Recently I have connected with some “cousins” through DNA results on Ancestry.com. These relatives are through my paternal line, more specifically the Portis family. George (1839-1916) & Mariah Minton (1848-1923) Portis had 7 children who lived to adulthood. I have written about them in earlier posts. Connecting with these Portis cousins got me thinking a little more about a picture my Grandfather, Loran McKinley (1916-2003), gave me.

The caption on the back of this picture was “March 20, 1909, Frances 10 months 26 days old. Died April 10, 1909.” My Grandfather identified the man in the picture as his uncle, Elbert Portis (1884-1952). He said that Elbert and his wife had no children. He had no idea who any of the children were, including the one named Frances, except that he thought they were Elbert’s nieces and nephew. This picture has sat in my collection for years. I tried initially to find out who was pictured, but didn’t have much information on the children of any of Elbert’s siblings.

Now I’ve looked a little closer at the picture and utilized some of the databases available to try to figure out who all these children are.

First, the date was given as March 20, 1909, so I could narrow things down a little.

I started with Frances. The Ancestry.com website has a collection of Indiana Death Certificates. I found the death certificate for Frances:

So this shows that the baby in Elbert’s lap was Frances Maude Portis who was born May 13, 1908 to Bert F. Portis (1876-1934) and Adeline Lampkins (1883-1912). Frances died of pneumonia.

Searching through the collection of photos from Grandpa, I found a couple that helped identify two of the other children:

This one we had tentatively identified as Frank Crider and Floy Erton:

The boy, Frank, in this picture looks like he could be the boy in the picture with Uncle Elbert.

Then there was another picture:

This one was labeled “Floy Erton” and looks like it may have been taken the same day as the group picture as she is wearing the same clothing.

Frank Crider (1896-1978) and Floy Erton (1905-1974) were half-siblings. Their mother was Bertha Portis (1875-1940). She married at least 6 times. Frank’s father was Thomas Crider (1858-1938) & Floy’s father was William Henry Erton (1865-1940).

So much for additional pictures helping with identification. What about the other 4 children? I went through what I knew about Elbert’s other siblings and their children. I had found a little information that wasn’t confirmed that gave some additional names. Going back to the Ancestry.com collection of US Census records, Indiana Death Certificates and other records, I confirmed the names and birthdates of some likely candidates:

Ethel Portis (1893-1939) was the daughter of Miles Bradley (1871-1929) and Harriet Littell (1868-1927) Portis. I would guess that Ethel is the girl in the white dress behind Elbert in the picture.

Jessie or Dessie Portis (1900-1954) daughter of Miles Bradley (1871-1929) and his second wife, Mary Hammons (1877-1906). Her death certificate gives the name Jessie, however other records have her name as Dessie. I think she is the girl in the dark dress to the left of Elbert.

Mary Ethel Portis (1900-1957) was the daughter of Burton F. Portis (1876-1934) and Adeline Lampkins (1883-1912) Portis. I have seen a picture of her as an adult and based on the similarity, I think she is the girl to the right of Elbert, standing behind Floy.

Jessie Portis (1903-1921) was the second daughter of Burton and Adeline. Considering she was the youngest of the 4 unidentified girls, I would think she is the girl on the far left in the picture.

So, a bit of guesswork to specifically place each child in the picture, but from what I know at this time, the children mentioned were the only children of Elbert’s siblings that fall into the right time frame to be in this picture. I wonder what prompted them all to gather to take the group photo?

© MJM 2021

One of the first things I do when looking for information on an ancestor is a simple Google search. I did that one day on a guy named Silas Portis & found an interesting piece of information. The first time I “Googled” Silas, I saw this drawing for a patent on a gate opening device.

Lately, the Google search gives a link in Google Books to Scientific American magazine from February 4, 1893, pg.73. This includes a nice illustration as well as a description of Silas’ device.

The whole idea is that a person would not have to get down from the wagon or carriage, hold the horse steady and at the same time open the gate, then repeat the same process to close the gate once the wagon had passed through.

