William Porter Burrall
William Porter Burrall (September 18, 1806 – March 3, 1874) was an American politician and railroad executive.
Burrall, son of Hon. William. M. and Abigail (Porter, Stoddard) Burrall, was born in Canaan, Conn., September 18, 1806.
He graduated from Yale College in 1826. Immediately upon graduation he began the study of the law with his father. After one year, be entered the office of Hon. Samuel Church (afterwards Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court), in Salisbury, and subsequently attended a course of lectures at the Litchfield Law School, and was admitted to the bar of Litchfield County in April 1829. He practiced law in his native town until October 1838, when he removed to Bridgeport, Conn., to undertake the Presidency of the Housatonic Railroad Company, then just organized. He held this office until 1852 or 1853, when he resigned in consequence of the pressure of other engagements. He was also connected with the N. Y. and N. H. Railroad during its construction and the earlier years of its operation, and at the same time, and later, with the Illinois Central Railroad, first as Treasurer, and afterwards as President. In 1862 he was chosen Vice-President of the Hartford and New Haven Railroad, and at the death of the President in 1868, succeeded to the vacant office, and finally became Vice-President of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, upon the consolidation of the companies. This position he retained with distinguished credit until his sudden death, from apoplexy, in Hartford, March 3, 1874. He had removed his residence from Bridgeport to Salisbury, Conn., in 1859, and had subsequently represented that town several times in the Connecticut General Assembly, and had also been a member of the Connecticut State Senate.
In May 1831, he married Miss Harriet Holley, daughter of John M. Holley, of Salisbury, who survived him, as did five of his six children.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Yale Obituary Record.