Samuel Chute died young.

Source: Chute, George Maynard, Jr. Chute Family in America in the 20th Century. University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan & London, 1967

Bryant Chute died young.

Source: Chute, George Maynard, Jr. Chute Family in America in the 20th Century. University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan & London, 1967

Nellie Chute died young.

Source: Chute, George Maynard, Jr. Chute Family in America in the 20th Century. University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan & London, 1967

Ancestry unknown at this time. Descendant Andrea Chute believes James emigrated from Ireland and settled primarily in Boston. There is a marriage record of his son William Henry Chute and either Martha Barrie, or, according to official records, Mary Barry, marrying in Portland, Maine, in 1911. The family may have passed through Maine at some point, or William Henry may have moved to Maine on his own.

During the telephone conversation(s) noted in the Source Reference, George M. Chute, Jr., was told that James described himself as an only son, saying he had "no relatives". Whether this was due to his not wishing to acknowledge any relatives he did have, or because he truly was unaware of them, is not certain.

Birth date, marriage date and birth dates of all children except Daniel are estimated only. Ancestry unknown at this time. WARNING: Several ancestry family trees have placed this Samuel Chute in the family of Samuel Chute and Sarah Barnes. There is no evidence that the Samuel (born 1781) is the same Samuel as this one (born 1783), and in fact seems highly unlikely.

Alonzo may also be recorded as "Lonnie" Chute. He worked as an engineer (or "engineman") for the C.M. St. P. & P. Railroad -- which, for those of us who don't make an effort to memorize railroad acronyms, stands for the "Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific" railroad.

Lonnie Chute, 59, Rail Engineer, Dies

Lonnie A. J. Chute, 59, of 409 Welch ave., engineer for the Milwaukee Railroad, died Friday (Mar. 1, 1963) in Waukesha. Mr. Chute had been moving a train in the yards when he was suddenly taken ill. The train was stopped, and an ambulance called. He was declared dead on arrival at a hospital. He had been an engineer for 40 years and was a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. He was a member of St. Bernard's Catholic Church and had been a Madison resident most of his life. He is survived by his wife, Elsie; three sisters, Mrs. Harry Nieman, 117 Jackson st.; Mrs. Vernie Lopau, 416 W. Wilson st.; and Mrs. Joseph Mahala, 5305 Herro lane; and a brother, Gilbert, 3323 Ivy st.

Source: Wisconsin State Journal
Saturday, March 2, 1963
Madison, Wisconsin

GMC: "Ancestry unknown at this time. About 1800, they moved from Boston to a farm near Marietta, Ohio."

"You asked me concerning my grandfather. My father once told me his father came from Boston, Mass., but they had come from some place in Maine or Canada to Boston, so you see you and I might be quite close relations if we had more information. Grandfather and three other men walked from Boston over the Allegheny Mts. and then by boat down Ohio to Marietta, this was about 1800. He met a young lady by the name of Nancy Varner and they were married. He was a farmer near Bartlett, Ohio, not so far from Marietta, Ohio, they had quite a large family. I don't know too much about them; however, I do remember my father's brothers and sisters:

George M. Chute, Jr. recorded that he "died young", but cemetery records show him dying at age 29. There may have been two sons with the same name, or the original record was not correct.

According to Eli Herrold Chute, in a letter written to George M. Chute, Jr., in 1951, he was employed as a schoolteacher.

Obituary, Garnet Jean Sweet Chute

Garnet Jean Chute, age 85, of Columbus and formerly a longtime resident of Scottsdale, Arizona, passed away peacefully Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at Whetstone Gardens Care Center. She was born April 21, 1923 in Springfield, Ohio, the daughter of the late Walter and Jesse (Miller) Sweet. Garnet was a retired home economics teacher having taught at several high schools in the Phoenix area with over 15 years of service. Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Eli Chute in 1992 and a brother W. Dean Sweet. Garnet graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education and received her Master of Science degree in Education from Arizona State University. She was an avid seamstress and devoted homemaker who loved spending time with her family.

Source: See Source for link.

Another record has a marriage to a "Mollie Christian", but this may be a misspelling or misunderstanding of Mary Curran's name.

