History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 127

Author: Reifel, August J
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1648

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FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.

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to Hopewell and became the founders of the Baptist church in that country, so that the Baptist church in America always has been associated with the Stout family to such an extent that an early writer, writing in the year 1790, said: "From first to last, half of the members have been of this name." One of the earlier records of the activities of the Stout family mention the experience of a man who married a woman whose maiden name was Von- princis. They were captured by the Indians who killed the husband and left the wife wounded, supposing her also to be dead. In spite of the horrible cruelty of the Indians, they having fractured her skull and partially disem- boweled her, she lived and was discovered by another Indian, who spared her life and afterwards sold her to her countrymen in New York for a large sum of money. It was here that she met and married Richard Stout, who was the founder of the Stout family in this country. Their children were: Jonathan, John, James, Richard, Peter, David, Benjamin, Mary, Sarah and Alice.

Job Stout, the son of Jonathan Stout, was the founder of Hopewell, New Jersey, and married Rhoda Howell, who was born May 3, 1771, and died April 12, 1844. They reared a family of thirteen children. He served in the Revolutionary War from its very beginning throughout its fiercest campaigns to its close and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. He was married after the close of the war and moved to Fort Pitt, which is now Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In 1788 he embarked with a company of emigrants on the Ohio river and landed where Louisville is now standing. They were compelled to fight their entire way, as the Indians were very numerous and hostile. From Louisville this party went to Lex- ington, Kentucky, and from there to what is now Brackon county, Kentucky, on the Licking river. About the year 1812 Job Stout moved to Franklin county, Indiana, purchasing a partially developed farm. Here he resided until his death, which occurred February 28, 1833. The children of Job Stout and wife were Jonathan, who married Nancy Thompson in Ken- tucky; Rachel, who married William Cummins; Mary, who married Andrew Shirk; Elizabeth, who married Samuel Shirk; Abner, who married Malinda Tyner, the daughter of Reverend Tyner, a well-known Baptist clergyman of that time; Jacob, who married Amanda Rairden and later married Re- becca Wincoop, his first wife having died; David, who married Rhoda Miles; Margaret, who died quite young; Rebecca, who married Samuel Goudie ; Ira, who married Elizabeth McNutt; Sarah, who married Paul Holiday; Aaron, who married Helen McKinne; and Anna, who married William Wal- dorf.

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Ira Stout, of Springfield township, was educated in the common schools of this county and after leaving school returned to his father's farm. He was married September 23, 1905, to Effie Stout, the daughter of Willis Stout, of this county. To this union have been born three children : Harry, John and Martha. Mr. Stout is farming one hundred and twenty acres which he inherited at the death of his father. . He is very progressive in his farming ideas and devotes his farm to general agricultural lines. As he in- herited an instinct for agriculture it is only natural that his farm should be the embodiment of progressive ideas and he so skillfully applies his store of information and training to the management of his farm that he has met with considerable success. The Stout family always has been esteemed in this community, from the very beginning members of this family having been identified with the activities of the county, to the progress of which they have contributed greatly, Ira Stout being a worthy descendant of the sturdy founder of that name in this county.

EDWIN STANTON LUSE.

It is the pride of a great many Americans that they can directly trace their lineage to an ancestor who fought in the American Revolution, but it is only a few who can claim descent from the leaders in this great war, and among these is Edwin Stanton Luse, of Franklin county, who traces his lineage to Gen. John Stark, of military fame during the great struggle for American independence.

Edwin Stanton Luse, a prominent farmer of Springfield township, Franklin county, Indiana, was born at the Luse homestead located in this township, one mile from the Ohio line, November 3, 1857, the son of Hiram and Rebecca (Reinearson) Luse. He was one of ten children, six sons and four daughters, as follows: Cicero Laughlin, born August 27, 1835; Mary Ann, the eldest daughter, born November 6, 1837; Robert, born November 14, 1839; William Henry, born January 20, 1842; Elizabeth Jane, born No- vember 8, 1843; Francis Marion, born December 9, 1846; Almira, born June 12, 1849; Emily, born August 20, 1851; John Wilford, born February 19, 1855, and Edwin Stanton, born November 3, 1857.

