Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 19th ed., Part 6

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : La Salle Book Co.
Number of Pages: 908

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KARL SCHMIDT.

ment on Wabash Avenue, near Harrison Street, employing as many as forty men at times. He subsequently conducted a store at No. 5213 Jeff- erson Avenue and was very successful in the en- terprise.

J. L. Storms was married in 1862, to Letitia A., daughter of John Nicholson, of Lockport, Illinois. She is a native of Chatham, Canada, and was the widow of John Harvey. Her children by her first husband were named: Alexander; John G., now located on Sixty-seventh Street; and Robert who resides on the North Side. Mr. Storms was first married when he was but twenty-one years of age, to Miss Isabella Low, of Scotland, and their only child was named Eugene, but is now deceased. The child and its mother died in Que- bec, of cholera. The children of John L. and Letitia A. Storms were ten in number: William H. is an engineer and resides in Windsor Park; George is a painter by trade and was associated

with his father in business interests, but is now a policeman; Henry is married and resides in Englewood, on Sixty-ninth Street, near Halsted; he is a first lieutenant in the Knights of the Maccabees; Oriole married Frederick Harber, a grocer located on State, near Fifty-eight Street; Irene married Harry W. Russell, who is employed by the Denison Manufacturing Company and re- sides on Monroe Avenue, near Fifty-fifth Street; Frank is married and resides on Fifty-fifth Street near Kimbark Avenue; he conducts a livery busi- ness in Englewood; James and Marion are twins; Della died at the age of a year and one-half.

Mr. Storms' first presidential vote was cast in favor of Abraham Lincoln and since that time he held himself independent of party, voting for the man who, in his estimation, was most likely to serve the people to their advantage. He served as judge of election, and though much interested in political matters never held an elective office.

KARL SCHMIDT.

ARL SCHMIDT, who is pastor of St. James' Evangelical Lutheran Church, at the corner of Garfield Avenue and Fremont Street, Chicago, was born July 21, 1859, in Hessen- Darmsdat, Germany. He is a son of Rev. Henry and Elizabeth (Bastian) Schmidt, who came to America in 1862 and located in Illinois. Rev. Henry Schmidt was pastor of a church at Schomburg, Illinois, fourteen years. He died in Elgin, Illinois, in 1897. Mrs. Henry Schmidt still resides in this city.

Karl Schmidt was educated at the gymnasium . at Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and Concordia Seminary, at St. Louis, Missouri. He was graduated from the last-mentioned institution in 1881, and was ordained the same year, in September, at Roch- ester, Minnesota. He was called by the con-

gregation of that place and was pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of that city, where he remained two years. He was then called to Crystal Lake, Illinois, and was there fourteen successive years, when he received a call to his present charge, in Chicago. He began his duties in this church August 15, 1897.

Mr. Schmidt is a very studious man, devot- ing himself assiduously to his mission and pursu- ing his work with the idea that one is never possessed with too much knowledge. He is a refined gentleman, and has been educated in the practical school of experience, as well as in colleges, and has profited by all his chances to obtain knowledge in the ways of the world and cultivation of his mind.

In 1885, on July 25, Mr. Schmidt was married

PETER BRACH.

to Miss Louise, daugliter of Rev. H. Wunder. (For further ancestry of Mrs. Schmidt, see biog- raphy of H. Wunder, on another page of this work.) The children of Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt were named as follows: Otto, Emil, Herman (deceased), Hugo and Dora.

Mr. Schmidt is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other states. He is a man of genial temperament, pleasant in address and hospitable in manner.

He is recognized as one who is interested in the furthering of the education of the youth of to-day and his efforts in their behalf are admirable and serve as an example worthy of a following. He is honored and respected by all who know him and alike beloved by family and friends. His teachings are so successful that one cannot but believe that he was sent to this world to accom- plish a good work and his energies are put fortlı to fulfill his mission.

PETER BRACH.

