The Descendants of
Robert Lutton and Catherine Hall of
Washington County, Pennsylvania

Jean Suplick Matuson, 4508 Reunion Drive, Plano, TX 75024
27 March 1996. Copyright 1996 Jean Suplick Matuson


Robert Lutton was born in December of 1818 in Strabane Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. He was the second of five children we know to have been born to James and Sarah (Piper) Lutton.

The father, James Lutton, had settled in the township some time about 1805-1810, coming to the area as a young man. James died in July 1852, leaving his homestead in North Strabane township, located along the west side what is now U.S. Route 19, to his son Robert. The Lutton family, headed by James and including his mother and two younger sisters, Margaret and Jane, had migrated from the South Milford Hundred in Cecil County, Maryland. Very little is know of James' parents except that his father, also named Robert, had one brother named James, and that their father had come from Ireland to colonial Maryland perhaps as early as 1752.

Of James' wife, Sarah (Piper) Lutton, we also know little. She was born in Maryland and her parents were born in Ireland. Given what fragmented information has been found, we might suppose her father's name was Samuel and her mother's name was Letitia.

Robert, the subject of this article, married Lee Catherine Hall on 23 December 1858 in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Kate, as she was known, was twenty years younger than Robert. She was born on 21 May 1838 in Somerset township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, the youngest of nine children born to Thomas & Catherine (Rainey) Hall. A photo of Kate as a middle-aged woman survives, taken, as best we can tell from the rolling hills in the background, at the Lutton Farm.

Kate's grandparents, Thomas and Sarah (Keyes) Hall, came to Pennsylvania from County Tyrone, Ireland in about 1788, settling in Somerset township where they farmed and raised a family of four children: Mary, James, Jane, and Thomas. The Halls were among the original founders of the Pigeon Creek Presbyterian Church in Washington Co. Thomas Hall, Jr. made his career as a teacher and in about 1813 he married Catherine Rainey, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Bromfield) Rainey. Besides Catherine, the Halls had the following eight children: James, Sarah Keys, Austin Wolfolk, Gen. John, Elizabeth, Thomas Montgomery, Mary Jane, and Adam Weir.

During his lifetime, Robert Lutton increased the size of the Lutton homestead in Washington County by making three additional land purchases, all simply noted in the county deed books as being in North Strabane township: 52 acres from Balter P. Feaster on 7 March 1857, 22 acres from John Weaver on 14 May 1859, and 38 acres from Alexander Linn on 19 March 1868.

It was during Robert's life that the Lutton farm began to be called "Mapleview Farm" in the various records of the era. The old two-story frame farmhouse, built probably by Robert in the mid-late 1800s, survived into the 1970's when it was finally torn down.

Robert and Kate Lutton attended the historic Chartiers Hill Presbyterian Church a few miles north of their home in North Strabane township.

The couple had the following children:

  1. Sarah Jane Lutton
  2. Mary Catherine Lutton
  3. J. William Lutton
  4. John Thomas Lutton
  5. Elizabeth Lillian Lutton
  6. Robert Gibson Lutton

Robert died at the age of sixty-three on 8 July 1881 in North Strabane township. His death notice in the Canonsburg Herald stated that he died of cancer of the stomach. Kate died from a stroke at the age of sixty-five on 21 June 1903 at her home on Hall Ave. in Washington, Pennsylvania, to where she had moved about six months earlier. Both Robert and Kate are buried at the Chartiers Hill Presbyterian Church cemetery.

John Hall, Robert's brother-in-law, was appointed executor of Robert's last will and testament. At the time of his death, Robert's eldest two sons had already died. Robert directed that his personal property from the farm be sold at auction in order to pay any and all debts and funeral expenses, the personal property from the "dwelling house" being excepted. He left the eighty-five acres of land west of his house, known as "the Pheaster and Thompson land", to his daugthers Sarah and Mary. The land was to be held in common by the daughters until one or the other married at which time they might sell or divide the land as was advantagous to them. And until they married, they were to make their home with their mother in the mansion house. If they should not marry, then they were to make their home at the mansion house until their brother Robert G. Lutton turn twenty-one. Presumably at that time, Robert G. would become head of the family and responsible for making decisions regarding his unmarried sisters.

