Brief Life History of Ruth
When Ruth Porter was born on 21 April 1745, in Abington, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States, her father, Abner Reed Porter, was 26 and her mother, Jane Chessman, was 24. She died in 1780, at the age of 35.
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Family Time Line
Sources (1)
- Ruth Porter, "Massachusetts, Births and Christenings, 1639-1915"
Parents and Siblings
1718–1793 Male
1720–1814 Female
Siblings (10)
1745–1780 Female
1746–1780 Female
1748– Male
1750– Male
1753–1827 Male
+5 More Children
World Events (2)
1776
Age 31
1776 · The Declaration to the King
Age 31
Name Meaning
English and Scottish: occupational name for the gatekeeper of a walled town or city, or the doorkeeper of a great house, castle, or monastery, from Middle English and Older Scots porter(e), port(o)ur ‘doorkeeper, gatekeeper’ (Anglo-Norman French port(i)er, portur, Latin portarius). The office often came with accommodation, lands, and other privileges for the bearer, and in some cases was hereditary, especially in the case of a royal castle. The name has been established in Ireland since the 13th century. In North America, this surname has absorbed cognates and equivalents in other languages, for example German Pförtner (see Fortner ) and Poertner .
English: occupational name for a man who carried loads for a living, especially one who used his own muscle power rather than a beast of burden or a wheeled vehicle. This sense is from Middle English port(o)ur, porter ‘porter, carrier of burdens’ (Anglo-Norman French portur, porteo(u)r).
Dutch: variant, mostly Americanized, of Poorter, status name for a freeman (burgher) of a town, Middle Dutch portere, modern Dutch poorter. Compare De Porter .
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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