Porter Family Newsletter

Amongst all the responsibilities I have, this truly is the hardest. I feel a tremendous responsibility because of the great blessings that have come into my life in consequence of the legacy our posterity has left. I feel a great desire to continue that legacy and at the same time help other family members realize the heritage that is theirs.

This is our first year as an organization that Brother Grant Stephenson isn't sending out a newsletter. We appreciate all the work he has done over the years, but now the responsibility is ours. We have formed a non-profit organization to help further the work. Last year we raised dues from $5.00 to $10.00. We're hoping that many of you will feel a desire to join with us in furthering the work of the Porter Family. We would ask you to send the $10.00 donation or more if you are able. The money will be used to send out the yearly newsletter (cost for one newsletter could be $400 - $500 for one mailing), continue with the compiling of histories, develop the web site and continue to replace headstones at the cemetery. At the time of this writing we are not only penniless but in the hole several hundred dollars due to expenses that have been incurred working on Nathan Tanner's journal. This is a simple sacrifice you can offer that will make a big difference to many people.

We are excited to announce that by the time you receive this newsletter, The Porter Family Organization will be formally recognized in the State of Utah as a non-profit corporation. This non-profit corporation will allow us to 1) organize our effort to research the Porter family line and 2) permit interested members to donate money on a tax-free basis to further this effort.

Money contributed to The Porter Family Organization will be used to accomplish various projects such as the continued compilation of family histories, development of the Porter Family Organization website, and the replacement of headstones at the Porterville cemetery. All money collected will be used to provide educational, research and service projects consistent with the Organizations purposes. None of the money contributed will be used for personal gain of any person.

To meet these and future projects, we are asking each members to contribute $10.00 annually. Those interested in contributing may pay at the reunion, or they may make checks payable to The Porter Family Organization and send them to:

L. Deane Smith
10 West 100 South Suite 450
Salt Lake City, Utah 84101

We are excited about the possibilities our united efforts will produce and look forward to your active participation.
Feel free to call Deane Smith @ (801) 355-0252 if you have any questions.

We're having an overnighter!! As we mentioned last year, we want to develop our reunions so they have something to offer all members of the family. So we are pleased to welcome you to our first Porter Overnighter. We have arranged for a beautiful camping area right at the mouth of Hardscrabble Canyon (one mile from the Church house). You may start showing up at 4:00 on Friday afternoon. Campers and RV's can come, but there are no RV hookups. There are a couple of tight squeezes, so huge RV's (over 35 feet) may find it difficult to get access. There will be several families with young children so come and join the fun. Written Directions – Drive straight past the Porterville Cemetery. Within about one mile, you'll see the end of the road, marked by a large green gate. Turn left (south) down a dirt road and follow the signs.

P.S. Meals will not be provided, but there are local stores, drive-ins available. There will be fires for foil dinners or room for dutch ovens.

Unfortunately the monument committee never fully materialized. However, we have some excellent people who have offered their time and services for this cause. Those in the monument committee include Clarke and Dorene Jones, Vera Carter, John Porter, Reldon White, Lowell and Karin Bruner and Franklin Walton. We would like to invite additional volunteers and identify a project at the reunion for the year 2000.

When the Porter Family Historical and Genealogical Committee was formed at the last reunion, eight people signed up to become members. Some of the committee had the opportunity to meet with J. Grant Stevenson at the Family History Center in Salt Lake City. He suggested a course of action based upon genealogical research. After meeting with Grant the committee decided to involve themselves in compiling historical information rather than personally doing genealogical research.

One member of the committee was interested in the journal of Nathan Tanner Porter, 5th child of Sanford Porter and Nancy Warriner, and suggested working on the journal as a committee project. John Porter and his family, had obtained a microfiche copy of his journal from the church historian's office. It was decided to form a team composed of interested members of the committee and interested members of John's extended family to type this journal in its entirety and thus make it readily available to the Porter Family Organization.

This has been very challenging and difficult work. They have encountered a few difficulties as we have worked on this project. First, it has been difficult learning to read old style handwriting. To help with this, an alphabet of Nathan Porter's upper and lower case letters and his numbers has been complied as a "translation aid". Second, much of his journal has faded and in other parts the ink with which he wrote bled through the page and badly blurred the opposite side of the page. Third, the writing style, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary of a 19th century farmer is not the same as our 20th century city-dweller language. In spite of these difficulties, about half of his journal has been sent to typists, while roughly one-fourth of the journal has been returned and proof read to date. Those who have worked on this project have done a wonderful job and deserve to be commended. This is not an over-night project, though when finished it will be a great gift for all of us to enjoy.