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
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…”