Robert's youngest daughter, Lillian, was given thirty acres of land known as the Alexander Linn land being two fields on the east side of the house. This land was to be rented on Lillian's behalf by her gaurdian and the profits strictly invested until she became twenty-one years old, when she would take possession of the land and the profits.

The remaining property, real and personal, remained in the mother, Kate's, possesion until her son Robert reached thirty-three years old at which time he would take ownership. We might suppose the intention of this measure was to ensure that Robert was mature enough to wisely manage the property when he came into his inheritance. Kate was to be given a perpetual home in the mansion house and be "well and comfortably maintained upon said farm by my said son as long as she shall live and to this end I expressly direct that during the lifetime of my said wife the said farm shall neither be sold nor encumbered."

[References: 1, 6, 19, 22-23, 28-29, 35, 39-40, 42, 47, 78, 93, 99, 128-129, 202, 206]

Second Generation

1. Sarah Jane Lutton, the eldest child of Robert and Kate Lutton, was born on 8 February 1860 at the Mapleview Farm in North Strabane Township. During her lifetime, she variously went by the common nicknames of Sadie and Sally.

Sarah married Charles Edward Carothers, son of William E. & Caroline (Taylor) Carothers on 11 March 1885 in Washington Co., Pennsylvania.

Edward, as he was known, was a man of many public activities and seems to have epitomized what we've come to know as the "self-made man". His success must surely have impacted the quality of his family's lives. In his public life, Edward was known as "C.E. Carothers". He was born on 31 October 1860 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. His family moved to near Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania during his childhood, where he was brought up and educated. As a young man in 1882 he moved to North Strabane township in Washington County to farm. He became a member of the Chartiers Hill Presbyterian Church in that year, perhaps explaining how he met Sarah Lutton.

In 1900, Edward began manufacturing ice cream, and in 1902, the Carothers family moved from their farm to what became their permanent home at 161 Hall Ave. in "little Washington", across the street from Washington High School. Here they sold milk and ice cream at retail in a business called the Pasteur Dariy Co. of which Edward, his son William, and his brother-in-law, Robert G. Lutton, were partners. Edward had installed the first pasteurization plant for milk in the city, some think in the county.

Eventually, the sale of milk was abandoned and in 1910, the ice cream business was incorporated into the Carothers Dairy Company. It was in 1944, when Edward was eighty-five years old, that he finally sold the farm in North Strabane township. And in 1945 the ice cream plant was sold the the Borden Company of New York.

Edward Carothers was an active Republican in politics and was a highly motivated to public service. He held many public offices during his lifetime. He was a member of the Pennsylvania state legislature in 1901-1904 and he was Washington Co. sheriff for several years. In 1908 he was elected to the State General Assembly. He also, at various times early in his life, was appointed Deputy Secretary of Pennsylvania Agriculture and Director of Farmers' Institutes. And, during the period 1914 through at least 1919, he was president of the Washington News Publishing Company. One act for which he was renown in North Strabane township was for paving the first brick road in the county up to the Chartiers Hill Presbyterian Church.

Sarah and Edward had the following children:

  • William E. Carothers, b. 7 Mar 1886, d. 28 Jan 1964, m. Ella Jane Zediker
  • Mary C. Carothers, b. Feb 1889, d. 1949, m. Holmes Andrew Davis
  • Robert L. Carothers, b. 22 Mar 1894, d. 7 Jul 1925, m. Masie Buffington
  • infant Carothers, b. 30 Mar 1894

Although the family lived in Washington for many years, they remained active members of the Chartiers Hill Presbyterian church until their deaths. Sarah died at the age of fifty-eight on 23 October 1918 in Washington, Washington Co., Pennsylvania and she is buried at the Chartiers Hill Presbyterian Church cemetery in North Strabane township.

Edward married a second time to Mrs. Sarah Eugenie Benn on 15 December 1928 in Washington. He died suddenly of old age at eighty-six on 12 February 1946 in Washington and is buried at Hill Church with his first wife. In his will, Edward left all his real estate in Washington, including the property at Hall and Chruch avenues, (valued at $5000) to his wife; his personal estate (valued at $4000) was divided going one-third to his wife, one-third to his daughter Mary Carothers Davis, and one-third to his grandson Charles E. Carothers, Jr., his daughter-in-law Maisie B. Carothers, and his grand-daughter Sarah Jane Bougher.

