 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Charles Hogeboom Porter, A. M., M. D., was born m Columbia county, N. Y., November 11, 1834, of English and Dutch ancestry. On his father's side he is descended from John Porter, who came from England to Massachusetts Bay in 1637. The records in England give John Porter's descent in the sixteenth generation from William de la Grande, a Norman knight, who came to the army of the Norman duke at the Conquest A. D. 1066. He acquired lands near Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England. His son Ralph (or Roger) became "Grand Porteur" to Henry I, A. D. 1120 to 1140, from which he derived the name Porter. John Porter, with his wife and children, settled in Windsor, Conn., in the year 1637 and was at once treated as a man known and respected. He was put upon a committee the same year and was made a constable in 1639, then a high and responsible office. He was for that period a man of considerable substance, as appears by his will, printed in the public records of Connecticut. He died in Windsor in 1647. Of the sixth generation was Rev. David Porter, D. D., grandfather of the subject of this sketch, who in early life served in the army of the Revolution and afterwards was for twenty-eight years the pastor of the Presbyterian church at Catskill, N. Y. The first of Dr. Porter's maternal ancestors living in America was Evert Luycassen, who was from Amsterdam, Holland, and who was in Beaverwyck in 1657. As early as 1665 be purchased land from the Indians in Kinderhook. Dr. Porter was educated principally in Philadelphia, Pa., and New Haven, Conn. He received the degree of A. M. from Yale College in 1855 and the degree of M. D. from the Albany Medical College in 1861. In the latter institution he was for some years professor of Chemistry and Medical Jurisprudence and also filled similar positions in other medical colleges. In 1862 he served as assistant surgeon of the Fith Regt. N. Y. Heavy Artillery, remaining with the latter command until it was mustered out in 1865. During these years he was always in active service, par- ticipating in the various campaigns of the army of the Potomac, and the army of the James, etc. At times he was detached from his regiment, serving as inspector and medical director of array hospitals. From 1867 to 1892 (excepting 1885 to 1888), he served as pension examining surgeon. He was commissioned brevet colonel, N. Y. State Volunteers, February 13, 1866. Since 1866 he has lived in Albany in active practice as a physician. For many years his studies have been largely directed to state medicine and medical jurisprudence and to the practical solution of important questions relating to these sciences. He has frequently been summoned as an expert witness in cases of alleged poisoning and injuries and has been at times appointed by courts to examine and report upon the mental condition of prisoners. In contested will cases his aid has frequently been sought to determine the mental condition of the testators and so also in other cases where the sanity of individuals has been called in question and in which large monetary interests were involved.
