you have made a visit at Hadley and have now returned to our father's house in Brookfield.
I can easily imagine the movements of the family circle about these days--when Thomas is to introduce his lovely bride as another daughter in the home of my childhood.
Oh that I were there to bid her thrice welcome--but what did I say--rather let me welcome her from this distant land to the near and dear relatives of a sister twice told.
And when in the course of events, I visit that much loved home (if I ever should) may I find that this connexion is one, which will and does, shed around our dear Parents a gladdening influence as they advance in the evening of life. To you Sarah, I need not say--be kind to this sister--consult her happiness in little things, as well as great ones. Kindness, and kindness only, have I received from her or any of her family--kindness and kindness only, may she receive from ours."
The new bride referred to as the "sister twice told"- is Lucretia Porter who would become a sister (in law) when she married, (on May 16th 1836), Martha's brother- Thomas Snell born 1829. She would also be a sister because she was the sister of Martha Alvord Snell's husband- Moses Porter born 1799.
Martha Alvord Snell-Porter and Sarah Snell's father, referred to in the letter, is the Rev. Thomas Snell born 1774. Their mother was Tirzah Strong born 1780, daughter of Martha Alvord and Judah Strong. That is why Moses and Martha named their daughter Sarah Strong Porter.
====================================
Moses, Martha, Sarah, Sophia & Eleazar, stayed in the cabin in the Batavia area of Kane Co., until at least March of 1845 (when Eleazar died there).
Moses, Martha, Sarah & Sophia probably left soon after 1845, and made their way to the new town of Hadley in the SE quadrant of Homer Twp, Will Co., IL (less than 40 miles SE from Batavia). The village of Hadley still exists in Homer Twp., in Will County and is shown on an old map on Moses' memorial page.
1849- In Hadley Village, Homer Twp (Will Co), Moses & Martha's daughter Sarah married 'neighbor' John3 J. Simpson and moved a few miles away closer to Chicago, to farm in what would be part of newly formed (1850) Orland Twp, in Cook County.
Sarah Porter's new in laws-John2 & Elcy Simpson- had come with 5 children from Geneva, NY in 1835 and were among the first pioneers to settle what would become Homer Twp in Will County.
==============================
1850 fed. census for Homer (Twp), Will Co., IL Dec 3rd
------Moses Porter 51
----- wife Martha A 44
-----(dau) Sophia H. (Hitchcock) age 20
Moses is listed as a Physician with their land valued at $2,500.
On the next census page were Moses & Martha's son in law's parents= John2 Simpson and his wife(Elcy) Palmer-Simpson.
================================
Just after the new year in 1854, at only 25 years of age, Moses & Martha's daughter Sophia died in Orland Twp., though it's not known why she died. Sophia H. , along with brother Eleazar (who died in Batavia 9 years earlier), were buried in the small Hadley Cemetery within just miles of the Porters and the Simpson family farms.
On May 12, 1856, after more than a decade in Homer Twp, Will Co., IL, Moses & Martha packed up all their belongings once again and, by horse and wagon, followed their only living child- Sarah Strong Porter and her husband John3 Simpson, to farm near the new village of Waterford, MN.
After the establishment of the Minnesota Territory in 1849, Dakotah County (later Dakota County) spanned from the Mississippi River to the Missouri River. Minnesota achieved statehood in 1858--two years AFTER the Porters and the Simpsons broke virgin ground for their new family farms.
Moses & Martha Porter opened up a very large tract of land 2 miles NW of Waterford, still farmed into the 1980's by the son and daughters of Abbie Maria Simpson-Howland (who was Sarah's daughter- Moses & Martha's granddaughter). The Porters were prominent in the founding of that village.
The village of Waterford-which used to straddle the Greenvale/Waterford Twps line, is gone and Waterford is now an unincorporated community/town located northeast of the early village, only located in Waterford Twp.
