From "Old and New Westmoreland," by Hedley, 1918, p. 1067:
"WILLIAM HENRY PORCH--The Porch family, now so prominent and well known in Unity township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, was founded in this part of the State by Jacob Porch, the grandfather of the William Henry Porch, whose name heads this brief article. Jacob Porch came to Donegal, Cook Township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, but after remaining there a short time made his permanent home in Unity township on the farm adjoining that which is now the property of William Henry Porch. Here his grandson, William Henry Porch, was born. Frederick Porch, son of Jacob Porch, marrried early in life in Somerset county, then took charge of his father's farm, and after the death of the latter became the owner of it. Jacob Porch's wife had been before her marriage, Catherine Hershey, and she, after her husband's death, continued to live on the old homestead, her death, occurring there in extreme age. Jacob Porch and his wife were the parents of several sons besides Frederick, as follows: David and Henry, and a daughter, Sophia, who became the wife of Henry Loos, who resided near the old Porch home for many years. Both David and Henry Porch went in young manhood to Ohio, where they settled, the first in Knox county and the second in Hancock county, where they made their permanent homes. Frederick Porch continued to reside at the home farm, and took a prominent part in the life of the community, holding several important local offices. He served for some time as township assessor, and was a staunch Democrat in politics. He was a Lutheran in his religious belief, and a member of the Ridge Church of that demonination. His death occurred at the age of sixty years. Frederick Porch married Sarah Barclay, and they were the parents of the following children: Caroline, who died suddenly at the age of twenty-one years; William Henry, of whom further; Catherine, Lucinda and Mary, all of whom died of diphtheria within a few days on one another. They were all in young womanhood at the time of their deaths and fell victims to this dread disease at a time when it was epidemic in that region. About sixty young people died of it in this immediate neighborhood and the region generally suffered greatly from it.
"Born on the old homestead, September 19, 1837, William Henry Porch, the only son of Frederick and Sarah (Barclay) Porch, and the only survivor of their children, resided during his childhood at his father's home. His mother had died when he was a small child and his father afterwards married a lady who was already three times a widow and who had been before her first marriage a Miss Robb. She survived Mr. Porch for a number of years; they were the parents of one son, Frederick, who upon reaching manhood became a dentist in Greensburg, where he died at about the age of forty. His two children are also dead. He became the owner of the old farm, but being a man of no business capacity eventually allowed it to pass out of his possession. William Henry Porch continued to reside at the old place until his marriage, which occurred at the age of twenty-four, after which he purchased his present farm, which contains one hundred acres of excellent land and is situated about nine miles east of Greensburg, six miles south of Latrobe and one mile north of Pleasant Unity. He had received one hundred and fifty dollars from his father to assist in this purchase, and except for that small capital he has made entirely his present fortune. He has been one of the most successful and enterprising citizens of that township, and every enterprise which he has undertaken has prospered. When coal was discovered about forty years ago in that region, the farmers thereabouts, finding that much of this valuable mineral underlaid their farms, were anxious to dispose of it to the operators who were at that time beginning to develop the great industry. About the year 1880 Mr. Porch disposed of a portion of the coal discovered under his land at the rate of seventy-five dollars per acre, but with a foresight quite unusual reserved a large portion of these rights for many years. The wisdom of his decision may be seen from the fact that in 1915 he disposed of the remaining coal rights at the rate of two thousand dollars per acre. During these years Mr. Porch has carried on an extensive stock business, his operation being to purchase a herd of young steers, stall them and feed them for the market. Of recent years he has also turned his attention to horses, and has recently become well known as a dealer in fine young animals, which he would purchase, and, after personally supervising their preparation for use, sell them again at an advance. He has been most energetic in the pursuit of his business and has met with a very marked success. His operations, too, have had the effect of stimulating general trade and industry in the community, and he may be looked upon as one of Unity township's most useful and public-spirited citizens. He was bred in the hard school of necessity, and learned from that experience the knack of making and retaining money, and there are few men in the entire region who have met with a more notable success.
"William Henry Porch married (first) Lydia Trauger, a daughter of George Trauger, of Mount Pleasant township. Mrs. Porch died ten years after her marriage [in 1871], leaving three children as follows: 1. Sarah, who became the wife of Mr. Keck, of Mount Pleasant township, and the mother of his five children: Martin True, Henry Merl, Dan Stroble, Lola and Vernon. 2. Harry, who died at the age of nine years. 3. John, who worked for a number of years in the Keck store, but died at the age of thirty [married Nettie Andrews?]. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Porch married (second) Fannie [Veronica E.] Moose ( 22 July 1849 - 12 Mar 1924) of Virginia, and of this union also three children were born, as follows: 4. L. Gertrude (2 Jul 1874 - 29 Jul 1957), who became the wife of Edgar B. Fisher, who in engaged in business as a contactor and builder in Greensburg. 5. Edgar B. who married Carrie Kellse, and died at the age of thirty years at Greensburg, where he had made his home. 6. Trauger, who died in infancy.
"We have a term which has originated in this country to express a particular type of man who, though not peculiar to ourselves, is probably more common here that anywhere else in the world. The term is that of "self-made man," which expresses with a certain pungent precision common to popular phrases a type with which we are all familiar. It would be difficult to discover a better example of what is meant by the term than in the person of Mr. Porch of this article, one of the successful men of Westmoreland county and the surrounding region. The term, "self-made man," rightly implies a great deal more than mere success in business, rather involving the idea of one who has developed himself in every possible direction."