PFAUTZ-FOUTS-FOUTZ NEWSLETTER No, 3
July, 1981
Editor: Dr. John Scott Davenport A Sweltering Summer's Day
1375 Stratford Drive on Headwaters of Cuyahoga,
Kent, Ohio 44240 Portage Co., Ohio
Who Does What, Who Pays For What---And Your Options
In response to several queries, be advised that there are three elements to the current PFAUTZ-FOUTS-FOUTZ genealogical research project, Newsletter publication, and proposed book publication: (1) Dr. Davenport, who conducts the field research, collects and systematizes data, edits the Newsletter, and who will edit and write the genealogy books; (2) Dean R. Foutz, President, Foutz Family Research Foundation, 677 Ala Moana Blvd., PH (Penthouse). Honolulu, Hawaii 96813; and (3) The Jacob Foutz Family Association, Inc., P. O. Box 1500, Farmington, New Mexico 87401.
Dean R. Foutz functions as the business manager and publisher for the cooperative effort. After receiving copy from Dr. Davenport, Dean has the Newsletter printed, has computer-printed labels prepared, and has the labeling , stamping, and mailing accomplished. He plans to publish the forthcoming genealogy books under "The Foutz Family Research Foundation" imprint.
The Jacob Foutz Family Association, Inc., is the depository of project funds. A nonprofit corporation with an Internal Revenue Service certificate enabling tax deductibility for donations, the JFA controls all funds, incoming and outgoing. Both Dr. Davenport and Dean R. Foutz send bills to the JFA for a portion of their expenses.
Everyone of known interest in PFAUTZ-FOUTS-FOUTZ genealogy is welcome to the Newsletter. Contributions are strictly a matter of individual choice. Both Dr. Davenport and Dean Foutz are self-supporting, are not paid and do not profit --- beyond the satisfaction and merits of the work itself. The JFA has no paid employees,
All donations or contributions should be made payable to "The Jacob Foutz Family Association"---but should be mailed to Dean R. Foutz, 677 Ala Moana Blvd., PK, Honolulu, HA 96813. The reason for this is not apparent but is a matter of efficiency: it eliminates the necessity of the JFA having to advise Dean of address changes, additions, and corrections. Updating of the mailing list will be done as a matter of procedure incidental to receipt of the donations. Checks are then forwarded to the JFA in New Mexico --- where all financial records are maintained by a CPA, who also contributes his services.
Whether you elect to take the deduction on your Income Tax Return is a matter of your own choice. All conditions required by the IRS have been met and are maintained. The working arrangement is complimentary --- Dr. Davenport does not have to concern himself relative to publishing details or fund raising, Dean Foutz concentrates on publishing, and the JFA concentrates on fund raising, record keeping, etc..
If you have any kinfolk who would like to receive the Newsletter, send their names and addresses to Dean. Please remember to advise Dean if you move --- the computer cannot change your label if it is not informed that you have moved. From a Fouts Folk Newsletter circulated to twenty-one ten years ago, we now have a circulation of more than 400, and are adding 50 additional with each Newsletter.
Jacob Pfoutz Descendants Hard at Work; Theobald Next, Then Conrad
Seven generations of the descendants of Jacob Pfautz (B) [see item following] have been blocked out by the Editor---some lines are complete up into the present. Fourteen of Jacob's descendants, from New York to California, are now collaborating to fill in the missing families, particularly those of Fouts daughters.
The Jacob Pfautz work is proceeding so well that the Editor anticipates starting the Theobald Pfautz-David Fouts, Sr. (C) by October 1. Programmed work on Conrad Foutz' descendants should commence by February 1, 1982. In the meanwhile, research is being done on all known Pfautz-Fouts-Foutz lines.
Preparation of copy for publication, however, will lag behind --- as we collect maps, letters, anecdotes, etc., to enliven and flesh out the genealogies. Names and begats will predominate, of course, but the folk will be placed in correct geographical and historical context. Check and double-check with Census enumeration’s, County records, church records, etc., are rigorously followed.
