At least one member from the Portee family in Illinois married into my family in the past, and I have a cousin who is married to a Portee descendant. The Portee family was a very large clan and can be found early in the States as they were free people. Folklore was that the Portees migrated from Louisiana to the eastern seaboard States, but a better reference would be Paul Heinegg's biography on the Portee/Portis family. When you open the link simply scroll down to the Portee family biography, as the families are in alphabetical surname order. Good luck with your search.

http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/Pettiford_Ridley.htm