Peter Touby: a conversation between Albert Touby and his son Emmett

This account of an imagined conversation between Albert Touby and his son Emmett 

was written by Emmett's grandson, Mark Kearney in June 2005.  

 Martin and Anna (Slout) Touby parents of Peter Touby.

 Peter and Jane (Colville) Touby with Albert, their son.

 Albert and Kate (Willits) Touby, parents of Emmett.

Young Emmett Touby

The actual "juice harp" referred to in the following account.  It belonged to Emmett Touby.

Peter Touby was a farmer in eastern Howard County in the middle 1800’s.  He was born in Germany in 1824 and immigrated to America in 1844 with his parents who settled near Mansfield, Ohio.  Several Touby descendants still live in that area.  The former home of Peter’s nephew Martin Touby now serves as the “Somewhere in Time” Bed and Breakfast in Lexington, just south of Mansfield.

Peter Touby moved to Indiana in the 1850’s, first settling in Fayette County.  He moved to Howard County in 1854, ultimately establishing a homestead near Cassville.  Although primarily a farmer, he was somewhat active politically and was well-respected in the township.  He was instrumental in seeing that a good road was constructed between the farms of northeastern Howard County and the town of Kokomo.  Part of that road is known today as the Touby Pike in his honor.  A large contingency of Touby descendents still live in the Kokomo area.

The scene of this portrayal is Crown Point Cemetery, the summer of 1902.  Albert Touby and his 14-year old son Emmett are visiting the gravesite of Albert’s father, and our subject, Peter Touby.  They are on the way home from town, having just enrolled Emmett in Kokomo High School for the coming school year.  Albert is dressed in a typical 1900’s vintage suit.  Emmett wears black wool trousers, a freshly-starched white shirt (too short in the arms), suspenders, and a straw hat.  Emmett is twanging a “juice” harp as they approach.

Albert:  “Emmett Peter Touby, maybe you should refrain from your ‘music’ out of respect for your deceased ancestors...”

Emmett:  “Oh Father, it’s not that bad….”

Albert:  “Now that we have you enrolled in high school, I thought we should stop by and pay our respects.”

Emmett:  “Father, I’m really excited to be able to come to town to go to school.  I’m also a little fearful…but I promise I will make the most of it.”

Albert:  “Your grandfather always stressed the importance of a good education. He told me that the knowledge he gained in school in Germany was more valuable to him as a farmer than even as a wagon maker.”

Emmett (thinking):  “So this is Grandfather’s grave… Peter Touby…John Peter Touby…born in 1824, died in 1888, so he was 64 when he died…1888…That was the year I was born!

Albert:  “Yes, I am so sorry you never had the opportunity to know your Grandfather.  He was so very happy when you were born that there would be another Touby son to carry on our good name here in Indiana.”

Emmett:  “So he used to be a wagon maker?”

Albert:  “Yes, he learned wagon making in Germany before he came to America.  He didn’t come here until he was 20 years old, you know.  Seventy days by ship, it took your ancestors to get here.  And forty-four days of the worst storms you could imagine before they arrived in New York”

Emmett:  “Why did they come here?”

Albert:  “The way your Grandfather explained it to me…  His father did not believe a government should be able to require that you attend a certain church or demand that you train in the military.  He learned of the community of German settlers in Richland County, Ohio and of the German Church there.  So your great-grandparents, John Martin and Anna Slout Touby, came over on that ship in 1844 with their nine children including your Grandfather.  Their tenth child was born here.  You can believe that it took strong conviction to move a family that large across an ocean.

“When they reached Ohio, your great-grandfather purchased 40 acres near the German settlement in Mansfield.  Most of my aunts and uncles and cousins still live near there.”

Emmett:  “When did Grandfather come to Indiana?”

Albert:  “When he was about 26 -- around 1850 -- he moved to Fayette County.  With all of the people moving through Indiana, there was a great need there for wagon making and repair.  He had worked as a farm hand in Ohio and wanted to employ his learned profession building wagons in Indiana”

Emmett:  “Is that where he met Grandmother Touby?”

Albert:  “It didn’t take your Grandfather long to find a proper wife!  He always said he came from Germany, traveled through Ohio to get to Indiana, all to find a Pennsylvanian-born, Kentucky-reared Hoosier lady!  Jane Duncan Colville, the local tailoress.  They were married soon after he moved to Indiana, and I was born not long after.”

