William Porter Burrall

William Porter Burrall (September 18, 1806 – March 3, 1874) was an American politician and railroad executive.

William Porter Burrall
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
In office
1861–1862
1846–1846
1836–1836
Member of the Connecticut State Senate for the 10th District
In office
1851–1851
Mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut
In office
1841–1842
Preceded byCharles Bostwick
Succeeded byJames C. Loomis
Personal details
Born(1806-09-18)September 18, 1806
Canaan, Connecticut
DiedMarch 3, 1874(1874-03-03) (aged 67)
Hartford, Connecticut
Spouse
Harriet Holley
​
​
(m. 1831)​
Children6
Parent(s)William Morgan Burrall
Abigail Porter Stoddard
Alma materYale College
Litchfield Law School
ProfessionPolitician, lawyer

Early life

Burrall was born on September 18, 1806, in Canaan, Conn. to Hon. William Morgan Burrall (1779–1856) and Abigail Porter Stoddard (1783–1813),[1] who had married November 4, 1803.[2] His siblings were Elizabeth Burrall (b. 1804), who married Edmond S. Belden, Edward Burrall (1809-1814), and Abigail S. Burrall (1811–1813), who both died young.[3]

His paternal grandparents were William Burrall (1748–1825) and Elizabeth Morgan (1755–1829), of the Morgan family, who married in October 1774.[2]

His mother was the only child of his maternal grandparents, Maj. Luther Stoddard (1746–1804) and Abigail Porter (1763–1797), who married in 1781. His grandmother's father was Dr. Joshua Porter (1730–1825), a 1754 graduate of Yale, fought in the Revolutionary War as a colonel. He was at the head of his regiment in October 1777 when John Burgoyne surrendered his 6,000 men after the Battles of Saratoga. After the war, he was elected to various official positions for forty-eight consecutive years.[4] His maternal grand-uncles included Augustus Porter (1769–1849), a member of the New York State Assembly, and Peter Buell Porter (1773–1844), the United States Secretary of War.[1] After his grandmother's death, his grandfather married Mary Wheeler (1765–1853).[5]

He graduated from Yale College in 1826.[6]

Career

In 1826, immediately upon graduation he began the study of the law with his father,[7] who had served in the Connecticut House of Representatives and Connecticut State Senate.[8] After one year, be entered the office of Hon. Samuel Church (afterwards Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court), in Salisbury, and subsequently attended a course of lectures at the Litchfield Law School, and was admitted to the bar of Litchfield County in April 1829.[9]

He practiced law in his native town until October 1838, when he moved to Bridgeport, Conn., to undertake the Presidency of the Housatonic Railroad Company, then just organized. He held this office until 1852 or 1853, when he resigned in consequence of the pressure of other engagements. He was also connected with the N. Y. and N. H. Railroad during its construction and the earlier years of its operation, and at the same time, and later, with the Illinois Central Railroad, first as treasurer, and afterwards as president.[6]

In 1862, he was chosen Vice-President of the Hartford and New Haven Railroad, and at the death of the President in 1868, succeeded to the vacant office, and finally became Vice-President of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, upon the consolidation of the companies. This position he retained with distinguished credit until his sudden death, from apoplexy, in Hartford, March 3, 1874.

Public office

Burrall served as the Mayor of Bridgeport from 1841 until at least 1842.[10][11] He also served as a member of the Connecticut State Senate, representing the 10th District, in 1851 alongside Dwight Loomis.[12]

After moving from Bridgeport to Salisbury, in 1859, he subsequently represented that town several times in the Connecticut General Assembly,[6] where he had served as Clerk of the Connecticut House of Representatives under Speaker Chauncey Fitch Cleveland.[13]

Personal life

On May 9, 1831, he married his cousin, Harriet Holley (1808–1876), daughter of Sarah "Sally" Porter (1778–1816) and John M. Holley (1777–1836), of Salisbury, Connecticut. Harriet's maternal grandfather was his great-grandfather, Dr. Joshua Porter. They were the parents of six children:[1]

