BOOE-Elvis Scott - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

The prominence of Elvis Scott Booe, the widely known and popular president of the Bank of Kingman, Indiana is such that he is regarded as one of Fountain County's leading business men and most influential financiers, having for several decades taken a prominent part in the upbuilding of the locality in a material and civic way, ever wielding a wide and potent influence for the general good of the same, and ever showing by his fealty to high principles that he merits the high esteem in which he is universally held. He is a man of keen business discernment, wise foresight and seldom makes a mistake. He has been the principal motive force behind the strong, conservative and popular insitution of which he is the head, and at the smae time is a plain, straightforward, unassuming gentleman whom it is a pleasure to meet. Mr. Booe was born in Fountain County, Indiana Oct 2, 1853. He is a son of Lorenzo Dow Booe and Eleanor Moffatt Booe, natives of NC and Tenn, respectively, each representing fine old Southern families. These parents grew up in the South, were educated and married there and they devoted their lives to general agricultural pursuits. They came to Fountain County Indiana as early as 1827 and here became well known among the pioneers. The paternal grandfather, Joseph Booe, was one of the prominent men of the early period of the county's history. Many of his sterling traits seem to have descended to his son, Lorenzo Dow and thence to the subject, Elvis S. Booe. The father of the subject settled on Scott's Prairie, where he developed an excellent farm and spent the rest of his life, successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising. HIs death occurred on his home place in April 1878 at age 75. His widow survived a number of years, passing away in 1884, age 79. They were the parents of the following children: James M. is a retired farmer of Veedersburg; Josephine died in 1899 at age 67; Thomas M. is a practicing physician at Loda, Illinois; John A. is a druggist at Crawfordsville, indiana; Simpson M. died in 1890; Elvis Scott, subject of this sketch, the youngest of the children. The father of the above named children was active in the affairs of the Democratic party, and for years he was a deacon in the Christian Church. Elvis S. Booe grew to manhood on the home farm and there he made himself generally useful during the summer months. He received his primary education in the common schools, then spent two years in Howard College, Kokomo, Indiana and two years at the old Northwestern University at Indianapolis, also two years at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, this state, making an excellent record in all these institutions and he was graduated from the last with the class of 1877. He then read law one year, but not finding the calling espoused by Blackstone & Kent entirely to his liking he returned home and managed the farm, remaining there until the death of his mother and gaining a secure foothold as an agriculturist. In May 1900 he came to Kingman and, with the exception of the year 1910, when he was a member of the state board of accounts, he has been engaged in the banking business, being at this writing president of the Bank of Kingman whose large success has been due principally to his able management. He is also interested in the grain business, and he has been very successful in a business way. Mr. Booe was married Nov 5, 1888, to ida Philpott, a lady of many estimable characteristics and daughter of Harris Philpott, a highly esteemed old family of Scott's Prarie. This union has been blessed by the birth of one daughter, Genevieve, now a student at the Univeristy of Illinois, where she is making a fine record. Mr. Booe is a member and liberal supporter of the Christian Church and he belongs to the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Politically, he is a Democrat, and has long been active and influential in the ranks. He was a member of the town board of Kingman for six years, and in 1885 was elected to the state legislature, serving one term in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself and to the eminent satisfaction of his constituents and to the people in general.