Huntingdon borough
Horace Porter
Did you know? Horace Porter was born right here in Huntingdon back in 1837. He was a Civil War Medal of Honor recipient, earned it at Chickamauga for rallying fleeing troops while the lines were breaking, and then became the personal secretary to President Ulysses S. Grant. After the war, Porter served as U.S. Ambassador to France from 1897 to 1905, shaping American diplomacy in Europe. From a Pennsylvania boy to the center of national power.
From the record
Passages about this subject, quoted from county histories now in the public domain. Each one names the book and the position in the text so it can be checked. Spelling is as printed.
Henry Clay, of whom further, 2. George Strunk, died in 1902, at Lewistown, unmarried. He was a retired coal and lumber dealer; member of the Pennsylvania house of assembly in 1886; chief burgess of Lewistown, and a prominent Odd Fellow. 3. William Horace, died in October, 1903. He was a partner with his brother, George S., in the coal and lumber firm of Hoffman & Sons, from which he retired in 1901. 4. Ella M., died aged six years. (IV) Henry Clay, eldest son of William Boyer and Frances (Strunk) Hoffman, was bom in Granville township, MifHin county, Pennsylvania, March 24, 1841. He was educated in the public schools and Lewistown Academy, beginning business life as clerk in a general store. Later he engaged in the milling business at ReedsviUe, continuing several years, then in the same business at Milroy four years. About 1896 he returned to Lewistown, where he engaged in the coal and lumber business with M. Brandt anad is still so engaged. He is a Progressive in politics, but has never accepted office. He is a veteran of the civil war, in which he enlisted August 23, 1862, Company D, 131st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, serving nine months as hospital steward. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and served two terms as commander of Colonel Huling Post, No. 176. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Lewistown.John W. Jordan, ed., History of the Juniata Valley and Its People (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing, 1913) · character 1,155,893 of the scanned text
What the fact check changed. All four load-bearing claims hold: born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania in 1837 (April 15, 1837); Medal of Honor recipient; distinguished at the Battle of Chickamauga; personal secretary to Ulysses S. Grant; and U.S. Ambassador to France 1897 to 1905 (term began May 26, 1897, ended May 2, 1905).
Sources
Checked 2026-07-29 · County history, independently fact checked