Cicero L. Luse engaged in the occupation of a farmer, was married to Kate Conyers, and died near Lebanon, Boone county, Indiana, August 30, 1908, survived by his widow and several children. Mary Ann, the eldest

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daughter, married William T. Heard, a wealthy farmer of Butler county, Ohio. She died April 24, 1913, survived by a daughter and three sons, and several grandchildren. Robert was a veteran in the Civil War, serving three years with an Indiana regiment, and at the expiration of his first enlistment joined Company H, One Hundred and Ninety-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, at Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, on March 25, 1865. The only record ex- tant in the war department states that he was taken ill at Camp Chase in March, 1865, and nothing further ever was heard of him 'by his relatives and no further government record ever was found concerning him. It was thought that he died in camp, as every possible effort was made to locate him. William Henry died in infancy, aged about one year. Elizabeth J. married Moses Rariden and resides at Liberty, Union county, Indiana, and is the mother of three daughters and one son. Francis Marian died in June, 1906, aged sixty years. He owned and resided on the old Luse homestead, which formerly belonged to his grandfather. He is survived by his widow, three sons and one daughter. Almira married James T. Bartlow, and died at her home in Hamilton, Ohio, January 23, 1907, survived by her husband, one son and three daughters. Emily married John R. Appleton, a wealthy farmer of Springfield township. John Wilford is engaged in farming near Mt. Carmel, Indiana. He married Mary Liming, and is the father of a son and daughter.

Hiram Luse, the father of Edwin Stanton Luse, was the second son of Robert and Mary (Jenes). Luse, born in Reily township, Butler county, Ohio, January 26, 1811. With his parents he moved to Franklin county, Indiana, in 1815 and lived practically his entire life on the farm on which his father settled after coming to Indiana, and which afterwards was owned by him. His father dying in 1827, he concluded to equip himself with a trade, and with this end in view learned the trade of millwright, at which he worked for a few years, later purchasing the old homestead, where he spent the remainder of his life. On November II, 1834, he was married to Re- becca Reinearson, the daughter of John and Anna (Carle) Reinearson, who was born in Warren county, Ohio, October 30, 1813, and died at her home in Franklin county, Indiana, November 8, 1891, aged seventy-eight years and eight days, having been married fifty-seven years. She was a devoted Christ- ian and revered for her many charitable deeds. Mr. Luse died June 4, 1898, aged eighty-seven years, four months and eight. days, eighty-four of which had been passed on the old Luse homestead in this county. He was a very industrious man, highly respected in his community, and was noted as a deep student and inveterate reader and was a splendid conversationalist.

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Robert Luse, the paternal grandfather of Edwin Stanton Luse, was a native of Morris county, New Jersey, born August 19, 1780. He died in Franklin county September 30, 1827, aged forty-seven years. His parents were Matthias and Susannah (Stark) Luse, who were married in Morris county, New Jersey, in 1779. Matthias Luse, who was born October 19, 1759, in Morris county, New Jersey, and who died September, 1828, in Washington county, Pennsylvania, was a son of Joseph Luse, a Revolution- ary soldier, a land holder of Morris county, New Jersey, who was consid- ered very wealthy at that time. Susannah (Stark) Luse was the daughter of General John and Mary (Dilla) Stark, born at Flanders, New Jersey, in 1764, and died in 1841. It was from Susannah Stark that Edwin Stanton Luse is able to boast of his descent from the famous Revolutionary leader. The paternal grandmother of Edwin Luse was Mary Jones, the second wife of Robert Luse, and was a daughter of Jonathan and Keziah Jones, who migrated to Ohio from Pennsylvania early in the nineteenth century and settled in Butler county. Their daughter, Mary, was born in Pennsylvania, April 21, 1785, and died in Franklin county, Indiana, March 27, 1865, aged eighty years. The first wife of Robert Luse was Charity Warner, a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, where they were married in 1802. In 1806, following the line of emigration westward, they came down the Ohio river by boat from Pittsburg to Cincinnati, and for a time they lived near the mouth of the Little Miami river, where they tilled the soil on Round Bottom, but desiring a more healthful location on the upland, they entered government land in what is now Reily township, Butler county, Ohio, where they resided until after the death of Mrs. Luse, which occurred in the spring of 1807. She was survived by her husband, two sons and a daughter. After his second marriage Robert Luse sold his Ohio land and moved to Franklin county, Indiana. Here he entered government land and established the Luse homestead, continuing to reside on this farm until his death, in 1827.

