DANIEL LEE KUTCH
Birth 4 Dec 1807
Death: 15 Jun 1874
(age approximately 67 years)
Daniel Lee Kutch (1807-1874)
Daniel Lee Kutch (1807-1874)
Daniel Lee Kutch was born December 6, 1807 in Mercer County, Kentucky, the son of Daniel Kutch (1771-1839) and Hannah Whitley (1778-1838). He married Mary Bell (1814-1861) on April 3, 1832 and they had 14 children: Margery Kutch (1832-1924) who married first Ed Elliott and then Abraham Wilson Reynolds; William Columbus Kutch (1833-1925); Bolen Lafayette Kutch (1834-1892); Cyrus Wesley Kutch (1836-1923); Mary Frances Kutch (1839-) who married Frank H. Medearis; Hannah Elizabeth Kutch (1841-) who married Dwight D. Townsend; Benjamin Franklin Kutch (1843-1923); Virginia Isabella Kutch (1844-1908) who married Ransom Graves; Moses L. Kutch (1847-); John F. Kutch (1849-); Henry B. Kutch (1851-); Rufus M. Kutch (1853-1883); Susan Ann Kutch (1856-1894) who married first Tom Criswell and then William J. “Bill” Godfrey; and Ira Alexander Kutch (1858-1931).
Daniel Kutch migrated with his family to Texas from Tennessee by way of water, making the journey first on the Mississippi River to New Orleans, then by the Red River to Shreveport, Louisiana, and finally by wagon to Texas. It was a difficult journey. At one point they were helped by fellow migrants when the boat on which the family was embarked blew up on the Mississippi River. All the family possessions were lost except for the clothing they wore at the time. When they finally reached Texas, the family first stopped in Smith County, and later moved to Jack County before eventually coming to Parker.
Although uncertain, it was probably in Jack County that Mary died in 1861. In 1863 Daniel Kutch married his second wife, Margaret Miller Lafferty (1830-1917), in Parker County. Daniel and Margaret had five children together in Parker County: Jefferson Davis Kutch (1865-1907); Margaret Samantha Kutch (1867-1947) who married John R. McAnally; Mary Elizabeth Kutch (1869-1933) who married John P. Hackley; Daniel A. Kutch (1871-1878); and Sarah Alice Kutch (1873-1874).
Daniel Lee Kutch was born December 6, 1807 in Mercer County, Kentucky, the son of Daniel Kutch (1771-1839) and Hannah Whitley (1778-1838). He married Mary Bell (1814-1861) on April 3, 1832 and they had 14 children: Margery Kutch (1832-1924) who married first Ed Elliott and then Abraham Wilson Reynolds; William Columbus Kutch (1833-1925); Bolen Lafayette Kutch (1834-1892); Cyrus Wesley Kutch (1836-1923); Mary Frances Kutch (1839-) who married Frank H. Medearis; Hannah Elizabeth Kutch (1841-) who married Dwight D. Townsend; Benjamin Franklin Kutch (1843-1923); Virginia Isabella Kutch (1844-1908) who married Ransom Graves; Moses L. Kutch (1847-); John F. Kutch (1849-); Henry B. Kutch (1851-); Rufus M. Kutch (1853-1883); Susan Ann Kutch (1856-1894) who married first Tom Criswell and then William J. “Bill” Godfrey; and Ira Alexander Kutch (1858-1931).
Daniel Kutch migrated with his family to Texas from Tennessee by way of water, making the journey first on the Mississippi River to New Orleans, then by the Red River to Shreveport, Louisiana, and finally by wagon to Texas. It was a difficult journey. At one point they were helped by fellow migrants when the boat on which the family was embarked blew up on the Mississippi River. All the family possessions were lost except for the clothing they wore at the time. When they finally reached Texas, the family first stopped in Smith County, and later moved to Jack County before eventually coming to Parker.
Although uncertain, it was probably in Jack County that Mary died in 1861. In 1863 Daniel Kutch married his second wife, Margaret Miller Lafferty (1830-1917), in Parker County. Daniel and Margaret had five children together in Parker County: Jefferson Davis Kutch (1865-1907); Margaret Samantha Kutch (1867-1947) who married John R. McAnally; Mary Elizabeth Kutch (1869-1933) who married John P. Hackley; Daniel A. Kutch (1871-1878); and Sarah Alice Kutch (1873-1874).
