The Luther Familv' J

Devoted to the Interests of the Descendants of GA~AIIW JOHN LUTHER

of the Massachusetts Bay Colony 50 CTS. YEARLY -

SETH, THE RADICAL We have a considerable quantity

of mateha1 MI the life of Seth Luther of the sixth generation. He is described by the early genea- logists as a house carpenter resid- ing in Providence. R. I.; united with the First Beptist Church on Sept. 3, 1815; subscribed to Bene- dict's History of the Baptist De- nomination, 1813. , 1 3 , he was an active member of the Constitutional Party which elected Thomas W. Doll governor of Rhode Island, and participated in that historic rebellion. We have a photostat of a reprint in a Provi- dence newspaper, which reads: Dorr ,Flees - Rebels Rounded Up -

Provldenee Rejoices "George Thurber, young Prwi-

dence apothecary, who recorded the stirring events of these days in 1841 and 1842 in his diary, says: June 28, 1842. Company assembled a t 8 o'clock. Volunteers requested for Pawtucket. I went with about 30 - - - . Tom Dorr has again run and no immediate prospects of his capture - - - . June 29. Our Com- pany assembled for the purpose of escorting the returning troups - - - priscners brought in - - - the Gov- ernment have offered $5000 for the traitor. July 1. I was detached as guard a t the States Prison. The prisoners, on account of their num- bers, were conflned in a very crowd- ed condition - - - . Seth Luther, the notorious radical and orator, and Carter, the Blacksmith, were among them - - - ." -

A book, "The Age of Jackson", by Arthur M. Schlesinger, ~ r . , pub- lished in 1945, has a lengthy arti- cle On Seth Luther. The following brief excerpts are from that article:

"During 1830, in the towns of eastern Massachusetts, small me- chanics and workers, apprehensive over their role in an industrial future, began to form urban chapters of the Workingmen's Party. % movement spread - - - . Dr. Chas. Douglas helped found in 1831 the "New Mgland Arthn". - - - a labor paper - - - . By the summer of 1832 i t had 1000 subscribers. and through it Douglas sought to pro-

I..~..C~....~A .... ..a.rn 9,

VOL IV - NO. 15

YOUR HELP NEEDED As previously announced, Mrs.

William B .Nickerson, 27 S. Hilton St.. Baltinore 29, Md., is working on the matter of funds for publish- ing the Luther Genealogy, and is accepting remittances and pledges for that pupxe .

We, here in Moravia, are work- ing to bring the manuscript up to date, and it will be impossible to write to each of you for Anal data. Won't YOU please send it in Soon as possible? Here is what we need of every descendant of Capt. John Luther : - 1 - Full name 2 - Place and date of birth 3 - Place and date of death 4 - Place and date of marriage 5 - Spouse's full name 6 - Place and date of birth of

spouse . 7 - Place and date of death of

spouse 8 - Spouse's father's full name 9 - Spouse's mother's full maiden

name 10 - Place of residence of spouse's

parents 11 - Occupation of No. 1, and of

each husband or head of fam- ily

12 - An outline of life of NO. 1 - places lived, different. occupa- tions, church, lodges, interests. and stories and interesvng in- cidences in their lives.

13 - Addresses of all descendants now living.

That sounds like quite an order, and it is, but it is just what has ken going On by four Of us Over Our lifetime, and if you add ;ii years of effort, it is over 150. amount of material on hand can make a two-volume work, and it would be a casualty to delete the descendants of Luther daughters, or omit the biographical sketches you have been reading in "The Luther Family," in order to keep the cost of publishing low.

We believe it is not vain egotism to state that if the work can be published in its entirety, on good rag paper and bound, You

One Of the and most Of American C)enealogies

~ ~ l i ~ ~ $ ~ ~ ~ ! ~ f s ~ l ~ e ~ . ~ ~ ~ s l d Have you any suggestions?

There are 185 Mary Luthers in the eenealonv manuscriot.

JANUARY - 1949 -.

pleh yeax p~fher~ $11

#

MARION J. WISE Again we are privileged to present

an outline of a Luther who, because of his own ability and initiative, has risen from the ranks to hold om- cia1 positions with some of our great transportation systems, and who was recently elected to the Presidency of the Central of Geot-gia Railway Company.

