Elias D. Cain, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Elias D. Cain
ELIAS D. CAIN. The subject of this genealogical review, a native born son of old Porter county, Indiana, and one of the stable citizens of Washington township, is so well known by all that he needs no special introduction to the readers of the history of Porter county. He is the most efficient trustee of Washington township (one of the best townships in the county) and was born July 19, 1868. He is the eldest of six children, three sons and three daughters, born to Leonard and Alberta (McHenry) Cain. All of the children are yet alive. Mr. Cain is the eldest; Edward, a resident of East Chicago, is engaged with a contractor and is married; Delbert, a resident of Porter township, Porter county, is an agriculturist and married; Ella, a resident of Morgan township, on the old homstead, was educated in the common schools and is a member of the Christian church; Katherine is the wife of Cyrus Schults and a resident of the state of Tennessee, where her husband is engaged in agriculture; Estella, the youngest, resides at home and is a member of the Christian church. The father was a native of Kosciusko county, Indiana, and was a resident of Porter county. He was engaged in agriculture, was a soldier in the Civil war, as was also his brother William, and he was a prisoner in Andersonville. Father Cain served his time as a soldier and was honorably discharged. He was an old-line Whig and voted for General Fremont, the first Republican nominee of the Republican party, also a great admirer of the great and good Lincoln. He and his wife were members of the Christian church. Mother Cain was a native of Canada. She came with her parents to the United States when she was a little maiden, and to Porter county, or Morgan Prairie in Morgan township. She traced her lineage to "Bonnie Scotland." She was educated in the primitive schools of the county. She was a kind and affectionate mother who reared her children to honest and industrious lives and they will ever treasure her righteous and Christian teachings. She was a Christian mother and her counsel and advice was ever given her husband in life's journey. She departed this life April 26, 1909.
Mr. Cain, the subject of this sketch, was reared as a farmer's boy and grew up in the teachings of the agriculturist. He was educated in the public schools and passed through one year at high school. He earned the money to pay for his own schooling, so that he is what is called a self-educated man. He wedded Miss Clara Beach, a scion of one of the old families of the county. They were married February 8, 1891, and three children, one son and two daughters, have graced this union. Two daughters are living. The elder, Grace B., received her diploma from the public schools in the class of 1907, and she took one year's training in the high schools of Valparaiso, Indiana; she has also taken musical instruction. The second daughter, Minnie O., graduated in the class of 1909 in the public schools of Washington township. Mr. and Mrs. Cain have given their daughters good educations to fit them for future welfare.
They have a beautiful home with all the modern conveniences, which is a center of peace and contentment. Mrs. Cain was born in Porter county, Indiana, February 5, 1865, and is the youngest of a family of five children, two sons and three daughters, born to Harmon and Olive (Crain) Beach; there are only two of the family now living. Mary is the wife of August Mitzner, a resident of Valparaiso, Indiana, and a farmer. Mrs. Cain is next. Her father was a native of the little New England state of Connecticut, but was reared in Canada. He was born May 8, 1812, and died in August, 1895. He was an agriculturist, came to Porter county, Indiana, in 1837, and here he settled and was a resident until his death. He came to Indiana when the red men of the forest were plentiful and there was an abundance of wild game, such as deer and wild turkeys. Father Beach was a very successful man in his business affairs and accumulated almost a thousand acres of land in his life time in Porter county. Mr. and Mrs. Cain reside on part of the old homestead. There have been made only three changes in the deeds of the land since it was obtained from the government. There is an old Indian burying ground on the farm. Mr. Beach came to Porter county when it was a part of Lake county and the lovely city of Valparaiso, which now has a population of eight thousand, had only a few straggling houses. Mother Beach was born in New York, in 1830, and died in June, 1890. Both father and mother Beach are resting in the old Lutheran cemetery, where beautiful stones mark their last resting place.
Mrs. Cain was educated in the public schools of her native county. When Mr. and Mrs. Cain began married life it was on their present estate. In 1910 they erected one of the most beautiful modern houses in the township. It is beautifully finished in polished hard wood and is so nicely arranged that the whole lower floor can be thrown open for receptions and family gatherings. It is modern in detail and lighted by electricity or the acetylene gas. Their estate comprises two hundred and thirty-eight acres of fine land, lying only three miles east of the city of Valparaiso on the La Porte stone road, and it is known as "The Linden Grove Stock Farm."
Mr. Cain in years past was an extensive breeder of Galloway cattle and he is a gentleman who takes great pride in fine stock, such as cattle and hogs, and his beautiful and valuable farm is admirably adapted to the raising of stock. He is an up-to-date farmer in detail, and even pumps the water for the residence and his stock with a gasolene engine. He is a Republican and cast his first presidential vote for Benjamin Harrison. He has supported each Republican candidate since. He has been a delegate to the Porter county conventions at divers times to represent his people. It was in 1908 that he was elected trustee of the best township in the county (Washington), and he takes a just pride in the progress of his township, especially the public schools. In 1911 he erected the beautiful and modern "Malone" school building, at a cost of $7,895, with furnace heat and all the modern equipments of the twentieth century public schools. It has two teachers, Elmer Perry and Miss Mary Trudelle. This school gives two years of high school work. This country building and school is the pride of the county, and this fact reflects great credit on Mr. Cain. He has six schools in the township, all in good condition, well graded and with efficient instructors. Fraternally he is a member of the I. O. O. F., Lodge No. 56, known as the " Chequeuk" Lodge of Valparaiso, Indiana. He is a member of the Christian church at Morgan Prairie, Morgan township.
In the fall of 1911 he and his wife attended the State Fair of Wisconsin, as he is a great lover of good stock, and this was a pleasant visit. They are scions of old and respected families, are held in the highest esteem by their many friends and neighbors and we are pleased to present this text for the History of Porter County.
Source: Lewis Publishing Company. 1912. History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. 881 p.
Page(s) in Source: 618-620
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook