Bio-Minor, PorterOwen

Porter Owen Minor was born on May 7, 1892 at Pursley Creek near Waynesburg, Greene County, PA, the son of Elias and Elizabeth (King) Minor.

Porter may have received his middle name due to the fact that the physician who assisted in the delivery in the Minor home was "Dr. Owen."

Early in his career, Porter was a teacher, assigned to a one-room schoolhouse, presumably in rural Greene County, as enumerated on the federal census of 1910. Also about that same year, Porter worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Mines. At an early age, he passed a civil service examination.

In 1910, when he was age 18, he purchased or was given a small, hardcover book, Two Years Before the Mast, authored by Richard Henry Dana, and published by the New York Book Company. On the inside cover, in the space marked "This Book is the Property Of:", he inscribed it: "Porter Minor, Bluff, Pa., June 10, 1910."

A year or two later, he switched careers again, and was a salesman for Ruud Manufacturing Co., which made water heaters.

As with his brothers Bill, Harold and Ross, Porter loved to play baseball in sandlot leagues throughout Greene County. Although not quite of Major League caliber, he was encouraged to try out for the Pittsburgh Rebels of the rival Federal League circa 1914-1915. He turned it down because he has just begun his career with Ruud, and was not willing to take the risk. One of Porter's nephews recalls that Chilly Doyle, a sports columnist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, often praised "Port Minor" in his articles.

Porter was a veteran of both World Wars I and II. During World War I, he was stationed at Camp Lee, VA, where the comic photo seen at left was taken.

On Sept. 9, 1918, at age 26, Porter married Mary "Belle" MacDonald (1894-1982). The ceremony took place at a Presbyterian parsonage on Tab Street in Petersburg, VA.

The Minors lived for several years at 26 Courtney Street in Emsworth, Allegheny County, PA, near Pittsburgh. He enjoyed golfing at the Shannopin Country Club.

In 1944, during World War II, Porter had to obtain a delayed birth certificate, and did so through the Orphans Court of Greene County. In the document, he acknowledged that his father had been born in Somerset County, PA, and that his father was about age 30 at the time of Porter's birth. Three relatives and friends signed affidavits attesting to the facts in the certificate -- his brother Bill and friends Pauline (Cole) Kiger and Martie Phillips. The certificate is on file today at the Greene County Courthouse in Waynesburg.

Porter (far right) and young son James with Porter's mother and brother Ross (left), circa 1925, possibly in Waynesburg

Later, he was transferred and moved to Michigan, settling in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County. There, Porter and Bell lived the rest of their lives, in a house on West Lovell Street.

While in Kalamazoo, Porter worked as a manufacturer's agent for Consolidated Brass Co. His business often took him to Chicago, and he and Bell considered moving there, but ultimately did not.

Porter and Belle, second and third from left, with family and friends, 1949

Porter suffered from hardening of the arteries and heart disease. He passed away due to their effects at age 59 just three days before Christmas, on Dec. 22, 1951. He was laid to rest at the Mount Everest Cemetery in Kalamazoo.

Tragically, their son James, who was married and had two young daughters, was seriously ill in 1960. James died the same day that his aunt, Esther (Hemerlin) Minor, was buried in the Cleveland, OH area. Grief-stricken, Belle had to drive back home from Ohio in a thick fog, knowing she would face even more heartache upon returning.

Bell outlived him by more than three decades, and passed away in Kalamazoo on Jan. 6, 1982. The funeral was held at the First Presbyterian Church of Kalamazoo, with burial beside her husband. Her obituary was carried in her old hometown newspaper, the Pittsburgh Press.

Son John Porter Minor graduated from Kalamazoo High School in 1947. One of John's classmates, James A. McDivett, went on to become a brigadier general in the US Air Force and an astronaut who flew on the Gemini 4 and Apollo 9 space missions.