Rev. Matthias Luse, the paternal great-grandfather of 'Mr. Luse, left Morris county, New Jersey, in 1788, migrating to what was then called the wilderness in western Pennsylvania, where he acquired extensive land hold- ings in Greene and Washington counties, that state. He established his resi- dence in Amwell township, Washington county, which was about eight miles from the town of Washington, and here he engaged in active farming and for a time taught school, being one of the pioneer school teachers of that sec- tion. He was ordained as a Baptist minister in the Redstone Baptist Asso- ciation, preaching for a time at the church located at Bruch Run, at the head of Ten Mile creek. On June 12, 1812, he performed the rite of baptism by

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immersion on Alexander Campbell and seven followers of the latter, who were the founders of the Christian church, or Disciples of Christ, some- times called the "Campbellites," after their founder, Alexander Campbell, who, with his father, Thomas Campbell, were originally Presbyterian minis- ters, and who, because of differences involving Scriptural teachings, with- drew from that church. Rev. Matthias Luse was prominent in public affairs of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and in 1820 was chosen to the office of county commissioner. He died in September, 1828, aged sixty-nine years, survived by his wife, Susannah (Stark) Luse, whose death occurred in 184I, aged seventy-seven years. Their son, Robert Luse, became an in- fluential citizen of Indiana, and although he died at the comparatively early age of forty-seven years, his life was one of activity and he accomplished a great deal during his active years. In 1822 he served as one of the five commissioners appointed by the Indiana Legislature to locate the seat of justice, or as it is now called, the county seat, of Rush county, which was established at Rushville, and which still remains the county seat of that county. He also served as justice of the peace.

Gen. John Stark, from whom Mr. Luse is descended on his father's side, was a citizen of great prominence and distinction in New Jersey colonial affairs before the War of the Revolution. When the colonies re- belled against the rule of England, he was appointed to the command of the Continental forces of New Jersey on May 15, 1777, serving with this command until May 3, 1783. His services earned commendation and made him a figure of national importance. He contributed much to the shaping of the destinies of this nation. After the close of the war for independence he served several terms as a member of the New Jersey Legislature.

On March 10, 1886, Edwin Stanton Luse was married to Eva L. Bar- bour, the daughter of Francis and Mary (Gleidwell) Barbour. After their marriage they rented a place in Springfield township, known as the Samuel Barbour place, and in 1901 they purchased fifty-one acres of land, which later was supplemented by a gift of eighty acres from Mr. Barbour, making a total of one hundred and thirty-one acres of fine farming land, which is well improved and one of the best and most productive farms of the county. Mr. Luse erected a new, modern house on his farm, and also rebuilt his barn, so that his place now presents a very attractive appearance.

Mr. and Mrs. Luse reared two children, Parry Francis, who was born April 12, 1890, and died November 2, 1906, and Nellie Rebecca, who was born July 27, 1901, now a student in the local schools. On August 28, 1912,

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Mrs. Luse died, survived by her husband and daughter, who reside on the home farm.

There is no more interesting history in this county than that of the Luse family, who, from the very earliest times, have shared in the activities not only in the councils of the nation, but in the various states and localities where they have resided. Mr. Luse still retains a keen interest in the affairs of life and especially in the management of his fine farm, and is eminently entitled to representation in the annals of his county.

JOHN B. NUTTY.

The farmer is indeed a busy man these days and farms are not isolated from the general run of life as they formerly were. Every farmer of any consequence has his modern conveniences and is in close touch with the life in the cities. The modern transportation systems enable a man to go to the state capital and return before evening. The telephone puts him in close touch with the outside world and there is a greater demand for his time and services than there formerly was. He is now expected not only to attend to his farm, but to take his share in the public activities of the community and to divide his time between private interests and public affairs. Among the farmers of this county who have found time to participate in the public activities of the county and at the same time give the best of his attention to his own interests, is John B. Nutty, of Springfield township.

