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In the times when people first began to use surnames, many, such as the ancestors of the Portarde family, adopted their occupation as their surname. Portarde was an occupational name for a gatekeeper or watchman deriving its origin from the Old French word "portier," meaning "doorman." The meaning was sometimes extended to mean the keeper of the castle. 1 2
The surname Portarde was first found in Hampshire, where Hugh de Port was listed in the Domesday Book as a major land holder. "Soon after the Conquest, Bicton Manor [Sidmouth, Devonshire] was granted to one of the Norman followers of William a certain William the Porter, whose duty it was to keep the door of the gaol, and who held Bicton by this service. This tenure continued for some 700 years, down to the year 1787; and the early owners of the manor-house at different periods took the names Portitor, De Porta, De la Porte, and Janitor." 3
A Milo Portarius, worked as a porter at the jail or castle of Winchester and was also listed in Hampshire in the Domesday Book. 4 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Robert le Porter. 2
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Portarde research. Another 218 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1183, 1190, 1202, 1263, 1296, 1330, 1356, 1390, 1394, 1587, 1599, 1622, 1636, 1640, 1648, 1649, 1660, 1680, 1683, 1686, 1689, 1692, 1695, 1696 and 1702 are included under the topic Early Portarde History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations of this family name include: Porter, Pawter, Poreter, Portar and others.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Porter, English Member of Parliament for Taunton (1390-1394); John Porter (died 1599), English Member of Parliament for Bramber; William Porter, Sergeant at Arms to King Henry VII; Endymion Porter (1587-1649), an English diplomat and Royalist; James Porter, a British politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household and a Member of Parliament for Fethard in the 1689 Patriot Parliament, supporter of James II who followed him into exile; George Porter (1622?-1683), English Royalist army officer of the First English Civil War; Thomas Porter (1636-1680), an English dramatist...
Another 93 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Portarde Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Another 120 words (9 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Roger Porter, who settled in New England in 1638; with his wife and four children; Robert Porter settled in Barbados in 1676 with his two children; John Porter settled in Virginia in 1642.