USA > Illinois > LaSalle County > Biographical and genealogical record of La Salle County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 2
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HENRY E. SCHWEICKERT.
This gentleman, a prominent business man of Peru, is a native of this place, his birth having occurred here August 24, 1863. He is one of the nine children of Vincent and Mary (Wellner) Schweickert, who were born in Baden and in Rhein. Bavaria. Germany, respectively. For three years after his arrival in America. in 1853. Vincent Schweickert resided in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he found employment at his trade of brick and stone mason and plasterer. He was married during his stay in that city, whence he came to Peru in 1856, and he and his estimable wife are still living in their comfortable home on the corner of Pike and Ninth streets. He was one of the five children of Jacob Schweickert, whose life was spent in Germany, death cutting short his career when he was but forty years of age. His business was the raising of silk-worms and the bleaching or whitening of cloth. The father of Mrs. Mary (Wellner) Schweickert served in the German army under Napoleon, and was a coal- miner by occupation. He died in his native land. at the ripe age of eighty- two years.
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Henry E. Schweickert and his six surviving brothers and sisters are all citizens of Peru. The former are named in order of birth: Charles, Jacob, Bertram and Francis Xavier. Mary is the wife of Peter Weyand, and Lizzie is Mrs. Frank Ellerbrock. In common with the others, our subject was a pupil in the public and parochial schools of Peru, his studies being completed in the high school here. At intervals he worked on farms in this county until he was twenty years old, when he began learning the brick and stone mason's trade.
Ten years ago Henry E., Charles and Jacob Schweickert entered into partnership and carried on a contracting and building business for two years. Then our subject withdrew and conducted his affairs independently for seven years, and since 1898 has been associated with his brothers Jacob, Bertram, Francis X., and Frank Ellerbrock, under the firm name of Schweickert Brothers & Company. They do an extensive and paying busi- ness, and are winning a large share of the patronage of the public.
On the 17th of May, 1887, Mr. Schweickert married Miss Lizzie Ellerbrock, a daughter of John William and Anna (Utendorf) Ellerbrock. Six children have been born to our subject and wife, namely: Vincent, Peter Phillip Maria, Henry Charles Anton Alexander, Mary Franciska, Mary Hildegard and Mary Beatrice.
Mr. and Mrs. Schweickert are members of the Catholic church, and he is connected with the fraternal orders of St. Joseph's Benevolent Society and the Catholic Order of Foresters. Politically, he is a Democrat. The pleasant home of the family was built by our subject in 1888. It stands on the corner of Pike and Tenth streets, an attractive residence section of the town, and near the home of the elder Schweickerts.
OTTO T. PROELSS.
Otto T. Proelss, foreman of the sulphuric-acid department of the Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Works, LaSalle, Illinois, came to this city October 12, 1889, started to work in the laboratory of the factory and for ten years has been in the employ of the establishment.
Mr. Proelss was born in Viviez, France, August 9, 1870, a son of Dr. Otto and Anna (Eckhort) Proelss, both natives of Germany. Dr. Otto Proelss was educated at Heidelberg University, at which institution he graduated with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. For twenty years lie was the superintendent of the Gladblach Zinc Works, and held the position at the time of his death, in 1890.
Otto T., the subject of this sketch, also had excellent educational
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advantages in his youth. He spent four years in the gymnasium at Frei- berg and later was a student in the gymnasium of Mulheim, where he completed his course. The father's occupation tended to lead the son into the zinc business, with which he became familiar in the old country, and in 1889 he came to the United States to enter the employ of the Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Works, as above recorded.
Mr. Proelss was married in 1894 to Miss Alvine, daughter of Charles Seepe, a prominent dry-goods merchant of Peru, Illinois. Charles Seepe is a native of Prussia, born near Ham, June 9, 1842, one of the seven children of Gerhard and Maria (Kemper) Seepe, both natives of Prussia. The family came to America in 1849 and settled at Peru, Illinois, where both parents died. Charles Seepe was reared in Peru from his seventh year and at fourteen became an apprentice at the dry-goods business. Since 1872 he has been in business for himself. He was married October 23, 1864, to Miss Sophia Beckley, daughter of John Beckley, and to them were born three sons and six daughters, namely: Jennie, Julia (deceased), Clara, Alvine, Albert, Charles, Harry, Etta and Edith.
JAMES EDWARDS.
James Edwards, the superintendent of the Peru Plow & Wheel Com- pany, is a native of England, having been born in Redruth, Cornwall, March 16. 1848. This has been the birthplace of the Edwards family for several generations past, the great-great-great-grandfather of our subject having been wrecked on the Cornish coast between Perron and Portreath and lo- cated near the scene of the wreck, about two miles inland. Here the family remained and the different members were born down to the birth of our sub- ject, James Edwards. Since then the family have scattered until none of the name are left in that vicinity at the present day.
James Edwards, the father of our subject, began when a boy to work in copper, tin, coal and iron. He became an engineer of ability and was in the employ of one firm, Sparrow & Son, for more than twenty-seven years. He was united in marriage to Miss Grace Bowden, by whom he had three sons and three daughters, of whom James and William are the only survivors. Both parents were Wesleyan Methodists. The wife and mother died in 1885, in her fifty-eighth year, and the November of the next year found the father in Chicago, where he made his home with his son James until his death. on May 29, 1890, at the age of sixty-six and one-half years. His father was William Edwards, a miner and engineer, and a member of the Home Guards militia during the Napoleon wars. He died at the age of fifty-seven,
James Edwards
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leaving six children. It was the great-grandfather of William who founded the family in Cornwall. The maternal grandfather of our subject was Will- iam Bowden, a native of Wendron, Cornwall, and a farmer. The Bowden family were large land-owners and prominent people. William was a soldier in the Home Guards during the peninsular wars, and held a number of township offices. He died at the age of eighty-four years, after rearing six children,-three sons and three daughters.
When ten or twelve years old, James Edwards went to work in a pottery, and later entered the tin and copper mines at Cornwall, where he remained until he was fifteen. He has worked his own way in the world from that tender age, and is a ready sympathizer and helper of any young man who earnestly and industriously strives for advancement. When he was fifteen he began learning the trade of blacksmith, serving his time until he was twenty-one. Two years later he came to America and located in Indian- apolis, where he was in the employ of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad for six months. He left them to accept a position as locomotive blacksmith in the Atlantic & Great Western shops at Galion, Ohio. He was there four years and then returned to England, where he was in the employ of the Pendleton Iron Works, and later took charge of the iron works of Bradford & Son. Still later he was connected with the Manchester Carriage Company, and then opened a business of his own. He was in the crockery and glassware business for five or six years, but dis- posed of his stock in 1886, returning to America in July of that year. He stopped in Chicago and worked in the iron business with Harris & Wins- low, the Babcock Fire Engine Company, and R. T. Crane until 1890, when, in December, he came to Peru and took the superintendency of the Peru Plow & Steel Company, the position he still retains. This institution makes agricultural implements of nearly all descriptions and gives employment to a large force of men, nearly two hundred being given steady work. Al- though the superintendency of this plant is attended with great responsibility and care, Mr. Edwards maintains a calm and courteous manner that is unruffled by the little worries incident to business life. No doubt his great success and popularity are attributable in a great measure to the fact that his men appreciate his kindness and civility and are willing to make extra efforts to meet his wishes in all their work.
Mr. Edwards was married August 20, 1872, to Miss Nannie Williams Bowden, daughter of John and Nannie (Williams) Bowden, of Cornwall. Ten children have been born to them, namely: John Harrison, deceased; William Henry, deceased; Grace Bowden, deceased; James, deceased; Emily; Charles; James, deceased; Gertrude; Nannie; and Henry. The children are living with their parents. Although Mr. and Mrs. Edwards are
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not communicants of any church, they are believers in the Congregational doctrines and attend that church. He is a member of the Masonic order and both he and his wife are members of the Order of the Eastern Star. He also belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and is the worthy mas- ter of the Mystic Workers of the World. Politically he is in sympathy with the Republicans. Mr. Edwards is temperate in his habits, never tasted beer or tobacco, and has made the golden rule the motto which has governed all his actions.
VINAL H. HACKETT.
