Name/Title
Pottery by John Beuter [1834-1900] of Waynesburg, Greene County, PennsylvaniaEntry/Object ID
2018.15.8Description
Pottery by John Beuter [1834-1900] of Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania.
OBITUARY OF JOHN BEUTER:
John Beuter obituary, Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 9 August 1900, page 1, column 8. Transcribed by Candice Buchanan.
"John Beuter, a respected and well-known resident of our town, died at the home of Jesse L. Ross, this place, Tuesday evening at a quarter of eight. Mr. Beuter had been ill for several months from enlargement of the liver and other ailments, which resulted in his death. He was 66 years of age on the ninth day of last January and was a native of Germany. He came to Waynesburg in 1857 and had since resided here. He had been engaged in the pottery business for many years and was an upright, industrious citizen, esteemed and liked by everyone. He had married a number of years ago Mrs. Rachel Bower, formerly Donahoo. His wife was well known as a milliner here and died some two or three years since. Both were among our most loved and respected people, were devoted members of the Catholic church and thorough Christians. Since the death of his wife Mr. Beuter had made his home with his niece, Mrs. Jesse L. Ross, during which time, and especially since his illness began, he has been tenderly cared for. His nearest relatives are two sisters who reside in Allegheny. The funeral will be held from St. Anne's Catholic church at 9 o'clock Thursday morning."
NIECE RAISED AS DAUGHTER:
John Beuter's wife was Rachel (Donahoo) (Bower) Beuter [1829-1897]. The couple raised Rachel's niece, Mary Catherine (Donahoo) Ross [1859-1936]. It was in the Ross home that John was "tenderly cared for" at the end of his life (per his obituary transcribed above).
INTERVIEW WITH JOHN'S GREAT-GRANDNIECE
The following account is summarized from an interview conducted by Candice Buchanan and Glenn Toothman, on 15 June 2006, with Mary Luna (Furman) Berryman [1924-2009], who was a granddaughter of Mary Catherine (Donahoo) Ross, and thereby a great-grandniece of John Beuter and Rachel (Donahoo) (Bower) Beuter.
After the death of her father, Harvey Donahoo, Mary Catherine Donahoo's aunt Rachel (Donahoo) (Bower) Beuter came to Iowa by train and told Harvey's widow, Mary Ann (Struble) Donahoo, that she would take one of the children back to Greene County, Pennsylvania, with her to raise. Young Mary, only about seven years old, cried herself to sleep knowing she would be the one to go because her mother would need the boys to run the farm and her sister, Bell, was young and sickly. By the next morning, the decision had been made, and Mary was indeed the child chosen to be raised by her aunt. Mary only saw her mother once again in her life and that reunion did not occur until she was an adult.
Despite the traumatic separation from her mother and siblings, Mary was affectionately raised to adulthood by Rachel (Donahoo) (Bower) Beuter [1829-1897] and her husband, John Beuter [1834-1900].
During the interview, Mary Luna (Furman) Berryman expressed her regret that no piece of the Beuter pottery had been passed to her line of the family. This was an important connection that she wanted to preserve.
Following this conversation, the interviewers sought and ultimately located a piece of Beuter pottery for sale in an online auction. It was acquired and presented to Mrs. Berryman as a gift in December 2007. That piece is pictured here and is now owned by the Berryman family.Collection
Mary Luna (Furman) Berryman CollectionMade/Created
Artist
Beuter, John [1834-1900]Date made
circa 1860 - circa 1900Lexicon
Search Terms
Beuter family, Donahoo family, Ross familyOther Names and Numbers
Other Number
BERR-AN002-0001Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Beuter, John [1834-1900]Person or Organization
Donahoo, Mary Catherine [1859-1936]Person or Organization
Donahoo, Rachel [1829-1897]Person or Organization
Furman, Mary Luna [1924-2009]Provenance
Provenance Detail
Beuter Series - Mary Luna (Furman) Berryman CollectionAcquisition Method
DigitalAcquisition Date
2007Notes
This piece of pottery by John Beuter [1834-1900] of Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania, was purchased at auction in 2007. It was gifted to Mary Luna (Furman) Berryman, in memory of John Beuter [1834-1900] and his wife, Rachel (Donahoo) (Bower) Beuter [1829-1897], who raised her grandmother, Mary Catherine (Donahoo) Ross [1859-1936].
SOURCE CITATION: Pottery by John Beuter [1834-1900] of Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania; item no. BERR-AN002-0001, Mary Luna (Furman) Berryman Collection; Greene Connections Archives Project (GreeneConnections.com).![Pottery by John Beuter [1834-1900] of Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania: See WEB LINKS to DOWNLOAD high-resolution image.](https://d8e7jbdw4fu0e.cloudfront.net/4150/932fbca0-0475-11f1-b551-d13d41540d23-vdTJ4ZL.lg@2x.jpg)