Friday Finds... Who was George Porter and Isaac Richardson?
Reference Podcast - An Atrocious Murder* to build out WHO our murderer: George Porter and our Victim: Isaac Richardson were as people in the community.
On Fridays, I like to rehash our podcast characters and learn more about WHO they were as people in society - before their tragedy.
Our main characters from AN ATROCIOUS MURDER podcast (aired 11/21/2024) are:
George Porter
The Murderer
and
Isaac Richardson
The Victim
So, let’s see what we can find about the lives of both of our players in the story…
George Porter (1766-1830)
George Porter was born sometime around 1766 in New Jersey. It seems like he settled in the Wood County area sometime around the early 1800s, as he doesn’t “show up” until the 1820’s when he is referenced as being known as “Old Gay Lark” in the book: History of Henry and Fulton counties, Ohio : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men; by Author : Aldrich, Lewis Cass, ed; Published in 1888.
It was written that George was a half-breed Mohican* - but I was unable to find any evidence of this claim.
George had been a laborer for Isaac Richardson in the 1820’s at Isaac’s homestead: Roche de Bout just above Waterville, Ohio. Remember - we are back in the early 1800’s and the lines were much different, including county lines, as Waterville during this time fell under Wood County, Ohio.
George had been a carpenter, working on odds and ends at the mill of Isaac and it was said that Isaac wasn’t paying George for his work but instead taunting him that he would be unable to collect what he was owed due to Isaac being in a legal situation with a gentleman who was half owner of the financial downfall of the mill.
This created bad blood between George and Isaac, which finally came to a boiling point on the 22 of Jul 1830, when George shot Isaac in the face and chest with his shotgun.
George was the FIRST MAN EVER HANGED in the valley under the civil laws of the United States on the 5th of November 1830.
I read a few accounts that George had a wife and children, but I was unsuccessful in finding out much more information about George, other than what was published. The records before his death are slim to none.
Isaac Richardson (Unk-1830)
I was unable to find the birth of Isaac Richardson, but that does not mean that his historical imprint on society was not heavy.
He was married on the 15th of September 1814 in Montgomery County, Ohio to a Jane Dils (Diltz/Dilts). From the articles of Isaac’s death, it is known that he had at least one child with Jane, who was present at the time of his death on the 22nd of July 1830.
In 1814, "The first actual settlement made in or around Waterville was about a mile and a half above the village, when Isaac Richardson located there in 1814. His farm afterwards was known as "Roche de Boeuf Farm."
In 1816 the story goes:
Seneca Allen, the first resident justice of the peace in now Wood County, came in 1816 with his family from Detroit, MI. On the same vessel arrived the families of Jacob Wilkinson, Elijah, Charles and Christopher Gunn. The Gunns and Allen located on the north or west side of the river. Allen opened a trading place with the Indians at Roche de Boeuf&, where another noted character, Isaac Richardson, had a mill. The Gunns settled permanently between that place and now Maumee City.”
From: Story of the Maumee Valley, Toledo, and the Sandusky region, v. 01
Published in 1929
About the year 1817, Isaac Richardson and one Unk Thompson bought land including Roche de Bout and, later, built a dam across the Maumee at the rapids there and completed flooring and sawing mills and began their operation. Difficulties came and continued from the insecurity of the dam which bred endless strife and litigation. The one would one day TEAR DOWN and DESTROY what the other had built the day before.
An Excerpt from History of the Maumee River basin from the earliest account to its organization into counties; Author : Slocum, Charles Elihu, 1841-1915
“Without saying any thing about Thompson, Richardson was in every sense of the word a bad man, he was a tall man with a well-proportioned figure, flaxen hair and corresponding features; and it was then remarked that he would make a good model for an ancient Anglo-Saxon. If a bad man was needed for such a model, certainly they could scarcely obtain a better one. Porter had labored for Richardson at the mills as a carpenter and laborer, and had considerable claims for such labor, while Richardson could not be induced to pay nor do anything except to taunt Porter with the assertion that he could not collect his claims. This taunt, without denying in any manner the justice of the claims, he would cast up to Porter in the most aggravating manner. At last Porter became indignant and irritated beyond the powers of his endurance. One evening after dark while Richardson was sitting in his hall with his family and others around him, Porter came unexpectedly and immediately shot Richardson dead in his chair.”
Above are some photos of the area presently known as Roche de Beouf.
Another bit of history stands when we dig into the story about the school house that George Porter is said to have been shouting about when he murdered Isaac Richardson.
I found a little more about said schoolhouse —
From: History of Coshocton County, Ohio: its past and present, 1740-1881. Containing a comprehensive history of Ohio, a complete history …Author : Hill, N. N. (Norman Newell)
“A school-house was built in the eastern part of the township of Mohican Valley into Tiverton Township, Ohio, south of the river, about 1812, but before it had been used for school purposes, it was accidentally burned by a company of solders, who, returning to Cadiz from the Western frontier, encamped in it one night. It was not rebuilt. About ten years later, however, another one was built in the same vicinity, on J.M. Rodger’s farm. Isaac Richardson was the first teacher. He had a rough set of pupils to manage, who required and received frequent and vigorous applications of the rod.”
I believe this could have something to do with the school house bit that George Porter was going on about with Richardson. Maybe Isaac, in his inability to pay George had promised him a school house, one that he had ties to, but that he didn’t own. Maybe George didn’t know he didn’t own the school house. It is uncertain, but interesting, non-the-less!
What an interesting history with a lot of publication facts to back up the claims. I hope you enjoyed this addition to THE MURDER RECORD podcast and connecting the pieces a little bit more on who our characters were in their modern time.