Emmett:  “When did you come to Howard County?”

Albert:  “I was only three or four years old, so I don’t remember very much.  I do remember leaving our nice small home in Bentonville for the wilds of Howard County.  We first lived where the Zion Church is now.  But your Grandfather learned that land was available in the Rich Valley area and was quick to move us there.  Your Grandfather was so proud of our homestead.  I hope it will be a Touby homestead for years to come.  Your aunts -- my sisters Leora and Mary -- were born there.

Emmett:  “Grandmother Touby always told me that Grandfather’s proudest moment was when he was granted citizenship.”

Albert:  “Yes, I remember it well.  It was just before the Civil War – in 1859, I believe  --  that your Grandfather took us all to a court in Marshall County.  It was a long trip, but he was so pleased to be recognized as a citizen of this country.  I remember him saying, ‘I have lived here 15 years, and now I can finally vote and have a say in how the affairs of my county, my state and my country are administered.’

 “Your Grandfather always stressed to me the duty of being active in those endeavors.  He hated the thought of war between brothers, and he always told me that true patriots need not fight in battle, but be willing to work the polls or for whatever other political opportunities exist, such that their convictions can be advanced.  Without his involvement, the pike that we travel to town and back would not exist, let alone carry our family name.”

Emmett:  “So was Grandfather a Democrat like you?”

Albert: “Yes, but by his convictions, not because he was tied to the party.  He taught me to respect everyone’s judgments because there are usually at least two sides to every story.  Respect and trust are virtues a man can never own without first diligence, and can be quickly lost with a slip of the tongue or a slight of the truth.  I’m sure if your Grandfather could speak to you from this grave, his most important message would be just that.”

Emmett:  “How did Grandfather die?”

Albert:  “That was a very sorrowful time in my life.  As you must know by now, your Mother, my dear wife Kate, was not my first wife.  My first wife, Ida Yager is buried right over there.  She died in 1880, only a year after we were married, from typhoid fever.”

Emmett:  “That’s hard for me to comprehend.”

Albert:  “I know, I haven’t discussed it much.  I was devastated, but three years later I married your Mother and she helped me learn to love life again.  Your sister Allie was born to us right away and I began to learn how important having my own family was to me.  Two years later, we were blessed by the birth of your sister Grace, but she died when she was only three.  It is so hard to lose a child, especially so young.  She’s buried right here.

“When you were born, your Grandfather was so happy.  Like I told you before, he was so overjoyed to have a Grandson to carry on the Touby name in Indiana.”

Emmett:  “But, how did Grandfather die??”

Albert:  “Your Grandfather was so young at heart.  Not long after you were born, he was intent one day on going to a barbeque picnic in Peru.  It was a grand fall day when he left, but your Grandmother was convinced that it would rain before he would return home.  He traveled alone and just as you might expect, your Grandmother was correct about the weather -- your Grandmother is always correct about the weather. The cold, damp storm set in as he commenced home.  Of course, he was too stubborn to find room and board in Peru, and came home in the midst of that cold rain.  The day following, he had a bad cough.

“It did us little concern until about two days later, when your Grandmother told us his fever was quite high and she had sent for the physician.  The doctor did not believe your Grandfather’s condition to be critical, but he never recovered.  He died a week later.  And the man who had the strongest mind, the strongest character, and the strongest will that I have ever known was gone.”

Emmett:  “I wish that I could have known him.”

Albert:  “I wish that too, son.  Your Grandfather taught me so many things about farming, about raising crops and livestock, about maintaining the dairy and the orchards.  He taught me the love of working with wood.  He would be so proud to see that the Rich Valley Christian Church that he dreamed of is now a reality.

“The ideals he stressed most were honesty, integrity, love of God, and respect for our neighbors.  Those things were most important to him and I would do a disservice to his memory if I didn’t stress them to you.  I was his only son, and now that you have only sisters, you are my only son.  You will be the next Touby to carry those ideals forward.  I trust that you will take them seriously.”

(Emmett and Albert start to walk away)

Emmett:  “I will, Father, I will.  Well, we should commence going home.  Mother will be upset if we are tardy for dinner.  And, you know when we left, Grandmother Touby said she could feel a rainstorm coming on…”