Randolph  County,  Indiana

Herbert  M. Kabel


            Herbert M. Kabel, of Winchester, was born in Randolph county, September 27, 1880, and is the son of  Frederick and Mary Florence (Mercer) Kabel. He was educated at Normal School at Muncie and at the Central Normal College. He thereupon adopted the profession of teacher, for which he had patiently and thoroughly equipped himself. This profession he followed for thirteen years and made a reputation in educational circles to be envied by even the most successful. To large natural capacity he added the most careful and efficient training, and thus became in the highest sense of the word a scientific instructor. It is to the ability and labor of such teachers as Mr. Kabel that the schools of Indiana owe their enviable reputation. He mastered the principles and details of his profession, and his achievements in the mental training of his pupils is evidence of his mastery.
            The present occupation of Mr. Kabel is that of cabinet maker, which he pursues quite as ardently and successfully as he did that of instructor. In this line he is an extensive manufacturer and is one of the most reliable and enterprising in the state. Mr. Kabel has five sisters and had one brother, who died in his youth. Mary Florence of Wayne county is the wife of Clyde Miller, a farmer. They have one child. A former husband was Bruce Keever, also a farmer, and one child was the result of this union. Iva B., of Randolph county, married Percy G. Stump, a farmer, and has two children. Philip Ray, the only brother, died at the age of sixteen. Clara married Henry Johnson, now dead, and of this marriage there was no issue. Ella and Elfie are single.
            Mr. Kabel's ancestry is historic, and reaches back to association with the great Napoleon. That is something worth remembering, for surely no other man ever so revolutionized the world and created consternation in the hearts of kings as did Napoleon. The father of Mr. Kabel was a Randolph county farmer. His grandfather was from Frankfort, Germany. He was a tailor for a number of years, then joined the French army and came to the United States from France. His great grandfather furnished foodstuffs for the army of Napoleon. That was something of a regular occupation for the men who engaged in it, for Napoleon was always recruiting his ranks. Mr. Kabel had the distinction of seeing the Corsican in his amicable and also his frowning moods, and his reminiscences of the world's greatest strategist had the lively interest of recitals by an eyewitness. The mother of Herbert M. Kabel was born in Randolph county and survives at the age of fifty-four. His father is living at the age of sixty. His grandmother came to Indiana from Ohio and was ninety-six at the time of her death.
            September 4,1901, Mr. Kabel married Alma Gwin of Randolph county. She is one of three children and her mother still survives. Roger Harold, born July 10, 1902, and Virginia Florence, born September 7, 1908, are the children of Mr. and Mrs. Kabel, and two sprightlier, healthier and happier young Hoosiers would be difficult to find. Each is a reigning sensation in the home, and neither father nor mother plays a favorite. They look upon the children as the sunbeams of the household and cultivate their association as an inspiration to love and cheerfulness. Ronald, the youngest child, died in infancy.
            In the matter of church affiliation, Mr. Kabel is a Methodist and in politics a Republican. He takes a broad and profound view of politics and indorses the policy of his party for what he esteems its achievements for half a century in the promotion of popular government. He has the distinction of being the first man in Indiana to receive a certificate for manual training. And now when manual instruction has become so popular and familiar, this is quite a remarkable distinction.
Past and Present of Randolph County, Indiana, 1914.
Contributed by Gina Richardson

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