USA > Indiana > Tipton County > History of Tipton County Indiana > Part 39
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The subject's paternal grandparents were Frederick and Elizabeth (Rowe) . Racobs, the grandfather dying while he was a young man and his wife surviving to the extreme age of ninety-four years. They had four chil- dren, William, Joseph, James and Eliza. Elizabeth Racobs married again, her second husband being John De Haven, and there were several children born to that union.
The subject's maternal grandfather was Daniel Van Treese, who was married four times and raised twenty-two children.
Marcellus Racobs was reared in Fayette county, Ohio, near Washington Court House, where he attended school and in his younger days clerked in various mercantile establishments until the outbreak of the Civil war, when, at the age of sixteen, he enlisted in Company C, Sixtieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, as a private. Together with his entire regiment, he was taken prisoner at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, but was paroled on condition that they were not to again enter the service until properly exchanged. At the expiration of his term of enlistment, the subject was discharged, and upon receiving notification of his exchange, in July, 1863, he enlisted in Company A. Second Ohio Heavy Artillery, and served until the end of the war, being engaged in fourteen battles and many skirmishes.
After the war Mr. Racobs returned to his home and engaged in farm work until March, 1867, when he came to Tipton county, Indiana, where he worked out as a farm hand for about a year. In 1868, on his marriage, the subject rented a farm and for several years followed agriculture on his own account. He at one time removed to Kansas, where his farming operations were unfortunate, the grasshoppers eating his crops and ruining him finan- cially. However, his nature was not to accept defeat, so he returned to Tip- ton county and again got a start, prospering in his vocation and developing a splendid farm. In 1880 the subject sold his land and moved to Tipton, where he has since resided in his comfortable home at No. 28 South Third street, being also the owner of several other pieces of valuable city property.
On August 23, 1868, Mr. Racobs was united in marriage to Jennie A. Racobs, daughter of James and Lydia ( Burnett ) Racobs, who was born in Tipton, February 26, 1850, her parents being natives of Ohio and early set- tlers in Tipton, where they passed their lives. The parents of Mrs. Racobs
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had seven children: Jennie; Mary E .; Verilla Catharine; Robert E .; John Harrison, deceased ; Fred M .; Samuel J. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Racobs were Frederick and Elizabeth (Rome) Racobs, and her maternal grandfather was named Burnett. The union of the subject and wife has been blessed by the birth of the following children: Verella C. died at the age of nineteen ; Carrie J. married Walter Smitson and one child resulted from this marriage, Lenore. Carrie J. married a second time, to William Wolf, of El- wood, Indiana : David Henry, who lives in Kokomo, married a Miss Welch; Vida May married S, K. Stansbury, of Tipton, and they have three children; Florence E. married Oral Debault, of Tipton, and they have two children, Elizabeth Jane and Merita; Walter is in the United States army.
Mr. Racobs and wife are members of the Christian church, while his fraternal relations are with the Improved Order of Red Men. An honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the subject belongs to James Brice Post. In political affairs he takes a deep interest in the success of the Democratic party and served for over seventeen years as chief of police of Tipton. In 1910 he was elected justice of the peace and still holds that office.
The name Racobs was originally spelled Raecobs, but some of the family afterward spelled it Recobs, as they still do, the subject, however, preferring Racobs.
SAMUEL A. CULVER.
It is a well authenticated fact that success comes not as the caprice of chance, but is the legitimate result of well applied energy, unflagging deter- mination and perseverance in a course of action once decided upon by the individual. Only those who seek the goddess Fortuna find her-she never was known to smile upon the idler or dreamer. The gentleman whose name introduces this paragraph clearly understood this fact early in life when he was casting about for a legitimate and promising line to follow, and in tracing his life history it is plainly seen that the prosperity he enjoys has been won by commendable qualities, and it is also his personal and genuine regard for the welfare of others which has gained for him the good standing which he enjoys among his fellow citizens-at the bar and in public and social life.