Vinal Herbert Hackett, proprietor of a livery establishment at Men- dota, Illinois, is a New-Englander by birth. He was born in Merrimack, New Hampshire, August 22, 1856.
At nineteen he came west to Illinois and located at Dixon, where he resided for a period of ten years, the most of that time engaged in the livery business, with a partner. April 2, 1888, he came to Mendota, and has since been engaged in the livery business here, having a large estab- lishment and doing a prosperous business with the best class of trade.
MICHAEL E. LOOS.
Michael E. Loos, rolling-mill foreman for the Illinois Zinc Company, LaSalle, Illinois, is of German birth, but has been identified with this country since his early boyhood. He was born in Luxemburg, Germany, January 30, 1843, a son of Nicholas and Lena (Krier) Loos and one of a family of ten children. The Loos family left their native land in 1855 and after a successful voyage landed in this country, Illinois their objective point and their first place of settlement being in Ogle county. There the father died, in 1861, at the age of sixty-one years. The mother survived him until 1871, when she died in Freeport, at the age of seventy-two.
At the time of their emigration to this country Michael E. was a boy of twelve years. His schooling was all obtained previous to that time, for after they settled in Illinois he was occupied in assisting his father in the work of the farm. However, he has always been a close observer and great reader, and what he missed in school advantages he made up in home study, thus gaining a wide range of useful information. He continued the occupation in which he was reared, that of farming, until 1866. In the meantime the civil war came on and he rendered his adopted country valiant service in the army. He enlisted September 7, 1861, as a private
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in Company H, Thirty-fourth Illinois Infantry, and served as such until June 14, 1865, when he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. His first enlistment was for a term of three years, and at the end of that time he veteranized in the same company. He participated in the engagements at Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, the Atlanta campaign, and was with Sher- man on his memorable march to the sea. At the close of his service, July 12, 1865, he was honorably discharged at Louisville, Kentucky, and re- turned home. He resumed farming at his old home, and farmed that season and the next, after which he moved to Freeport, Illinois, and turned his attention to railroading, first securing an engagement in the service of the Northwestern Railroad Company, later was at El Paso, on the Illinois Central Railroad, and then went to Nebraska and took a homestead claim. In 1873 he located in LaSalle, Illinois, as car inspector for the Illinois Central Railroad, and two years later, in 1875, he entered the employ of the LaSalle Zinc Company, with which he remained until that company sold out to the Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Company. He then entered the employ of the latter, with which he remained until 1882. That year he became connected with the Illinois Zinc Company, and was made foreman of the rolling-mill department the following year, which position he has since filled. His long identity with this concern is ample evidence of the value of his service and of his reliability.
Mr. Loos was married in 1865 to Catherine Orth, and two children, William and Catherine, are the fruits of their union.
Like most veterans of the Union army, Mr. Loos belongs to that popular organization, the Grand Army of the Republic. Also he is identi- fied with the Modern Woodmen of America. He served one term as alderman of LaSalle, elected to the office by a Republican constituency. Religiously he and his family are Catholics.
JOHN E. HAMPSON.
John E. Hampson, a well known citizen of Farm Ridge township, La- Salle county, Illinois, dates his identification with this place from 1865. The record of his life and ancestry, briefly given, is as follows:
John E. Hampson was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, Oc- tober 16, 1848, son of John B. Hampson, one of the venerable citizens of Farm Ridge, Illinois. John B. Hampson, also a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, was born March 16, 1815, a son of Daniel and grandson of Joseph Hampson, the former a native of New Jersey. Joseph Hampson and wife, nee Hazen, were the parents of three children,-Lydia,
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Harriet and Daniel. When Daniel was seven years of age the family home was changed from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, where he grew up and married Miss Mary Biddle, also a native of New Jersey. She was a daugh- ter of Timothy Biddle, of that state. Daniel and Mary Hampson had nine children, four sons and five daughters, namely: John B., Catherine, Lucinda, Hannah, Ezekiel, Wiley, Mary, Nancy and Thomas; and of this number John B. is the only one now living. The father died at the age of fifty-six years; the mother at seventy-six. In early life they were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, but later united with the Cumberland Pres- byterians, and Daniel Hampson was an elder in the church for a number of years. John B. Hampson married. in 1838, Miss Ruth Bane, a native of the same county in which he was born and a daughter of George and Rhoda (Clutter) Bane, both natives of Washington county. Pennsylvania. To John B. and Ruth Hampson were born four children, as follows: Mrs. Mary J. Oller, who died in Washington county, Pennsylvania; Mrs. Charity Ann Berkhimer, of Humboldt. Iowa: John E., whose name initiates this review; and Joseph Alexander, of South Ottawa. Illinois. John B. Hamp- son, like his father before him, is identified with the Cumberland Presby- terian church and is an elder in the same. Politically he is a Republican.