William Columbus Kutch
Daniel’s oldest son, William Columbus Kutch, is one of the honored old pioneers of Jack county and familiarly known as "Uncle Bill." He was born in Maury County, Tennessee and in 1854 he married Narcissus Baker McElroy in Smith County, Texas. They had seven children together: Mary E. Kutch (1855-1870); Amanda E. Kutch (1857-1936); Miriam Frances Kutch (1860-1860); Margaret Ann Kutch (1861-1886); Daniel Lee Kutch (1864-1946); Ira Baker Kutch (1866-1957); and Emma Lugenia Kutch (1870-1945).
After marriage, William C. and his young wife continued to make their home in Smith County until June of 1855, when they pitched their tent near the Keechi in the southwestern part of Jack County, a country then that was new, wild and unsettled. They journeyed there by wagon and a yoke of steers. They stayed in Jack County. At the time of their arrival, the nearest post office and trading post was in Birdville, the old county seat of Tarrant County and from Fort Bird, the first settlement in the county established in 1849, five miles northeast of the present site of downtown Fort Worth.
William Kutch’s ambition in coming to this new country was to homestead a place of his own. Starting out with no money, he homesteaded 160 acres of state land and began to accumulate a small herd of cattle, and, over time he became an extensive stock farmer. He remained on his old place until the 25th of November, 1896, when he was elected County Treasurer. At that time he moved his family to Jacksboro in order to perform his duties for the County. From then on, Jacksboro was the site of the family home. He performed the duties of Jack County Treasurer and assisted the surveyors in establishing the lines of the precincts for the county commissioners.
William Kutch is one of the best known of the old Indian fighters of Jack County, and although he was reluctant in telling of the horrors of the Indian raids, it was generally known that he was one of the most active participants in the forces organized to fight the hostile Indians and protect the homes of settlers.
He was wounded by three arrows. The Indian attacks started in about 1858, and continued without ceasing until 1874 in that part of Texas. Indians killed Mr. Kutch's aunt and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. James B. Cameron, and their three children in May, 1858 at their home 18 miles from Mr. Kutch's home. Mr. Kutch trailed them to avenge his relatives. During the Civil War, Mr. Kutch enlisted as a Confederate, becoming a member of Major Quail's regiment, which was stationed in Jack County to protect against Indian raids.
On another occasion during the Civil War, while the family was still in Jack County, William Columbus Kutch served at the family home where he guarded the frontier from Indians. William was a member of a party of about a dozen settlers in a battle with some 40 to 50 Indians. He was with a group of men searching for cattle, armed only with revolvers. They surprised Indians at dawn. During the ensuing battle, all their horses were killed and one man was killed. All the other men were wounded except two. After the horses were shot, they used the horse bodies to protect themselves from arrows and bullets as they fought against the Indians, who were armed with both guns and bows. They fought from 10 in the morning until the Indians left, just before daybreak the next morning.
After marriage, William C. and his young wife continued to make their home in Smith County until June of 1855, when they pitched their tent near the Keechi in the southwestern part of Jack County, a country then that was new, wild and unsettled. They journeyed there by wagon and a yoke of steers. They stayed in Jack County. At the time of their arrival, the nearest post office and trading post was in Birdville, the old county seat of Tarrant County and from Fort Bird, the first settlement in the county established in 1849, five miles northeast of the present site of downtown Fort Worth.
William Kutch’s ambition in coming to this new country was to homestead a place of his own. Starting out with no money, he homesteaded 160 acres of state land and began to accumulate a small herd of cattle, and, over time he became an extensive stock farmer. He remained on his old place until the 25th of November, 1896, when he was elected County Treasurer. At that time he moved his family to Jacksboro in order to perform his duties for the County. From then on, Jacksboro was the site of the family home. He performed the duties of Jack County Treasurer and assisted the surveyors in establishing the lines of the precincts for the county commissioners.
William Kutch is one of the best known of the old Indian fighters of Jack County, and although he was reluctant in telling of the horrors of the Indian raids, it was generally known that he was one of the most active participants in the forces organized to fight the hostile Indians and protect the homes of settlers.
He was wounded by three arrows. The Indian attacks started in about 1858, and continued without ceasing until 1874 in that part of Texas. Indians killed Mr. Kutch's aunt and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. James B. Cameron, and their three children in May, 1858 at their home 18 miles from Mr. Kutch's home. Mr. Kutch trailed them to avenge his relatives. During the Civil War, Mr. Kutch enlisted as a Confederate, becoming a member of Major Quail's regiment, which was stationed in Jack County to protect against Indian raids.
