Portus Baxter
| Portus Baxter | |
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| Member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont's 3rd district |
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In office March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1867 |
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| Preceded by | Homer Elihu Royce |
| Succeeded by | Worthington Curtis Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 4, 1806 Brownington, Vermont |
| Died | March 4, 1868 (aged 61) Washington, D.C. |
| Citizenship |
 United States
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| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Ellen Jannette Harris |
| Children | William H. Baxter (1833-1843) Jedediah Hyde Baxter (1835-1836) Jedediah Hyde Baxter (1837-1890) Myron Leslie Baxter (1840-1895) Henry Clay Baxter (1844-1890) William P. Baxter (1847-1911) |
| Alma mater | Norwich Military Academy and University of Vermont |
| Profession | Politician, Lawyer |
Portus Baxter (December 4, 1806 – March 4, 1868) was a nineteenth-century banker, farmer, and politician from Vermont. He served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont.
Baxter was born in Brownington, Vermont, the son of William and Lydia (Ashley) Baxter. After attending local schools, he graduated from Norwich Military Academy in 1824, and entered the University of Vermont in Burlington. He left UVM in 1826 after his father's death, and was responsible for administering his father's estate. (In 1852, UVM conferred on Baxter the honorary degree of master of arts.) He moved to Derby Line, Vermont in 1828 where he engaged in agricultural and mercantile pursuits, which took him down the Connecticut River valley and into Canada. He was one of the original incorporators of the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad, which was planned to run almost the entire length of the state on the eastern border.
He became interested in politics early in his career. Baxter served as Assistant Judge of Orleans County from 1846 to 1847. He was the only Whig delegate from New England who supported Zachary Taylor for president in 1848. He also strongly supported Winfield Scott in his unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 1852. He became a Republican when the party was founded, and was a presidential elector for John Fremont in 1856.
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