Tipton History - MERGED:
Pg 16
]ohn F. and Sarah Walmsley Newkirk migrated from Pennsylvania to Tipton County in 1848, settling on property that is now County Road 100 West, just north of 300 South. John was born in 1799 in Pennsylvania, and Sarah was horn in 1804 in Ohio. The Newkirks died in Tipton County and are buried in Sumner Cemetery. They had 10 children.
George W. Bragg, taller of the two bearded gentlemen near the center, was a Civil War veteran, who lost his...
Pg 18 ,,,
The Small family members are,
from left to right, Eliza and ]essie Small and Archibald and Mary Ann Coats Small. Archibald settled in Jefferson Township, near the county line, in 1837. He later donated the land that became Small Cemetery. His first Wife died in 1839 and was the first...
pg 22
C.L. O'Banion, son of Tipton Tribune publisher Ira M. O'Banion, demonstrates his fine sharpshooting form. The photograph is dated 1898, the same year Ira entered partnership with Arch W. Ramsay Jr. at the Tribune. At the close of World War I, C.L. and Floyd N. Ramsay jointly purchased the business from their fathers. The two remained partners in the business until Floyd's death in 1943.
(John O'Banion.)
Pg 25
In the late 1840s, Tipton Countians lived an isolated life, but the railroads—and change—were loming. Tipton's first train reportedly ran to Indianapolis on August 4, 1853, over wooden rails that started near the East Madison Street bridge over Cicero Creek. Although the passengers paid their fares, they were expected to climb off the train whenever the cars derailed and set them back on the track.
(Ken Ziegler.)
pg 43
Under construction is Waffler and Bates restaurant, owned by Fred Waffler and Al Bates, at 31 East Jefferson Street, around 1900. The workmen pose on the scaffolding. Among them is Tipton's revered Civil War veteran, Capt. Thomas Paul, the bearded man standing on the lower plank on the left. On the left in the work apron is J.H. Van, pioneer shoe and harness man of Tipton. The contractor, James W. Russell, was one of Tipton County's earliest residents, his family having moved to the county in 1854, when he was still an infant. Often referred to as a "pioneer artisan," he started his carpentry and contracting business in Goldsmith in 1881. Russell was a Spanish-American War veteran, serving with Company I, 160th Indiana Volunteer Regiment.
He died in July 1936 at the age of 82, outlived by the buildings he constructed. The Waffler and Bates Building was flanked by U R Next Barbershop to its west and J.C. Lindsay Drug Store on its east.
(Library archives.)
pg 68
Qzy “Ute” Quakenbush of Sharpsville and his daughter Maxine Nash display the quilt that Was handcrafted for him by his mother-in-law, Lula Ramseyer. The quilt is made of the ribbons won at the Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio state fairs and other shows for his Oxford sheep. The photograph was taken in 1944, a short time before his death.
(Madonna Alderson.)
pg 70
to right, (first row) Ella Wilson, Ethel Huffman, Ruby Fike, Lora Bozell, Adaline Racobs and Hazel Standerford;
(second row) Eva Pickett, Hazel Coppock, Hazel Burton, Olive Linderman, Maude Miller, and Maria Jones;
(third row) Mayme French, Maude Bolton, Inez Tudor, Lydia Moore, Ruth Russell, and Verna Curtis;
(fourth row) Eva Crawford, Chloe Sharum, Lelia Barr, Fay McKinney, Tessie Smitson, Cleo McCulley, and Bessie Kinder;
(fifth row) Roxie Emberton, , Blanche Ploughe, Dorothy Ploughe, Ethel Self, Pearl Self, and Nellie Hinkle;
(sixth row) Bertha Gunkel, Ruby Ray, Flora Teter, Daisy Verguson, and Lelia v Jones.