Died at 18 years.

This family line represents another example of oral history not matching official records. There are two separate stories regarding the marriage of James Chute and Clarissa McGrath; some records have James being married to "Olive", who may in fact be a mistaken identity issue: Clarissa's mother was Olive Richardson.

Other records have Clarissa McGrath being born on the voyage of her parents from Ireland to Maine. More official records reflect that the McGrath's were already in the United States many generations before this marriage.

Another ongoing problem is the confusion between the "Andrew Hassan" Chute's and the "Andrew Hossom" Chutes - both names are used, but the two Andrews are often confused, even in the memories of their descendants. Frances Chute refers to her grandfather as both "Andrew Hassan" or "A.H.", while other family members reference the same individual as "Andrew Hossom". I've chosen to stay as consistent as possible with other records and have used the name "Hossom" and not "Hassan".

This line is still being pieced together, focusing more on official records than oral history, as it appears that the line's own oral history conflicts in part.

This line probably does claim the "Most Number of Strange and Mysterious Deaths in One Family During the Civil War" distinction. Abraham G. Chute is supposed to have died "drinking from a stream in Missouri poisoned by the enemy", while the U.S. Army places him in his troop's staging area in Springfield, Illinois (while his unit was in Cape Girardeau, Missouri) and unfortunately nowhere near a stream or river, poisoned or not -- unless you consider Lake Springfield to be a river, which the majority of Springfield, Illinois residents do not -- especially since it was created after the Civil War. His nephew, Job Phillips ("Phillip") Chute, according to tradition, died by "sleepwalking into the Tennessee River and drowning in his sleep" - a tradition somewhat borne out by official records, as his unit was in Tennessee but not in the middle of any battle at the time. Not surprisingly, the U.S. Army made no mention of his sleepwalking in his online service records. A third nephew, Augustus S. Chute, actually did die in battle however, in Mississippi.

The oral histories are provided here as an unproven history - please don't accept any of this information as confirmed until this warning is eliminated. At this point, I'm not even entirely convinced that James originated in Germany, at all.

Update on James Chute-Clarissa Richardson McGrath, Wednesday, February 08, 2006

John Thorne has uncovered the following, for those who are working on this specific family line:

"I have found something you may not be aware of. It is attached. It is the enlistment roster of Dearborn, Maine men into the War of 1812, in September 1814. There is shown James Chote, Ebenezer Ellis, and the Richardson brothers Oliver and Henry, Jr. (these are uncles of Clarissa, as her mother was Olive Richardson who married Thomas McGrath). I conclude this shows:

1. That James Chote existed, and he is certainly the lost James Chute via association with Ebenezer, the Richardson brothers, and Dearborn, Maine, the birthplace of Clarissa McGrath.
2. Since James and Clarissa were married by then and had first child Andrew H. in 1812, James had a wife and son when he went off to the War of 1812 in September 1814. This is also true of Ebenezer Ellis who was then married to Mary Perkins and had three very young children by September 1814.
3. The presence of the Richardsons is further proof that Clarissa was a Richardson from Dearborn, Maine. I earlier sent you a page from Downeast Ancestry that showed the family and birth dates.

I note that Dearborn was originally called West Pond Plantation. Dearborn was incorporated 22 Feb 1812. In 1841 it was dissolved and parts of the town went to Belgrade, Smithfield, and West Waterville. Knowing this info helps the genealogy search.

It appears that these men served in the War of 1812 for a very short time, less than two weeks. I need to get service records.

[Jackie's Note: The timing of their call to service that late in the War was probably determined by a sudden change in the War itself. With one exception, there was very little actual fighting in Maine, at that time a district of the State of Massachusetts. One notable exception was as follows: "In September (of 1814), the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia led a force south from Halifax and captured Castine, in Maine, on 3 September (1814). Within a few weeks, the British held most of Maine and retained control until it was returned to the Americans with the Treaty of Ghent. The Treaty of Ghent (located in Belgium) came into effect on 24 December, 1814." (Although the actually fighting didn't actually conclude on the ground until February of the next year). It appears that Captain Stephen Morrell's Company (to which Henry, James and Ebenezer were assigned) was raised over the period of September 13th to September 24th in response to the capture of Castine.]
Source: BBC Records on the War of 1812.
URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1021294.

