Porters began married life at Blachley Lodge, located in the fashionable district on Noroton Hill, in Darien. Louisa’s sister, Frances, married the successful Stamford industrialist, Schuyler Merritt, in October 1879.11 The Merritts were neighbours of the Porters, also residing in a fine house on Noroton Hill. The Porters’ large timber-framed mansion occupied a superb location on a large estate.12 The interior photo taken at Blachley Lodge shows a cluttered room with a panelled ceiling, a large window, an ornate stairway, Victorian-style furniture, drapes, statues, paintings and hanging lamps.
The Porter’s first son, Louis Hopkins, was born on 10 March 1874, and Blachley Hoyt followed on 27 February 1876.13 When Arthur Kingsley was born on 6 February 1883, his father was preparing to retire from business. The family had no financial worries as Timothy H had had a lucrative banking career, while his wife, Louisa, possessed great wealth from the Hoyt family’s vast fortune.
Much of the correspondence between the young Kingsley, his parents and his brothers still remains. The letters show a surprising outpouring of love and affection between all of the family members. There was constant correspondence between the brothers, telling of school experiences and trips undertaken, and describing various leisure pursuits that included sports and hunting. The tone of the letters is one of intimacy and deep caring, conjuring up scenes of the brothers enjoying every moment outdoors during school holidays: searching for birds’ nests in springtime, swimming and boating in summer, and snow sledding during winter.
This feeling of affection is also present in the letters frequently exchanged between the parents. Louisa, in much of her correspondence, addresses Timothy H as ‘My Precious Husband’.14 As Timothy H spent weekdays residing in New York, there was usually daily correspondence between husband and wife, both relaying anecdotes about work and home. Louisa gave constant reports on how the children were progressing at home and school and of how she had spent her day.The following is a snippet of a typical letter that she sent to her husband each day: ‘I have washed and dressed the baby [Kingsley], settled the housekeeping for the day and am now waiting for Aunt Frank to come to lunch with us.’15
In the same letter, Louisa wrote that Louis was taking dancing lessons and learning deportment.16 She had just returned from visiting her sister, Fanny, and they had spent a pleasant time together. Louisa had even managed to make some free time to read Bradley’s lectures on Dean Stanley, recommended reading by Timothy H. Her letter is signed: ‘With fondest love, Your Louise’.
Timothy H was particularly imaginative and playful when writing to his children. In a letter to Blachley, he wrote: ‘This old Papa cat is feeling very lonesome to-night and he wants to see his little white kitty very much indeed. If he were only here the old papa cat would purr and sing to him and tell him ever so many stories.’17
In a letter to Kingsley, when Timothy H and Louisa were holidaying in California, the devoted father wrote:
Mine dear little Kingsley,
Papa wants to see his brave little boy very much, because
papa and mama love him ever so much. And we are
coming home on Saturday to see him and give him a
tight hug and a kiss. We have not had any little boy to
kiss and sleep with since we went far away in the cars.18
Timothy H also displayed great interest in the older boys’ education and was already setting high standards for his eldest son, Louis: ‘I was agreeably disappointed in Louis’ school report. It is no comparison with what his report will be this term, but I noticed that it was better – that it showed a higher term mark average than any one of the Hill boys.’19
6. Letter from Timothy H. Porter to Kingsley Porter, dated 15 July 1886.
Harvard University Archives, HUG 1706.114, Family corresponndence and papers of Porter Family 1885-86, Folder 1892-93.
This regard for excellence must have rubbed off on Louis as, in a letter to Kingsley, he praised his younger brother’s fine handwriting: ‘Dear King, I was very glad to get your letter and especially to see how well it was written. I wish you would always write as well as that. Between you and me the writing in your letter was better than that which either Blach or I write, and I hope you will keep on writing carefully like that.’20
It is also clear from the brothers’ early correspondence that Kingsley had a particular interest in drama. On 17 April 1892, Blachley wrote to the 9-year-old Kingsley, asking how his play was progressing and hoping that he and his classmates had mastered their parts.21
The entire family displayed a fascination with nature. While on holiday in California, Timothy H wrote to Kingsley, telling him of the impressive lakes and mountains that he had seen during a stagecoach drive to Saratoga.22 Blachley delighted in telling Kingsley about a host of creatures he had recently encountered, such as crows, squirrels and blue jays.23 This love of nature and the outdoors became a central facet in Kingsley’s development.
Timothy H’s deep regard for his wife, Louise, is apparent throughout the entire correspondence but most particularly in the poems he wrote to commemorate each of her birthdays. On her twentieth birthday he wrote:
To my darling
On her 20th Birthday
Twelve months ago with trembling hand,
Upon this sixth of May
I greeted thee, as maiden fair,
In timid, sacred lay...24
Louisa’s sister, Frances, gave birth to two daughters: Louisa Hoyt, on 7 September 1880, and Katherine Krom, on 9 January 1886.25 Both Merritt daughters were close in age to their cousin Kingsley and they attended many childhood events together. The happy Porter household, however, was struck with a major calamity soon after Kingsley’s birth, when Timothy H suffered a stroke of apoplexy.26 In 1887 he was stricken by a second stroke that completely paralysed his left side.
The Porters, Hoyts and Merritts continued to be on genial terms. On 27 December 1888, Louisa’s father, Joseph B. Hoyt, died at the age of 75.27 The Stamford leather merchant left a vast fortune of approximately three million dollars that was to be administered by his executors: his widow; his sons-in-law, Timothy H. Porter and Schuyler Merritt; and his intimate friend and associate Thomas Ritch.28 The main beneficiaries of the will were family members, including Louisa Porter, but there were also bequests of large sums to religious and educational institutions. Bitter disagreements as to the administration of the will developed between the executors and were subsequently fought out in a seven-year battle in the Court of Probate, the Superior and Supreme Courts.29
As the 1890s dawned, a series of tragedies of catastrophic proportions was about to befall the Porter family. Louisa became ill with pneumonia and died just three days later, on 13 December 1891, at the age of 44.30 Timothy H always believed that his wife’s death was hastened when she was persuaded to add a codicil to her will, making Schuyler Merritt co-executor.31
All three sons had been particularly close to their mother. Kingsley, aged just 8 years, must have felt a deep sense of loss and bewilderment at her sudden death. Also, his father was greatly weakened from his own illness, while Kingsley’s
