| Notes |
- Noah Quinby Drollinger, aged 79, died Wednesday afternoon at 5 o'clock in the home of his daughter, Mrs. Alexis C. Rupel, rural route No. 1, Prairie avenue road, Greene township, of complications following an illness of several months. He was born 16 April 1855, in Wills township, LaPorte county, and came to live with his daughter 14 years ago following the death of his wife, the former Sarah E. Custer, whom he married in Buchanan, Michigan 19 October 1879. He was a farmer. He was one of 13 children born of Gabriel and Mary E. Drollinger, pioneer residents of Wills township. One brother, George W. Drollinger of Mill Creek, Ind survives with the daughter, Mrs. Rupel, 10 grandchildren and 23 neices and nephews. The body will lie in the Hay mortuary this evening and Friday morning. Then it will be taken to the residence where it may be viewed until the hour of the funeral which will be held in the Sauktown church, LaPorte county, Saturday morning at 10 o'clock, central standard time. Rev. Robert C. Ellsworth, pastor of Grace Methodist Episcopal church will officate and burial will be in Sauktown cemetery. Terre Coup lodge No. 204 F. & A.M. of which Mr. Drollinger was a member, will conduct services at the grave.
There is some uncertainly as to whether Noah's name was Quimby or Quinby because it appears both ways in various records. Family members seemed to refer to him as "Quin" and "N. Quinby" is engraved on his tombstone, so presumably that is the correct version. Instead of being married in LaPorte County as was usual for this family, Quin and Sarah were married in Berrien County, Michigan, 19 October 1879. Sarah at 30 was five years older than Quin and knowing how people gossip, they may have preferred to keep that information to themselves. They returned from that 30 mile trip to start married life living with his parents who were used to a crowded household. Quin was no doubt helping to run the family farm while he and Sarah awaited the birth of their first child. Mary Elizabeth's namesake arrived the following September and grew up with lots of cousins near her age and near her residence. She quickly acquired the nickname "Mamie" to distinguish her from her grandmother.
Quin and Sarah continued to live with Gabriel and Mary Elizabeth until 1885 when the farm across the road became available. Gabriel and Mary Elizabeth had been married 50 years, their last child had married, and they may have longed for a quieter household. Quin and Sarah had two lively children and having them across the road rather than underfoot was probably appealing. Gabriel joined Quin in purchasing it for $6,000. Although Quin purchased more land, particularly in conjunction with his brother Jared, they continued to live on this farm and in 1921 daughter Mary Elizabeth Rupel was shown as the owner.
Quin and Sarah experienced one of the worst tragedies that can befall parents, that of losing a child. Their third child Edna died when she was only three. A family photograph that must have been taken within a year of her death, pictures a charming little girl with a striking resemblance to a tintype of her mother as a young girl. All in the family look very serious except for Quin who has just the hint of a smile and looks perfectly relaxed, unaware of the difficult times ahead. No record or family story tells about her cause of death nor of the family's recovery from this blow. However, ten years later the loss of their only son shocked the entire community and was front page news throughout Indiana.
Gabriel, a promising student at Purdue University, was aboard the ill-fated Purdue special train, Saturday, 31 October 1903, as it barreled along the Big Four tracks carrying the Purdue pigskin players to their annual contest with Indiana University. Two hours into the trip the big locomotive smacked headlong into a cut of cars from a gravel pit in Indianapolis. The horrific crash killed sixteen and injured forty. Nearly all the dead were Purdue football players or students along to cheer the team. Gabriel was a substitute on the team and it was reported that his parents had not been in favor of his playing football. Whether they wanted him to play or not was immaterial to their grief. "The tragic death of the LaPorte county lad brought such poignant sorrow to the parents of the young man that Saturday night it was feared death would come to the mother. She was completely prostrated at her home in Wills township and her condition although today [Monday, the day of the funeral] reported to be considerably better, still excites serious apprehensions."
Reading the lurid details in the newspaper 100 years later stabs the heart. How could the mother and father cope when they read the descriptions of their son's fatal injuries? First dispatches reported that Gabriel was beheaded. Follow up reporting was not more reassuring. "The left side of his head was cut and crushed and the left arm was cut off at the shoulder. On the right cheek was a cut six inches long. The lad also suffered internal injuries and undoubtedly was killed instantly. The body was found under the wreckage of the first coach and was removed with difficulty, owning to the danger of debris falling over." What parent could read this without empathy for the parents of the child? Every mother and father who ever lost a child knows that Sarah and Quin mourned Gabriel for the rest of their lives. His grave in Sauktown Cemetery was less than half a mile from their house. How many times Sarah must have walked there and wept for her two children in the seven years before her death on 23 May 1920 after a paralysis of five days. Her obituary said she was a member of the Ancient Order of Gleaners. This fraternal society similar to many of the period was organized as a social club and to provide insurance (usually accident or life) for its members, sort of an early group insurance plan. Sarah's age was disclosed in her obituary, so if it ever had been a secret, it was no longer.
