Described in a newspaper account as “one of our best known young men,” Ralph Lincoln Cowles (1883-1925) was born in Canton Center.  He eventually developed a “thriving little business” in automobile, bicycle and radio accessories, as well as gasoline and oil.  He was a member of the Cawasa Grange and the Red Men, a fraternal organization, both in Collinsville.

A newspaper report described him as “a person of few words and one who stood strong for right and duty.  Although his years here were much shorter than the average few proved more faithful to the tasks of life than he.”

Cowles died at the Granby Hospital.  He had been in poor health for over a year, “suffering from a nervous muscular trouble with other complications, although in no pain, he lost the control of the different muscles in first one location and then another.”

Ralph Lincoln Cowles is buried beside his parents, who predeceased him, in the Canton Center Cemetery.

“Your Silent Neighbors” introduces readers to people out of Canton’s past. Readers are encouraged to visit these gravesites and pay their respects to the people who have helped make our community what it is today.