Short Biography of Laora M. Rowe

LAORA M. ROWE formerly a druggist and for many years engaged in the real estate and insurance business at LaGrange, and is member of a family that has played an active part in this section of Northeast Indiana for over sisty years.

He was born in Preble County, Ohio, August 15, 1858, a son of Milton and Caroline (Dorsey) Rowe. His father was born in Preble County, Ohio, July 31, 1833, and his mother near Baltimore, Maryland, February 18, 1832. They were married in Preble County, Ohio, October 26, 1854, and after living for some time in Preble County came in the spring of 1861 to LaGrange County, Indiana, and settled on a farm of 120 acres in Eden Township. Later Milton Rowe added forty acres more and was one of the industrious agriculturists of that locality until his death on June 17, 1915. His wife died March 25, 1886. They were the parents of a large family of nine children. Josiah, a farmer of Eden Township, married Nora Benham; Emma who died April 13, 1880, the wife of Mathias Longcor; Laora M., Henry A., who died in his fourth year; Margaret E., wife of August Herrmann of LaGrande, Oregon; Cecilia, who died March 4, 1896, wife of Lorenzo Haller; Charles who married Anna McKebben lives on the McKibben homestead; Mare E., who died October 25, 1899, the wife of John Penrose; and Howard P., who lives at Enterprise, Oregon, and married Cora Pierman.

Laora M. Rowe grew up on the homestead farm in LaGrange County and supplemented his education in the country schools with attendance at the LaGrance County Normal. At the age of nineteen he taught his first term of school and was an educator six years, four years in country schools and two years in the LaGrange schools. He then joined his brother-in-law E. S. Ballou and Dr. Betts in the drug business and continued in that line for about fourteen years until he sold out. During the second administration of President Cleveland he was appointed postmaster of LaGrange. Since then he has been an insurance man, a notary public, a dealer in real estate and now is a member of the LaGrange Bar and these various activities account for the last eighteen years of his life.

Mr. Rowe is a democrat, and four times received appointment by the judge as a member of the board of review. October 12, 1881, he married Miss Ann M. Ballou, sister of O. L. and E. S. Ballou, elsewhere mentioned in this publication. Mr. and Mrs. Rowe had three children, Anna M., dying in infancy; Lura A., a graduate of LaGrange High School, now residing at Lincoln, Nebraska, and Anna C., also a graduate of LaGrange High School and the wife of Walter Spangenberg of Sturgis, Michigan, and the mother of one child, June Pauline.

Source: "History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties" ²⁸³²