Where there have been holes in the data on file --- or where the Editor has questioned the quality of the abstracts --- the Editor, as time and money permit, will do on-site research. Since the last Newsletter, he has done all Pfautz-Fouts-Foutz, etc., at the following county courthouses: Geuaga, Mahoning, Guernsey, Belmont, Monroe, Noble, Morgan (twice), Perry, Muskingum (twice), Athens, and Meigs Cos., Ohio; St. Joseph and LaPorte Cos., Indiana; Gilmer, Lumpkin, and Murray Cos., Ga.; and Fulton, Stark, Marshall, Henry, Putnam, and Bureau Cos., Illinois. He also made a trip to research historical archives to Eastern Pennsylvania. In contrast to past courthouse visits, all Pfautz-Fouts-Foutz data are now abstracted --- up to and including 1950. After 1900, all branches of the family who had not already forsaken farming began to abandon rural areas and scattered contrary to the earlier western drift.
If you have a particular interest in any one of the counties mentioned, the Editor is glad to share --- but be patient for a reply. And a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) always, please.
Order of Family Patriarchs - Revised
The German PFAUTZ surname and its variations in the United States were initiated by a number of immigrant ancestors---from Wurtemburg, Baden, and Rhenish Prussia. The list continues to grow as research discovers more Pfautz-Fouts-Foutz without previously identified roots. Since the last Newsletter, three more immigrant ancestors have been identified and two more are in a Fouts/Fout (Pfautz/Fauth) sort-out. Within the Newsletter, the alphabetic code is used to indicate the family line, viz., (A) = a descendant of Hans Michael Pfautz, Sr.. of Lancaster Co., Pa., immigrant of 1727, etc.
PFAUTZ PATRIARCHAL ORDER AS OF 1 July, 1981
A - HANS MCHAEL PFAUTZ, of Lancaster Co., Pa., immigrant of 1727.
B - JACOB PFAUTZ, of York Co., Pa., immigrant before 1730.
C - THEOBALD PFAUTZ (DAVID FOUTS, Sr.), of Randolph Co., N.C., immigrant of 1738.
D - JOHN DAVID PFAUTZ, of Washington Co., Md. (issue of first wife); of Rowan (now Davidson) Co., N.C. (issue of second wife); immigrant of 1749.
E - CONRAD FOUTZ, of Franklin Co., Pa., immigrant of 1752.
F - JOHN JACOB PFAUTZ, of Philadelphia, Pa., immigrant of 1773.
G - MICHAEL PFOUTS, Sr., of Harrison Co., Ohio, immigrant of 1787.
H - JOHN FOUTS, of Morgan Co., Ohio, immigrant of 1820.
I - ADAM FOUTZ, of Adams Co., Pa., immigrant of 1839.
J - JACOB FOUTZ, of Baltimore, Md. , immigrant of 1849.
K - LEWIS FOUTZ, of Montgomery Co., Ohio, immigrant of-1850.
L - ADAM FOUTZ, of Dearborn Co., Indiana, immigrant of 1854.
M - WILLIAM FAUTZ, of San Francisco, Calif., immigrant of 1855.
N - GOTTLIEB PFAUTZ, of Philadelphia, Pa., immigrant of 1857.
O·- WILLIAM FAUTZ, of Norfolk, Va., immigrant of 1866.
In addition to these Patriarchs, there have been two childless PFAUTZ immigrants and two female FAUTZ/PFOUTS recorded. Also, certain FOUTS lines in the United States are known to have originated with Tobias FOUT (Fauth), of Allegheny Co., Md.; Isaac FOUCH, of Morgan Co., Ohio; and Peter FOUGHT (Focht/Vogt), of Richland Co., Ohio. Additional immigrant lines and name-shift identifications are anticipated as research comes forward into 20th Century records,
Four Daughters, One Enigma Found In LaPorte Co., Indiana, Records
Fouts were among the pioneer settlers in Southern and Central Indiana, but few of them were interested in Northern Indiana --- and those that went did not stay. Noah Fouts, son of Frederick, of Montgomery Co., Ohio, tried St. Joseph County, on the Michigan border, in the 1830s, soon moved south to Clinton County. Otherwise, only Nathan Fouts, son of Levi , of Montgomery Co. , Indiana , was a previously documented Northern Indiana settler, being enumerated in LaPorte County, adjacent to St. Joseph, Michigan, and Lake Michigan, in the Census of 1850.
Nathan was a loose-end, so the Editor on a recent field trip to various Illinois counties dropped off at St. Joseph (South Bend) and LaPorte (LaPorte) counties and delved into courthouse records. He found much that he had not expected in both counties, but St. Joseph will be saved for the next Newsletter.