Samuel A. Culver was born in Ripley county, Indiana, December 8, 1861, a son of Moses A. and Amanda (Smith) Culver, both natives of Indiana, and
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the parents of three children : John M., of Evansville, Indiana; Samuel A., and Cassie P., the wife of Frank B. Thompson, of Kokomo, Indiana. The subject's father was reared in Ripley county, Indiana, and was a farmer. He came to Tipton county in 1885 and located in Cicero township, four miles northwest of Tipton, where he improved a farm of thirty acres, and on this land spent the rest of his life, dying there in 1903, aged eighty-four years; his wife died in 1868, at the age of thirty-five. Both were members of the Christian church. The father was a lieutenant in the Civil war, in Company F, Sixty-eighth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served four years, being wounded at the battle of Chickamauga.
The paternal grandparents of the subject were Aaron and Cassandra (House) Culver, natives of Pennsylvania and of German descent, they being early settlers in Ripley county, Indiana, where they lived all their days and died at an advanced age. They were the parents of Moses A., Morton, William, Charles, Jane Foster, Emarine Higdon, Julia Marlin, Ellen Maxwell and Lurene Voshell.
The maternal grandparents of the subject were John and Parthena Smith, native Indiana farmers, who settled early in Ripley county. The grandfather was killed in an accident when a young man and his wife lived to a ripe old age, she marrying again, her second husband being Allen Hudson. By her first marriage there were born the following children: Edmund, James, Thomas, Amanda (subject's mother), Catherine, Russell and Emma Brown. To the second marriage no children were born.
Samuel A. Culver, the subject of this review, was reared in Ripley and Rush counties, Indiana, and came to Tipton county in 1885. In his early youth he was employed at farming, and gained a rudimentary education in the district schools, this, however, being supplemented by attendance at the Fair- view Academy in Rush county and the Central Normal College at Danville, Hendricks county. On completing his studies, Mr. Culver taught school for eight terms and then begun the study of law under Senator Gifford, being admitted to the bar in 1886 and opening an office in Tipton. He afterwards practiced his profession in Kokomo and Anderson, but returned to Tipton in 1907 and has since continued here, being also in the abstract business.
On December 26, 1886, Mr. Culver was united in marriage to Sarah E. McGahey, daughter of James and - (Smith) McGahey, and to this union two children have been born, Lena and Hattie. Lena lives at home and is a bookkeeper at the Boston store. Hattie married Verl Hershman and they live on a farm in Cicero township. Mrs. Sarah Culver died on October
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1, 1890. She was a member of the Christian church. Her father was a native of Ireland and her mother of Kentucky, the mother having passed away and the father yet living in Wabash county, Indiana, where he is en- gaged in farming. To the parents of Mrs. Sarah Culver were born the fol- lowing children : Laura, Sarah E., Maud, William, Clyde and Clay.
Mr. Culver married again, in March, 1901, his second wife being Mary C. Burkhart, daughter of Thomas and Emily ( Egler) Burkhart. Mrs. Culver was born in Tipton county, as were also her parents, the mother dying in 1893, her father yet surviving. They were the parents of five children: Edwin E., James C., Frank H., Ada Beckett and Mary C. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Culver were John and - (Bridge) Burkhart, and her maternal grandparents were named Egler.
Mr. Culver and wife are members of the Christian church, he being a member of the building committee. Fraternally, he belongs to Tipton Lodge No. 220, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In his political affiliations Mr. Culver is a Progressive Republican and is a member of the city council, repre- senting the city at large, having also served as mayor of Tipton for a short interval by appointment.
JOHN P. KEMP.
No member of the Tipton county bar stands higher in general esteem than the gentleman whose name heads this paragraph. Personal integrity of the most inflexible kind, native ability that has given him eminent prestige as a practitioner of the legal profession, and social qualities that have enabled him easily to make friends-these elements have contributed in a large meas- ure to the definite success which has come to him, and because of his genuine worth and distinction in the community he is eminently entitled to representa- tion in a work of the nature of the one at hand.
