 Porter was born on December 24 , 1809 , the son of Benjamin Porter and Martha Olcott in Newbury , Vermont . He was one of five boys born to his parents . His father was a lawyer , but died suddenly in 1818 , leaving the family in difficult financial circumstances . He attended a charity school in Hanover , New Hampshire after the family moved there , but left school to work in a print shop . He also attended Dartmouth College . His mother died in 1825 , which meant the family was broken up and Porter worked at a number of small newspapers before arriving in New York City in the early 1830s . While in New York , Porter gained the nickname of " York 's Tall Son " . 
