Part of the Indiana Biographies Project
John O. Austin
John O. Austin is a native of Montgomery Co., Md., born March 29, 1807, a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Offord) Austin. His parents moved to the District of Columbia when he was quite young, and kept a hotel in Georgetown. When he was ten years of age they moved to the Shenandoah Valley, where he grew to manhood. They afterward moved to Hamilton County, Ohio, where the father died in 1829. Of ten children, John O. and a sister living in Union Co., Ind., are the only ones living. John O. Austin learned the shoe maker's trade when a young man, at which he worked over forty years. In 1830 he moved to Richmond, remaining there till 1834. In 1832 he subscribed for the Palladium. While in Richmond he clerked in the dry-goods store of Theo. Sittle. In 1835 he went to Liberty, Union County, and soon after married Amy Rose, a native of Indiana, born in 1814, and a daughter of Abraham Rose. He located in Liberty, working at his trade in connection with farming. In the fall of 1871 he came to Wayne County, and bought the farm known as the Jacob Brooks farm, consisting of 105 acres of fine land with good farm buildings. At present he lives rather a retired life, renting his farm to his sons. Mr. and Mrs. Austin are members of the Congregational church. Their children are five in number — Warren B., John R., Catherine (wife of P. S. Button), Brushrod W.,and Garrie D., the latter deceased.
Source:
History of Wayne County, Indiana. Chicago: Inter-State Publishing Co. 1884. Volume 2