Looking at the US Patent office rules, a person who wanted to file for a patent would have to submit a detailed drawing and description of the device as well as the appropriate fees. I searched the US Patent & Trademark office website <uspto.gov> for more information on Silas’ patent. Since the first drawing I found had a patent number, I was able to find the actual patent for Silas’ “Gate-Worker.” The Patent No. 436,543 was dated November 17, 1891. The specifications are very technical with a description of each element of the device and how it all worked in sequence to open & close the gate. Other information found in the Patent paperwork was that Silas was from Monrovia, Indiana and he assigned two thirds of the patent to Telemichus N. Bennett and Albert Taylor who also lived in Monrovia.

So who was Silas Portis? He shows up in the 1850 US Census in the Northern subdivision of Davidson County, North Carolina with his Mother, Rachel and siblings, Emeline, Elizabeth and George W (my GG Grandfather). Silas attended school within the year and is listed as a laborer.

Silas was born June 14, 1833 according to his headstone. Other records list 1834 or 1835 as his birth-year. In 1860, he shows up in the US Census, still in North Carolina, but this time in the Southern Division of Guilford County. He is listed as an Engineer with a group of other men, including 2 Miners, a Blacksmith, Carpenter, another Engineer and several laborers. The assumption is that he worked in a mine. There were gold mines in Guilford County, NC. His wife, Rebecca and their two daughters, Louise & Charlotte, are in a separate listing from Silas, but on the same page. I haven’t found any information as to what Silas did during the Civil War.

In 1880, Silas was living in Guilford Township of Hendricks County, Indiana. He has married a 2^nd time after his first wife, Rebecca died. The 1880 Census lists Silas with his wife, son and step-son. At this time he was working in a Saw Mill.

On June 18, 1883, the Hendricks County Republican newspaper reports “Silas Portis has hired to the Monrovia millers as an engineer. Silas has been with us for some time and we regret that he is going to leave us, though while we lose a good citizen Monrovia gains one.”

A sad event occurred in Silas’ family in September of 1888. His 10 year old son, Cecil died. The report is that Cecil was leading a cow to pasture with the rope tied around his waist. The cow became frightened and ran, dragging Cecil and killing him.

In 1900, Silas lives in Monroe Twp. of Morgan County, Indiana. He is listed in the US Census with his wife, Mary and 18 year old daughter, Ovis (or Avis). His job description is again Engineer. By this time, he has already secured his patent for his Gate-Worker device.

Silas died March 14, 1904. He was 70 years old. He is buried in West Union Cemetery, Monrovia, Indiana.

So, even though Silas Portis was not a direct ancestor of mine, he is still part of the family & it’s kind of cool to know that he has his name on a US Patent. I wonder if he made any money off of his invention? Knowing Silas’ story, maybe it’s not so unusual that some of my relatives have the need to “tinker” with things.

© MJM 2018

So how long did George & Mariah Portis really live in that 3 log cabin mentioned in the last post?

They show up in the 1900 US Census, renting a home on W Harrison St. in Martinsville, IN. Their daughter, Bertha Crider & her son Goldie F (probably Frank) live with them. Also in the home are a son “Elmer” (probably Elbert) & daughters Gertrude & Georgie.

In the 1910 US Census, 70 year old George & 61 year old Mariah are listed with their son Elbert and granddaughter Floy Urton, living on Hucker St in Brooklyn, IN. They own a home at that time. George is also listed as being able to read but not write. I could not find Hucker street in Brooklyn but there is a “Hooker” street. Hooker street travels North/South and turns West into High street.

So here are George & Mariah on the front porch of their house in Brooklyn.George died in 1916. In the 1920 US Census, Mariah shows up with Oscar and Gertrude McKinley and their boys, Myron and Loran in Brooklyn, IN. No street name is listed in this census.

Here is a picture of Mariah, Oscar, Gertrude and the boys on the front porch. The same front porch as shown in the above picture.So, in 1996, after I got started in researching the Family History, Grandpa (Loran McKinley) took me on a road trip to show me where he grew up in Brooklyn, IN. He drove up High street and pointed out the house he had lived in.The house didn’t look very different from the old pictures & was still standing strong after about 80 years! I’ve been past it a few more times during the years, just to make sure it is still there. Pretty cool!

©MJMcK 2016