John P. Kemp was born in Jefferson township, Tipton county, Indiana, December 14, 1854, a son of David and Mary A. ( Price) Kemp, the father a native of Maryland and the mother of Virginia. To the subject's parents were born six children, namely: Joseph G., of Kempton, Indiana : Rebecca A., the wife of Isaac N. Goodnight, of Kempton; David H., living near Rosenburg, Texas; John P .; Dr. Jesse A., deceased, and Jefferson P., of Bloomington, Indiana. David Kemp came to Indiana in his early manhood in company with his parents and resided with them near Perkinsville for a
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short time, then came to Tipton county and located on a government claim, . the land forming the site of Kempton, which was named for him. He owned about one thousand acres and was an extensive farmer and stock raiser, con- tinuing on his original land entry the remainder of his days, his death oc- curring on January 26, 1890, in his seventy-third year, his wife having passed away in 1862. They were of the Methodist faith, and the subject's father was a prominent and highly respected man in his day, serving as county com- missioner almost continuously from 1862 until his death. He was twice married, his second wife being Lorinda E. Jackson, widow of Newton J. Jackson. No children were born to this union; the widow still survives, being now in her ninety-second year.
The paternal grandparents of the subject were Gilbert and Rebecca ( Kefner) Kemp, natives of Maryland and early settlers in Tipton county, where they spent their lives. To them were born seven children, Henry, David (subject's father), Daniel, Fred, Abraham, Maria and Jacob. The maternal grandfather was Joseph Price, a native of Virginia and also an early settler in Tipton county, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their days. They had three children, John, Joseph and Mary A. (the sub- ject's. mother ).
John P. Kemp was reared on his father's farm at Kempton and attended the district schools and later DePauw University, subsequently graduating from the normal college at Valparaiso, Indiana, in the spring of 1878. After teaching school for five terms, Mr. Kemp came to Tipton and began the study of law under Judge Dan Waugh in the building where the subject's office is now located. In 1880 Mr. Kemp was admitted to the bar and continued to practice in Tipton until the present time.
On April 11, 1882, Mr. Kemp was united in marriage to Belle Cox, daughter of Aaron and Mary (Skaggs) Cox, natives of Kentucky and early settlers in Hamilton county, both being now deceased. Mrs. Kemp was born April 17, 1858, and to her parents were born the following children: Judge Jabez T., of Peru, Indiana; Judge Millard F. Cox, of Indianapolis: Judge Charles E. Cox, of Indianapolis, one of the supreme court judges of Indiana : James, deceased; Leslie, of Montana; Mae, widow of William Trissell. of Indianapolis: Gussie J., wife of Harry Whitney, of Phoenix, Arizona, and Belle. To Mr. and Mrs. Kemp have been born three children, Charles, Wal- ter J. and Ralph. Charles is a lawyer in partnership with his father; Walter J. is now on a rice farm in Arkansas; Ralph is attending Wisconsin Uni- versity, at Madison, studying agriculture.
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Fraternally, Mr. Kemp is affiliated with Austin Lodge No. 128, Free and Accepted Masons; Kempton Lodge No. 482, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Tipton, while in political matters he gives his support to the Democratic party.
Since its organization, Mr. Kemp has been one of the directors of the Citizens National Bank of Tipton. Among the subject's realty holdings are the house on North Main street in which he resides, a small farm in Cicero township, and the building in which his office is located.
EMERY ELSWORTH MENDENHALL.
In looking over the list of progressive business men of Tipton, Tipton county. Indiana, we find no name worthier of special mention in a work of the province of that at hand than the one which initiates this paragraph, Emery Elsworth Mendenhall, a leading photographer of that city. He has been a resident of this county a great part of his life and has ever had its interests at heart, for, while advancing his own welfare, he has also done much toward promulgating the civic, industrial and moral tone of the community. His career has been one of hard work and integrity, consequently he is de- serving of the respect in which he is held by everyone.
Emery Elsworth Mendenhall was born in Tipton county, Indiana, May 23, 1873, the son of Richard E. and Mary E. ( Harrell) Mendenhall, he a native of Tipton county, Indiana, she also having been born in the Hoosier state. The subject of this sketch was their only child. The father of the subject was reared in Tipton county and followed farming all his days, dying in 1876, while yet a young man ; his widow, now Mrs. H. H. Bunch, still sur- vives him, she being now in her fifty-seventh year. He was a Quaker and she a Methodist.
The paternal grandparents of the subject were Alexander and Axie Mendenhall, who lived to extreme old ages, he passing away in his ninetieth year. They were the parents of the following children: Dillon. Richard E. (the subject's father ), Thomas, Mrs. W. M. Coffman and Hugh. Alexander Mendenhall was twice married and there were five daughters by his former marriage.
