Henry William PORTER, born 13 Nov 1824, Bethnal Green

[John Johnston]

Hi Dennis,
I'm interested to learn that George Henry Porter is your great-grandfather.
Information was obtained by searching on Ancestry and FindMyPast.
I'm researching his niece Sarah Ann Porter who married Edward Featon in New Zealand.
Details as follows:
Descendants of Sarah Hannah Porter (sister of your George Henry Porter)
----------------------------------
1-Sarah Hannah Porter b. 15 Apr 1821, Highbury, Hornsey, Middlesex, c. 27 May
  1821, Salem Chapel, Highgate, London, d. Jul 1874, Mile End, Old Town, London
 + Henry William Porter b. 13 Nov 1824, Bethnal Green, Middlesex, c. 7 Feb
  1826, St Matthew, Bethnal Green, m. 20 May 1846, St Mary Stratford Bow,
  Parish of Bow, Middlesex, par. William Porter and Sarah Ann Hunt
|--2-Sarah Ann Porter b. 14 Jul 1847, St George in the East, Middlesex, c. 5
|    Sep 1847, St George in the East, Middlesex, d. 28 Apr 1927, Gisborne, New
|    Zealand, Bur. 29 Apr 1927, Makaraka Cemetery, Brethren
|   + Edward Henry Featon b. 21 May 1840, St Anne Limehouse, Middlesex, c. 10
|    Jun 1840, St Anne Limehouse, Middlesex, m. 17 Mar 1870, St Paul's Church,
|    Auckland, New Zealand, d. 22 Jun 1909, Gisborne, New Zealand, Bur. 23 Jun
|    1909, Makaraka Cemetery, par. John Featon and Mary Ann Read
|--2-Henry Robert Porter b. 20 Apr 1849, Bethnal Green, Middlesex, c. 17 Jun
|    1849, St Matthew, Bethnal Green, d. 1917, Cardiff. Glamorgan, Wales
|   + Jane Bridger b. 1855, St Ives, Cornwall, c. 20 Jul 1855, St Ives,
|    Cornwall, m. 26 Oct 1879, Registry Office, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales, d.
|    1940, Cardiff. Glamorgan, Wales, Bur. 11a, 843, par. George Bridger and
|    Jane James
|--2-Alice Esther Porter b. 12 May 1851, Holborn, Middlesex, c. 1 Jun 1851, St
|    Matthew, Bethnal Green, d. Dec 1946
|   + Henry James William Harris b. Oct 1856, Clerkenwell, Middlesex, m. 26 Sep
|    1880, Harrow Green Holy Trinity, West Ham, Essex, d. Dec 1934, West Ham,
|    Essex, par. Henry Harris and Emma Catherine Corbett
|--2-William Charles Porter b. 7 Apr 1853, St Matthew, Bethnal Green, c. 28 Aug
|    1853, St Matthew, Bethnal Green, d. 16 Jun 1929, Stawell, Victoria,
|    Australia
    + Emmeline Florence Lee m. Feb 1881, Auckland

It is thought that niece Sarah was educated by an uncle, possibly your George Henry Porter, who encouraged her to paint.
If you have any information about her I would be pleased to hear.
Thanks, John

[Dennis Harvey]

Thanks for your prompt reply and for the information!

One of the initial reasons i subscribed to Ancestry was to locate where my grandfather, William Herbert Porter, was born and to find about about his family. He died when my mother was 12.

It was a DNA test and link which enabled me to gain this information through a connection to one of his brother's great-grandsons. Similarly the DNA test have linked me to Sarah Porter's descendants, the Emms family.

I am intrigued by the reference to paper by Philip Alilngham presented to the Gisborne Philosophical society and particularly to a painting by the Rev Edward Porter. Do you have copy of this paper as i cannot locate this on the Internet? I doubt the painting still exists but i wonder how he was aware of this?