[References: 19-20, 23, 28, 35-36, 42, 47, 93, 99, 140, 186, 202]

2. Mary Catherine Lutton was born about 1862 in North Strabane Township, Washington Co., Pennsylvania "Minnie", as she was known. She married Mr. A. B. Crouch some time about 1887 and died just a year later as a young woman of 26 years on 21 March 1888. She is buried at Chartiers Hill Presbyterian Church cemetery in North Strabane Township.

Minne died without leaving a will and so the property she had inherited from her father was subsequently inherited by her heirs-at-law: her mother Kate, her sister Sarah J. Carothers, and her brother Robert G. Lutton. When Kate Lutton died intestate, Sarah J. and Robert G. inherited their mother's portion. Finally, in 1905 Robert sold his interest in the property to his sister Sarah J. Carothers for $1.

It's interesting to note that there is a deed on the Washington Co., PA books showing that L. C. Lutton bought land from A. B. Crouch in South Strabane Township in September 1886. Unfortunately we will never know what motivated the sale, bust surely it impacted the lives of the young couple in some way, hopefully positively.

[References: 28, 35, 202, 208, 212]

3. J. William Lutton, known as "Willie", was born about 1866 in North Strabane Township, Washington Co., Pennsylvania and died young on 21 February 1877. He is buried at Chartiers Hill Presbyterian Church cemetery in North Strabane Township.

[References: 35, 47]

4. John Thomas Lutton was born in September 1870 at the Mapleview Fram in North Strabane Township, Washington Co., Pennsylvania. He died as a small child on 24 February 1871 at the age of seven months and is buried at Chartiers Hill Presbyterian Church cemetery North Strabane Township.

[References: 47]

5. Elizabeth Lillian Lutton, known as "Lillie", was born at the Mapleview Farm in North Strabane Township on 20 June 1872. While just on the verge of her adult life, Lillie died very suddenly. On June 1896 at the home of a college friend in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania "she was seized with a violent attack of asthma which resulted in her death the same evening at 7:05 o'clock. The attending physician pronounced the cause of her death to be heart trouble." She was only twenty-four years old.

Lillie had the benefit of attending the Pittsburgh Female College, a privialge not many farm girls of her time were afforded. She is buried at Chartiers Hill Presbyterian Church cemetery in North Strabane Township.

In 1881, Lillie inherited a plot of land from her father and in February 1886 she increased the size of her holding by purchasing additional acres from John Weaver. When she died without leaving a will, her land was subsequently inherited by her heirs-at-law: her mother Kate, her sister Sarah J. Carothers, and her brother Robert G. Lutton. When Kate Lutton died intestate, Sarah J. and Robert G. inherited their mother's portion. Finally, in 1905 Sarah J. Carothers sold her interest in the property to her brother Robert G. Lutton for $1.

[References: 28, 47, 79, 98, 202, 213, 214]

6. Robert "Bert" Gibson Lutton was born on 11 March 1879 at the Mapleview Farm in North Strabane Township, Washington Co., Pennsylvania. As a youth, his name appeared in the society clips of the Washington Observer often, mostly it seems, as a chaparone for his elder sister by five years, Lillie, who frequently visited friends and relatives in the city of Washington. In 1891, when he reached the age of twelve years, he joined the Chartiers Hill Presbyterian congregation as an official memeber.

Robert had the privilage of being educated at Washington and Jefferson College in Washington and later he attended the Duff Business College in Pittsburgh.

Early on, Robert was taken under the wing of his business-minded brother-in-law, C. E. Carothers, who was his senior by twenty years. In 1902, at the age of 23, he left the farm and went into the dairy business with C. E. Carothers and his brother William Carothers. For many years he was on the board of directors of the Carothers Dairy Company. In 1908 Robert was appointed deputy Sheriff of Washington County, a position he held for four years until in 1912 he was elected sheriff himself.