The maternal grandparents of the subject were Silas and Elizabeth (Chappel) Harrell, natives of North Carolina and early settlers in Tipton
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county, Indiana. They died in Hamilton county, Indiana. They were the parents of four children : Mary E., Susan, Della and Martha. Silas Har- rell had been previously married and to that union was born one child, Augustus.
E. E. Mendenhall lived among relatives after his father's death and lived in the country until he was five years old, when he went to Atlanta, in Hamilton county, and on reaching the age of seven went to Shelby county, where he remained until he reached his maturity, attending the public schools of Morristown in his boyhood. On reaching man's estate he went to Indi- anapolis, where he did clerking. Previously, at Morristown, he had learned the printer's trade and clerking in W. T. Smith's general store, but never followed the former in later life. Coming to Tipton in 1894, Mr. Menden- hall commenced clerking in the general store of Hazzard, Holmes & Shortle, after which he learned the harness trade under J. H. Van Volkenburg, con- tinuing with him for three years, after which he took employment with the Arcadia Harness Company at Arcadia, Indiana. He then returned to Tipton and engaged in the grocery business for three years, the firm name being Rob- erts & Mendenhall. He eventually sold out his interest to Nathan Easter and worked for him nine months. Afterward he occupied the position of local su- perintendent for the Indiana Union Traction Company in Tipton for two years, later being in the harness business at Elwood. Returning to Tipton, the subject entered into partnership with K. N. Banker and engaged in the photo- graphic profession, in one year from that time purchasing his partner's inter- est and continuing the business since. He has a fine studio and a splendid business, the painstaking care which he bestows on his work gaining him a constantly increasing business.
In December, 1901, Mr. Mendenhall married Sophia J. Woodruff, daugh- ter of John and Mary E. (Haskett ) Woodruff, and to this union have been born three children, Mary Elmira, John Emery and Paul Harden. Mrs. Mendenhall was born in Tipton county, Indiana, graduated from the Tipton high school and was deputy county clerk for four years. Her parents live four miles northeast of the city and are farmers. They have six children, Clara, Albert, Charles, Bernard, Raymond and Mrs. Mendenhall.
The subject and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, while, politically, Mr. Mendenhall is a supporter of the Republican party, having served one term as a councilman in Tipton. Fraternally, Mr. Menden- hall is a member of Austin Lodge No. 128, Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America.
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ARTHUR C. HERREN.
An enumeration of the representative citizens of Tipton county who have won recognition and success for themselves and at the same time con- ferred honor upon the community dignified by their citizenship, would be decidedly incomplete were there failure to make specific mention of the gen- tleman whose name initiates this review, who has long held worthy prestige in social and business circles and who has always been distinctively a man of affairs. He wields a wide influence among those with whom he has been as- sociated, ever having the affairs of his county and state at heart and doing what he can to aid in the general development of his native locality, thereby deserving the confidence which is today accorded him by all classes.
Arthur C. Herren was born at Wabash, Indiana, August 6, 1873, the son of Isaac L. and Anna (Leedy) Herren, natives, respectively, of Ohio and Indiana, who were the parents of three children : Arthur C., Chloe, the wife of William Tracy, of Thomas, Oklahoma, and Hattie Pearl, who died in infancy. Isaac L. Herren came to the Hoosier state with his parents when he was but eight years old, they settling first in Wabash county and later in Tippecanoe county, at Battle Ground, where Isaac L. Herren grew to man- hood. His life has been spent principally in farming and stock raising in Kansas and Oklahoma, he and his wife now residing in Thomas, Oklahoma, where they are the owners of several valuable city blocks. They are Dunkards in their religious faith.
The paternal grandfather of the subject of this review was Jonas. Herren, and he and his wife were early settlers in Wabash county, Indiana, from where they eventually removed to Kansas and located near Abilene, in Dickinson county, the grandfather dying there at an old age. His wife died in Ohio when she was comparatively a young woman. They were the par- ents of seven children: William, George, Martin, Isaac L., Hannah, Jane and Rebecca.
Mr. Herren's maternal grandparents were Jonas and Harriet (Craig) Leedy, natives of Virginia, they first locating in Ohio and later coming to Indiana at an early date and settling in Wabash county. They also spent a few years in Kansas, but returned to the Hoosier state to spend their retir- ing days near Wabash, where they lived to a good old age. They had eight children : Joseph, Elizabeth, Anna, Mollie, Minnie and Maud.
