LUTHER DANA WATERMAN. 
/2THUR L. FOLEY. 
Dr. Luther Dana Waterman was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, 
November 21, 1830; died at Indianapolis, Indiana, June 30, 1918, age 
eighty-seven years, seven months and nine days. Dr. Waterman was 
the son of Joseph Aplin and Susan (Dana) Waterman, the father being 
a native of Cornish, New Hampshire, the mother of Belfry, Ohio. The 
mother died in 1837, leaving five young children, of whom Luther, the 
subject of this sketch, but seven years old, was next to the oldest. On 
the death of the mother Luther went to live with his grandmother at 
Oxford, Ohio. Although his father later remarried, Luther continued 
to make his home with his grandmother until he had completed the work 
of the public schools of Oxford and entered upon a college course at 
Miami University. 
The father, Joseph Aplin Waterman, was a farmer in his earlier 
years. Later he became a physician and still later a Methodist minister. 
It appears that he was successful in each of these callings, particularly 
as a minister. It is said that he was not only a zealous expounder of 
the Gospel but that he was an earnest and capable biblical student. He 
died at Oxford, Ohio, at the age of fifty-five years. 
Luther’s maternal great-grandfather was Captain William Dana, 
who was in charge of one of the companies from New England that, 
under General Putnam, settled at Fort Marietta, now the city of Ma- 
rietta, Ohio. 
Dr. Waterman’s early education was obtained in the public schools 
at Oxford, Ohio, where he was known as a very capable and ambitious 
lad. After completing the work of the public schools, he attended Miami 
University four years, and the Medical College of Ohio, at Cincinnati, 
two years. During his college work he was frequently obliged to drop 
out and teach a term to get money to continue his college work. At one 
time while a student in Cincinnati he got so near the end of his resources 
that his only alternative appeared to be to drop his medical work and 
seek employment. As a last resort he decided to try for a prize of fifty 
dollars offered by one of the Cincinnati papers for the best poem for 
the coming New Year’s edition. By New Year’s day young Waterman’s 
funds were so low that he did not have money enough to buy a paper 
to see whether or not he had won the prize, and it was by accident that 
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