John B. Nutty was born in Augusta county, Virginia, January 9, 1845, coming to this part of the country with his father. He was the son of James and Elizabeth (Hanger) Nutty, the latter of whom was the daughter of John Hanger, of Virginia. James Nutty was married in that state and to him and his wife were born eight children: Mary, Elizabeth, John B., Ellen, Howard, Esteline, George and Ida. Mary, Elizabeth, Ellen and Ida are deceased. Howard, of Connersville, married Blanche Grist, now deceased, and had one daughter, also now deceased. Howard Nutty married, sec- ondly, Florence Abernathy and they have three children, Frank, Archie and Maud. Esteline, a widow, lives at Dayton, Ohio.

James Nutty, the father of John B. Nutty, was a native of Virginia and came from a very prominent family of that state. He concluded to go west- ward, and in 1854 left Virginia and arrived in Indiana a short time later, locating in Springfield township, Franklin county. He engaged in farming

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in this community, having farmed in Virginia and was highly regarded while a resident in this county. He was a man of very religious temperament and was an active worker in the United Brethren church. Mr. and Mrs. James Nutty were well known and well liked by their many acquaintances and endeared themselves to all with whom they came in contact. Mr. Nutty died in 1871 and his wife died a short time afterwards.

John B. Nutty was born in Virginia and came to this state with his father. They came overland in a covered wagon, which was a common means of transportation in those days. He was quite young when he carne to this county and attended the district schools here. He worked with his father on the farm and early developed those traits of industry which char- acterize his life as a farmer. In 1884 he purchased a farm of forty acres in Springfield township, which he sold in 1894, and after that bought the farm on which he now resides, purchasing it about 1899. This farm consists of seventy-seven acres of splendid farm land, which he devotes to general farming. Mr. Nutty was married September 28, 1880, to Elizabeth Smith, the daughter of Benjamin Smith, of this county. Elizabeth Smith was one of seven children of Benjamin and Sarah (Landon) Smith, as follows : Daniel, Samuel, Martha, Elisha, Benjamin, Elizabeth and Amy. Samuel and Amy are now dead. Daniel married Georgia N. Roberts and lives in El- wood, Indiana. Martha married Edward Hyde and lives in Bath township, in this county. Elisha, a farmer of Springfield township, married Cora Roberts and has one son, Linly R .; Benjamin married Jennie Buckingham and lives in Madison county.

Benjamin Smith. father of Mrs. Nutty, died in 1901, survived by his second wife, Margarette Ann (Myers), who is still living, his first wife having died May 15, 1874. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church in Springfield township, in which they were very active.

Samuel Smith, the grandfather of Mrs. John B. Nutty, was one of the earliest settlers in this part of the country. He married Letitia Updike, whose family was very prominent in the early days of Franklin county. They bought land here, entering ninety-three acres, to which Mr. Smith devoted his entire life after retiring from his trade, which was that of a wheelwright and at which he worked the earlier part of his life. He was considered one of the most expert wheelwrights of that time in this section of the country.

John B. Nutty and wife have two children, Edna May and Raymond S. Edna May married James Boyle and lives in Union county, Indiana, where Mr. Boyle owns and operates an extensive farm. Raymond married

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' Blanche Whitman and lives in Franklin county, in Springfield township. Mr. Nutty is very active in politics and is one of the standard bearers of Democracy in Franklin county. He has served as road supervisor in Spring- field township and has been spoken of for other offices, but has not desired to enlarge his political activities yet. Mr. Nutty's farm is known as a pro- gressive one and is especially noted for the completeness and up-to-date char- acter of its equipments. Mr. and Mrs. Nutty are active in the social life of their locality and are well regarded by all who know them.

AMOS W. BUTLER.