(Both, Janet Driver.)
pg 75
Above, Ruth lllges stops along Main Street near the Ritz Theater, around 1945. For many years, Tipton supported two movie theaters, the Ritz and the Diana. The Ritz took over the former Martz Opera House that opened in 1904 and for decades was a venue for many cultural activities, including musical theater, vaudeville shows, and speakers. Even Francis X. Bushman, the most famous silent-movie actor for his time, once appeared on the Martz’s stage. Below, the cast of an early-1900s production at the Martz takes a bow. Established by Nicholas Martz, the theater was gutted by fire April 8, 1929. Rebuilt in 1930, it was renamed the Ritz and remained a popular movie house until it closed in 1956. The building burned again on December 23, 1998. That time, it was a total loss.
(Above, Ruth lllges; below, ]eanie and Bob Robinson.)
pg 76
Max lllges skates figure eights at the ice rink in the Tipton Park, about 1940. The rink was located south of Cicero Creek and West of the footbridge. The then new swimming pool building is in the background. Absent from the background is the Boy Scout cabin, which was not built until 1941.
(Ruth lllges.)
pg 79
About 1955, members of Brownie Troop 350 pose for a group shot in the basement of Tipton’s First Presbyterian Church, where they met each month for several years. The girls started meeting as ]efferson Elementary School second graders and stayed together as Girl Scouts and ultimately Senior Scouts. Through the years, their leaders included Bobbi Ramsay, Louise Bowers, Helen Leininger, and ]une Thornton. The Brownies are, from left to right,
(first row) Debbie Campbell, ]ane Ann Cooper, Debby Mclntosh, Karyn Harkness, Marcia Green, and ]anet Ramsay;
(second row) Nadine Haley, ]anis Thornton, Sandy Farmer, ]ennifer Wiggins, Nancy Stout, Wendy ?, Mary Martha Purvis, and Linda Bowers. Ten members of the original troop received their curved bars in a ceremony on May 23, 1962. The curved bar is the highest rank in the intermediate program, equivalent to the Eagle rank in Boy Scouts. At that time, only 11 other Girl Scouts in Tipton County had earned the distinction.
Pg 87
Students stand outside ]efferson School in Kempton, about 1910, alongside the horse-drawn school hack. The school was Kempton’s first brick school and served both elementary and high school students. It was built in 1888 at the intersection of Main and College Streets. WR. Dunham was principal for many years.
(Alice Ricketts.)
pg 89
The 1947-1948 Hobbs ]unior High class poses for a picture. Shown are,
from left to right, (first row) Bonnie Heflin, Ralph Kauffman, Paul ]ulius, Nathan Pouch, Larry Clouser, Doyle Hobbs, Oliver Flowers, and Sue Bogue;
(second row) Billy Davis, ]ake Barnes, Charles ]ack, Larue Fecher, Wilma Stuckard, Delores Miller, ]ean Stuckard, Sherry Hinds, ]ean Bogue, and Clive Fecher;
(third row) Nelda Legg, Opal Lacey, Phillip Henderson, Garland Dellinger, George Booher, teacher ]eanette Apple, Robert Kintner, and unidentified.
(Paul ]ulius.)
Pg 95
Describing a noble but disappointing football season, the 1909 Tipton High School yearbook nonetheless has only praise for its 1908 team, consisting of Monroe Hughes, Paul Van Buskirk, Herschel Francis, Verne Wagstaff, Herman D’Hara, Roderick Renner, Ray Glenn, Merle Brown, Dennis Thompson, Dudley Wagstaff, L.H. Brookbank, Eugene Teter, Ray Kirtley, and Frank Richey.
(Library archives.)
Pg 103
Members of the American ]unior Red Cross wave flags as they promenade south on Main Street during the 1939 Corn Festival parade. At the time of this photograph, more than 1,200 area students belonged to Tipton County’s ]unior Red Cross, a popular service program that taught the value of service, safety, good health, and world understanding. lts motto was “We serve.”