After this service, these two young families emigrated to Ohio - maybe in about 1816. James died in 1841. Mary (Perkins) Ellis died before 1843, because in January 1843 widow Clarissa with a large family of young children married long time friend and widower Ebenezer Ellis. So, a little progress to report on the lost James. Question: The spelling of his name is Chote on the enlistment. I wonder if this is a spelling error, error in reading handwriting, or was it really Chote in his younger days and the name of his parents, and he changed his name to Chute about when he moved to Ohio?

[Jackie's Note: I did a rudimentary search on "James Chote" or "Choate", and haven't found anyone in the State of Maine yet. I also noticed that if I didn't specify "exact spelling" when I did the search, I kept getting "Chutes".]

First example is the version written by Loren Chute's daughter Frances (below). Following that is the version written by C.L. (Clarence Lee) Chute, and sent to George M. Chute, Jr.

Correspondence by Loren Chute's daughters, Frances:

"In Bingham, Germany, on the Rhine River, was a family named Chute who were in the Ship-building business. On the maiden voyages some member of the family went along. One of the sons went along on a trip to Belfast, Ireland. He met a girl named Clarsie Mc Grath. The lapse of time is unknown, but later these two married. She was too bullheaded to live in Germany and he too hard-headed to live in Ireland, so the new country, America, attracted them.

They arrived in Maine and pioneered 100%. They had six children that I know of, or have been told. During the war of 1812, a son named Andrew Hassan was born (my grandfather). At that time Great grandfather was in the service. Grandfather A.H. was married and had about 6 children, one of the sons was named Sourdine or Sarrdine that name stuck with me so I remembered it.

One of the sons was in the Civil war and being a sleep-walker, one night while on the Tennessee River, he walked in his sleep and right into the river - and drowned. A.H. migrated to Ohio and took a claim in what is known as "Carbon Hill". He picked it because of the creek running through and the coal in the hills. He became a breeder of short-horn cattle and exported from Baltimore. He was like the other cowboys, rode a horse with a dog following. I don't know if he went to Ohio before his wife died or not, but I think he did. Anyway he married again, I don't know the date, but must have been after his children were up and gone. No doubt in 1857 or 59. He married Louise Robinson (25 years his junior, she was born April 1, 1837) They had, I think 12 children. Eva, born 1860, Sylvia, Dora, Frank, Loren (my dad), Bob, Lena and Jean. Born 1877 or 8. I can think of only 8 names.

Anyway Eva had 2 daughters, Sylvia had 3 sons & 3 daughters named Hartley. Dora, also married a Hartley, she was the busybody, wild cat of the bunch, she had 6 sons, no daughters. Frank had 2 daughters, no sons, Loren had 6 daughters, no sons. He was going to have 12 sons, no room for girls cause he had to have a baseball 9. We were all named Andrew H. until we were born and all have been grateful we weren't named "Andreween, ette, Andra, or any thing like a warmed-over name for a girl, Lena had sons and daughters, named Thorne one son a lawyer in Detroit, I think. Jean had boys & girls, named Carpenter. Her son Ted or Theodore is now living in the old homestead, right by the creek, with the family cemetery on the other side of the creek.

There is a Bob Chute, son of Bob, I think he is still in Ohio and am trying to find out about it. Funny thing, but the boys had girls and vice versa. There must be some Chutes from A.H.'s first family. The railroad cut thru the farm, which with the creek, divided the acreage into 4 parts.

Grandpa was a very religeous [sic] man. He built a church and gave it to the little town that sprung up "Carbon Hill" on the one quarter. The town took over the part, leaving the homestead and cemetery (which a large portion was given to the town later on by the family). The house is still in good condition as is the church. It is quite a large building considering it was built so long ago. The records are still in the church giving the names of the original members. It is called the Christian Church. Grandpa was a "Disciple" of Alexander Campbell. The debate Alexander Campbell had with a Catholic Priest in Cincinnati I think swayed the whole of my relation in his direction.

