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CAPT. JAMES W.
LOUTHAN, whose home is on section 27, Blanchard Township,
Hardin County, won his title and honors in the Civil War, in
which he served valiantly for four years and four months.
He was elected in 1892, on the Democratic ticket, to be County
Commissioner, and received a handsome majority, his opponent
being J. M. Shannon, of this township. At first his
associates were J. B. Bailey and R. S. Latham, of
McDonald and Goshen Townships, respectively. At present
the other Commissioners and Messrs. T. J. Dickinson and
Frank Hursh. While the Captain has been a member of
the Board the pike roads have been extended, the armory at
Kenton erected, and other improvements made. As an
official he is very popular, and that not only in the ranks of
his own party.
The paternal grandfather of our subject, Moses
Louthan, was a native of Scotland, and his maternal
grandfather, John McConnell, was of Irish birth.
The Captain’s father, Samuel M., was born in Beaver
County, Pa., in 1801, and died at the age of eighty-five years,
in 1886. By his first union, which was with Susan
Grosscross, he had two children. His second wife
was Eleanor, a native of Beaver County, Pa., in which
state she died. The father later married Mary
Ann Fullerton, who is still living on the home farm on
section 16, Blanchard Township, where they settled in 1852.
She bore her husband nine children, of whom five are living.
Samuel Louthan was a carpenter by trade, and
politically was a Democrat. He was reared in the
Presbyterian faith, but was prominent in the upbuilding of the
Methodist Episcopal Church of this locality.
The Captain was born in Beaver County, Pa., Sept. 20,
1840. His mother's other children were John M. and
Elizabeth, both of whom are deceased. When nine years
of age he became a resident of this township, and passed his
boyhood on his father’s farm, attending school in the home
district and in Kenton. Apr. 20, 1861, on the first call for
troops, he enlisted at Sullivan, Ind., in Company I, Seventeenth
Indiana Infantry. He was on his way to the West, and had
proceeded that far when his patriotism over-came all other
considerations, and he tendered his services in defense of the
Flag. He was stationed at Indianapolis during the
three-months service, but June 12 was regularly mustered in for
three years. That summer he was sent to West Virginia, and
in the fall was attached to the Army of the Cumberland. He took
part in the battles of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, Shiloh, and
all the battles in which his regiment was engaged. In the
winter of 1862-63 he was under Col. J. T. Wilder, at
Murfreesboro, who was in charge of Wilder’s Brigade,
which was made up of four regiments. That year the Captain
had charge’ of the scouts, but as a non-commissioned officer.
In March, 1864, he was made Second Lieutenant by Governor
Morton, and June 12 following was commissioned Captain, as
the regular Captain of Company I had been attached to another
staff, and the First Lieutenant was incapacitated for duty by
sickness. About this time Colonel Miller, of
the Seventy-second, took charge of this brigade, which was
attached to the cavalry commanded by General Wilson,
and acted as the regular cavalry. The Captain took charge
of a number of scouting parties, and on one of these
expeditious, when near Columbus, Ga., he captured a rebel
officer, Lieutenant Howell, with whom he is now
carrying on a correspondence. A warm attachment exists
between the two, who hold each other in high respect. At
the time of Johnston’s surrender, Captain Louthan
was under Wilson’s command, and his last service was when
efforts were made to capture Jeff Davis at Macon,
Ga. He never received a wound, except a slight injury
caused by the rebounding of a piece of shell. His final
discharge was dated Aug. 19, 1865, at Macon, Ga.
Returning from the South to Ohio, our subject bought a
piece of land, and since that time has been engaged in its
cultivation. He has cleared about eighty acres, and has a
well improved place. Fraternally he belongs to the Union
Veterans’ Union, and was made a member of the Masonic order in
1892, at Dunkirk. Both he and his wife are active members
of Harris Chapel, a Methodist Episcopal Church two miles distant
from their home, and the Captain is now serving as one of its
Stewards.
Dec. 30, 1866, occurred the marriage of J. W.
Louthan and Belinda I. Thomson, who was born Sept. 20, 1845.
She is a daughter of James A. and Elizabeth (Hinebaugh)
Thomson, early settlers of this township, their old
homestead being the one adjoining the farm of our subject.
Two children have been born to the Captain and his wife: Ara,
who is the wife of Thomas Smith and lives in this
neighborhood; and Charles, who is still at home.
†Source: Portrait & Biographical Records of Marion
& Hardin Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 270 |
