Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Porter family
Title:	Porter Family Papers
Inclusive Dates:	1859-1867
Quantity:	0.75 linear ft.
Abstract:	Correspondence, photographs, journals, clippings, etc. relating to the Porter family of Skaneateles and Lockport, New York, primarily Stanley Porter and Benjamin H. Porter, who served in the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Other family members represented include his parents, James and Sarah, and his siblings Seth and Laura. At one time known as the Mensing-Braun Collection of Civil War Material.
Language:	English
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

The Porter family resided in Skaneateles and Lockport, New York, during the American Civil War. Family members fought on both the Union and Confederate sides.

James Gurdon Porter (1808-1885) of Skaneateles, New York married Sarah Grosvenor (1811-1882) of Nacogdoches, Louisiana in 1829. They had nine children, six boys and three girls: Lucia Mary (1831-1834), Laura, Seth, Samuel (1837-1868), Henry (1839-1861), Frederick (1840-1864), Stanley, Benjamin, and Maria Grosvenor.

Benjamin Horton Porter (1844-1865) was born in Skaneateles, New York on July 19, 1844. A few years later the family moved to Lockport, New York. He attended the United States Naval School at Annapolis and then served aboard the USS Roanoke. In the early days of the Civil War he was a member of Burnside's North Carolina expedition, earning a commendation from General John Foster. Following this he was put in command of a gunboat patrolling the waterways of North Carolina. In November 1862 he was ordered to the USS Canandaigua for blockade duty. In July 1863 he and his comrades spent three weeks reconnoitering the harbor of Charleston under cover of darkness, ultimately volunteering to be part of stealth attack on Fort Sumter. The attack failed and Porter was a prisoner of war in Columbia, South Carolina for more than a year. Porter was exchanged in October 1864 and assigned as commander of the USS Malvern, Admiral David Porter's (no relation) flagship. He was killed on January 15, 1865 during an attack on Fort Fisher, near Wilmington.

Seth Grosvenor Porter (1835-1910) was a Confederate blockade runner in North Carolina; according to some accounts he later served in the Spanish-American war and became a U.S. Marshall. Stanley Porter (1842-1862) served in the Union Army and was killed in 1862 at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Laura (1833-1900) married Cornelius van Schaak Roosevelt, Jr. (1827-1887), a member of the prominent Roosevelt family and an uncle of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Marie (1848-?), the youngest of James and Sarah's children, married Adolf (or Adolph) Mensing, a German Naval officer.

[Biographical information drawn from "Benjamin J. Porter," U.S. Naval Academy Virtual Memorial Hall; "Benjamin Porter: Tragedy at Fort Fisher ", Library of Congress Research Guide; "Heroic Deeds of Heroic Men XVII: Benjamin H. Porter" in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Apr 1867, pp. 559-571; and from "The Other Hero," blog post.]

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Porter Family Papers consists of correspondence, manuscripts, photographs and subject files relating to the Porter family of Skaneateles and Lockport, New York. Much of the material relates to Benjamin H. Porter and his brother Stanley, both of whom died while serving in the Union military forces during the American Civil War. Other family members represented include their parents, James and Sarah Porter, and their sister Laura.

Correspondence contains letters to and from members of the Porter family, including Benjamin H. Porter, his mother Sarah, his father James, his brother Stanley, and his sister Laura (Mrs. C.V.S. Roosevelt). Many of the letters were written while Benjamin, a Union naval officer, was a prisoner of war in Columbia, South Carolina -- including a very amicable one to his brother Seth, who at the time was a blockade runner for the Confederacy operating in the same area.

Manuscripts consists of several poems by Stanley Porter, including one from 1862 entitled "Off to Baltimore."

Photographs consists mostly of reproductions (engravings) possibly taken from books, but there are a few originals. Subjects include members of the Porter family as well as important Civil War figures such as Major General George B. McCLellan and Brigadier General Ambrose Burnside.

Subject files includes printed material, Stanley Porter's journal, a "Register of Vessel," a military pass, and carbons of typed transcripts and inventories of material in the collection.