As all genealogical searchers know, because of their low profile in public record and assumption of husbands' surnames, daughters were easily lost into a non-identifiable limbo prior to the Census of 1850 --- when each individual had to be enumerated and separately described. If father did not leave a will or failed to mention his daughters therein if he did make a will (a common occurrence in North Carolina where daughters did not inherit equally with sons prior to the 1820s), then the daughter only appeared in records by her husband's surname, she was easily lost to her own family --- unless genealogical data was left behind.
Nathan Fouts left tracks in LaPorte County, but he was preceded by four ' Fouts females --- all previously unreported and all prior to 1850. Look at these and decide who the Fouts females were. Then, I'll tell you about Nathan and some of the later Foutz.
LaPORTE COUNTY, INDIANA, MARRIAGE RECORDS
Date of Marriage Principals Book/Page
2 Jun 1836 Cynthia FOUTS and Newton WRIGHT A:87
19 Apr 1838 Gincy C. FOUTS and David CAMPBELL A:163
14 Mar 1841 Charlotte E. FOUTS and Vickers PRESTON A:302
3 Oct 1843 Nancy FOUTS and George HALL A:477
12 Mar 1853 Nathan FOUTS and Mary ASHER C:210
2 Feb 1860 Jemima FOUT and Augustus BLOCK D:576
6 Jan 1916 Joseph FOUTZ and Elizabeth SMITH U:502
20 Sep 1916 Charlotte FOUTZ and Walter G. STONE V:139
23 Dec 1916 Earl FOUTS and Marie MULL V:199
7 Jun 1921 Ora FOUTZ and Earl C. WILSON X:288
8 Jul 1923 Charles C. FOUTZ and Mary ESTABROOK Y:340
Okay, who were the first four female Fouts? The Wright marriage is indicative---and the non-German surnames involved in all four marriages point also. However, there were two Fouts who intermarried into the Wrights in North Carolina and who were associated with that family in Indiana and western migrations --- namely Noah Fouts, son of Andrew (B), of Putnam Co., Indiana, and Daniel Fouts, son of Andrew (C), represented by his son Noah. The fact that Noah Fouts, son of Frederick (B), of Montgomery Co., Ohio, muddled in and out of the area also is just another variation of the PFAUTZ-FOUTS-FOUTZ genealogical syndrome-. "If there was any possible way to confound or confuse the family genealogy, our various ancestors did not let the opportunity pass.--
Time ran out before land records could be searched, but the deeds were searched on the return trip from Illinois. The females are most likely the daughters of Noah Fouts, son of Daniel, because of the following items:
Deeds 1:640 - 29 Mar 1839 - Judah Leaming, wife Rosanna, to Eri W. Fouts, all of LaPorte Co., for $250, west part, N½, NE¼, Sec 30, T38N, R2W, of Public Lands sold at LaPorte Land Office... /s/ Judah Leaming, Rosanna Leaming. Wit; J. W. Foster, John Johnson. [This deed is indexed as "Eunice W. Fouts" in both Grantee-Grantor listings.]
Deeds M:81 - 25 Dec 1840 - Erie W. Fouts to Hannah Wright, both of LaPorte Co., for $300, west part, N½, NE¼, Sec 30, T38N, R2W, of Public Lands sold at LaPorte Land Office... /s/ Erie W. Fouts. Wit: Fannie A. Fouts.
Eri W. Fouts was the eldest son of Noah Fouts, son of Daniel (C), and apparently went West shortly after selling out. On 9 Apr 1843, he married Philetha Leaming in Jefferson Co., Iowa Territory. In the Census of 1850, Noah Fouts, of Daniel, was enumerated in Fort Des Moines Twp., Polk Co., Iowa, with son William and daughter Mary still at home, with sons Eri W. and Zimri and their families living adjacent. Noah was blind. After he sold out in Union Co., Indiana, in the early 1830s, he apparently never again took title to land in his own name. Presuming those four Fouts females were Noah's daughters, we have doubled the size of his known family. But who was Fannie A. Fouts?
The other part of the LaPorte County findings is a case in point: How good is/was the family data given in marriage records after statutes were passed requiring personal and family data under oath by marriage license applicants?
Joseph Foutz, above, reported that he was the son of Charles C. Foutz, who was born in Indiana and was the superintendent of the LaPorte Electric Company, and of Mary Munson, who was also born in Indiana.
Charlotte E. Foutz, above, reported that she was the daughter of Charles C. Foutz, who was born in Gilboa [Putnam Co.], Ohio, and was a superintendent, and Etta Munson, who was born in Ohio.
