Born James Glasgow Farragut, he combined Spanish, Scottish-Irish, and American family connections before taking the name David after his adoption into the Porter household. His father's age and his mother's death explain the practical circumstances of the adoption. His merchant-captain father had served around the Continental and South Carolina navies, so the Porter adoption continued an existing maritime lineage rather than inventing one. Entering the Navy at nine and joining USS Essex soon afterward made naval service, education, and family patronage inseparable parts of his formation.
Chapter · 7:37-19:39
Adoption, ancestry, and Farragut's naval identity
Farragut's family background and adoption by David Porter placed him inside an early American naval network while he was still a child.