ETER BRACH, one of the most influential and respected of Chicago's retired citizens, was a tailor by trade and one of the finest workmen in his line of business of the day and generation. He was born June 1, 1828, in Prussia, and is a son of Johann Peter and Susanna Elizabeth (Berlges) Brach.

Johann Peter Brach, father of the man whose name heads this article, died at the age of fifty- four years, in the year 1837. He was twice mar- ried, and the children of his first wife were named as follows: Juliana, Mary Elizabeth, Jacob, Nicholas, Susan and Maria. After the death of his first wife he married Susanna Elizabeth Berlges. By this marriage he had five children viz .: Susanna Katharine, Peter, Anna, Mary and Michael. Mrs. Brach died December 18, 1866, having been born in December, 1829, and her re- mains were interred in Racine, Wisconsin. Peter Brach, of this sketch, left his native land in 1852, and landed in New York May 2 of the same year. His brother Michael, sister Mary, and his mother made up the party. They came in a sail boat which left Antwerp March 13, 1852, and immediately settled in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In that city Peter Brach worked at his trade, that of a tailor, ten years. He was employed

by Frank Comstock, and when that gentleman removed to Chicago, Mr. Brach moved with him and remained in his service. He did the finest and most particular of the work and commanded the best salary of any of the men employed while he was with Mr. Comstock. In 1890 Mr. Brach retired from active life, and has since enjoyed a well-earned rest from business cares.

Mr. Brach married December 25, 1855, Miss Mary Brust, daughter of Mathias and Anna Marie (Meurer) Brust. She was born December 26, 1837, in Prussia. Mathias Brust was born in February, 1805, and died in June, 1869. He was a farmer and also worked at mining. Mr. Brust lived his entire life in his native land. Mrs. Mathias Brust was born in 1805, and died in 1871. Her children were: Jacob, Peter, Susanna, Mary Elizabeth, Katharine, Anna and Charles. Jacob Brust lives in New Ulm, Min- nesota. He is married, and has two children, the elder being named William. He is a farmer

and also conducts a hotel. Susanna lives in Texas; Katharine did not come to America; she married John Hahn and has no children. Anna married Frederick Weyher and resides at No. 164 Archer Avenue. Charles Brust is now in New Ulm, Minnesota, and is extensively inter-

HENRY RUSSER.

ested in politics, and with his brother, Jacob, is very prominent in the community where they re- side. Anna, Mrs. Brach, and her sister; Susanna, emigrated from their native land at the same time, in December, 1854. The others of the family came later.

The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Brach was Michael Brust, the owner of extensive lands, the cultivation of which he superintended personally. His children were: Mathias, Susanna, Marie, Jacob and Michael. The maternal grandfather was Michael Meurer, and his children were: Michael, Anna Marie, Susanna and Dora. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Brach were eleven in number: Peter, born November 21, 1856, died February 15, 1892. He married Marie Drink- burg and their children are named Elsie and Robert. Charles, who was born November 17, 1858, died June 28, 1882. Frank, born January

17, 1861, died January 25, 1892. Florentina, born April 2, 1864, died August 20, 1866. Lou- isa was born December 28, 1866. Edwin, born February 25, 1868, died March 8, 1887. William, born July 2, 1870, died March 15, 1871. Ma- tilda, born February 3, 1872, died in childhood. William, born June 20, 1876, died June 28, 1893. Emma, born October 29, 1878, resides at home, and is an expert stenographer. Arthur, born February 15, 1883, died November 4, 1883.

Peter Brach was a supporter of the principles maintained by the old Whig party, but at the organization of the Republican party, joined its ranks and has since been loyal to its principles. He is much interested in political matters, but has never sought public favor in the form of election to an office. He erected a residence at No. 33 Elston Avenue in 1866, and has since that time resided at this location.

HENRY RUSSER.

