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An Introduction to the Porteous Research Project

This website include a listing of all known Porteous/Porteus family emigrants from 1623 to the present day, a history of the Porteous family and brief biographies of some of its famous (and some lesser-known) members, together with a summarized historical background to help put that emigration into context.

The author is seeking to analyse and come to some understanding of the historical background and social factors that led to this apparent mass movement of people - whether political, economic or historical - and to investigate whether there emerged any common factors when compared with the history of other similar families from the same part of Scotland, ie, the Borders, Peeblesshire, Dumfriesshire and Lanarkshire.

The aim is to establish the dates at which Porteous families emigrated, the principal cities and areas from which they moved, as well as the main places of settlement, initially in England and Ireland - and later in the Americas and beyond.

Any information about the emigration of Porteous/Porteus families (regardless of spelling) emigration to the US or Canada, Australia or New Zealand, other former British Commonwealth countries - or anywhere else - will be gratefully received.

Note

For the purpose of this research, when discussing the Porteous/Porteus family, I am including members of families bearing variant spellings, such as Portteus, Porteouss, Porteious, Portieous, Portious, Portiss, Portice, Portes, Portess, Portis, Portas, Pertus, Portus, Porteuse, Poythress and Porthouse, and others.