Dr. Abraham Stout and Capt. Lucius Quintus Stout
Cousins who served the PA 153rd Regiment
By Rich Henninger
Copyright 2005 Rich Henninger
The Civil War saw many families combine forces in support of their cause. One such family was the Stouts, an early pioneer Bucks County Pennsylvania family some of whose descendants eventually settled in Williams Township, Northampton County, PA. The region in Williams Township known today as Stout’s Valley was named after this family. In fact there was a post office at one time located at the corner of present day Buttermilk and Raubsville/Hellertown Road for the town of Stout’s. Dr. Abraham Stout was Assistant Surgeon for the 153rd PA Regiment. His cousin, Lucius Stout, was Captain of the 153rd PA, Co. F mustered from Williams Township.
Lucius Quintus Stout was born September 29, 1826 in Williams Township. He married Elizabeth Roseberry in 1845 and by 1850 was working as a Peddler in Greenwich Twp., NJ. The Roseberry family was a prominent Phillipsburg, New Jersey family and I suspect that it is through this family that Lucius took up residence in New Jersey. Soon after the marriage Lucius and his wife would start a family. Between 1845 and 1849 they would have two children, a son Gustavus and a daughter Lavinia. Sometime between 1850 and 1860 it appears that some sort of calamity occurred that caused the separation of this family. By 1860 Elizabeth cannot be found anywhere and I presume that sometime during the decade of the 1850’s she died. By this time their children are found living with two different families in New Jersey. My theory is that Lucius, after losing Elizabeth, did not feel capable of raising the children and felt they would be better off with other family. Gustavus, who was then 15 years old, was living with a Roseberry family in Phillipsburg, NJ who I suspect were his grandparents. By now 10 year old Lavinia is living in Camden, NJ in the home of Thomas Cullen a Medical Doctor. The relationship to Dr. Cullen, if any, is not known at this time. How unfortunate that brother and sister were separated. It leads one to wonder if they maintained contact with each other or their father over the years that followed.
In 1862 Lucius is mustered in as Captain of the 153rd PA, Co. F, a volunteer unit. As I pieced together his story I had to wonder at this point if Lucius joined the military out of a sense of duty to the Union or to get his mind off of his tragic past. Perhaps it was both. Lucius would not have much of an opportunity to distinguish himself in his military career. He was ill and hospitalized during much of the 153rd’s nine month term. He was said to be somewhat delusional for several years after the war, the consequence of his bout with Typhoid fever. After leaving the Union Army it appears Lucius took up the career of house painting. In 1869 he re-married to Ellen Fabian. They would have one child together, Hattie Stout. Lucius died in Williams Township in 1895 at the age of 68. He is buried in Riegelsville Cemetery.
By all accounts Dr. Abraham Stout was already a well known physician in Bethlehem, PA when he joined the Union Army in 1862. Dr. Stout served as the Assistant Surgeon of the 153rd Pennsylvania Regiment during the Civil War. He was well liked by the men of the regiment and was said to always have a kind word to say to all of them. He was taken prisoner at Gettysburg. When captured a Confederate General put him in charge of a makeshift battlefield hospital in the German Reformed Church treating both Union and Confederate wounded. One can only imagine the horrific injuries he was confronted with treating in the 3 days the hospital was in operation. After distinguishing himself in his military service Dr. Stout returned to his practice in Bethlehem. He was a very popular physician often called to the seen of tragedies to treat the wounded or to give expert medical testimony in court.
Dr. Stout married Mary Cartwright and together had 3 children known to this researcher. Two children, Ira and George, were born prior to his Civil War service. George was only 3 months old when his father left for War. The third child, a son C. Edward Stout, was born after Dr. Stout’s term with the 153rd. Both sons would go on to become physicians like their father. Dr. Stout died in 1918 at the age of 86. He lived a distinguished and well documented life. So much so that it was somewhat shocking to me that no previous biographical sketch could be found on Dr. Stout. What follows is a series of newspaper clips all involving Dr. Stout to one degree or another. These were obtained from the Bethlehem Globe times and were published from 1867 to 1880. These articles are a fascinating look into late 19th century newspaper writing style, culture, and in particular the deplorable safety record of the railroad industry. I am not a supporter of the lawsuit culture we have today. I think many of our freedoms have been diluted as a result of the constant pressure of threatened litigation. Be that as it may, thousands of people were injured and killed by a callous railroad industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The upside of our current litigation prone culture is that this type of negligence and reckless disregard for safety would never happen today.
Click on the links below to view the actual newspaper clip. Some are difficult to read but with some effort all can be read.
August 1867 – Article John McLaughlin break in at Dr. Stout’s home.
February 1868 – Van Auken, Railroad accident.
Follow Up – to the above railroad accident.
March 1868 – Irish laborer, Railroad accident, foot crushed, amputated.
September 1868 – series of articles from September to October 1868 about a railroad accident. Those injured named as follows: Joseph (Josiah) Schaadt, Moses W. Coolbaug, William P. Weiss, David McCatherly, Joseph Bright, D. Kelsev, Charles Kichline, Charles W. Bowman, Washington Esch, Mrs. Frank Windt, S.A. Steckel, D.J. Godshalk, Isaac Dotts, Mr. Faucett, Jospeh J. Kichline, John Kelsey.
February 1869 – Series of railroad accidents.
August 1869 - Railroad accident/death, Robert Moore.
May 1871 – Railroad accident, gruesome description, death, Albert Knauss.
February 1872 – Mining accident.
February 1872 – Locomotive explosion, death, series of articles appearing in February 1872, John McClellan.
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April 1872 – Smallpox death, son of widow Layton.
June 1872 – Fascinating series of articles on a murder case involving a man poisoning his wife, John Lucas.
November 1872 – Railroad death, amputation, John Keiper.
December 1872 – Jacob Yates horrific railroad accident series. Note the blame placed on Jacob, who do you think would be blamed today?
April 1875 – patient died of illness, Thomas R. Roach.
January 1875 – If we had video of this one it would be a candidate for the World’s Stupidest Criminals TV program, Peter Schaffer.
January 1875 – A look at 19th century culture through a case of infanticide. Mother/killer got off easy, never would have happened today, Mary Connors, E.P. Wolle.
June 1875 – Obituary of Dr. Daniel Lachenoure who studied under Dr. Stout.
June 1875 – Obituary of John G. Miller, close family friend who resided with Dr. Stout.
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June 1875 – Insane man found dead in the woods near Farmersville.
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March 1880 – Joseph Leaver Railroad death of Easton man.
March 1880 – Funeral notice of Mrs. Sam Steckle.
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Note from the Author: The Stout family has no known direct relationship to my family. I was led to research this family as a result of Mary Stout’s marriage to Samuel Riegel. Mary is Dr. Stout’s sister and Samuel is a distant ancestor to my Kunsman line. As I looked into these families I found some interesting stories developing and became compelled to take a closer look. I hope that living descendants, if any exist, of Dr. Stout or his cousin Capt. Stout find this page and that it may help clear up some mystery. If you are a direct descendant of this Stout line I would appreciate hearing from you. - Rich
Sources for this article:
Census data for the years 1850 through 1880
The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints - www.familysearch.com
Kristy McGinnis – WorldConnect database - http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:2750872
Soldiers of the Civil War - http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/6508/DURHAM.HTM
History of the 153rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry by W. R. Kiefer, Easton, 1909
Bethlehem Daily Times/Globe-Times indexing - http://206.245.141.13/askfiles/samplesearch.html
Wendy Scott – WorldConnect database - http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jjswbs
Rich Henninger - Conclusions and speculation reached through my own research
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