ENRY RUSSER is a native of Chicago and a member of an old pioneer family. He was born August 7, 1838, where he now lives, at No. 214 Rush Street, then the old Dutch settlement, called New Buffalo. His parents were George and Catherine (Mock) Russer. George Russer was born in Baden Weil, Germany, but his parents died when he was small, and a friend of the family, a Rev. Mr. Hagel, a Lutheran preacher, adopted him, his sister and his brother, Joseph, and took them to Basle, Switzerland, and they were well reared there and received a fair education. George learned the trade of a shoe- maker and became prominent, being an inspector for a regiment of soldiers in Carlsruhe, Baden.

Catherine Mock was born in Weiseburg, Germany, and came to the United States in 1831. She located in Buffalo, New York. George

Russer came about the same time and settled in the same location. In that city he worked at his trade and she was for a time in the employ of a Mr. Sherman, the man who kept the first Sherman House in Chicago. Mr. Russer became acquainted with his wife in Buffalo and they were married there about the year 1832.

In 1837 Mr. and Mrs. Russer came to Chicago, bringing with them their children, Charles, George and Valentine. They came on the old steamboat, "Madison." Mr. Russer had previous- ly traded property in Buffalo, at the corner of Main and Genesee Streets, for property on La Salle Street, in Chicago, between Randolpli and Lake Streets. He there kept the "Farmers' Home," and his wife being possessed of some money he purchased property in what was known as New Buffalo, locating a residence there. He opened

ANDREW SPOHRER.

a shoe store and at one time carried on a very profitable business. In 1841 George Russer went to St. Louis and died in that city a few months later. He left his widow with six chil- dren and she struggled along the best she could, keeping her children as well as was possible and training them to go in the paths of right. She died in Chicago July 4, 1882, at the age of eighty years. All her children are deceased except the man whose name heads this article and May, who is now Mrs. Mock, of Fulton, Ohio.

Henry Russer grew to manhood in Chicago and received his education in the McKinzie School. At the age of fifteen years he began to serve an apprenticeship at the trade of a tinner and after having learned the trade, worked at it for a time. He then entered the employ of the North Branch Rolling Mill, under O. W. Potter, and was thus occupied nine years. Nearly all of this period he was in charge of the furnace of the mill and his services were valuable and he re- ceived financial recompense accordingly. For a short time subsequently he conducted a catering establishment, after which he was employed by Gen. Fitz Simon, superintending the filling up

of the lake front, also being occupied in the same capacity for J. V. Farwell, N. K. Fair- bank and the Newberry Estate. For the past ten years he has been in the service of the Newberry Library, having the entire manage- ment of the grading and filling up the lake front.

Mr. Russer is an ardent Republican and voted for Lincoln in 1860, having since supported that party's candidates. He is a member of the order of Ancient Order of United Workmen. In 1859 he married Caroline Kern, daughter of Peter and Caroline (Gibe) Kern. Mrs. Russer was born at the Summit, on Archer Road, where her parents were very early settlers. Mr. and Mrs. Russer are the parents of three children and three died in infancy. The living are: Emma, Louise and Henry. The members of the family are com- municants of Mr. Moody's church and are pos- sessed of religious views and the highest of principles.

Mr. Russer has witnessed the growth of the city from a small town and in the time of liis childhood his family had Indians for neighbors and wild game was abundant.

ANDREW SPOHRER.

A NDREW SPOHRER, now living retired, is a native of Chicago, born of German parents January 1, 1838, on Rush Street, near the waterworks. His parents were Andrew and Katharine (Schremp) Spohrer and were both born in Baden, Germany, of old German families. Andrew Spohrer, senior, was a mason by trade and came to America with his family in 1834. They spent two years in Buffalo, New York, where Mr. Spohrer worked at his trade. In 1836 they came to Chicago and he still worked at liis trade and claimed a tract of land on Ruslı Street,

at Chicago Avenue. At this location he raised vegetables for the market and also kept cows and sold the milk. He was a frugal and industrious man, and accumulated much property.