Marion Johnson Wise was born in St. muis County, Mo., the son of George and Olive (Brown) Wise. His maternal grandparents were Warren and Charlotte (Whitford) Brown, both natives of Vergennes, Vermont, who, following the west- ward urge, migrated to Iowa and then down the river to St. Louis. Charlotte was daughter of William and Elizabeth (Luther) Whitford

tonntin~qna nn naaa CJ\

The LUTIIER FAMILY Published quarterly at Moravia,

N.Y., by Leslie L. and Bertha K. Luther, in the iilterests of the de- scendants of Capt. John Luther of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, al- lied families, genealogists, and libraries, -

Entered as second-class matter Dec. 13, 1945, at the post ofice a t Moravia* N. Y'* under the Act Of March 3, 1879. - Subscription rates, 53 cents yearly -

JANUARY - 1949 (continued from page 1)

and, if you will refer to the Octo- ber issue of this paper, you may read of her life and ancestry.

The Savannah, Georgia, Evening Press of July 28, 1948, says in part:

"Reorganization of the Central of Georgia Company wlll be- come effective July 1, with Merrell P- Callaway as Chairman Of the

IN DIGHTON ERIE I.UTIIZES Will some one in the vicinity of Stephen Gretnmood of Sheffisld,

Dighton, Mass., who is interested and would like to help while out 1 for a ride in their car, see if they can locate any descendants of the foilowing:

Eber C'nase Luther was born in Dighton or Somerset, Nov, 3, 1809; died in San Francisco, Calif., act. lg 1853; married (where?), Sept. 29: 1839, Mrs. Angenette (Rose) Walker, who was born (where?) July 20, 1817. Place and date of her death wanted.

Gf their children, we have in- formation of only 3 daughters. One was Isabelle, who was born Sept. 23, 1846. The other two were mar- ried and lived in North Dighton.

ESer was son of Amos and Beth- any (Luther) Luther of Swansea and Dighton. He left home a t a very early age and always cared for himself. Later he was a manu- facturer a t Dighton. Mar. 1, 1849, he started for California in the

;Pa., sends in the fo!lowing: "My mother. S a r a Gertrude

Greenwcol (lee Luther) told me that great-gran'fatller William Lu- ther settled in Erie Co., Pa. (I be- lieve near Walnut Creeli) and while there discovered a 'b?g tree that threatened to crash down on the house.

"One day he sharpened his ax, told his family to get out of the house and out of the way of the tree. Then he proceeded to chop down the tree, wh!ch fortunately did not hit the hcuse.

"But the interesting thing is that before chopping, he took out of the house, and to a safe distance, his big iron kettle which was used for soup, soap, syrup, and other things. Such a kettle could not be replaced nearer than Pittsburgh. and the trip would probably take several weeks."

u r n e n our first baby was on his way, Mother wrote me that great- grandfather had such a hard time finding names for his 21 children that, for two of the younger ones, he used names of two earlier ones who had died in infancy. perhaps this was customary in those days."

The William Luther to whom he refers, was born in Warren, R. I., 1784, and died in Fairview, Pa., 1868. He married, first, in 4Rhode Island, Martha Kenyon, by whom he had eleven children. His second wife, Catherine Stuntz, through sym- pathy, married him to help care for his large family, and in the sixteen years following, presented him with ten more children.

H, removed from Rhode Island in 1814, to Laurens, Otsego County, N. y., pursuing the occupation of farming. Trading 80 acres of im- proved land here for 500 acres in ~~i~ county, pa., he removed to the latter locality, arriving Mar. 5. 1825, after a journey of 26 days. H~~~ he was a farmer, raiser, and real estate dealer, being noted for his indomitable courage and Chrktian life. He served as Town Supervisor and was a member Of the New Light Church.

Here is the unusual circumstance of his second son, William, Jr.. mar- rying, having children, and dying, after which the father, William, also named his twentieth child William Bruce.

hi^ latter William aided your editors yean ago, with family data. when he was nearly ninety years of age.

We have 19 ~ u t h e r addresses in New York City - 10 in ~rooklyn - 13 in Albmy, N. Y.