Typed captions accompanying the photographs, as well as information in the transcripts and lists at the end of the collection, indicate that the material was once part of something called the Mensing-Braun Collection of Civil War Material. This suggests that the material was accumulated by Maria, the Porters' youngest daughter, who married German naval officer Adolph Mensing.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by sender. Within that, where appropriate, it is subdivided by recipient and then arranged chronologically. Photographs are subdivided into those of the Porter family and those of others. Subject files are arranged alphabetically by type, title, or topic.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advance notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Places

Genres and Forms

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Porter Family Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Unknown.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: MRC
Date: 22 Mar 2010
Revision history: 24 Aug 2020 - inventory added (MRC)

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Inventory

	Correspondence
Box 1		Barton, Clara 1865 - regarding Stanley Porter
		Porter, Benjamin
Box 1			to Laura (sister) 1859-1864
Box 1			to Sarah (mother) 1859-1865
Box 1			to Seth (brother) 1863
Box 1			to Cornelius Roosevelt (brother-in-law) 1864-1865
Box 1			to miscellaneous or unidentified 1863-1864
		Porter, James
Box 1			to Benjamin (son) 1862
Box 1			to miscellaneous or unidentified 1864 - a Mr Fox, regarding release of Benjamin from prison
		Porter, Sarah
Box 1			to Benjamin (son) 1862-1865
Box 1			to Stanley (son) 1862
Box 1			to miscellaneous or unidentified 1863, undated - includes one to "my dear child"
		Porter, Stanley
Box 1			to Laura (sister) 1862
Box 1			to Sarah (mother) 1859-1862 (3 folders)
Box 1			to miscellaneous or unidentified 1862 - to "My Dear Cousin"
		Miscellaneous senders
Box 1			to Benjamin 1862, undated - most are from friends and/or fellow officers, possibly fellow prisoners
				Names appearing include Preston, Meade, and Bedel. Preston is likely Lt. Samuel W. Preston of Illinois, who served with Porter on the USS Malvern and was, like him, killed during the attack on Fort Fisher. Bedel may be John Bedel of New Hampshire, whose regiment served in the Wilmington area and who was a prisoner during this same period.
Box 1			to James 1862 - fromt the Army, regarding the missing Stanley Porter
Box 1			to Laura (Mrs. C.V.S. Roosevelt) 1863-1864, undated - includes some relating to Benjamin's capture and imprisonment
Box 1			to Sarah 1864-1865 - includes letter of condolence on death of Benjamin
Box 1			to Roosevelt, C.V.S. 1864-1865, undated - prisoner exchange, letter of condolence on death of Benjamin
Box 1			to Roosevelt, Theodore 1864-1865 - Benjamin's capture and imprisonment
Box 1			to unknown/unidentified 1863-1865 - one concerns the capture of 15 members of the Confederate Navy, charged with piracy

	Manuscripts
Box 1		Poetry by Stanley Porter 1862 - handwritten poems, most on military topics

	Photographs
Box 2		Porter family undated
			Four items. Two are of Benjamin, inluding one from Matthew Brady's studio. Two are of Stanley, one of which is a small daguerreotype in a metal frame.
Box 2		Others 1862-1867
			Most are reproductions, engravings of leading military figures of the Civil War such as Gen. Ambrose Burnside. The six original photographs are identified as Ike Barker, Lewis Clarke, Midshipmen Daniel Higby and Robert Schuyler, Lt. Col. Adrian Root, and Charles W. Tracy. The Tracy photograph is signed and inscribed on the back from Coquimbo, Chile with a date of 1867.

	Subject files
Box 2		Eulogy for Stanley Porter, by Sarah Porter [1862]
Box 2		Journal of Stanley Porter 22 Jul 1861 - 28 May 1862 - many pages enlivened with small sketches and humorous cartoons (a drawing of a soldier with the tail of a fish appears just below the line, "If Gen McDowell keeps us out here in this swamp, I believe I shall become a merman.")
Box 2		Obituary for Benjamin Porter 1865 - clippings from unidentified newspapers
Box 2		Pass, Stanley Porter Mar 1862 - military pass for travel to Washington, DC
Box 2		Register of Vessel, CSS Phantom 1863 - Confederate States of America registration, listing Seth Grosvenor Porter as owner/master
Box 2		Solder's Text Book, or, Confidence in Time of War by Rev. J. R. Macduff 1861-1862 - signed and inscribed to Benjamin, from his mother
Box 2		Transcripts, lists, etc. - typed carbons with transcripts and itemized list of contents for the Mensing-Braun Collection of Civil War Material

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