Ora Foutz, above, reported that she was the daughter of C. C. Foutz, who was born in Cedarville [Greene Co.], Ohio, and was an electrical engineer, and of Mary L. Munson, who was born in Bucyrus, Ohio.
Charles C. Foutz, above, was the father of the previous three. Now widowed, he was remarrying. He reported that he was born 15 Jun 1851 in Ohio, that he was a merchant, that he was the son of Lewis Foutz, a native of Prussia, whose occupation and whereabouts were totally unknown to him. His mother's maiden name was Frances Van Horn, also born Ohio, and she was deceased.
In the Ohio Census of 1860, a Lewis Foutz, born Germany, was enumerated in a boarding house in Germantown, Montgomery Co., Ohio. His occupation was that of a waiter. In the Census of 1850, Greene Co., Ohio, is a childless Fouts couple. In the Census of 1860, Putnam Co.,' Ohio, is a Fouts female and Fouts male child. The facts fit the dates and geography --- but there are discrepancies in names and ages to resolve. But at least the data is clustering.
As to Nathan Fouts? The records establish that his wife's name was Asher --- and not Meadows as given in Waymire and LDS records. Nathan did remarkably well in acquiring valuable land in his short life, left his wife wealthy when he died in 1856. He had no sons, for no Fouts ever conveyed the lands, or portion thereof, that were in his estate. But he may have had a daughter or daughters --- but no guardians were appointed in LaPorte County. The only Fouts guardianship in LaPorte County involved John W. Fouts and his brother Thomas F. Fouts, sons of William Davenport Fouts, Jr., Methodist minister-merchant-cavalry captain who was killed by the Sioux Indians in 1865. But that's a part of the St. Joseph story.
Pension and Bounty Land Records Provide Early Family Data
As a matter of national policy, the United States did not encourage a standing Army of an appreciable size, relative to the population, until after World War II, In times of war and national emergency, the various states were expected to supply the required manpower from their militias. Afterwards, the Federal Government by bounty land bonuses and disability or old age pensions recognized the federalized state militia service. Hence, of the records that follow, no claim is made for completeness. If a Pfautz-Fouts-Foutz served, but neither he, his wife, nor his children ever made claims, the record of service may still be totally within a dusty state military archive or locked away on a payroll or a payroll receipt roll of U.S. Army Paymaster Department in the National Archives.
But the following served and they, or their widows, applied for benefits:
WAR OF 1812
JACOB FOUTZ (E), Pvt., Capt. Jeremiah H. Neills Co. of Infantry, 7th Regt. Virginia Militia 4 Aug 1814-4 Feb 1815. On 5 Jun 1878, Hettie (Harriet Spickard) Fouts, widow of Jacob, applied for a pension. She alleged that Jacob was born 11 Jan 1790, was drafted into the Militia in Bedford Co., Va., that she was married to him in Botetourt Co., Va., 18 Dec 1824 by Joel Crumpacker [a Dunker minister], and that he died in Botetourt Co. on 22 Apr 1836. She had received 80 acres of bounty land under the Act of Congress of 28 Sep 1850 and additional bounty land under the Act for Benefit of Widows of 3 Mar 1855. [This is the only War of 1812 Pension-Bounty Land File in the Pfautz-Fouts-Foutz, etc., name. There are several in the Fout (Fauth) name --- both of which are in the Pfautz, etc., files.]
EARLY INDIAN WARS
WILLIAM FOUTS (C), Pvt., Capt. Truit's Independent Co., North Carolina Mounted Militia, Cherokee War. 12 Aug 1892, William Fouts appeared before the Clerk of the Superior Court of Gilmer Co., Ga., and testified under oath that he was 72-years-old, was a resident of Gilmer Co.; that he was married on 10 Mar 1839 to Adaline J. Wild at Burning Town Church Macon Co., N.C.; that he was in the military service of the United States for eleven months in 1837-38, that he "aided and assisted in taking up the Cherokee Indians and carrying them to Fort Lindsey" and that all of his service was "in the Cherokee Nation of Western North Carolina." In 1852, William Fouts received a bounty warrant for 160 acres as a service bonus. He was granted a pension on 28 Feb 1893. He was still collecting a pension seventy-five years ago --- when the statutory bar against disclosure of personal data in the National Archives prevailed.
