[196-108] EMMA WAGENER, b Dec. 6, 1821; d Oct. 28, 1880; dau Jacob and Sabina (Michler) Wagener [196-25a]; m May 16, 1843, HON. WILLIAM A. PORTER, b May 24, 1821; d June 28, 1886: s Hon. David Rittenhouse Porter. Judge of Pa. Supreme Court.
Children (8):
Hon. William A. Porter was born in Huntingdon Co., Pa. After he was graduated from Lafayette College, Easton, Pa., he read law and was admitted to the Philadelphia bar on April 26, 1842. During the same year he was appointed sheriff of Phila. Co. by the Governor. This appointment necessitated the taking of testimony in order to establish Mr. Porter’s age, as there was doubt in many minds as to whether he was of legal age and therefore capable of holding office. On the expiration of his term as sheriff he was appointed deputy prosecuting attorney of Pa., and while acting in this capacity he proved himself an excellent criminal lawyer. In 1855, Mr. Porter was elected city solicitor, and on January 20, 1858, he was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Pa. From the expiration of his term as a justice until his death in 1886, Judge Porter remained in active practice of his profession. In June, 1874, President Grant appointed him one of the judges of the Court of Commissioners of Alabama Claims, in which capacity he served until the Court was dissolved in December, 1876. He also served as an inspector of the Eastern State Penitentiary.
Judge Porter was one of the most prominent and esteemed members of the bar. His sterling qualities won him the respect and confidence of his colleagues. Sound judgment was his chief characteristic; he was one of the few men who never made a business blunder.
At the close of his ‘“Biographical Reminiscences,’ which Judge Porter wrote a short time before his death, he says: ‘“‘I cannot bring these reminiscences to a close without recording here my sense of the Divine goodness in prolonging my life so far that nearly all the objects which I could reasonably have hoped to accomplish have been in some measure attained, and finally in giving me a good hope that when called away from the scenes of this world, J shall be able to enter the Heavenly Kingdom through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”