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- Circa 1907: "Samuel Porter lived in Ipswich, Boxford, Bradford, and Chester, N. H. His house in Chester is no longer standing, and the grounds that surrounded it now form a part of the old graveyard, where he and his wife are buried. He is described by one who remembered him, as a person of very decided opinions and not easily influenced by others. He was a Revolutionary soldier, marching on the Lexington Alarm, 19 April 1775 (Mass. Archives, Lexington alarm, Vol XI, page 259.) He was in Capt. John Cushing's company, Col. Samuel Johnson's regiment. He was chosen by field officers as second lieutenant of Capt. Robert Dodge's company, and commissioned by council, 7 May 1776, at Ipswich. His son Nehemiah used to amuse his grandchildren by telling stories of the Revolution, one of which was as follows. One night when Samuel was on sentry duty, it was evident that the British were about to make some move, and the Americans wished to know on which of two roads they were likely to make their march. it occurred to Samuel that on one of the roads there was a bridge, and he lay down and put his ear to the ground, and was able to tell by the hollow sound that they had passed over the bridge, and this information enabled the Americans to defeat the British in a skirmish the next day."
"Just when he moved to Chester is not known, but he was living in Boxford in 1775. At first he haired a farm in Chester from Mr. Matthew Templeton, but later bought a place of his own, where he lived until his death. He was called by the Indians "Port Pig's Ear," though the origin of the curious name is now unknown."
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