USA > Indiana > Tipton County > History of Tipton County Indiana > Part 44
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Thomas Wheeler Cage, the son of Andrew and Elizabeth ( Batterton) Cage, was born in Shelby county, Indiana, on December 22, 1844. Andrew Cage and Elizabeth Batterton were married shortly after the Civil war and to this union were born six children: Thomas, the subject of this sketch; Benjamin, who married Anna Pattie, and has eight children, John, Joel, Roma, Hazel, William, Jessie, Ulysses and Ruth: Eli, who married a Miss Worland; Mary, who married David Maple, and has eight children : Clara. Minnie, Sadie, Lena, Otto, Everett, Delbert and Harvey ; Moses and Martha, the other two children of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Cage, died in infancy.
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Thomas W. Cage was reared in Shelby county. His educational privi- leges were somewhat limited, but when his services were not too much needed on the home farm he attended the public schools and in later years broadened his knowledge by reading, practical experience and close observation. On reaching manhood he started out in life on his own account, his first employ- ment being work by the month on the different farms in the immediate neighborhood.
When Mr. Cage was twenty years of age he chose a helpmate for life. taking in marriage Mary Monroe, the daughter of John and Amelia Monroe, of Shelby county. Their nuptials were solemnized on March 19. 1868, and this happy union was blessed with a large family of thirteen children : Albert, who married Dora Cunningham, and has two children, Earl and Hilard; Alford, who died in infancy; Nora, who married Edmond Smith and has seven chil- dren, Cecil, Edmond, Arlie, Farley, Othal, and two who died in infancy; Charles, who married Alice Beman, the daughter of John and Josephine Beman, and has six children, Edith, Vern, Eva, Virgil, Levon and Vallie; Orpheus, who married Ora Eads, the daughter of Louis and 'Mary Eads, and has four children, Mary, Everett, Louis and Beulah; Stella, who married Louis Fenn and has eight children, Esther, Roy, Marshall, Ernest, Dolores, Opal, Irene and Mabel; Herman, who married Laura Wells and has one daughter, Dorothy ; Bessie, who married Henry Graf and has one son, Eldon ; Mabel, who married Julian Sullivan, and has four children, Elnora. Leo, Thomas and Anna. By a previous marriage he had two children, Paul and Ralph. Emma, who married Norman Foulke, of Howard county, and has one child. Deva; Lena, who married Otto Dellman and has two children, Ralph and Vonda; Walter, who married Grace Foulke, the daughter of Ira and Minerva Foulke, and has two children, Edwin and Olive; Orville, who mar- ried Flossie Collins, the daughter of Frank and Laura Collins, and has one child, Genevieve.
The father of Mary Monroe, the wife of Mr. Cage, was born in Ohio and lived there until after his marriage, when he moved to Shelby county, Indiana, where he lived until his death, in December. 1885. His wife, Amelia, was the daughter of Samuel and Nancy Slye, and to this union were born thirteen children : James, Elizabeth, Cicero, Samuel, John, William, Jacob, - Wesley, Henry, Nancy, Andrew, Mary, the wife of Mr. Cage, and Eliza.
The political views of Mr. Cage were in accord with the Republican party, but he never took a very active part in the work of his party aside from casting his ballot for its candidates. In his religion he was a devoted and consistent member of the Baptist church and lived the teachings of his
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church. He passed away on May 29, 1912, as a result of injuries received in a wreck on the Wabash railroad, while on his way to attend his sister's funeral at Danville, Illinois. He is remembered by all those who knew him as a man of kindly impulses and high ideals; as a man who was ever ready to assist his neighbor in time of trouble or distress. The whole tenor of his life was such that the community in which he lived was the better because of his residence in it.
THOMAS F. OWEN.
It was remarked by a celebrated moralist and, biographer that there "has scarcely passed a life of which a judicious and faithful narrative would not have been useful." Believing in the truth of this opinion, expressed by one of the greatest and best of men, it is with pleasure that a few facts are presented in reference to the career of a gentleman who, by industry. perseverance and integrity, has worked himself up from an humble station to a successful place in life and won an honorable position among the well- known and highly esteemed men of the locality in which he resides.
