Week 29, 2026 - A Source I Want to Understand Better - H Edward Porter, carpenter


 My grandfather, Harry Edward 'Ed' Porter was born August 1, 1888, in Rochester Township, Cedar County, Iowa the oldest child of William and Carrie (Barnhart) Porter. I knew him fairly well as he lived until 1972 just a year after I graduated High School. Unfortunately, I never thought to ask him questions regarding his younger years and even his older years and his working history.

Different stories abound - he was a carpenter, a laborer, a farmer, a cook, and the owner of a restaurant. A real jack of all trades.  He was raised in Iowa, married (twice) there and then after he married my grandmother Nellie Dillingham October 14, 1914, they moved to Flandreau, South Dakota where they owned a small restaurant and my dad was born. By 1920 they had moved back to Sioux City, Iowa where my dad and his siblings were raised.

Well, they worked in a restaurant. I have never found proof that they owned it. Just the family stories. They lived above the restaurant and in the 1920 census he was listed as a carpenter working for a company in Flandreau. 

Ed and Nellie behind restaurant
Flandreau, SD ca 1918

During the war (WWII) while my dad was away in the South Pacific in the military, grandma and grandpa moved to Midland, Michigan for work. Grandpa's brother Casey and his family had already moved to Midland, he wrote to Ed and said there was a lot of work for carpenters building new homes for the men returning from the war. 

So, when my dad was discharged from the service in 1945, he went to Midland because his parents were there already. Dad had been a carpenter before his military time, so a job was easy to find. 

A union carpenter was able to find steady work, had better pay and often choices of where and which states they wanted to work in. Family stories state that Grandpa was given a choice by the union to either go to Kansas to work or go to Michigan. And since his brother was already there, it was an easy decision to pack up and move to Midland.

A newspaper article in April 1967 in the Midland Daily News newspaper states that Harry Edward Porter received his 25-year pin with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners (UBC) Local 1654 in Midland. That would mean that he joined in 1944. So, did he or didn't he belong to the union back in Iowa? 

Ed Porter - 2nd from right

Suddenly, I am learning more about carpenter unions and their formation and trying to understand how the system worked. I have been reading about how the UBC originated in 1881 in Chicago, Illinois with just 36 members. A 'carpenter' built the building, and the 'joiners' did the finishing work. The union helped with higher wages, better working hours and conditions and medical benefits.

If my grandfather did belong to the union in Iowa, he would have papers in Sioux City stating that he was changing locals. It would have been Local 948, and I am currently working on following up to see what records are available and any information they may hold. 

And another thought: was my dad a union carpenter also? I have never seen any papers or pins, but maybe I will reach out to Local 1654 and see if they can help me.

Barbie



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