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History of Adair
County, Iowa, 1915.

Biographical.  Volume 2.

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John W. Porter.

Adair county has been signally favored in the class of men who have occupied her public offices, for on the whole they have been devoted to duty and have been capable of meeting the responsibilities that have come to them.  Among this number is John W. Porter, now county sheriff, in which position he is discharging his duties without fear or favor.  Iowa numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred in Jefferson township, Adair county, April 13, 1883, his parents being David D. and Anna F. (Julian) Porter.  The father was a native of Johnson county, Iowa, and the mother of Missouri.  When a young man of eighteen years David D. Porter removed to Adair county in company with his brother John M., who is now a resident of Walnut township.  The mother of John W. Porter was brought to this county in her early girlhood by her parents who settled in Walnut township, and David D. Porter and Anna F. Julian were married in this county and began their domestic life in Jefferson township.  They have since made one or two removals but are now residents of Jefferson township.  To them have been born seven children, as follows:  John W.;  Grace B., who married Gilbert A. Foster, of Lee township, Adair county;  Ollie M., who married Vern C. Clark;  Louisa, who married Harl F. Dorsey, of Greenfield;  James, of Greenfield;  George, who is living in the county;  and Mary, now Mrs. Harley Hall, of Greenfield.

John W. Porter spent his youthful days in the usual manner of farm lads, dividing his time between the work of the fields and the acquirement of his education.  He had entered the public schools but as early as his fifteenth year became a wage earner and for some time afterward worked as a farm hand in the neighborhood.  In fact he devoted eight years to that work and at the end of that time learned the barber's trade, which he also followed for eight years, conducting a shop of his own in Greenfield during much of that period.  At the November election of 1914 he was made the nominee of the democratic party for the office of sheriff of Adair county and while it was necessary to overcome a normal republican majority of eight hundred he was elected by sixty-four votes in excess of his opponent, a fact which indicates his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him.

On the 1st of January, 1909, Mr. Porter was united in marriage to Miss Mertie B. Williams, of Greenfield, and to them has been born a son, Donald D.  Mr. and Mrs. Porter are members of the Christian church, loyal to its teachings and helpful in its work.  He is a genial, courteous gentleman, who has many friends throughout the county and is justly numbered among its representative citizens.

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