The original homestead farm of John3 J. Simpson & Sarah's, (where the the last 7 of John2 & Sarah Porter's Simpson children were born), was in Greenvale Twp. It was north of Northfield City, about 2 miles NW of the Rice/Dakota county line and just across the twp line from Sarah's parents.
After giving up practicing medicine, (for the most part), Moses & wife Martha put all their efforts into running their large farm of livestock & crops. They farmed 4 miles from daughter Sarah & her husband John3 J. Simpson's farm until Moses died in 1876.
====================================
1857 MN, STATE Census, Twp #112 (Dakota Co)
------Moses Porter
------Martha Alvord
------Abbie F Snell (Martha's sister)
====================================
1870 FEDERAL census, Waterford, Dakota Co., MN
------Moses Porter
------Martha
(4 miles or so from daughter Sarah's family farm with John3 J. Simpson and the Porter's 7 grandchildren).
====================================
1875 MN TERRITORIAL census
-----Moses Porter
-----Martha
====================================
1876- Dr. Moses Porter died. He is buried at the Red Rose Cemetery.
====================================
1880 FEDERAL census, Waterford, Dakota County, MN
------Martha, age 74, widow, grandmother
------Charles Arthur Simpson (Martha & Moses' grandson, son of Sarah Strong Porter & husband John3 J. Simpson)
------Jennie (Charles' wife)
Still near farm of dau Sarah & her Simpson family.
====================================
By Dec of 1881, Martha had moved in with her granddaughter Sophia Isabella Simpson-Dodds and family (Dr. Robert Moffat Dodds and their children Martha Alice and newborn Robert Porter Dodds) in Winona, Winona Co., MN.
Sometime before she died, Martha moved back to live with her daughter Sarah & Sarah's Simpson family in Waterford.
====================================
Martha Alvord Snell died New Year's day in 1886.
====================================
Moses Porter & Martha Alvord Snell's children:
-----Martha Strong Porter born April 17, 1828 in Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA and died on July 24, 1831, Hadley, MA, @3yrs old;
-----Sarah Strong Porter born Oct 6, 1831 in Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA and died Mar 26, 1899 in Waterford Twp., Dakota Co., MN. Sarah married John3 J. Simpson born Aug 4, 1825 Geneva, Ontario Co., NY and died May 19, 1885 in Waterford Twp., Dakota Twp., MN. They had 10 children.
Sarah's Mayflower index # is 26889.
-----Sophia Hitchcock Porter born Dec 6, 1829 in Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA and died Jan 7, 1854, Orland Twp., Will Co., IL, @25yrs old;
-----Mary Williams Porter born and died May 11, 1834, on Lake Huron @ 1 day old. Buried near St Clair, on a hill, at the shore of either the St. Clair River or Lake Huron;
-----Eleazar Porter born Sept 13, 1835 in the area of Will/Kane Co., IL and died March 3, 1845 in Batavia, Kane Co., IL at just 9 & 1/2 years old.
====================================
Her obituary in the Rice County Journal, pub. Feb 13, 1886--
THE DEPARTURE OF THIS EXCELLENT WOMAN TO HER NEW HOME, "NOT MADE WITH HANDS" OCCURRED JANUARY 1, 1886, ON NEW YEAR'S EVENING. SHE EXCHANGED THE GREETINGS OF EARTHLY FRIENDS FOR THE JOYFUL WELCOME AND "HAPPY NEW YEAR" OF HEAVEN.
SHE HAD BEEN LONG SLOWLY DECLINING AND NOW THE TIME HAD COME TO GATHER IN "THE SHOCK OF CORN FULLY RIPE," AT THE AGE OF NEARLY EIGHTY.
SHE WAS BORN MARCH 5, 1806 IN NORTH BROOKFIELD, MASS., WHERE SHE GREW UP TO HOME INDUSTRY AND COMMON SCHOOLS, FINISHING HER EDUCATION AT AMHERST.
SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF THE REV. DR. SNELL, PASTOR OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS.
