McCABE-Charles Matthias - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

Charles Matthias McCabe, practicing lawyer of the city of Covington, Fountain County, Indiana was born on a farm October 3, 1859 near Pine Village, Warren County, Indiana. He is the son of James McCabe and Serena McCabe, nee Vancleave. His father is one of the most distinguished jurists of Indiana have been a member of the supreme court of the state for six years, from January 1893 to January 1899, a position in which his legal attainments were potent in maintaining the high prestige of the court in the state and country at large. HIs mother's parents were Rev. Matthias Mount VanCleave and Nancy Nicholson VanCLeave, who were amongst the early settlers of Montgomery County, Indiana. His maternal grandfather was a devout minister of the Primitive Baptist Church which he served for more than a half century, dying at the advanced age of 87 years, universally loved and lamented. When the subject of this sketch was two years of age, his father, who at that time was a tenant farmer and school teacher, teaching in the winter and farming in the summer, removed to Williamsport, the county seat at Warren County to engage in the practice of law. At this place young McCabe attended the common schools, and having graduated from the high school was prepared to enter college and in the fall of 1875, when 16 years of age, entered Wabash College and became a member of the class of 1880, with his brother, Edwin F. McCabe, taking the regular classical course. He remained in college until about the close of the college year of 1879. At this juncture he accepted an invitation from his father to be present at the trial of an important case in the Warren County Circuit Court, in which is father was associated with ex-Governor Hendricks. To this inviation he responded without asking the permission of the president of the college, for which infraction of the rules of the institution he received a reprimand from that functionary, which so aroused the indignation of the young student that he abandoned further connection with the institution an exhibition of "Young Americanism" for which there is no explanation except in the language of Gen. Grant, "It is the American Way." Having terminated his college course, young McCabe began the study of law, and in June, 1894, after a lapse of 15 years when he had earned, by devotion to his profession an enviable place at the bar, his Almar Mater, as was eminently becoming, overlooked the escapade of her erring child and with credit to herself and justice to her student, graciously and unexpectedly conferred upon him the degree of A.M. By the courtesy of Hon. Thomas F. Davidson, presiding judge of the Warren Circuit Court, Mr. McCabe was permitted to begin the practice of his profession before he was 21 years of age, but he was an earnest student and under the tutelage of his father, who enjoyed an extensive practice, demonstrated the propriety of Judge Davidson's consideration. In 1881 Mr. McCabe located in Covington, Fountain County, where he has ever since resided. Immediately upon takin gup his residence at Covington, he formed a partnership with Mr. Lysander P. Miller, one of the older members of the bar, which continued for two years. He then opened an office on his own account, and, with the exception of five years, when he was associated with Mrs. James Bingham has practiced alone. His practice has taken a wide range, embracing well night the whole field of jurisprudence, requiring assiduous atetntion and arudious labor which it has received. During his practice a number of importnat and notable cases have fallen to his lot. The most ineresting case, perhaps, with which Mr. McCabe has been connected was the Keller murder case, which attracted wide attention and was given special prominence in the press. It aroused intense local feeling and it was with no little difficulty that mob violence was averted. The record showed that Dan Keller and his wife Nannie were near neighbors of a family by the name of Shanks, who had an attractive daughter, a girl of 18, by the name of Clara. The girl was accused by Mrs. Keller with attempting to carry on a flirtation with her husband, and a violet quarrel ensued between the two families, including Maggie Keller, a sister of Dan. Within a few hours after this quarrel Clara disappeared, and her tracks were found leading toward the Keller house. She was not found until her dead body was discovered the next morning in the pool of Wolf Creek falls, in the midst of a dense forest in that vicinity. When taken out of the water, scratches and discolorations were found on her face and neck,w hich were accepted as proof of foul play. The community was so wrought up with excitement that the Kellers were forced to flee from home for safety and seek shelter with kindred. A prosecution was speedily instituted before an examining magistrate and with great difficulty mob violence was averted by binding the defendants over to await the await the action of the grand jury without bail, and they were lodged in jail, where they remained till acquitted six months later by a jury of Vigo County. The evidence was wholly cirumstantial. The theory of the state was that after the quarrel the girl had gone alone to the Keller house where hse had been murdered by Mrs. Keller and that Dan and Maggie had then helped her conceal the body in th ehouse when the dead hours of the night when they carrie dit to the pool and threw it in. Five physicians held an autopsy on the body of the girl and reported that she had not been drowned but had come to her death by violence before her body reached the water. Many interesting questions of medical jurisprudence were involved, and by means of a thorough preparation of these the defense was able to completely overthrow the testimony of the five physicians, on which the state's case wholly depended. So completely was this done that the defendants introduced no testimony whatever, having secured, upon cross examination, al that was needful to prove the innocence of the accused. It was a case in which ws disclosed the fact that the successful lawyer must be encylopedian in his scholastic attainments, since in an extended practice the sciences and philosphies of all the schools are made to play conspicuous roles and what is styled expert testimony is often little more than word jugglery or ignorance. Mr. McCabe has been a Democrat all his life, but has never sought a political office. He is a member of the IORM and KP Lodges and in Masonry has taken the Knight Templar and Scottish Rite degrees. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church of Covington in which he is a Trustee and elder. On August 16, 1881, Mr. McCabe was married to Anna Harding, daughter of Charles N. and Miriam Dunn Harding at Crawfordsville, Ind. Five children have been born to them: Vera, aged 16; Louise aged 13; Ruth aged 11; Helen aged 6 and Anna aged 3 years, all of whom are living and with the exception of the youngest, all attending the Covington City schools, the oldest being a member of the high school class of 1899.