JOHN P. FOUTS (C), Pvt., Capt. Ankeney's Co., lst Regt., Oregon Mounted Volunteers, Yakima Indian War of 1855-56. On 30 Jun 1902, John P. Fouts appeared before a Notary Public of Multnomah Co., Oregon, and stated under oath that he was 63-years-old, a resident of Carlton, Yamhill Co., Oregon; that he enlisted at Portland, Oregon, on 26 Jan 1856 for three months; that he was 16-years-old on entering the Service, that he was a farmer by occupation, was born in Boliver, Polk Co., Mo.; that he was married on 1 Dec 1859 to Eliza Francis Sappington; and that she was his present wife. On 2 Aug 1902, John P. Fouts provided the Pension Bureau was a list of his seven living children and their birth dates. He died on 3 Jun 1912, No claim for a widow's pension was filed.
JOSEPH LEHT FOUTZ, (E), 2nd Lt., Capt. Jonathan S. Page's Co., Utah Militia ,Cavalry, Utah Blackhawk War (otherwise "suppression of Indian hostilities in Sanpete and Sevier Counties"). On 23 Sep 1919 and again on 6 Jan 1928, Emma E.. Foutz, widow of Joseph Lehi Foutz, filed for a widow's pension based on her husband's Indian War service. She alleged that her husband had enlisted on 3 Jul 1866 at Pleasant Grove, Utah, and was discharged on 25 Aug 1866; that he had died on 19 Mar 1907 at Kirtland, New Mexico. In her 1919 application, she stated that her maiden name was Emma E. Crossland and that she had been married to Joseph Lehi Foutz on 26 Dec 1868 at Salt Lake City by Heber C. Kimball. She also stated chat her husband's first wife was Amanda Childs, married to the soldier on 24 Feb 1857, and who died 8 Feb 1917 at Richfield, Utah. Although Joseph L. Foutz' service was found personable in 1928 and no other widows filed for a pension, the Bureau of Pensions denied Emma E. Foutz' petition, essentially because she was a polygamous wife.
MEXICAN WAR
DANIEL L. FOUTS (C), 2nd Lt., Co. I, 3rd Indiana Infantry. On 3 Dec 1887, Daniel Lambert Fouts was granted a pension for Mexican War service from 22 Jun 1846 to 27 Jun 1847, including participation in the Battle of Buena Vista. On 9 Jun 1893, Maria Fouts, widow of Daniel L, Fouts, filed for a pension, alleging that she had married the soldier on 14 Dec 1856 in San Francisco, Calif., that he had died on 4 June 1893, that her maiden name was Maria Gross, that she was born 19 Sep 1829 at Wiesbaden, Germany. (Daniel L. Fouts was born 28 Jul 1823, Clark Co., Indiana,) No death date for widow is indicated in file available. On 21 Oct 1850, in Washington, D.C., where he was a clerk in the U.S. Senate, Daniel L, Fouts applied for and obtained a bounty land warrant for 160 acres based on his Mexican War service.
CORNELIUS FOUTS. alias NEAL FOUTS, alias CORNELIUS FOX (E), Pvt., Capt., Shepard's Co. A, Col. Easton's Bn., Missouri Infantry. On 12 Dec 1885, Neal Fouts, of Frankford, Pike Co., Mo., applied for a Mexican War pension. He alleged that he had enlisted in April, 1848, at St. Louis, Mo., and was discharged as "Neal Fox" in October, 1848, that his service had consisted of garrison duty at Ft. Leavenworth and Santa Fe, New Mexico, after which he was marched back to Missouri and discharged at Independence. An illiterate, Fouts had enlisted under the name of "Cornelius Fox" and made his mark to that and "Neal Fox". It was apparently a matter of his own pronunciation of his surname, for the Fouts spelling does not appear in Census enumeration’s until 1870. After his death on 30 Mar 1892 in Pike Co., Mo., his widow applied for a pension, alleging that she and the soldier were married 10 Jan 1850 at Hannibal, Mo., that her maiden name was Sarah F. Triplett, that she was born on 10 Jan 1829 at Columbia, Illinois. The petition for a widow's pension was disallowed due to some irregularity in the documentation of marriage. (Who knows what name the marriage license, was in?). On 24 Apr 1849, a bounty land warrant for 160 acres was issued to Cornelius Fox for the service that Neal Fouts performed. [Cornelius Fouts was born 10 Apr 1827 in Dayton, Ohio, and was a son of Conrad Foutz, Jr.]
These are the only Nineteenth Century pension and bounty land files found in the National Archives that were not related to the Civil War, Bounty land warrants ended with Mexican War service. You never know what you will find in the files---because there were no copying means available other than hand copying (an expensive process requiring a legal certification as to accuracy), some people tore pages out of family bibles, sent in letters, that were sent to them by soldiers during their wars and campaigns, or sent in original documents. For example, the Editor found his gg-grandfather's certificate for service in the Black Hawk Indian War (1833-34) in the ancestor's War of 1812 Bounty Land file. In 1852, when a second land bounty was given 1812 veterans, the guardian of the gg-grandfather’s, two youngest sons tried to increase the acreage bounty with the Indian War service. The plot did not succeed---but an important Davenport family document was preserved. Besides, anyone who knows the history of Indiana in the Black Hawk War should be embarrassed --- not rewarded
We'll have a break in the military --- while I tell you about the most colorful Pfouts yet found. And that goes for the Pfautz, Fouts, Foutz, etc.
Father was a Hard Act to Follow, but He Did It
Paris Swayzee Pfouts Sidestepped the Civil War Into Western Fame
In the Editor's collection of Pfautz, etc., data over the years, he has encountered few members of the family of more than regional reputation. Some of the kinfolk have likely sat in state legislatures, but they have not yet been identified. In fact, until Dan started throwing the football, and Ken started to direct major league baseball telecasts on the network, there were no popular, national Fouts reputations.
One man, back in the 1840s was on his way, but was cut down in the prime of life. George Pfouts, Jr., of Mt. Eaton, Wayne Co., Ohio --- he also made waves in adjoining Stark, Holmes, and Tuscarawas counties, is the only member of the family for whom a county historian felt a gratuitous eulogy was demanded. You just know, from reading the following comments, that the Pfouts Family did not pay for it:
From: Ben Douglas, History of Wayne County, Ohio (Indianapolis: Robert Douglas, Publisher, 1878), p. 51
THE MOST SINGULAR MAN
One of the most singular men that ever graced Mt. Eaton was Mr. George Pfouts, who got up a political music band in 1840. He was upbraided for his unwarrantable pretensions to piety, when he asserted it was nothing for him, as he had once been a Brigade inspector, a Representative, a Master Mason, an anti-Mason, a temperance and an anti-temperance man, an advocate of universal as well as partial salvation, a persecuted Christian and an abused infidel, a thrice-broken merchant, sometimes an honest man and sometimes a rascal, and that when he was a lawyer he played aristocrat and democrat a different times. He preferred, like Caesar, to be the first man in the village than the second in the empire; hence wanted Mt. Eaton incorporated, so he could be its Mayor. He was an ambitious fellow, a phrenological puzzle, and withal a clever fellow of high talents and varied learning. He quit Mt. Eaton in disgust in 1853, went to Missouri, and died there.
Considering that George Pfouts [Jr.] (A) quit Ohio in late 1843 and died in late July, 1845, in Holt Co., Mo., and the comments above were written in 1878, he had cut a wide swath. George was the son of George Pfouts, son of "Baron" John Pfoutz, of Pfoutz Valley in the fork of the Susquehanna and Juniata, Pa. George, Sr., left Pfoutz Valley to take up lands in the new State of Ohio in 1804. His four sons divided on whether to be frontiers men with their father --- so George, Sr., gave Simeon and David their inheritances in 1810 while he and younger sons George, Jr., and Reuben proceeded to pioneer East Central Ohio. Simeon returned to Pennsylvania, where he ultimately had his own Pfoutz Valley In Clinton County. David drifted south to Augusta Co., Virginia, where he was a miller.
George Pfouts, Sr.. died in Mt. Eaton in 1832. Both George, Jr., and Reuben were millers --- George in Stark, Tuscarawas, and Wayne, Reuben in Holmes --- both in what is known as the "Sugar Creek area" where the four counties come together. According to the land records, there were few towns platted in the area in which George Pfouts, Jr., did not own key Main Street lots. And as for that political band in 1840, it must have been successful, for George was postmaster of Mt. Eaton in 1841-42.
What George Pfouts' motivations were in pulling up stakes in Ohio and moving to the raw frontier of Northwest Missouri in 1843 are difficult to ascertain, but his daughter Helen married James Craig, a young attorney from Washington Co., Pa., on 22 Aug 1843--and Craig was definitely destined for frontier leadership.
By 1846 and the beginning of the Mexican War, George was dead. James Craig was a Captain of Missouri Mounted Infantry, commanding Ft. Kearney. By the Census of 1850, George Pfouts' family was completely within the household of James Craig, soon to become a railroad president and, later, a Brigadier General of U.S. Volunteers, commanding the Department of the Platte of the Union Army. He served two terms in Congress along the way.
Where George obtained the name of Paris Swayzee for his eldest son defies speculation, but P. S. lived up to it. He's one of the three Fouts-Pfouts enumerated in the gold camps of California in the Census of 1850. [The other two are Pleasant Fouts (C), b. N.C., and William Fouts (B), b. Ohio.] By 1860, P. S. was back in Missouri, as editor of the St. Joseph Gazette which he co-published with his father-in-law, J. H. R. Cundiff, late of Virginia. [There are several Cundiff-Foutz marriages in Bedford Co., Va., prior to 1830.]
The editorial posture and news bias of the St. Joseph Gazette, Buchanan County, Mo., history records, were so flagrantly pro-Southern that at the outset of Civil War hosti1ities , it behooved its owners to flee. J. H. R. Cundiff promptly put himself at the head of a Missouri Confederate regiment.
Considering that his brother-in-law, Brig. General James Craig, was commanding the Union forces of the Dept. of the Platte, and his father-in-law, Colonel J. H. R. Cundiff, C.S.A.. was actively engaged in subverting the Union in Missouri, what do you suppose Paris S. Pfouts did during the Civil War?
He was no fool! He stayed out of it --- went West, first to Denver, then to Montana, and became famous as a Vigilante and a Mason. Here's one report:
From: "Rugged Men Forged Early History of Freemasonry in Montana,” Royal Arch Mason, (Winter 1972-73), X:l2, 359.
PARIS S. PFOUTS
Paris S. Pfouts was the first president of the Vigilantes, first mayor of Virginia City and past master of three lodges. He came to Virginia City from Denver in September 1863 with a distinguished Masonic record. He was raised in St. Joseph (Mo.) Lodges No. 78 and served twice as its master in 1859 and 1860. In St. Joseph he was the co-owner and publisher of the St. Joseph Gazette.. [Details of considerable organizational activity in all branches of Masonry in Northwest Missouri.]
Entering the merchandising business in Denver in 1861, he attended the first meeting of a Masonic lodge held in that city after his arrival. As a result he was elected first master of the Denver City Lodge, U.D., and was installed before his term as master of the St. Joseph lodge had expired. [He had left St. Joseph in a big hurry.] ....
Before leaving Denver suddenly in 1863, for Montana, Pfouts had been elected to a second term as master of the Denver lodge and had organized a Royal Arch chapter and been named its high priest. In Virginia City, Montana, a wide-open, wild, truly lawless mining town, Pfouts quickly organized the Vigilantes and became their president [a few were lynched, read Montana history], was elected Mayor of Virginia City, was active in all Montana Masonic bodies, and organized a Knights Templar commandery at Virginia City. With the end of the Civil War, Pfouts left Montana in 1866 for St. Louis, Missouri, where he entered into a partnership in the merchandising field, and later, according to legend, settled with a son in Dallas, Texas, where he died.
In 1868, Pfouts wrote an autobiography, Four Firsts for a Modest Hero, which the Grand Lodge of Montana published 100 years later. If anyone has a copy, the Editor would appreciate the opportunity to read it. If anyone has come across P. S. Pfouts in Census or history after 1868, the Editor would appreciate the data found.
After the Civil War , J. H. R. Cundiff returned to St. Joseph and resumed publishing The Gazette. There is no further mention of his son-in-law in Buchanan Co., Mo., history --- although there are pages concerning James Craig, whose biographical data seemingly mentions all of the Pfouts except for P. S. and his brother William. William had a similiar Civil War career to P. S., but did not return to Missouri.
Considering the danger inherent in leading a group of Vigilantes in the Montana gold fields in 1863-65, Paris S. Pfouts' sitting out the Civil War had to be a classic case of "prudence being the better part of valor" and not a question of cowardice.
