Porter Sheldon

Porter Sheldon (September 29, 1831 – August 15, 1908) was an American lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as a Republican U.S. Representative from New York from 1869 to 1871. His single term in Congress took place during the Reconstruction era, a significant period in American history, during which he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his constituents in New York’s thirty-first congressional district.

Sheldon was born in Victor, Ontario County, New York, on September 29, 1831. He completed preparatory studies in his youth before turning to the study of law. After reading law and fulfilling the requirements for admission to the bar, he was admitted to practice in 1854 at Batavia, New York. These early legal experiences in western New York laid the foundation for a professional career that would span several states and encompass both law and business.

Following his admission to the bar, Sheldon commenced the practice of law in Randolph, Cattaraugus County, New York. In 1857 he moved west to Rockford, Illinois, where he continued his legal practice. While residing in Illinois, he became involved in public affairs and was chosen as a member of the Illinois constitutional convention in 1861, participating in the deliberations to revise and frame the state’s fundamental law during the opening years of the Civil War. After the war’s end, in 1865 he returned to New York and settled in Jamestown, Chautauqua County, where he resumed the practice of law and became a prominent member of the local bar.

Sheldon entered national politics as a member of the Republican Party, which dominated federal policymaking during Reconstruction. Elected as a Republican to the Forty-first Congress, he represented New York’s thirty-first district in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1869, to March 3, 1871. During his one term in office, he contributed to the legislative process at a time when Congress was addressing issues arising from the Civil War, including the reintegration of the Southern states and the rights of newly freed African Americans. Although he sought to continue his service, he was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1870.

After leaving Congress in 1871, Sheldon returned to Jamestown and resumed the practice of his profession as an attorney. In addition to his legal work, he became active in business ventures associated with the rapidly developing photographic industry. He was one of the founders of the American Aristotype Company, a firm engaged in the manufacture of photographic paper. This enterprise later became part of the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York, linking Sheldon to one of the most important names in American industrial and photographic history.

In his personal life, Sheldon married Mary Crowley. The couple had one son, Ralph Crowley Sheldon. The family resided in Jamestown, where Sheldon’s home, later known as the Partridge-Sheldon House, became a notable local landmark. Reflecting its architectural and historical significance, the Partridge-Sheldon House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, long after his death, as a tangible reminder of his presence in the community.

Porter Sheldon died in Jamestown, New York, on August 15, 1908, at the age of 76 years, 10 months, and 17 days. He was interred in Lake View Cemetery in Jamestown. His career as a lawyer, delegate to a state constitutional convention, member of Congress, and early participant in the photographic industry marked him as a figure of regional and national interest in the political and economic life of the late nineteenth century.