In the context of 19th Century occupations in the US, a porter means someone whose job is to look after a building by cleaning it, repairing things etc. Today you might call that job the "super" or superintendant of a building. Often the job was performed in exchange for a free or cheaper apartment. Three of my ancestors were porters in Manhattan and in Brooklyn. My great grandmpther assisted her father, the porter of 13 Broadway, now the Cunard Building, then a hotel, by scrubbing the office floors. Today the term refers to a bag handler at a hotel or a person with a supervisory job on the railroad. Sheila Santa Barbara CA