After completing a four-year term as sheriff, Robert returned to farming operations and at the same time began to get involved in the coal business. Then in 1919 he was elected to a four year term as Washington County treasurer.

In 1924, when his term in public service expired, Robert returned to the coal business and by 1925 was regarded as one of the leading coal operators in Washington. He was president fo the Allison Valley Coal Co. Of Washington and a director on the board of the Citizens National Bank of Washington. Additionally, he held influential positions (general sales manager, director, assistant treasurer) in the Washington Gas & Coal Co., the Country Club Coal Co., the Canonsburg Coal & Gas Co., the McKeesport Coal and Coke Co., and the West Pennsylvania Coal Co.

As might be expected with one so influential in the boom times before the stock market crash, Robert was quite active in social organizations befitting his status. He and his wife were members of the Washington Country Club and the Nemacolin Country Club. And according to the 1926 Clarke history of Washington Co.:

Mr. Lutton has long taken an earnest interest in Freemasonry and has attained to all the degrees of Masonry available from the blue lodge through the chapter and the council on to the commandery and into the Scottish Rite (thirty-second degree), and is a Noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Myst Shrine, affiliated with Syria temple at Pittsburgh.

One story told among living family members has it that Robert installed a small ferris wheel at the Lutton farm and that a boy fell from it killing himself. As the story goes, Robert settled with the boy's family for an amount which strongly impacted his financial standing.

Robert married Dorothea A. Mair, daughter of Alexander D. and Minnie (Meyers) Mair on 26 November 1914 probably in Washington, Pennsylvania at the age of thirty-five years. Dorothea was born on 24 July 1891 in Canton, Ohio and moved with her family to Washington, Pennsylvania some time about 1900. At the time of her marriage, Dorothea was a member of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Washington to which she belonged until her death. Dorothea's education was "finished" at the Washington Seminary.

Robert and Dorothea had only one child:

  • Catherine Dorothea Lutton, b. 1 Aug 1917, d. aft 1954, m1. John M. Hopwood, m2. L. M. Stroud

Dorothea died at her home at 420 Allison Avenue in Washington on 6 June 1941 from the effects of a gun wound she had received two weeks earlier. The circumstances surrounding the shooting have not been uncovered. She is buried in Chartiers Hill Presbyterian Church cemetery in North Strabane Township, the same cemetery where his parents were laid to rest. In her will she left all her personal estate (valued at $1500) to her daughter Catherine Lutton Hopwood.

Robert spent the last four years of his life in Vero Beach, Florida where his daughter and family were living. He died on 17 March 1954 at the age of seventy-eight. He was brought home to North Strabane Township and is buried in the Chartiers Hill cemetery.

[References: 19, 23, 28, 36, 76, 93, 99, 128-129, 136-137, 140, 151, 186, 202]

References

[Note that the information presented for Catherine (Hall) Lutton's ancestors has not been verified with any original sources. The same is true for some, but not all, of the business and public service events ascribed to C.E. Carothers and R. G. Lutton.]

1: James Lutton, "Lutton Family History and Records" (Canonsburg, Penna.: Northp., 1882). Viewed at the Family History Center in Plano,TX on microfilm obtained from the LDS Library in Salt Lake City. This 8 page book was written by Letitia Lutton Chubbic's second cousin, James Lutton of Canonsburg.

6: "1830 U.S. Census for Washington Co., PA", Nat'l Archive Microfilm M19, Roll 163. Viewed at the Dallas Public Library in 1992. Entry for James Lutton is in North Strabane Township.

19: "The Daily Notes" (Canonsburg, Pennsylvania), June 22, 1903. This is an obituary for Mrs. Katherine Lutton. A photocopy of the original was obtained from the Canonsburg Library in June 1993 and is in my possession.

20: "The Daily Notes" (Canonsburg, Pennsylvania), October 24, 1918. This is an obituary for Mrs. Katherine Lutton. A photocopy of the original was obtained from the Canonsburg Library in June 1993 and is in the author's possession.

22: "The Canonsburg Herald" (Canonsburg, Pennsylvania), July 15, 1881. Obituary for Robert Lutton. A photocopy of the original was obtained from the Canonsburg Library in June 1993 and is in the author's possession.

