Arthur Porges - Family Background

Family Background

Porges's father, Israel Podgursky, was born during 1885 in the Russian Empire near the eastern border of Poland. He had American associations through his two brothers—- Mortimer, a lawyer in Chicago, and Dave, who worked for the Chicago Board of Education—- and two sisters, Lilian and Rose, neither of whom married. Mortimer had two daughters, Lois and June. On migrating to the U.S. he changed his name to James Porges, with the new surname adopted from that of a relative, Leo Porges, who had a business in Chicago. Of this, Arthur wrote later, "I've never known if he ... picked the name out of the air, ... or had some ties to the Jewish Porges network." James Porges worked at the Bell Telephone Company in Chicago, and had four sons: Leonard, Irwin, Arthur, and Walter. Porges observed, "None had children, although all but me married rather late in life."

Arthur Porges's mother was Clara Kurzin, who died when he was nine years old.

Porges's brother Irwin (1909..1998) was a biographer of the American author Edgar Rice Burroughs (The Man Who Created Tarzan). Irwin also studied piano and music arranging at a music conservatory, became a professional pianist with dance orchestras, and composed popular songs.