Fruits Saga – Yep, Another George Or Lucky #7

George, one of the most popular names in the Fruits family brings us the third in a row (George, born 1736 in Germany died Brookville, Franklin County, Indiana in Sept 1811 – he is two of our grandsons’ direct) #2 John “George” Fruits 1763-1876, the one dubbed Alamo George and Alamo George and wife, Catherine Stonebraker’s son, George Fruits, the III, our subject today in the Fruits Saga.

This George was born July 21, 1822. Do want to give you a warning when researching this family, especially on Ancestry. So many mistakes. For instance, one census has Alamo George listed as Sary George and a huge batch of family trees have Sary as his first name. That came from one census, and granted the writing was sloppy and Alamo George’s name looks like Sary but checking the census itself vs. the index, it is definitely Sr George as George III and family is with Alamo George and Catherine and is listed as Jr George. Another mistake on many of the family trees has George III, born in Crawfordsville and I don’t think any of them were born in Crawfordsville although several were born in Montgomery County. So, be careful and do your own research, double checking all the way.

George the III was born in Butler County, Ohio, lived in the Alamo-Waynetown area for several years while he and his wife took care of the older couple. Three children were born here: Ambrose, Jonathan and George IV, of course! Their mother was Eliza Barlow (married Dec 17, 1846) and passed away after the 1860 census before his second marriage in 1864. These three would return to Montgomery County after spending some time with their father in North Judson (Starke County, Indiana). While here, George III gave up farming and began a carpenter trade.

Son Ambrose was George III (and Lizzie Barlow’s) first born on Feb 27, 1848 and married Jerusha Moss in 1871. They were active members of the Christian Union Church and lived in the Waynetown area the majority of his life. They had three daughters, Bertha, Cora and Emma (Alta). Several grandchildren blessed their lives. Ambrose and various family members rest in Waynetown Masonic. Jonathan was born 23 April 1854 (died 1930 – buried where his brother is). He and wife Rozilla Keys had three sons, Walter, Ollie and Vern E. who was a well-loved minister who died young leaving a wife and two daughters. Then, there’s George IV born January 15 in 1850, coming in as George A (sorry no clue what the A represents) who married Alice Royalty. Parents of: Ed, Nettie, Ora, Charles. At Rozie’s death, he married Amelia (Mellie) Romine and they were parents of Marvin. Beginning as a farm laborer, he eventually owned a fairly big farm, employing others in Troy Township, Fountain County. He passed away in Central Hospital, Indianapolis 14 Dec 1936 and is buried with Amelia in Oak Hill Cemetery.

George, our subject today, remarried Mary Eleanor Lewis 5 May 1864 in Marshall County, Indiana where they lived for a few brief years, moved back to Montgomery for some time and then dwelled for the rest of their lives in North Judson. Three children blessed their home, Martha A who passed away at the age of 61 years 3 months and 11 days from persistent anemia. She, her sister, Serepta and their brother, Ezekial Al”bert”us all lived together for many years, Bert a merchant in North Judson was killed by a C&E Railroad car running him over, dragging his vehicle for very close to a mile down the track. His wife, Sarah Sanford sued the railroad for negligence, although not sure how that came out. He is the only one of these three to have any children, marrying when he was 42 years old, Sarah about the same age, they having one daughter, Dorothy, who was quite an independent young lady, joining the service during WWII as a Nurse, even being transferred by actor Tyrone Power, a pilot during the war. She tallied the rank of Lt. doing much of her stint in the Headquarters Squadron, El Centro, California. After active service, moving to Spokane, Washington, she was involved with a National Nursing Organization.

(Catherine) Serepta born in 1872 when her father was 50, used her 8th grade education wisely, becoming a practical nurse (in Chicago) after Bert married and sister Mattie (1926) passed away. Serepta died in 1947 and they are buried together in the Pioneer Cemetery where their parents rest (thanks to Jackie and Ralph for the FindAGrave photo).

So, as you can see, George III was the father of three children by each of the two wives, had grand children, but not a great amount, was well-liked and passed away 3 Nov 1909 of heart troubles. George, what a popular name who lived here there and everywhere – lucky #7; thus, stay tuned for George’s sister, Catherine next week!

– Karen Zach is the editor of Montgomery Memories, our monthly magazine all about Montgomery County. Her column, Around the County, appears each Thursday in The Paper of Montgomery County. You can reach her at [email protected].