Some time after Sarah's death, Quin went to live with his daughter Mamie and her husband Alexis Rupel. Mamie's son Maurice wrote lovingly of his days when Grandfather Drollinger, "to me a 'perfect' grandfather," lived with them. Maurice as the youngest in a family of 12 children followed his grandfather around and remembered taking afternoon naps in his lap. He said, "In fact, we were such a large family and had to double-up bed space so he and I shared a bed for several years. I used to imitate his walking and to this day, I have a tendency to walk with a toe-out pattern as he did." (A 1929 photograph depicts Quin in a toe-out stance.) Although Grandfather Drollinger still raised vegetables and operated the retail gas station on the farm, he wasn't too spry. Maurice and his brothers helped him tie his shoes because it was hard for him to bend over. Maurice remembered the time his brother was tying Grandfather's shoes and Grandfather sneezed so hard his upper plate sailed out of his mouth. That made quite an impression on the young boys.
Quin died a few months after his 79th birthday and Maurice lost his dearest friend. "Grandfather Drollinger's death is etched in my mind as the first real sadness I knew. Until that time I was a happy child, but his passing left a void in my life until my own children came along in such numbers to fill the void in my life." Quin died of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, but the death certificate noted he also had epilepsy. Quin rests next to his wife and their children Gabriel and Edna in the Sauktown Cemetery, LaPorte County, Indiana.
Kay Germain Ingalls 2003
1880 United States Federal Census
Name: Vuinly Drollinger
[Quinby Drollinger]
Age: 25
Birth Date: Abt 1855
Birthplace: Indiana
Home in 1880: Wills, La Porte, Indiana, USA
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Son
Marital Status: Married
Father's Name: Gabriel Droliner
Father's Birthplace: North Carolina
Mother's Name: Mary Drolliner
Mother's Birthplace: New York
Occupation: Farmer
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship
Gabriel Droliner 69 Self (Head)
Mary Drolliner 63 Wife
Vuinly Drollinger 25 Son
Sarah E. Drollinger 30 Daughter
Schuyler Drollinger 23 Son
George Drollinger 21 Son
1900 United States Federal Census
Name: Qumby Drollinger
[Noah Quinby Drollinger]
Age: 45
Birth Date: Apr 1855
Birthplace: Indiana, USA
Home in 1900: Wills, La Porte, Indiana
House Number: 8
Sheet Number: 4
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 200
Family Number: 203
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Sarah C Drollinger
Marriage Year: 1880
Years Married: 20
Father's Birthplace: North Carolina, USA
Mother's Birthplace: New York, USA
Occupation: Framer
Months Not Employed: 0
Can Read: Yes
Can Write: Yes
Can Speak English: Yes
House Owned or Rented: Own
Home Free or Mortgaged: F
Farm or House: F
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship
Qumby Drollinger 45 Head
Sarah C Drollinger 49 Wife
Mary E Drollinger 19 Daughter
Gabrile S Drollinger 17 Son
1910 United States Federal Census
Name: Quinby M Drullinger
[Quinley M Drollinger]
[Noah Quinby Drollinger]
Age in 1910: 55
Birth Date: 1855
[1855]
Birthplace: Indiana
Home in 1910: Wills, La Porte, Indiana, USA
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Sarah E Drullinger
Father's Birthplace: North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace: New York
Native Tongue: English
Occupation: Farmer
Industry: Farm
Employer, Employee or Other: Employer
Home Owned or Rented: Own
Home Free or Mortgaged: Free
Farm or House: Farm
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Years Married: 30
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship
Quinby M Drullinger 55 Head
Sarah E Drullinger 60 Wife
Fred Smith 17 Hired Man
1920 United States Federal Census
Name: Quinby Drollinger
[Ohinby Drollinger]
[Cindy Deherrera]
[Noah Quinby Drollinger]
Age: 64
Birth Year: abt 1856
Birthplace: Indiana
Home in 1920: Wills, La Porte, Indiana
Street: No Name
House Number: Farm
Residence Date: 1920
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Sarah E Drollinger
Father's Birthplace: North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace: New York
Able to Speak English: Yes
Occupation: Farmer
Industry: General farm
Employment Field: Own Account
Home Owned or Rented: Owned
Home Free or Mortgaged: Free
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship
Quinby Drollinger 64 Head
Sarah E Drollinger 70 Wife
1930 United States Federal Census
Name: Quinby Drollinger
Birth Year: abt 1855
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age in 1930: 75
Birthplace: Indiana
Marital Status: Widowed
Relation to Head of House: Father-in-law
Home in 1930: Greene, St Joseph, Indiana, USA
Map of Home: Greene, St Joseph, Indiana
Street Address: Liberty Highway or State Road
Dwelling Number: 171
Family Number: 173
Age at First Marriage: 24
Attended School: No
Able to Read and Write: Yes
Father's Birthplace: North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace: Connecticut
Able to Speak English: Yes
Occupation: Filling S. Attendant
Industry: Filling Maker
Class of Worker: Working on own account
Employment: Yes
Household Members Age Relationship
Alex C Rupel 53 Head
Mary E Rupel 49 Wife
Robert A Rupel 21 Son
Lawrence Q Rupel 17 Son
Elizabeth C Rupel 16 Daughter
James A Rupel 14 Son
Martha M Rupel 10 Daughter
Edmund D Rupel 8 Son
Theadore J Rupel 6 Son
Marrice U Rupel 4 Son
Osborn D Rupel 85 Father
Quinby Drollinger 75 Father-in-law
|
1855 - 1934 (79 years)
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