Henry J Truitt was the eldest of four children born to William H and Elizabeth (Remley) Truitt. At age eight, his father died, but Henry attended a log school house in thinly settled Indiana until age 13 when he left to provide a living for himself and his family. He entered the shipping trade on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, enjoying success for the next 18 years. He married Frances Monroe Goddard in Switzerland County in March 1843. At 32 years old, he moved his wife and two daughters west to Chillicothe, Illinois where he purchased 200 acres, and with a partner established the firm of Truitt and Jack, a grower and distributor of grain and other produce to the Chicago and St. Louis markets. In 1854 he expanded his business by building a canal barge to improve shipping. He suffered two personal setbacks in 1858 and 1863 with the deaths of his son and wife. However, his business prospects improved substantially as he and partners opened the banking firm Truitt Matthews and Company in Chillicothe. He married widow Eliza (Dennis) Moffit of Ross County, Ohio in Jan 1865 and had one more son. He became prominent in the Temperance Movement and ran as a conservative Democrat for state legislative office in 1872. He died at his home in Chillicothe.
Henry J Truitt was the eldest of four children born to William H and Elizabeth (Remley) Truitt. At age eight, his father died, but Henry attended a log school house in thinly settled Indiana until age 13 when he left to provide a living for himself and his family. He entered the shipping trade on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, enjoying success for the next 18 years. He married Frances Monroe Goddard in Switzerland County in March 1843. At 32 years old, he moved his wife and two daughters west to Chillicothe, Illinois where he purchased 200 acres, and with a partner established the firm of Truitt and Jack, a grower and distributor of grain and other produce to the Chicago and St. Louis markets. In 1854 he expanded his business by building a canal barge to improve shipping. He suffered two personal setbacks in 1858 and 1863 with the deaths of his son and wife. However, his business prospects improved substantially as he and partners opened the banking firm Truitt Matthews and Company in Chillicothe. He married widow Eliza (Dennis) Moffit of Ross County, Ohio in Jan 1865 and had one more son. He became prominent in the Temperance Movement and ran as a conservative Democrat for state legislative office in 1872. He died at his home in Chillicothe.