Some Marriage Records of Possible Interest
Here are some surname marriages of possible interest:
County Marriage Date Principals Book/Page
Athens Co., O. 29 Jun 1845 George W. FOUTS-Eliza J. BEYER B3: 94
Athens C6., O. 01 Jul 1847 Simeon FOUTS-Catherine NEFF B3:150
Athens Co., O. 17 May 1880 Arabella FOUTS-James C. KARTIN 6:542
Athens Co., O. 01 Jan 1881 Mary FOUTS-Millard F. RUSSELL 7:110
Belmont Co., O. 12 Sep 1896 William H. FOUTS-Amanda I. VANMETER 16:254
Carroll Co., O. 22 Feb 1838 George FOUTS-Eleanor HEMMING A:108
Carroll Co., O. 10 Jun 1858 Richard H. FOUTS-Ann ARBUCKLE B:261
Carroll Co., O. 07 Jan 1869 John S. FOUTS-Mary DAVIS C:76
Carroll Co., O. 20 May 1869 Lemuel FOUTS-Sarah J. McGEE C:92
Carroll Co., O. 25 Jun 1874 Van B. FOUTS-Lizzie STEMPLE D:147
Carroll Co., O. 02 Mar 1880 Charles D. FOUTS-Hannah ROBY D:180
Geauga Co., O. 15 Feb 1833 Michael PFOUTZ-Anne QUIGGLE B:245
Guernsey Co., O. 06 Oct 1882 Elizabeth FOUTS-Levi SICKS 3:267
Guernsey Co., O. 05 Apr 1883 Charles E. FOUTS-Louiza J. LINN 3:315
Holmes Co., O. 19 Feb 1843 David PFOUTZ-Mary FREED 2:367
Holmes Co., O. 05 Feb 1846 Mary PFAUTZ-Thonias DOWELL 2:273
Holmes Co., O. 31 Aug 1848 Catherine PFOUTZ-Samuel BIEDLER 2:367
Jefferson Co., O. 03 Apr 1804 Rebecca PFAUTZ-Abraham SHANE 1:21
Jefferson Co., O. 12 Oct 1809 Sarah PFAUTZ-Levi EDGINGTON 1:157
Meigs Co., O. 26 Oct 1849 Arsenath FOUTS-William B. VOORHEES 1:380
Meigs Co., O. 15 Nov 1849 Andrew A. FOUTS-Maria E. GARDNER 1:384
Meigs Co., O. 22 Sep 1850 Maria E. FOUTS-G. W. COOK 1:380
Meigs Co., O. 24 Oct 1860 Mary J. FOUTS-Lafayette BARTON 2:380
Richland Co., O. 10 Nov 1842 Jacob FOUTS-Isabella McKIBBAN 4:116
Richland Co., O. 02 Dec 1844 Catherine FOUTS-Daniel FILLOON 5:1
Richland Co., O. 28 Sep 1846 Dr. Jesse FOUTS-Ruth Ann HAZELET 5:31
Richland Co., O. 05 Sep 1850 Reuben FOUTS-Leavina LOSH 5:212
Stark Co., O. 15 Jan 1835 George PFOUTS-Catherine AGER A:296
Stark Co., O. 03 Nov 1853 Daniel B. PFOUTZ-Elizabeth REAMSNYBER C:65
Stark Co., O. 06 Apr 1854 Reuben PFOUTS-Christena GRANT C:93
Stark Co., O. 31 Oct 1856 William PFOUTZ-Sarah GREEN C:173
Summit Co., O. (lst) 07 Oct 1872 Jacob A. PFAUTZ-Kate M. BROWNING 5:212
Summit Co., O. 11 Oct 1872 Elizabeth PFAUTZ-John Z. MOHLER 2:217
Summit Co., O. 11 Mar 1897 Amos PFAUTZ-Etta MILLER 13:554
Tuscarawas Co., O. 13 May 1823 Michael PFOUTZ-Mary,-HEASTAND A:70
Tuscarawas Co., O. 25 Dec 1869 Martha PFOUTS-Oliver DAVIS B6:397
Washington Co., O. 18 Sep 1818 Andrew FOUTS-Polly GREEN 1:104
Washington Co., O. 26 Feb 1824 Lemen FOUTS-Elizabeth JENNINGS 1:132
Washington Co., O. 25 Apr 1824 Caleb W. FOUTS-Mariah H. JETT 1:133
Washington Co., O. 11 Jun 1841 William FOUTS-Electra STULL 2:14
Washington Co., O. 26 Feb 1846 John Wesley FOUTS-Elizabeth A. GRUBB -------
Wayne Co., O. 02 Jun 1826 John FOUTS-Eleanor DAVIS 2:91