23: "1900 U.S. Census for Washington Co., PA", Nat'l Archive Microfilm T623, Rolls 1493, 1494, & 1495. Viewed by the author at the Dallas Public Library, Dallas, TX in 1993. Entry #207 in Canonsburg is for Samuel White.

28: "1880 U.S. Census for Washington Co., PA", Nat'l Archive Microfilm T9, Rolls 256 & 257. Viewed by the author at the Dallas Public Library, Dallas, TX in 1993. Entry #44 in Canonsburg is for Samuel White.

29: "1850 U.S. Census for Washington Co., PA", Nat'l Archive Microfilm M432, Rolls 883 & 884. Viewed by the author at the Dallas Public Library, Dallas, TX in 1993. Entry #22 in North Strabane Township is for James Lutton.

35: "1870 U.S. Census, Washington Co., PA", Nat'l Archive Microfilm M593, Rolls 1462 & 1463. Viewed by the author at the Dallas Public Library, Dallas, TX in 1993. Entry #135 in North Strabane Township is for Sarah Lutton.

36: "1910 U.S. Census,Washington Co., PA", Nat'l Archive Microfilm T624, Rolls 1462 & 1463. Viewed by the author at the Dallas Public Library, Dallas, TX in 1993. Entry #155 in Canonsburg is for Elizabeth White.

39: "1840 U.S. Census, Washington Co., PA", Nat'l Archive Microfilm M704, Roll 499. Viewed by the author at the Dallas Public Library, Dallas, TX in 1993. Entry on page 1 for North Strabane Township is for James Lutton.

40: "1820 U.S. Census, Washington Co., PA", Nat'l Archive Microfilm M33, Roll 113. Viewed by the author at the Dallas Public Library, Dallas, TX in 1993. Entry (number not recorded by author) in North Strabane Township for James Lutton.

42: "1860 U.S. Census, Washington Co., PA", Nat'l Archive Microfilm M653, Rolls 1191 & 1192. North Strabane T: Sarah Lutton, #89.

47: No author, "Washington County Cemeteries" (privately published, 1953), pp. 67-98. This work was viewed at the National DAR Library in Washington D.C. in June 1993. The pages cited are those for the Chartiers Hill Church cemetery in N. Strabane T., Washington Co., PA.

76: "Photograph of headstone for grave of Dorthea Mair Lutton", taken by the author in December 1991 at the Chartiers Hill Church cemetery, N. Strabane T., Washington Co., PA. The original photograph is in the possession of the author.

78: "Photograph of headstone for grave of Catherine L. Hall Lutton", taken by the author in December 1991 at the Chartiers Hill Church cemetery, N. Strabane T., Washington Co., PA. The original photograph is in the possession of the author.

79: "Photograph of headstone for grave of Elizabeth Lillian Lutton", taken by the author in December 1991 at the Chartiers Hill Church cemetery, N. Strabane T., Washington Co., PA. The original photograph is in the possession of the author.

93: Joseph F. McFarland, "20th Century History of the City of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania" (Chicago: Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., 1910). Viewed on microfilm by the author at the Dallas County Library, Dallas, Texas in 1991 - 1993. P. 542 contains article about Samuel Farrar, brother of Ezra Farrar.

98: "The Canonsburg Herald" (Canonsburg, PA), 17 June 1896, page number unknown. A photocopy of the original was obtained from the Citizens Library, Washington, PA in September 1993 and is in the possession of the author. This is an obituary for Lillian Lutton.

99: "Deed Indexes for Washington Co., PA , Grantee, Vol. L 1781-1924". This document was on microfilm and was viewed at the LDS Family History Center in Plano, TX in September 1993. LDS film #0852981. The indexes contain deed for land from Robert G. Lutton to his sister Sarah Carothers.

128: "Newpaper clipping of obituary for Robert G. Lutton", March 1954. This clipping was among the personal momentos saved by the author's grandmother, Leanora McMillan Spingola. The publication in which it appeared and the issue date were not noted. The original is in the possession of the author.