Zcard: Marlon J. Wise 2s President; I "F1o~d"* by way Of Cape and Alexnnder R. Lawton, Jr., a s , Earn: arriving Sept. lst. Genercl Council - - - . After his

"The new president, Wise* brings the administration Of its affairs long and varied experiellce

death, the family returned to North D;ghtc?n where they resided in 1883 when one of the daughters corre- rponded with S.M.L. and gave data

in all departments. I-Ie came to the fsr this genealogy. Cential of Gecrgia from the PA- 1 Sane aged now living - tion as as-istznt to the president llave known the daughters and can of the Soutllern Pacific on October give you an address. And of course 1, 1943, as vice president, develop- there are always the cemetery in- inent, alld also as president of the He ! scripttons. Ocean Steamrhip Company. n t l s particularly successful in the hai1d:ing of matters relating to the industrial and agricultural progress

ONE OF THE ROYALS Royal Luther of the sixth genera-

cf the territory. ' . ~ u r i n g recent ~ t i c n was born in Swansea. Mass., pears a numher cf illdustrial enter- '1789, and died in 1825. He was a prises, both large and small, have 1 seaman and resided in Taunton l~cated on the lines of the Central. 1 and Fall River, Mass. A soldier of On October 21, 1947, he was pro- ~ncted to the position of executive vice president- As the chief execu-

the War of 1812. His wife, Ruth, was daiighter of

Joshua Brightman and Rebecca Ells- tive Of the has / bree; ~kbecca Wa.S daughter of

general jurisdiction Over ~Bcomer Ellsbree and Hannah Lu- departments of the railroad. ( ther (467); Boomer was son of

"Mr. Wise is a native Of St- Louis I Ephraim Ellsbree and Mary Church; and his / Mary was a descendant Of Richard

career began with a 'lerkship On the and Ohio. He was superintendent the

in Mississippi; staff Officer

in charge Of Operations rni1r03ds in territory:'was with the United States Railrcad Adminis- I tration during and War I ; and an Orncer Of the

in New-York and California . . - .

Ca'lawey was

~ ~ ~ ~ m a & ~ ~ s ~ ~ ~ ?:.pal;, tz wh'ch Mr. Wise already was presi- dent - - - ."

The Luther Family Associatio~~ tnkes great pridc in extending con- pratulztions and best wishes to their kinsman.

Warren, the nfayflower immigrant. Hannah Luther (467) was the

daughter of Nathaniel Luther (192) and Eleanor Boomer; Nathaniel's mother was Mercy Boomer, daugh- ter ,f Matthew Boomer and Hannah Church.

Thus descendants of this line are doubly of Mayflower descent.

After death of Fdyal, Ruth mar- ried, a t Fall River, Abraham Boom- er. The Luthers and Boomers and Ellsbrees surely got mixed UP dur- ing this period.

There are many Luthers whose addresses we do not have. If you will tell them to write for infor- mation, you will confer a favor

GEORGE ALBERT LUTHER George Albert Luther, fourth son

and seventh child of the late James Brown Luther and Mary Angleton, his wife, pioneers of Linton, Indi- ana, is living in Kansas City, Kan- sas ,in his ninetieth year. He is an active man for h.is years. He is of an inventive turn of mind and for the past several years has been working on a voting machine which has had considerable attention of some of the outstanding men of the city.

A life of extraordinary length and vigor has enabled !him to share the tempo of three generations. He often tells his great-grandchildren of events he remembers which oc- curred during the war between the States.

When recently visiting in the home of a granddaughter, and wanting to return to his own home, he had his grandson fly Nm to Kansas City, rather bhan return on the train.

Mr. Luther has lived in Kansas City, Kansas, for fifty-two years and is known as an honest, ener- getic and upright citizen. The Kan- sas City Star said of hlm on- his eighty-fifth birthday: "As Oeorge Albert 1°16

Greeley his eighty-fifth birthday anniversary quietly a t home today, he contem- plates the work of a man who left a marked physical imprint on Kan- sas City, Kansas.

"An early day contractor and en- gineer, Mr. Luther paved m4la of Kansas City's streets. better projects ,": mourdale floodgates, built in 1903, and the Bonner Springs dam, built in 1912.

"Mr. Luther left wheat farming in Pratt County, where he had pre- empted a claim, for K w City Kansas, and oonstruction wopi forty-four years ago. Mechanically inclined, he perfected two im- prwements on headem, a d lately has developed a voting machine.

