Chronology of Rufus Porter's Life

1792Born May 1 in West Boxford, Massachusetts
1796Entered the Fifth District School in West Boxford
1801Moved with his family to Flintstown (Baldwin), Maine
1804Living with his family in Pleasant Mountain Gore, Maine.
November 8 — entered Fryeburg Academy, Maine, where he remained for six months
1805-07Farming, fiddling and making various mechanisms in Pleasant Mountain Gore.
1807Shoemaker's apprentice in West Boxford
1807-10Playing fife and fiddle in Portland, Maine
1810-11House and sign painter in Portland
1812Private in the Boxford West Parish company of foot soldiers.
May 25, drafted as a private from West Boxford to guard Atlantic seaboard.
Painting gunboats in Portland.
1813In Denmark, Maine, painting sleighs and drums, playing drum, teaching drumming and drum painting.
1814September 7 - November 25, private and musician in three Portland companies of the state militia.
1814-15Teaching school in Baldwin and Waterford, Maine
1815Building wind-driven gristmills in Portland.
January 24, copyrighted title of music book, The Martial Musician's Companion.
October 16, married Eunice Twombly of Portland.
1816Moved to New Haven, Connecticut.
Started portrait painting.
Conducting a dancing school in New Haven.
August 16, son, Stephen Twombly, born in Portland.
1817-19Trading voyage to the Northwest Coast of Hawaii.
1818Painting in Hawaii
1819Painting portraits in Boston after return from Hawaii
1819-20Traveling southward on foot painting portraits—from Boston, through New York and New Jersey, to Baltimore, then to Harrisonburg Hot Springs, Virginia.
1820August 9, son Rufus King, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In Alexandria, Virginia, made a camera obscura to facilitate portrait painting.
Traveling with camera and handcart, painting portraits, to Harrisonburg Hot Springs, Virginia.
Boring for source of perpetual heat at Harrisonburg Hot Springs.
Invented main features of his "aerial locomotive".
1821-22Traveling northward painting portraits and inventing various mechanism. (Continued as part-time itinerant inventor and portrait painter until near end of life).
1822Invented, manufactured and sold a revolving almanac in Billerica, Massachusetts
1823Traveling through New England with "Joe" (probably nephew Jonathan D. Poor) as a portrait painter.
Painting portraits in New York.
Worked on project of a horse-propelled twin boat in Hartford, Connecticut.
June 29, twin sons, Sylvanus Frederick and Francis Augustus, born in Billerica, Massachusetts, where Porter maintained legal residence from 1823 to 1843.
1823-24Stagecoach trip to Philadelphia.
On foot from Philadelphia to New York as a silhouette cutter.
Sold camera and tried itinerant landscape painting in New England.
1824Began traveling through New England painting mural landscapes, which he continued on and off until c. 1845
c. 1824-25Painted murals in East Pepperell, Massachusetts; in Bradford, East Jaffrey, Greenfield, Langdon, Mason, New Ipswich and Orford, New Hampshire; and in Sebec, Maine.
Published A Select Collection of Approved, Genuine, Secret and Modern Receipts, For the Preparation and Execution of Various Valuable and Curious Arts in Concord, Massachusetts
1825December 5, son, John Randolph, born in Billerica.
1825-26Published four editions of A Select Collection of Valuable and Curious Arts, and Interesting Experiments in Concord, New Hampshire.
c. 1825-30Painted murals in Dover, Hancock, Haverhill, Lyme and North Haverhill, New Hampshire.
1827July 31, son, Edward Leroy, born in Billerica.
c. 1827Painted murals in Portland, Maine
1829July 16, daughter, Nancy Adams, born in Billerica.
c. 1830Painted murals in Fryeburg and Hollis Center, Maine.
c. 1830-35Painted murals in Amesbury, Bedford, Billerica, East Haverhill, Groveland, Harvard, Lexington, Lunenburg, Merrimac, Merrimacport, Sturbridge and Townsend, Massachusetts; and in Bridgton, Buxton, Cornish, Fryeburg, South Bridgton, Westbrook and Winthrop, Maine.