Thomas F. Owen, successful farmer of two hundred acres of fine land on the Windfall pike, about one and one-quarter miles north of the city of Windfall, was born February 1, 1874, in Wild Cat township, the son of William L. and Sarah (White) Owen. William was a native of the Blue Grass state and came with his parents from there to this . state when he was fifteen years old, the family settling in Wild Cat town- ship, Tipton county. Before their removal from Kentucky William Owen attended school in that state. finishing his education here, and living on the home place until he reached the age of twenty-five. Beside Thomas F .. there were four other children in the family, namely : Ice Lee died July 31, 1872; Jennie; Frances; Levina O. died May 21, 1871; Jennie became the wife of Arthur Doggett and they have three children, Owen, Gladys and Glenn. Frances married B. F. Mitchell and became the mother of six children, namely : Inez married Oscar Couch; Fern married James Gray ; Paul ; Wayne : Ora and Fay are deceased.
Striking out for himself in life, William F. Owen first cultivated rented land until he accumulated sufficient money to purchase ground of his own, his first tract containing forty acres. This was uncleared land and the strenu- ous task of clearing and putting it under cultivation fell to him; a task at which he proved eminently successful, having cleared a great deal of land in this county. He has made practically all of the improvements on his present
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fine place, and has reduced it to a high state of cultivation, also engaging in stock raising to a considerable extent, being an expert in all that pertains to breeding, feeding and marketing of the best in this line.
In 1893 Thomas F. Owen was united in marriage to Kate Merck, the daughter of Frank Merck, and the two children resulting from this union, Lloyd and Frank, are attending school. In his fraternal relations, the sub- ject is very prominent in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having passed all the chairs in that fraternity and taking a deep interest in the workings of the same, displaying an endeavor in his daily life to put into practice the beautiful precepts and truths taught by that order. While he has ever taken an intelligent interest in public affairs, he has never been a seeker after office. He casts his ballot in support of the principles of the Democratic party. Mr. Owen and his wife hold membership in the Christian church, being regular attendants at the services of this worthy institution and dis- playing a deep and active interest in the Sunday school work connected with the same.
PHILANDER SCUDDER.
The men most influential in promoting the advancement of society and in giving character to the times in which they live are of two classes, to-wit, the men of study and the men of action. Whether we are indebted for the improvement of the age to the one class or the other is a question of honest difference of opinion; neither class can be spared and both should be encour- aged to occupy their several spheres of labor and influence, zealously and without mutual distrust. In the following paragraphs are briefly outlined the leading facts and characteristics in the career of a gentleman who combines in his make-up the elements of the scholar and the energy of the public- spirited man of affairs. Long devoted to the noble and humane work of teaching, he has made his influence felt in the school life of the Hoosier state, standing high in the esteem of the educators and general public in that field of endeavor, and in his present positions as cashier of the People's State Bank and trustee of Wildcat township showing a conception of business prin- ciples of the highest order. He has proved himself to be a man of character and strong individuality, and has achieved eminent success in the vocations to which he has addressed himself, having won a position of honor among the leading men of his community.
Philander Scudder was born April 6, 1861, in Hancock county, Indiana,
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the son of Stephen and Emmeline (Whitehead) Scudder. The subject's father was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, where he was educated and en- gaged in farming until he reached the age of twenty-one years, when he came to Hancock county, Indiana, being one of the early settlers in that section of the Hoosier commonwealth. To the subject's parents were born seven children, who were: Mrs. Zora Chowning: Mrs. Elizabeth Scott; Philander ; Tilghman is residing in Hancock county; Stephen; Emmeline is deceased; Benjamin is living at Glendale, Arizona.
Philander Scudder attended the country schools and on completing the course in those institutions went to the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute, where he prepared himself for teaching, which he first en- gaged in in Hancock county, and later in this county, being engaged in pedagogical pursuits for twenty-eight years, following agriculture in con- nection with his duties as a teacher nearly all of this long period. As an educator he was essentially progressive and efficient, being classed with the very best in that line. Since his retirement from the profession the subject has kept in touch with the educational work of the community and is ever ready to lend his aid and counsel in advancing the interests of the splendid school system of his community.