He purchased two and one-half acres of land on North Clark Street, and cultivated this tract also, succeeding remarkably until 1865, the year of his death. His wife survived him until 1879. They were the parents of sixteen children, only two of whom are now living: Christina, the wife of Patrick O'Connor, and Andrew, of this notice. The latter received a limited education in the

F. M. JOHNSON.

public school, and while growing to manhood car- Helen is the wife of Stephen Thometz, of Slian- ried on gardening, assisting his father until the fire of 1871, when they sustained a heavy loss.

After the fire they divided the property among the members of the family and since that time Mr. Spohrer has not engaged in any business but has taken care of his large property interests. In 1882 he purchased a farm near Chicago Heights, which is still in his possession. He has never sought public office of any kind, but has taken an interest in the affairs of his native city, which he has seen grow up twice. He is independent in politics, supporting the man whom he thinks best qualified for office.

September 5, 1871, he married Miss Katharine, daughter of Mathias and Anna Reichert, who came to Chicago from Wurtemberg, Germany. The parents of Mrs. Spohrer came to Cook County in early days and after their marriage lived . on a farm three miles from Chicago Heights, in the Town of Bloom. Mr. Reich- ert died in 1865, and Mrs. Reichert is still living. They had eleven children, all of whom are now living. Mathias resides at Shannon, Illinois.

non. Henry is on a farm near Chicago Heights. Mrs. Spohrer is next in order of birth. Barbara is Mrs. Michael Kloss, of Will County. Mary is the wife of Valentine Marthaler, who conducts a, hardware store in Chicago Heights. August is a farmer residing on the old homestead. Maggie is Mrs. Charles Miller, of Chicago Heights. Joseph resides in the same region, and is a tiller of the soil. Anna is the wife of Henry Marthaler and resides in Lakefield, Minnesota. Rosa is now Mrs. Joseph Loehmer, living on a farm in Dyer, Indiana.

Mr. and Mrs. Spohrer have had eight children, those living are: Anna; Mamie, who was married June 29, 1898, at St. Joseph's Church, to Dr. Augustine A. Flick, who has an office at No. 448 North Clark Street, and resides at No. 454 North Clark Street; Margaret, Josephine and Edward, and three died in childhood. Mr. Spohrer and his family are members of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, and the family is highly respected and honored by all who be- come acquainted with any of its members.

FRANCIS M. JOHNSON.

RANCIS MORTIMER JOHNSON, who was born on Sunday, May 8, 1842, in Hick- ory Lane, Niles, Michigan, is one of the most valued and highly respected employes of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company, having been in the employ of that company since 1865. His parents were Alfred Wells and Dezire (Howe) Johnson, and both came from very old families. The paternal grandfather was John Johnson, and the maternal grandfather of F. M. Johnson was Frederick Howe. Mr. Howe was a tiller of the soil and he was born in Vermont. He settled in Syracuse,

New York, subsequently, and later removed to Michigan, being one of the first settlers in Ber- rien County.

Mr. Howe traveled through the country with liorse teams, there being no steam railway at that time. Hischildren were named as follows: Alonzo, Dezire, Lucinda, Francis, Hezekiah, Adeline, Mary, Nancy, Charlotta, Charles and George. His wife's name was Polly Bliss before her mar- riage to Mr. Howe. Alfred W. Johnson was born June 26, 1810, in Burlington, Vermont. He came to Michigan in 1831. He had learned tlie trade of a carpenter and joiner, and erected a res-