On another occasion during the Civil War, while the family was still in Jack County, William Columbus Kutch served at the family home where he guarded the frontier from Indians. William was a member of a party of about a dozen settlers in a battle with some 40 to 50 Indians. He was with a group of men searching for cattle, armed only with revolvers. They surprised Indians at dawn. During the ensuing battle, all their horses were killed and one man was killed. All the other men were wounded except two. After the horses were shot, they used the horse bodies to protect themselves from arrows and bullets as they fought against the Indians, who were armed with both guns and bows. They fought from 10 in the morning until the Indians left, just before daybreak the next morning.
Pictured above: back row left to right: Margaret Samantha (Kutch) McAnnally, Mary Elizabeth (Kutch) Hackley, & Susan Ann (Kutch) Godfrey Back Row: John Rogers McAnally, John Pierce Hackley & William J. "Bill" Godfrey
Shortly after Daniel Lee Kutch’s death in Parker County, his daughter Susan Ann Kutch married first Tom Criswell in 1875 and then in 1881 she married William J. “Bill” Godfrey. Bill Godfrey was the son of John Godfrey, a Parker County pioneer and founder of Godfrey Chapel Methodist Church. Susan and Bill built a life together in Parker County and had several children together. They are both buried in Clark Cemetery.
Another one of Daniel’s daughters, Margaret Samantha Kutch also married in Parker County, to John Rogers McAnally in 1886. They also built a life in Parker County and had a ranch home near Godfrey Chapel. They went on to have four children; Jessie Margaret McAnally (1890-1984) who married Samuel Eugene Cumming; Thomas Owen McAnally (1893-1989); Mary Rosalia McAnally (1899-1974) who married Fred Phillips; and john Lloyd McAnally (1904-1927). They too are buried in Clark Cemetery.
Daniel Lee Kutch was a Parker County pioneer and left a legacy of decedents in and around the area surrounding Clark Cemetery. He was laid to rest in Clark Cemetery after his death on June 15, 1874.
In 2014, nearly 170 years after his death, Rodney van Oudekerke, 5th Great-Grandson of Daniel Kutch and Mary Bell, ordered a bronze medallion for Daniel Kutch's grave site that reads:
"Citizen of the Republic of Texas 1836-1846"
Craig and Kimberly Boretsky added the birth and death date as well as the inscription "Texas Ranger" to the impressive looking gray granite monument.
(Adapted from many sources: A History of Texas and Texans by Frank W. Johnson, Volume V, printed by the American Historical Society, Chicago and New York, 1916. This excerpt was originally submitted to Texas Genealogy Trails by Mary Josefina Lafferty Wilson. Daughters of Republic of Texas, Volume 1, written by Janette Maxine Black, (GGGGGD, 11466); from findagrave.com entry by Chad Erwin added, July 30, 2006, Find A Grave Memorial #15089256; from an article on William C. Kutch in GenealogyMagazine.com and excerpted from History and Biographical Record of North and West Texas, by B. B. Paddock (Chicago, Lewis Publishing Co., 1906, Vol. I, p. 138); and from information obtained from the Kutch/Lafferty family tree researched by Mary Josefina Lafferty Wilson.)
Photos courtesy of Craig & Kimberly (Woody) Boretsky
In 2014, nearly 170 years after his death, Rodney van Oudekerke, 5th Great-Grandson of Daniel Kutch and Mary Bell, ordered a bronze medallion for Daniel Kutch's grave site that reads:
"Citizen of the Republic of Texas 1836-1846"
Craig and Kimberly Boretsky added the birth and death date as well as the inscription "Texas Ranger" to the impressive looking gray granite monument.
(Adapted from many sources: A History of Texas and Texans by Frank W. Johnson, Volume V, printed by the American Historical Society, Chicago and New York, 1916. This excerpt was originally submitted to Texas Genealogy Trails by Mary Josefina Lafferty Wilson. Daughters of Republic of Texas, Volume 1, written by Janette Maxine Black, (GGGGGD, 11466); from findagrave.com entry by Chad Erwin added, July 30, 2006, Find A Grave Memorial #15089256; from an article on William C. Kutch in GenealogyMagazine.com and excerpted from History and Biographical Record of North and West Texas, by B. B. Paddock (Chicago, Lewis Publishing Co., 1906, Vol. I, p. 138); and from information obtained from the Kutch/Lafferty family tree researched by Mary Josefina Lafferty Wilson.)
Photos courtesy of Craig & Kimberly (Woody) Boretsky
