MILITARY HISTORY IN PAULDING COUNTY
By: Mark Holtsberry
Clarence Joseph Tibbet was born December 31, 1894, in New Haven, the son of Barney Tibbet, born in 1842 in Indiana, and Caroline J. (Renille) Tibbet, born in May 1865. The couple was married August 15, 1890, in Fort Wayne.
By 1900, the Tibbet family was living in Adams, Allen County, Indiana. Barney and Caroline were farmers raising their children: John J., born September 28, 1891; Clarence, born December 31, 1894; Alice M., born in 1897; and Ann W., born May 17, 1899. A daughter, Helena, was born April 12, 1893, and passed away in 1895. Barney’s father, Herman Tibbet, was living with the family, as well as a servant named Alice Gremaux.
By 1910, the family was still living in Adams, Indiana. Barney continued farming, while Clarence had quit school to help on the farm. The family had grown with the addition of Edward Fred, born in 1901; Eugene B., born June 2, 1905; and twins Agnes and Helen, also born June 2, 1905. Clarence’s father, Barney, passed away in 1912.
On June 5, 1917, Clarence registered for the World War I draft. He was working as a shipping clerk in New Haven for the J. Bursley Company of Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was listed as 6 feet tall, with a slender build, brown eyes, and brown hair. Clarence was inducted into military service on April 3, 1918. Promoted to Corporal, he served with Battery D, 70th Artillery.
On February 11, 1919, Clarence was sent to Saint-Nazaire to board the ship Manchuria and return to America. The ship landed at Hoboken on February 22, 1919. Clarence received an honorable discharge on March 12, 1919.
On September 16, 1919, Clarence married Agnes M. Rengel. She was born July 9, 1900, in Payne. Clarence and Agnes moved to Payne and lived with her parents, Peter and Mary Rengel. Also living in the home were cousin Joseph Kuhn, Lillian Kuhn, and Clarence’s brother Edward Tibbet. Clarence worked on the Rengel farm.
On Thursday, January 22, 1922, Clarence was killed instantly while sawing wood with a buzz saw at his home near Payne. Funeral services were held Friday, January 30, 1922, at St. Patrick Church. Burial took place at St. John Cemetery.
Agnes remarried on February 22, 1927, in Allen County, Indiana, to Frank Louis Rosswurm. They had three children: Marcella Celeste, born May 5, 1920, in Payne, who passed away November 17, 2020, in Michigan; Giles Lewis Rosswurm, born February 25, 1928, who died March 9, 2019; and Leon L. Rosswurm, born October 28, 1931, who passed away February 14, 1964. Agnes passed away December 25, 1963, in Monroeville.
Clarence’s mother, Caroline, passed away in 1952 and is buried with Bernard at St. John Cemetery. Clarence’s brothers, Edward and Eugene, both served in World War II and were honorably discharged.