Returning now to John E. Hampson, we record that when he was a youth of seventeen years, in 1865, he came with his parents to Illinois. Farming has been his life work. He is the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of fine land in Farm Ridge township, devoted to general farm- ing and improved with good house, barn, orchard, etc.
Mr. Hampson was married, February 24, 1874, to Miss Eliza Walley, a native of Illinois, born in Farm Ridge township, LaSalle county, daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Hera) Walley, the former a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, who came to Illinois in 1841; the latter a native of Phila- delphia. Samuel Walley's family comprised the following members: Louisa, who died at the age of twenty years; Elias, a resident of Deer River, Minne- sota; John, a resident of Cedar county, Iowa; and Mrs. Hampson. Mrs. Walley died in 1871. at the age of forty-six years: Mr. Walley, in 1896 at the age of eighty-three years. They were Methodists. Mr. and Mrs. Hampson have seven children, namely: Lura B., wife of Charles E. Wood- ward, of Ottawa, Illinois; Birdie M., wife of George Hopple, of Arling- ton, Nebraska: and Ethel, Ralph E .. Walter W .. Nelly R. and Lloyd, at home.
Mr. Hampson has always manifested an interest in public affairs, especially those of a local nature, and has served acceptably in an official capacity. He is at this writing one of the township road commissioners, and for twenty years has been a member of the school board. He is politically
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a Republican and fraternally a Knight of Pythias. Frank and genial in manner, honorable and upright in all his dealings, he is a man who has the confidence and respect of all who know him.
THOMAS IMUS.
The venerable gentleman whose name heads this sketch and who resides at the corner of Fifth street and Second avenue, Mendota, Illinois, came here from the Green Mountain state in 1856, and has lived here ever since, an honored and respected citizen. He has marked the town's growth from its infancy. At the time he arrived it had only one store, that owned by Giles & Wells. He engaged in the marble business, which he conducted sucessfully until about 1880, when he sold out, having since that time lived retired from active business life.
Thomas Imus was born in Bennington county, Vermont, in the town of Arlington, August 21, 1815, a son of William and Annie (Rising) Imus, the former a native of London, England, and the latter of Suffield, Connecti- cut. Six children composed their family, two sons and four daughters, all of whom have passed away except the subject of this sketch, who was the youngest. The father was a watchmaker by trade, which he followed in the early part of his life. He came to America in 1753, located in Suffield, and subsequently removed to Bennington county, Vermont, where he became the owner of about one hundred and fifty acres of land and where he spent the rest of his life in agricultural pursuits. He died in 1830, at the age of ninety-six years. He was twice married. By his first wife, Lucy Buck, he had nine children, and by his second wife six, the subject of our sketch being one of the latter. The second wife was eighty-four years old at the time of her death. They were all Episcopalians. During the Revolutionary war William Imus was three times drafted into the service, but would not fight against his own country and relations, and each time hired a substitute.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was William Imus. He was the father of four sons, and was a large property owner. He lived and died in England. The maternal grandfather also was an Englishman. He came to America in the eighteenth century, settled on a New England farm and devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits the rest of his life, and reached a ripe old age.
Thomas Imus, the direct subject of this review, was reared on his fath- er's farm in Vermont, and after his father's death he began learning the marble-cutter's trade, being at that time twenty-one years of age.
