Austin C. Mutz, a prominent nurseryman in Auburn, Nebraska, was born on February 18, 1850, in Edinburg, Indiana. His grandparents emigrated from Germany, initially settling in Pennsylvania before moving to Ohio. John Mutz, Austin’s father, married Phoebe Williams in 1847 and relocated to Nebraska in 1857. Austin received his education in Cass County, Nebraska, and pursued farming and the nursery business, establishing a successful nursery in Auburn. He married Mary Seybolt in 1884, and although they lost their only biological child, they adopted a son, Otto. Austin was active in educational matters and politics, identifying as a Bryan Democrat.
Austin C. Mutz, the well-known nurseryman at Auburn, Nebraska, is a native of the Hoosier state, and dates his birth at Edinburg, February 18, 1850.
Mr. Mutz, as his name suggests, is of German origin. His grandfather and grandmother Mutz were natives of Germany. Emigrating with their family to America, they settled first in Pennsylvania and subsequently moved farther west, locating near Dayton, Ohio, where they spent the rest of their lives and died, his death occurring at the age of eighty years, and hers seven years later, at the age of seventy-seven. They left five sons and one daughter, namely: John, the father of Austin C.; Jacob, a retired farmer living near Edinburg, Indiana; Adam, a druggist, died in Indiana, in 1899, leaving a family of sons and daughters; Peter, a resident of Aberdeen, South Dakota; Abram, a grocer of Edinburg, Indiana, is married and has a son and daughter; and Mary, wife of a Mr. Darner, of Dayton, Ohio.
John Mutz, the eldest of the above-named family, was born in Pennsylvania, and was eight years old at the time his parents moved to Ohio, where he was reared. Going to Indiana when a young man, he was there married, May 19, 1847, to Phoebe Williams, a native of that state, born in 1832, daughter of Caleb Williams, an Indiana farmer who was a pioneer to Mills county, Iowa, where he died in old age, leaving a widow, six daughters, and one son. John and Phoebe Mutz became the parents of eight children, as follows: G. W., a carpenter and contractor, Cass county, Nebraska; Austin C., whose name heads this review; Walter, a farmer of Maryville, Missouri; William A., a farmer of Pender, Nebraska; Otto, a large landowner, ex-state senator, and publisher of the Western Rancher, Ainsworth, Nebraska; Albert B., of Auburn; Ann Jeanette, widow of John Majors, residing at Lincoln, Nebraska; and Hattie M., wife of A. T. Stewart, of Chicago. In 1856 John Mutz moved with his family to Mills county, Iowa, and the following year, 1857, came to Nebraska, where he and his good wife reared their children and spent the rest of their lives, their wedded life covering more than half a century. He died in Chicago, January 6, 1899, at the age of seventy-seven years; and her death occurred at the home place in Auburn, where they lived for more than twenty years, February 13, 1899. In their religious views, they differed somewhat, Mrs. Mutz being a Methodist and Mr. Mutz a Lutheran. Politically, he was a Democrat, and in territorial days filled the office of county commissioner of Cass county.
Austin C. Mutz received his schooling at Eight Mile Grove, in Cass county, Nebraska. He remained at home until he reached his majority, when he started out to make his own way in the world, and has been variously occupied, his attention having been given chiefly to farming and the nursery business. For four years he resided at Beatrice, Nebraska, and traveled for the Phoenix Nursery of Bloomington, Illinois. For twenty years he has resided in or near Auburn. In 1893 he bought the ground where his nursery is located, and where in 1901 he built the pleasant cottage he and his wife occupy. After coming into the ownership of this property he planted an orchard, and a nursery of one hundred thousand trees, and here he has since been doing both a wholesale and retail business.
July 2, 1884, Austin C. Mutz married Miss Mary Seybolt, a native of Greenville, Orange county, New York, and a daughter of Luther R. and Harriet (Moore) Seybolt, both natives of Orange county, New York, and now residents of Cass county, Nebraska. Mrs. Mutz has an only brother, John B. Seybolt. Mr. and Mrs. Mutz lost their only child, a daughter, that died at the age of two months, August 31, 1888; but they have an adopted child, Otto Mutz, fifteen years of age, a native of New York and a son of German parents.
Politically, Mr. Mutz is a Bryan Democrat. He has always been more or less interested in educational matters. When a young man he went to Jewell county, Kansas, homesteaded a tract of land and built a house, and in his own house taught a school. He was a member of the school board of Auburn for three years. Mrs. Mutz is a Methodist.
Source: Lewis Publishing Company, A Biographical and Genealogical History of Southeastern Nebraska, 2 volumes, Lewis Publishing Company, 1904.