Those Places Thursday: L. P. Newby's Queen Anne

Ancestral home of Leonidas P. Newby, Knightstown, Indiana

This is the ancestral home of my maternal great, great granduncle, Leonidas Perry Newby. It is located on west Main Street in the wonderfully quaint town of Knightstown, Indiana. According to the book "Henry County Interim Report - Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory", this home is an "Italianate/Queen Anne" style and was built in 1882. 

Leonidas's children, Floyd and Florence "Floss", were both born in the late 1870s and they grew up in this home. They both married and had families, but by the 1930 census, nearly the entire family of Leonidas was again living in this home. His wife, his son Floyd and Floyd's wife and one of their two boys, and his daughter, Floss Cooper, now divorced, were all living under his roof. 

In the 1940 census there were only three family members living there, Leonidas - age 85, his wife Mary - age 82, and their daughter, Floss Cooper - age 65. (Floss had one daughter, Mary E., with husband Paul Marsh Cooper, before they divorced, and Mary was married in April of 1930 and living in LaPort, Indiana.)

The current owner of this home is doing research on the house itself, and on the family of Leonidas. She contacted me earlier this week, after finding my blog and the various articles on the Newby family. I think we have both enjoyed the ensuing correspondence.

My mother remembered this home of her great granduncle but didn't remember if she had ever actually been in it. She was much more familiar with L. P.'s son Floyd. Floyd was the family attorney and was employed at different times to take care of family legal matters such as wills and deeds.

There's a fairly recent photo of this home at this link:  http://www.oldluresrock.com/KHS57/KHSBlog/houses/#105WM, 

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