Mr. Scudder moved to Windfall early in 1907 and was elected township trustee in 1908, and accepted the position of cashier of the People's State Bank in 1913, and his connection with that concern has done much to ad- vance the interests of that well-known and solid financial institution, his prominence and popularity in the community' gaining for it a large following among the substantial citizens of the locality. As trustee of Wildcat town- ship, his long service as a teacher has rendered him peculiarly fit to discharge intelligently the duties of that responsible position, dealing so closely as it does with the educational phase of the locality.
On December 27. 1887, Mr. Scudder was united in the holy bonds of matrimony to Emma Plassmann, of Macomb, Illinois, the daughter of August and Mary Plassmann, and to this union have been born three children, Mar- garet, Emmeline and Carl. Of these children, Margaret is deceased; Em- meline taught school for a time and became the wife of Roy Middleton, a farmer and teacher, while Carl graduated from the high school, then took a course of training in the Indiana State Normal School, was principal of the Kempton high school, and is now in the bank.
Mr. Scudder is a faithful and active member of the Methodist Episco- pal church and gives liberally of his means to the support of that worthy institution ..
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CHARLES C. BOWLBY.
In these latter days it is an honor to be a farmer and there is no oc- cupation today which offers the opportunity for an independent career like that of agriculture. The farmer is more and more becoming the bulwark of the nation, and it is not too much to say that his occupation transcends every other in importance. Here in Indiana we like to pride ourselves on the fact that we have not only the center of population, but the center of the agri- cultural eminence as well. Tipton county prides herself on the fact that she is the equal of any county in the state when it comes to a comparison of ex- cellence in farming products. Among the farmers of Tipton county who are holding the standard of the county to its present high position, there is no one more worthy than the subject of this sketch.
Charles C. Bowlby, the son of Mahlon and Rebecca (Sweet ) Bowlby, was born in Colwell county, Missouri, on September 22, 1871. Mahlon Bowl- by was born in New York in 1844 and came to Indiana with his parents when a small boy, settling in Shelby county. Although he was only seven- teen years of age at the opening of the Civil war, he enlisted in the Thirty- seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry and served throughout the whole struggle. He was mustered in on September 18, 1861, and saw con- tinuous service until he was mustered out on October 27, 1864. Upon being honorably discharged from the army he at once went to Colwell county, Missouri, where he rented a farm and lived for several years. He then re- turned to Rush county, Indiana, and after a few years' residence in that county he moved to Tipton county and bought eighty acres which he farmed successfully for a number of years. Finding a farm in Howard county which was more to his liking, he sold his Tipton county farm, and bought eighty acres southwest of Kokomo, where he lived until his death, February 25. 1901. He had married Rebecca Sweet when a young man and to this union there were born four children: Minnie May, deceased 1905, who married Charles Kelley: Charles, the subject of this sketch: Ida, who died in infancy. and Dora, who married Edward Smith, and. lives in Elwood. Indiana. Mrs. Bowlby died November 17, 1913.
Charles Bowlby received the best education which the district schools afforded and has since supplemented it with reading literature pertaining to agricultural problems. He worked on his father's farm until his marriage, and then started out for himself by renting a farm. Being a practical man of sound judgment and an efficient manager, he was enabled to buy a farm within five years, and now has a fine farm in Liberty township. He has
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attained a measure of prosperity through his own efforts and those of his wife, and for this reason his name is one which merits a place of honor upon the scroll of the able and worthy farmers of Tipton county.
Mr. Bowlby was married to Ida May Kelley, the daughter of Henry and Martha Ellen (Perry) Kelley, on October 22, 1895, and to this union there have been born four children : Marie, deceased; Paul, Maxwell and Kermit. Henry Kelley and his wife were both natives of Indiana and were the par- ents of seven children : Laura, the wife of Ellis Barlow; Viola, the wife of James Bowlby; Charles, who married Minnie Bowlby; William, who mar- ried Rosa Kessler: Schuyler, who married Nannie Young; Lettie, the wife of J. R. Sparling, and Ida May, the wife of the subject of this sketch.
. C. C. Bowlby has ever been a stalwart advocate of the principles and poli- cies of the Republican party. but has never been more than a local worker in politics. He takes a part in the fraternal life of the community by being a member of Lodge No. 163, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Reserve Lodge No. 363, Free and Accepted Masons. He and the other members of his family are affiliated with the Presbyterian church and are very much interested in the various activities of that denomination. Mr. Bowlby is a public-spirited citizen who is ever ready to lend his aid and co-operation in the furtherance of all enterprises and measures tending to conserve the gen- eral welfare of this county.