F. M. JOHNSON.

idence in Niles, Michigan, in Hickory Lane. All his children were born in this house. Mr. John- son did a great deal of contracting in the vicinity of Niles, for building of residences and other erections. He was a Democrat as to political views and served in the legislature two years about 1847-1849. He died June 9, 1889. His wife was born at Truxton, New York, Friday, May 5, 1815, and died October 18, 1896. Her children were nine in number: John Frederick was born Monday, December 17, 1838, and resides at No. 5140 Wabash Avenue; Richard Marian was born Wednesday, May 13, 1840, married Hattie L. Barker, at Chillicothe, Missouri, and now resides at No. 5140 Wabash Avenue, Chicago; Francis M. is the next in order of birth; Julia Estelle, born Saturday, March 9, 1844, married Henry T. Kimmell December 14, 1865. Her children are: George Alfred, born February 1, 1867, and Edna Estelle, born December 3, 1869; George Franklin, born Thursday, March 5, 1846, died August 5, 1893. He married Annie C. Cook, at Tiskilwa, Illinois, December 22, 1885; Oliver Howell, born February 12, 1848, died March 24, 1848; Helen Isabella, born Saturday, August 11, 1849, married John A. Montague October 6, 1873, and has one child, Charles M., born March 23, 1876. Her home is at Niles, Michigan, where her husband is a hardware dealer; Mary Francis, born Friday, November 3, 1853, married Orson Mckay October 2, 1883. Mr. Mckay is an employe of the Santa Fe Rail- road Company and they reside at No. 4735 Evans Avenue; Charles Alfred, born Friday, February 8, 1856, was married at Marshall, Michigan, August 20, 1883, to Bertha Hopkins Perritt. He is the father of one child, Alfred Hopkins, born September 6, 1892. The family resides at Niles, Michigan, where C. A. Johnson is cashier at the First National Bank.

Francis Mortimer Johnson occupied himself at the same trade as his father until sixteen years of . age .. He enlisted in the army October 17, 1862, in Company E, Twelfth Michigan Regiment. He was sick a large part of the time and served in the reserve corps at Columbus, Ohio, for eiglit- een months. He was in the battle of Shiloh and

his regiment was the first one fired upon. He was also in battles along the Chickahominy River. November 3, 1865, he was mustered out of serv- ice. Mr. Johnson was taken prisoner at Bolivar, Tennessee, but was paroled. After the close of the Civil War Mr. Johnson located in Chicago and entered the employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Company and has since been occupied in the interest of that con- cern. He entered as clerk in the freight office and remained in that capacity eighteen years. He then took charge of the out freight house at Polk Street and Pacific Avenue and after eight years was transferred to the Englewood east bound freight, but at the end of four years this house was discontinued and he was returned to the Polk Street house, where he is at the present writing.

Mr. Johnson was married February 15, 1862, to Miss Marilla Alwilda Chipman, daughter of Holton and Lucy (Hopkins) Chipman. Mrs. Johnson's great-grandfather was born in England, and emigrating to America in1 1840, located in Eugene, Indiana, later removing to Bristol, of that state, where he died in 1847, at the age of forty-nine years. Holton Chipman was born in Vermont, as was also his wife. She was married in Ohio and died January 24, 1893. She was born April 24, 1809. Her children were eight in number. Lucy Hopkins married Caleb Nash, of South Bend, Indiana, and their children are: Alice, Helen, Delia and Adell; Philenia Rosalie married Dr. J. N. Roe, of South Bend, and their children are: Lelia, Crestus and Lennie; Rachel Parthenia married John Brown, of Val- paraiso, Indiana, and their children are: Blanch, William and Agnes; Cynthia Florilla married C. S. Payne, of Goshen, Indiana, and their chil- ren are: Lola, Hiram, Chauncey, Emma and Mag- gie; Austia Ianthe married Joseph F. Thomas, of Edwardsburg, Indiana, and their one child is Ella; Delia Alice married John Hudson, of Sac- ramento, California; Cassius Holton married Wealthy Rouse, at Kendallville, Indiana, and their one child is Millie; Marilla Alwilda is the wife of the man whose name heads this article, and was born November 17, 1843, at Engene, Indiana.

LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLIN

FRANKLIN PIERCE.

MRS. FRANKLIN PIERCE.