Amos Butler, a young Quaker from Chester county, Pennsylvania, came to Lawrenceburg in 1803. He selected some land in the "Big Bottoms," near Elizabethtown. The next spring, upon his return from Pennsylvania, he found his chosen homestead under water. In the course of his prospect- ing in the summer of 1804 he made his way along the Indiana trail up the Whitewater river to the site of the present town of Brookville. Greatly pleased with the beautiful region at the forks of the river he selected the southeast quarter of section 20, being influenced by the fact that it had little large timber on it. The second growth was doubtless that which occupied an old Indian clearing. This land was entered at the land office at Cincin- nati, December 4, 1804, being the first entry of land within the limits of the future town of Brookville, and Amos Butler was the first settler of that town. That winter he busied himself with plans for developing the new region. He and Jesse B. Thomas, of Lawrenceburg, afterwards a United States senator from Illinois, and the author of the historic "Missouri Com- promise," were associated together in the plan to form a new town. July 3, 1805, they entered the northwest quarter of section 29. For this Mr. Butler paid the greater part of the purchase money, but Thomas succeeded in having the patent issued to his name. On this land the original plat of the town of Brookville was laid out August 8, 1808. The sale of the lots was deferred through legal proceedings taken by Amos Butler. He later agreed to a compromise settlement by which he was deeded part of the land in consideration of the payments he had made. The first lot in this addition was sold March 7, 1811. In the meantime John Allen, on July 6, 1805, entered the quarter section east, and Amos Butler, on March 18, 1806, entered the quarter section north of the original plat. Both these settlers

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laid out additions to the town, and both these additions are dated May 26, 1812.

Mr. Butler remained at Brookville until 1818, when he removed to Hanover, Jefferson County, and there, in a little old graveyard, is buried Brookville's first settler .- (From Indiana Quarterly Magazine of History, Volume I, No. 4, 1905, page 209.)

Amos W. Butler is the secretary of the Indiana board of state charities, and has held that position since 1898. Indiana holds an enviable position among the states of the Union in the field of public charities and no one has done more to give Indiana this rank than Amos W. Butler. He has served under five governors, each of whom has borne testimony to his valuable services. At the Indiana state conference of charities and correction, Octo- ber 13, 1912, Governor Thomas R. Marshall, in his address, said: "This meeting would not have been possible in Indiana thirty years ago. It is the result of the patient toil, the struggle, the Christian self-sacrifice and devo- tion of the Indiana board of state charities, and I should be guilty of a dis- tinct injustice if I did not here publicly proclaim that every member of that board except myself, and particularly its secretary, Amos W. Butler, has been a part of the real motive power which has touched the consciences, awakened the intellect and moved the people of Indiana to mighty endeavors toward the reformation of human character. No man in this state can suc- cessfully enter the political arena in Indiana unless he purposes to stand back of the board of state charities and to back up its efforts in behalf of the sinning, sorrowing, dying men and women of the state."

But Mr. Butler's reputation is more than state-wide. He has been con- nected prominently with associations of national and international character. Since childhood Mr. Butler has been interested in scientific pursuits. His work has been principally in the fields of vertebrate zoology, anthropology and sociology. His publications embrace nearly a hundred titles. He is a founder of the Brookville Society of Natural History, of the Indiana Aca- demy of Science and Indiana Audubon Society, of both of which last he was president. He is a founder of the American Anthropological Society and has served in different official capacities in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, being its vice-president and chairman of the sec- tion of anthropology in 1901. He is a member of numerous scientific so- cieties in this country and abroad. In his present field of activity he has held official positions in a number of organizations. He was president of the national conference of charities and correction at the Minneapolis meeting in 1907. For several years he was secretary of the American Prison Associa-

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tion and served as president of that association in 1910. That year he was chairman of the American general committee to entertain the international prison congress in Washington, of which he was chosen vice-president. He has served as a lecturer on public charities at Purdue and Indiana Univer- sity, Lane Theological Seminary, the Chicago School of Philanthropy and the University of Chicago. At the session of the Indiana state conference of charities at Madison, he was elected president for 1915. Mr. Butler is a recognized authority on public charities and correction and his services have been in demand in other states than his own.

Amos W. Butler was born at Brookville, Indiana, October 1, 1860, the son of William W. and Hannah (Wright) Butler. William W. Butler was the son of Amos and Mary ( Wallace) Butler.

Amos Butler, Sr., was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, and settled in Brookville, Indiana, in 1804. He entered the southeast quarter of section 20, the first land entered within the future boundaries of that town, Decem- ber 4, 1804. He was the first settler of Brookville. He and Jesse B. Thomas laid out the original plat of Brookville, August 8, 1808. He died at Hanover, Indiana, and with his wife is buried in the old Hanover cemetery.

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History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 127

Author: Reifel, August J Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1648

Author: Reifel, August J
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1648