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William Porter Burrall

Gender:
Male
Born:
September 18, 1806
Died:
March 3, 1874
Home Town:
Canaan, CT
Later Residences:
Canaan, CT
Bridgeport, CT
Marriage(s):
Harriet Holley Burrall (May 9, 1831)
Biographical Notes:
William Porter Burrall was the son of a prosperous lawyer in Canaan, Connecticut. Burrall attended local schools and had private family tutors before attending Yale College, where he graduated in 1826. In 1828 he traveled to Litchfield, Connecticut where he studied the law for one year. He then entered the Salisbury, Connecticut office of Samuel Church, later the Chief Justice of Connecticut. After completing his legal training, Burrall opened a practice in Canaan and became active in local legal affairs of the railroad interests in the northwest portion of the state. In 1838, he moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut to become President of the Housatonic Railroad, a position he held until 1853. He also served on the boards of the New York and New Haven Railroad and the Illinois Central Railroad. ...
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Education
Years at LLS:
1828
Other Education:
Graduated from Yale College in 1826.
Profession / Service
Profession:
Lawyer; Business; Political Office
Admitted To Bar:
Litchfield County, CT in 1829
State Posts:
State Representative (CT)
State Senator (CT)
Related Objects and Documents
Other:
Litchfield County, Litchfield County Court Papers by Subject: Admissions to the Bar
help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Catalogue of the Litchfield Law School, Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Tiffany and Company, 1849, 23.
Secondary Sources:
Haines, Selden. A Biogrpahical Sketch of the Class of 1826, Yale College. Utica, NY: Roberts, Book and Job Printer, 1866.
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