"He lives with his daughter, Miss Elsie Luther, a Latin k c h e r in the Northwest Junior ~ i g h &hool. Other daughters are: ~ m . C. R. Cline, Ft. Leavenworth, Kan.; ~ m . R. p. Tosh, Angeles; and ~m W. H. Shattuck, Ashland, Kansas." -

Hezekiah Henry Luther was born in Sweden, N. Y., 1836. He was the sixth successive son to bear the name Hezekiah, which he did not like, and insisted on being called by his middle name. Perham be did not like the association with his Biblical namesake, in whose pool David saw Uriah's wife bathing, and forthwith caused the Draft Board

(continued from page 1) vide the movement with intellectual guidance - - - . But a more color- ful champion of the New England Association was the "Artisan's" traveling agent, Seth Luther. In 1832 Luther was nearly 40, tall, lanky, and tending toward baldness, with a cud of tobacco generally in his mouth, and cherishing a bitter passion for the working classes - - .

His tone and manner (in his ad- dresses) were inflfmnIatory. stir- ring emotions which might some day demand more basic solutions - - - . No pamphleteers of the day sur- passed him in real power of corn- passionate and horrifying descrip tion. There would rise up in his writing, passage of crude but genu- ine feeling - - - bitter sketches of children whlpped from bed a t four in the morning, wakened by a plunge in cold water and sent off to work; of managers turning clocks backwards or forwards to cheat the workers - - - . He was the master of a certain lurid rhetoric, grim, sarcastic and highly colored . His picture of Henry Clay visiting a factory is chmncteristic - - - . -

The convention of the New Eng- land Association in 1833 had charged its members to Consult together with a view to the establishment of Trades Unions, m d in January 1834 a -ittee, led by Charles muglas and Seth Luther resolved to set up a General Trades Union in Boston . , .

The Jacksonians in the thirties were bitterly critical of Abolition- - - - they reminded that reform began at home- IWe hear the philanthropist moaning over the fate of the So'the* 'lave: Seth 'when there are thou- sands Of in this State =

'laves as the 'lacks Of the

- - - On April 24, 1846, Mexican and tlmerican soldiers clashed. - - ' From South to North the common man lined up at recruiting offices and said farewell to his tearful f m i l ~ : in New England, far indeed f r ~ m the Ria Grande, Seth Luther, the veteran agitator for the rights of labor. claimed b be the first Yankee volunteer. Luther was never to reach the front; he broke down a few weeks after enlistment and WAS confined to the East Cambridge asylum."

The Dictionary Of American Bio- graphy has this to say of Our col- orful cousin:

"Seth Luther, born probably in end Of the a carpenter

of labor re-

- THEOPHILUS

In the October issue is an article of Nathmbl Luther. His brother* Theophilus- from

Corm's 'Or the Lexington Alsrm He served various enlist- ments' and was with the expedition to Q U ~ ~ C . Said to have been a prisoner in Canada and exchanged. I t is also reported that after the War Was Over in the he de-

=$;iily recordr and traation agree that he was a man of great strength- a noted athlete; cham- pion wrkstler of the Continental Army, who had never been thrown; had double teeth all around both jaws. When informed Of this la'- ter Oddity, c.F.L. us: - "That double teeth all around is no myth. The Huntington mmily Memorial, 1857, - Capt. Vaughn was over six feet tall and well proportioned. His teeth were like marble and all double, beau- tifully sound and smetrical."

Also a skeleton of an Indian in Mass.* is de-

scribed b~ Henry Mather as that' of a giant the head as big as a peck bask&, with double teeth all around.