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On the 28th of February, 1845, he married Miss Louisa Gleason, a daughter of Newton and Annis (Mixer) Gleason, and two children, a son and daughter, were born to them. The son, Newton, married Isabella Wyrick and lives in Mendota; they have one child, named Mable. The daughter, Mattie, is the wife of William E. Wixom, and they have one child, named Blossom. Mrs. Thomas Imus died August 2, 1894, at the age of seventy-three years. She was a devoted Christian and a member of the Baptist church.
Mr. Imus has always been a temperance man. and in his younger years was a member of the Rechabites and the Good Templars. Also he was for years a member of the Masonic fraternity. His early political affiliation was with the Whig party, and when the Republican party was organized he identified himself with it and has since given it his support. For a number of years he was a school director in Mendota, and his influence has always been directed on the side of right and progress. Now in his old age he enjoys the confidence and esteem of his many friends in the town where he has lived for nearly half a century.
JOSEPH REINHARDT.
Hon. Joseph Reinhardt, of Peru. LaSalle county, was a native of Ger- many, having been born in the town of Fulda, in Hesse, Prussia, January II, 1828. His parents, Conrad and Clara (Malkmas) Reinhardt, lived and died in Germany, where the father was a physician of ability. Joseph was the only son in the family who grew to adult years and to him was accorded an excellent education. After receiving a liberal education in other branches, he entered the University at Jena, where he took a course in the agricultural department, preparing himself to prosecute intelligently that branch of labor.
When twenty-four years of age he contracted marriage with Miss Bertha Brennemann, also a native of Prussia, and the same year. 1852. started for the United States. Five children were born to them, who be- came honorable and useful citizens. They are: Adolph, a resident of Spring Valley; Emma, wife of Julius Brennemann, of Peru; Mary, wife of John G. Feldes, of Chicago; Helen, wife of C. W. Leimbach, of Chicago; and Lina, wife of E. J. Robinson, of Arkansas. The wife and mother passed to her reward August 2, 1887, after the family had made their home in Peru. When he first arrived in this country, Mr. Reinhardt settled on a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Putnam county, Illinois, eight miles south of this city. There he lived and toiled for thirty-one years.
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well knowing what it was to work, for he labored early and late, acknowl- edging no defeat and overcoming all obstacles that stood between himself and prosperity. With true German perseverance and pluck, he plowed his fields and prepared his seed, using not only his acquired knowledge, but his native shrewdness in preparing for the harvest, and was rewarded by being able to turn his abundant yield into money and land. In this way he continued until he had accumulated a large acreage, consisting of several farms in Putnam county. Owing to his good judgment, industry and fru- gality, he prospered far above the average, and much credit is due him for placing farming, in that community, on a broader and more scientific scale than it formerly occupied. After more than a quarter of a century of hard labor, he moved his family permanently to Peru, where he spent his last days in retirement from the arduous duties of active business life.
He supported the cause of Republicanism and took a deep interest in all affairs of state and nation. Being a strong friend to education he was a prominent worker for that cause, serving as school director for many years. In 1870 he was elected to the Illinois legislature, serving two years, and in 1885 was elected to the state senate for four years from LaSalle county. Both in legislative halls and senate chamber he so discharged the duties devolving upon him as to receive the highest commendation and approbation. As a legislator, Mr. Reinhardt reflected credit on his con- stituents and won for himself a splendid reputation. After taking up his residence in Peru he was for several years a member of the school board and was a most active citizen in working for the public welfare. For years he was treasurer of the Peru Farmers' Insurance Company. His character was above reproach and the probity of his official life admits of no question. His death occurred October 22. 1899, in the seventy-second year of his life.
DAN W. BOWEN.
Dan W. Bowen, one of the leading farmers of Freedom township, LaSalle county, is a native of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, his birth having occurred July 22, 1842. The family was established in New England at a very early period, but the record has been lost, and all that is certainly known of its history refers no further back than to the grandfather of our subject. David Bowen, as was his name, was a native of the state of Massa- chusetts, where he pursued the quiet, industrious life of a tiller of the soil. His son William, the father of Dan W., was likewise born in the old Bay state, and was reared to the calling of his ancestors. For a com- panion and helpmate along the highway of life he chose Emeline Burt, and in 1854 they removed to Illinois. At first the home of the family was in
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