I attended the annual Noel Teulon Porter memorial lecture at the Goldhill Museum this year and copied the papers they have about him. Not a great revelation but one of two interesting insights into his life in .There is about 9/10 boxes of papers in the Cambridge University library which, post pandemic, I hope t review.

What is your connection or interest in Sarah Porter?
 

[John Johnston]

I am researching Sarah Ann Featon (née Porter) as my wife is working on an exhibition of her botanical art work and the Album she and her husband produced and is also writing a history of Sarah's time in New Zealand. Most of her paintings are held in Te Papa, our national museum.

Phillip Allingham's 1959 presentation is held by the Tairawhiti Museum in Gisborne. It is more about Sarah Featon's art and has little personal information apart from the details already mentioned in this thread. Unfortunately we haven't been able to trace the paintings mentioned.

We haven't been able to find any of the Porter family in the 1861 census, this remains a mystery to us as well as what happened to Sarah's father, Henry William Porter, born 13 Nov 1824, Bethnal Green.

[Dennis Harvey]

The license of another pub was transferred to Henry in 1851  - see link

https://pubwiki.co.uk/LondonPubs/Holborn/Greyhound.shtml

On Ancestry, there's a professional genealogist in Australia who has been researching Henry and who has posted some details.

Although clearly the branches of the family diverged, there's a possibility Noel Teulon Porter's papers may have send some light on the Porter family background.

Sarah's great-grandfather - George Lawford - was a bookbinder whose business was based on Oxford Street.

There's probably more to find out at the London Metropolitan archive and in Tower Hamlets, but having lived in East London for many years, I now live in County Durham. This research will have to wait until circumstances change in the pandemic.

You're probably in contact with the Emms family. If not I can forward some details.

There's a hint on Ancestry for a a Henry William Porter which is for a death registered in Australia. It seems to match, but I cannot get access to the whole record as I do not have worldwide membership. Similarly under Sarah's brother, William Charles, there's a hint about how he entered Australia. Do you know how he came to New Zealand?

There's a very interesting history for Sarah's great-grandfather Edward Porter's brother George and how he was sent as a convict to Australia and his subsequent life in Tasmania. I suspect that is the subject of the current professional research.

Best wishes to your wife on her project- I'll be interested in the finished work! I've ordered a reprint of the work and hope to visit the British Museum to see the original given to Queen Vic.



 

[John Johnston]

Happy New Year to you and yours.

Thanks for your best wishes. It looks like we are "on the same page" with our research. The Australian researcher (gschenery) you mention is our relative and we have been working together on this project.

Sarah Ann Featon's brother, William Charles Porter born 7 April 1853, Bethnal Green, Middlesex, married Emmeline Florence Lee Feb. 1881, Auckland, New Zealand.
They had a daughter Alice Florence Porter born 1882, died 1883, Auckland.
From various records, it seems William arrived at Port Chalmers (Dunedin) 24 October 1872 on board the "May Queen" (which made 16 voyages to New Zealand). Possibly he worked on the goldfields for a time before going to Auckland to be a tobacconist. In 1878-1879 he is recorded at Victoria Street Intersects., Auckland, as Allen & Porter, Tobacconists.

It would be great if you could get to trace and picture the Album that was sent to Queen Victoria in 1897. A casket made from New Zealand native woods was made by the local Mayor. It may still be there in the British Museum.

Yes, we have been in touch with the Emms family who are supporting the exhibition.

You might like to send us your email address by private message.

[John Johnston]

I have not found this family in the usual 1861 London census records, but have been given an intriguing reference in The Genealogist site to a George Porter, 25, whose profession is a chronometer salesman. Could he be George Henry Porter b ca 1829? I could not see this person in the usual sites.

Also a Maria Porter who might be his sister. No Robert Porter with an occupation similar to an accountant or financial secretary.

I hope I am not breaking any rules by asking but would it be possible to confirm this? More details of this household in 1861 would be much appreciated.

Thankyou.