Howard-Henry County IN Archives Biographies.....Burt, Jasper M. 1843 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/in/infiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com April 21, 2006, 8:30 pm Author: Jackson Morrow JASPER M. BURT. Agriculture has been an honored vocation from the earliest ages and as a usual thing men of honorable and humane impulses, as well as those of energy and thrift, have been patrons of husbandry. The free out-of-door life of the farm has a decided tendency to foster and develop that independence of mind and self-reliance which characterizes true manhood and no truer blessing can befall a boy than to be reared in close touch with nature in the healthful, life inspiring labor of the fields. It has always been the fruitful soil from which have sprung the moral bone and sinew of the country, and the majority of our nation's great warriors, renowned statesmen and distinguished men of letters, were born on the farm and were indebted largely to its early influence for the distinction which they have attained. Jasper M. Burt was born in Henry county, Indiana, September 23, 1843, the son of Daniel and Clementine (Smith) Burt, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. As early as 1816 the Burt family came to Union county, this state, when that section was in the primeval forest. Settling on a farm there they developed it by hard work, making a comfortable home. The father of the subject spent his boyhood days in Pennsylvania and came with his parents to Union county, Indiana, receiving there a common school education, the best that such early times afforded. When a young man he engaged in the saw mill business, but his principal life work has been devoted to farming in Henry county, especially. He came to Howard county in 1860, buying the farm on which our subject has lived since he was sixteen years old, however, Mr. Burt did not have an opportunity to develop this farm, having been summoned from his earthly labors in November, i860, at the age of sixty years, having been born in 1800. This farm was all in the woods with the exception of five or six acres when the Burt family first took possession of it and the only buildings on the land was a small log house and stable. It consisted of one hundred and eighty acres, but eighty acres were sold by our subject and he did all the clearing and made the improvements. The first drams were made of timber. The mother of the subject reached the age of seventy-eight years. Daniel Burt was three times married and. had seven children by his first wife, one by his second wife and three by his third wife, of whom our subject was the oldest. Jasper M. Burt, our subject, attended the district schools in Henry county and later in Howard county, working on the farm during the summer months in both counties. Having taken charge of his father's farm at his death, he has continued the management of the same up to the present time, having placed the fields under a splendid system of fencing and erected substantial and commodious buildings on the place. The sixty acres which he now manages are highly improved, well drained and in every respect is a model farm, showing thrift and good management. The domestic life of our subject dates from 1865, when he was united in marriage with Hannah M. Sally, daughter of Looney L. and Procena (Rice) Sally, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Indiana, the former having been a soldier in the Federal ranks during the war between the states, having enlisted from Indiana, serving four years with distinction, receiving at the close of the war an honorable discharge. His regiment, the Fifty-first Indiana Infantry, was commanded by Colonel Straight. William Burt, the oldest son of our subject's father, was also a soldier, having enlisted from Indiana and died while in the service. John, another brother, lost a leg while in the service of his country. Four children have been born into the home of our subject as follows: Rosa M., born in 1866, died 1892, was the wife of M. P. Cox, and she left one child; Charles L., born November 9, 1869, after attending the district schools from which he graduated, married and is the father of two children; Thomas N. was born in December, 1878, and died in infancy; Willard R., who was born in 1876, died in 1879. Both Mr. and Mrs. Burt are consistent members of the Christian church. Politically Mr. Burt is a Republican, and fraternally he affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having filled all the chairs of the same, also a member of the Subordinate Lodge and Encampment. Mrs. Burt belongs to the Rebekahs, having filled all the chairs of the same. Both Mr. and Mrs. Burt are among the most influential and popular citizens in their community, having long ago established reputations for uprightness, kindness and hospitality, being abreast of the times in every respect and always willing to give their time and substance, if need be, to further any movement looking to the betterment of the locality where they reside whether religiously, educationally or politically, and they are highly respected by all who know them as are also their children. Additional Comments: From: HISTORY OF HOWARD COUNTY INDIANA BY JACKSON MORROW, B. A. ILLUSTRATED VOL. II B. F. BOWEN & COMPANY INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (circa 1909) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/in/howard/bios/burt372nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/infiles/ File size: 5.7 Kb