(Ruth lllges.)
pg 106
The Skidoo Band performed at dances, parties, and social events in the early 1900s. Also shown in this photograph, taken on the southeast side of the courthouse, are members of the Tipton Club, a young men’s organization. A 1936 Tribune article identifies some of the men pictured as,
in no particular order, Frank Vawter, William Nelson, Lawrence and Carl Shiel, Fred Schick, G.]. Dglebay, Garnet Dodds, and LD. Behymer.
(Alice Ricketts.)
pg 112
Shown left, Capt. Thomas Paul was born in 1824 in Henry County. He claimed both his grandfathers fought in the Revolutionary War under Gen. George Washington. Paul moved to Tipton County in 1855 and worked at the sawmill. When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted with the 11th Indiana Volunteer Regiment and fought some of the war’s bloodiest battles, while steadily moving up through the ranks. At the time of his death on ]uly ZZ, 1918, he was one of Tipton County’s oldest and most revered residents. His obituary, headlined
“Captain Thomas Paul Goes lnto Eternal Bivouac,”
paid tribute to his military accomplishments, stating,
“Bravely he marched to that field where he made the last stand, and there he was finally mustered out, but all who know him deeply regret this day when he was handed his final discharge.”
He was 94.
Shown below, ]onathan Darke volunteered with the 26th Indiana Regiment, Company C, in 1861. Darke was a resident of Sharpsville, where he was the town’s blacksmith. He died ]une 8, 1911, at the age of 83.
(Both, library archives.)
pg 118
Above, a Marine honor guard takes part in a late-l94Os military ceremony on the south side of the Tipton County Courthouse. Gary Robert Lett, sixth from the left, is identified. Below are members of Company E, Znd Battalion of the Indiana National Guard based in Tipton, about 1948. Identified are
(first row, from left to right) unidentified, Gliver Posey, Cebe Woods, Wayne Luttrell, Gene Boes, Gene Coy, Charlie Mclntosh, Dan Mattingly, and Maurice Thompson; Max lllges is seated in the second row, second from the right.
(Above, Tom Lett; below, Ruth lllges.)
pg 125
Obama’s sixth cousin, Dr. Grover Cleveland Dunham, above left, took over the house after
his father, Riley, died. The photograph below, dated June 1935, shows Dr Dunham outside his Kempton office. He served patients in Tipton and Clinton Counties for some 50 years and was Tipton County’s health officer around 1910. Following his death in 1956 at the age of 72, his wife, Hazel, shown above with their daughter, Melba, continued to live in the house until her death in 1969. Hazel was the last of the Dunhams to occupy the Kempton home.
(All, Shawn Clements/Dunham House collection.)
Bibliography
Anderson & McCarty’s Tipton County Directory. Tipton, IN: Anderson 81. McCarty,
Publishers, 1900.
Indiana Historical Society Website. “President’s Shortened Western Tour.” Harper’s Weekly, October 4, 1902. http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISGRGGT=/V0002&CISGPTR=2763&CISGBGX=1&REC=1.
Kemp, Gretchen, McKinny ]ulia, and Wimer Ruth. Tipton County: Her Land and People.
Tipton, Ind.: Tipton County Publishing Company, Inc., 1974
Kline, George. An Educational History of Tipton County, Indiana. Tipton, IN:
self-published, 1962.
Pershing, Marvin W. History of Tipton County, Indiana: Her People, Industries and Institutions. Indianapolis, IN: B.P. Bowen 81. Co., Inc, 1914.
----. The Life of General ]ohn Tipton and Early Indiana History. Tipton, IN: Tipton Literary and Suffrage Club, 1900.
“Roosevelt Reception Arrangements Being Made for Royal Welcome-Mayor’s Request.”
Hamilton County Ledger, September 23, 1902.
“The President’s Visit.” Hamilton County Ledger, September 26, 1902, 1.
“This City Once Had Roosevelt as Its Guest.” Kokomo Tribune, ]anuary 7, 1919.
Newspaperarchive.com.
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