STUART-James Milton - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

James Milton Stuart James Milton Stuart was born on 10/28/1810 in Knox County, TN, near Marysville. He married first to ? Blair and second to Ruth Vance Agee. She was born November 28, 1812. James and his first wife had one daughter, Elizabeth, and he and his second wife had one son born in Tennessee, William Alexander, born 10/25/1832. They migrated from Tennessee to Indiana in 1833 and settled in Terre Haute, IN., then a trading post. James met a Mr. Lusk, Knights of Pythias, Parke County (owner of property now known as Turkey Run State Park) to whom he hired out and worked on the construction of a water powered grist mill at the Narrows of Sugar Creek (located at the State Park.) The mill was destroyed in a flood after about two years. It is also understood that James helped in the construction of the Lusk home which is now a museum of the State Park and located a short distance west of the old mill site. Little is known of any of the other Stuarts, even his father or mother's name is not know. However, he did have two brothers, William and Martin and a sister, Betty. This sister married a Mr. Davis and they had a son named Phillip who came to Indiana during the 40's and stayed with the Stuart family for about a year. This was while they lived near Annapolis and before they went with Mr. Lusk to Sugar Creek vicinity where he helped burn the bricks and build the house - the old two story house which is now one of the land marks in Turkey Run State Park, Indiana. James was in the postal service in Parke and Fountain counties in Indiana for 27 years, carrying the mail on horseback from Rockville to Crawfordsville. This period of time included the Civil War or from 1853 to 1881. His three youngest sons were home during the Civil War period; James Milton, Jr., and Zachary Taylor, 12 and 14 years old helped carry the mail. Charles who was only 6 years old wasn't old enough. The other sons were in the Union Army. Finally James moved to Fountain County where he was appointed Postmaster on March 31, 1881 at Yeddo. This village already had a name (unknown) which was the same or similar to another town in Indiana and James was asked to supply a new name, whereupon he submitted the name "Yeddo" (which was the old name of Tokio,(sic) Japan). This was suggested by his son, Charles who had been reading a book about Japan. Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James Milton Stuart and ? Blair lived with her Grandmother Blair from shortly after her birth (when her mother died) to age 17 at which time her grandmother died. James then return to Tennessee and brought his daughter home. He lived at that time in Parke County. James and Ruth Vance Agee Stuart had 12 children: William Alexander, b. 10/25/1832 in Tennessee Sarah Ann b. 5/13/1834 in Indiana Thomas Ambrose, b. 7/11/1837 in Indiana John Martin b. 6/22/1839 in Indiana George Washington b. 2/6/1841 Mary Jane b. 4/23/1843, died in infancy Nancy Ellen, b. 2/14/1845 James Milton, Jr., b. 10/25/1847 Zachary Taylor, b. 7/12/1849 Louise Catherine, b. 6/23/1851 Susan Caroline, b. 7/31/1854 Charles Fremont, b. 7/25/1856

Prepared by: Jill (Joey) Okamoto