This 50 foot tall grey stone obelisk for Moses Fowler, is the tallest at Spring Vale Cemetery, in Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana.
From the Moses Fowler, Find A Grave Memorial (
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MOSES FOWLER
1815-1889
"Moses Fowler was born on a farm near Circleville, Ohio, April 3, 1815. His father was a veteran of the Revolution and a Virginian by birth. Moses remained on the farm until 16, then learned the trade of a tanner. Two years at this and he accepted a clerkship in a mercantile store at Adelphia.
In 1839 he came to this city with John Purdue and they formed a partnership in the dry goods business. After five years he engaged in the same business alone. His next business venture was to become a partner with W. F. Reynolds and Robert Stockwell in the wholesale grocery trade. This partnership ended his mercantile pursuits.
His banking career began with the organization of the old State Bank here, of which he was made president. Its business was closed out in 1865 and he then founded the National State bank. In 1885 the charter of this bank expired and the Fowler National bank was organized. His business life was very successful and he accumulated a fortune of several million dollars. He has large holding of bonds, stocks and securities and has an immense landed estate, his realty in Benton County alone being worth almost a million. As a financier he had no peer in Lafayette.
In 1844, Mr. Fowler was married to Miss Eliza Hawkins, a sister of Mrs. Adams Earl, and Mrs. Dr. Vanderbilt, and who survives him. The result of this marriage was three children--Mrs. Fred S. Chase, since deceased; Mrs. Charles H. Duhme, of Cincinnati; and Mr. James M. Fowler, of this city.
Mr. Fowler was a Republican in politics and served one term in the city council. Beyond that he did not seek political preferment. He was connected with the Second Presbyterian church and was one of the trustees of Wabash College. He was also a member of the Lincoln club.
Mr.Fowler's name needs no mention to perpetuate it. The thriving little city in Benton County, the prosperous national bank of this city and the costly granite shaft in Springvale Cemetery will do that much more thoroughly than the press.
There were many things about Mr. Fowler's character to admire and he had many friends not only here but the country over. In point of wealth and influence he was the most important personage in the city and his death will be greatly felt. The funeral arrangements will be made today.
Source: Obituary, Lafayette Morning Journal, August 21, 1889."
Moses Fowler on Find A Grave (
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Eliza Fowler on Find A Grave (
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Spring Vale Cemetery, the largest local cemetery, is located by the side of State Road 25 North, to the north of Lafayette, Indiana, and was established in 1868.
In the 1860's, with Greenbush cemetery filling up, there was a desperate need for a new city cemetery, in Lafayette. "Cemeteries are a business venture and someone has to step forward," L.A. Clugh, genealogist with the Tippecanoe County Historical Association. says. John Purdue stepped forward to help establish another park-like cemetery, Spring Vale, on Indiana 25, even though he would eventually be buried on Purdue's Memorial Mall.
Spring Vale, which opened in 1869, still has plots available. Following a current trend, it also boasts a special site for green burials. Among the movers and shakers buried there is Moses Fowler, who came to Lafayette with John Purdue and became a leading businessman, banker and a land baron in Benton County. Special tracks had to be laid in Spring Vale to deliver his monument, Clugh says, because it was so huge. (
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Spring Vale Cemetery
2580 State Road 25 North
Lafayette, IN
47905
765-742-7028
According to Find A Grave (
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Lafayette is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located 63 miles northwest of Indianapolis and 105 miles (169 km) southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, which contributes significantly to both communities. Together, Lafayette and West Lafayette form the core of the Lafayette, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2010 United States Census, the population of Lafayette was 67,140, roughly a 19% increase from 56,397 in 2000.
The town of Lafayette was platted in May 1825 by William Digby, a trader. It was designated as the county seat of the newly formed Tippecanoe County the following year. Like many frontier towns, Lafayette was named for General Lafayette, a French soldier who significantly aided George Washington's Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. (
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Fairfield Township is one of thirteen townships in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States. It includes part of the City of Lafayette (north three-quarters). As of the 2010 census, its population was 51,113. The township contains ten cemeteries: Davis, Greenbush, Isley, Lafayette City Burial Grounds, Rest Haven Memorial Park, Sons of Abraham, Spring Vale, Saint Boniface, Saint Joseph's, Saint Marys and Temple Israel. (
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Tippecanoe County is a county located in the northwest quadrant of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 172,780. The county seat is Lafayette. It was created in 1826 from Wabash County. Tippecanoe County was formed March 1, 1826, and named for the anglicization of "Kethtippecanoogi", a Miami term meaning "place of the succor fish people." (Kriebel, Robert C. - Tippecanoe at 2000: A Hoosier County Recalls Its Past). The county is best known for Purdue University, the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe, and the Tippecanoe County Courthouse, a structure built in 1881 and included in the National Register of Historic Places. (
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