Emmett & Elsie as a young couple

Emmett Touby and Elsie Locke

Their homes were about seven miles apart, but the distance (rather significant in the late 19th-early 20th century rural setting) did not hamper Emmett's efforts to woo the sweet Elsie Locke.  They had mutual friends... Elsie's cousins, Tom and Kate Locke, went to Rich Valley School with Emmett.  It wasn't long before they got acquainted.

Rich Valley School on Road 500 N.

Emmett was used to traversing country roads.  He graduated from Kokomo High School which meant several trips between home on the farm and town -- even rooming in town at times -- to finish his schooling.  After high school he pursued a two-year degree at Kokomo Business School.  All the while he continued to help his father on the farm.  And continued to pursue his interest in Elsie!  Like her mother, Settie Graf Locke, Elsie also decided to go to college.  She was determined to study home economics at Indiana State Normal School, packed her two suitcases, and boarded the train for Terre Haute. It wasn't long before she devoted herself to her other interest: Emmett.  Emmett was 26 and Elsie was 20 when they married on Christmas Eve of 1914. 

Emmett comes calling on Elsie.  In front of the Locke home.

Elsie's brother, Ross, with Emmett (right).

Elsie and friends at Indiana State Normal School (now ISU)

Elsie's college friends visit at the farm.

Emmett (on left in carriage), Elsie on far right.

Emmett and Elsie at the Locke farm.

The Touby home.

Emmett and Elsie (on left) with friends.

Emmett and Elsie's wedding photo.

Elsie and Ross: on to University

Philip Roscoe Locke and Elsie Locke

Elsie and Ross went downstate Indiana for their university studies: Elsie to Indiana State Normal School and Ross to Indiana University.

Indiana State Normal School

Elsie, on left

Friends at Indiana State

Ross was encouraged by his uncle Dr. Edgar Locke to pursue medicine.  Ross actually started with that in mind, but his love for writing lead to studies and a career in journalism instead.

Philip Roscoe Locke

Letter to Ross from his uncle, Dr. J. Edgar Locke, written 1911 (100 years ago!)
when Ross was a high school senior

Dr. John Edgar Locke

Sis Hopkins

This ticket was found in Roscoe Locke's small Shakespeare tome Merchant of Venice.  He might have taken some time from his studies to see a local vaudeville act.

Melville, Rose (1873–1946), actress. Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, she made her debut in 1889 then scored a major success in a touring play called Zeb, in which she appeared as the hayseed Sis Hopkins. Melville played the part so well that it was elaborated for her, then she developed a vaudeville sketch around the same yokel. In her Broadway appearances, in such musicals as Little Christopher Columbus (1894) and By the Sad Sea Waves (1899), Melville invariably portrayed Sis. She played little else until she retired sometime in the 1920s.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/rose-melville#ixzz1BXrlbfKN

Martin School

Ross and Elsie Locke went to Martin School in Liberty Township.

2nd row: Elsie is 4th from left; Ross is 7th from left

Greentown High School

Ross and Elsie Locke went to Martin School in Liberty Township, then to Greentown High School.  Both graduated in 1912.  Even though Elsie was younger, she learned quickly sitting in a one-room school along with the older students, and skipped two grades.  Ross went on to study journalism at Indiana University and Elsie studied at Indiana State Normal School.

Freshman English Examination Book 1909

Report Card: Greentown High School
September 1908 - May 1912

Emmett and Elsie (Locke) Touby

Emmett and Elsie (Locke) Touby

When Elsie Locke (1894-1975) and Emmett Peter Touby (1888-1972) were married in 1914 they settled on a farm in Howard Township, Howard County, owned by Emmett’s father, Albert C. Touby (1851-1931).  The marriage brought together the descendants of two pioneer families who had come to Howard County when Kokomo was just a trading post.

Elsie’s grandparents, Elias and Sarah Brown Locke, had traveled from Ohio to Howard County to stake their claim after the Miami Reserve was opened to settlement.  As their family grew, they built the large brick home, which still stands on North Locke Street in Kokomo.  The sixth of ten children, George Luther Locke (1856-1938), was Elsie’s father.  In 1891 George married the young schoolteacher, Settie Graf, and they began their life together in a log cabin on a farm in Liberty Township.  Their children, Philip R. and Elsie attended the one-room Martin school and later graduated from Greentown High School.  The families were respected citizens of the community.  George became known for his equitable handling as executor of family estates.

Emmett Touby’s grandparents, Peter and Jane C. Touby came to Howard County from Fayette County, Indiana in 1853.  Their children were Leora, Mary, and Albert C. Touby.  The Touby Pike that winds its way northeast of Kokomo followed a route that bordered the Peter Touby homestead.  Peter was instrumental in getting the road built (originally a “corduroy” road), and thus it was identified by his name.  In 1883 son Albert married Kate Willits (1858-1941), establishing their home on land north of the early homestead.  here they lived in a log cabin until they were able to build a large frame home where they raised their five children, Alice, Emmett P., Jennie, Mary, And Bessie.  Albert And Kate’s concern for the character of the community was evidenced by the fact that in 1896 they helped to establish and build the Rich Valley Christian Church just one-half mile east of their home.  Both the Locke and Touby families were influential in the early development of the county.

Upon the retirement of his parents and their move to Kokomo, Emmett and Elsie bought the home place and it was here that their five daughters, Louise, Dorothy, Frances, Virginia, and Joan were born and raised.  They attended the Howard Township School and the family was very active in the Rich Valley Church and the community. 

The Albert C. and Kate Touby home, later purchased by Emmett and Elsie.  Emmett is second from right.