Patrick Porter's Violin

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Patrick Porter's Violin Returns to Virginia

Norm Addington Used by permission (see talk page, for Norm's comments

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“Along with Patrick Porter Sr. came his cherished (HAPF) violin, no doubt the only entertainment on the lonely frontier. It has been played so much in it’s over 250 years that it is worn thin in the chin area. If this old violin could tell its own story, it would be fascinating. While in Indianapolis, the owners talked to a music store owner about the violin and were told that the HAPF violins were made between the late 1600’s and early 1700’s about the same time the famous Antonio Stradivarius was making his finest instruments in Italy. The HAPF violin, made in Germany, didn’t have the renown of the Stradivarius. The Porter violin was played years ago along with a $30,000 violin and the opinion was that the Porter violin was superior. It has a most pleasing tone and mellowness.

The violin was given by Patrick Porter Sr. to his son, John Walker Porter, then to Samuel L. and Mary Moore Porter, then through the generations to the present owners” (The owners at the time of the book was written were Alfred and Mary Sorensen).

Alfred would play the violin at the Porter Reunions but the last time the writer remembers it being played was about 12-15 ago. As Alfred and Mary aged, they were no longer able to attend the reunions. Alfred died in 2003 and Mary in 2009.

The location of the violin became a mystery to the Porter cousins. So Carol Laferty, Bill Porter and the writer became determined to locate the violin. This detective work in 2006 led us down a long and at times a somewhat twisted and bumpy road, but at the end of this road we have a happy ending. In 2001 Alfred and Mary gave the violin to a Porter descendant, Dirk Powell, of Louisiana, who is a very talented musician, singer and recording artist of Appalachian music. Dirk has actually played the Porter violin on one of his CDs. Dirk has played with Loretta Lynn, Ralph Stanley, and Linda Ronstadt, just to name a few well known artists, so he is a cousin we are all proud of. In 2002 Dirk had the violin refurbished by a well respected repairman in Portland, Oregon.

Understanding the desire to have the Porter family heirloom returned to “its home in Virginia,” Dirk was gracious to do this provided he was reimbursed for his repair and shipping cost. The writer agreed to fund this cost and the violin was “home” again in late 2006. We are extremely thankful to Dirk. The writer will continue to care for the violin as Dirk, Alfred and Mary has done in the past.

The writer had the violin “tuned up” by a repairman of vintage violins in North Carolina in early 2007, for the tuning post had moved slightly during shipment. This repairman has a Stradivarius that he uses for comparison. He was so impressed with the Porter violin that he played it for almost 2 hours constantly making comparison to the Stradivarius. Maybe it was the rattlesnake rattlers that were put in the violin so many years ago to enhance the tonal quality that makes the Porter violin sound so good. He also said would like to buy the violin, which he was quickly advised that it was not for sale. He did state that the violin was very old.

The repairman that Dirk used believes the violin was probably made around 1840. If this is true, the first owners would have been Samuel L. Porter (1800-1883) and his wife Mary Moore (1801-1880). (Samuel L. and Mary Porter are Carol’s and the writer’s two-great grandparents.) Samuel is the son of Patrick Porter, Jr. Others believe that the violin is much older. Whichever is the case, the violin has remained with Patrick Porter’s descendants for many generations and is now is back home in Virginia. Since its return the violin has been played at Carter’s Fold, Hiltons, Virginia and various family reunions.

Norman Addington