Charles Ilsley Porter, M. D.

    Charles Ilsley Porter, M.D, of Canton, Mass. is a native of Norfolk  County.  He was born in Weymouth on November 27, 1865, the son of George E. and Amanda (Cushing) Porter  His branch of the family is descended from Richard Porter, who was one of the company of about one hundred persons that came from Weymouth, England, to Massachusetts in 1635, and settled at the place then known as Wessagussett, which name was shortly changed to Weymouth, the territory remaining the same it is said, to this day. John Porter, son of Richard, married in 1660 a daughter of Nicholas Byram  As we learn from the "Porter Genealogy", by the Hon. Joseph W. Porter, of Burlington, Me., the line continues thus: Samuel,3 Samuel,4  Joseph,5 Lebbeus,6 Whitcomb,7  George E.,8 Charles Ilsley.9 Lieutenant Joseph Porter 5 married in 1753 Elizabeth Burrill, a  woman of remarkable personal beauty," a school teacher, daughter of Samuel and Content (Whitcomb) Burrill.  Lebbeus Porter,6 born in 1771, great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, spent the greater part of his  married  life  in Wrentham, Mass.  His son, Whitcomb Porter, who was a prominent insurance agent of Bos­ton, for many years was engaged in business on State Street, and resided in Quincy.  His wife, who was a daughter of Ebenezer and Betsy (Nash) Hunt, of Weymouth, was direct descendant of John and Priscilla Alden, of the Plymouth colony.

    George E. Porter, son of Whitcomb and Susan (Hunt) Porter, was born in 1828.  For thirty years he was a prominent shoe manufacturer in Weymouth, Mass.  He married Amanda Cushing, daughter of Simeon Cush­ing, and had five children, as follows: Edith, Alice, Susan H., Charles Ilsley, and Edgar. Edith Porter is the wife of the Rev. L. S. Crossley,  of  South  Framingham,  Mass. Edgar died at the age of forty-one years. Mr. George E. Porter died at his home in Weymouth, at the age of sixty-eight years, November 23, 1896.

    Charles Ilsley, now the only surviving son, received his early education in the common schools and the high school of his native town, and was tutored for one year.  He entered the Boston University Medical School in 1884, was graduated in 1888 and in the fall of the same year settled as a physician in Canton, Mass., where he has since remained, active in his profession, with an increasing practice.  In politics he is a Republican; but he has not held public office, having declined to serve on the Board of Health, as he believes a physician should give all his time to those who employ his services.  On October 6, 1891, he married Margery, daughter of Joseph W. Wattles, one of the prominent manufacturers of the town.  Dr. and Mrs. Porter have one child, a daughter named Helen M.  The Doctor and his wife are attendants at the Unitarian church.

From BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Volume XXV.
Containing life sketches of leading citizens of Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Pub. Boston, Biographical Review Publishing Company, 1898
All biographical information is provided by the subject or family member, reviewed and edited by them before going to print.