1831June 19, daughter, Ellen Augusta, born in Billerica.
c. 1831-34Painted murals in Topsham, Vermont
1832Patented a clock
c. 1832Painted murals in Georgetown, Massachusetts.
1833Constructed first model of his airship in Bristol, Connecticut.
1834Published plans for its construction in Mechanics's Magazine.
Patented a boat improvement.
October 1, son, Washington Irving, born in Billerica.
1835Patented a floating dry dock and a self-adjusting cheese press.
c. 1835-40Painted murals in Boston, Charles town, North Reading, Wakefield and Woburn, Massachusetts.
1836January 7, son, Washington Irving died, in Billerica.
Patented a distance measuring appliance, and a horsepower mechanism.
1838Patented a churn and a corn sheller.
Patented a life preserver, fire alarm and cheese press.
Painted murals in West Boxford and Westwood, Massachusetts; assisted in Westwood by son Stephen Twombly.
1840Patented a life preserver, fire alarm and cheese press.
Bought interest in the New York Mechanic
1841-42Publishing and editing the New York Mechanic in New York (changed to the American Mechanic in 1842 and published in Boston). In this journal published his plans for the rotary plow, hot air ventilation system, "American Telegraph", etc., and advertised his general patent agency run I connection with the paper.
1843Learned and practiced electroplating in Boston, and probably painted murals (there is one frescoed house in Boston).
1844Invented a revolving rifle and sold it to Colonel Colt.
Joined the militia at the outbreak of the Mexican War.
1845Painted murals in East Weymouth, Massachusetts.
1845-47Publishing and editing the Scientific American in New York. In this journal published his plans for the elevated railroad, "Steam-Carriage for Common Roads," etc.
1847Constructed and publicly exhibited a small working model of his airship in New York. (The small model was again exhibited in New York in 1849, and a larger and improved model was shown in Boston and New York in 1850.)
1847-48Publishing and editing the Scientific American in New York and Washington.
1848November 15, wife, Eunice Twombly Porter, died in Billerica where she had resided since 1823.
1849Residing in New York.
Married Emma Tallman Edgar of Roxbury, Massachusetts, in Brooklyn, New York.
Patented method of working the valves of auxiliary engines for feeding boilers.
Published Aerial Navigation in New York.
1850October 6, son, Stephen Twombly, died in Billerica.
1850-60Maintained legal residence in Washington, D.C.
1851January 23, petitioned Senate, 31st Congress, 2nd session, for appropriation to extend experiments in practical aviation.
Organized a stock company, the Aerial Navigation Company, to promote his airship, and shortly thereafter began construction of a full-sized machine, which was never successfully completed.
1852Published Essential Truth in Washington, D.C.
1853Exhibited a twenty-two foot working model of his airship at Carusi's Hall in Washington.
1854Patented a cord-making machine and a chair-cane.
1855Residing in Springfield, Massachusetts
1856Patented a punching machine and a fog whistle.
1857Patented two automatic grain-weighing machines.
c. 1858Patented a steam engine.
1859Patented a blind fastener.
Son, Frank Rufus, born.
1861Patented apparatus for elevating liquids by retained power.
1861-63Residing in Melrose, Massachusetts
1863Patented an air pump.
1865Residing in Malden, Massachusetts.
Patented a fan blower.
1869Residing in New York City.
Making plans for construction of an improved airship.
1871Residing in Bristol, Connecticut.
Patented a vise.
1872Residing in Plantsville, Connecticut.
Writing on religious subjects.
Invented and sold a cam lever vise.
1873Living in West Birmingham, Connecticut. Soliciting shares for his airship.
1878Living on Water Street, West Haven, Connecticut.
Applied for and received pension as veteran of War of 1812.
1879Manufacturing and selling improved clothes driers.
c. 1880-84Residing in Bristol, Connecticut.
1884Visited son, Frank Rufus, in West Haven, Connecticut, and died there August 13th.
Buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, West Haven, Connecticut.

— from Rufus Porter Rediscovered, 1980, by Jean Lipman, Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., New York, NY