Joseph Nutt
Joseph Nutt, farmer, P.O. Centerville. The eldest of the two children (Joseph and John) of Aaron and Martha Nutt, was born in Centerville, Ohio, December 11, 1818. parents both natives of New Jersey; his father was the son of Levi Nutt, and he the son of Adam Nutt, a native of Wales, who landed in New Jersey early in the last century. Aaron, on his mother’s side, was the grandson of Barzilla Ivens, a noted merchant of his day; he was also a noted man for the size of his family; he was married three times and was the father of twenty-one children, who were all able at one and the same time to set at the table and help themselves to a square meal. Joseph’s mother was the daughter of Isaac and Hannah Pedrick, of Pedricktown, N.J.; she emigrated with them to Waynesville, Warren Co., Ohio, in 1806, remaining there a brief period; her father purchase a farm near the present village of Clio, Greene Co., Ohio, and removed to it. The family were all worthy members of the Society of Orthodox Friends. The subject of this sketch can’t quite claim to be anything more than the son of pioneers (for the date of father’s arrival see brother’s biography); never had any land to clear or brush to pick; never assisted in building the pioneer cabin with its cat and clay chimney, clapboard-roof held on with weight poles, or in laying down the solid puncheon floor; or in erecting the sweep at the well for the old oaken bucket; but have worn buckskin pantaloons, leather-crown hat and thread shirt-buttons. His father was a tailor by trade, and was an experienced hand in manufacturing buckskin into wearing apparel. The last pair of buckskin pants he made was in the summer he was eighty-one years of age. Mr. N. V. Maxwell, one of our present worthy citizens, was then carrying on tailoring, and took in the job conditionally, viz., if he could get Uncle Aaron Nutt (by which familiar title he was well known) to make them he would do so, as for himself he frankly admitted he could not make them; they were made and all parties satisfied with the job. Mr. Maxwell, to this day, takes delight in referring to that job, and saying Uncle Aaron was the oldest journeyman he ever employed. He was also a good hand with a sickle in a harvest field; the summer he was eighty years old, he lead the reapers once through in his son Aaron’s wheat field. He was also an excellent auctioneer, if not the first, he certainly was among the first; had quite a patronage in Montgomery, Warren and Greene Counties. Before the subject of this sketch was large enough to put a collar on the horse, he commenced in driving the cart and doing small jobs about town and working on the small farm. When in his twelfth year, he hauled in the cart all the stone making a complete pavement from the schoolhouse, one-fourth mile north of town, to the Baptist Church on the west side of town. His father and Joseph Beck laid the walk, which did good service many years. For its protection, the Town Council made it a finable offense to ride or drive on it. So carefully was it guarded that the school teacher has been known to leave his school on seeing a traveler on the walk, and hurry up to town and have a warrant in the hands of the Marsha by the time the offending party would reach the village. The 28th of April, 1834, he went as an apprentice to the chair-making; served three years faithfully; made the trade his principal business up the spring of 1844; then went to New Burlington, Clinton Co., Ohio, and sold goods for Israel Harris, Jr., and Samuel Lemar, nearly six years. In January, 1850, went into the employ of John Grant, Esq., the principal merchant then in New Burlington; remained with him until April, 1857. Mr. Nutt was married, January 29, 1856, to Miss E. A. Weaver, of New Burlington. May, 1857, moved to Chicago; remained there until August, 1858, returning to New Burlington, and remained there until the spring of 1861; then removed to Centerville on the old homestead, where he now lives, becoming the owner thereof by half purchase and half legacy, and one of the few men in the township owning the land originally purchased by the father from John C. Symmes, but the deed was made by James Madison, President of the United States. There are other tracts in the township deeded by the President to the heads of some of the families now living thereon, but they are mostly second-hand purchases.
When Aaron Nutt with other men were in consultation with Judge Symmes, organizing a pioneer company, one of them said to the Judge, "You will not take that man, will you?" pointing to Aaron Nutt. "Why not?" said the Judge. "Why," said the man, "he is a Quaker, and will not fight the Indians." "Just the man I want," said the Judge; "I want a peaceable colony." Aaron Nutt was never a member of any religious society, but his religious sentiments were in full accord with the Orthodox Friends, wore the garb and used the plain language of that society. The following incident shows the respect the Indians have for the name of William Penn. Sometime after Aaron Nutt had settled here and Dayton something of a place, he was going up there one morning, when he met a company of Indians. After passing them, he found a sack of roots and herbs in the road and readily concluded it belonged to the Indians just passed. So he would carry the sack into town and leave it at the store of H. G. Philips, who told him he knew the Indians, they had been in the store that morning, and on their next visit he would hand over the sack, and did so, saying to the Indian that-- "It was a William Penn man that had found it." "Ugh," said the Indian, "he good man; he good man." The subject of this sketch is now the oldest native born citizen on the town plot; never loaded a gun, pistol or firearm of any description, have pulled the trigger a few times making one shot that would be creditable to any sportsman. Mr. Nutt is the father of five children, as follows: Anna, Laura, Samuel Weaver, William Pedrick, Clarence Emory Nutt, of whom only two are living, viz., Samuel W. and Clarence E.
From The History of Montgomery County, Ohio, W.H. Beers & Co., 1882