From Carver, Msss., or Thomp- son, Conn., he and a t least three brothers removed to Berkshire County Mass. where his first mar- riage, 'to Rody smith, ad births of the eldest children took place. He then removed to Russia, Herki- mer Co.. N. Y., where the rest of his children Were born. His SeC- ond marriage proved unhappy and, securing homes for the minor chil- dren, 1806-08, he went to Ohio and was never heard from, although his grandson, Martin, stated that he left Ohio with a company for New Orlearn. where he died Ohio River; was in 14 states and Canada, espousing the workingman's cause; in 1832 he addressed the workingmen of New England, speak- ing in many cities and towns; he attacked the factory system and child labor abuses in 1833; gave an @dress on Origin and Progress of Avarice, 1834, followed by de- nunciation of political, religious. and economic oppression; he advo- cated manual labor schools at pub- lic cost; abolishment of all licensed ~~cncpolies; abolishment of capital punishment and imprisonment for debt; abolishment of the militia system; equal taxation; mechanic's lien law; etc. His deadly sincerity and biting sarcasm made his speech- es and mticles valuable wemolls in the labor movement. He was Secretary of the General Trades Commision, Boston, ,1834. In 1835 he addressed the National Trades Union convention on the condition of women and children in cotton mills. The lmt mention of him is found in records of his participa- tion in a ten hour convention in

to send Uriah to the front line - no education - - - . trenches! In 1817 he took a t r i ~ down the

Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1846."

to return to ~al i fornia via the Southern R ~ u t e , but Fern and their son. Gerry, took time out to go to Swansea, Mass., where they called on Mrs. Reilly, president of the Swansea Historical Society, Inc.,

HERE AND THERE I n the No. 14 paper, we told of

Mrs. Fern (Luther) Fellman and family. of St. Helena, Calif., being in Switzerland. They returned via the S. S. "America", landing in New YOrk ' l t h v ' in the midst of the coastwise strike. ,having to carry ashore all their own luggage. They are used to waiting on them- selves, and got a real thrill watch- ing the dignitaries and the elite of the world doing likewise.

I t was necessary for Mr. Fellman - - . ~~

derson of Moses Lake, Wash., Oct. 13, 1948, a son, Cleve Albert Hen- derson. Arthur is son of Albert and Dora (Luther) Henderson of Seattle. Wash.

'BIRTHS To Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Lesser

of Newburgh, N. Y., Nov. 4, 1948, a daughter, Linda erni ice. They also have a son, Arthur, born 1944. ms. L~~~~ was ~b Evelyn Ster- ling, daughter of Andrew and Ber- nice (Luther) Sterling of Newburgh and wanddaughter of mew H- Luther whose picture h in No. 5 of this paper. - To Mr. and Mrs. Arthur A. Hen-

and visited Luther sites, including - the old Baptist Church where they 1 To Edward and Dorothy Jean saw the tilnlet which you of the Association placed in memory Of Rev. Samuel Luther in 1936.

They then came to Moravia where your editors had the pleasure of entertaining them for a few days. We think Fern was favorably irn- pressed with the work we are en- deavoring to do on the genealogy and the Family paper. She certain- ly is interested, and has helped greatly, being of the large Michigan branch which is descended from William and Eunice Luther who came to Lenawee County, Mich., in 1832. (See No. 8 paper.)

Fern and Gerry continued on to her childhood home in Michigan for a visit, after which they went to Kerryille, Texas, where her bro- ther, George Luther, lives, (See No. 11 paper.), and then home to

(Hill) Elliott of Gratiot county, Mich., Mar. 5, 1948, a son, Gary Ray Elliott. Dorothy is a great-grand- daughter of Jane (Luther) Mar- shall of Livonia, Mich. -

Born to Mr. and Mrs. William Lloyd Beal of Blissfleld, Mich., May 14, 1948, a son, William John. Willi- am L. js son of Mrs. Lena Beal of Blissfield who has helped greatly in this genealogy. They are of the Rome, Mich., branch.

Born, to Mr. and Mrs. Charles David hfcWee of Royal Oak, Mich., Sept. 14, 1948, a daughter, Joyce Ann. They also have Charles and Wayne, and are of the Rome, Mich., krench, descendants of Amelia (Lu- ther) Walker.

St. Helena. 1 - TRWARTED LOVE

John Luther resided in Swansea Center, Mass., where he kept a general store* which upon his death in 1823* was taken Over

by his brother. Joseph Gardner Lu- ther, the Genealogist. and is now the home of Swansea Historical Society, Inc. His wife was Wdia Luther, a distant cousin.

