fur trader, judge, b. Montreal, Canada. He was educated in a Jesuit seminary in Montreal. In 1791 he moved to Green Bay, where he clerked for a time in the store of Pierre Grignon (q.v.) and tutored the Grignon children. He soon entered the Indian trade, and, with various partners, spent the next several years trading in the St. Croix and upper Mississippi River region. From 1798 to 1805, Porlier, in partnership with Noel Rocheblave, competed seriously with Jacob Franks (q.v.) and Robert Dickson (q.v.) in the struggle for control of the northwestern Wisconsin fur trade. On the death of his partner in 1805, Porlier joined forces with Robert Dickson's fur company, and in 1806 followed that company into its merger with the Michilimackinac Co. In 1811 Porlier purchased shares in John J. Astor's newly organized Southwest Fur Co., thus beginning an association that eventually led to his financial ruin. During the War of 1812, Porlier fought with the British; following the war he continued to trade in Wisconsin, despite the decline of the fur trade in the area, the growing power of the Astor interests, and the government licensing system, which was disadvantageous to non- American citizens. Porlier, like most of the Green Bay traders, grew ever deeper in debt to the Astor interests, and in 1821 yielded to the suggestions of the American Fur Co. and helped organize the Green Bay Co. This company, designed to monopolize the fur trade of Wisconsin, and presumably to facilitate debt payments to Astor, in reality drove the traders even deeper into debt. Eventually unable to pay, Porlier lost most of his Green Bay lands to Astor. He had become an American citizen in 1821, and continued to live in Green Bay until his death. From 1820 until Wisconsin became a territory in 1836 Porlier served by appointment as chief justice of the Brown County Court. Colls. State Hist. Soc. Wis., 7 (1876), 19 (1910), 20 (1911); K. W. Porter, J. J. Astor (2 vols., Cambridge, 1931); WPA MS; J. Porlier Papers.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Jacques Porlier Papers for details.

View the narrative of Louis Porlier, son of Jacques, at Wisconsin Historical Collections.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]