HIRAM LAMM.
The subject of this review is a representative farmer of Wildcat town- ship, where he is the owner of sixty acres of fine land, and he is known as one of the alert, progressive and successful agriculturists of this favored section of the Hoosier state. In his labors he has not permitted himself to follow in a rut in a blind, apathetic way, but has studied and experimented and thus secured the maximum returns from his enterprising efforts. while he has so ordered his course at all times as to command the confidence and regard of the people of the community in which he lives, being a man of honorable.business methods and advocating whatever tends to promote the public welfare in any way.
Hiram Lamm was born on the 3d day of January, 1841, in Clinton county, Ohio, and is the son of Galey and Mary ( Hodson) Lamm. Galey Lamm was a native of North Carolina and an early settler in Ohio, where
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he was a farmer. He reared a family of eight children: Lydia, Charles, Hiram, William, Rachael, Joseph, Caleb and John. The subject of this review began acquiring his early education in the Brown county (Ohio) schools, and finished his studies in Delaware county, Indiana, being em- ployed at the labor of the farm in his youth, assisting in the work on his father's place. Early deciding on agriculture for his life work, at the age of twenty years Mr. Lamm started out on his own account without a penny in his pocket and wholly dependent upon his own resources, which, however, consisted of a wholesome ambition to accomplish things, a strong arm and a will that brooked no discouragement. So successful was he in his deter- mination to become independent that he was enabled soon to own land in his own right, and his present splendid agricultural plant bears mute evi- dence that his efforts have not been in vain. On his place Mr. Lamm con- ducts general farming operations, raising all the standard crops, and in addition makes a specialty of Poland-China hogs, finding the breeding of this type of swine a most profitable source of income.
In March, 1860, the subject of this review was united in marriage to Nancy J. Tyre, and to this union were born four children: William mar- ried Alice Dean and they have had three children, Charles, Grover, de- ceased, and Harry, deceased; Lewis married Eva Lee and they are the parents of five children, Viola, Ray, Mary, Sherman and Bruce; Lavina M. is the wife of W. P. Hall and they have the following children: Viola, Minnie. Gerty, Basil, Grace, Wayne, Luella and Inas; the other children to the subject's first marriage were Louisa and Harriett, both of whom died in infancy. In 1881 Mr. Lamm was married to Matilda Tyler, and by this marriage had one child, Hiram W.
The subject's third wife is Rebecca J. Willis, whom he married in 1897. She is the daughter of Jesse and Sarah (Carry) Willis, and had been previously married, having two children by her former union, Rufus Phillips, who is married and has a family, and Anna May. deceased.
Mr. Lamm's early life struggles were under the most unpromising conditions, but. resolutely facing the future, he gradually surmounted the difficulties in his way and in due course of time rose to a prominent posi- tion in the agricultural circles of his community, besides winning the confi- dence and esteem of those with whom he came in contact, either in a social or business way, and for years he has stood as one of the representative citizens of the locality honored by his citizenship. Strongly in contrast with the humble surroundings of his youth was the place he soon filled in agricul-
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tural circles. The strongest characters in our national history have come from the ranks of self-made men to whom adversity acts as an impetus for unfaltering effort, and from this class came the worthy gentleman whose life career we have attempted to briefly outline.
WILLIAM H. ACHENBACH.
The history of the Hoosier state is not an ancient one. It is the record of the steady growth of a community planted in the wilderness in the last century and reaching its magnitude of today without other aids than those of continued industry. Each county has its share in the story, and every county can lay claim to some incident or transaction which goes to make up the history of the commonwealth. After all, the history of a state is but a record of the doings of its people, among whom the pioneers and their sturdy descendants occupy places of no secondary importance. The story of the plain, common people who constitute the moral bone and sinew of the state should ever attract the attention and prove of interest to all true lovers of their kind. In the life story of the subject of this sketch there are no striking. chapters or startling incidents, but it is merely the record of a life true to its highest ideals and fraught with much that should stimulate the youth just starting in the world as an independent factor.
