Gilchrist Porter

Gilchrist Porter
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857
Preceded by	Alfred W. Lamb
Succeeded by	Thomas L. Anderson
In office March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853
Preceded by	William Van Ness Bay
Succeeded by	Alfred W. Lamb
Personal details
Born	(1817-11-01)November 1, 1817 Windsor, Virginia, U.S.
Died	November 1, 1894(1894-11-01) (aged 77) Hannibal, Missouri, U.S.
Resting place	Riverside Cemetery
Political party	Opposition
Other political affiliations	Whig
Profession	Politician, lawyer, jurist

Gilchrist Porter (November 1, 1817 – November 1, 1894) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served two non-consecutive terms as a U.S. Representative from Missouri from 1851 to 1853, then again from 1855 to 1857.

Born in Windsor, near Fredericksburg, Virginia, Porter received a limited schooling. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Bowling Green, Missouri. He owned slaves.^[1]

Porter was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-second Congress (March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1852 to the Thirty-third Congress.

Porter was elected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857). He served as chairman of the Committee on Private Land Claims (Thirty-fourth Congress). From 1866 to 1880 he was a Missouri circuit judge.

He resumed the practice of law until his death, which occurred in Hannibal, Missouri on November 1, 1894. He was interred in Riverside Cemetery.

• United States Congress. "Gilchrist Porter (id: P000440)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.