A couple of things remain unresolved from the will and analysis of some records in the Atkinson Sampson County Historical Society report or article.
Residence, in dispute(?):
~"John Porter was living in Duplin County, NC prior to 1758. . . He and Jeremiah Bullard sold 80 acres to John Baker on 12 Jul 1758 in Duplin, and he also sold 50 acres to Piercybell Clay in 1766, Duplin... The 1790 census shows John Porter in Sampson County (which had been created out of Duplin Co.)." ~some paraphrasing and quotations from the Atkinson report.
Problem: John Porter was present in Virginia after 1758: "US, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Vol I–VI, 1607-1943: John Porter, Residence: 25 Apr 1767 Nansemond." Trouble is, I have not been able to replicate this citation, and the linkage from Ancestry is no longer available. Nevertheless, even if he were present in 1767, he could have moved to NC and subsequently made a brief return to VA despite having moved. "Residence" could mean different things, and without a source for context, we don't know if this might support the existence of two different John Porter's of about the same age.
Problem(?) with the will:
The following language from a transcription of the will may (or may not) be inconsistent with John being Quaker. I do not know if it would be unusual for him to make the references or have such a will, as a Quaker (or a former Quaker?):
"State of North Carolina, Sampson County. In the name of God Amen, I John Porter of the County aforesaid, being weak and sickly of body but of sound mind and manner do in the first place commit my soul to God who gave it and my body to the Earth to be buried in a Christian like manner at the discretion of my Executors, their to ly while the morning of the presumption and as for what Little Estate it hat bin please God bestow upon me, I do give and bequeath in the manner following to wit--.
[Emphasis added, above. All of his living children are next enumerated. Analysis of sourcing of those who already have profiles might strengthen the case for John Porter's profile as it presently stands. Note also that an index record (North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998: John Porter, Death: Abt 1796 North Carolina, USA Ancestry Record 9061 #2228010) was all that was present to document John's end of life on his profile. I have removed all annotations from the transcription that Atkinson apparently had made. The mostly pertained to apparent misspellings or clarifications on Elizabeth J Butler, Mary Autry, and graddaughter Sophia Porter.]
- I give to my son Absalom Porter one shilling.
- I give to my son William Porter one shilling.
- I give to my daughter Elizabeth Butler one shilling.
- I give to my daughter Mary Awtry one shilling.
- I give to my daughter, Jemima Coore, one shilling.
- I give to my daughter, Delilah Hair, one shilling.
- I give to my grandson, John Porter, one shilling.
- I give to my grandson, Samuel Porter, one feather bed and furniture.
- I give to my granddaughter, Suffian Porter, one cow and calf.
- I give to my son, Samuel Porter, five head of cattle and one feather bed and furniture and all my other household furniture, in doors and out, which I brought there when I come to live with him.
- I give to my daughter Ann Hinson one shilling.
- And do appoint my friend John Holley and Jacob Lockerman Executors of this my last will and testament in witness of, I have sit my hand this 27 of Jun 1796.
- Witness: Mark Porter, John Holley, Jacob Lockerman (his mark)
- John Porter (his mark)
So we can reasonably conclude that John or his will-maker had a notable degree of illiteracy, which is not necessarily indicative of anything significant. I have not seen many (none actually come to mind for comaprison) Quaker wills, so I do not know if any of the form or material (especially related to peri-religious statements within the will, for example) are either indicators or else clearly improbable statements of a Quaker's, as well as taking into consideration whether the relationship to leaving money, etc. might either rule in or rule out such an approach to an end of life statement as being consistent with this John being Quaker.
That being said, the wife to whom he's attached is certainly a Quaker, and unless this John is attached to the wrong Elizabeth, that history is affirmed by the marriage record in Quaker meeting minutes. Both Elizabeth's father and mother (from her parents - Alice Hollowell's sources are weak) have strong Quaker documentation.
Note that one other WikiTree user warranted inclusion of John's and Elizabeth's daughter Jemima (Porter) Coor, for whom we now have some will evidence, and I had previously cobbled together some sources for son Samuel Porter to be added. For both of those profiles, I can add the will data.
Next, I will focus on also adding to John's profile the land sources, despite the fact that we have the one bit of intrigue on a temporary(?) return to VA, and adding the will.
Any analysis on the problems outlined (residence and will consistent or inconsistent with being a Quaker) would be greatly appreciated.
The journey to a more complete and accurate tree happens one profile at a time. In this case, some ancestors of a branch of this line will be amazed if we can completely verify Elizabeth Denson as the correct spouse of the John Porter who died in Sampson county. Past researchers have deemed John Porter (of the above will) to only have an unknown Elizabeth as his wife. (The Atkinson report was curated by the Sampson County Historical Society; heretofore, no 100% certain indication of a Quaker connection, either, had come to my attention: this John Porter and Elizabeth Betty Denson are pivotal.)
If we establish John Porter's ancestors, too? That would be amazing!