William H. Achenbach, the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of good farming land in Cicero township, Tipton county, Indiana, was born November 17, 1850, in Hamilton county, this state, near Arcadia, the son of Peter and Matilda ( Knapp) Achenbach. Peter came from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, with his parents, Peter and Elizabeth Achenbach, who were Germans. Elizabeth Achenbach's family came to Indiana about eighty years ago and located on wild land where the Mount Pleasant church now stands. Peter, the father of the subject of this sketch, attended the old log schools and was a farmer. He had seven children: Simon (deceased ). William H., Daniel W., John M., Benjamin F., Mrs. Barbara. Balser and James L.
William H. Achenbach went to the Kinderhook school, the terms in that institution lasting but six weeks. He afterward attended district school No. 16, where the instructor was Doctor Newcomer, who is now residing in the city of Tipton. The demands for labor on his father's place, how-
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ever, soon called him from his studies and he was occupied at the strenuous tasks of clearing and improving the home place during all of his boyhood and early youth. The meager schooling which Mr. Achenbach secured in his boyhood days only whetted his appetite for knowledge, and he has ever been a close reader and observer of men and methods, his native common sense and sound judgment guiding him into the position he now occupies in the community as a well informed and intelligent man. At the age of twenty-three years the subject of this review started in his own account in life, first renting land which he cultivated and later buying a tract of forty acres. Wise management and a thorough knowledge of the various branches of the noble art of tilling the soil have been the main causes for the present prosperity of Mr. Achenbach, his fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres being rated as a model in the community, its broad and fertile bosom bear- ing bounteous crops and affording abundant pasturage for the excellent live stock which the subject raises. His buildings and other improvements are good and substantial and the whole general appearance of the place reflects great credit upon its owner.
October 5, 1873, Mr. Achenbach was united in matrimony to Amelia Kleyla, the daughter of Martin and Barbara (Dexheymer ) Kleyla. Mrs. Achenbach, who was a member of the Christian church, died September 4, 1907, and was interred at Tipton. She was the mother of six children, as follows: Victoria married O. E. Jackson; Ora married Nellie Hartley; Walter married Winona Thompson and they have three children, Edna. Gladys and Mary; Frances married Orpha Hoover and they have one child, Blanch; Ethel is the wife of Sylvester Essick: Hallie R. married Jessie Hoover. The subject is a faithful member of the Christian church, while his political relations'are with the Democratic party.
MONROE TRIMBLE.
The office of the biographer is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave upon the record the verdict establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his neighbors and fellow citizens. In touching upon the life history of the subject of this sketch the writer aims to avoid fulsome encomium and extravagant praise ; yet he desires to hold up for considera-
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tion those facts which have shown the distinction of a true, useful and hon- orable life-a life characterized by perseverance, energy, broad charity and well defined purpose. To do this will but be to reiterate the dictum pro- nounced upon the man by the people who have known him long and well.
Monroe Trimble, who resides on his fine farm of eighty acres on the Leisure road, about three and one-half miles southeast of Windfall, in Wild- cat township, Tipton county, Indiana, was born September 1, 1855, in Decatur county, this state, the son of C. C. and Lydia ( McCormick) Trim- ble. C. C. Trimble, the father of the subject of this sketch, was the young- est of thirteen children and came to Indiana from Grayson county, Virginia, in 1843, when he was but fifteen years of age, locating in Decatur county. He was the son of John and Susan (Knuckles) Trimble, Susan being a daughter of Charles Knuckles, of Grayson county, Virginia. The subject's father was married in . 1849 and became the parent of ten children: John (deceased), William. Monroe, Courtland P. (deceased), Lincoln, Elmer, Charles, Aldie, Almie and Frank. His first wife died in 1878 and he was married a second time, his second wife being Julia Jackson, and to this union were born four children, namely: An infant deceased, Mattie, Ken- neth and Charles. He took up government land and was highly successful in its development, now being the owner of a tract of two hundred and forty acres of some of the best land in the county. During the Civil war he helped run Morgan out of the Hoosier state. He cast his first vote for Zachary Taylor and has always displayed an intelligent interest in public affairs, giving his best' thought to all movements for the public good and in all that he does evincing his sincere wish for the welfare of his fellow citi- zens and the community at large. His father was a loyal soklier of his country in the war of 1812. The father, C. C. Trimble, died on December 23, 1913.
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