129: S. J. Clarke, "History of Washington County, Pennsylvania", Vol 2, (Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1926). Viewed on microfilm at the Dallas County Library, Dallas, Texas in 1993.

136: "Funeral Record for Dorothea Mair Lutton", No. for 29, Total no. 424, obtained from Piatt and Barnhill Funeral Directors, Inc., Washington, PA in December 1993. The funeral had been conducted by W. B. Ritchie, Funeral Director of Washington, PA. A photocopy of the original is in the possession of the author.

137: "Funeral Record for Robert Gibson Lutton", no number, obtained from Piatt and Barnhill Funeral Directors, Inc., Washington, PA in December 1993. The funeral had been conducted by Bebout and Banhill Funeral Home of Washington, PA. A photocopy of the original is in the possession of the author.

140: "R. L. Polk & Co.'s Washington City Directory", (Pittsburgh, PA: R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers). Vol. IV 1905-1906, Vol. V 1907-1908, Vol. VI 1909-1910, Vol. VII 1911, Vol. VIII 1912-1913, Vol. IX 1914-1915, Vol. X 1917, Vol. XI 1919, Vol. XVI 1933, Vol. XVII 1935, Vol. XVIII 1937-1938, Vol. XIX 1939-1940, Vol. XX 1941, Vol. XXI 1943. R. G. Lutton appears 1905-1919, 1935-1943; C.E. Carothers appears 1905-1919, 1935-1943; Samuel White appears 1907; Elizabeth White appears 1909-1913. These volumes were examined by the author at the Citizens Library in Washington, PA. The earlier volumes also included sections for the borough of Canonsburg.

151: "The Observer-Reporter", (Washington, PA), June 6 1941, page number unknown. A photocopy of the original was obtained from the Citizens Library, Washington, PA in December 1993 and is in the possession of the author. This is an obituary for Mrs. R. G. (Dororthea) Lutton.

154: J. H. Beers and Co., "Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania" (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Book is in the possession of the author. P. 581 contains article about Benjamin Chubbic, nephew of Frederick; p. 1229 contains article about David White, brother of Samuel A. White.

186: No author, "Chartiers (Hill) Presbyterian Church" (Canonsburg, PA: Chartiers Hill Church, 1912. This is a 31 page booklet about the church including some history, current membership lists (1912), and baptisms and marriags for 1907-1912. The original is posession of Martha (Palmer) Bayne of Washington, PA. A photocopy of her original was obtained in 1993 and is in the possession of the author.

202: "Last Will and Testament of Robert Lutton," Washington County Will Book 11, page 281, registered 27 July 1881. Original viewed on microfilm by the author at the LDS Family History Center at Plano, TX in summer 1993.

206: Watson, Lyle. "Clarke Family History Notebook," Genealogical Society of Southwestern Pennyslvania Keyhole, Vol.XII No.2, April 1984, pp. 60-72. A copy of the original publication is in the possession of the author. This article contains a section entitled "Hall Family Record" which gives some genealogical data for Catherine Lutton Hall's ancestors.

208: "Headstone of Minnie Lutton", viewed by the author at the Chartiers Hill Church cemetery, N. Strabane T., Washington Co., PA in October 1994.

212: "Deed from Robert G. Lutton to Sarah J. Carothers," Washington Co., PA. A photocopy of the original was obtained by the author on a visit to the Washington Co., PA courthouse in October 1993.

213: "Deed from Sarah J. Carothers to Robert G. Lutton," Washington Co., PA. A photocopy of the original was obtained by the author on a visit to the Washington Co., PA courthouse in October 1994.

214: "Deed from John Weaver to Lillian Lutton," Washington Co., PA.

217: "Photograph of headstone for grave of Sarah J. Carothers and C. E. Carothers", taken by the author December 1993 at the Chartiers Hill Church cemetery, N. Strabane T., Washington Co., PA.

219: "Photograph of headstone for grave of Sarah Eugenie Carothers", taken by the author December 1993 at the Chartiers Hill Church cemetery, N. Strabane T., Washington Co., PA.

222: "Will of C. E. Carothers," died 12 Feb 1946, will book 68-585, Washington Co., PA. Viewed by the author at the Washington County courthouse in October 1994.

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