Arthur C. Herren grew up on the farm of his parents and graduated from the public school of Eldorado, Kansas, in 1893, after which he taught
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two terms of school, then joining the regular army, in which service he con- tinued for six years, from May 20, 1896, to May 19, 1902, and in the course of which he visited all but five states of the union, as well as Cuba, the Philip- pines, China, India, Australia and Japan. After receiving his discharge from the army, Mr. Herren returned to Indiana and located in Tipton, and on June 3, 1902, he was united in marriage to Elizabeth Cole, who was born in Tipton county on July 23, 1872, the daughter of Hiram and Sarah (Hinkle) Cole, the father being a native of Ohio and the mother of Vir- ginia. These parents now reside in Tipton. Mrs. Herren was one of a family of six children, the others being Virginia, George, William, Mollie and Delton. The subject and wife are the parents of two children, Virginia Cathryn and Nadine Elisabeth.
After his marriage, Mr. Herren engaged in various pursuits, for five years being connected with the Fame Canning Company in the capacity of bookkeeper and timekeeper. For the last four years he has been superin- tendent of the Tipton water and light plant.
Mr. and Mrs. Herren are members of the New Light Christian church at Petersburg, while the subject's fraternal affiliations are with Tipton Lodge No. 220, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Somerset Tribe No. 98, Improved Order of Red Men. A Republican in politics, Mr. Herren served as deputy assessor of Tipton county for two years.
The date of June 3d has played an important and significant part in the life of Mr. Herren. One of the hardest battles in which he was engaged dur- ing his army service was at Cianta and Tay Tay, Philippine Islands, June 3d; he was married on June 3d and left his parental home to begin his own battle of life on June 3d.
PETER AND CHARLES MICHEL.
It is the farmer who makes it possible for men in other occupations to live. Farming was the original occupation of man, and it is the only pro- fession which could exist independently of any other. Indeed, every other occupation is dependent upon the farmer. The products of the soil have made our railroads what they are today, and the great bulk of manufactur- ing is made necessary because of the farmer's needs. The people of the city could not live a week without the farmer's products. He holds not only the purse strings of the nation, but even the very life of its people. For this
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reason the farmer has, in reality, the most important profession of all. Tip- ton county has as fine farms and good farmers as can be found in the state and among them are the father and son whose lives are here set forth.
Peter Michel, one of the most prominent farmers of Tipton county, was born March 2, 1858, in Ripley county, Indiana, the son of Matthias and Mary (Albers) Michel. The father, Matthias, came from Switzerland when he was about twenty-one years of age, and settled in Ripley county, Indiana, where he followed the occupation of dairyman and cheese-maker. Matthias and his wife raised a family of seven children, five of whom are living, Peter, John, David, Henry and Mary.
Peter Michel went to the country schools and worked on the farm dur- ing the summer. At the age of sixteen he commenced working for himself, and at the age of twenty-one he rented a farm. About this time, February 24, 1879, he married Frederica Gommel, daughter of Andrew and Freduca (Un- kamp) Gommel. Mr. Gommel came from Wurtemberg, Germany, and set- tled in Decatur county, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Gommel had six children, Christopher, Andrew, Jr., Caroline, Frederica, Martin (deceased ) and Kath- ryne, deceased.
Peter Michel and his wife have four children: Charles H .; Clara, who married Julian Meyncke and has one son, Lloyd; Anna M. and Elma O., who are still at home.
Peter Michel has been a life-long Republican, but has never asked for public office, being content to spend all of his energies on the farm. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are interested in all the activities of that denomination.
Charles H. Michel, the eldest and only son of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Michel, was born in Decatur county, near Greensburg, in 1878. He came with his parents to Tipton county when his father was but twenty-seven years of age, and located on the farm where he now lives. His father has been a very successful farmer and now owns three hundred and twenty acres of land in the county. Charles secured his education in Maldentown, where he graduated from the common schools. He worked on a farm dur- ing the summer and at the age of twenty-one he commenced renting land from his father. He proved to be a very successful farmer, and in a short time was enabled to buy eighty acres of land, southeast of Hobbs. After managing this farm for two years, he bought his present farm of one hun- dred acres, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation.
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