James Madison Porter

James Madison Porter

James Madison Porter (born January 6, 1793 in Norristown , Pennsylvania , † November 11, 1862 in Easton , Pennsylvania) was the 18th Secretary of War of the United States and a founder of Lafayette College .

Life

Porter was born on January 6, 1793 near Norristown, Pennsylvania . As a child, he was first homeschooled and later attended Norristown Academy .

In 1809 he began to study law in a law firm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania . Then he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , where he worked from 1812 as a clerk in a prothonotary's office.

He was involved in the formation and organization of the crew for Fort Mifflin , in this volunteer militia company he was promoted to the rank of colonel.

In 1813 he was appointed Attorney General of Northampton County, Pennsylvania , and in 1821 married Eliza Michler (1803–1866).

Porter was involved in founding Lafayette College and was president of a board of trustees from 1826 to 1852 , and from 1837 to 1852 professor of law and economics.

In 1839 he was appointed presiding judge of the twelfth judicial district.

In 1843, President John Tyler named him Secretary of War of the United States. Porter served in this office for about eleven months.

In the years that followed his time as Secretary of War, Porter was elected to the legislature in 1849, chaired the Judiciary Committee, and served as presiding judge of the Twentieth Judicial District from 1853 to 1855.

Around the same time, Porter was president of two railroad companies, the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Company between 1847 and 1856, and the Belvidere Delaware Railroad .

He died on November 11, 1862 in Easton, Pennsylvania . Porter was buried in Easton Cemetery in Easton, Pennsylvania, where his wife Eliza, who died on March 2, 1866, was also buried.

Web links

• James Madison Porter in the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)
• Biography on www.army.mil (English)
• James Madison Porter Society (English)