Fouts

Our line of Fouts first came to Iowa in the mid-1800s. The father, Noel Fouts Sr., and mother, Jane Caroline Wright, were born and married in Randolph County, North Carolina. They first settled in "Indiana Territory" about 1809, where the ten youngest of their twelve children were born. In 1850 the couple then moved to eastern Iowa where their son Andrew was living. Because they left Putnam County, Indiana after the census had been taken and arrived in Pottawattomie County, Iowa before the census had been taken there, they appear in both the 1850 census for both Indiana and Iowa! Noel Sr., wife Jane and their children Abner, Andrew, Nancy, Noel Jr., Cynthia and Eli died in Iowa, while children Reuben, Delila, Rachel, Mary, Martha, and Sarah finished out their lives in Indiana.

There has been much debate as to what Noel Fouts Sr.'s say it is Noel while some Much of this confusion stems another Wright woman, Sarah, Randolph Co. NC. as well and had further confuse matters, both appear among the descendants

among Fouts researchers given name really is. Some believe it to be Noah. from the fact that there is who married a Fouts in a son named Noah. To the names Noah and Noel of Noel Fouts Sr.

Various Shelby Co. records, and indeed his original headstone, attest to the fact that his name is Noel, not Noah, however. In the 1820s Noel and Jane were members of her cousin Rev. John Wright's "Blue River Church of Christ, but the family apparently changed religion in later years. Noel Sr., Noel Jr. and Eli Fouts all settled in the Galland's Grove area of Shelby Co. Iowa with seven other families who were the original members of the Galland's Grove Reorganized Latter Day Saints, aka Apostate Mormons, a break away from the Mormon (LDS) faith.

The vast majority of settlers to this area of Iowa at that point in time came there as part of the huge Mormon movement that "wintered over" in western Iowa on route to Utah. Also, many of those who married into the Fouts family in Iowa at this time were known to be Apostate Mormons. Noel Fouts Sr. and hiw wife Jane Caroline (Wright) were laid to rest in the old Manteno (aka Grove Twp.) Cemetery in Shelby Co. Iowa, as were a good number of their descendants. The town of Manteno has been gone for about a hundred years now and all that remains is the cemetery. It sits on the side of a hill in a peaceful rural setting. Noel & Jane's original marble headstones are still in place, and while Noel's is still quite readable, Jane's stone unfortunately appears to have been broken some years back. An attempt to repair her stone was made and the pieces are being held together with small metal plates. However much of the engraving is badly damaged. I have posted photographs of their headstones (and those of other Fouts buried in Manteno) at the IAGenWeb Gravestone Photo Project.

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