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Author: WellsVolunteer
Surnames: ROE, THOMAS, RENBARGER, YOUNG
Classification: biography
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Message Board Post:
Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana, 1903. pp. 565-567.
JOHN F. ROE.
The youth who remains close to the parental roof will not see as much of the world or its
people as will he who roams about; but it is safe to predict that at the end of a given
period gold pieces will be jingling in the pockets of the first when pennies will not be
sufficiently numerous in the pockets of the second to make a noise. This thought is very
forcibly expressed in the saying, which is almost of sufficient antiquity to be referred
to as a proverb, "A rolling stone gathers no moss." There are, however,
exceptions to all rules and one of the exceptions to the above is J. F. Roe, of Union
township, Wells county, the subject of this sketch. He spent ten years of his early
manhood at various points in the great west, employed in various positions, contracted no
very bad habits and returned to the county of his nativity, with money in his pocket. He
might have had a good deal more money if he had never traveled, but certainly he would not
be possessed of a tittle of the !
information that is his regarding this wonderful country in which we live and the
remarkable people who inhabit it.
John F. Roe, familiarly called Frank, is a son of Isaac and Catherine (Thomas) Roe and was
born in Union township, Wells county, Indiana, July 8, 1859. His father was a native of
Ohio, where he grew to manhood. In 1826 he came to Indiana and settled on land near where
the city of Indianapolis now stands. He remained there three years, then in disgust
returned to Ohio. Soon afterward the paternal grandfather of the subject decided to look
over Indiana for himself. He rode on horseback from his home in Ohio to Randolph county,
Indiana, a distance of one hundred and thirty miles, selected a tract of eighty acres of
land, then went to the land office at Fort Wayne, made the official arrangement regarding
his entry and returned to his home in Ohio. Within a very short time the family had packed
up and were on their way overland in a big wagon to their new home. While the father was
building his cabin the family camped on the ground where the town of Ridgeville now
stands.
In 1846 Isaac Roe was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Renbarger and a little later they
moved to Union township, Wells county, where he entered a quarter section of government
land in section 17. He built a home, the typical log cabin of that period and applied
himself with zeal and energy to the clearing and improvement of his land. By the end of
the first year his young wife died, leaving his home desolate. After remaining a widower
for more than ten years, he was for a second time united in marriage. On this occasion his
bride was Miss Catharine Thomas, and one child, J. F. Roe, the subject of this sketch, was
born to this union. The young mother was permitted to care for her little son but one
year, when death claimed her. The maternal grandmother, Mrs. Thomas, then took the boy and
reared him until he was nine years old when he was taken by an uncle, Benjamin Roe, at
Ridgeville, Randolph county, which remained his home until he was sixteen years of age.
During his resi!
dence in Ridgeville he attended the public schools and made rapid progress in his
studies. He especially excelled in penmanship and mathematics, which secured for him a
position in one of the local mercantile establishments, which he held for three years. A
desire to see more of the world then took possession of him and he went west, where he
remained for ten years, engaged in different kinds of employment at various points. He
worked in an express office for a time, then in a hardware store, finally making the trip
to California, where he worked on the Southern Pacific Railroad. Later he took a position
for the Lake Hemett Land and Water Company, of Lakeside county, California. It was a very
responsible position and he held it for a number of years. Like the lamb that had wandered
from the fold, he at last yearned to come home, and arrived in Wells county in April,
1889.
In November of the following year, 1890, Mr. Roe was united in marriage to Miss Della
Young, a daughter of Samuel and Christina Young, of Allen county, Indiana, who had moved
to Wells county in 1876 and settled on a farm in Union township. She was born in 1868, and
was a young lady of intelligence, refinement and fair education. Their married life of
twelve years has been most happy, although no children have come to bless their union. His
farm of one hundred and sixty acres lies three and one-half miles north of Markle and is
one of the most desirable farms in the township, consisting of a tract entered and
improved by his father and has never been transferred by deed. In politics he confesses to
being a Democrat, but he is never a partisan. Like all men who have traveled much, he has
broad and liberal views on all questions which arise, whether religious, political or
social. While rather steadfast in his views on questions to which he has given
consideration, he always ex!
hibits a hearty respect for the opinions of others. Having few domestic cares, he and his
wife employ their leisure time in the perusal of good books, with the result that it would
be difficult to find a household every member of which is as well informed on nearly every
subject and as well versed on current questions and the topics of the day. They are a
model couple, loving and respecting each other and warmly admired by their neighbors and
friends.
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