... ALBERT E. SUTTON, The deputy county sheriff of Blackford county can claim a genealogical record in which he may take just pride. In 1769 a little colony of 340 earnest English Christians of the Methodist Episcopal faith left the "tight little isle" of England to establish a home in America, as they were meeting unjust opposition on the part of both the established Church of England and the Roman Catholic element. They disposed of their possessions in England and set forth to establish themselves in the New World, where they were assured for freedom of religious convictions and also opportunities for the winning of independence and individual success. Each of these colonist was of the Sutton Family kinship, and after a long and weary voyage on the sailing ship they landed at the historic old Jamestown, Virginia.
The members of the company settled in various localities in the Old Dominion and the lineal ancestors of Albert E. Sutton of this review were found numbered among these sturdy and determined colonists. Within one or two generations representatives of the name were found numbered among the pioneers of Ohio and they became the founders of the village of Jamestown, Greene county that State,-- a place named in honor of the old family home in Virginia. ... In Blackford county Daniel Sutton wedded Miss Sarah C. Hobson, ... Joseph Hobson later removed to Allen county, and he and his wife died near the city of Fort Wayne, each having passed the age of three score years. Mr. Hobson was originally a whig and later a republican, and he was a staunch abolitionist in the days prior to the Civil war. Mrs. Sarah C. Sutton, mother of Albert E. Sutton of this review, died at his home in Jackson township, Blackford county on the 29th of April, 1898, her gentle and gracious life having been consonant with the faith she professed, that of the Methodist Episcopal church.
... Like all brother and sisters, Albert E. Sutton was born on the homestead farm in Richland township, Jay county, and the date of his nativity was May 25, 1862. He was thirteen years of age at the time of his father's death, and thereafter he was reared to maturity in Blackford county, where he has since maintained his home, his educational advantages having been those afforded in the public schools. In Jackson township he owns and resides upon a well improved farm of 115 acres, and the entire place gives palpable evidence of thrift and prosperity, -- indicating the industry and progressive policies of the owner. The farm is devoted to diversified agriculture and the raising of high-grade live stock, and Mr. Sutton is known and honored as one of the sterling citizens of Blackford county, one who is essentially loyal and public-spirited. It is worthy of note that he and his wife are folk of fine physique and that their children have inherited this desirable attribute, with the vitality that indicates sound minds in sound bodies.
Mr. Sutton gave his allegiance to the republican party until the national campaign of 1912, when he transferred his support to the newly organized progressive party as an adherent of which he was appointed deputy sheriff of the county on the lst of January, 1914, by Samuel A. Mills, the efficient sheriff of the county. He is affiliated with the lodge and encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Hartford City, as well as with the adjunct organization, the Daughters of Rebekah, of which his wife is likewise a member. He is past chief patriarch of the encampment and has represented his lodge in the grand lodge of Indiana.
The year 1887 gave record of the marriage of Mr. Sutton to Miss Leora E. Burnworth, of Licking township, Blackford county. Mrs. Sutton was reared and educated in this county but was born in Randolph county on the 19th of August, 1866, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Fiddler) Burnworth, ... Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Sutton the eldest is Miss Josie, who remains at the parental home; Clara is the wife of Jesse Marshall, of Grant county; Arthur R. wedded Miss Ethel Oren and they reside in Hartford City; Fred D. is associated with his father in the management of the home farm, as is also Hobart J., whose twin sister, Hilda, died at the age of seven months; Walter also was seven years old at the time of his death; and the younger children who are still members of the home circle are William E., Clarence R. and Helen M. ...