AND MOST BEAUTIFUL, SHE BECAME A CHRISTIAN WHEN TEN YEARS OLD, AND HER WHOLE LIFE WAS THAT OF ANOTHER MARTHA, ADORNED WITH EVERY CHRISTIAN VIRTUE.
SHE MARRIED DR. MOSES PORTER MAY 27, 1834, A CHRISTIAN YOUNG MAN OF EXCELLENCE. THEIR UNION WAS WITH WHOLE HEARTED AFFECTION, WHICH ONLY GREW RICHER TILL HIS DEATH IN 1876. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL TO HEAR HIM IN HIS LATER LIFE SO MANFULLY AND TENDERLY EXPRESS HIS APPRECIATION OF HER AS HIS "QUEEN."
IN 1834 THEY MOVED TO ILLINOIS AND IN 1856, ATTRACTED BY THE CLIMATE OF MINNESOTA, THEY CAME TO WATERFORD. THERE A LITTLE LOG HOUSE WAS THEIR HOME, BUT NO HOME WAS SWEETER. HER INTELLIGENT, STEADY MIND AND GOOD SENSE; HER INDUSTRY AND CARE; HER LARGE, WARM HEART ALWAYS ON THE OUTSIDE; HER CHEERFUL SMILE IN ALL CONDITIONS; CORDIAL HOSPITALITY AND "MEEK AND QUIET SPIRIT," ALL ADORNED A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN LIFE.
MRS. PORTER HAD SIX CHILDREN, ONE ONLY REMAINING, THE OTHERS DEPARTING IN EARLIER LIFE. ONE DIED ON THE VESSEL ON THE LAKE WHILE COMING WEST, AND THE CAPTAIN KINDLY GAVE IT BURIAL ON LANDING.
HER UNFALTERING CONFIDENCE IN HER SAVIOR CALMED EVERY TEMPEST, AND WAS THE FORTRESS OF HER STRENGTH FROM CHILDHOOD TO FOUR-SCORE. THEY, WITH A FEW NEIGHBORS, KEPT UP WEEKLY PRAYER MEETINGS AT THEIR HOME IN WATERFORD MANY EARLY YEARS. SHE WAS READY TO EVERY GOOD WORK. WHATSOEVER HER HAND COULD FIND TO DO FOR HUMAN WELFARE, WAS DONE WITH HER MIGHT TO THE FULL EXTENT OF HER ABILITY.
LIVING NEAR NORTHFIELD AND NOT HAVING RELIGIOUS ADVANTAGES IN WATERFORD, THEIR CHRISTIAN RELATIONS WERE HERE FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT.
FOR SEVERAL YEARS SHE LIVED WITH HER GRANDDAUGHTER MRS. DODDS, IN NORTHFIELD, CARING FOR THE LITTLE ONES AS THE SWEET MISSION OF HER LATER LIFE.
HER DEATH WAS CALM, SHE "FELL ASLEEP" WITH A MIND CLEAR, AND HOPES BRIGHT AS THE MORNING. A FEW HOURS BEFORE HER DEPARTURE WE CALLED TO SEE HER. SHE WAS ASKED IF THE SAVIOR WAS CLOSE WITH HER. "OH YES." THE WORDS WERE REPEATED, "I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS." "YES," SHE RESPONDED, "FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING." SO SHE DIED IN FAITH.
TO THE GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT OF HUNDREDS, THE REMARKABLE SNOW STORM DEFEATED THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FUNERAL, SO THAT A FEW FRIENDS AND RELATIVES ONLY WERE PRESENT. BUT THE BEAUTIFUL PLAN FOR HER GRANDSONS TO BE HER BEARERS WAS CARRIED OUT, AND SHE WAS TAKEN TO WATERFORD FOR BURIAL BY THE SIDE OF HER HUSBAND. "HER CHILDREN RISE UP AND CALL HER BLESSED; HER HUSBAND ALSO, AND HE PRAISES HER. GIVE HER OF THE FRUIT OF HER HANDS, AND LET HER OWN WORKS PRAISE HER IN THE GATES." A. WILLEY.
Family Members
Siblings
