HOUCK, James E. - Putnam

The passing away of James Edgar Houck, late Tuesday afternoon at his home west of Hamricks removes one of the few remaining men of Fountain County who were born in a lot cabin.  He came into a rugged, toil-ridden world Sept 5, 1855, the son of David and Rachel Talley Houck. Their log cabin home was located in Madison Township, a mile and a half east of Vivalia.  In one of the number of most enjoyable conversations which a Daily Banner writer had with Mr. Houck in recent years – this particular one occurring early in September 1937 – Mr. Houck drew a graphic word-picture of that little log home in which he spent the first few years of his life. “There was one big room with a  big fireplace at one end, where mother did most of her cooking. There was only one window, a little one at one end of the room.  I remember mother used a Dutch oven at the fire place, that had a cracked lid and ashes sifted down through the crack into the oven onto whatever she was cooking in it, so that in after years I never could quite relish biscuits and bread that didn’t have some ashes backed into them. There was a cook stove but it stood in an addition to the cabin and wasn’t used as much as the fireplace.”

Mr. Houck also was a McGuffey Reader pupil, going through the third one of that famous old series and he also got his arithmetic from the Ray’s series and his other “schooling” was gained from other texts that are now not used but are looked back upon as thoroughly  good ones.  These included McGuffey’s speller, and Goodrich’s History.  Mr. Houck had five brothers and one sister. The latter became the wife of Lenox Boone.  One brother died in infancy. Those who survived the pioneer age were Jonathan, Henry, Oliver and William.  David Houck took his family down into Washington Twp in 1867, on the day that Edgar Houck was 12 years old. The latter married Miss Flora Landes. They moved onto the place on which both of them died – Mrs. Houck some years ago.  It included the former John Gilmore farm.  Surviving Mr. Houck are the son, David W. Houck; one grandson James Houck; a brother, ON Houck of Washington DC and a stepsister, Mrs. Anna Lyon of Greencastle.  Mr. Houck was county commissioner two terms from 1908-1914 inclusive.  He served on the board with Witt Sutherlin and on the occasion of The Daily Banner writer’s visit with Mr. Houck. Mentioned above, he found Mr. Sutherlin there also, and the two gentlemen had been having a pleasing time recalling incidents of the days during which they were so closely associated.  At the time of that visit, Mr. Houck was yet suffering from an attack of undulant fever and it is thought he never entirely recovered from its dee[-seated effects.  Mr. Houck was one of the best sources of original history of Putnam County.  He lived through the formative period of the county, was a close contact with some of the stirring happenings in Putnam County during the Civil War days.  Services for Mr. Houck will be held at the Rector Funeral Home in Greencastle, Thursday afternoon at 2 o’clock, conducted by the Rev. John Tennant, pastor of the Gobin Memorial Church of which Mr. Houck was a member. Interment will be in the Forest Hill Abbey.  Mr. Houck formerly was a member of the Mt. Olive ME Church until it passed out of existence.