Herman O. Makey, Orphan Train Rider

Herman O. Makey (1885 - 1979):

Herman O Makey was sent to Edgar, Illinois according to a letter written by Miss Sommerville in 1897, with whom he lived. He became a part of the Sommerville household, a family of an unmarried brother, James Sommerville and his three unmarried sisters. James was a farmer and his task was to teach Herman farming. His entry of Rome Beauty apples and tomatoes won Herman 2nd prize for both at the Illinois State Fair in 1904. James Sommerville won the first prize for the apple category. (Transactions of the Dept of Agriculture of the St. of Illinois, 1904). Herman wrote a letter to the asylum in 1905, in which he related that he had placed 2nd in his class in the common school (grade school) but that he was not able to continue his education at that time. Instead, he travelled to Indianapolis on his own and worked while attending business college. Other records prove that he went on to university, probably paying his way by working as a bookkeeper as he wrote in 1905. (letter below.)

Herman went to school and even completed three years at DePauw University (1940 census and graduation list of June 1914). He worked for a time as an office manager for a wholesale grocery (1920 census and featured article) but later became a teacher (1930 & 1940 censuses). He married Daisy Stauch in 1915 and had five children with her: Herman, Miller, Thomas, Sarah & Clara.

At the Richmond High School in Indiana, Herman coached the debate team. He wrote a book: "Wendell Wilkie of Elwood" and wrote articles for educational journals about the teaching of reading. He wrote fiction for the Richmond Item. The article to the right is from the Richmond Palladium, May 24, 1923.