Albert G. Porter

Albert Gallatin Porter (April 20, 1824 – May 3, 1897) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Indiana from 1881 to 1885 and as a United States Congressman from 1859 to 1863. Originally a Democrat, he joined the Republican Party in 1856 after being expelled by the pro-slavery faction of the Democratic Party. Only the second person born in Indiana to become the state's governor, he reluctantly accepted his party's nomination to run. His term saw the start of Indiana's industrialization that continued for several decades. During the second half of his term a strong Democratic majority took control of the Indiana General Assembly and revoked all of the governor's appointment powers and other authorities, weakening the governors position to its lowest state in the history of the state. Early life Family and background Albert G. Porter was born on April 20, 1824, in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, the son of Thomas and Myra Tousey Porter. His father, a veteran of the War of 1812, was a bank teller at the Farmer and Mechanic's Bank. Established by the state government in 1818, the bank folded after the Panic of 1819. His father then served several years as a county clerk until the family moved to Boone County, Kentucky, after his mother inherited her father's farm. The large farm neighbored the Ohio River at the area's most convenient crossing point, and Porter began managing his father's ferryboat, crossing wagons and passengers across the river. Using the money he earned from working the ferry, he enrolled in Hanover College in 1839, but soon ran out of money to continue his education. His uncle offered to pay for the remainder of his school, provided that he would switch to a Methodist school. Porter agreed, and attended and graduated from Asbury University (now DePauw University) in 1843. The following year he moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he took a job in the state's auditors office and briefly served as a private secretary to Governor of Indiana James Whitcomb. Whitcomb influenced Porter to pursue a career in law, so he began to study law in the office of Philip Spooner. He was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1845 and entered a corporate law practice in Indianapolis headed by Hiram Brown. He met and married Brown's daughter, Minerva, on November 20, 1846. The couple had five children.