Their only child was John BXWXI Luther, Jr., who was born in Swansea in 1822. and died in Fall River, Mass., in 1910; unmarried. He went to California in 1840 and resided in San Francisco. It was his custom to visit his old home in Swansea each .year, and toward the end of his life, he lived in Fall River with his cousins. Mrs. Eliza-

MARRIAGES Miss Ellen Shattuck, daughter of

Willis H. and Ethel (Luther) Shat- tuck of Ashland, Kansas, was msr- ried on April 5, 1948, to Alfred philip Simon of Pawtudet, R. I. They reside in Washhgton, D. C. . -

Mr. Willis A. Shattuck was mar- ried on Sept. 18, 1948, to Miss Sarah Leg Drais d St. Joseph, Mo. Mr. Shattuck is County Attorney of Clark County, Kan., and Is son of Wllis H. and Ethel (Luther) Shat- tuck of Ashland, Kansas. -

Miss Ruth Ann Martin. daughter of Mrs. Gladys (Hill) (Martin) Al- tenburg of Ithaca. Mich., was mar- ried there On ~ u l y 2, 1948, to Mr. Jack Cornwkll.

beth French and M& Mary A. Gardner, where he died.

He was known as uJohnnie and the story comes down that the cause of his remaining unmarried was the mutual love between him.

In 1946, an elderly lady of Swan- sea reprted that late in life, on his trips back to the east, he would

Miss Elaine Virginia Hill, dau- yhter of Mr. and Mrs. William R. Hill of Carson City, Mich.. was

there On Au@;. 29. 19@, to

self and Elizabeth Euther. Because they were cwsinsp their par- ents disapproved of their marriage, and "Johnnie Bee" was sent to California during the gold r d .

come to Swansea to see Elizabeth, and the mod-tbve kiss well

'concealed by her huge bonnet.

- Miss Dorothy Jean Hill, daughter

Of Mr. an3 Mrs. Alexander Hill d owosso, Mich., was married there Aug. 21. 1948, to Mr. Rollin Cross.

NECROLOGY I Henry Earl Le.sLer. husband of Jessie (Luther) Lester, died in Elm- wood, Conn., April 8, 1947, after a protracted illness. He is survived !by his wife, who was daughter of Burton K. Luther, a soldier of the War between the States. They are of the Waverly, N. Y.. and Brad- ford Co., Pa., branch of our family. -

Myrtle Irene (Luther) Carlson died August 28, 1948, at Nichols, Conn. She was born at Winnebago, Ill.. May 7, 1879, the daughter of Charles DeForest and Mary (Van Alstine) Luther of Rockford and Winnebago, and sister of Louis Henry Luther of Berwyn, Ill., who died in 1947. She is survived by her husband, Charles H. Carlson; one son, Earle C. Carlson; and one daughter. Myrna (Carlson) Whita- ker.

On Sept. 22, 1948, in Packer Hos- pital, Sayre Pa., occurred the death of M. Leigh Ford, 64, husband of Nellie Miller Ford, who is a grand- daughter d Polly Luther of the Groton, N. Y., branch. Mr. and ~ r s . ' Ford conducted a dry goods and general store in Groton since 1919. He was a member of Rotary and of the Baptist Church.

Mr. Ford is survived by his wife: two dauzhters, Mrs. Edward Cole- man of Wolcott, N. Y., and Mrs. Arthur Walpole of Graton; one son, Russell Ford of Wolcott; one sister, Mrs. Anna Bower; eleven grand- children and one great-grandchild.

NEW ASSOCIATION MEMBERS

316 - Oliver E. Henderson, Seattle, Wash.

317 - Miss Doris G. Jones, Waco, Texas.

318 - Mrs. Edward A. Baldwin, S. Natick, Mass.

319 - Millard C. Luther, Cortland. N. Y.

PUBLISHING FUND

Previously Reported: Pledges . . . . ' . . . . $600.00 Cash Received . . . . 66.25

Since previously reported, we have received for addition to the fund for pu,blishing the Luther Gene- alogy as follows : Rec'd on one pledge $ 5.00 Waco, Texas . . . . . . 2.00 Savannah, Ga. . . . . .. 10.00 St. Helena, Calif. . . . . 10.00 Massillon, Ohio . . . . . . 1.00

I

Rhodolphus is a funny name: but Rhodolphus Luther was born in Swansea, Mass., 1803, and was a farmer in adjoining Rehoboth where he died in 1890. He was known as "big Rhodolphus" to dis- tinguish him from his, nephew, "little ~hodolphus."

--.-- I The Valley Pram-Momvia. N. Y.