Great grandmother Clarsie McGrath Chute lived with her son Andrew more than any of the others. She would say "I am going to spend an even number of weeks with each one". I think there were 3 she lived with. She would spend 2 weeks with Andrew and then she would be away 2 weeks with the other two and then back. She thought that was dividing it evenly. She was born Oct 17, 1791 and died Feb. 23, 1887 - 95 years, 4 months, 6 days. She was never what you would call bedfast. She disappeared one bleak winter day when she was 91. She had gone across the frozen creek to take some food to the (what she called poor critters). Grandpa built shacks along the railroad track on his land for the people who were migrating west and every winter someone holed up there until the spring thaw. They looked all day for her and finally around sundown she came back to the house.

Grandpa died at 91 on Thanksgiving Day, 1893 and Grandma lived to be 91 and died Sept, 10, 1918. Pop was born March 23, 1870 and always said he wanted his three-score and 10. He didn't want any of anyone else's time and didn't want anyone to have any of his 3-score & 10. He died on March 13, 1940 and was buried one week before he would have been 70. My mother was born March 11, 1872 and lived until July 17, 1957. She traveled back & forth across the U.S., into Canada and Mexico a good 15 years of the 17 years after pop died."

"Thomas McGrath, fourth great Maternal grandmother of C.L. Chute, was born in Munster, Ireland. In 1768, Thomas McGrath married Ollie Richardson (the above 4th great maternal grandmother). She was of Scotch descent. In 1790, they sailed from Ireland to America. During this voyage on the high seas a daughter was born and christened Clara McGrath. (3rd maternal grandmother).

Thomas and Ollie McGrath with their new born daughter landed at Bath, Maine, early in 1791. They lived at Bath, Maine, for some years and came west with several other Maine settlers, traveling on foot and with one horse which was shared alternatively with his wife and daughter. They reached what is now Bristol Township near McConnelsville in Muskingham County, Ohio, where Thomas McGrath staked his claim for 160 acres of land. This land was entered in 1806 and in 1808 he made his final payment. He served during the war of 1812.

Clara McGrath, daughter of Thomas and Ollie Richardson McGrath married James Chute when she was about 19 years of age. (CL Chute's 3rd great grandfather). James Chute served in the War of 1812. James and Clara McGrath were the parents of several children.

James Jr. and Andrew, two of their sons left McConnelsville and came to Perry County, leaving their mother and other children in Bristol Township, Muskingham County. After the death of James Chute, Sr., who is buried in Bristol Township Cemetery, his widow Clara married Elbon Ellis. He is buried at the Stockport Cemetery. Their children, if any, are unknown.

Mary Wilcox was married to Abraham Chute. They had two sons, Lane and Robert (both deceased). Abraham Chute (my grandfather) served in the Civil War, died during the war in Missouri as a result of drinking from a spring, poisoned by the enemy."

The couple is reported to have had only the 2 daughters.

Source: Chute, George Maynard, Jr. Chute Family in America in the 20th Century. University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan & London, 1967

Obituary, Evelyn ("Eva") May Chute Charlton

Illness is Fatal to Mrs. Charlton

Succumbs At Her Home Monday Morning

Mrs. Eva M. Charlton, passed away Monday morning at her home, 5692 N. High Street.

Mrs. Charlton, who was the widow of Matthew Charlton, had been ill for the past three years. She was a member of the Christian Church.

She is survived by two daughters, Naomi B. and Lora M., two brothers and four sisters.

Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, at the Merrick Funeral Home in Clintonville, and burial made in Carbon Hill Cemetery, in Hocking County.

Source: Hocking County regional newspaper, unknown

Died in the Civil War. There is record of a Phillip Chute (Ohio), enlisting 12 September 1861, who was a Private in the Union Army, and enlisted at the age of 22. Phillip was affiliated with an Ohio regiment.

This is probably the son who, according to family legend, sleep-walked into the Tennessee River and drowned. There was no battle recorded for this infantry division at the time he died, although their last skirmish was in Tennessee; his brother Augustus did die in battle, in Mississippi. His Uncle Abraham appears to have died of unknown causes at the Springfield, Illinois troop staging area.