  • William Holley Burrall (1832–1891)
  • John Milton Burrall (1834–1880), who married Mary H. Dickinson of Florida in 1872
  • Elizabeth Maria Burrall (b. 1836)
  • Sarah Bostwick Burrall (1838–1924),[14] who married Henry Hill Anderson (d. 1896),[15][16] and moved to New York.[17][18]
  • Harriet Holley Burrall (1840–1860), who died unmarried.
  • Porter Stoddard Burrall (b. 1846), who married Anna E. Croome of Tallahassee, Florida

He died on March 3, 1874, in Hartford, Connecticut, and was survived by his wife and five of his six children.[19][20]

Descendants

His grandson, through his daughter Sarah, was Henry Burrall Anderson (1863–1938), who attended St. Paul's School in New Hampshire, Yale University and Harvard Law School, and who became a prominent lawyer and partner at Anderson, Gesser, Ferris & Anderson.[18][21]

References
Notes
  1. Welles, Albert (1881). History of the Buell Family in England: From the Remotest Times Ascertainable from Our Ancient Histories, and in America, from Town, Parish, Church and Family Records. Illustrated with Portraits and Coat Armorial. New York: Society Library. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  2. Morgan, Nathaniel H. (1869). Morgan Genealogy: A History of James Morgan, of New London, Conn., and His Descendants; from 1607 to 1869 ... With an Appendix Containing the History of His Brother, Miles Morgan, of Springfield, Mass.; and Some of His Descendants ... Press of Case, Lockwood & Brainard. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  3. Hinman, Royal Ralph (1852). A Catalogue of the Names of the Early Puritan Settlers of the Colony of Connecticut: With the Time of Their Arrival in the Country and Colony, Their Standing in Society, Place of Residence, Condition in Life, where From, Business, &c., as Far as is Found on Record. Hartford, CT: Case, Tiffany & Co. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  4. "The Late Col. Porter. Funeral of Col. P.A. Porter Sketch of his Life and Character". The New York Times. 18 June 1864. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  5. Patterson, David Williams (1873). John Stoddard of Wethersfield, Conn., and His Descendants, 1642-1872: A Genealogy. E.W. Stoddard. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  6. Herringshaw, Thomas William (1904). Herringshaw's Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth Century: Accurate and Succinct Biographies of Famous Men and Women in All Walks of Life who are Or Have Been the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States Since Its Formation ... American Publishers' Association. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  7. "Litchfield Co., CT - Bench & Bar". dunhamwilcox.net. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  8. Kestenbaum, Lawrence. "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Burrage to Burrowes". politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  9. "Litchfield Ledger - William Porter Burrall". www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org. Litchfield Historical Society. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  10. Bridgeport, Connecticut, The Political Graveyard.
  11. Samuel Orcutt, A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City Bridgeport of Connecticut (Vol. 2), Fairfield County Historical Society: 1886.
  12. Hinman, Royal Ralph (1852). A Catalogue of the Names of the Early Puritan Settlers of the Colony of Connecticut: With the Time of Their Arrival in the Country and Colony, Their Standing in Society, Place of Residence, Condition in Life, where From, Business, &c., as Far as is Found on Record. Case, Tiffany. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  13. Assembly, Connecticut General (1881). Roll of State Officers and Members of General Assembly of Connecticut, from 1776 to 1881: With an Appendix Giving the Congressional Delegates, Judges of the Supreme and Superior Courts, and the Date of Incorporation of the Cities, Boroughs, and Towns. Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  14. "Obituary 2 -- ANDERSON". The New York Times. 1 June 1924. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  15. "Henry H. Anderson". The New York Times. 26 October 1872. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  16. "Obituary 1 -- ANDERSON". The New York Times. 20 September 1896. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  17. Leonard, John W. (1909). Who's who in New York City and State. L.R. Hamersly Company. p. 30. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  18. "HENRY B. ANDERSON, HEAD OF LAW FIRM; Practiced for Half Century-Successor to Elbert Gary as Auto Club Leader Dies". The New York Times. 18 March 1938. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  19. Andrews, Henry Porter (1893). The Descendants of John Porter of Windsor, Conn. 1635-9. G.W. Ball, printer. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  20. Hannan, Caryn (January 1, 2008). Connecticut Biographical Dictionary. State History Publications. ISBN 9781878592590. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  21. "Marriage Announcement 1 -- No Title". The New York Times. 22 August 1920. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
Sources

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Yale Obituary Record.

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