LIBRARY OF THE NIVERSITY OF ILLIN

FRANKLIN PIERCE.

RANKLIN PIERCE, who was a well-known resident of Chicago, was a member of a very old and respectable New England family, of English origin. From a genealogical history of the Pierce family it is learned that Capt. William and Capt. Michael Pierce, brothers, were conspicuous persons in the early history of New England. Capt. William Pierce was the most celebrated master of ships that came into the waters of New England in the infancy of the colonies. He was on very intimate terms with all the leading colonists, and a warm friend of Winslow and Bradford. He was first noticed in the early records of the colony in1 1622, when he was master of the "Paragon," the owner of which ship was his brother, John Pierce, of London, England. In 1623 Capt. William Pierce brought over to Plymouth the "Anne" with her note- worthy crew. In 1624 he came in the "Charity," conveying Winslow with his cattle, which were the first brought into New England. In 1625 he was at Plymouth in the "Jacob," again bringing Winslow and more cattle. In 1629 he commanded the renowned "Mayflower," and in her took a company from Holland as far as the bay, on their way to Plymouth. I11 February, 1630, he came with the "Lion" from Bristol, England, and brought sixty passengers, inclnd- ing Roger Williams and his wife, Mary.

He brought the first cotton into New England, from the West Indies, in 1633. The records show that he owned a house and lot in Boston in 1634, and in 1636 he brought the first sweet po- tatoes into New England from the West Indies.

He was shipwrecked in 1641, and found a grave in the sea which he had navigated so long and successfully.

Capt. Michael Pierce, the founder in America of that branch of the family to which the subject of this sketch belonged, was born in England about 1615. He emigrated to America about 1645, and in 1646 located in Hingham, and the fol- lowing year removed to Scituate, where he lived the remainder of his life. He was commissioned captain by the colonial court in 1669, and served with distinction in King Philip's war, and was slain in battle in March, 1676.

Franklin Pierce; whose name lieads this ar- ticle, was of the ninth generation in direct de- scent from Capt. Michael Pierce. He was born1 August 16, 1827, in Durham, Greene County, New York. His parents, Royal and Mary (Clark) Pierce, were born in Durham and Athens respectively, in Greene County, New York. Royal was a son of Mica Pierce, who was in turn a son of Jobe Pierce.

Royal Pierce was a tiller of the soil, and was very successful in collecting this world's goods, following this occupation for many years. In the year 1854 he purchased a farm near Belvi- dere, Illinois, and the year following removed his family from the Empire State to this farm. After ten years spent in this location he retired from active life, and at the age of seventy-five years, died in Belvidere, April 25, 1878. His beloved wife survived him until 1888, and died in the eiglity-first year of her life, at Winona, Minne- sota. Her remains were brought to Belvidere

FRANKLIN PIERCE.

and interred beside lier husband. The family of this worthy couple numbered six, and were named as follows: Franklin, the subject of this sketch; Jemima, who is Mrs. Bartlett, of Winona, Minnesota; Wallace, of the last-named town; Marshall, who was a soldier in the Union forces, in the late Civil War, and died in a hospital at Nicholasville, Kentucky; Mary Imogene, who is now the wife of L. B. Starkweather, of Lake County, Illinois; and Clark, who died in the year 1861, in Belvidere, Illinois.

Franklin Pierce grew to manhood on his father's farm, assisting in its culture during the summer months, and attending the district school in winter. He was a studious young man, and acquired sufficient knowledge to enable him to instruct others, and followed this profes- sion many years. At the age of twenty-three years he went to New York City, and was en- gaged in steam-boating in the East River, and later, for one season, was on the North River, between Albany and New York. He was then employed as fireman on the Troy & Schenectady Railroad one year, and later on the Troy & Bos- ton Railroad.

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Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 19th ed., Part 6

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago : La Salle Book Co. Number of Pages: 908

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : La Salle Book Co.
Number of Pages: 908