Frank Porterfield, in his book titled The Porterfields, stated that John had a daughter named Mary Ellen with his first wife, Mary Ellen Rhea. The book states that the child was born in 1851, married George Gauger, had a daughter in 1872 (again named Mary Ellen) and died in 1874. The same information was contributed to David Trimble's book The Kincannon and McDonald Family of Southwest Virginia. However, abstracted marriage records for Andrew County, Missouri, include the 22 Dec. 1870 marriage of Frances F. Porterfield to George N. Gauger. And it is Frances, not Mary, who consistently appears as the eldest child in John Porterfield's household. Her year of birth would be estimated at 1853-1854 from the census records.
Was Frances the child of John Porterfield and Mary Ellen Rhea with her name and year of birth misrecorded in the Frank Porterfield book? Or was Frances the child of John and his second wife Martha? In which case was there a child named Mary Ellen from the first marriage who was erroneously recorded as the wife of George Gauger in the Porterfield book?
Until I can answer these questions I am not listing a daughter Mary Ellen for John. I am listing a daughter Frances for him, but have not specified her mother