Austills of Note in New England

The name Robert Rhett Austill was signed to a flyer from the books department of the magazine; I wrote to him and received a pleasant note, saying he is not a genealogist, but was sending my letter on to his father, who was the postmaster of Middletown, New York.

The father, Robert Rhett Austill, Sr., wrote saying that he believes his line comes from Spartanburg, S. C., and that his grandfather was Joseph C. Austill, a Civil War veteran, who married Harriet Fant,
born 27 Sep. 1837 and died 30 March 1898, of Union County, S. C.

In 1967 the "Reader's Digest" carried an article about the New School for Social Research in New York City, and Allen Austill was named as the Dean of the school. I wrote to him and received a pleasant note saying that his knowledge of the Austills stops with his father, William E. Austill, of Cataumet, Mass. (on Cape Cod) who was born in Indiana about 1900. Mr. William E. gave me a a fairly complete picture of his family. His grandfather was Henry Austill, owner of: a furniture store in Elwood, Indiana.

Henry had four sons:
  one - died young
  second - Oscar, a newspaper man;died 1923; father of William E.
  third - Clarence - a circuit judge in Anderson, Ind. No children
  fourth - William, of Elwood,Ind., and Spokane, Wash. Sold cars.
           This son, William, had a son and a daughter:
           Henry, who owned Austill Paper Wax Corp. in Jacksonville, Fla.,
           and a daughter, Lydia Austill Budwin, head of educational
                         program of the "Reader's Digest"

My correspondent, William E. graduated from Boston School of Theology in 1926; entered the Methodist ministry, and spent his career years as a US Army chaplain. After he retired from the military in 1961, with the rank of Colonel, he and his wife, Anne, have organized tour groups under the title "An International Friendship Tour" from their home at Cataumet, Mass. According to the destinations listed on their letterhead, they traveled to points all over the world.

Mr. Austill repeated to me the saying that the family came from St. Austell in Cornwall; came to the U.S. and ceased to be saints, just Austills!

In 1982 my husband and I had the privilege to visit Mrs. Anne Austill in her lovely home in Cataumet, and found her to be a most gracious lady, living in a beautiful home full of objects from their world-wide travels.