Persona

Porter, Andrew Everett

1855-1940

Dr. Andrew Everett Porter was born at River Hebert, Nova Scotia in 1855. He attended Dalhousie University and later graduated with a degree in Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania in 1876. He received an opportunity to practice medicine in the Northwest Territories, and settled in Prince Albert in 1878 with the distinction of being the first registered physician. Dr. Porter married Marie MacPherson, in 1884, and they had three daughters and one son before Marie died in 1893. Later he returned to Nova Scotia where he married Alice Pugsley of River Hebert, and had two more daughters. Dr. Porter's activities and experiences were somewhat varied. He assisted Lieutenant Governor Laird in negotiating a treaty with Big Bear in 1878. In the area of politics, he ran against D.H. McDowell on the issue of autonomy for the North West. During the Reil Rebellion of 1885, he was appointed a medical officer. He recieved a similar appointment to the 218 O.S. Regiment in World War I, and after the war opened the Frank Sanitorium for tubercular soldier, in Frank, British Columbia. Andrew Porter was also a noted traveller who undertook extensive trips throughout Canada, the United States, the West Indies and South America. He chose Edmonton, however, to continue his medical practice until his retirement in 1928. He died in 1940 at the age of 85.