San Francisco County
Biographies
WARREN REYNOLDS PORTER
PORTER, WARREN REYNOLDS, President, Western States Life Ins.
Co. and ex-Lieut. Gov. Cal., San
Francisco and Watsonville, Cal.,
was born at Santa Cruz, Cal., March 30, 1861, the son of John Thomas and Fanny
(Cummings) Porter. His paternal and
maternal ancestors were respectively of English and Scotch origin, the former
settling in Massachusetts early in the eighteenth
century, and the latter about the same time going to Canada. John T. Porter came to California
in the spring of 1850, bearing a letter from Daniel Webster to the Postmaster
of San Francisco, from whom he secured the position which had been promised
him. The mother of Warren R. Porter
reached the State in 1857, and afterwards taught school in Watsonville
and Santa Cruz. On August 23, 1893, their son, Warren, was
married in Berkeley to Miss Mary E.
Easton, daughter of the Rev. G. A. Easton.
The children of this marriage are John Easton, Mary Francis, Thomas
Bishop and Warren R. Porter, Jr. (deceased).
From 1868 to 1870 Mr. Porter attended the Soquel
Primary School at Soquel, and in the latter year
entered Mr. Beasley’s private school at Santa Cruz,
where he remained until 1873. About a
year at the Watsonville Grammar
School, two years with the Rev. D. O. Kelley of Watsonville,
and the next twelve months at Mrs. Magee’s establishment, in the same town,
prepared him for the St. Augustine Military
Academy at Benicia,
from which he was graduated in 1880 at the age of nineteen.
During
these years, however, he did not depend entirely upon the schoolroom for his
education, for from the early age of ten to sixteen he was gaining a practical
experience of ranch life, valuable from both a physical and a moral
view-point. The best part of these years he devoted to dealing in horses and cattle, as
well as to the breeding of both. When he
was but fourteen years old he was a vaquero and expert breaker of horses, which
is something more than a “broncho buster.” but after his
graduation from the Military Academy
he returned to Watsonville, and
under the persuasion of Dr. Chas. Ford, at that time President of the Bank of
Watsonville, became a clerk in the bank.
He was ambitious to be a doctor, to follow in the footsteps of some of
his forbears who had distinguished themselves as physicians and surgeons. His father also, though he had himself become
a successful financier and wished his son to learn the value of money, was in
favor of the professional career for him.
After careful consideration of the matter, the son decided for the
business life. Thenceforward he became
interested in banking and financial affairs, studying to improve himself and
eager to enlarge the scope of his activities.
In
1884 Mr. Porter left the Bank of Watsonville to become bookkeeper of the Loma Prieta Lumber Co., and in the following year was made
secretary of the corporation, a post which he retained until 1904. Early in 1888 he was one of the organizers of
the Pajaro Valley National Bank, and also of the Pajaro Valley Savings Bank.
On the death of his father, in 1900, he was elected to succeed him as
president of both these institutions, and has held the offices ever since. In the same year his responsibilities were
considerably enlarged by the management of his father’s estate, as well as by his
presidency of the John T. Porter Company.
The
civic and political life of Warren R. Porter has been noteworthy. In 1899 Governor Gage appointed him a member
of the Board of Prison Directors, whereon he served with distinction through
the administration. He was a
presidential elector in 1900, and in 1906 was elected Lieut.-Governor of California. In this capacity he was far more than a
figure-head. During his term of office,
and in governor Gillett’s absences, he was virtually Governor. His relations with the latter were very
intimate, growing as they did not only from active association, but also from
Governor Gillett’s respect for the ability Mr. Porter had displayed both during
and following the campaign. His
political acumen was especially evidenced by his success in winning the coast
counties from the Pardee forces; and throughout his
incumbency as Lieut.-Governor and as acting Governor he had the respect of both
branches of the Legislature. In 1907 he
was again appointed prison director, this time by Governor Gillett. He retired from the field of politics to
devote himself to his own increasingly important affairs, and with the
distinction of never having been defeated.
Besides
the offices he holds in the companies mentioned above, Mr. Porter is president
of the Granite Rock Co., Sisquoc Investment Co., and
director of the Anglo-California Trust Co.
His clubs are the Pacific-Union, Family, Union League, Press, Olympic,
all of San Francisco, and the Sutter, of Sacramento. He is also a Mason, Knight Templar, Elk and a
Native Son of the Golden West.
Transcribed by Betty Vickroy.
Source: Press Reference Library,
Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page
283, International News
Service, New
York,
Chicago, San
Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2007 Betty Vickroy.
California Biography Project
San Francisco County
California Statewide
Golden Nugget Library