Moses Porter

This is a 3-edged rapier type sword that was carried to the French-Indian War by Capt. Moses Porter, who was killed Sept. 5, 1755. The sword was returned to his wife, Elizabeth Pikin Porter, by the Captain's servant, who broke the news of his death.

Moses Porter was born in Hadley on January 13, 1722. He was the second son of Samuel Porter and Anna Colton and great-grandson of Samuel Porter, an original settler of the town of Hadley. In 1743, Moses married Elizabeth Pitkin, the daughter of Nathaniel Pitkin, a wealthy Hartford man. The couple lived in or near Moses' parents' home within the Hadley stockade.

Although not formally educated, Moses was a wealthy man. In 1748, he became the executor of his father's large estate and inherited significant land. By 1752, Moses and his family had acquired ownership of practically all the tract of land known as "Forty Acres and its skirts," fertile farmland located about a mile north of town. 

Finding the town stockade overcrowded, Moses decided to move to "Forty Acres" and build a new home. On May 27, 1752, the roof was raised, and by December, he, his wife Elizabeth Pikin, and daughter settled in. The new farm was successful, and Moses also owned a share of the North Hadley sawmill and several horses and cattle. To manage his operations, he owned two of the 18 enslaved people in Hadley and employed additional farmhands.

Moses Porter was also a military man. In 1755, he went off to fight in the French and Indian War, as Captain of a regiment commanded by Colonel Ephriam Williams. On September 8th of that year, he was killed in the "Battle of Bloody Morning Scout" near Lake George, New York. Moses Porter was only 33 years old and left behind a young widow and an eight-year-old daughter, Elizabeth.